The Conversion of Saul - Part 2 - Devo for 09/29/2009

Reading
Acts 9:1-31

Keys to the Text
Saul/Paul: Like his namesake, Saul, Israel's first king, Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin. (Saul was his Hebrew name; Paul was his Greek name). He was also a Roman citizen. Paul was born about the time of Christ's birth, in Tarsus, an important city in the Roman province of Cilicia, located in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). He spent much of his early life in Jerusalem as a student of the celebrated rabbi Gamaliel. Like his father before him, Paul was a Pharisee, a member of the strictest Jewish sect. Miraculously converted while on his way to Damascus (ca. AD 33-34) to arrest Christians in that city, Paul immediately began proclaiming the gospel message. Paul received the Spirit without any apostles present because he was a Jew (the inclusion of Jews in the church had already been established at Pentecost), and because he was an apostle in his own right, since Christ personally chose him and commissioned him for service. After narrowly escaping from Damascus with his life, Paul spent three years in Nabatean Arabia, south and east of the Dead Sea (Galatians 1:17, 18). During that time, he received much of his doctrine as direct revelation from the Lord. More than any other individual, Paul was responsible for the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire.