It can be difficult to believe the story of the life and conversion of Paul because he went from persecuting Christians to evangelizing. It seems that God chose the least likely individual for one of the most important roles that man would play in His plan, to bring salvation to the Gentile nations. There are three major formative factors that made Paul exactly the right person for the job. Paul was a Jew and a Pharisee, a Roman citizen and he received a divine calling to Christ unlike the calling of any other of the disciples.

Paul was a Jew (Acts 21.29) and a Pharisee (Acts 23.6) which allowed him to connect Jesus with the Messiah for other Jews and to demonstrate fulfillment of Jewish scripture to the gentiles. It is important that Paul be able to make these connections in order to maintain the law of Rome through his preaching of a new gospel. If he were preaching anything other than fulfillment of Jewish prophecy, it would have been illegal in Rome as it would look like a new religion. Since Paul was a Pharisee, he had a deep understanding of both the culture of the Jews and the religion of the Jews. His zeal for the Jewish scripture is what made him a powerful evangelist and missionary to the gentiles even though he was rejected by the majority of the Jews.

Paul was a Roman Citizen (Acts 16:37, Acts 22:27) and therefore able to maintain a legal course of action for his ministry due to his knowledge of Roman law. It was his understanding of the Roman laws that made him able to preach, but since he was a citizen Paul was allowed to live longer than the Jews would have likely allowed him to. “To inflict corporal punishment on a Roman citizen was a serious crime [against Rome]” (MacArthur, 2005). Since the Jews could not kill him, Paul’s citizenship gave him many more years of service to Christ than he would have received otherwise. It can be argued that Paul did not necessarily understand the laws of Rome just because he was a citizen. This can be refuted by looking at the martyrdom of Stephen prior to Paul’s conversion. Paul (Saul) was present, but apparently did not actively participate in the stoning of Stephen. Where the Jews were able to maintain the Jewish law over the people, they were only allowed certain liberties. Stoning was not one of them otherwise Paul himself would have been handed over to the Jews to stone him upon his first imprisonment. So Paul was present and even responsible for it (Acts 7.58), but he did not participate in order to stay free from blame.

Paul had a divine calling (Acts 9.1-19) which explains the elitist voice throughout his letters, not that he lacked humility in his calling, but that he understood Israel as being handpicked by God as was he. Paul’s calling is part of what gives him humility in his ministry. He found the truth through the divine intervention of Jesus in his life. This meant that he had nothing to attribute to his own qualifications either as a Pharisee or as a Roman citizen. Instead, all glory is automatically imputed to God. “An inseparable union exists between Christ and His followers. Saul’s [Paul’s] persecution [against the disciples of Jesus] represented a direct attack on Christ” (MacArthur, 2005). It is important that Paul was persecuting Jesus so that Jesus could forgive this most grievous sin against himself. Since Paul was about to go out and preach the gospel of Jesus to many people who would convert and follow, Paul could only maintain humility by knowing that this is the very thing he was previously against; so that none of the miraculous works could be contributed to himself. “The Apostles…did not just lavish high praises on Jesus. They accorded him honors that in Jewish teaching…were due to the Lord God of Israel and no one else” (Bowman, 2007). It was essential to God’s work in Paul that no one be exalted except for Jesus.

Paul was certainly called by God for a very direct purpose. He was the right man for God’s work in the early church. Paul was a Jew which meant that he understood the scriptures and the Jewish law. He was able to maintain legality in establishing so many churches due to his Roman citizenship. And through divine calling, God chose Paul for good works in order that He alone would be glorified through the establishment of the church among the gentiles.

Reference
Bowman Jr., Robert M., & Komoszewski, J. Ed & Bock, Darrell L. (2007). Putting Jesus in His Place. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.
MacArthur, J. (2005). The MacArthur Bible Commentary. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc..

Formative Factors of the Life of Paul for the Church