Why Foreign Missions?
20m Paul’s Conversion and Calling: A Performance of the Gospel
In this section, Paul’s conversion and calling in mission
will be considered in both Acts and Paul’s letters. Paul experiences a dramatic conversion that
illustrates to him the sort of conversion that both Jews and Gentiles need to
experience. His conversion and calling
entail an encounter with the risen Jesus Christ, and in this encounter Paul
also experiences the Gospel. The Gospel
of Jesus Christ is revealed to him and, at the same time, he is called to a
ministry of this Gospel to the Gentiles.
In seeing the risen Christ, he becomes a witness to the Gospel. As a witness, he engages in the mission of
revealing what he sees and will see regarding Jesus (cf. Acts 26.16). One might say, therefore, that Paul's conversion and calling are a performance of the Gospel.
Conversion or Call?
Arthur Darby Nock pointed out some time ago that the
Graeco-Roman world did not think of conversion in terms of beliefs, since pagan
religions were syncretistic. Rather, any
notion of conversion would have more to do with a change of one’s way of
life. Indeed, the message of
philosophers such as Cynics or Stoics was precisely that: people should change
their behaviour.[1] Clearly, Judaism and Christianity opposed
syncretistic religion and therefore understood conversion as both a change of
beliefs and a change of behaviour. We
might further state that both Judaism and Christianity understood conversion as
a change of devotion and worship, since pagans needed to give up not only their
beliefs about gods but anything to do with idolatry. Conversion also meant a change with respect
to powers controlling life, whether internal passions driving people on in
their sinful pursuits or demonic powers.
Finally, conversion meant a change in one’s relation to God, including
the experience of a ‘new creation’ and transformed life and one’s eternal
destiny.
While Paul as a Jew would have thought that pagans needed
this sort of conversion, he would not have thought that Jews needed it. This line of thought led Krister Stendahl to
suggest that Paul would have understood his experience on the Damascus Road and
becoming a Christian not as a conversion.
Paul, he averred, did not convert from one religion to another but
gained a new understanding of his calling in life. This was not a soul-searching of his
conscience, as was Martin Luther's conversion experience. Instead, Paul was neither struggling to earn
his salvation through good works before a just God nor struggling over guilt
incurred through his persecution of believers.
Paul’s experience was rather a calling, modelled by Paul after the Old
Testament prophetic callings of Isaiah and Jeremiah.[2]
The significance
of this argument, as James Dunn sees it, is as follows. Paul's calling is not directly tied to his
only at that time coming to a theology of justification by faith or an emphasis
on the grace of God. Paul would have had
this theology from his Jewish background.
Rather, '...the Damascus road confrontation brought home to him how much
his people's and his own preoccupation with maintaining their set-apartness
from the nations had become a perversion of that original call and promise and
choice, and so a subversion of the fundamental character of that call and promise
and choice as an act of free grace. It
was that basic insight (revelation) and the call (to the Gentiles) bound up
with it that he sought to implement.’[3] For Dunn, then, what is significant for Paul
in his calling is his new perspective on the limits of God's grace: it was not
limited to Israel but was extended way beyond the Jews to the Gentiles.
Such thinking, I would suggest, arises when scholars read
their agendas into texts and when there is a need for clarification in scholarship
of the categories. While Paul did not
search for forgiveness of sins that plagued his conscience and walk down to the
altar to receive Jesus, he did see his life before conversion as sinful and
what happened to him as receiving God’s grace.
While Paul did not lack an understanding of God as gracious and
forgiving and may not have believed in works righteousness, he did not accept
that God’s grace came through God’s working of his own righteousness among a
sin-ridden people (both Jews and Gentiles) or that this righteousness came in Jesus,
God’s redeemer from Zion (cf. Is. 59.20), instead of the Law. While Paul’s new calling entailed a mission
that included Jews and Gentiles in a new community, the Church, he also came to
see that Jews and Gentiles were equally guilty before God for their sins and
equally needed the righteousness of God apart from the Law in Jesus Christ. This is, therefore, far more than a calling.
