25. Paul, a Model for Our Times
25
PAUL, A MODEL FOR OUR TIMES
If you are anything like me, by the time you have read these last chapters, you might feel like giving up!
Even with the promises of Christ’s help and peace ringing in my ears, I often feel discouraged. More than once I have asked myself, Is it possible for anyone to actually live this way? In the light of the spiritual realities I am writing about, my own heart is also exposed. I realize how frequently I have failed, and still fail, to walk the paths of reality.
The question each of us must find the answer to is this: Would God ask us to be someone or do something He knows is impossible for us?
Jesus’ disciples struggled with this same question. In Matthew 19, after Jesus explained the hardships of entering the kingdom of God, the disciples asked, “Who then shall be saved?” In other words, they were saying something like this: “It looks like an impossible task to follow You and do Your will in this kingdom of Yours. If those who are educated, powerful and wealthy cannot get in and be a part of it, then how can we poor folks ever make it?”
Jesus answered, “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
Jesus Himself agrees that no one can live a life of reality in the energy and the strength of their own flesh. But the power of God changes everything! With God it is absolutely possible for us to live and do the works that He asks us to do: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).
However, we must always remember that as followers of Christ, we are living in a world whose prince still is Satan. We are behind enemy lines. We’re like paratroopers who have been dropped into enemy territory. Never forget that we are fighting this spiritual battle in the Enemy’s camp. Unless we recognize this fact, we will listen to his propaganda and become discouraged, and Satan will push us to the sidelines.
I encourage you to meditate on all the resources and the power the Lord has given to us. Let us never forget that, as He gave us the Great Commission, He also promised, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20).
We are not alone. We are not powerless. We have supernatural strength and miracle power to fight this battle.
Paul—A Man Like Us
Apart from the Lord Jesus Himself, there is no person, living or dead, whose life has encouraged me more on this journey than the Apostle Paul.
Jesus, of course, is the perfect example of submission and spiritual authority, but what attracted me to Paul was that he was so obviously a flawed man, like me. He had a lot of natural strength and even more glaring weaknesses. During his life, he faced many of the same trials and temptations as we all do. Yet, in the power of Christ, Paul lived an incredibly victorious spiritual life and took the Gospel to the unreached of his generation.
I have often drawn new hope for my own life by reflecting on what God did in Paul’s.
Saul before Conversion
Saul, the young man who became Paul, is easy to relate to because, in many ways, he was a 21st-century man living in the first century.
Before his conversion, Saul’s life was similar to that of many affluent people today. Born and raised in the rich seaport of Tarsus, he enjoyed the best of all worlds. His cultural background combined Roman citizenship, Greek culture and Hebrew scholarship.
Saul was intellectually brilliant, savvy to ways of the world and a global thinker. In an information culture where knowledge was power, young Saul was uniquely positioned. In addition, he had the right connections in Jerusalem. He had the educational and family pedigree needed to go to the top in any field.
Young Saul appears to have been politically active, socially liberated, capable, respected and self-confident. It is not hard to imagine the dark side of this idealistic young zealot either—his pride and arrogance, bigotry and cruelty.
If God had not intervened, it is interesting to speculate on where Saul’s ability, determination, intellect and zeal might have led him. He might have become a powerful political leader, a judge, a general or a successful businessman. Saul had everything, including a religious fanaticism so powerful that it sent him off to track down and destroy the early Christians.
Paul—The Broken Man
But then it happened. Saul met Jesus on the Damascus Road, and his life was changed radically. Blinded by the Living God, Saul had little pride and self-confidence left as he was led by the hand to the house of Ananias.
Lying in the dust before the Lord Jesus Christ, he asked this all-important question, which I believe is the key to the secret of Paul’s life: “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6).
Up until then, Paul had been living for his traditions, his religion—and above all, himself, governing and running his life. But when he met the Lord Jesus Christ, he turned over the rulership of his life to Jesus. That word, kurios, in the original text means “the one who has authority over, ownership.” Saul threw up his hands and said, “Lord, here, take my hands and chain them to Yours. I want to be Yours now and forevermore. I am giving up the right to run my own life. From now on, You will take charge.”
Paul—A Dangerous Man
The rest of Paul’s life is history, as the expression goes. You can read about it in the book of Acts, experience it through his letters in the Bible and see its effect on the Church for the next 2,000 years.
Wherever Paul went, people could not forget the impact he made upon their lives and community. In Thessalonica, the unbelievers testified, saying, “Here comes a man who has turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6, paraphrased).
In Ephesus, the enemies of the cross, those who hated everything Paul preached, confessed, “Throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands ... ” (Acts 19:26).
In other words, wherever he went, whether people liked him or not, one thing they could not deny was that this man, Paul, was dangerous. His very presence brought changes in their thinking and living.
We read in Acts 19:13–16 how the sons of Sceva tried to cast out demons from those who had them, and a particular demon spoke back to them, saying, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?” The demons jumped on those boys, and they fled naked! This tells us that the hosts of hell, the demons, trembled at the very word “Paul.” Both heaven and hell recognized Paul.
The Secret of His Life
So what was the secret of Paul’s extraordinary life? Was it his education, background or abilities?
No, it was none of those things. In fact, Paul considered all his worldly privileges nothing but “dung” as far as their usefulness in walking the road to reality with Christ (Philippians 3:8). In Romans 7:18, Paul wrote, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing.” And late in life, when others were calling him “Saint Paul,” he referred to himself as the “chief of sinners.”
Was it his flawless walk with the Lord? No, Paul was impatient and had a bad temper. He quarreled with his co-worker Barnabas and had struggled to extend grace to John Mark, his younger brother in the faith. There are plenty of other books you can read that will point out Paul’s human failings.
The secret of Paul’s life was none other than his submission to the lordship of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 6:19–20, he wrote, “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price.”
Paul recognized that blood was the price Jesus paid for him, and he was no longer his own. For so long, he had robbed God. He had held his life back. Now, in repentance, he gave his life back to the Lord. Just like a bank manager who handles millions and millions of dollars but has no right to use that money for himself, so Paul realized that his own life, everything in it, small and great, was no longer his. It was purchased with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. In light of this reality, he surrendered his life to become a bondslave of the Lord Jesus.
Mark 13:34 shows the relationship Jesus has with such followers. It is like a wealthy millionaire who has gone on vacation, leaving his estate and power of attorney with his staff. He has left his authority to his bondservants, empowering them to conduct business on his behalf.
It was because of Paul’s absolute submission to Christ that God entrusted Paul with power and spiritual authority. It wasn’t Paul’s giftings that earned it, nor a flawless life that sustained it. It was simply that Paul yielded so that Jesus could do His work through him.
This is what has encouraged me so much about the life of Paul. I see that any person indwelled by the Holy Spirit can surrender his or her life in the same way that Paul did. And that means, the same spiritual reality that Paul lived is possible for every man, woman, boy and girl today. As we follow his example, we too will receive the spiritual authority needed to accomplish the Lord’s work in our generation. What God did in Paul, He can do in anyone.