Paul’s Life and Ministry

Why this matters

Romans, 1–2 Corinthians, and Galatians were not written by an armchair theologian. They were penned (or dictated) by a Jewish Pharisee turned itinerant missionary who planted multiethnic congregations across the eastern Mediterranean and then “pastored by post.” If you grasp who Paul was, how his ministry worked, and why he wrote when he did, you’ll read his letters with historical realism and theological depth (Murphy-O’Connor, 2003; Keener, 2012–2015; Wright, 2013; Dunn, 1998; Barclay, 2015; Bird, 2016).

Learning outcomes

By the end, you will be able to:

1. Reconstruct the outline of Paul’s life (pre-Christian identity, Damascus call, major travels, imprisonments, martyrdom) and explain how we know what we know from Acts and the letters.

2. Describe Paul’s ministry model (Spirit-directed mission, team leadership, synagogue-to-marketplace strategy, urban hubs, households/patrons, manual labor, collections).

3. Situate Galatians, 1–2 Corinthians, and Romans in a plausible chronology and explain the circumstances that prompted them.

4. Articulate core self-understandings that drove Paul’s work: apostle to the Gentiles, cross-and-resurrection centered gospel, grace as gift, the Spirit’s new-creation life in mixed congregations.

5. Use a historically sensitive reading toolbox (genre, rhetoric, co-authors/amanuenses, travel logistics) and avoid common pitfalls.

1) Sources and method: How we know Paul

Our two main sources are (a) Paul’s own letters—especially the seven widely regarded as undisputed: Romans; 1–2 Corinthians; Galatians; Philippians; 1 Thessalonians; Philemon—and (b) Acts, Luke’s second volume narrating the church’s expansion (Dunn, 1998; Keener, 2012–2015). Where Acts and the letters overlap, they converge on key items (Paul’s Jewish identity, Damascus encounter, Antioch base, Corinth/Ephesus stays, Jerusalem collection), though each has different aims and compressions. Good historical reading:

• Prioritize the letters for Paul’s self-presentation and theology.

• Use Acts for travel chronology, place names, legal settings, and narrative glue—while remembering it is ancient historiography with crafted speeches (Keener, 2012–2015; Murphy-O’Connor, 2003).

• Anchor chronology where external evidence is firm: e.g., Gallio’s proconsulship in Corinth (~AD 51–52) synchronizes with Acts 18:12–17 and dates 1–2 Thessalonians (Murphy-O’Connor, 2003; Keener, 2012).

2) Paul before Christ: Diaspora Pharisee, Roman citizen, persecutor

Paul was born Saul in Tarsus of Cilicia, a Hellenistic city with commercial and cultural clout (Acts 21:39). He identifies himself as Israelite, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, Pharisee, “as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless” (Phil 3:5–6; cf. Gal 1:13–14). Acts adds (from Paul’s speeches) that he studied “at the feet of Gamaliel” and possessed Roman citizenship (Acts 22:3, 25–29). While only Acts mentions citizenship, it coheres with his legal maneuvers and mobility (Keener, 2012).

Social equipment: Paul likely spoke Greek fluently, knew Scriptures in Greek (LXX), and could function in Aramaic/Hebrew. His craft as σκηνοποιός (skēnopoios)—“tentmaker” or leatherworker—fit well with a portable, self-supporting mission (Acts 18:3; Murphy-O’Connor, 2003).

Religious posture: Before Christ, Paul’s zeal took the form of persecution of Jesus-followers whom he saw as threatening Israel’s holiness (Gal 1:13; 1 Cor 15:9). Martin Hengel (1991) argues that this pre-Christian phase reflects rigorous Pharisaic piety within a Hellenistic environment—deeply Jewish, culturally mobile.

3) Damascus and after: Call, commission, and reorientation

Paul does not describe his experience on the Damascus road as a “conversion” in the modern sense so much as a prophetic call and apocalyptic unveiling of Jesus as Israel’s Messiah and Lord of the world (Gal 1:15–16; 1 Cor 9:1; 15:8). He met the risen Jesus, and that encounter re-sorted his world:

• Scripture reread: Israel’s story finds its goal in the crucified-and-raised Messiah; Abrahamic blessing comes to the nations apart from becoming Jews (Gal 3; Wright, 2013; Dunn, 1998).

