WEEK 1 ● Day 1

READ ACTS 9

I used to write out exactly what I was going to say when I broke up with someone. One time in college, I wrote and rewrote my break-up monologue for an entire week straight. I penned it during every class, every study break, and any other time I had a few minutes to myself. I had a really hard time telling people what needed to be said.

Our buddy Paul, though? Not so much.

In the book of Philippians, Paul has some hard conversations with the church in Philippi. He says what needs to be said, encourages what needs encouragement, and corrects what need correcting. Paul doesn’t sugarcoat anything.

My husband is this way. He’s always quick to tell me when I hurt his feelings or if my tone with the kids was harsher than I’d intended. He gives me ideas on how I can lead more effectively, and he’s up front when he needs more us-time. Maybe that’s why I like Paul so much. After years of living with someone who gives it to me straight, I understand the importance of real, authentic conversation. Sometimes these kinds of conversations are empowering. Sometimes they’re not super fun. But since Ben’s words are coming from a place of love, I know they’re not meant to harm. We meet in authenticity to help each other grow. Sweeping things under the rug or being passive-aggressive isn’t beneficial or healthy.

If we want to be bold, dynamic women of God, we need to be willing to fight for authenticity in community. We have one life to live—one shot to make a mark on this earth in the name of Jesus Christ. And with Paul as our teacher, we’ll learn how to do that.

But if we’re going to learn from Paul, we need to first understand a bit more about who this man is. Now, I do realize you may know Paul’s backstory already, but as we walk through it again, God may point something out to you that somehow reflects and refracts differently today. God likes to highlight things at certain times, as He wants you to know, learn, and grow.

In Acts, we learn that Saul (Paul’s original Hebrew name) hated those who believed that Jesus was the Messiah. If we look at Philippians 3:5, we can get a sense why he felt this way: Not only was he from a Jewish family, but he was a devout and legalistic Pharisee. This new faith seemed like heresy to him.

1. What does Acts 9:1-2 say about Saul?

Saul’s conversion is incredible. God intervenes in a dramatic and supernatural way—and He steps into the path of someone no one thought would ever become a Christian.

Do you know someone like that? A person you’ve been praying for, and yet it just seems so unlikely that they’d turn from their current lifestyle and become a new creation? But the beginning of Paul’s story tells us something extraordinary: We serve a limitless God who often does the unlikely.

History Lesson

We know that God changed Abram’s name to Abraham (Genesis 17:5), Sarai to Sarah (Genesis 17:15), and Jacob to Israel (Genesis 32:28). And most of us probably thought God did the same to Saul, whom we know as Paul in the New Testament. But is that really what happened? Let’s find out.

In fact, after his conversion, Paul is referred to as Saul fourteen times![1] Hmm. So . . . what’s the deal? Why did his name change?

The shift from Saul to Paul happens as he sets sail for his missionary journeys. In Acts 13:9, we see Saul is called “Paul” for the first time on the island of Cyprus, which is much later than his conversion. Luke, the author of Acts, indicates in this verse that these two names are interchangeable: “But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him.”

Saul was the Hebrew form of his name; Paul was the Roman form. He uses the name Paul as he continues to travel and share the Good News of Jesus to mostly non-Jewish individuals throughout the Mediterranean. The shift in names is a sign of Paul’s desire to be approachable in the way he shared the gospel, using language and even his name in a way unique audiences could relate to (see 1 Corinthians 9:19-23).[2]

In Acts 9:10-11, we see God ask a man named Ananias to do something that seemed crazy: to go meet up with Saul. Ananias knows of this man named Saul of Tarsus and all the horrible things he’s been a part of in and around Jerusalem. In fact, the first time we hear Saul’s name in the Bible is during the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr:

Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

ACTS 7:58

Can you imagine being asked to meet with this kind of man? Ananias probably felt like he was being asked to go to his death!

2. How does Ananias initially respond to God?

3. How does the Lord reply to Ananias’ concern? (Hint: See verses 15-16.)

God knows something Ananias doesn’t: The man who had spent so much time persecuting Christians is now a completely new person.

4. Flip over to 2 Corinthians 5:17. What happens when we follow Jesus?

You can make yourself better, but only Christ can make you new. And if ever there was someone who became a new creation, it was Paul.

So what exactly does new mean, anyway? Let’s go to the BLB app to find out. Head to 2 Corinthians 5 and click on verse 17. Tap on the Interlinear and scroll down to find the word new or kainos (καινός, pronounced kai-nos). Click on the word to find English synonyms and descriptions from Outline of Biblical Usage, Strong’s Definitions, and Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, as well as all the other New Testament verses that use kainos.

5. Pen down what kainos means:

I absolutely love how Thayer’s Greek Lexicon explains this word: “recently made, fresh, recent, unused, unworn.”[3] So often as Christians, we talk about being restored . . . but this verse reveals that we’re more than restored. Restored would mean we’re just a new-and-improved version of what we were before. But this verse here in 2 Corinthians tells us that no matter what we’ve done or how we’ve lived, in Christ, we are brand new.

What does that tell us about Paul? When he chose to follow Jesus, his history against the church was wiped out, wiped clean. It doesn’t mean there weren’t consequences (like having to build trust and demonstrate the authenticity of his newness to Ananias and a multitude of believers), but in God’s eyes, there is no before—there is only now and evermore.

6. If Paul was made completely new the moment he chose to follow Jesus, why do you think Jesus blinded Paul? Just share your best guess.

