Paul had an “old nature” as Saul as one who had persecuted Christians. He probably had never killed a Christian but by rounding them up and taking them to the slaughterhouse, his crime was greater. Just as the priests’ crime was greater than the centurion’s, just as Jesus told Pilate, Sau’s crime was greater than those who did the killing.
The executioners were only doing their job, but the “brute” was really the one who shepherded the deplorables (sic) to be butchered as animals.
Saul became a new creature in Christ, “Paul,” and whereas before he was the “chiefest of sinners” (1 Tim 1:15), he had since become nothing (2 Cor 12:11). Saul had been demoted from “chief” to nothing, and that was reflected in “Paul’s” new name — “Humbled.”
God had been restored to His high position as Sovereign from the perspective of Paul, then with a bright nature and bright eyes after he had been blinded, he saw things differently; no longer was Moses his God to be followed without question (Saul’s name means “Questioning”), he humbly began to follow the Christ. Before he was without Christ, and once his eyes were opened, he was one of those that he would have slaughtered!
When Paul wrote the key verse (in this treatise, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21), he was applying Christ to him personally. God is a personal God whereas before, God had been the God of Israelites. Rather than the Jews being the chosen and peculiar people, even the Gentiles could be.
“For me” meant so much because who had Paul been? He was the one who led the “sacrificial animals” to the slaughter. There is nothing written that describes what would happen to the Christians, but what is known is that the Romans would later feed them to the lions in sport.
Was that what Peter was seeing when he wrote his epistle, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet 5:8). Christians can be “devoured,” and although they are safe from the Wicked One, they can wander from their safe space when they become less vigilant.
How can vigilance become neglected? By doctrine and thinking one is already saved when one is not! Thinking that Christians will not face Great Tribulation would be foolish because at the time of Saul, they were facing very great tribulation!
How feral and brutish can “humane” beings be? One only need to look at Adolph Hitler and Jeffrey Dahmer to understand the nature that humans can possess, or rather be possessed.
But Hitler and Dahmer were not around in those days, but pagans were. Jesus was treated like an animal when he was mauled. If PETA was who they claim to be, they would be appalled at how inhumane their Savior was treated!
Cruelty is not a new thing. Violence had preceded the coming of Christ. Leaders killed with impunity in the Hellenistic world and the Romans were considered the “saviors” because they were thought of as republicans in nature who were at that time were quite tolerant of any gods in their pantheon.
What had Judea been like before the Romans came? Here is an
excerpt from The Antiquities of the Jews, written by Flavius Josephus,
the Jewish historian:
After this victory (the Greeks over the Jews), Ptolemy overran all the country; and when night came on, he abode in certain villages of Judea, which when he found full of women and children, he commanded his soldiers to strangle them, and to cut them to pieces, and then to cast them into boiling caldrons, and then to devour their limbs as sacrifices.
For what reason would they be so inhumane?
…that such (Jews) as fled from the battle, and came to them (to fight again), might suppose that their enemies were cannibals, and eat men’s flesh, and might be still more terrified at them upon such a sight.
So, you think that you are saved? Do you not believe that Satan’s legions can be that cruel? Peter was surely thinking of the Wars of the Jews when he wrote about the roaring lions that Christians should fear.
Ptolemy was a “prince” of Egypt but was a Greek in his blood. He did not even speak Coptic but only Greek. He was Egyptian on the outside but a Greek inwardly. As such, Ptolemy had no problem with pagan sacrifices and was a great sinner! His actions and cruelty revealed that to the Jews.
However, Paul, notwithstanding Ptolemy, said that he was the chiefest of sinners. The Jews had fought against the Ptolemies, but the Christians had only followed Jesus who had come to “bring peace on Earth; good will toward men” (Luke 2:14).
When Paul wrote, “for me” that was him! He was worse than the “cannibal” Ptolemy. But for him, Jesus died. If Jesus can die for the great sinner, Saul, he can die for Ptolemy and any who are Greeks (Gentiles).
For Saul, he had been the “walking dead.” When he saw Jesus, with him just standing there in the middle of the Damascus Road, Jesus made him a changed man! When Jesus changes, the old creature is made anew and that happened with Saul.
Grace was resistible but Saul did not resist. He questioned whose Voice that was speaking to him. Paul asked, “Who art thou, Lord?” (Acts 9:5).
Paul had seen the Light that Jesus, the Lord, had shined in his eyes. Surely, Saul could see Jesus in Paradise with his bright inner “eyes.” Perhaps that road was more than a “road.” Perhaps Saul was given a tour of Heaven just as Enoch had been years before.
Paul knew about the structure of the heavens just as Enoch
had long before. Likely, it was Paul himself of whom he was speaking when he
said this:
I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. (2 Cor 12:2)
Paul confirmed therein two things: (1) That the Book of Enoch is truly canon (and is according to the Orthodox), and (2) that Paul knew about the structures of the ten heavens of which Enoch wrote.