• Apostolic identity: Paul is commissioned as “apostle to the Gentiles” (Rom 11:13; Gal 2:7–9).

• New family: Jew and Gentile together, in Christ, by the Spirit, without Torah badges as identity markers (Gal 2–3; Barclay, 2015).

After a period that included Arabia and Damascus, Paul first visited Jerusalem (meeting Cephas and James), then labored in Syria–Cilicia (Gal 1:17–24). Years later, Barnabas recruited him to Antioch, a diverse urban center that became mission base (Acts 11:25–26).

4) Itinerant mission: How Paul’s ministry actually worked

4.1 Spirit-directed sending and strategy

From Antioch, after prayer and fasting, Paul and colleagues were sent by the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:1–3). Paul’s pattern, visible in Acts and letters, combined Spirit guidance with practical strategy:

• Synagogue-first contact created bridges to Scripture-literate Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, then widened to marketplaces and households (Acts 13–14; 17; 18).

• Focus on urban hubs (Pisidian Antioch, Corinth, Ephesus, Thessalonica), from which the gospel radiated along roads and trade networks (Meeks, 1983; Keener, 2012).

• Household networks and patrons (e.g., Lydia; Priscilla and Aquila) supplied lodging, meeting space, credibility, and social reach (Acts 16, 18; Rom 16; With Acts background in Keener, 2012).

4.2 Team leadership and co-workers

Paul rarely ministered alone. His letters name more than thirty co-workers: Barnabas, Silvanus (Silas), Timothy, Titus, Priscilla and Aquila, Apollos, Luke, Epaphroditus, Phoebe, and many others (Rom 16; 1–2 Cor; Phil; 1–2 Thess). Women appear as patrons (Phoebe, Rom 16:1–2), co-workers (Prisca/Priscilla, Rom 16:3; Phil 4:2–3), and likely house-church leaders (e.g., Nympha, Col 4:15). This team-based, gender-inclusive profile is not incidental; it was structural to Paul’s mission (Bird, 2016; Meeks, 1983).

4.3 Work and money: independence with interdependence

Paul often supported himself by manual labor (1 Thess 2:9; 1 Cor 9; Acts 18:3), both to avoid patronage strings and to model a work ethic. He also accepted support when appropriate (Phil 4:10–19) and organized a major collection for the poor in Jerusalem (1 Cor 16; 2 Cor 8–9; Rom 15:25–27)—a theological project of unity between Gentile believers and Jewish saints (Barclay, 2015; Dunn, 1998).

4.4 Planting churches and forming leaders

Paul did not merely make converts; he planted congregations, returned or corresponded to strengthen them, and appointed local elders (Acts 14:23; 20:17–38). He trained co-workers on the move (Timothy, Titus, Apollos) and used letters to teach, correct, and coordinate.

4.5 Suffering and resilience

Paul’s curriculum included hardship: beatings, imprisonments, riots, shipwrecks (2 Cor 11:23–28; Acts 16; 21–28). Suffering was not failure; it was participation in the Messiah’s pattern and authentication of his message (2 Cor 4; Phil 3; Dunn, 1998; Wright, 2013). Joy, prayer, and Spirit-given boldness sustained the work.

5) The road map (dates approximate): from Antioch to Rome

Scholars differ on some dates; here is a widely used plausible outline (Murphy-O’Connor, 2003; Keener, 2012–2015):

• AD 30–36: Damascus call; Arabia/Damascus; first Jerusalem visit (Gal 1).

• Mid-30s to 40s: Syria–Cilicia ministry (Gal 1:21).

• AD 46–48: First journey (Acts 13–14: Cyprus, South Galatia).

• AD 49: Jerusalem meeting/council (Gal 2; Acts 15).

• AD 49–52: Second journey (Acts 16–18: Macedonia/Achaia). Gallio in Corinth (51–52) gives a firm anchor. Likely 1–2 Thessalonians from Corinth.

• AD 53–57: Third journey (Acts 18:23–21:26): Ephesus (c. 53–56), then Macedonia/Achaia; 1–2 Corinthians and Romans fall here (see §6).

• AD 57–59: Arrest in Jerusalem; Caesarea imprisonment.

