Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Before his conversion, Paul was known as Saul and was "a Pharisee of Pharisees", who "intensely persecuted" the followers of Jesus. Paul describes his life before conversion in his Epistle to the Galatians: For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.
The writer of Acts introduces Saul, later the Apostle Paul, as an active witness of Stephen's death in Acts 7:58, and confirmed his approval in Acts 8:1a. Reuben Torrey, in his Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, suggests that this clause [i.e. verse 8:1a] "evidently belongs to the conclusion of the previous chapter".
13:44-51: Paul and Barnabas being driven out of Antioch. 14:5-6: Jews and gentiles attempt unsuccessfully to stone Paul and Barnabas. 14:19-20: Jews stone Paul nearly to death. 16:16-24: Paul and Silas are flogged and imprisoned by gentiles in Philippi. 17:1-15: Paul and others are chased out of successive towns by Jews.
The author of Luke–Acts indicates that the names were interchangeable: "Saul, who also is called Paul." He refers to him as Paul through the remainder of Acts. This was apparently Paul's preference since he is called Paul in all other Bible books where he is mentioned, including those that he authored. Adopting his Roman name was typical of ...
The name "Acts of the Apostles" was first used by Irenaeus in the late 2nd century. It is not known whether this was an existing name for the book or one invented by Irenaeus; it does seem clear that it was not given by the author, as the word práxeis (deeds, acts) only appears once in the text (Acts 19:18) and there it refers not to the apostles but to deeds confessed by their followers.
In 1 Thessalonians 1:6 Paul refers to the imitation of Christ (and himself) and states: "And ye became imitators of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit", whose source is identified in 1 Thessalonians 4:8 as "God, who giveth his Holy Spirit unto you". [2] [3] [4]
Paul speaks of the Spirit often in his letters. The Spirit unites all Christians: "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:13). [83] Paul wrote that the Spirit empowers the church with various gifts or charismata.
Christians were persecuted by local authorities on an intermittent and ad hoc basis. In addition, there were several periods of empire-wide persecution which were directed from the seat of government in Rome. Christians were the targets of persecution because they refused to worship the Roman gods or to pay homage to the emperor as divine.