Produced by Al Haines BIBLE STUDIES IN THE LIFE OF PAUL HISTORICAL AND CONSTRUCTIVE BY REV. HENRY T. SELL, D.D. Author of "Supplemental Bible Studies," "Bible Study by Books," "Bible Study by Doctrines," "Bible Study by Periods," and "Bible Studies in the Life of Christ." CHICAGO NEW YORK TORONTO FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY LONDON & EDINBURGH COPYRIGHT, 1904 BY FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY Chicago: 63 Washington Street New York: 158 Fifth Avenue Toronto: 27 Richmond Street, W. London: 21 Paternoster Square Edinburgh: 30 St. Mary Street PREFACE The book of Acts shows in a very graphic way the rapid growth and marvelous progress of Christianity in the midst of great opposition. We see in process of fulfillment the promise of Jesus Christ to his disciples that they should receive power after the Holy Ghost had come upon them and that they should be witnesses unto Him "both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Those were earnest times and full of stirring events, when men went forth to conquer a hostile world not with swords, but by the preaching of a gospel of peace and good will. As soon as this proclamation was made in Judea and Samaria a new instrument was chosen by Jesus Christ, in Paul, to carry His message to the uttermost part of the earth. He thus became at once the chief character in the larger work of planting and developing churches outside of Palestine. The study of Paul's life shows the difficulties encountered, the doctrines taught, and the organization perfected in the early churches. "We here watch the dawn of the gospel which the Savior preached as it broadens gradually into the boundless day." Bible Studies in the Life of Paul is designed to follow the author's Bible Studies in the Life of Christ and to show the work of the Great Apostle in carrying the gospel to a Gentile world. The aim is to present the work of Paul in a constructive and historical way. While there has been a careful consideration, on the part of the author, of disputed questions, only conclusions upon which there is a general agreement amongst scholars, and which can be consistently held, are presented. The great main facts of Paul's life and work stand forth unchallenged and the emphasis is placed upon them. This book is divided into three parts, Paul's preparation for his work, his missionary journeys, and his writings. This is a text book, and, with the analysis of each study and questions, is prepared for the use of normal and advanced Sunday-school classes, teachers' meetings, schools, colleges, and private study. This is the sixth book of the kind which the author has prepared and sent forth. The large favor with which the other books have been received, and the desire, first of all, of making the life and work of Paul even better known, have been the motives which have led to its preparation. CHICAGO, ILL. HENRY T. SELL. CONTENTS I. PAUL'S PREPARATION STUDY I. Early Life II. Conversion II. PAUL'S JOURNEYS III. First Missionary Journey IV. Second Missionary Journey V. Third Missionary Journey VI. Jerusalem to Rome III. PAUL'S WRITINGS VII. The Future of Christ's Kingdom VIII. The Old Faiths and the New IX. The Supremacy of Christ X. Pastoral and Personal I. PAUL'S PREPARATION STUDY I EARLY LIFE ANALYSIS +The Place of Paul+--The Man. The Work of the Apostle. The Leading Thought. +Birth+--Place. Time. Family. +Training+--Home. Mental, Moral and Religious. Industrial. +The World as Paul Saw It+--The World. Political. Religious. The Difficulties. Bible Studies in the Life of Paul I. PAUL'S PREPARATION STUDY I EARLY LIFE THE PLACE OF PAUL +The Man, Paul,+ judged by the influence he has exerted in the world, is one of the greatest characters in all history. He is pre-eminent not only as a missionary, but as a marvelous thinker and writer. "He was a personality of vast power, force, and individuality." There are some men who seem to be born and prepared to do a large work for the world; Paul makes the impression upon those who carefully read the record of his life that he stands first in this class of men. +The Work of the Apostle.+--As John the Baptist preceded Christ and prepared the way for His coming, so Paul succeeded Christ and went throughout the heathen world proclaiming that the Christ had come, and calling upon all men, Jews and Gentiles, to repent and accept Him as their Lord and Savior. So wide was his work as a missionary of the cross, and an interpreter of the Christ, that a certain class of critics have sought to make him the creator of Christianity, as we know it; a position which Paul would be the first to repudiate. He sought of himself, before he was apprehended by Christ on the way to Damascus, to drive Christianity from the face of the earth. +The Leading Thought+ in Paul's mind, after his conversion, was personal devotion to Christ; this was the mainspring of every act. He said, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me": (Gal. 2:20). "For me to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21). In his letters to the churches which he founded, there are found no picturesque descriptions of cities or of scenery; his one thought is to make known the Christ. He says, writing to the Corinthian church, "and I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:1, 2). In the evangelization of the heathen world, for which task he had been set apart by the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:2) and which he had accepted with all his heart, it is not only his leading, but his only thought to make known Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. To miss this supreme purpose of Paul in the study of his life is to miss its whole significance (Phil. 2:1-11; Col. 1:12-20). BIRTH +Place.