Sermon 15 -- 2 Timothy: Introduction
My last two sermon series, the book of Hebrews and the Gospel of Philip, were deeply indebted to the Apostle Paul; Hebrews, was almost certainly NOT written by Paul, but was based on his teachings, and the Gospel of Philip was written around the same time as the letters of Paul, (maybe a little later), and develops Gnostic concepts that were widely circulated among the early Christians if not that often written down (or at least preserved). Thus am I drawn irresistibly toward the writings of Paul himself. The suggestion to explore 2nd Timothy came to me in meditation, and I did not know why--but the minute I started working on it, I discovered an important reason I would have been led to this book: 2nd Timothy is understood to be Paul’s last letter, and is considered by some to be his last will and testament. Thus, as I approach death, I am instructed to learn from Paul the things that he thought were ultimately the most important.
It is not possible to attribute precise dates to events that are known to have happened in the ancient world, but the year Paul was executed in Rome, (decapitated by Nero), is thought to have been in the summer of 64 CE, and 2nd Timothy seems to have been written shortly before that. Dates as late as 68 CE have also been suggested. Be that as it may, whenever it was written, 2nd Timothy stands out as a blazingly brilliant summary of the teachings of Paul, and I welcome it into to my fund of spiritual testaments.
As you may remember, I began my ministry at the Basin Bible Church by reviewing in detail all four synoptic gospels. The natural thing would have been to continue on, chronologically, into the New Testament with Acts and Romans, etc.; but, since the early days of my career as a professing Christian, I have always had a problem with Paul—I have never liked his dogmatic formulations, and I have felt, often enough, that what he says directly contradicts some of the sayings of Jesus. I readily forgave him his loyalty to the LAW, because I always knew that, as a Jew, Paul had to incorporate elements of his contemporary social morality into his doctrine; but I have found that Paul’s down-to-earth missionary strategy was not always perfectly harmonious with Jesus’ more radical approach to social behavior.
Recently, my attitude has mellowed somewhat; nowadays I am more tolerant of this aspect of Paul’s belief system. I have had to remember that his job was to consolidate the churches of the ancient world under one over-arching doctrine that could bind groups of disparate temperaments together, directed toward a single purpose—changing the world. I acknowledge that this was a daunting job, and that, especially with a bunch of Jews who were used to following a plethora of strict laws and restrictions, the freedom preached by Jesus might have been too much for some literal-minded people to handle; too much freedom gives the insecure mind room to wander and lose focus; Paul insists on strict adherence to his version of the truth. Additionally, I have become aware of the mystical side of Paul, which, before my survey of the Gnostic Gospels, was pretty invisible to me.
So, here we go. This sermon series will begin with a Wikipedia summary of the life of Paul, and his missionary travels, with some extra commentary on the intellectual climate of his time. Next week we will delve into the first chapter of the book:
“Paul the Apostle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Paul the Apostle (Latin: Paulus; Greek: Παῦλος, translit. Paulos; c. 5 – c. 67), commonly known as Saint Paul and also known by his native name Saul of Tarsus (Hebrew: שאול התרסי, translit. Sha'ul ha-Tarsi; Greek: Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, translit. Saulos Tarseus), was an apostle (though not one of the Twelve Apostles) who taught the gospel of the Christ to the first century world.
Paul is generally considered one of the most important figures of the Apostolic Age and in the mid-30s to the mid-50s AD he founded several churches in Asia Minor and Europe. He took advantage of his status as both a Jew and a Roman citizen to minister to both Jewish and Roman audiences. According to writings in the New Testament and prior to his conversion, Paul was dedicated to persecuting the early disciples of Jesus in the area of Jerusalem. (He was present at the martyrdom of St. Stephen). In the narrative of the Acts of the Apostles (often referred to simply as Acts), Paul was traveling on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus on a mission to "arrest them and bring them back to Jerusalem" when the resurrected Jesus appeared to him in a great light. He was struck blind, but after three days his sight was restored by Ananias of Damascus and Paul began to preach that Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah and the Son of God.
