BSN: Paul

Paul’s Education – Paul was educated by Gamaliel, one of the most respected teachers of Israel in that day (Act 22:3 cf. Act 5:34ff), and for this reason is still highly regarded i our day by Jews who value their spiritual heritage. Having this as his foundation, Paul himself earned a reputation as a very learned man (Act 26:24). Therefore, it’s not altogether surprising that his ideas might be complex, even when he’s aiming his message to a congregational audience. Even Peter said Paul was sometimes “hard to understand” (2 Pet 3:15-16).
Paul’s Collection for the Poor (in the Judean churches) – Paul encouraged the primarily-Gentile churches he founded and served to send financial support to the primarily-Jewish churches in Judea. Persecution hit the Jewish churches harder and longer than it did the Gentile churches. Gentile churches in places like Corinth, Ephesus, and Philippi often found the Roman government helpful in fending off persecution from unbelieving and hostile Jews. This is because Jews were a distinct minority in those Gentile cities. The Jewish churches in places in and around Jerusalem however had a much harder time because, of course, Jews had a much stronger hand in governing Jewish cities and they represented the majority of the population. Recall, for example, how the intense persecution Paul was suffering in Jerusalem subsided almost immediately upon his leaving the borders of Israel and setting sail for Rome. That’s not to say Gentile believers never suffered persecution, because we know from the book of Acts that they did. It’s just that the persecution started sooner, came with greater force, and lasted longer in Israel. This is why collecting money from Gentiles throughout the Roman Empire to help the Jews in Judea made sense. It was also a good idea from the standpoint of Jewish-Gentile relations in the 1st-century church. For example, in Rom 11:17ff Paul encourages the Gentile believers in Rome to show particular respect to the believing Jews who had paved the way to faith in Messiah. And, of course, the Messiah Himself was Jewish. Relevant passages: Rom 15:25-31; 1 Cor 16:1-4; 2 Cor 8:1-9:15; Gal 2:10. Also consider Act 11:27:30; 19:21; 24:17 as possibly applying to this subject. (The hyperlinks are to the relevant BSN notes, not the passages themselves.)
Paul’s Differences – There are some important differences between Paul and the other apostles.
- Was not one of the original 12 apostles
- A Pharisee
- Sent to Gentiles
- Received many revelations
Paul’s Major Journeys – The second half of the book of Acts (Acts 13-28) is a travelogue of Paul’s journeys. (Luke, the author of Acts, was present for most of these travels from Acts 16 onward; for more details, see the BSN note on Luke and the “We” sections of Acts.)
- First Missionary Journey – Acts 13-14 (Antioch to Antioch)
- Apostles and Elders Meet in Jerusalem about Circumcision – Acts 15:1-35
- Second Missionary Journey – Acts 15:36-18:22 (Antioch to Antioch)
- Third Missionary Journey – Acts 18:23-21:16 (Antioch to Jerusalem)
- in Jerusalem – Acts 21:17-23:22
- Jerusalem to Caesarea – Acts 23:23-32
- in Caesarea – Acts 23:33-26:32
- Journey to Rome – Acts 27:1-28:16 (Caesarea to Rome)
- in Rome – Acts 28:17-31
Paul’s Letters
- Listed (14 in all): Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews
- Paul wrote seven churches (like John): Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossae, Thessalonica.
- Categorized (The categories below are not mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive)
  - Prison Epistles: Ephesians (Eph 3:1; 4:1), Philippians (Phil 1:7, 13, 14, 17), Colossians (Col 4:3, 10), Philemon (Phile 1:1, 9, 10, 13, 23), 2 Timothy (2 Tim 1:8; 2:9) – written from prison. Paul mentions his many imprisonments twice in 2 Corinthians though it does not appear that he was imprisoned at the time he wrote either letter to Corinth (2 Cor 6:5; 11:23). Luke mentions Paul’s imprisonment in Philippi (Acts 16) and his confinement in Jerusalem, Caesarea, and ultimately Rome (Acts 21-28).
  - Pastoral Epistles: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus – written to those with pastoral oversight of churches. (I personally don’t like excluding Philemon from “The Pastorals” because Paul seems to be writing to him in the same way he wrote to Timothy and Titus – that is, as a co-worker and church leader. It’s not a point I would argue; it’s just my personal view.)
  - “General Letters”
    - Romans – Gospel Rom 1-11; Application Rom 12-16
    - Ephesians – Gospel Eph 1-3; Application Eph 4-6
    - Colossians – Gospel Col 1-2; Application Col 3-4
    - Hebrews – Gospel Heb 1-11; Application Heb 12-13
    - Peter’s first letter also follows this pattern – Gospel 1 Pet 1:1 -2:12; Application 1 Pet 2:13 -5:14
- Co-Authors – Paul named co-authors in 7 of his 14 letters.
  - Romans: none
  - 1 Corinthians: Sosthenes
  - 2 Corinthians: Timothy
  - Galatians: none
  - Ephesians: none
  - Philippians: Timothy
  - Colossians: Timothy
  - 1 Thessalonians: Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy
  - 2 Thessalonians: Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy
  - 1 Timothy: none
  - 2 Timothy: none
  - Titus: none
  - Philemon: Timothy
  - Hebrews: none
- Use of scribes: Paul writes “my own hand” at the end of five of his letters – 1 Cor 16:21; Gal 6:11; Col 4:18; 2 Th 3:17; Phile 1:19. ***** Tertius identifies himself as scribe in Rom 16:22. (By the way, we also see dictation to a scribe in the OT – see Jeremiah using Baruch in Jer 36:4.)