Beverley Gaventa offered three distinct ways to discuss the
topic: alteration, conversion, and transformation:
(1) alteration: a gradual change of life that emerges from
one’s past;
(2) conversion: a sudden change of life, a rejection of the
past and following an entirely new direction;
(3) transformation: a cognitive change of life that
reconceives the past.[4]
If we accept Gaventa’s
definitions, then Paul’s ‘conversion’ was really a ‘transformation,’ a
cognitive change of life that reconceives the past. However, it was more than that. There are shades of truth in saying that what
he experienced was an alteration, conversion, and transformation. It was certainly, however, even more than
that. In the book of Acts, Paul’s conversion
involves a acted parable: a change from blindness to sight. For all his learning under Gamaliel and his
zealousness for the Law, he was as blind as the Gentiles and needed the light
of Christ, brighter than the midday sun, to enlighten him. Paul describes himself in one of his letters as
the chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1.13-15).
He did not have a greater righteousness than the Gentiles for all his
Jewish understanding and practice of Judaism; instead, his persecution of the
Church—of Jesus himself—made him the chief of sinners. Moreover, those Jews rejecting Jesus, says
Paul, are accursed and cut off from Christ (Rom. 9.2), they have not fulfilled
the Law or submitted to God’s righteousness and need prayer for salvation (Rom.
9.31-10.3). In a word, they are in as
bad a situation as the Gentiles who are outside of Christ. They key, then, is to receive Jesus, who
brings an end to the Law precisely because he brings the righteousness of God
in his own person (Rom. 3.21-26; 9.30-10.4).
All this change Paul himself experiences in his own conversion: a change
from sin to righteousness, from an inadequate devotion to devotion to Jesus, from
impending doom to the hope of eternal life, from a blindness to enlightenment,
from a path apart from and opposing Christ Jesus to a path established by
Christ Jesus, from opposition to the communities committed to Jesus to a
mission of extending the Church throughout the world. What Paul sees and experiences in his own
conversion is what he shows and offers to Jews and Gentiles alike in his
missionary work. In a word, he is
converted, and he is commissioned to preach conversion to others.
Paul's Conversion in Acts 9, 22,
26
Paul’s
conversion is recounted three times in the book of Acts. The following table brings out the points
made in this important story for Luke’s narration of the early Church’s story. Paul’s conversion on the Damascus Road was
cognitive, experiential, miraculous, dramatic, transformative, Spiritual, and
an example of conversion for others, whether Jews or Gentiles. It was, at the same time, a unique calling to
be an apostle to the Gentiles, paralleling, to some extent, the calling of
Jeremiah the prophet. His unique seeing
of Jesus made him a witness to the resurrection of Jesus.
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Paul's Persecution of the
Church
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Paul's Revelation
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Paul's Calling
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Paul's Conversion
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Acts
9.1-19
High priest's
letters to Damascus Synagogues to arrest people of the Way and take them to
Jerusalem
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Light from heaven near Damascus, fell to ground, voice
saying, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Who are you? "I am Jesus, whom you are
persecuting."
"Rise, enter the city, you will be told what to
do."
Paul blinded for 3
days; ate and drank nothing.
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Ananias sent to
Judas' house on Straight St.--Paul had seen vision of him laying hands on him
and praying for his sight. Ananias protests. "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of
mine to carry my name before the Gentiles
(ethnoi) and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he
must suffer for the sake of my
name."
[Cf. Jer. 1.10--"ethnoi and kings"; Jer.
1.19--"suffer"]
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Ananias goes to heal
and fill Paul with Holy Spirit.
Something like scales fall from his eyes. He is baptized and filled with Holy Spirit.
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Acts
22.2-21
High priest and
whole council of elders gave Paul letters to the brethren in Damascus to
arrest people of the Way and take them to Jerusalem.