Fourteen of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament have traditionally been attributed to Paul. Seven of the epistles are undisputed by scholars as being authentic, with varying degrees of argument about the remainder. Pauline authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews is not asserted in the Epistle itself and was already doubted in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. It was almost unquestioningly accepted from the 5th to the 16th centuries that Paul was the author of Hebrews but that view is now almost universally rejected by scholars. The other six are believed by some scholars to have come from followers writing in his name, using material from Paul's surviving letters and letters written by him that no longer survive.
Paul's influence on Christian thought and practice has been characterized as being as "profound as it is pervasive", among that of many other apostles and missionaries involved in the spread of the Christian faith. Augustine of Hippo developed Paul's idea that salvation is based on faith and not "works of the law". Martin Luther's interpretation of Paul's writings influenced Luther's doctrine of sola fide.”
[Sidebar:
“Sola fide, also historically known as the doctrine of justification by faith alone, is a Christian theological doctrine that distinguishes most Protestant denominations from Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, and some in the Restoration Movement.”
Back to Wikipedia:]
“It has been popularly assumed that Saul's name was changed when he converted from Judaism to Christianity, but that is not the case. His Jewish name was "Saul" (Hebrew: שָׁאוּל, Modern Sha'ul, Tiberian Šāʼûl; "asked for, prayed for, borrowed"), perhaps after the biblical King Saul, a fellow Benjamite and the first king of Israel. According to the Book of Acts, he inherited Roman citizenship from his father. As a Roman citizen, he also bore the Latin name of "Paul"—in biblical Greek: Παῦλος (Paulos), and in Latin: Paulus. It was quite usual for the Jews of that time to have two names, one Hebrew, the other Latin or Greek.
Jesus called him "Saul, Saul" in "the Hebrew tongue" in the book of Acts, when he had the vision which led to his conversion on the Road to Damascus. Later, in a vision to Ananias of Damascus, "the Lord" referred to him as "Saul, of Tarsus". When Ananias came to restore his sight, he called him "Brother Saul".
In Acts 13:9, Saul is called "Paul" for the first time on the island of Cyprus—much later than the time of his conversion. The author (Luke) indicates that the names were interchangeable: "Saul, who also is called Paul." He thereafter refers to him as Paul, apparently Paul's preference since he is called Paul in all other Bible books where he is mentioned, including those that he authored. Adopting his Roman name was typical of Paul's missionary style. His method was to put people at their ease and to approach them with his message in a language and style to which they could relate, as in 1 Cor 9:19–23.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23
“19Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”
Geography relevant to Paul's life, stretching from Jerusalem to Rome:
Paul was likely born between the years of 5 BC and 5 AD. The Book of Acts indicates that Paul was a Roman citizen by birth, more affirmatively describing his father as such, but some scholars have taken issue with the evidence presented by the text.
He was from a devout Jewish family in the city of Tarsus–one of the largest trade centers on the Mediterranean coast. It had been in existence several hundred years prior to his birth. It was renowned for its university. During the time of Alexander the Great, who died in 323 BC, Tarsus was the most influential city in Asia Minor.
Paul referred to himself as being "of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee". The family had a history of religious piety. Apparently the family lineage had been very attached to Pharisaic traditions and observances for generations. Acts says that he was in the tent-making profession. This was to become an initial connection with Priscilla and Aquila with whom he would partner in tent-making and later become very important teammates as fellow missionaries.
While he was still fairly young, he was sent to Jerusalem to receive his education at the school of Gamaliel, one of the most noted rabbis in history. The Hillel school was noted for giving its students a balanced education, likely giving Paul broad exposure to classical literature, philosophy, and ethics.”
[Sidebar: At the moment I am reading the Taylor Caldwell fictional biography of Luke (Dear and Glorious Physician), and have noticed that Gamaliel is mentioned as one of Luke’s teachers in Alexandria. This connection is important enough, but the comment that Paul was exposed to the classical literature and philosophy of the Greeks, is even more important. As we will see below, the philosophy of Plato appears in more than one place in Paul’s theology.
