Seized by Christ 
New Testament 6
Lecture 2

What Made Paul Tick?
•	Was it his Jewish background?
•	Was it his Greco-Roman background?
•	What had the most significant impact on Paul’s call and career?
•	What do we know about Paul’s Greek life?
•	What do we know about Paul’s Jewish life?
•	Which is most important? Do these color his theology totally? Is there another area that might have more profound influence?
The Damascus Experience
•	the basic texts are:
•	________________________
•	1 Corinthians 9 and 
•	15
•	plus the ______________ accounts in Acts
•	Acts 9
•	Acts 22 and 
•	Acts 26
The Key to Pauline theology
•	is not his Jewish background nor his Greek background
•	it is the ___________________________
•	Jeremias says, “Paul is one of those men who have experienced a sharp break with their past. His theology is a theology rooted in a sudden conversion.”
•	Yet, this conversion is not the major subject of his teaching and letter writing
•	His conversion is not what he preached
The Turning Point
•	Did Paul already have faith in the God of Israel? Did this change? Where then is the conversion?
•	It is the conversion from mere faith in God to the specific faith that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God that Paul had persecuted and now came to believe and accept as the Christ.
Luke’s Accounts: 
•	9:1-19
•	22:3-16 and
•	26:9-17
•	Acts 9 account is a neutral account where the __________________ shares his testimony himself. 
•	Acts 22 and 26 are accounts that are placed on Paul’s

Acts 9
•	is a report by the evangelist  himself
Acts 22: 3-16
•	shows the apostle defending himself before a _____________________ in Jerusalem at the temple

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Acts 26: 9-17
•	presents Paul preaching before the Roman governor _____________ and the royal couple _________________

Acts 9
•	has two parts
•	the appearance of Jesus to Paul and
•	the subsequent appearance of Jesus tot he disciple __________________
The First section
•	we hear Paul, on the way to Damascus to root out the Christians in that city, has a sudden encounter with Jesus
•	“A light from heaven flashed about him and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” and he said, “Who are you, Lord?” He said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting; but rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do…”
The Second Section
•	the Lord appears to ________________ and tells him to go to Paul,
•	lay his hands on him, heal him and impart to him the Holy Spirit
•	In the encounter the Lord discloses to _______________ his plans to make __________ his witness before the world
Acts 22
•	the same two-fold account is presented
•	the __________________________ is virtually retained
•	However Ananias informs Paul of the Lord’s ____________________________
Acts 22: 17-22
•	the apostle recounts another ___________________________
•	While he was praying in the temple, he fell into a trance in which the Lord told him to leave________________ and disclosed to him that he would be sent away to the Gentiles
Acts 26
•	the _______________ scene is omitted and
•	the commission become a part of the dialogue
•	Paul was told by the Lord Himself to witness to this ___________________ as well as others he would still receive, and that he would be sent to the Gentiles
Luke’s Accounts
•	are different from Paul’s in his letters
•	they are told in story form that has parallels elsewhere
•	describe the ________________________
•	record the _____________________ and 
•	mention the ________________________
•	Each description is made to fit into its appropriate place in Acts
Some Scholars have Questions
•	Most agree that Luke had a special interest in giving us the three accounts and in depicting the event as he did. He changed whatever ___________________________________ he had to fit his theological need this gives rise to serious questions: 
•	1. How much of this is Luke’s own?  
•	2. How much of this is tradition?

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•	3. How much is Paul’s? 
•	4. Does this agree with Paul’s in the letters?
Scholar’s Solutions:
•	some hold all three as merely the __________________ of Luke

•	others say Luke had three different sources

•	others think Luke had _________________ of sections, such as the dialogues
Other Scholars Think:

•	others see a link to the ______________________ vocation call and

•	others identify a parallel in the form of  certain ________________________ writings (2 Macc: Joseph and Asseneth)
Our Approach
•	to find out where these agree with Paul’s statements in the Letters
•	Munck found these points of agreement: 
•	1. Paul was totally _________________________ for this experience of a  
•	2. Direct and sudden___________________________ of the risen Jesus through which 
•	3. The former persecutor turned to Christ and 
•	4. Received his apostolic call and commission

The Bottom Line
•	Luke depicts the Damascus event as a real event in the life of Paul with a profound and___________________________ on the apostle and on the development of the church
•	he clearly roots the apostle’s proclamation in this encounter
•	Paul is to witness to all concerning what he ____________________________ (Acts 22:15)
•	He further relates the gradual shift of the gospel to the Gentiles
Paul’s Accounts
•	Acts from an historian’s view is a ___________________________ document
•	Paul’s letters are ______________________ or eye witness accounts
•	three texts are major:
•	Galatians 1:15-16
•	1 Corinthians 9:1, 16
•	1 Corinthians 15:8-11
These Texts
•	he appeals to his __________________________ in the defense of his gospel
•	of his apostolic freedom, 
•	of his apostolic _________________________
•	and of the ________________________________ of Jesus
•	each reference is different and reflects the particular missionary situation

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How do they differ with Luke’s?
•	1. they are not in story form
•	2. they do not recall the _______________________
•	3. They do not describe the near circumstances, although these may be inferred
•	the important point in these is that Paul is stressing the  __________________ of his gospel and of his personal apostolic calling
•	when these are questioned , he appeals to the experience
The Most Explicit Account
•	is in _____________________
•	While Paul is gone from Galatia, others are preaching another gospel than Paul’s to the mostly Gentile congregation there
•	They taught them they must accept the the law of Moses and be circumcised
•	This violated Paul’s understanding of salvation through _____________________________
The Issue
•	it challenged his _________________________ and the content and origin of his message
•	He affirms that he is “an apostle” in 1:1 and it is through JC alone
•	He says that it is not a man’s gospel in 1:11-12 and
•	that he was set apart in 1:15 before the foundation of the world
•	thus he was an enemy of the church until conversion
1 Corinthians 9
•	is not nearly as explicit as ________________________
•	here Paul does not defend his gospel, but his right to preach his gospel free of charge
•	He meets the objection with three ________________________ questions:
•	1. Am I not free?
•	2. Am I not an apostle?
•	3. Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?
1 Corinthians 15
•	Paul defends the ___________________ of the resurrection against those who are denying it
•	He reminds the readers that he got his gospel, not from men or from Jerusalem, but from the risen, living Lord
The Conclusion
•	from what we have looked at so far, we can understand that Paul sees 
•	his _____________________,  his vocation
•	and his authority rooted in the ______________________________ experience
•	They reveal that he is under the obligation to preach and the content of his preaching is determined by the revelation at Damascus