Bible Studies: Paul of Tarsus

Putting pen to paper, Paul pleas with the Corinthians to better themselves through Christ Jesus. While in discourse with the Corinthians, the polemic language of Paul becomes, at times, difficult to digest. While pursuing a better relationship with the believers in Corinth, the apostle often used terms such as ‘we,’ ‘our,’ and ‘us.’ These pronouns can be understood in multiple ways; however, the manner in which they are comprehended sheds light on Paul’s agenda. In the analysis of 2 Corinthians 4: 8-18, the pronouns are best understood as being inclusive in terms of Paul, his followers, and the believers in Corinth.

The book of Ephesians is one of Paul’s many New Testament letters, or epistles, to the Christian church still in its infancy. At the time of its writing, Paul is in Rome, imprisoned for championing the purposes of Christ and growing the church. We see numerous occurrences where Paul, being a man of little concern for the status quo, is either imprisoned or fleeing capture by Jewish or Roman officials for usurping the latter (Acts 19: 23-41). The date of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is dated 60-61A.D., depending on differing research. While this is certainly one of his epistles known as the “prison letters”, Ephesians was penned prior to Paul’s first roman

Analyse the contribution that Paul of Tarsus had on the development and expression of Christianity.

Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Jesus is the center of Christianity, but without Paul, Christianity would never exist. Paul organized Jesus’s disciples after Jesus’s death. Paul introduced Christianity to Non-Jewish people. He was extremely talented at converting others. The New Testament is largely based off Paul’s teachings. Paul also shaped the way Christianity thinks, he was the man who took a small cult and shaped it so that it would become a world religion; Paul was the most important figure to the growth of Christianity, even more than Jesus of Nazareth.

Christianity over the course of history has a vast influence on individuals, society and the way believers conduct themselves. It provides morals, practices and ethics that every Christian attempts to live by. Throughout the many denominations in the Christian church, Paul of Tarsus had a significant influence on the faith. His contribution to the development and expression of Christianity is immense and can be seen to stem from his writing and missionary journeys which have implemented his ideas and interpretations onto the development of Christianity. After Jesus, Paul was arguably the most significant figure in Christianity as his teachings form a significant part of the New Testament. Like may other Pharisees of that time in history, Paul sought to suppress the early Christian movement. He accused early Christians of blaspheming against God and breaking Mosaic Law. However, Paul had a life-changing experience when he had a vision of Jesus, and he spent the remainder of his life as a missionary for the early church. Centuries after his ministry, his teachings still influence Christian theology.

Christianity has a vast influence on individuals, society and the way christians go about their everyday life. By providing ethics, morals and practices, christian are guided everyday through their lives. The impact and effect of Paul of Tarsus is represented through his contribution towards theology and sacred texts which has led him to being referred to as the founder of Christianity, and the most significant figure in Christianity after Jesus Christ.

Paul the apostle is known for his letters in the Bible to the church in Philippi. Paul devotes his faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, to promote Christianity to the people of the Philippians. He is seen throughout the New Testament furthering God’s Word and projecting it in such a way to get fellow Jewish people to convert to Christianity. In the midst of this activity, Paul was travelling in between cities when a mob broke out against him. Israelites were furious with him spreading the Word of Jesus Christ throughout their land. The Israelites began to beat him repeatedly until the word reached the commander of the Roman soldiers. The roman soldiers immediately came to Paul and put him under arrest for a total of seven days before freeing him. Paul was charged with speaking out against the law of the land, promoting Jesus Christ among the Jewish people and disturbing the peace among the city.

It seems strange that so little is known biographically about one of the most important figures in Christian history, but this only serves to add to the mystery and grandeur surrounding the Apostle Paul of Tarsus. Much, however, is known of the time after his conversion to Christ and what he did to contribute to Christianity in this period, and it is this that leaves a greater legacy than the simple facts of his life. The contributions that he made towards the cause of Christ and the spreading and formation of Christianity are what he is perennially remembered for.

Whereas, in the rest of the chapter 6 he takes the opportunity to introduce to them what the believers are facing. Paul tells them to put on the whole armour of God. The word armour in the Greek is pronounced "pan-op-lee'-ah (πανοπλία) which mean the complete armour (includes shield, sword, lance, helmet, greaves, and breastplate)." This armour is so needed that they may be able to stand against what Paul call in verse 11 the "wiles of the devil." (Ephesians 6:11) The word "wiles" is only used one time in the Bible, and that is in the

St Paul of Tarsus is a significant figure in Christianity due to his major contributions of writings and letters which form a significant amount of the New Testament. St Paul is considered to be the forefather of Christianity after Jesus. Paul had a major impact on these spread of Christianity through his mission journeys, contributing to the religious traditions and helping expand Jesus’ original teachings. The reason behind Paul being a significant person in Christianity is because he contributed to the development of Christianity.

Tarsus is a city located inland from the Mediterranean by about 20km in the area of Cilicia, Anatolia and was primarily inhabited by the Hittites until their land was relinquished to the Assyrians and Persians in 400 BCE. It sits on an old trade route which increased its prosperity over its 2000 years of known historical contribution. It was an important point of intersection between the land and sea routes making it a significant place of commerce. At one point it was the accepted capital of Cilicia in the Roman Empire and particularly held fame for being the birthplace of St. Paul the Apostle.

As Christianity developed in the Roman Empire in first centuries A.D., its adherents were persecuted as a minority religion known for its distinct sexual ethic. The emergence of Christianity initiated an entirely new phase in the history of sexuality and challenged the societal customs of the ancient Roman world. Through the primary influences of the Christian practice of self-control and the Apostle Paul’s distinct radical sexual ideology in a time of rampant sexual exploitation, early Christian attitudes toward sexual morality were formed and continue to withstand society’s most basic shared ideas.

Apostle Paul was not always a preacher of Christianity, Paul’s parents were Jewish as well as Roman citizens. Paul was to be a Rabbi though his future plans changed, on Paul’s journey of scorning Jesus, he had a vision in which Jesus asked why Paul scorns him, then commissions Paul to preach his message to the Gentiles who received mercy through Jewish unbelief. Around A.D. 56-58; Apostle Paul wrote the Romans, verses 8:26-30 states, “26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Paul decided to state on the Truth of the gospel. He gave everything to preaching the truth of who was and who is Jesus. Paul is a passionate man, and is quite prepared to be a part of the costly business of building God’s kingdom on earth, building Christian communities that will grow and flourish. However, when the Galatians have gone astray, they did not notice that their faith is compromised. After all that Paul has put into building, encouraging and nurturing their faith, they have started to dabble in things that are not holy. Paul’s anger is expressed in the language that he uses; it is not the language of marital betrayal, but of military desertion. Paul isn’t simply upset because he feels that he has been let down by his ‘children’,