The "Greatness" of the Apostle Paul

[Welch] We have said Abraham Lincoln was a great man. Others have said George Washington was a great man. Some would say that the Apostle Paul was a great man. Now, in the Church, we tend to shy away from saying people are great. And it may be because the Scripture does say that no one is good, no not one. So if no one is good, certainly no one is great. Well, in comparison to the goodness and greatness of God, certainly no human being is good or great. God is far greater. But from a human perspective, was Paul a great man? And if so, what made him great?

Hopefully we're all very familiar with the story of Paul's conversion as he was struck down on the road to Damascus in Syria. Paul was blinded physically, but God called him for a special purpose. And he was converted, baptized, and received the Holy Spirit all in quick succession. He even began to preach Jesus Christ as the Messiah in the synagogues of Damascus very shortly after his conversion.

Turn with me to Acts 9. This is after the account where he was struck down on the road. And in verse 21 of Acts 9, it says,

“Then all who heard were amazed because he was preaching in the synagogue and said, ‘Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?’” (Acts 9:21)

Verse 22,

“But Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is indeed the Christ.” (Acts 9:22)

Now, we know that Paul was powerful in the Scripture. He grew up. He was a learned man. He knew the Scriptures well. From Scripture and through his own personal experience, Paul proved that Jesus, whose followers Saul once persecuted, was indeed the Messiah that Saul's people, the Jews, were looking for and expecting.

Now, we know that most of the Jews did not accept Jesus Christ as the Savior. Certainly some did. And Paul preached Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Again, if Paul was a great man, why was he great?

So today in the sermon, let's consider the greatness of Paul the Apostle. I've entitled this sermon The Greatness of Paul the Apostle.

First of all, let us consider the humility of Paul. Was Paul a humble man? We know that humility is a godly characteristic. God wants us to be humble people. So was Paul a humble person?

Let's go to Philippians chapter 4, verse 11.

Paul wrote the book of Philippians, and he writes in verse 11,

“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” (Philippians 4:11–12)

Paul says, “I can do all things.” That doesn't sound very humble, does it? But he said,

“I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

And that is the greatness of Paul, is that he relied on Jesus Christ. He depended on Christ. He drew his strength from Jesus Christ, and he knew that very, very well. Also, Paul really did speak from experience. Lots of experience. In 2 Corinthians chapter 11, again, an epistle that Paul wrote, verse 24, Paul, looking back at his life, he says,

“From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—besides the other things, what comes upon me daily, my deep concern for all the churches.” (2 Corinthians 11:24–28)

So in spite of everything else that was going on around him, and all that he was experiencing in terms of persecution, he was deeply concerned about the churches, about the brethren that he served. He did speak from experience, lots of experience.

We see that Paul had a living faith in his Savior Jesus Christ. He relied upon Christ in Galatians chapter 2:20, and this is one of my favorite scriptures. Paul writes,

“I have been crucified with Christ.”

Paul is also the one who wrote about baptism in Romans chapter 6.

“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

This is why Paul was such a great man, a great person, because he really did believe in Jesus Christ, and he allowed Christ to live in him because he had surrendered himself to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. That's not an easy thing for a human being to do, is to surrender. In fact, it's a lifelong process in most cases, and I'm sure Paul was doing that his entire life, but he certainly sets an example for us of one who had living faith and believed that Jesus Christ lived in him.

Also, Paul understood the weakness of his flesh and was willing to admit that to others. In Romans chapter 7, verse 18, Paul writes,

“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.” (Romans 7:18)

That’s very genuine. That’s very open. He says,

“For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” (Romans 7:19)

There were times when he found himself doing things that he really didn’t want to do from a spiritual perspective, but from the flesh, he was doing these things.  He says,

“Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.” (Romans 7:20)

“For I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.” So he had the intention. He wanted to do good, but he fell short. He says, “For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” (Romans 7:21–23)

And then he says,

“O wretched man that I am!” Now I don’t know about you, but I've actually gotten some comfort from Paul's words.“O wretched man that I am. Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24)

He answers in the next verse,

“I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” (Romans 7:25)

So Paul was able to admit his sins. He wasn't perfect. He fell short of the glory of God. He was willing to see that and to admit that. And that's so important that we can see ourselves, we can see our weakness, and we can admit that, and we can repent of those sins. So, when we consider the humility of Paul, I think we would have to conclude he was a humble person. He was a humble man. Now, let's consider the love and the compassion of Paul.