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Light from heaven near Damascus about noon; fell to ground;
voice saying, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’
Those with Paul saw light but heard no voice.
Paul blinded.
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Rise, go to Damascus and you will be told what to do.
Ananias comes, says, 'Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ And he says, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his
will, to see the Righteous One and to hear his own voice; 15 for you will be his witness
to all the world of what you have seen and heard.’
[Cf. Jer. 1.11, 13--"see"]
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"And now, why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your
sins, calling on his name."
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Acts
26.9-18
Authority and
commission of chief priests to persecute Jesus' followers in Damascus.
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Acts 26:14-15 14 When we had all fallen to the
ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why
are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.' 15 I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?'
The Lord answered, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.
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Acts 26:16-18 16
But get up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this
purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have
seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. 17 I will rescue you from your
people and from the Gentiles-- to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes so that
they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so
that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are
sanctified by faith in me.'
As
ch. 22, cf. Jer. 1.11, 13--"see"
Isaiah 49.6: servant, a light for the Gentiles
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Conclusion applied
not to Paul but to those Jews and Gentiles to whom he preached: repent, turn
to God, prove repentance by deeds (v. 20).
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Significance:
Paul is a Jew who has these ideas: zealous for
God (22), resurrection (26). He who
persecuted will suffer.
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Christology:
Jesus is risen; Jesus is Lord.
Ecclesiology: the Church is Jesus' body.
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Salvation: Turning from darkness to light, rescued
from the power of Satan, forgiveness of sins, and sanctified by faith in
Jesus.
Mission: Testimony of things Paul sees
and will see concerning Jesus that the Jews and Gentiles (vv. 18 and 23) might
also see (turn from darkness to light).
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Conversion: what happens to
Paul is not only new vision and new calling but also new life: sins forgiven,
miracle of blindness and regaining sight, filled with the Holy Spirit,
calling on Jesus' name. Both Jews and
Gentiles need this.
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Seyoon
Kim has attempted to find the seed of much of Pauline theology in Paul’s
conversion on the Damascus Road.[5] This somewhat speculative exercise offered a
needed challenge to views that downplay what happened to Paul. Indeed, this was more than a calling to
ministry but also a conversion, and it was literally ‘eye-opening’ for Paul
experientially and theologically. It
involved a new understanding of Jesus, a new understanding of mission (not
persecuting the church but extending it), a new focus on witnessing to the fact
that Jesus was the Son of God (Acts 9.20), risen from the dead, a new
understanding of the people of God as the Church, and a new understanding that
all are sinners and need God’s righteousness in Jesus.
Paul's Conversion According to Paul
The four categories used in the chart for the Acts material
might also be used for the material from Paul's letters which speak of his
calling and conversion. The following
table examines what several of Paul’s letters tell us about Paul’s conversion
and calling. Conclusions to this appear
in the final part of the table.
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Paul's Persecution of the
Church
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Paul's Revelation
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Paul's Calling
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Paul's Conversion
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Galatians
Galatians
1:13-14 13
You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently
persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. 14 I advanced in Judaism beyond
many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the
traditions of my ancestors.
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Galatians
1:12 for I did
not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it
through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
Galatians
1:16b-17a I did not confer with any human being, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem
to those who were already apostles before me….
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Galatians 1:15-16 15
But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through
his grace, was pleased 16
to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles
Cf. Jer. 1.4: before
you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.
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Galatians
1:23 they only
heard it said, "The one who formerly was persecuting us is now
proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy."
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Romans
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Romans
1:5 through whom we have received grace and
apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for
the sake of his name,
Romans
15:15c-16 the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister of Christ
Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that
the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy
Spirit.
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1 Corinthians
1
Corinthians 15:8-9 8 Last of all, as to one
untimely born, he appeared also to me.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an
apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
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1
Corinthians 9:1c Have I not seen Jesus our
Lord?
