Paul was the most zealous religious man of his generation. He was so sure he was right that he dragged Christians to prison and watched as Stephen was stoned.
Then he met the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. The same drive that once tore the church apart went into planting churches across the Roman world. Paul never forgot what he had been, and he never got over the grace that found him.
“
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Name means
Saul (Hebrew); Paul, “small”
Home
Tarsus
Role
Pharisee turned apostle to the Gentiles
Read in
and his letters
Paul's story
The low point: Approving Stephen's death
Beginning
Approving Stephen's death
He holds the coats while Stephen is stoned, then ravages the church.
Turning point
The Damascus road
A light from heaven. “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” He rises blind and changed.
High point
Sent to the nations
The church sets apart Barnabas and Saul, and he begins carrying the gospel to the Gentiles.
Turning point
Splitting with Barnabas
A sharp disagreement over John Mark ends his partnership with his first champion.
High point
Joy in chains
Writing from prison, he rejoices that the gospel is spreading: “To live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Ending
Finishing the race
Near death, he says he has fought the good fight and kept the faith.
Starts as a zealous Pharisee hunting Christians. Ends as an old apostle in chains, sure of his reward.
Where Paul lived and went
Only places Scripture records. Softer, dotted pins are traditional or uncertain sites. Tap a pin for the passage.
HomeMinistryKey momentTraditional or uncertainPinch or use + to zoom. Tap a cluster to spread it out.
How Paul is wired
The Reformer
Enneagram 1, Helper wing
Driven to be right and to make things right, first by law and then by grace.
This one is debated. Here's why we land here.
At their best, toward 7 Under stress, toward 4
Why we think so
1
Blameless by the rules. “As to righteousness under the law, blameless.” ()
2
Zeal that turns violent. He persecutes the church out of conviction. ()
3
Confronts what's wrong. He opposes Peter to his face at Antioch. ()
Deep love for the churches: “We were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves.” ()
The Enthusiast. Joy that doesn't depend on circumstances. “Rejoice in the Lord always.” ()
The Individualist. Anguish over his own failure. “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me?” ()
The case for an 8
Forceful, fearless, and willing to take on anyone, he can read as a Challenger. His constant concern for what is right tips it toward 1.
Other lenses
Big Five. Read from Acts and his letters.
ReservedOutgoing
SteadyReactive
ChallengingAccommodating
SpontaneousDisciplined
TraditionalCurious
DISC style: Driven and exacting.
Strengths & struggles
What's good in Paul
Conviction, endurance, brilliance, fierce love for the churches.
Where Paul struggles
Can be harsh and uncompromising, slow to give second chances.
Paul's whole life is proof that grace reaches the worst of us.
Paul never got past the wonder of it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (). The righteousness he spent his early life chasing was given to him as a gift in Christ ().
Questions to sit with
1
Where am I still trying to earn what God has given?
2
Who have I written off that God might be calling?
Study Paul with your group
Ready-to-lead group studies with discussion questions and a leader's note are on the way.