+--The world is interested in the birthplaces of its great men. Some of these birthplaces are in doubt. There is no doubt about the place in which Paul was born. He says, in making a speech to the Jews, "I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia" (Acts 22:3). This city was the capital of Cilicia and was situated in the southeastern part of Asia Minor. It was but a few miles from the coast and was easily accessible from the Mediterranean sea by a navigable river. A large commerce was controlled by the merchants, on sea and on land. Tarsus, while one of three university centers of the period, ranking with Athens and Alexandria, was an exceedingly corrupt city. It was the chief seat of "a special Baal worship of an imposing but unspeakably degrading character." +Time.+--The date of Paul's birth is nowhere recorded, but from certain dates given in the Acts, from which we reckon back, it is thought that he was born about the same time as Jesus Christ. +Family.+--We are left, in this matter, without any uncertainty. Paul says, "I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee" (Acts 23:6). I was "circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the law, a Pharisee" (Phil. 3:5). Paul's father and mother were Jews of the stricter sort. The expression which Paul uses, "An Hebrew of the Hebrews" is very significant. The Jews of the Dispersion were known at this time as Hebrews and Hellenists. The Hebrews clung to the Hebrew tongue and followed Hebrew customs. The Hellenists spoke Greek by preference and adopted, more or less, Greek views and civilization. Paul had a married sister who lived in Jerusalem (Acts 23:16) and relatives in Rome (Rom. 16:7, 11). TRAINING +Home.+--The instruction received in the home has often more influence and is more lasting than any other. Paul received the usual thorough training of the Jew boy accentuated in his case, in all probability, by the open iniquity which was daily practised in his native city. We never hear him expressing any regret that he received such thorough religious instruction at the hands of his parents. +Mental, Moral, and Religious.+--Good teachers were employed to instruct the boy, who was afterwards to make such a mark in the world. After going through the school, under the care of the synagogue at Tarsus, he was sent to Jerusalem to complete his education. Paul, speaking in this chief Jewish city, says, I was "brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers" (Acts 22:3). It is very evident that He had a profound knowledge of the Scriptures from the large use he makes of them in his Epistles. He seems also to have been quite well acquainted with Greek philosophy and literature. He quotes from the Greek poets, Aratus, Epimenides, and Menander. No man ever studied men and the motives which actuate them more than he. His inward life was pure (Acts 23:1; 24:16). Paul differed from Christ in that he was a man who sought the cities and drew his illustrations from them, while Christ was much in the country and drew his illustrations from country life. But in this study of and work for the city Paul was but carrying out the commands of Christ. +Industrial.+--It was required of every Jew father that his boy should learn some trade by which he might support himself should necessity require it. It was a common Jewish proverb that "he who taught his son no trade taught him to be a thief." Paul was taught the trade of tent making. "The hair of the Cicilian goats was used to make a cloth which was especially adapted for tents for travelers, merchants, and soldiers." He afterwards found this trade very useful in his missionary work (Acts 18:3; 20:34; 1 Cor. 4:12; 1 Thess. 2:9; 2 Thess. 3:8). THE WORLD AS PAUL SAW IT +This World+ was very different from the world as we see it to-day. This makes it difficult for us to appreciate his work at its full value. Now, Christianity is the great religion of the world; then it was unknown, outside a very limited circle of believers. The state and society were organized upon a different basis and were in strong opposition to the new religion. +Political.+--The world was under the dominion of the Romans. They, in conquering it, broke down the barriers that had separated tribe from tribe and nation from nation. Yet it was a comparatively small world for all interests centered about the Mediterranean Sea. Before the Romans the Greeks had been in possession of a part of this world and had permeated and penetrated the whole of it, with their art, language, and commerce. With the upheavals of war and the tribulations that had befallen the Jews, they were everywhere scattered abroad and had their synagogues in most of the cities. +Religious.+--For the Romans, Greeks, and conquered nations and tribes, it was an age of scepticism. While the gods and goddesses in the great heathen temples still had their rites and ceremonies observed yet the people, to a large degree, had ceased to believe in them. The Roman writers of the period are agreed in the slackening of religious ties and of moral restraints. Yet it was the policy of the state to maintain the worship of the gods and goddesses. Any attack upon them or their worship was regarded as an offense against the state. +The Difficulties+ of the situation were threefold: (a) To seek to overturn the religion of the state constituted an offense which was punishable by stripes and imprisonment; (b) To rebuke men's sins and the evils of the times stirred up bitter opposition on their part; (c) To proclaim a crucified and risen Christ as the Messiah to the Jews, when they expected a great conquering hero, often excited and put them in a rage. That Paul could preach Christ and establish churches, under all the opposition that he encountered, shows how fully and implicitly he believed in his Lord. QUESTIONS What impression has the man, Paul, made upon the world? What was his work as an apostle? What his leading thought? Where is the place of his birth? What can be said of his family? How was he educated and trained, in the home, in school, and for a trade? What was the political and religious condition of the world as Paul saw it? What were the three difficulties in the way of his work in preaching Christ? I. PAUL'S PREPARATION STUDY II CONVERSION ANALYSIS +Paul the Persecutor+--Order of Events. The Inevitable Conflict. Cruelty of the Persecutor. +Conversion+--Cause. Effects (physical, mental and spiritual, penalty, relief to the Christians, triumph of Christ, and estimates of the results). +Period of Waiting+--Retirement of Paul. Reasons. The Gospel for the Gentiles. Paul Brought to Antioch. I. PAUL'S PREPARATION STUDY II CONVERSION PAUL, THE PERSECUTOR +Order of Events.