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1 Corinthians 3:10 According to
the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a
foundation,
1 Corinthians 4:1-2 1 Think of us in this
way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries. 2 Moreover, it is required of
stewards that they be found trustworthy.
1 Cor.
9.1d: Are you not my work in the Lord?
1 Corinthians 9:16-17 16 If
I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an
obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own
will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a
commission.
1
Corinthians 9:19-21 19 For though I am free with
respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more
of them. 20 To the Jews I
became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one
under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win
those under the law. 21 To
those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free
from God's law but am under Christ's law) so that I might win those outside
the law.
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1
Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and
his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder
than any of them-- though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
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2 Corinthians
[2 Cor. 4.8-11; 6.4-10; 11.22-33: Paul suffers in his
calling and has reason to boast as a Jew, but nothing counts except God's
power made perfect in weakness.]
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[Paul preaches Jesus Christ as Lord, 2 Cor. 4.5; note
imagery of light in 4.4-6.]
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2
Corinthians 5:18-21 18 All this is from God, who
reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of
reconciliation; 19 that is,
in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their
trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to
us. 20 So we are
ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat
you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to
be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of
God.
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2
Corinthians 4:4-8 In their case the god of this world has
blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of
the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not proclaim
ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for
Jesus' sake. 6 For it is the
God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in
our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. 7 But we
have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this
extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. 8 We are afflicted in every way,
but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
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Ephesians
Ephesians
3:8a Although I am the very least of all the saints….
Ephesians
3:13 I pray
therefore that you may not lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are
your glory.
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Ephesians
3:3-5 3
and how the mystery was made known
to me by revelation, as I wrote
above in a few words, 4 a
reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. 5 In former generations this mystery was not made known to
humankind, as it has now been revealed
to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:
Ephesians
1:9-10 9
he has made known to us the mystery
of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of
time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
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Ephesians
3:7-10 7
Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God's grace
that was given me by the working of his power. 8 Although I am the very least
of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the
news of the boundless riches of Christ,
9 and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery
hidden for ages in God who created all things; 10 so that through the church
the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers
and authorities in the heavenly places.
Cf. Jer. 1.10: See,
today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to
destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.
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Philippians
Philippians
3:3-6 3
For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and
boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh-- 4 even though I, too, have
reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be confident
in the flesh, I have more: 5
circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe
of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of
the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
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Philippians
3:12 Not that I have already obtained this or have
already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ
Jesus has made me his own.
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Philippians
3:7-11 7
Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of
Christ. 8 More than that, I
regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I
regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not
having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes
through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the
power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like
him in his death, 11 if
somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
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1
Timothy 1:13 even though I was formerly a
blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because
I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,…
1
Timothy 1:15 The saying is sure and worthy of full
acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-- of whom I
am the foremost.
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1
Timothy 1:12 I am grateful to Christ
Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and
appointed me to his service,…
1
Timothy 1:14 and the grace of our Lord
overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
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2 Timothy:
1.8c: ...But join with me in suffering for the gospel....
(Cf. V.12; 3.10-12)
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1.10: but it [grace] has now been revealed through the
appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life
and immortality to light through the gospel.
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1.9:
...This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the ages began....
1.11: For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an
apostle and a teacher.
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Significance:
2 Corinthians 3:5-6 5 ‘Not
that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our
competence is from God, 6
who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter
but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.’
2 Corinthians 4:11-12 11 ‘For
while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that
the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us,
but life in you.’
2 Corinthians 6:4-5 4 ‘…
but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through
great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments,
riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger….
2
Corinthians 12:9-10 9 ‘… but he said to me, "My
grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." So,
I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of
Christ may dwell in me. 10
Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and
calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.’
1
Timothy 1:16 ‘But for that very reason I
received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display
the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe
in him for eternal life.’ [Paul the worst of sinners was shown grace to preach the message of
grace: contrary to J. Dunn, Paul's insight into his being called was not only
that God's grace could reach Gentiles; it was also an insight into the depth
of God's grace which he had not previously understood.]
