Sanctum People · Apostle to the Gentiles

Paul

The persecutor stopped on the Damascus road and remade into the apostle to the nations, who called himself the chief of sinners and learned that grace is sufficient in weakness. Hebrew: Saul; Greek: Paulos. Pharisee, apostle, prisoner.

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I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. — Philippians 4:13

The Right Credentials for the Wrong Cause

Before he was Paul, he was Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee with flawless credentials and ferocious zeal, who used them against the followers of Jesus. By his own account he was, "concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless" (Philippians 3:6). He held the coats at the stoning of Stephen and dragged believers to prison. He would later call himself the chief of sinners, not because he was dissolute, but because he had sinned in the name of God with full conviction: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief" (1 Timothy 1:15).

Why Persecutest Thou Me?

On the road to Damascus, light from heaven struck him to the ground, and a voice said, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" (Acts 9:4). The Lord's word about him was startling: "he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel" (Acts 9:15). The man who hunted the church became its greatest missionary and theologian. He never forgot what he had been: "I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God" (1 Corinthians 15:9).

My Grace Is Sufficient for Thee

Paul wrote much of the New Testament, often from prison, and his deepest theology grew from his deepest suffering. Pleading for a thorn to be removed, he was answered, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). His life became a settled trust in another's strength: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Galatians 2:20), and at the end, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7). From prison he could still write, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13).

What the Sanctum Draws From Paul

Sanctum reads Paul as proof that no one is past the reach of grace, and that strength is made perfect in weakness, the application being interpretation grounded in his own words. For a place that is honest about failure, Paul is essential: he names himself the chief of sinners and the least of the apostles, and in the same breath bears the name of Christ to the nations. The Sanctum's vulnerability-to-victory pattern is Paul's whole life, the wreck on the Damascus road becoming the runner who finished the course. Grace did not erase his past; it commissioned it. That is the Sanctum's hope for everyone who enters.

✦ And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. — 2 Corinthians 12:9 ✦

The Life of Paul

Road

to Damascus, where he was stopped (Acts 9:4)

Chosen

vessel to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15)

letters traditionally attributed to him

Course

finished, the faith kept (2 Timothy 4:7)

Paul is the persecutor remade into the apostle, the chief of sinners who became the architect of so much Christian thought, all of it learned in weakness and often written from chains. Sanctum holds him because his life is its central promise: grace is sufficient, and the one who was farthest off can be brought near and sent out.

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Key Scripture Passages

Acts 9:4 — And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Acts 9:15 — But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Philippians 3:6 — Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
1 Timothy 1:15 — This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
2 Corinthians 12:9 — And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Galatians 2:20 — I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
2 Timothy 4:7 — I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

Why This Story Lives in the Sanctum

Paul is proof that no one is past the reach of grace, and that strength is made perfect in weakness. The Sanctum's vulnerability-to-victory pattern is his whole life: the wreck on the road became the runner who finished the course.

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