+--It seems to be quite evident, when Paul finished his studies in Jerusalem, that he left the city and engaged in work somewhere else, during the years when John the Baptist and Jesus were preaching and teaching. In all probability he did not return until after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Paul first appears in the narrative of the Acts, under the name of Saul, at the martyrdom of Stephen, where he takes charge of the clothes of the witnesses (Acts 7:58, 59). From the Ascension of Christ to the martyrdom of Stephen is an important period in the history of the infant church. On and after the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) the apostles and followers of the risen Lord assumed a very bold attitude. They did not hesitate to speak openly in the temple (Acts 3:12-16) of the crime of putting "The Prince of Life" to death and asserted that He was risen from the dead. The priests and Sadducees strongly objected to this kind of preaching (Acts 4), laid hands upon the preachers, and put them in prison. When they were examined the next day before (Acts 4:5-13) the Jewish tribunal, the apostles spoke even more boldly of Jesus and his resurrection and refused to be silenced (Acts 4:13-20, 33). Again an attempt was made to stop the preaching of the apostles, but they refused to keep still (Acts 5:16-33). A remarkable prison deliverance by the "Angel of the Lord" (Acts 5:19, 20) gave them great courage in proclaiming "all the words of this life." At this point Gamaliel (Acts 5:34-42) proposes in the Jewish council a new policy, which was to let the followers of Christ alone, arguing that then they would speedily give up their preaching. This policy was adopted (Acts 5:40). But with the election of Stephen as a deacon (Acts 6:1-8) the followers of Christ began to multiply with great rapidity and it was soon seen that "the let-alone policy" was a mistake (Acts 6:9-15). Persecution again breaks out which results in the death of Stephen (Acts 7), the bringing out of Saul as the arch persecutor, and the scattering of the church (Acts 8:1-4). +The Inevitable Conflict.+--Had the early Christians been content to have proclaimed Jesus Christ to be but a great teacher and prophet, they would in all probability have become a Jewish sect and been speedily lost to sight. But extraordinary claims were put forth that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah (Acts 2:25-40), the Son of God (Acts 3:26), the Forgiver of sins (Acts 2:38; 5:31), that He was risen from the dead (Acts 4:33), that obedience to Him was above that to the Jewish rulers (Acts 4:18-20), that the Jews had wickedly slain Christ (Acts 3:14, 15), and that salvation was only through Him (Acts 4:12). Further than this they wrought miracles in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 3:2-8, 16; 2:43; 5:12). It was very soon plainly seen that Christianity could keep no truce, and proposed to keep no truce, which called in question or denied the supremacy of Christ. +The Cruelty of the Persecutor.+--To a man of Paul's temperament and zeal there could be no half way measures in a case like this. He could not be content to bide his time. Either the claims of Christ were true or false. If false, then they were doing harm and His doctrine and teaching must be eradicated at any cost. All the aggressive forces of the Jews found a champion in this Saul of Tarsus. Drastic measures were at once inaugurated. There was to be no more temporizing. The cruelty and thoroughness of the persecutor, in his work, are shown in his instituting a house to house canvass seeking for the Christians and sparing neither age nor sex (Acts 8:1, 3). In the first persecutions the Jews had been content to arrest and imprison those who publicly preached Christ, but now the policy was changed and Christianity was to be exterminated root and branch. All believers in Christ were to be hunted out. The character of Saul, the arch persecutor, is shown in the characterization of him by Luke, when he represented him as breathing out, "threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord" (Acts 9:1). CONVERSION +Cause.+--The book of the Acts, opened at one place, shows a fierce hater and persecutor of the Christians (8:3), opened at another place it shows this same persecutor as an ardent and enthusiastic preacher of the faith in Jesus Christ (13:16-39) We seek for the cause of this remarkable change. Luke tells us that Saul was on his way to Damascus, seeking victims for his persecuting zeal, when Jesus suddenly appeared to him and Saul was changed from a persecutor to a believer in Christ (Acts 9:3-7). The account is very brief. For an event which has had such tremendous results, the narrator is very reticent; a light from heaven, a voice speaking, and a person declaring that He is Jesus. Paul gives us two accounts of his conversion and how it took place (Acts 22:6-15; 26:12-18). The men who were with Paul saw a light and heard a voice, but not what was said. It is impossible to describe or exaggerate what took place in Paul's mind in those brief moments while Jesus talked to him; but