14 Lessons from Paul in Acts
Paul’s Spirit was unconquerable.
Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is the execution of the mission, the calling, and the responsibility given by God even in the presence of fear. Paul had been stoned at Lystra and left, presumed dead, but he went right back when God revived him. Withstanding Elymas the Sorcerer face to face required much courage. At Philippi, Paul was beaten. In Athens, he stood toe to toe with the intellectuals of the day. In Corinth, he faced depression, loneliness, ministry burnout, and the realization of the fallenness of that city. In Ephesus, he survived a huge riot. He went to Jerusalem and Caesarea later in his ministry, to face Roman governors and Jewish kings. Paul did not once shrink back. What we learned from Paul is not to be without fear, but to have confidence in the calling of God on your life that overrides that fear. He showed us that when we are confident in our calling and purpose, we will press on in the most difficult situations.
Paul’s vision for ministry was clear and strategic.
Paul worked hard and had a high view of the sovereignty of God, but he understood that as men and women we have a great responsibility to carry out the calling, plans, and purposes of the Lord. Sometimes there seems to be the misconception that if we hold to a higher view of the sovereignty of God, then we do not have to do much work. Paul shows us that God is sovereign but demands everything from us in our pursuit of personal holiness, the execution of the Great Commission, and the building of the Church. God had given Paul a clear calling to plant churches throughout the Roman world. God had repeatedly reaffirmed that calling. Paul had confidence in that calling which resulted in his precise planning and execution of it.
Paul’s faith was deeply rooted in what God had done and revealed to him through the risen Lord.
We learn from Paul the importance of a constant and daily reflection on the Gospel. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, Paul reminded the Christians in Corinth of this Gospel. We too should be reminded of this daily.
Paul did not work alone. He understood the need for a team.
We must work together to carry out the vision and mission God has called us too. For the global and historical Church triumphant, we must know what Jesus has laid out in Scripture as our mission to make disciples of all people. Missionaries need to work under the support and authority of the Church for security and accountability of mission. Locally, we need to know who we are as local church bodies and what our responsibility is to our communities and our families.
Paul believed in and practiced personal mentorship.
Paul invested deeply in the development of young pastors like Timothy, Titus and John Mark. Paul said, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” We have to invite people into our lives and invite them to examine our pursuit of the Gospel. This is difficult to do. We have to really put ourselves in a position where we are vulnerable to the scrutiny that might come from people who are studying our lives. Even Paul would do this. He would say, “Examine my life. I’m pursuing after Jesus. I want you boys to imitate me. I’m fifty and you’re twenty-five and I want you to learn from me so that when you’re fifty you’ll be teaching twenty-five year-olds.” That was sort of the way Paul did things. He believed in and practiced personal mentorship. We need to learn from that. Everybody needs to be investing in somebody in their lives.
Paul loved the church and the body of Christ.
Sometimes, there is a negative outlook toward the Church. It is easy to find what is wrong with the Church and to identify things we do not like about it, but the Church is the Bride of Christ. It would be unhealthy for one man to talk about the things he doesn’t like about another man’s wife. If he criticized her openly and talked ugly about her, the husband of the woman would be compelled to defend her name and honor. Jesus Christ has told us that he has a Bride, and she is the Church. Paul loved the Church. It is evident in the greetings and salutations that Paul would send in his letters. He knew the Church was not without her issues, but he had a strong conviction and genuine desire to see her grow and become stronger. We need to love the Church like Paul.
Paul preached with Authority that was not his own but that came from God.
We can learn from Paul what it looks like to speak with authority, speak unapologetically, and speak with conviction. The power that drove Paul’s preaching was from the Lord. Paul knew that the Spirit of God dwelled in him richly. Whether he was preaching, debating in Roman court (which was one of the greatest stages of the time), or having one on one Gospel conversations, Paul was unapologetic and unwavering in his commitment to preach Jesus Christ and His gospel. Here are some things we have learned about preaching and its place in the local church and in missions:
-We have learned primacy, persistence, pervasiveness, the power of preaching, and the proper way to preach.
-Primacy — Preaching is the primary function of the Church.
-Persistence — There is never a need to come up with a better way. We do not need a new revelation. We just need to preach the Word unapologetically.
-Pervasiveness — The need to spread the Gospel throughout the world by preaching.
-Power — Power preaching is Gospel-centered and Christ-exalting.
-Proper — Proper preaching is expository.
Paul lived by faith.
He wrote to the Galatians, “The life I live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.” Paul would write in one of his letters, “We walk by faith, not by sight.” And he would remind us that “the righteous live by faith”.
Paul believed in the power of prayer.
This was true for Paul personally, as well as for the ministry and growth and mission of the Church. Paul did nothing without seeking the Lord first.
Paul knew his own limitations, and the need to depend fully on the Lord.
Paul is a man who often spoke of his weaknesses. He was raw in the way that he presented himself. We need to know our limitations and fully rely on the Lord.
Paul believed that to be absent from the body was to be present with the Lord.
This gave him an urgency to do the work but a fearlessness of what man might do to him. He didn’t fear death.
Paul believed that this world is temporal.
He knew that one day Jesus is returning to make all things new, judge every deed, word and thought, and establish an eternal kingdom in which He will reign forever.
Paul showed us how to engage hostility.
There is a time for confrontation and a time to avoid it. Paul was unafraid of confrontation, but he was not argumentative and contrary just for the sake of being difficult. When the purity of the Gospel or the unity of the Church was at stake, Paul would always stand and fight for that purity and unity. The Word of God has laid out for us, clear and plain, how we are to confront conflict in the Church and how to defend Her purity against the attacks of the enemy.
Paul had a Living Hope.
That Hope was Jesus.