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Galatians:
Paul's Gospel is neither his own nor someone else's: it is from Jesus.
1
Corinthians: Paul has apostolic authority: he has seen the risen Lord.
Ephesians:
The Gospel is a revealed mystery about how Jews and Gentiles are united in
Christ.
Philippians: Paul was happy enough going the wrong way
until apprehended by Christ. [His conversion was not a gradual process of
rethinking his theology; it was an encounter with Jesus.]
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1. Calling
is a matter of grace. It is equally a
matter of required service. Paul's
calling catches him between God's grace and command. He is an ambassador announcing and urging
others to God's reconciliation through Christ.
2. Grace is
planned. What God is doing is planned
from the foundations of the earth and has a future grand finale.
3. As in
Acts, Paul reflects on his call in Gal. 1 with language from Jer. 1: like
Jeremiah, at the time of Jewish exile, he is called as a prophet to the
Gentiles/nations.
4. The
Gentiles fit into this grace and plan of God.
Paul's calling is to them (cf. Gal. 2.9c). Consequently, Paul does not want to build
on another's work but to push into new regions (Rom. 15.20-22; 2 Cor.
10.14-16).
5. But
Paul's mission also included the Jews (1 Cor. 9).*
*Paul’s
ministry in synagogues apparently immediately put him in touch not only with
Jews but also with godfearers. Acts offers
the primary evidence for this (9.20; 13.5, 14; 14.1; 17.1-2, 10, 17; 18.4,
19; 19.8).
But Paul's letters suggest that believers had been pagans,
e.g., Gal. 4.8; 1 Cor. 12.2; 1 Ths. 1.9).
Hultgren: both are true, as 1 Cor. 9.20-21 demonstrate (contra E. P.
Sanders, who sees this as hyperbole and denies much activity among Jews by
Paul).
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1. Paul's
conversion in terms of deeds: he has completely changed his behavior.
2. The
glory of God is known in the face of Christ; the light of the Gospel is not
perceived by those in darkness; God makes His light shine in our hearts (2
Cor. 4): conversion involves a whole new understanding from a whole new
vision of who Christ is.
3. Paul's conversion involves his abandoning confidence in
the flesh and seeking to know only Christ. Paul's sufferings (2 Cor. 4) and
straight forward preaching (1 Th. 2; 1 Cor. 2.1-5) actually help to let this
Gospel treasure stand out for what it was.
[The problem with being earnest, as the Jews indeed were, was that it
involved putting confidence in the flesh when in fact God's grace alone
brings righteousness: Rom. 9.31-32; 10.2-4; Phl. 3.3, 6. The Jews knew this from their own theology
(Gal. 2.15); but some, whether Jews or Judaizers among the churches, sought
to establish their own righteousness through the law (Gal. 5.3-5). But boasting is excluded: one cannot keep
the Law (Gal. 3.; Rom. 7.7-21), and besides, Jews and Gentiles alike are made
righteous through faith (Rom. 3.27-31).]
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[1] Arthur
Darby Nock, Conversion: The Old and the
New in Religion from Alexander the Great to Augustine of Hippo (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1933).
[2] Krister
Stendahl, Paul Among Jews and Gentiles
and Other Essays (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1976), pp. 7-22.
[3]
James D. G. Dunn, 'Paul and
Justification by Faith,' in The Road From
Damascus: The Impact of Paul's Conversion on His Life, Thought, and Ministry,
ed. R. Longenecker (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997): p. 100 [article: pp.
85-101).
[4] Beverley
Gaventa, From Darkness to Light: Aspects
of Conversion in the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986), pp.
10-13.
[5] Seyoon
Kim, The Origin of Paul’s Gospel (Eugene,
OR: Wipf & Stock, 2007; orig. pub. 1984).
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