his beliefs, and his whole life plan were radically changed. It had been well if no explanation of this conversion had been attempted and the great fact had been left to stand as it does in the Acts. Attempts, however, have been made to minimize the power of this conversion and the marvelous and sudden change it wrought in the character and life of Paul. Some critics seeking a natural, rather than a supernatural, cause have attributed to Paul certain compunctions of conscience and misgivings about his persecution of the Christians, together with a hot day and a certain temperament, which led him to have a subjective experience, which he thought was real. But there is no recorded evidence forthcoming that Paul ever had any compunctions of conscience about persecuting the Christians. Paul was an honest man to the very core of his being; in the two accounts he gives us of this conversion, and in incidental references to it, he never even hints at any such state of mind. The expression used by Jesus, "It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks" (Acts 9-5), of which so much has been made, means no more than that Saul's opposition and hard work against the Christians (Acts 8:3; 9:1), would be of no avail. In doing what he did Paul thought he was doing God's service. Again the language which Paul uses and the references which he makes to this appearance of Christ forbid us to think that it was only a mere vision of Christ which he saw. "He ranks it as the last of the appearances of the risen Savior to His disciples and places it on the same level as the appearances to Peter, to James, to the eleven, and to the five hundred" (1 Cor. 15:1-8). In these appearances Jesus had eaten with his disciples and been touched by them (John 20:24-31; Luke 24:36-43), appearing as a real being, according to the narrative. "It was the appearance to Paul of the risen Lord, which made him a Christian, gave him a gospel to preach, and sent him forth as the apostle of the Gentiles." The time of Paul's conversion was about 36 A.D. +Effects.+--There is no question as to the very marked results which followed the appearance of the risen Lord to Saul on the way to Damascus. 1. Physical. He was smitten with blindness (Acts 9:8), and was without food for three days (Acts 9:9). His sight was restored by Ananias at the command of the Lord (Acts 9:15-18). 2. Mental and spiritual. His whole outlook upon life and its significance was changed. He received baptism and was filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:17). From being a persecutor he became an enthusiastic witness for Christ (Acts 9:20-22). 3. Penalty. The consequences of his former course of action were visited upon him; for the Jews sought to kill him and the disciples of Christ were at first afraid of him (Acts 9:23-26). But Barnabas vouched for his sincerity (Acts 9:27). 4. The relief to the Christians at Damascus, when Saul was converted, was very great. They had looked forward to his coming with dread. 5. The triumph of Christ. In Paul Christianity won its most efficient missionary and, next to Christ, its greatest thinker, preacher, and teacher. 6. The estimates of the results of this conversion of Saul cannot be too large; they are world wide. PERIOD OF WAITING +Retirement of Paul.+--From the conversion of Paul (Acts 9:3-7) to his call to the missionary work (Acts 13:2) is a period of about ten years. During this time we have only incidental notices of him and what he was doing. When we think of it there is nothing strange in this retirement. It is the divine method, as in the case of Moses, when a man is to do a very large work for God that he should be well prepared for it. The chief scripture notices of this period of retirement are found in Acts 9:19-30; Gal. 1:15-24; (Acts 11:25-30; 12:25). From these notices it is quite plain: (a) That Paul retired into Arabia. (b) That he preached in Damascus and Jerusalem, but was compelled to flee from both cities on account of the persecutions of the Jews, who sought his life. (c) That he went to Tarsus and "into the regions of Syria and Cilicia." (d) That he came to Antioch, where there was a great revival (Acts 11:25-30), at the solicitation of Barnabas. Luke in his account (Acts 9:19-30) does not mention the trip to Arabia spoken of by Paul in his epistle to the Galatians (1:15-24). It must be remembered however that each is writing from a different point of view. Luke is a historian recording only the most salient facts and passing over the mention of many events. We see this in the compression in eight and a half short chapters of the events of the three missionary journeys. Paul writing to the Galatians is anxious to establish the fact that he received his commission, as an apostle, not from man, but from Christ himself (Gal. 1:1); hence he enters more into details and we get from him the inside view. The accounts of Luke and Paul if read carefully, keeping in mind all the circumstances, are seen not to be in any way antagonistic, but to supplement each other. +Reasons.+--Many reasons have been given for the retirement of Paul to Arabia, and what seems to be the period of comparative inactivity that followed it. 1. Fierce opposition on the part of the Jews whenever Paul attempted to preach, as in the cities of Damascus and Jerusalem. 2. A preparation of mind and heart for his great work. As a thinker he needed to look upon all sides of the gospel, which he was afterwards to preach so effectively to the Gentiles. 3. A careful rereading of the Old Testament. As a Jew he had read the Scriptures in one way, now he reread them seeing Christ there. 4. System of doctrine. He may at this time have wrought out that magnificent system of Christian doctrine which he afterwards presented to the churches in his Epistles. +The Gospel for the Gentiles.