(Part 1)
The Apostle Paul did not experience an easy life. He endured various hardships including shipwrecks, imprisonments, beatings, and stonings. Yet, Paul was not crushed by his experiences, nor was he dissuaded by his circumstances. How could his faith remain so unwavering in the face of such difficulty? In part, I believe Paul was able to stand in the face of so many struggles because he was committed to the doctrine of God’s sovereignty. Rather than living in fear of or uncertainty about the future, Paul remained resolute because he knew that God has absolute control over all things.
The epistolatory literature and homiletical discourses of Paul overwhelmingly speak of God’s grace through his rule as king over all things. Paul repeatedly affirmed God’s meticulous providence and a pervasive emphasis on the doctrine of sovereignty is evident in Pauline theology. None of this is trademarked by Paul; rather, he was drawing on a wealth of biblical exposition and doctrinal foundations from the entirety of God’s self-revelation.
Paul’s recorded sermons from Luke in the book of Acts display Paul’s commitment to doctrinal preaching and the harmonization of gospel proclamation and divine sovereignty. The result of Paul’s doctrinal exposition is comfort for believers, boldness for the early church, and an evangelistic motivation in sharing the gospel with unbelievers.
Perhaps the greatest reason for the motif of God’s sovereignty to be prevalent in the writing and preaching of the Apostle Paul is because of his dramatic conversion. Who else but the sovereign Lord of all creation could transform Saul from a Pharisee of Pharisees, an enemy of Christ and his church, to a missionary, martyr, and theologian?1 His conversion, a clear work of God’s sovereign intervening providence, is the impetus for launching a ministry filled with reliance upon the sovereign King of the universe and a boldness to do the bidding of the Lord who called him on the road to Damascus.
- These categories are from Robert E. Picirilli, Paul the Apostle: Missionary, Martyr, Theologian, (Chicago, IL: 2017). His analysis and examination of Paul’s background and missionary journeys are informative and provide a wealth of historical and cultural background for Paul’s situation in the writing of his Epistles and textually recorded sermons. ↩︎
Called to Words 