Paul, saw the Light physically and even spiritually. Those in Christ see the Light in a different manner. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). Darkness in scripture is oblivious to truth; and light is Truth. What is truth? That Jesus is who He claims to be, and that is God in the Flesh as the Son of God.
Saul was acting on behalf of God, or so he thought, when he was leading the Jews to their death. He was as God in his own viewpoint, so Jesus had to change how he viewed things. For him, what he saw was himself in Christ with Christ. When all the world was blacked out and it cold not impede him, Saul saw that Jesus is in fact, the LORD GOD, and not the vision of God that he had, had before.
He is the same God, but Paul looked at Him with different eyes than Saul. For him, that was a rebirth and Jesus recognized the authenticity of his conversion by renaming Saul, “Paul.”
“Born again” is looking at Judas dead on his tree with Satan in him and seeing Jesus behind that defeat of Satan (John 3:7,14).
Saul saw that, and for him, that was a rebirth. For me and for you, that is also the same enlightenment in us! In Christ is a personal revealing of the truth.
The truth is that nobody have the ability to save themselves, but Jesus can! That is the sovereignty of God. On the other hand, those who follow Christ when the light grows dim, can kill themselves. Jesus’s “friend” Judas did just that.
The will of Judas was different than the Will of Jesus. The “shiny objects” (thirty pieces of silver) out-shined the Light emanating from Jesus, and hence took root in Judas with the implantation of Satan in his flesh.
Judas could not save himself, but he was the one who could
kill the body but who was the true Sovereign?
And fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Mat 10:28)
By “suiciding” Judas, Satan killed his body, but Jesus’s sacrifice on the hill above destroyed both the body and soul of Judas. That is His Sovereign capability. Not even you can kill the soul because Jesus, and not you, is the judge (Mat 25:31-46). On the other hand, just as Saul walked the Way to Jesus, any sinner can walk their own “Damascus Road” to be found.
Saul had no idea that he would see Jesus, but Jesus knew where to find him. Jesus found him where sin was the chiefest and converted him. Jesus usually finds us on a road like that!
Jesus reveled to Peter the concept of grace; regarding the woman who had washed His feet: “Wherefore I say unto thee, ‘Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little’” (Luke 7:47).
As Saul was forgiven of much, he loved very much. He was willing to do the will of God because of the grace that he had found while walking in sin.
. . . . .
I think of my old friend, Philip Carbone: He was a drug dealer in Detroit who was employed by the mafia. Because his friend was converted by the street ministry of Pastor Mellish, Philip walked into the church building to get even with the pastor for teaching Christ.
Like Saul, Phil was a real bad dude who in his leathers, was about to hurt Pastor Mellish, just for being a Christian and spreading the Word. That was what the Christians were doing with Saul.
Once he spoke with Pastor Mellish, Phil became a changed man. Before he was a prolific sinner who pimped drugs for his gain.
Pastor Mellish was in Christ, and he shared the Truth with Phil. Immediately, Phil saw the Light that Brother Mellish “shined” into his brain!
The new Phil became an entirely new person. He was no longer the bearded gangster in his leathers but mild-manner and kind Phillip Carbone. Before, as he said, the mafia had been his family, and afterwards his family became his wife and children and his brothers in Christ were as well.
Philip had been as guilty as Ptolemy and Saul for none of them had seen Christ.
Phil sought to become a preacher. I do not know if he ever did. However, the sad thing is that Phil encountered a member of his old family and he said that they showed more love to him than his church family.
Phil gave up the mafia, drugs, money, alcohol, and gangster life immediately just as Saul. My hope is that Satan did not take Phil back! Paul would never turn on Jesus and gave his head for Christ.
. . . . .
Was Saul predicting his death? “Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all” (Phil 2:17; NKJV). That, of course, was speaking in present tense, but was he thinking of the future when he would be beheaded because he was in Christ, according to Foxe’s Book of Martyrs?
Christ had shined the Light in the eyes of Saul. Jesus had got into his mind. Christ was in him in his mind’s eyes, so the ultimate recourse of the wicked one would be the futile attempt to get Christ out of his mind. Paul would indeed become the “drink offering” as the blood is the ultimate sacrifice.
Jesus was Sovereign but Paul his help-mate, not that Christ needed help, but looked for willing workers wherever He would find them. What did Paul do for the ultimate gain of realizing salvation? He gave up his own blood for the Name of Jesus.
Paul would do nothing but lay there with his head on the chopping block. Satan killed his body, but Jesus saved his soul on the day that Paul died. The glory will be complete on the Day of the Lord when the One that can save the soul will return personally for the body of Paul.
That, readers, was the faith of Paul, and it is the faith that is plotted on the graph in figure #2 as “steadfast faith” to the end of mortal life.
Paul still exists and his faith is no longer “faith;” it is certainty without any doubts. The gain of faith in the end, is not hope but realization as Paul finally sees the Body and “Cup” of Jesus in one place — on the Throne of God in Paradise in the Third Heaven in reality; that he will know and no longer only perceive!
(picture credit: Florida Center for Instructional Teaching; "Paul Beheaded")
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