+--While Paul was waiting for the call to his great missionary work there came a new crisis in the history of the early church, and a new era was inaugurated. In the tenth and eleventh chapters of the book of Acts Luke tells us of the conversion of the Gentile Cornelius, "a centurion of the band called the Italian band" (Acts 10:1-8), and of the instructions given to Peter to receive him (Acts 10:9-44). Cornelius was the first Gentile convert and we note here the beginning of the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles, which was to have such large results. "The day of Pentecost, the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, the call of Cornelius and the foundation of the Gentile church at Antioch are, if we are to pick and choose amid the events related by Luke, the turning points of the earliest ecclesiastical history." How great and epoch making was this new departure of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, and receiving them into the church, is shown in the eleventh chapter of the Acts (11:1-18) where, when Peter goes up to Jerusalem, he is put on the defensive and compelled to explain why he received Cornelius into the church. When however the matter was fully explained the early disciples rejoiced over the fact that to the Gentiles was granted by God repentance unto life (Acts 11:18). +Paul Brought to Antioch+ by Barnabas, on account of the revival that had broken out in that city, is another step which he takes up to his work as the great missionary to the Gentiles (Acts 11:25-26). It was here that the disciples were first called Christians (Acts 11:26). It was from this city that Paul went forth on his missionary journeys and it was here that he returned (Acts 13:1-3; 14:26; 15:24-41; 18:22; 18:23). "Antioch was the capital of the Greek kingdom of Syria, and afterwards the residence of the Roman governor of the province. It was made a free city by Pompey the Great, and contained an aqueduct, amphitheater, baths, and colonnades. It was situated on the Orontes about twenty miles from the mouth of the river. Its sea-port was Seleucia. It was intimately connected with apostolic Christianity. Here the first Gentile church was formed" (Acts 11:20, 21). QUESTIONS Give the order of events which led to the persecution in which Paul was so prominent. Why was the conflict between Christianity and Judaism inevitable? What can be said of the cruelty of Paul, the persecutor? Give the cause of Paul's conversion. What were some of the effects? What can be said of the period of waiting; the retirement of Paul? What are some of the probable reasons for this retirement? What can be said about the beginning of the gospel to the Gentiles? By whom was Paul brought to Antioch and for what purpose? In what relation does Antioch stand to the missionary journeys of Paul? II. PAUL'S JOURNEYS _Acts 13:1-28:31_ STUDY III FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY _Scripture, Acts 13:1-14:26_ ANALYSIS +Introduction to the Three Missionary Journeys+--The call. The Significance. Extent and Time. The Record. Other Long Journeys. Method of Work and Support. The Message. +The First Journey+--Preparation. Companions. Paul Comes to the Front. Time and Extent. Rulers. +The Itinerary+--Salamis. Paphos. Perga. Antioch. Iconium. Lystra and Derbe. The Return Journey. +The Jerusalem Council+--One Problem of the Early Church. The Decision of the Council. [Illustration: Outline map illustrating the first and second missionary journeys of Paul.] II. PAUL'S JOURNEYS _Acts 13:1-38:31_ STUDY III FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY _Scripture, Acts 13:1-14:26_ INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MISSIONARY JOURNEYS Before taking up the study of the first missionary journey, attention is called to certain points which should be considered in regard to all three of them (Acts 13:1-21:17). We have now arrived at what we might call the watershed of the Acts of the Apostles. Hitherto we have had various scenes, characters, personages to consider. Henceforth Paul, his labors, his disputes, his speeches, occupy the entire field, and every other man who is introduced into the narrative plays a subordinate part. Our attention is now turned from the Jewish world, considered so largely in the first twelve chapters of the Acts, to the heathen world and the struggle which Paul and his fellow laborers had with it, in bringing it to Christ. +The Call+ to this work was by the Holy Ghost in the city of Antioch (Acts 13:1-4). Luke says, "As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them" (Acts 13:2, 4). Contrast this with the beginning of the work in Jerusalem which was also inaugurated by the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:14; 2:1-4). This call was in accordance with what Jesus had told his disciples before His ascension (Acts 1:8). The agency of the Holy Ghost in directing and promoting this missionary work is very manifest (Acts 13:2, 4, 9, 52; 15:8, 28; 16:6; 19:2, 6; 20:23, 28; 21:11; 28:25). +The Significance+ and importance of these journeys cannot be overestimated. It is probable, when the call came, that Paul had but little idea of their magnitude and that in the end they would result in changing not only the religion, but the philosophy and civilization of the world. +Extent and Time.+--It is estimated that the first journey was 1,400 miles long, the second 3,200, and the third 3,500, making 8,100 miles traveled by Paul. The time occupied for the three journeys was about ten years. +The Record+ of the three missionary journeys, is briefly comprised in eight and a half chapters (Acts 13:1-21:17), and it does not profess to be a complete one. Only the most striking incidents and events, and probably not all of these, are given. There were side trips not recorded by Luke; Paul speaks of one to Illyricum (Rom. 15:19), and of others in which he underwent great perils (2 Cor. 11:24-27). The purpose of Luke seems to be to show how, in accordance with the command and promise of Christ, the knowledge and power of the gospel was spread, beginning in Jerusalem, through Judea, and Samaria, throughout the heathen world (Acts 1:8); everything seems to be made to bend to this purpose. Certainly there could be no more graphic and concise account of these epoch making events than that given us by this wonderful narrator. +Other Long Journeys.