Was Paul a loving and compassionate man? Again, I believe we'll see that he is, and that's mainly because the God of love lived in him. Jesus Christ lived in him. The Father lived in him through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul preached the gospel relentlessly, no matter what, because he had compassion on those who did not yet know Christ. He came to realize the importance of everyone coming to know Jesus Christ. So Paul had a burning desire to share the gospel message wherever he went.

And he went far and wide to preach the gospel. Paul believed that Jesus Christ was indeed the head of the Church, and that there should be unity in the Church through love toward God, and love toward our brothers and sisters in Christ.

In Ephesians chapter 4, another book that Paul wrote—he wrote many epistles—Ephesians chapter 4, verse 11, let’s go there.

“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,”
 Now, we are all considered saints, all of us who are firstfruits, who have been baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit, who have God’s Spirit dwelling in us.
 “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,”
 Because man will do that. Man will plot, and Satan will tempt them to plot.
 “but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:11–16)

Now, every one of us is a joint in that sense. We’re a joint that supplies something very essential to the body of Christ. You are a joint—a good thing, as we use it here—because it’s important that we all work together, and we have unity together as the body of Christ.

So yes, Paul wrote about love. Paul was a loving apostle. He cared about the people he preached to. He wanted to give them this Gospel message. And the brethren also gravitated toward Paul, because they saw his example, and there was a warmth that they had toward the Apostle Paul, and he taught them.

Paul was accepted by the brethren because of his example of love and devotion to them. In Acts chapter 20—Acts chapter 20—Paul says,

“Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.”
 So now, brethren, he continues,
 “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.” (Acts 20:31–33)

Paul clearly wasn’t in it for the money. In fact, he continued to work. He was a tentmaker. He didn’t want anyone to say that he was preaching the Gospel out of any kind of gain, materially or physically.

Verse 34,

“Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me.”
 So not only for himself, but he helped those who were with him, like Silas and Barnabas.
 “I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:34–35)

And these were parting words as Paul was leading the people that he had been with for three years. And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. I think this was in Miletus, if my memory serves me correctly, and that he was meeting with the elders from Ephesus, and he was on his way.

And it says,

“Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.” (Acts 20:37–38)

So there was a warmth, there was a real love toward Paul that the brethren felt. They were saddened that he would be leaving them, because they cared for him. They loved him, and he cared for them.

So when we consider the love of Paul—the things that he wrote, and his actions, what he did—I think we would all conclude that Paul was a loving man. He was one who cared. He was compassionate.

Now let’s consider the faith and the faithfulness of Paul for a moment.

Paul, again, was a faithful man, mostly because his faith was in God and in Jesus Christ. It wasn’t that he had faith in himself. He may have had some confidence, because God gave him a certain amount of confidence—because God was with him, and he knew that, and he understood that. And God don’t make no junk, so it’s okay to think that we have some capabilities that God has given us, but God is the source of our strength.

So in Romans chapter 1—another book that Paul wrote—Paul writes in verse 16,

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” (Romans 1:16–17)

Another interpretation is, by faith the just shall live, or by their faithfulness the just shall live. So Paul was a faithful person. He lived because he had faith in God and in Christ, and he had the faith of Christ in him. And sometimes Paul gets a bad rap about the law, but there are some very clear verses about Paul and his belief regarding the law. For one thing, in Romans 7, he says the law is holy and just and good. Speaking of the laws of God. And then in Romans 3, verse 31, he says,

“Do we then make void the law through faith?” (Romans 3:31)

God wants to see us be faithful, and He wants us to keep His laws and His commandments, because the law is holy and just and good, and it’s for our good. And God has given it to us because He loves us and He wants us to benefit from observing His laws. So Paul spoke and taught about the faith of Abraham because he had the faith of Abraham. Now let’s go to Romans chapter 4, verse 20. Speaking of Abraham, he says,

“He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,”  We know that Abraham was even willing to sacrifice his own son—a type of the Father and the Son here. “And being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.” (Romans 4:20–25)

We are justified by faith because we believe in Jesus Christ our Savior, and His righteousness is imputed on our behalf when we are repentant. God looks on the heart, He sees a repentant heart, He grants repentance, our sins are forgiven, and we continue walking with God.

