Conversion of Saul

[alanmolstad]

Originally Posted by Saxon

You seem to have a thought that Father equals God. I have the thought that father, Son and the Holy Spirit equals God. Comment please.

The trinity that I believe in and teach about is = God in 3 persons.....
The father is not the Son.....The Son is not the father.

They are two totally different persons.
But that are the one true God at the same time.

[Saxon]

Is that any different than what I said???

[johnd]

Acts 1:20–22 (AV)

20 For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bisho***** let another take.
21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.

Saul of Tarsus (Sha'ul b' Tarshish) for this reason and several others I'll spare you to be brief was IMHO the rich young ruler who tagged along with Jesus and essentially boasted to Jesus what must I do (that I haven't already done... was what he meant). Jesus loved him and said you lack one thing... you are the fair haired boy at the sanhedrin the rising star you are educated well off and on your way... give all that up... give your wealth to the poor and come follow me and I will show you true riches...

Sad, disappointed the Lord didn't give him a pat on the back like everyone else was at the time, not to mention give up everything that truly mattered to him... he walked away humiliated. So he started to listen to those who opposed this Jesus of the Galilee... it made biblical sense that he was the promised Messiah, but Sha'ul was blindsided by this confrontation. He lived to keep the Law. He was certain he lacked nothing. So he became bitter against Jesus and his followers increasingly buying into the sanhedrin's lies that this was a cult leader (one that almost hooked him)... so he persecuted the Church.

The one thing Saul lacked to qualify (Acts 1:21-22) was to witness the resurrected Christ. And that's precisely what happened on the road to Damascus.

If you listen to Paul's accounts of his qualifications as an apostle and lessons he learned (how to abase and how to abound) it all adds up.

His apostleship was complete and the calling of the Lord is without repentance. He called the rich young ruler. He was going to follow one day.