+--1. Paul's voyage to Rome as a prisoner. Luke gives a full account of this voyage, its many interesting incidents (Acts 27:1-28:16), and of the circumstances which led up to it (Acts 21:17-27:1). 2. There is every reason to believe that Paul was released at the end of his two years imprisonment in Rome (Acts 28:30) and that he made an Eastern journey as far as Colossæ and a Western journey as far as Spain. NOTE.--These last journeys are considered in chapter ten. +Method of Work and Support.+--Paul and his companion, or company, when they entered into a city would first seek for a lodging and then for work, going from one tent maker's door to another until finally a place was found. Then upon the following Sabbath they would seek the Jewish synagogue and after the reading of the Scriptures, when an opportunity was given, Paul would arise and begin to speak, (Acts 13:14-16) leading up through the Old Testament message (Acts 13:17-43) to the great topic of Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah and closing with an exhortation to believe on Him. Such a speech would naturally excite great interest coming from the lips of one, who by his speech and the handling of the Old Testament, would be recognized as a cultivated Jewish Rabbi. Paul would be asked to speak again the next Sabbath (Acts 13:44-52), the synagogue would be full of people and he would set forth Jesus Christ more plainly as the Savior both of Jew and Gentile. This would generally be a signal for the Jews to contradict and oppose Paul, but some Jews would believe with a number of Gentiles. This would be the starting point of the Christian church in that community. The Jews, however, who were untouched by what Paul preached, and who looked upon him as the destroyer of their religion, would raise a cry against him and seek to have him expelled from the city. This experience was frequently repeated. There were great difficulties also to be encountered when the heathen thought that their worship was in danger (Acts 19:20-30). +The Message+ which Paul bore to Jew and Gentile was the moving force of all his work. The starting point was the memorable day when Jesus Christ appeared to him on his way to Damascus. Paul believed that he received his commission as an apostle directly from Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:1-24). The four main positions of Paul, set forth so plainly in his Epistle to the Romans, are: (a) All are guilty before God (Jew and Gentile). (b) All need a Savior. (c) Christ died for all. (d) We are all (through faith) one body in Christ. Paul leaves us in no doubt as to how he regards Jesus Christ. He is to him the Son of God, through whom God created all things and who is the Divine Savior of man (Eph. 3:9-21; Phil. 2:9-11; Rom. 9:5). There is no doubt, no hesitation on Paul's part in delivering his message. He is a witness, testifying to the glory of his Divine Lord. He is a messenger who cannot alter or tamper with that which has been entrusted to him. To the rude inhabitants of the mountain regions of Asia Minor, to the philosophers in Athens, to the Roman governors in Cæsarea, to the dwellers in Corinth and in Rome the purport of the Message is always the same. THE FIRST JOURNEY _Scripture, Acts 13:1-14:28_ +Preparation.+--First, on the part of Paul. About ten years have passed since his conversion. During this time we have few notices of him, but he was undoubtedly making ready for this very important work of a missionary. Second, on the part of the church. The first step had already been taken, in the conversion of Cornelius, in the giving of the gospel to the Gentile world. Third, Paul was brought to Antioch by Barnabas to assist the church in the great revival which broke out in that second early center of Christian work and teaching (Acts 11:21-26). Fourth, the large success of the disciples who went throughout Judea and Samaria, preaching the gospel, after the death of Stephen (Acts 7:5-8:4; 11:19-21) made possible this new aggressive movement to the regions beyond. Fifth, the Christian prophets and teachers at Antioch "ministered to the Lord and fasted." They desired to know the will of the Lord and it was made known to them by the Holy Ghost. "And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away." "So they being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia (Acts 13:3, 4). +Companions of the Journey+, Barnabas and Saul (Acts 13:2) and John Mark (Acts 13:5). Barnabas has been called the discoverer of Saul. He was probably a convert of the day of Pentecost. He was a land proprietor of the island of Cyprus and early showed his zeal for Christ by selling his land and devoting the proceeds to the cause in which he so heartily believed (Acts 4:36, 37). He early sought out and manifested, in a very practical way, his friendship for Paul (Acts 9:27; 11:22, 25, 30; 12:25). John Mark, who started on this journey with Barnabas and Saul, was a nephew of Barnabas (Acts 13:5, 13; 12:25; Col. 4:10). +Paul Comes to the Front+ when his company leave Paphos and ever after he has the first place (Acts 13: 13). Here also he is called Paul for the first time, a name which he retains. +Extent and Time+--This was the shortest of the three journeys (about 1,400 miles). It extended over the island of Cyprus and a part of Asia Minor. In time it occupied about three years, 47-50 A.D. +Rulers+--Claudius was the emperor of Rome, since 41 A.D. Herod Agrippa was king of Chalcis, Ananias was high priest in Jerusalem. THE ITINERARY NOTE.