Paul, Who Met Christ

This passage deals with what the apostle Paul was like before he met Christ, how he changed after his conversion, and the essence of faith revealed in the course of his ministry. Paul was originally a Pharisee who kept the Law strictly, and he displayed his pride in his faith by harshly persecuting Christians. But after meeting the living Jesus in person on the road to Damascus, he counted all his boasting and power as loss and began a new life devoted to the gospel.

Through the episode in Paul's conversion in which Ananias received a command from God and prayed for Paul, who had been an enemy, the sermon points to God's sovereignty and a grace that goes beyond human understanding. From the way Paul rebuked false troublemakers and exalted Christ alone, it also presents the humility and obedience that believers should have. Paul's confession, in which he lays down worldly learning and power and counts the knowledge of Christ as the most excellent thing, calls us to the same decision.

Consider what the life of Paul, who laid everything down after meeting Christ, means for us today.