The Ministry Of Paul The Apostle

Everyone knows the supposed life story of Paul the apostle, but then again they may not. As it is generally drawn from the book of Acts, Paul had a dramatic conversion on the “road to Damascus,” undertook “three missionary journeys,” and returned a final time to Jerusalem. He was arrested for creating a riot, held prisoner in Caesarea, and upon his appeal to Caesar was finally transported to Rome as a prisoner. Dotted, dashed, or colored lines on countless numbers of maps document Paul’s “three missionary journeys” and his journey to Rome, as these are commonly discerned in the book of Acts. Paul’s letters and the book of Acts itself, however, may tell a different story than the one customarily perceived—perhaps a less familiar story, but perhaps a more factual one. The Ministry of Paul the Apostle represents a significant paradigm shift for understanding Paul’s ministry which involves two major campaigns, an ordered awareness of Paul’s ministry as far as Illyricum, a revision of Paul’s Corinthian ministry, an historical confirmation of visits to Jerusalem, an appropriate ordering and reaffirmation of Paul’s letters, including Romans 16 as a letter to Ephesus. In addition, the current study offers a new paradigm for correlation between our sources of Paul’s letters and the book of Acts, with the development of an underlying source tradition behind Acts. The reader is thus invited to participate in a significant re-evaluation of Paul’s ministry and a proposed solution to a long-standing mystery of correlation between Paul’s letters and Acts. When one travels with Paul, one engages in a voyage of discovery. This book makes sense of the mystery of Paul’s ministry, which when properly understood, becomes an illuminating foundational window of clarity for sorting out a bewildering multitude of theological formulations of the enigmas of Paul’s thought. It is through a thorough awareness of the ministry of Paul that one comes to appreciate the contextual nature and depth of Paul’s theological thought. One comes to a new appreciation of Paul’s place in early Christianity, relevant even for those who live in a post-modern age.

“Except for the Lord Himself,no single figure has done more for the Christian faith.” If you want to understand Christianity, you need to understand Paul. But with so many books on the apostle, where do you start? Paul the Apostle is the ideal choice if you want a solid understanding of Paul’s life, ministry, and writings without getting weighed down with minutia. Author Robert E. Picirilli, who taught college courses on Paul for over twenty-five years, found that most books on the apostle were either too technical or too basic, so he wrote a book that strikes a happy medium. It offers: A profile of Paul in his historical and cultural context Outlines and explanations of his missionary journeys Introductions and brief analyses of each of his epistles Useful for individual study or as a textbook (as it is in many universities today), Paul the Apostle is a great one-stop study of the man who wrote half the New Testament, spread the gospel to the heart of the known world, and gave his life for the Kingdom.

Acts is the sequel to Luke's gospel and tells the story of Jesus's followers during the 30 years after his death. It describes how the 12 apostles, formerly Jesus's disciples, spread the message of Christianity throughout the Mediterranean against a background of persecution. With an introduction by P.D. James

"Besides Jesus, no one has kept me from despair, or taken me deeper into the mysteries of the gospel, than the apostle Paul." —John Piper No one has had a greater impact on the world for eternal good than the apostle Paul—except Jesus himself. For John Piper, this impact is very personal. He does not just admire and trust Paul. He loves him. Piper gives us thirty glimpses into why his heart and mind respond this way. Can a Christian-killer really endure 195 lashes from a heart of love? Can a mystic who thinks he was caught up into heaven be a model of lucid rationality? Can an ethnocentric Jew write the most beautiful call to reconciliation? Can a person who lives with the unceasing anguish of empathy be always rejoicing? Can a man's description of the horrors of human sin be exceeded by his delight in human splendor? Can a man with a backbone of steel be as tender as a nursing mother? If we know this man—if we see what Piper sees—we too will love him. Paul's testimony is a matter of life and death. Piper invites you into his relationship with Paul in the hope that you will know life, forever.

This book traces the life and ministry of Paul. Like a modern Sherlock Holmes, the author examines the clues available from the most current evidence in the earliest biblical texts, archaeological discoveries, and histories of the period from the earliest Roman historians through the most recent modern interpreters to set forth what we know about the life and work of Paul.

The life and ministry of the apostle Paul was a sprawling adventure covering thousands of miles on Roman roads and treacherous seas as he boldly proclaimed the gospel of Jesus to anyone who would listen, be they commoners or kings. His impact on the church and indeed on Western civilization is immeasurable. From his birth in Tarsus to his rabbinic training in Jerusalem to his final imprisonment in Rome, An Illustrated Guide to the Apostle Paul brings his remarkable story to life. Drawing from the book of Acts, Paul's many letters, and historical and archaeological sources, this fully illustrated resource explores the social, cultural, political, and religious background of the first-century Roman world in which Paul lived and ministered. It sheds light on the places he visited and the people he met along the way. Most importantly, it helps us understand how and why Paul was used by God in such extraordinary ways. Pastors, students, and anyone engaged in Bible study will find this an indispensable and inspiring resource.

In this "slim, readable, and provocative volume" (Journal of Biblical Literature), Ronald Hock focuses on the apostle Paul and his work within the social and intellectual context of the Greek East of the early Roman Empire. Hock discusses the New Testament evidence concerning tentmaking in relation to Paul's life as an apostle of Christ. Relevant literary and nonliterary texts from outside the New Testament add detail to a picture of ancient society and open new areas for study. The author describes the typical experiences that arose from such a way of life – traveling, the tentmaking trade, the missionary use of the workshop, attitudes toward work, and Paul's own reflections on the significance of his tentmaking for the apostolic self-understanding.