--The cities, which Paul visited in this and the other journeys, should be located upon the map by the student. It will greatly increase the interest to consult some good Bible dictionary and get well acquainted also with the history of the places. +Salamis+, on the island of Cyprus, was the first place reached, after sailing from Seleucia (Acts 13:4, 5) the sea-port of Antioch. It was the natural thing to go first to this island as it had been the home of Barnabas and many Jews had settled there; it was about eighty miles to the southwest of Seleucia. +Paphos.+--After passing through the island from east to west the missionaries came to Paphos. This city was the seat of the worship of Venus, the goddess of love. This worship was carried on with the most degrading of immoralities. The chief incidents in the ministry here were the smiting of the Jewish sorcerer, Elymas, with blindness for his persistent opposition and the conversion of the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:6-12). Saul is filled with an unusual power of the Spirit for his work in this city and takes the name of Paul. It is now no longer Barnabas and Saul, but Paul and Barnabas. +Perga in Pamphylia+--(Acts 13:13, 14). The missionaries take ship from Paphos and sail in a north-easterly direction across the Mediterranean Sea to this city of Asia Minor. John Mark, doubtless appalled by the difficulties which had already been experienced and now that the journey seemed to promise still greater hardships, left the company and returned to Jerusalem. +Antioch in Pisidia+ (Acts 13:14-52) was about ninety miles directly north of Perga. It was a good-sized city with a large Jewish population. Luke's account of this visit is notable in that we have the chief points in Paul's speech in the synagogue set down. This address is worth study from the fact that it is the first sermon of Paul of which we have any record, and is probably the usual way in which he began his work in a great many Jewish synagogues. Paul is asked to speak to the assembled Jews. He begins upon the common ground of the history of Israel. He declares the promise of a Savior. This Savior is to be of the seed of David. Then Paul sets forth that Jesus is the promised Savior. He reminds them of the testimony of John and of those who had seen Jesus before and after His resurrection. He declares unto them the glad tidings of a Savior. He warns them of their peril in rejecting Jesus Christ. Paul is invited to speak upon the next Sabbath, but there is a division and those who oppose Paul try to drive him out of their city which they finally succeed in doing. But the Word has fallen into good soil and there is the beginning of a Christian church. +Iconium in Lycaonia+ (Acts 14:1-5) is over one hundred miles distant from Antioch. The missionaries were now in a country of a people with strange ways. They remained here for some time and their ministry was attested by "signs and wonders." But again some of the Jews opposed them and stirred up the multitude. A plan was made by the ringleaders of the opposition to stone them, but being made aware of it Paul and Barnabas "fled unto Derbe and Lystra." They had, however, the satisfaction of leaving behind "a great multitude of believing Jews and Greeks" (Acts 14:1). +Lystra and Derbe in Lycaonia+ (Acts 14:6-21).--"And there they preached the gospel." There is no mention of any Jewish synagogue at either of these cities. The inhabitants were worshippers of the heathen gods. The healing of a lame man at Lystra brought Paul and Barnabas directly into touch with the heathen priests and populace. When they saw this miracle of healing, they thought that the gods had come down to earth in the likeness of men. Barnabas was called Jupiter "and Paul Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker." When Paul and Barnabas sought to restrain the priests and people from doing sacrifice to them, it is interesting to note what words Paul uses in addressing them. As with the Jews he here seeks first of all a common ground. He says, "We are men of like passions with you and preach unto you that you should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein; who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless He left not Himself without a witness, in that He did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness" (Acts 14:15-17). We find the same earnestness the same desire to preach the gospel to the heathen here as to the Jews elsewhere. But the Jews who had made trouble in Antioch and Iconium for the missionaries came to Lystra and, forming a plot against Paul, persuaded the people and stoned him so that he was drawn out of the city, they "supposing he had been dead." But he was not dead, he soon rose up and came back into the city and the next day departed with Barnabas to Derbe, where they preached the gospel and taught many. +The Return Journey+ is very briefly recorded (Acts 14:21-28). The missionaries returned through the same cities, Lystra, Iconium, Antioch, and so back to Perga. But from the last city they did not sail to the island of Cyprus, but took a different course, westerly along the coast to Attalia in Pamphylia and from thence they sailed to Antioch, the starting point of their trip. During this return journey they proved to their friends and enemies that, in departing from the cities where mobs threatened them, it was through no cowardice on their part, but for other reasons and for the purpose of preaching the gospel in the regions beyond. They "confirmed the souls of the disciples exhorting them to continue in the faith." They also further perfected the organization of the churches, ordaining elders in every church. They prayed with and for the disciples