So Paul spoke and taught about the faith of Abraham because he also had the faith of Abraham. Because Paul had faith, God was able to work many great miracles through Paul. We see that in the Scripture. Acts 14, verse 1.

"Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed" (Acts 14:1).

So they would go first to the synagogues of the Jews, and a great multitude of Jews and Greeks believed, but the unbelieving Jews stirred up the gentiles. Not everyone believed, certainly. And the unbelieving Jews stirred up the gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren.

Verse 3.

"Therefore they stayed there a long time speaking boldly in the Lord"

In other words, they didn’t give up. They trusted in God. They had faith in God.

"And He was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands" (Acts 14:3).

So with the preaching of Paul and with these signs and wonders, many people did believe.

And dropping down to verse 8 of chapter 14.

"And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked"

So as a little baby, this child was crippled. And he never took a step. He never walked. He was completely crippled.

"This man heard Paul speaking; Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, ‘Stand up straight on your feet!’ And he leaped and walked" (Acts 14:8–10).

This was a little child who grew up as a little boy, became a man, had never walked, and now he’s leaping and walking. And that is the power of God. And Paul trusted and had faith in that. And he was an instrument. He was a vessel in God’s hands. At this particular time, God was working mightily, showing where He was and what the true faith was all about. And Paul was an instrument that was used in God’s hands. And this man was now leaping and walking.

And then in chapter 15 of Acts, verse 12.

"Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul, declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the gentiles" (Acts 15:12).

God was working with them in many, many ways.

Acts chapter 19:11 shows us the origin of the anointed cloth that a minister will send when he’s not able to be there in person for whatever reason. Acts 19:11.

"Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them" (Acts 19:11–12).

So this was the great power that Paul had because God was with him. God was doing the work. God was the one who had the power. God was the one who healed. Paul was simply a willing instrument, a willing vessel. And then in Acts chapter 20, verse 9. Now Paul, it seems, could be a bit wordy at times, and he was preaching late into the night. Verse 9.

"And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep"

So if you ever fall asleep in here, you’re in company with Eutychus. Of course, it’s not late at night, so hopefully it’s not as much of a problem, but this was late at night. And the moral of the story is, never park yourself in a third-story window when someone’s preaching.

"He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead" (Acts 20:9).

You know, it’s too bad someone didn’t notice him falling asleep and kind of just gently jerk him out of there so he wouldn’t fall. But he fell, and Paul went down, and well, it says he was taken up dead. He died. Well, three stories—that’s a long way to fall.

"But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, ‘Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him’"

That’s a lot of power, isn’t it? To give someone life? That was God’s power. But Paul was a vessel, an instrument.

"Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed. And they brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted" (Acts 20:10–12).

Now that’s a bit of an understatement. How comforted would you be if one of you had fallen and was dead and was brought back to life?

Pretty amazing, huh?

Now, on the island of Malta, Paul was shipwrecked. You may remember that. That was another quite a story. On the island of Malta, Paul was snake-bitten. Remember that account? Acts chapter 28, verse 3.

"But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand"

So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another,

"‘No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow him to live.’ But Paul shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm" (Acts 28:3–5).

Now, these people on Malta knew this creature, and typically any person this snake bit died. That’s what happened in the past. That’s what they were all expecting.

"However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead; but after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god" (Acts 28:6).

Well, he wasn’t a god, but he had the power of God working with him and in him.

He was an honored vessel. In Acts 28, verse 8, Paul was with the ruler on this island and was getting to know him. The father of Publius lay sick of a fever, and he also had dysentery. Not a good thing. Not a good combination at all.

"And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him" (Acts 28:8).

Again, it was God who did the healing, but Paul was the instrument.

"So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed" (Acts 28:9).

So this was a particular time in history when God was pouring this power all upon Paul and some of the other apostles as He was establishing His Church, as the Bible was being written. Now, if again, if we had the power to do that in the same way that we read about here, we wouldn’t have enough room in this room for the people that would come from Milford and from Eastgate and from Mason and everywhere else around Cincinnati. We would be inundated with people. Maybe sometime in the future something may happen like this again.

