Paul I: From the Dark Side to the Light

Acts 7:54-8:3; 9:1-31; Ephesians 3:4b-11

We now come to the architect of the church and from whom we know most about spiritual gifts. In the first three readings, we will look at his life-events and how they reflect his spiritual giftedness. In the last three, we will learn from his letters. From doing this study, I am more convinced than ever that our spiritual gifts have been with us all along. Our walk with Christ then brings them to life, so that God can use us to bring others to Christ and to be part of transforming the world around us. Even our natural gifts, the ones we have been using all our lives take on a new impact when ignited by the Holy Spirit.

It is my growing conviction that the spiritual and natural gifts dichotomy is artificial. In my own life, my abilities as a musician and public speaker were already present, but a growing relationship with Christ has been an integral part of both the development, freedom and impact of those abilities. There have been other areas of giftedness that have emerged that were unrecognized before I met Christ or have developed in response to the needs for ministry that have been around me. My confident guess is that there are areas of giftedness I still have not tapped, either because my life in Christ has not yet uncovered them or because there hasn’t been the need for them. The question you might want to ask yourself is, “What areas of giftedness from God (both natural and spiritual) are dormant in you, waiting to be awakened with a growing relationship with Christ in response to a needy world (both outside and inside the Church)?”

When we meet Paul for the first time, he is called Saul (his Hebrew name). But his abilities as an adroit administrator and visionary leader are already present. He is leading the crusades to end the Jewish cult, called “The Way.” He does not do the stoning of Stephen, but he is the one who supervises it. He also is a very educated man (studying under the great Pharisaical scholar Gamaliel), filled with dormant wisdom. Yet, none of this is in service of Christ, but rather in service to the enemies of the Christian faith. The conversion of Saul marks the point where gifts once used for the Church’s destruction, become the major ones that were used for the Church’s construction.

The story of Saul’s conversion is well-known. I hope you will take time to read it slowly and out loud. There is also a problem with his conversion, in that people have made it a template for what an encounter with Christ should be like. Not everyone (in fact a scant few throughout history) gets blinded by a light and hears an audible voice from heaven. Furthermore, there is very little information about the rest of the people who were with him. After all, he was leading a crusade. Was this something they experienced along with him, or was this a vision that only he could hear and experience? Obviously, he was blinded and needed care, so those around him saw something. It is important that the great variety of encounters with Christ in scripture be told, so that we can encounter Christ in the way that He comes to us.

I would be remiss not to mention the wonderful gifts of Annanias – knowledge (from the vision of God), mercy, generosity, healing,faith and hospitality. The church owes him a great debt of gratitude for being willing to take the risk (with great convincing needed) of doing ministry with Paul. These lesser known people who stand in the gap for high profile disciples are the leverage points at which the kingdom spreads. Most of us will not have the experience or the impact of Saul/Paul, but each of us have the chance to stand in the gap where we can risk investment in people and watch God do amazing work. The risk is real. Not everyone is the success story of Saul/Paul. But without these unsung heroes, the sung heroes never emerge.