The Apostle Paul was first introduced in the Bible as Saul, a young man who was present at the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58). Paul admitted later when he was arrested in Jerusalem that he approved of the death of Stephen and was watching over the garments of those who killed him (Acts 22:20). While he was on his way to Damascus to bring believers there back to Jerusalem to be punished, Paul experienced a dramatic conversion. Acts 9:3-6 tells us, “Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And he said, ‘Who are you Lord?’ And he said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city and you will be told what you are to do.’”

Paul recognized Jesus’ authority when he asked the question, “Who are you Lord” (Acts 9:5). The Greek word kurios (kooˊ-ree-os), which is translated Lord, refers to someone who is supreme in authority (G2962). Paul didn’t question Jesus’ authority, but rather did exactly as he was told to and began proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God immediately after his conversion (Acts 9:20).

Jesus told Ananias, the man who was tasked with restoring Paul’s sight and imparting to him the Holy Spirit, that Paul was a chosen instrument who would carry his name “before the Gentiles, and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15-16). Jesus considered Paul to be an asset to his ministry, even though he had been persecuting Christians and trying to stop the spread of the gospel up to the point of his conversion.

Paul became a chosen instrument of God through the process of divine election. “This means that God’s intention (prothesis [4286]) was according to the principle of election which is God’s free choice without being affected by any outside circumstances or the worth of the individuals concerned” (G1589). Paul later wrote about God’s sovereign choice in his letter to the Romans. Using the example of Jacob and Esau, Paul said, “For this is what the promise said: ‘About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son. And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ As it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated’” (Romans 9:9-13).

Paul’s usefulness as an instrument of God was proven out in the successful completion of his ministry, but Paul never took any credit for his success. In fact, Paul argued against his own qualification to be used by God in his second letter to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 3:4-6). Paul explained the purpose of God’s divine election in his letter to the Romans. Paul began by asking the question, “Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?” (Romans 9:21-24).

Paul went on to explain the reason for God’s rejection of Israel; their unbelief. The Jews thought they could attain a righteousness standing before God through their own effort of keeping the Mosaic Law. “They did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works” (Romans 9:32). Faith is a critical element in being used by God. It says in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible for us to please God and that we must believe that God exists in order for him to reward those who seek him. As a chosen instrument of God, Paul went right to work proving that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 9:22) and as a result, “the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up” (Acts 9:31).