We don’t know exactly how the end times will play out, but we know that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

So we will see more miraculous things as we draw nearer to the return of Jesus Christ. Most importantly, Paul had real faith that his sins were covered by the sacrifice of Christ, because now we’re talking about eternal life. Not just being brought back to physical life, like Eutychus was, but being given the gift of eternal life. Second Timothy chapter 4. Paul writes, another one of his epistles. Finally, he says in verse 8,

"There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8).

So in faith, Paul could say this: there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

So this is true for all of us. You know, God is calling us, sanctifying us, setting us apart. He’s dwelling in us. He’s working in us. We do have the power of God present in us, this power of the Holy Spirit. And we too can say with confidence, because we believe in a great Savior, that we have a crown of righteousness that’s laid up for us.

As we continue to be faithful—not perfect, but faithful—repenting when we fall short, overcoming, because the Bible says,

"To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne" (Revelation 3:21).

So we do need to be overcomers. We should never take sin lightly. We should strive, but we should also have faith and believe that for us too, there is a crown of righteousness that’s laid up for us. We should trust in that because we have a great Savior. So when we consider the faith that Paul had, we see again a man who had great power behind him.

Now let us consider the intelligence, the wisdom, and the vision of Paul.

Now, I could go on a lot about the intelligence, the wisdom, and the vision of Paul because Paul spoke of the resurrection—the resurrection chapter. If we didn’t have that resurrection chapter, we would be missing quite a bit. That’s important information that God revealed through the Apostle Paul.

He spoke of the resurrection. He spoke of the firstfruits. He spoke of our Christian calling. Paul spoke of the state of the dead. He spoke of the grafting in of the gentiles and salvation to all. He spoke of unity and family. He spoke and wrote of reconciliation and forgiveness, of instruction, and New Testament Passover observance. He spoke about walking in the Spirit and producing the fruit of God’s Spirit.

He spoke about denying the flesh and the works of the flesh.

Paul wrote a lot that we trust in, we believe in, and we’re very, very grateful. I know that these words were recorded for us because they give us great comfort. They give us understanding.

Paul was intelligent. He was wise, and he had great vision, and it’s because God was working in him and with him. And that’s why—and where would we be without Paul’s words on some of these subjects? Now we would be lacking in comprehension and understanding, but God used Paul.

And frankly, I think God inspired Paul to write things the way he did. Some say he’s hard to understand. Maybe that gives some people an excuse to some degree so that God can have mercy.

Paul was an intelligent man. God worked with him in mighty ways.

Now let’s consider the work ethic of Paul.

I think we already have seen the work ethic of Paul, right? We’ve read a lot about what Paul has written and about the way he went around preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God wherever he went. Paul worked relentlessly to preach the gospel while traveling and visiting the brethren and in writing to them.

Three long missionary journeys are recorded for us, and he did other journeys as well. And beyond—we don’t really know. We don’t have the whole story. But Paul spent himself in service to God and to God’s people.

Paul remained a tentmaker for his livelihood, as he didn’t want anyone to say he was preaching the gospel for money. He was without reproach in that sense.

Acts 14, verse 23. Acts 14 and verse 23.

"So when they had appointed elders in every church,” Speaking of Paul and Barnabas, they were going from church to church. They had established these churches, and they appointed elders in every church because they wanted these churches to thrive. It wasn’t about them; it was about doing the work. So they turned it over to other men, faithful men who would do the job of the ministry for the edifying of the saints. “and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed" (Acts 14:23).

And then in verse 36 of the next chapter, chapter 15,

"Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city.” So Paul wanted to go back. He worked tirelessly because he loved the brethren. He cared for them.  He said, “Where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing" (Acts 15:36). 

Let's go check up on them. Let's make sure they are doing well. Let's make sure that things are going well for God’s people in the various churches.

And then in Acts 16, verse 10,

"Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia.” He had this vision that God revealed to him. So immediately we sought to go to Macedonia. Let’s get on this right away. God, You’re sending me, and I’m ready to go. “Concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them" (Acts 16:10).

And so he followed through on that, and that’s the work ethic of the Apostle Paul. He worked very, very hard to take care of God’s people and to do what was pleasing in God’s sight.

Now let us consider the genuineness of Paul.