Back to Wikipedia:]
“Nothing more is known of his background until he takes an active part in the martyrdom of Stephen. Paul confesses that "beyond measure" he persecuted the church of God prior to his conversion. Although we know from his biography and from Acts that Paul could speak Hebrew, modern scholarship suggests that Koine Greek was his first language.
In his letters, Paul drew heavily on his knowledge of Stoic philosophy, using Stoic terms and metaphors to assist his new Gentile converts in their understanding of the revealed word of God. He also owed much to his training in the law and the prophets, utilizing this knowledge to convince his Jewish countrymen of the unity of past Old Testament prophecy and covenants with the fulfilling of these in Jesus Christ. His wide spectrum of experiences and education gave the "Apostle to the Gentiles" the tools which he later would use to effectively spread the Gospel and to establish the church in the Roman Empire.”
[Sidebar--Wikipedia on stoicism:
“Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished throughout the Roman and Greek world until the 3rd century AD. Stoicism is predominantly a philosophy of personal ethics which is informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world. According to its teachings, as social beings, the path to happiness for humans is found in accepting this moment as it presents itself, by not allowing ourselves to be controlled by our desire for pleasure or our fear of pain, by using our minds to understand the world around us and to do our part in nature's plan, and by working together and treating others in a fair and just manner.
It was founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BC. The Stoics taught that emotions resulted in errors of judgment which were destructive, due to the active relationship between cosmic determinism and human freedom, and the belief that it is virtuous to maintain a will (called prohairesis) that is in accord with nature. Because of this, the Stoics presented their philosophy as a way of life (lex divina), and they thought that the best indication of an individual's philosophy was not what a person said but how a person behaved. To live a good life, one had to understand the rules of the natural order since they taught that everything was rooted in nature.”]
[Sidebar:
The idea that “the best indication of an individual's philosophy was not what a person said but how a person behaved.” is in contradistinction with the idea that “salvation is based on faith and not "works of the law". Thus, we can see that, when Paul converted to Jesus’ new preference of Faith over Works, he had to abandon not only the Jewish fierce fidelity to the LAW, but also the Greek rationalism he had learned at the Hillel University. Moreover, from this it may be seen that the Wave/Particle dichotomy that continues to complicate spiritual knowledge today with its logical contradictions, was in full force even 2000 years ago, when Paul was seeking to carve a new religion out of the ancient traditions.
Back to Stoicism:]
“Later Stoics—such as Seneca and Epictetus—emphasized that, because "virtue is sufficient for happiness", a sage was immune to misfortune. This belief is similar to the meaning of the phrase "stoic calm", though the phrase does not include the "radical ethical" Stoic views that only a sage can be considered truly free, and that all moral corruptions are equally vicious.”
[Sidebar: Note the expression, "stoic calm"; I cannot help recalling the material we reviewed in The Gospel of Philip about the “CALM” of the Bridal Chamber. The appearance of the concept of “stoic calm”, (which equates with the Eastern concepts of “equanimity”, “bliss”, and “nirvana”), just goes to show that the essence of Christianity is linked to even more ancient, so-called “pagan” concepts of spiritual reality. Maybe God wasn’t born yesterday.
The following summary of Paul’s self-estimation and doctrine is of interest, especially the comments down the page on Paul’s before-and-after beliefs:
“Paul described himself as
- o a servant of Jesus Christ;
- o having experienced an unforeseen, sudden, startling change, due to all-powerful grace—not the fruit of his reasoning or thoughts;
- o having seen Christ as did the other apostles when Christ appeared to him as he appeared to Peter, to James, to the Twelve, after his Resurrection;
- o called to be an apostle;
- o set apart for the gospel of God.
Paul described Jesus as having been promised by God beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures;
- o being the true messiah and the Son of God;
- o having biological lineage from David ("according to the flesh");
- o having been declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead;
- o being Jesus Christ our Lord;
- o the One through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, "including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ".
- • Jesus
- ♣ lives in heaven;
- ♣ is God's Son;
- ♣ would soon return.
[Here are the before-and-after remarks:]
- • The Cross
- ♣ he now believed Jesus' death was a voluntary sacrifice that reconciled sinners with God.
- • The Law
- ♣ he now believed the law only reveals the extent of people's enslavement to the power of sin—a power that must be broken by Christ.