• AD 60–62: Voyage to Rome; house arrest; some “prison letters” likely here (Phil; Phlm; Col/Eph for those who hold Pauline authorship).

• AD 64–67: Martyrdom in Rome under Nero (early tradition; outside Acts).

6) Why he wrote: situating Galatians, 1–2 Corinthians, Romans

Important note: Exact dating can be debated. What follows reflects mainstream, defensible placements that matter for our Week 5 letters (Murphy-O’Connor, 2003; Bird, 2016; Dunn, 1998).

6.1 Galatians

Occasion: After Paul founded churches in Galatia, rival missionaries insisted that Gentile believers must adopt circumcision/Torah to belong fully to God’s people. Paul writes urgently to defend the truth of the gospel—that Gentiles are justified and receive the Spirit by faith in Christ, not by “works of the law” (Gal 2–3).
Date/Place: Either early (c. 48–49, after first journey, before Acts 15: “South Galatia” view) or mid-50s (“North Galatia” view). Either way, Galatians is Paul’s manifesto for multiethnic table fellowship grounded in the Messiah’s faithfulness and the gift of the Spirit (Barclay, 2015; Dunn, 1998; Bird, 2016).

6.2 1–2 Corinthians

Occasion: The Corinthian church struggled with status competition, sexual ethics, lawsuits, worship disorders, and rival “super-apostles” who undermined Paul’s cross-shaped authority.
Timeline: After an initial 18-month stay (Acts 18), Paul kept up intense correspondence and visits: a “painful visit,” a “tearful letter,” then 1 Corinthians (from Ephesus, c. 54–55) addressing ethics, worship, and the resurrection; later 2 Corinthians (from Macedonia, c. 55–56) defends his ministry, celebrates reconciliation, and urges generosity for Jerusalem (Murphy-O’Connor, 2003; Dunn, 1998; Wright, 2013).

Why it matters for ministry: 2 Corinthians is Paul’s pastor’s heart under pressure—boasting in weakness, reconciling through sorrow and joy, and insisting the new covenant ministry is Spirit-empowered, not letter-driven.

6.3 Romans

Occasion: Paul writes from Corinth/Cenchreae (winter 56/57) to a church he has not founded to (1) unite Jewish and Gentile believers around the gospel, (2) raise support for a westward mission to Spain, and (3) secure prayer for his dangerous Jerusalem trip with the collection (Rom 15:14–33).
Content: Romans is not an abstract treatise; it is missionary theology—God’s righteousness revealed in the faithful Messiah, justifying all who trust, creating one multiethnic family, and empowering Spirit-led obedience (Wright, 2013; Dunn, 1998; Barclay, 2015).

7) The engine of Paul’s ministry: convictions that drove the work

7.1 The gospel of the crucified-and-raised Messiah

For Paul, “Christ crucified” is both message and ministry model (1 Cor 1–2). The resurrection is non-negotiable center: “If Christ has not been raised… your faith is futile” (1 Cor 15). This yields a cruciform leadership style—power in weakness, boasting only in the Lord, refusing manipulative rhetoric (2 Cor 12; 1 Cor 1–2; Bird, 2016; Dunn, 1998).

7.2 Grace as gift that creates a new social reality

Paul’s signature word charis (“grace”) frames salvation as unconditioned gift that reconditions its recipients—free, yet aiming at transformation and mutuality (Barclay, 2015). This is why table fellowship in Galatians matters: grace that levels boundaries must reshape community practice (Gal 2; Barclay, 2015).

7.3 Faith/faithfulness and belonging

Paul contrasts “works of the law”—badges that mark out Jewish identity (circumcision, calendar, food) as belonging criteria—with “faith in Jesus Christ” (or the Messiah’s faithfulness) as the basis of justification (Gal 2:15–21; Rom 3–4). The point is covenantal inclusion on Messiah-ground, not ethnic boundary-keeping (Dunn, 1998; Wright, 2013; Barclay, 2015).

7.4 Life in the Spirit as new-creation existence

The Spirit is not a private experience but the public marker of the people of God (Gal 3; Rom 8). The Spirit fulfills the law by producing love, joy, peace… in mixed congregations (Gal 5:16–26). The church is the temple where God dwells (1 Cor 3; Bird, 2016; Dunn, 1998).