Was Paul real? Was he genuine? I think so. I think when we read what he wrote, we see that he’s not playing games. He’s very genuine. He’s very real. He’s able to admit his sin. He’s able to admit that he isn’t perfect, that he’s still in the flesh, and that he battles the flesh just like we all do. And so that’s a comfort to know that as great as Paul was, he wasn’t Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ lived in him, worked in him, gave him strength, helped him, but he wasn’t Jesus Christ.

And he knew that, and he was real, and he was genuine in the way he wrote and the way he preached. Paul could be trusted. From all we have seen thus far, we know that Paul was an example of God’s way of life. He was sincere. He was real.

And I think Romans 12, a couple verses here, sums up his example as good as anything and shows us how we ought to live.

Romans chapter 12, verse 1. Romans 12, verse 1, Paul writes,

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service" (Romans 12:1).

Paul was not asking anything of the brethren that he was not already fulfilling himself. That was the example he was setting for everyone. He was a living sacrifice, willing to be beaten, to be persecuted, to go from city to city, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God.

Verse 2 of Romans 12,

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2).

So, brethren, we ought not be conformed to this world, but we need to be transformed, and we have need to have our minds renewed, because Satan is an adversary. He is a roaring lion. He is seeking whom he may devour. He is the great tempter. He is the prince of the power of the air, and he does try to infiltrate our minds.

I’m disgusted at some of the things that enter into my mind. You know, I wish it wasn’t so, but I have to deal with some of these thoughts, and I have to reject them, and I have to be conformed not to this world, because the world would want you to go along those lines. Follow that line of thinking, and if you do, you’ll find yourself in deep trouble.

Instead, reject that type of thinking, and God will protect you and be with you. So, any thoughts that are disgusting, they need to be quickly repealed. You need to reject those thoughts and not go there.

Paul also wrote, bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. If you want to obey Christ, your Savior, then you have to learn to bring every thought into captivity. You have to imprison those disgusting, awful thoughts and not let them have dominion in your life.

So, we see that Paul was very genuine. He was real, and I’m glad he was so genuine.

Now, let’s consider the courage of Paul. Paul, indeed, was a courageous man. I think we’ve seen that by the faith of Paul and what he had to go through and what he was willing to go through. He was a very courageous man. I left this as the last point because there’s a lot here, and I may not be able to get through all of it, but I want to get through as much of it as I can.

He was a courageous man, mainly because he placed his faith in Jesus Christ, and Christ gave him courage. You know, faith and courage are very closely related. Because of his faith and belief in God and his trust in God, he was able to act courageously in Acts chapter 9, verse 29.

Acts chapter 9 and verse 29, and this was again shortly after his conversion,

"And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists,"— the Greek Jews, the Hellenists —"but they attempted to kill him" (Acts 9:29).

So right off the bat, they were attempting to kill him. Of course, they thought he was there to persecute the Christians. Instead, a complete turnaround, complete repentance on Paul’s part. Now he was preaching Christ, and that was a problem for those who did not believe in Christ. They attempted to kill him. He was courageous. He spoke boldly in the name of the Lord.

He knew what would happen because he was one who persecuted those who believed in Christ, those who taught this message. He was one who actively persecuted them, and he knew that would happen to him as well because he knew there were others that were like him. Paul stood up against Satan and his cohorts on a number of occasions, even sorcerers and fortune-tellers influenced by Satan the devil.

In Acts chapter 13, verse 4, we read an interesting account about a sorcerer. Acts chapter 13, verse 4,

"So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus" (Acts 13:4).

So Paul and Barnabas, and when they arrived in Salamis,

"They preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant" (Acts 13:5).

But when they had gone through the island to Paphos,

"They found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God" (Acts 13:6–7). So he was wanting to understand—Sergius Paulus. "But Elymas the sorcerer"— for so his name is translated —"withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith" (Acts 13:8).

So Satan is actively trying to intervene, to keep the gospel message from going to this man, and Paul is fully aware of what’s happening.

So in verse 9 of Acts 13,

"Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him" (Acts 13:9).

Looking intently at Elymas the sorcerer,

"And said, ‘O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.’" (Acts 13:10–11).

And immediately a dark mist fell on Elymas, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. He was completely incapacitated. He had no power at this stage. Satan was not able to do his evil work through him.

"Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord" (Acts 13:12).

Well, it’s no wonder he believed. The miracles and the teaching, hand in hand, went together to convince Sergius Paulus that Paul was for real and that what he was teaching was real.