- • Gentiles
- ♣ he had believed Gentiles were outside the covenant that God made with Israel;
- ♣ he now believed Gentiles and Jews were united as the people of God in Christ Jesus.
- • Circumcision
- ♣ had believed circumcision was the rite through which males became part of Israel, an exclusive community of God's chosen people;
- ♣ he now believed that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but that the new creation is what counts in the sight of God, and that this new creation is a work of Christ in the life of believers, making them part of the church, an inclusive community of Jews and Gentiles reconciled with God through faith.
- • Persecution
- ♣ had believed his violent persecution of the church to be an indication of his zeal for his religion;
- ♣ he now believed Jewish hostility toward the church was sinful opposition that would incur God's wrath;
- ♣ he believed he was halted by Christ when his fury was at its height; It was "through zeal" that he persecuted the Church, and he obtained mercy because he had "acted ignorantly in unbelief".
- • The Last Days
- ♣ had believed God's messiah would put an end to the old age of evil and initiate a new age of righteousness;
- ♣ he now believed this would happen in stages that had begun with the resurrection of Jesus, but the old age would continue until Jesus returns.
Paul is critical both theologically and empirically of claims of moral or lineal superiority of Jews while conversely strongly sustaining the notion of a special place for the Children of Israel.
After his conversion, Paul went to Damascus, where Acts 9 states he was healed of his blindness and baptized by Ananias of Damascus. Paul says that it was in Damascus that he barely escaped death. Paul also says that he then went first to Arabia, and then came back to Damascus. Paul's trip to Arabia is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, and some suppose he actually traveled to Mount Sinai for meditations in the desert.
Paul asserted that he received the Gospel not from man, but directly by "the revelation of Jesus Christ". He claimed almost total independence from the Jerusalem community, but agreed with it on the nature and content of the gospel. He appeared eager to bring material support to Jerusalem from the various growing Gentile churches that he started. In his writings, Paul used the persecutions he endured to avow proximity and union with Jesus and as a validation of his teaching.”
What follows is a place-to-place travelogue of Paul’s three missionary journeys:
“First missionary journey
The author of Acts arranges Paul's travels into three separate journeys. The first journey, led initially by Barnabas, took Paul from Antioch to Cyprus then into southern Asia Minor (Anatolia), and finally returning to Antioch. In Cyprus, Paul rebukes and blinds Elymas the magician who was criticizing their teachings. From this point on, Paul is described as the leader of the group.
Interval at Antioch
Antioch served as a major Christian center for Paul's evangelism, and he remained there for "a long time with the disciples" at the conclusion of his first journey. The exact duration of Paul's stay in Antioch is unknown, with estimates ranging from nine months to as long as eight years.
Incident at Antioch
Despite the agreement achieved at the Council of Jerusalem concerning circumcision, Paul recounts how he later publicly confronted Peter in a dispute sometimes called the "Incident at Antioch", over Peter's reluctance to share a meal with Gentile Christians in Antioch because they did not strictly adhere to Jewish customs.
Writing later of the incident, Paul recounts, "I opposed [Peter] to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong", and says he told Peter, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?"
Second missionary journey
Paul left for his second missionary journey from Jerusalem, in late Autumn 49, after the meeting of the Council of Jerusalem where the circumcision question was debated. On their trip around the Mediterranean sea, Paul and his companion Barnabas stopped in Antioch where they had a sharp argument about taking John Mark with them on their trips. The book of Acts said that John Mark had left them in a previous trip and gone home. Unable to resolve the dispute, Paul and Barnabas decided to separate; Barnabas took John Mark with him, while Silas joined Paul.
Paul and Silas initially visited Tarsus (Paul's birthplace), Derbe and Lystra. In Lystra, they met Timothy, a disciple who was spoken well of, and decided to take him with them. The Church kept growing, adding believers, and strengthening in faith daily.
