Grace Bible Church Gillette, Wyoming

3. This is not a contradiction. The answer is that Jesus meant for Paul to be told twice. Many times instructions must be repeated to the hearers (2Ti 1:6; 2Ti 2:14; Tit 3:1; 2Pe 1:12, 13; 3:1; Jude 5). One could hardly imagine that even Paul, the intellectual giant that he was, could take in all that transpired and not need instructions reiterated.

4. The Lord “appeared” (horaō – become visible cf. 1Co 15:5-8) to Paul in order to convert and commission him. In Act 22:14, Paul stated that he was appointed to “see” (horaō) the Righteous One.

5. Paul was told by Jesus that He had “appointed” (proscheirozō – handpicked beforehand, cf. Act 22:14) him for a particular ministry (“chosen instrument”, Act 9:15). So Paul was appointed to see Christ and he was appointed for a particular ministry. Indeed Paul was a chosen instrument of the Lord to accomplish His will.

6. The purpose for which Paul was appointed to be a “minister” (hupêretês – “under rower,” or subordinate rower; attendants).

a) Attendants of public officials (Matt 5:25, “officer”).

b) Attendants in the synagogue (Luk 4:20, “attendant”).

c) Attendant of Christ to minister the Word (Luk 1:2; 1Co 4:1, “servants”)

7. He also was called to be a “witness” to the things he had seen on the road to Damascus, namely the resurrected Christ (cf. Act 22:15).

8. Not in the other accounts, Paul was told that he would be a witness of the “things in which [Jesus would] appear to [him]” in the future.

a) The Lord appeared to Paul after the appearance on the road to Damascus and personally tutored Paul (Gal 1:11-12, 16-17)

b) The Lord appeared to Paul in Corinth to encourage him (Act 18:9-10).

c) The Lord appeared to Paul with instructions to leave Jerusalem (Act 22:17-21).

d) The Lord appeared to Paul with assurance that Paul would go to Rome (Act 23:11 cf. Act 27:23-24).

e) Paul was taken up into Paradise and given unrepeatable instructions (2Co 12:1-7).

F. Lord Promised to Protect Paul (17)

1. In this account, but not in the other two, Jesus promised Paul that he would be protected and rescued (exaireō – lit. remove or take out of, deliver from peril) from those who persecuted him (cf. Act 9:16 “suffer for My name’s sake”). Eventually Paul would be beheaded by Nero, but until his work was finished, the Lord ultimately rescued him from death.

2. He would be rescued from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles. In other words, Paul would not be martyred by them until it was his time.

3. Nevertheless, the Lord told Ananias that it was to these very same groups that the Lord was sending Paul (Act 9:15).

G. Lord Promoted His Message through Paul (18)

1. Only recorded in this account was the detailed purposes for which Paul was being sent.

a) To open their eyes

(1) This is a divine work through the ministry of the Word by the Lord’s servants. Paul’s eyes were opened so that he could open the eyes of the Jews and Gentiles (Luk 24:45; Joh 9:39; 2Co 4:4).

b) To turn from darkness to light

(1) Believers were formerly darkness but now they are Light in the Lord and to walk as children of the Light (Eph 4:18; 5:8).

c) [To turn] from the dominion of Satan to God

(1) Those who come to Christ are delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His Son (Col 1:13).

d) To receive forgiveness of sins

(1) The message of salvation is forgiveness of sins to Jews (Act 3:19; 5:31; 13:38) and Gentiles (Act 10:43; 13:38-39; 26:18) alike.

e) To receive an inheritance

(1) The inheritance is the riches of eternal heaven (Acts 20:32; Eph. 1:11, 14, 18; Col. 1:12; 3:24; Heb. 9:15).

f) To be sanctified by faith in [Christ]

(1) Salvation is by faith in Christ (“Me”) alone. Paul’s account of the very words of Jesus confirm this divine truth.

(2) Sanctification encompasses a divine setting apart before the foundation of the world, the moment of salvation, the progressive sanction of the believer, and the ultimate sanctification of the believer in heaven.

IV. PAUL’S OBEDIENCE

A. Paul was Obedient to Vision (19)

1. Paul’s point was that if he would not have proclaimed the resurrected Christ, he would have been disobedient to the heavenly vision, which was essentially disobedience to God.

B. Paul was Obedient to Commission (20)

1. Since Paul was obedient to the Lord, he was obedient to the Lord’s commission. He kept declaring repentance of faith and repentance of deeds. He proclaimed this message to Jews and Gentiles throughout Damascus and Judea.

C. Paul was Attacked by Jews (21)

1. In essence, Paul has argued that the Jews tried to put Paul to death for being faithful to the Lord, His appearance, and His commission. Who could hardly blame Paul.

D. Paul Testified to Prophets and Moses (22)

1. Another argument by Paul was that it was God Himself that protected Paul, keeping him from being put to death by the Jews.

2. Furthermore, Paul did not declare anything that the Prophets and Moses did not already foretell, including the suffering and resurrected Messiah. These things could easily be verified by Agrippa himself (cf. Act 26:3).

E. Paul Testified to the Resurrected Christ (23)

1. Paul testified to the same truths that the Moses and Prophets prophesied, both of the death (Deu 18:15-18; Isa 53:5-9 cf. Act 13:28-29; 17:3; Luk 24:26-27, 44; 1Co 15:3-4) and the resurrection of Christ (Psa 2:7; 16:8-11; Isa 53:10; cf. Act 13:30, 33, 34, 37; 17:3, 31).

2. If Paul was wrong, then so was Moses, the Prophets, and even Jesus.

3. Paul’s defense to Agrippa was equivalent to a gospel presentation. For this was what Paul had been called to (Act 9:15).

V. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS

A. Believers are Under-Rowers (Joh 18:36)

1. As under-rowers we need to realize several factors about our Christian lives:

a) We are here to receive orders. They are the orders from the Lord in His Word. Unfortunately, we often see ourselves as the captains of our own vessels.

b) The greatest among us is the greatest under-rower (Luk 22:26). He is the one who serves one another to grow in grace.

c) As attendants of Christ, our highest priority is to minister the Word. It is the Word of our King. His Word is our royal decrees. His Word is truth for His Kingdom is a Kingdom of truth.

B. Believers Possess the Blessings of Heaven

1. The believer’s inheritance is the blessings bestowed upon the believer at the moment of faith and fully realized at the moment we see Jesus.

2. Believers are co-heirs with Christ. True believers will share in His glory if indeed they share in His sufferings (Rom 8:17).

C. Believers Minister to those who Persecute them.

1. The very ones who persecuted Paul were the very ones that Paul was sent to by Christ. This should not surprise us because Christ was sent to the very ones who crucified Him.

2. In the same way, there will be individuals to whom we have been sent (in our path, neighborhood, employment, or community) and they will be the very ones who persecute us. Or should I say, the ones who persecute us, are the very ones to whom we have been sent.

D. By being an under-rower (that is a minister of the Word, sharing the Scriptures), by sharing your testimony on how you came to Christ and by the testimony of your obedience to the Lord and His Word, you will make a strong defense of the faith.

Grace Bible Church · 4000 E. Collins Rd · PO Box #3762 · Gillette, WY · (307) 686-1516