7.5 One family in Christ: Jew + Gentile

Paul fights for unity-in-difference: Jews remain Jews, Gentiles remain Gentiles, but both are in Christ, justified the same way, and welcome at one table. His Jerusalem collection and Romans’ call to mutual welcome (Rom 14–15) enact that vision (Wright, 2013; Barclay, 2015; Dunn, 1998).

8) Paul the letter-writer: how his pastoral presence worked

8.1 Co-authors and amanuenses

Many letters have co-senders (“Paul and Sosthenes…,” “Paul and Timothy…”) and sometimes an identified scribe (Tertius, Rom 16:22). Paul dictated but could add autograph greetings (Gal 6:11; 2 Thess 3:17). Recognize the team voice and collaborative production (Bird, 2016; Murphy-O’Connor, 2003).

8.2 Rhetoric and genre

Paul uses diatribe (posing an imaginary interlocutor; Rom 2–3), midrash/allusion to Scripture, and Greco-Roman letter conventions (opening, thanksgiving—sometimes withheld!—body, paraenesis, travel plans, greetings). He writes occasional letters to particular churches, not abstract textbooks; theology answers real problems on the ground (Dunn, 1998; Wright, 2013).

8.3 Travel plans and “presence by post”

Letters often move with envoys (e.g., Phoebe carries Romans, Rom 16:1–2), contain itineraries (1 Cor 16; Rom 15), and ask for prayer. Think of Paul as a network builder; his letters are pastoral technology for a mobile mission (Murphy-O’Connor, 2003; Meeks, 1983).

9) Reading the man inside the letters: spiritual psychology

Paul is both tough and tender—he weeps (Acts 20; Phil 3:18), plunges into anxiety for the churches (2 Cor 11:28), and refuses to lord it over anyone’s faith (2 Cor 1:24). His “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor 12) taught him that divine power is made perfect in weakness—the very premise of his ministry style. He longs for face-to-face presence and sees sorrow → comfort as central to reconciliation (2 Cor 1–7; Dunn, 1998; Wright, 2013).

10) A closer look: three ministry case studies

10.1 Galatia—table fellowship and the truth of the gospel

Crisis: After Paul’s departure, agitators persuaded Gentile believers that circumcision was necessary.
Paul’s move: He writes Galatians: recounts a public confrontation with Peter in Antioch over table fellowship (Gal 2:11–14), argues from Abraham and the Spirit (Gal 3), and warns that taking on Torah badges obligates the whole law and severs from Christ (Gal 5:1–12).
Ministry principle: Doctrinal clarity and shared meals rise and fall together; justification entails multiethnic community (Barclay, 2015; Dunn, 1998; Bird, 2016).

10.2 Corinth—cruciform leadership in a status city

Crisis: In a city obsessed with honor, some Corinthians prized eloquence, patronage, and power-display; others questioned resurrection and ethics.
Paul’s move: Preaches Christ crucified; refuses patronage and boasts in weakness; reorders worship; defends resurrection (1 Cor 1–2; 15). Later, facing “super-apostles,” he “foolishly” boasts—all to redefine authority around suffering love (2 Cor 10–13).
Ministry principle: Christian leadership is cross-shaped, transparent, and pastoral, not triumphal (Murphy-O’Connor, 2003; Dunn, 1998).

10.3 Rome—missionary theology for unity and expansion

Crisis/Goal: A mixed house-church ecosystem in Rome, with tensions over food days and status, needed unifying gospel; Paul needed a launchpad for Spain.
Paul’s move: Writes Romans: from universal need (1:18–3:20) to justification (3:21–4), Spirit life (8), Jew-Gentile mystery (9–11), and mutual welcome (14–15).
Ministry principle: Theology serves mission and unity; “welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you” (Rom 15:7) is not an add-on but the point (Wright, 2013; Dunn, 1998).

11) Toolbox for reading Paul historically and pastorally

• Place each letter on the travel map and ask: Where is Paul? Who carries the letter? What’s the occasion?

• Listen for the team: Note co-authors, envoys, and co-workers in the greetings—this is networked leadership.

• Spot the rhetoric: When Paul says, “Someone will say…,” you’re hearing diatribe; when he strings Scripture, it’s catena; when he lists virtues/vices, it’s paraenesis.

