Who is the Apostle formerly known as Saul?

Saul was a king whose focus was to murder and imprison as many Christians as he could. He approved of the execution of the first Christian martyr, Stephen, in Acts 8. After Stephen’s execution, “Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison (Acts 8:3 ESV).”  After getting letters, he found out there were more Christians in Damascus that were friends and brothers of the people he had already in prison. He decided to go there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished (Acts 22:5).” On his way to Damascus though, Saul said “a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me (Acts 22:6 ESV).”

“And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, ‘What shall I do Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do. And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand of those who were with me, and came into Damascus."

Acts 22:6-11

That’s  when Saul’s whole life changed.

Saul is given his sight back after a reluctant Ananias, who had heard evil things about Saul, lays hands on him with instruction from the Lord. Many people think that God changed Saul’s name from Saul to Paul but there is no scripture evidence of that. In Acts 13:9, it says “Saul, who was also called Paul.” Saul means 'asked or prayed for', and Paul meanslittle or small. Paul would certainly agree with becoming less or smaller soChrist could become greater. It is a meek humble name, in its' meaning, whichare traits God likes.

Paul wrote 13 of the 27 books in the New Testament. Nine of Paul’s letters, (Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians), were addressed to local churches in certain areas of the Roman empire. On the whole, these epistles tend to deal with three general issues:

Doctrine: what Christians should know

Application: what Christians should do with doctrine

Logistics: specific instructions, greetings, etc.

They are often called the “Pauline Epistles.” Unlike the Gospels and Acts, the Pauline epistles hardly contain any narrative. 

Who is Stephen?

Stephen was a Hellenist (Greek-speaking Jews) who was deemed the first “Christian Martyr.” The Hellenists, who probably formed a minority in the Christian community, complained that the care of their elderly widows was neglected in Jerusalem.The apostles presented the matter to the congregation and, pleading the press of responsibilities, instructed it to select seven deacons for this community service.   “Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.” (Acts 7:3 ESV) Stephen was the first selected. But Stephen did more than to look after the needy ones. Hebegan to preach the gospel of Christ, and to preach with such power as made everyonewho heard him feel the truth. Stephen saw before any other man in the churchsaw, that the gospel of Christ was not for Jews only, but was for all men; thatall men might be saved if they would believe in Jesus; and this great truthStephen began to preach with all his power.

Stephen the Martyr

mar·tyrˈmärdər/noun1. a person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs."saints, martyrs, and witnesses to the faith"verb1. kill (someone) because of their beliefs."she was martyredfor her faith"

Therewas no doubt as to Stephen's exceptionally good character, and the miraculouspower that he had been given by God. It's interesting to note that althoughStephen was "just" a deacon, he certainly had gifts and powers fromGod that were at least equal to that of the apostles. He engaged in religious discussions among the adherents of synagogues of Diaspora Jews in the capital. Such preaching as this, that men who were not Jews might be saved by believing in Christ, made many of the Jews very angry. Like Jesus, he was seen as a major threat to the local religious authorities but had done nothing wrong but was arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin. “And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” (Acts 6:15 ESV)

He was found guilty and cast out of the city where he was stoned to death. His last words were similar to Jesus’ when he asked his heavenly Father to “forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34 ESV) An innocent and good hearted Stephen said, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” (Acts 7:60 ESV)