In Philippi, Paul cast a spirit of divination out of a servant girl, whose masters were then unhappy about the loss of income her soothsaying provided (Acts 16:16–24). They turned the city against the missionaries, and Paul and Silas were put in jail. After a miraculous earthquake, the gates of the prison fell apart and Paul and Silas could have escaped but remained; this event led to the conversion of the jailor (Acts 16:25–40). They continued traveling, going by Berea and then to Athens, where Paul preached to the Jews and God-fearing Greeks in the synagogue and to the Greek intellectuals in the Areopagus. Paul continued from Athens to Corinth.
Third missionary journey
According to Acts, Paul began his third missionary journey by travelling all around the region of Galatia and Phrygia to strengthen, teach and rebuke the believers. Paul then traveled to Ephesus, an important center of early Christianity, and stayed there for almost three years, probably working there as a tentmaker, as he had done when he stayed in Corinth. He is claimed to have performed numerous miracles, healing people and casting out demons, and he apparently organized missionary activity in other regions. Paul left Ephesus after an attack from a local silversmith resulted in a pro-Artemis riot involving most of the city. During his stay in Ephesus, Paul wrote four letters to the church in Corinth.
Paul went through Macedonia into Achaea (Acts 20:1–2) and stayed in Greece, probably Corinth, for three months during 56–57 AD. Commentators generally agree that Paul dictated his Epistle to the Romans during this period. He then made ready to continue on to Syria, but he changed his plans and traveled back through Macedonia because of some Jews who had made a plot against him. In Romans 15:19 Paul wrote that he visited Illyricum, but he may have meant what would now be called Illyria Graeca, which was at that time a division of the Roman province of Macedonia. On their way back to Jerusalem, Paul and his companions visited other cities such as Philippi, Troas, Miletus, Rhodes, and Tyre. Paul finished his trip with a stop in Caesarea, where he and his companions stayed with Philip the Evangelist before finally arriving at Jerusalem.
Journey from Rome to Spain
Among the writings of the early Christians, Pope Clement I said that Paul was "Herald (of the Gospel of Christ) in the West", and that "he had gone to the extremity of the west". John Chrysostom indicated that Paul preached in Spain: "For after he had been in Rome, he returned to Spain, but whether he came thence again into these parts, we know not". Cyril of Jerusalem said that Paul, "fully preached the Gospel, and instructed even imperial Rome, and carried the earnestness of his preaching as far as Spain, undergoing conflicts innumerable, and performing Signs and wonders".
Visits to Jerusalem in Acts and the epistles
In 57, upon completion of his third missionary journey, Paul arrived in Jerusalem for his fifth and final visit with a collection of money for the local community. Acts reports that he initially was warmly received. However, Acts goes on to recount how Paul was warned by James and the elders that he was gaining a reputation for being against the Law, saying "they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs". Paul underwent a purification ritual in order to give the Jews no grounds to bring accusations against him for not following their law.
After seven days in Jerusalem, some "Jews from Asia" (most likely from Roman Asia) accused Paul of defiling the temple by bringing gentiles into it. He was seized and dragged out of the temple by an angry mob. He narrowly escaped being killed by surrendering to a group of Roman centurions, who arrested him, put him in chains and took him to the tribune.
When a plot to kill Paul on his way to an appearance before the Jews was discovered, he was transported by night to Caesarea Maritima. He was held as a prisoner there for two years, until a new governor reopened his case in 59. When the governor suggested that he be sent back to Jerusalem for further trial, Paul exercised his right as a Roman citizen to "appeal unto Caesar". Finally, Paul and his companions sailed for Rome where Paul was to stand trial for his alleged crimes.
Acts recounts that on the way to Rome for his appeal as a Roman citizen to Caesar, Paul was shipwrecked on "Melita" (Malta), where the islanders showed him "unusual kindness" and where he was met by Publius. From Malta, he travelled to Rome via Syracuse, Rhegium and Puteoli.
Two years in Rome
He finally arrived in Rome around 60, where he spent another two years under house arrest. The narrative of Acts ends with Paul preaching in Rome for two years from his rented home while awaiting trial.
The New Testament does not say when or how Paul died. The date of Paul's death is believed to have occurred after the Great Fire of Rome in July 64, but before the last year of Nero's reign, in 68.