and commended them to the Lord. When the missionaries at last entered the city of Antioch, "they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how He had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles." There must have been great rejoicing over this happy return of Paul and Barnabas. THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL _Acts 15:1-35_ +One Problem of the Early Church+ was how to reconcile the commandments of Moses with the new law of liberty in Jesus Christ. Ought the Gentile Christians to observe the law of Moses? Ought they to become Jews before they became Christians? Were there to be two churches? One for Jewish and another for Gentile Christians? These questions are obsolete now, but then they were burning ones and hotly debated. Hence this Jerusalem Council, where the matter was debated and settled, was exceedingly important and fraught with great and grave consequences for the future welfare of the church. Because certain of the Jewish brethren came to Antioch and began to teach that it was necessary to salvation that a certain Jewish ordinance and the law of Moses be kept, it was determined to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem. A council of "the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter" (Acts 15:6). At this council in Jerusalem, Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and James were the chief speakers. All matters were carefully gone over. Of all the speeches made, Luke records only the two made by Peter (Acts 15:7-12) and James (Acts 15:13-2l), which must have embodied the sense of the meeting in that both spoke for liberty, from the Mosaic yoke, in Christ. +The Decision+ of the council was for the freedom of the Gentile Christians and that they should not be obliged to become Jews before they became Christians. Thus was one of the grave crises of the early church safely passed. Paul and Barnabas went back happy in that great victory for Gentile Christianity to their brethren at Antioch. It should be borne in mind, however, that while the question of the relation of the Gentile Christians to the law of Moses was decided at this council, it was one which came up again and again to hamper and bother Paul in his missionary work. QUESTIONS What is to be considered in the introduction to the three missionary journeys? By whom was the call to this work? What is the significance of the journeys? The extent and time? What can be said of the record? Were there other long journeys by Paul? What was the method of work and support? What was the message? The first journey; what was the preparation for it? Who the companions? Time and extent? Rulers? Give some of the incidents that took place upon the Itinerary, at Salamis, Paphos, Perga, Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe? What can be said of the return journey? Why was the Jerusalem Council necessary, and what was decided by it? II. PAUL'S JOURNEYS _Acts 13:1-28:31_ STUDY IV SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY _Scripture, Acts 13:36-18:32_ ANALYSIS +Second Missionary Journey+--The Inception. The Companions. The Wide Scope. Value to the World. Time and Rulers. Epistles to the Churches. +The Itinerary+--Through Asia Minor. In Europe (Philippi. Thessalonica. Berea. Athens. Corinth). +The Return Voyage+--Ephesus. Cæsarea. Antioch. II. PAUL'S JOURNEYS _Scripture, Acts 13:1-28:32_ STUDY IV SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY _Scripture, Acts 15:36-18:22_ +The Inception+--After the Jerusalem Council Paul returned to Antioch where he spent some time, "teaching and preaching the Word of the Lord with many others also." "And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the Word of the Lord, and see how they do" (Acts 15:35, 36). He felt that he must be advancing the work of Jesus Christ. +The Companions+ (Acts 15:37-40).--Barnabas proposed to take John Mark, his nephew, with them on this second journey. But Paul strenuously objected, basing his objection on the ground that this young man had deserted them (Acts 13:13) at a very important juncture in the first journey. We are told that the contention was very sharp between Barnabas and Paul over this matter. It was finally settled by Barnabas taking John Mark and sailing for the island of Cyprus and Paul choosing Silas for his companion. When Paul came to Derbe and Lystra Timotheus was invited to join him, which he did (Acts 16:1-4). Luke, the author of the Acts, goes with this company into Macedonia (Acts 16:10). We can trace Luke's connection with the missionaries by the "we" passages. That Paul was afterwards reconciled to Barnabas and John Mark is shown by his kindly mention of them in his Epistles (1 Cor. 9:6; Col. 4:10; 2 Tim 4:11; Philem. 24). +The Wide Scope+ is a marked feature of this journey of about 3,200 miles. The first journey was through Cyprus, where Barnabas was well acquainted, and through that section of Asia Minor roundabout the province of Cilicia, where Paul was practically at home. Paul was born in Tarsus in Cilicia and it was to this region that he went for some part of the time between his conversion and his call to the missionary work (Acts 9:30; Gal. 1:21). The second journey carries Paul into entirely, to him, new provinces of Asia Minor and into Macedonia and Achaia. He comes into close contact not only with the rough native populations of the Asian provinces but with the cultivated philosophers of Greece and the effeminate voluptuaries of the heathen temples. Here are new tests for this missionary and the gospel which he preaches, but he meets them all. This journey had a large significance for the spread of Christianity. Had the gospel failed to meet the wants of all sorts and conditions
{'title': 'Bible Studies in the Life of Paul, Historical and Constructive by Henry T. Sell', 'source': 'Project Gutenberg', 'lang': 'en'}