The Secret of the Life of Paul (PART 1)

For understandable reasons, Paul is acclaimed to be the greatest of the early Apostles. Of the 27 books in the new testament, 13 or 14 are traditionally attributed to Paul. His casual letters to his converts or Churches have formed the basis of Christian doctrine and practice today. It is easy to admire and even idolise such a man. It is easy to classify his story as an exception, as though he was one of those rare-occurring, exceptional cases when God decided to especially lavish His grace on a vessel, irrespective of that vessel’s personal frailties and insufficiencies.

Even though it is true that God, in His sovereignty, can choose to use people how He wants to, it is also true that God is no respecter of persons. The Bible is clear that there are specific steps ordinary men can take that will qualify them to become vessels of honour in the hand of God (2 Timothy 2:21). It is safe to say that there is a methodology to becoming a critical Kingdom agent like Apostle Paul. The process of being used by God to such a significant degree that one’s ministry affects several generations after him is not necessarily shrouded in mystery. There is a formula that can be safely followed to arrive at that desired outcome. The essence of this brief piece is to x-ray Paul’s life and journey and break down the story of his unbelievable exploits into the segment steps that led to them.

I am convinced that if I discover a pattern of his life and submit myself to the same principles and dealings, I will also become a mighty vessel in the hand of God. This does not mean that everyone will become exactly like Apostle Paul. Not everyone will be called into the five-fold ministry or be called to be a travelling missionary like Paul. The reason for this x-ray and analysis is to find out the principle of growth that made Paul become what he became and apply our lives to them such that, within the confines of what we are called and destined to do, we can maximise the grace of God and rise to the climax of our callings be it in ministry, business, government, academics, media, or anywhere else in society. So, journey with me as we look at the four quadrants of the journey of Paul:

1. Captured

This word seems violent, but it best describes Paul’s conversion experience and sheds light on why many of today’s believers may never become as great as him. To capture means to take into one’s possession or control by force. It means to dispossess someone or something of its independence without consent. Many times, for a capture to be successful, it has to come suddenly. I dare say that a genuine conversion experience that will position a believer for exploits must be a capture: a very strong, sharp, overwhelming, all-encompassing assault that will be irresistible by the object of capture. Many believers today were not captured by God. They simply sympathised with the Christian faith and were in mental agreement with the doctrine of Christ. The word of God they responded to when they “gave their lives to Christ” was not sharp enough to pierce and even puncture their hardened and sinful hearts.

Paul was captured by God. On the way to Damascus, he came into a sudden head-on collision with the King of kings. That collision slammed him to the ground. He lost his balance. He couldn’t talk to the King of kings from his chariot. The confrontational voice of Jesus sent shock waves through his soul. “Who are you, Lord?” was the question he asked even though no one had told him he was talking to the Lord.

He was instinctively aware that the power confronting him was not something natural that he could easily resist. “What would you have me do?” was the next question. He left for Damascus on a mission, but now he was willing to abandon that mission to pursue a new assignment —whatever the Lord would have him do. He had become a prisoner. He was captured. He had to be led by the hand into Damascus and sat helplessly for three days, waiting for the Lord to have mercy on him and restore his sight.

Dear friend, have you been captured by God? When you gave your life to Christ, was it because you were confronted by a force greater than you? Or did you come into Christianity just because you were promised blessings and prosperity? Could that be the reason why your Christian journey is weak and ineffective? If Paul became a man of such deep conviction and one unstoppable by the forces of hell, it was because his entrance into the kingdom of God was nothing close to casual. It is not too late to pray to God now and say, “Capture me, O Lord!”

2. Conquered

The next step after being captured is to be conquered, which is a process rather than an event. It is a very deep (sometimes traumatising) spiritual experience administered by the Holy Spirit through circumstances of life.

To conquer means to overcome and take control of (a place or people) by military force. The word ‘conquer’ is military terminology. The reason for conquering is that a prisoner who has been captured can still retain some rebel attributes deep within his soul. A captive might willingly subject himself to his captors because he was overwhelmed by a greater force, but until he is conquered, he remains a source of concern to his captors.

Some captives are so stubborn that it may take several years in prison to conquer them finally. An unconquered captive is a dangerous captive. He will keep looking for ways of escape. He will refuse to divulge the secrets of his former government and cooperate with his captors. He may even poison the minds of other weaker captives and plan a rebellion to break free from the prison of their captors. There is thus an urgent need for conquering after captivity.

This conquering involves a series of deep-reaching processes that breaks the natural energy of the captive. It brings the captive to a point where he can no longer muster any force of resistance from within. It completely defeats the captive’s ideology and brings him into total submission. A conquered captive will not escape even if his prison door is opened. He has no more desire for freedom and has accepted the will of his captor as his own.

God had to conquer Paul. Because of the extent of this stage, it usually does not have a finishing point. It continues consistently in different levels of depth all through the life of the believer. Paul spent the early years of his Christian journey in the desert of Arabia. He had been a mover and a shaker, constantly in the limelight. God threw him into obscurity and restricted his movements to break his natural energy. A man who always led people and taught great audiences, admired by all, now found himself in a desert. Here he had not much companionship. Here he lost his addiction to the limelight and developed a deeper and more intimate relationship with the Lord.

Dear reader, have you been conquered by the Lord? Or are you running away from experiences God has allowed to defeat your natural stubbornness and tendencies? God is deliberate about defeating your self-life because of how far He intends to go with you in His purpose. Submit your life to God’s dealings today and pray for Him to hasten the process of conquering you.

Pause and pray at this point.

We will deal with the two other secrets next week. Please make sure to check out our next post.