• Let Acts help, but don’t flatten: Use Acts for topography and legal settings (e.g., Gallio), not as a verbatim transcript of every speech (Keener, 2012–2015).

• Honor the Jew-first shape: Paul’s mission is to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Rom 1:16), which explains the synagogue-first pattern even as he remains apostle to the Gentiles (Rom 11:13).

• Trace money and meals: Collections and tables are theological (1–2 Cor 8–9; Gal 2; Rom 14–15).

• Expect tension: Paul’s churches are messy; his ministry navigates conflict, sorrow, and joy—and so should our reading.

12) Common pitfalls (and better paths)

• Pitfall: Treat Paul as an isolated genius writing systematic theology.
  Better: Read him as a missionary pastor whose theology serves churches in motion (Bird, 2016; Dunn, 1998).

• Pitfall: Oppose “Luke’s Paul” to “Paul’s Paul.”
  Better: Recognize genre differences and use convergences judiciously (Keener, 2012–2015; Murphy-O’Connor, 2003).

• Pitfall: Make grace antithetical to effort or ethics.
  Better: In Paul, gift creates new life that works through love (Gal 5:6; Barclay, 2015).

• Pitfall: Downplay women’s roles.
  Better: Attend to Phoebe, Priscilla, Junia, Lydia, and others—integral to mission infrastructure (Rom 16; Acts 16; Bird, 2016).

• Pitfall: Assume modern “conversion” categories.
  Better: See apocalyptic call and prophetic commission reframing Israel’s story around Jesus (Gal 1:15–16; Wright, 2013).

13) Review prompts (exam prep)

1. In 900–1,100 words, narrate Paul’s life and ministry from Damascus to Rome, highlighting how Spirit guidance, team leadership, work/finances, and suffering shaped his approach.

2. Place Galatians, 1–2 Corinthians, and Romans on the travel map. For each, explain the occasion, city context, and ministerial aim.

3. Analyze Paul’s collection for Jerusalem (1 Cor 16; 2 Cor 8–9; Rom 15): What does it reveal about his ecclesiology, theology of gift, and Jew-Gentile unity?

4. Using 2 Corinthians 10–13, define cruciform authority and contrast it with Corinthian ideals of honor and eloquence.

5. Explain why table fellowship (Gal 2) is a gospel issue. Tie the social practice to Paul’s doctrine of justification and the Spirit.

Further reading (student-friendly academic)

• Murphy-O’Connor, J. Paul: A Critical Life — crisp, data-driven biography.

• Keener, C. S. Acts: An Exegetical Commentary (4 vols.) — indispensable background for Paul’s world and travels.

• Wright, N. T. Paul and the Faithfulness of God — big-picture theology in historical context.

• Dunn, J. D. G. The Theology of Paul the Apostle — reliable synthesis across letters.

• Barclay, J. M. G. Paul and the Gift — grace as gift and its social effects.

• Bird, M. F. An Anomalous Jew (and his introductions) — Paul among Jews and Gentiles with accessible prose.

• Meeks, W. A. The First Urban Christians — social world of Pauline churches.

• Hengel, M. The Pre-Christian Paul — reconstructs Saul’s Pharisaic background.

References (APA)

Barclay, J. M. G. (2015). Paul and the gift. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

Bird, M. F. (2016). An anomalous Jew: Paul among Jews, Greeks, and Romans. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

Dunn, J. D. G. (1998). The theology of Paul the apostle. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

Hengel, M. (1991). The pre-Christian Paul. London, UK: SCM Press.

Keener, C. S. (2012–2015). Acts: An exegetical commentary (Vols. 1–4). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.

Meeks, W. A. (1983). The first urban Christians: The social world of the Apostle Paul. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Murphy-O’Connor, J. (2003). Paul: A critical life. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Wright, N. T. (2013). Paul and the faithfulness of God (Vols. 1–2). Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.

Closing encouragement

Keep a map in one hand and a letter in the other. Watch how a Spirit-sent, team-based, work-supported, suffering-tested ministry produced congregations in Corinth, Galatia, and Rome—and why those churches needed the letters you’re about to study. Read Paul not as a distant theorist, but as a missionary pastor whose pen was dipped in tears, travel dust, and triumph in the Lord.