Paul’s blindness could only be explained as an encounter with Jesus Christ Himself. And being blind allowed Paul to live undistracted for several days. He likely played and replayed the experience in his head and reflected on all his years of misunderstanding what it meant to truly love and follow God. But I don’t think that’s all. I wonder if Jesus was using literal blindness to show Paul that he had been living a life of spiritual blindness. As Paul’s sight was restored, so was his relationship with Jesus and his understanding of his new life with the Creator of the universe.

History Lesson

The New Testament is comprised of twenty-seven books, thirteen of which are attributed to Paul. Additionally, about half of the book of Acts (written by Luke) is filled with stories of Paul’s life and works. Scholars debate whether Paul also wrote Hebrews. If he did, he would have contributed fourteen books (or 51.85 percent of the entire New Testament!). Of these epistles, only seven are accepted as “being entirely authentic and dictated by St. Paul himself.” The others are thought to have been written by others on behalf of this dynamic apostle.[4] Paul was obviously influential in spreading the gospel in the days of the early church.

DATE

EPISTLE

CONTEXT

AD 52–53

1 and 2 Thessalonians

after second missionary journey began

AD 57–58

1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and Romans

after third missionary journey began

AD 62

Ephesians, Philemon, Colossians, and Philippians

during Paul’s first Roman imprisonment

AD 63

1 Timothy and Titus

after being acquitted

AD 66

2 Timothy

during Paul’s second Roman imprisonment

As we consider Paul’s “newness”—and by extension, the being-made-new that each of us experiences when we follow Jesus—we might find ourselves wondering how this utter transformation happens. Look again at Acts 9:15. God told Ananias, “He [Paul] is a chosen instrument of mine.” When I look at this verse in the Interlinear section of the BLB, I see that instrument (skeuos; σκεῦος, pronounced skyoo-os) also means “vessel.”[5] Like the white geometric vase on my desk, which is filled with beautiful flowers, a vessel contains something. Is filled with something. God hand-selected this vessel (Paul) that once contained judgment and pharisaical law, removed his spiritual blindness, and made him new . . . and now the vessel is filled with the Holy Spirit. We know from Galatians that as we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we pour out the fruit of the Spirit—which is the very character of God.

7. What fruit of the Spirit might you expect to see emerge in Paul’s writings? (Hint: See Galatians 5:22-23.)

The book of Philippians gives us a vivid picture of the fruit of the Spirit, as Paul writes to his Philippian friends about living aligned with the Good News of Jesus: love, not legalism; unity, not discord; authentic faith, not counterfeit religion.

When Paul’s eyesight returned, he saw the world with new eyes because he truly was a new creation. Gentiles (non-Jews) that he once despised and looked down on became his friends. The body of Christ (the early church) that he once persecuted became his family. Nothing was the same after his encounter with Jesus. Sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ became his only goal, and he willingly left the safety of his old life to share the Good News with the world. Three missionary journeys took him through areas of the globe where people had yet to hear the name of Jesus, and he faced almost constant danger:

25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

2 CORINTHIANS 11:25-27

If we flip back over to Acts 9:16, we see that God let Ananias in on what lay in store for this murderer-turned-apostle. The Lord knew that Paul would suffer “for the sake of [His] name.” Yet, because Paul-made-new was filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, he could see God’s deeper purpose in every struggle. The struggle was not beyond the reach of God, and every bit of pain was worth God’s Kingdom reaching the ends of the earth.

I’m sure Paul sometimes felt unqualified and inadequate in the face of such a difficult calling. But you know what? When we feel unqualified and inadequate, we can fully lean on the One who is able to do all things.

This is important for us to realize: If we feel capable and qualified for God’s task, we’re probably leaning on our own power and ability instead of God’s, which means we’re either out of step with what He’s asking or we’re about to struggle mightily in pursuit of the calling.

8. Do you feel capable and qualified in your calling? Where have you gotten comfortable, and do you think you might be missing something more that God is calling you to?

God qualifies the called; He doesn’t call the qualified. That’s certainly true of Paul. He had participated in persecution and murder of God’s people. I’m sure he often felt massively over his head as he faced persecution and prison.

But guess what—being over our heads is a good thing. If we’re living in self-reliance and self-sufficiency, we’ve made ourselves god. God wants us to join Him in His Kingdom work, and to be up to that task, we have to recognize our insufficiency and lean on His ultimate sufficiency.

God doesn’t want us to simply look the part of a new creation—He wants us to be a new creation. This newness equals freedom in Him. And freedom in Him creates opportunity. How do we make the most of this freedom and opportunity? We give our whole self to Him. We open our hands and give our all to Him. We say the words “send me”—even before we understand where and how we will be sent. This is the only way we are qualified: as vessels filled with the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s life was so radically changed after his encounter with Jesus that his entire existence became about sharing the redeeming love of the Cross. Paul cared little about who others thought he should be, or about what he “gave up” in choosing to follow Jesus. Instead, Paul leaned into authentic truth, integrity, and unity. I love what John Piper says about Paul:

He does not need my approval. He doesn’t fear my rejection. He does not have his finger in the air to discern how the winds of culture are blowing. He is authentic.[6]

Isn’t this the type of woman we want to be? I don’t want to do things simply for the approval of others. I don’t want to fear rejection or internet trolls. I don’t want to change my stance or my direction with the winds of culture. I want to be authentic and live in authentic relationships with others. And I have a feeling you do too.

Spend some time in prayer, talking to God about places in your life where you struggle to live authentically. Ask Him to give you the trust and freedom to live wholly in who He has created you to be.

Amen.