In another account, in Acts 16, verse 16,

"Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling" (Acts 16:16).

So again, Satan is working in her—a spirit of divination.

"This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, ‘These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation’" (Acts 16:17).

I find it interesting that this is what she was saying.

"And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, and he turned and said to the spirit"— he saw that she was under the influence of an evil spirit, even though the spirit was telling the truth at this point —"He turned and said to the spirit, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And he came out that very hour" (Acts 16:18).

So Paul had the courage to withstand evil spirits, sorcerers, fortune-tellers—those directly influenced by Satan the devil.

Frankly, nothing could stop Paul from preaching the gospel because he had faith and he had courage, and he was faithful to his calling, so he acted out in courage.

Acts 14, verse 19, "Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there, and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead" (Acts 14:19). However, when the disciples gathered around him, "He rose up"—now, I find this interesting because most people can tell when a person is dead or not.

And if you want him dead, you kind of want to make sure he’s dead. So I’ve wondered if he wasn’t resurrected right here. It doesn’t really tell us. He was close to dead for sure. He may have been dead. And the way he got up, he got right up—"He rose up and went into the city" (Acts 14:20).

It didn’t say they carried him. He got up and walked. And the next day, he departed with Barnabas. He didn’t spend months in the hospital recuperating from a bad beating where they thought he was dead.

No, he got up and he walked, "Strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God’" (Acts 14:22).

So Paul was one that could say that. And there was credibility in what he said. We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God. Now, it takes courage, I would think, to sing hymns in a prison when you’ve been imprisoned for your faith. And that’s what happened to Paul. He was imprisoned for his faith.

Paul and Silas—Acts 16, verse 25—"But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them" (Acts 16:25).

I’m sure the gatekeepers found this astonishing, the people that had thrown them in prison. In fact, they came to realize that Paul was actually a Roman citizen, and they had broken the law by putting him in prison the way they did. And Paul wasn’t going to let them off the hook easy. He could have just slipped out when they wanted him to. But in verse 37 it says,

"But Paul said to them, ‘They have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly?” He wasn’t going to make it easy for them. “No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out” (Acts 16:37).

It just says a little bit about Paul—the courage that Paul had, the trust and the faith that he had in God—and that’s how he dealt with that situation. Paul had courage also to speak up when he was inspired, even when he knew he was going to be persecuted.

Acts 17, verse 16, "Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols" (Acts 17:16).

So he’s in Athens, in Greece, and all these idols are all around, and that’s when he began to talk about the unknown God. And he had the courage to get up in this city full of idolatry, and they called him a babbler, and they mocked him. But he was okay with that. He was willing to preach that regardless.

And then in Acts 18, verse 4, "And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath,” He was indeed a Sabbath keeper. He believed in the commandments of God. He kept the Sabbath. “And persuaded both Jews and Greeks" (Acts 18:4). And when Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, "Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ"—but when they opposed him and blasphemed, "He shook his garments and said to them, ‘Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the gentiles’” (Acts 18:5–6).

So Paul was not going to let anything stop him from preaching the gospel. If they wouldn’t listen, then he would move on to some who perhaps would listen. And he was a vessel to the gentiles in a special way. And we’ll also see that it was Jesus Christ who encouraged Paul to have this type of faith and courage.

Verse 9 of chapter 18, "Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city’” (Acts 18:9–10).

"And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them" (Acts 18:11).

So the Lord Jesus Christ actually spoke to Paul in a vision and told him not to be afraid, but to speak and not keep silent. And that’s exactly what he did. So we too can have the encouragement of our Savior Jesus Christ. He has promised to never leave us, to never forsake us. He will be with us. And perhaps we need to step out in greater faith in the future. Perhaps that’s what God wants to see all of His children doing in greater ways in the future. So it’s something to ask ourselves.

Certainly the example of Paul is there for us to encourage us. So if Paul wasn’t a great man, there aren’t many who are. Paul was humble. He was loving and compassionate. He was faithful. He was full of faith. He had a great work ethic. He had vision. He was honest. He was genuine. He was sincere. And he was certainly courageous. Paul trusted in God and in Jesus Christ.

But most importantly, Jesus Christ lived in Paul, and it was Jesus Christ that made Paul great.