1 Timothy 1:1-2 Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the Commandment of God our Savior, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope: Unto Timothy, my own son in the Faith: Grace, Mercy, and Peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
In Paul’s first letter to young Timothy, he declares himself to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ. An apostle is a person sent by God on a mission with a specific message. An apostle is accountable to his Sender and carries the authority of his Sender.
God had a specific plan for Paul’s life, but he got off on the wrong track in the beginning. In fact, Paul was the worst of the worst when it came to persecuting Christians before he was saved. At that time, Paul’s name was Saul. He was a brilliant man. Many believe him to be the most educated person alive at that time in history. He spoke several languages, including Greek, Latin, Aramaic, and Hebrew.
Saul was raised by Pharisee parents who adhered strictly to the Law of Moses. Saul was of Hebrew ancestry, born in Tarsus to Roman citizen parents. They hated the Greeks and protected their family from any and all “contamination” of the Gentiles.
When Saul was thirteen years old, he was sent to Palestine to sit under the teaching of Rabbi Gamaliel for some five to six years. There, he mastered Jewish history, the Psalms, and the Words of all the Prophets of the Old Testament. Saul continued in his studies, becoming a lawyer and was on track to become a member of the Sanhedrin. He was zealous for his faith and did not allow for compromise. He was a religious extremist and terrorist. In Acts 8:3, we read, But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
God created Saul with a brilliant mind, deep passion, and zeal for what he believed. He had the exact ancestry and citizenship he needed to fulfill God’s Plan for his life. From the day Saul was born, God was preparing him for what he would accomplish AFTER he was born again on that fateful day when he met Jesus on the side of the road to Damascus. In a moment, God would turn the tide on Saul’s life, and he would be totally transformed.
Saul was still the same person. He had the same parents, ancestry, heritage, education, passion, and zeal. What changed was the object of his faith. Everyone knew Saul was a religious terrorist, so to calm their fears, Saul’s name was also changed. He would now be known as Paul. God had totally turned the tide in the life of a man.
From then on, Paul would be an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the Commandment of God our Savior, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope. He would no longer persecute Christians, far from it. He was now one of the strongest believers on earth and a proponent of the faith. He would spend the rest of his life fulfilling the Divine Plan God had set in place for him before he was even born.
God creates every person with certain gifts and talents. He has a plan for every life. No one starts off saved and born again. Like Saul, we all go through a lot before God turns the tide in our lives and sets our feet on a new path. We are still the same person. What changes is the object of our faith, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope.
Only God can……..turn the tide
Praise Him! Doreen
www.bettsministries.org
