A Portrait of Apostle St.

Paul
The apostle paul was not always a Christian advocate. He learned conventional documents and Hebrew Scriptures together with his father in his childhood home in Tarsus. At age ten, he was provided for Jerusalem to examine with Rabbi Gamaliel a Pharisee and grandson of Rabbi Hillel. Rabbi Hillel founded the school that thought that tradition was superior to the Law. The religious school of Gamaliel followed a verbal interpretation of Scripture. Depending upon something of Scriptural exegesis, learned men met to talk about Old Testament passages. Students were taught to oppose, doubt and question what they read by providing different interpretations and presenting illustrations to aid the different interpretations. As a rabbinical student of Gamaliel, Saul was an initial hand witness of the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58). Later, Saul launched upon a trip to Damascus to persecute some early Christians. He was stopped on the street by a flash of light that blinded him. 'Saul, Saul, why would you persecute me'? Jesus asked (Acts 9:34). That event changed the way of Saul's life and his name. He became a follower of Jesus instead of persecuting others for his or her belief in Jesus as the promised Messiah. After converting to Christianity and doing a long time of instruction and fellowship with other Christians, Paul was now prepared to start his ministry. In Pisidian Antioch Paul began his Christian ministry with Barnabas at his side. He understood his main ministry was to create the Gentiles into the body of Christ after addressing a group in a synagogue. He experienced to Jewish unbelievers first because his Jewish back ground improved his concern for salvation for his Jewish brothers and sisters. Paul's missionary travels were extensive. A few of the places he visited included Galatia, Phrygia, Ephesus, Corinth in Macedonia, Caesarea, Jerusalem and Rome. Paul's training in Scripture helped him to learn and understand the doctrines of the early Christians and relate those ideas and principles to the early biblical knowledge he received. Paul saw history from a divine perspective received both as a scholar of Gamaliel and from his experience with Jesus during his desert wanderings before he started his ministry to the Gentiles. Paul was exceptionally clever and this intelligence helped him debate philosophical and spiritual subjects with the most educated scholars. As a social Greek, Tarsian, Hebrew and Roman, Paul understood that usually society misunderstands the function and nature of the relationship and God that God hopes to have with man in the world. More information can be found on this article. Paul's ministries are documented in the book of Acts. This authoritative source gives many accounts of how Paul the Apostle

served as a missionary to the Gentiles. Acts describes the events of Paul's three missionary journeys in the Roman Empire. The apostle planted churches, preached the gospel message and provided strength and support to early Christians. God gave Paul knowledge, power and energy that could enable him to carry out the work given to him by Jesus. God changed Paul so that he could embrace the strength that God gave him to preach the Christian life to others. Even though Paul was small in size, he suffered physically throughout his travels. Many missionaries are encouraged by his power to persevere and minister to the others throughout hardship. Paul is credited with saying 'I will do everything through Christ who strengthens me,' (Philippians 4:13).