A legend later developed that his martyrdom occurred at the Acquae Salviae, on the Via Laurentina. According to this legend, after Paul was decapitated, his severed head rebounded three times, giving rise to a source of water each time that it touched the ground, which is how the place earned the name "San Paolo alle Tre Fontane" ("St Paul at the Three Fountains").
Paul's letters reveal a remarkable human being: dedicated, compassionate, emotional, sometimes harsh and angry, clever and quick-witted, supple in argumentation, and above all possessing a soaring, passionate commitment to God, Jesus Christ, and his own mission. Fortunately, after his death one of his followers collected some of the letters, edited them very slightly, and published them. They constitute one of history's most remarkable personal contributions to religious thought and practice.
Basic message
Paul's writings emphasized the crucifixion, Christ's resurrection and the Parousia or second coming of Christ. E. P. Sanders finds three major emphases in Paul's writings:
- • His strongest emphasis was on the death, resurrection, and lordship of Jesus Christ. He preached that one's faith in Jesus assures that person a share in Jesus' life (salvation). He saw Jesus' death as being for the believers' benefit, not a defeat. Jesus died so that believers' sins would be forgiven.
- • The resurrection of Jesus was of primary importance to Paul, as may be seen in his first letter to the Thessalonians which is the earliest surviving account of conversion to Christianity.
- • The resurrection brought the promise of salvation to believers. Paul taught that, when Christ returned, those who had died believing in Christ as the saviour of mankind would be brought back to life, while those still alive would be "caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air".
Paul's theology of the gospel accelerated the separation of the messianic sect of Christians from Judaism, a development contrary to Paul's own intent. He wrote that faith in Christ was alone decisive in salvation for Jews and Gentiles alike, making the schism between the followers of Christ and mainstream Jews inevitable and permanent. He argued that Gentile converts did not need to become Jews, get circumcised, follow Jewish dietary restrictions, or otherwise observe Mosaic laws to be saved. Nevertheless, in Romans he insisted on the positive value of the Law, as a moral guide.
According to Bart Ehrman, Paul believed that Jesus would return within his lifetime. He states that Paul expected that Christians who had died in the mean time would be resurrected to share in God's kingdom, and he believed that the saved would be transformed, assuming supernatural bodies.
Paul's influence on Christian thinking arguably has been more significant than any other New Testament author. Paul declared that "Christ is the end of the law", exalted the Christian church as the body of Christ, and depicted the world outside the Church as under judgment. Paul's writings include the earliest reference to the "Lord's Supper", a rite traditionally identified as the Christian communion or Eucharist. The themes of predestination found in Western Christianity do not appear in Eastern theology. Augustine's foundational work on the gospel as a gift (grace), on morality as life in the Spirit, on predestination, and on original sin all derives from Paul, especially Romans.
Elaine Pagels, professor of religion at Princeton University and an authority on Gnosticism, declined to judge (in her book The Gnostic Paul) whether Paul was actually a Gnostic. Instead, she concentrated on how the Gnostics interpreted Paul's letters and how evidence from gnostic sources may challenge the assumption that Paul wrote his letters to combat "gnostic opponents" and to repudiate their statement that they possess secret wisdom.
Among the critics of Paul the Apostle was Thomas Jefferson, a Deist, who wrote that Paul was the "first corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus." Christian anarchists, such as Leo Tolstoy and Ammon Hennacy, take a similar view. F.F. Powell argues that Paul, in his epistles, made use of many of the ideas of the Greek philosopher Plato, sometimes even using the same metaphors and language. For example, in Phaedrus, Plato has Socrates saying that the heavenly ideals are perceived as though "through a glass dimly", Paul's language closely mirrors this phrase 1 Corinthians 13.”
Thus endeth this review of Paul’s life and travels. I have found it helpful to get a firm grasp of the big picture of this great man, by following his travels on a map, so I can get a tangible feel for where he went and what he accomplished. Next time we will see what his last will and testament has to say.
Let us pray: Jesus thank you for the kind of inspiration You can give us to change our ways and light us with a passion for Your Word. Thank you for giving us a man like Paul to push us along the spiritual path by word and example. Amen.
