Author: Calleen Hough

Negative publicity

The Apostle Paul received a lot of negative publicity because of his gospel message. When Paul arrived at Athens, he immediately encountered philosophers that wanted to discredit him. It says in Acts 17:18, “Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods? because he preached unto them Jesus, and his resurrection.” Paul criticized the Athenians for being too superstitious (Acts 17:22) and said to them, “For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you” (Acts 17:23).

Paul pointed out that the Athenians had become so religious that they had lost sight of the one true God that they really needed to focus their attention on. In his Mars Hill message, Paul described the “God that made the world and all things therein” (Acts 17:24) and said, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Paul’s quotation of a familiar Greek poet was probably meant to bridge the gap between the physical and spiritual realms that the Athenians seemed to be caught up in. The Athenians may have been trying to connect with the God of the Universe, but didn’t know how to reach him. Paul briefly explained God’s plan of salvation to them this way:

Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (Acts 17:29-31)

Paul’s reference to Jesus’ resurrection without mentioning his name may have been his way of peaking the curiosity of the Athenians that were listening to him preach. It says in Acts 17:32, “And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.” It’s possible that Jesus’ name had become a hot button that caused people to shut down and immediately tune Paul out. Although Paul didn’t water down his message, he might have been concerned about the negative publicity he had received at Philippi and Thessalonica. Rather than stay in Athens and continue to preach his gospel message, it says in Acts 17:33, “So Paul departed from among them.” Paul may have done this in order to leave the door open so he could return to Athens later and have a better chance of reaching the people that were open to hearing about Jesus’ gift of salvation.

Turning the world upside down

The effect of Paul’s second missionary journey was that an upheaval began to occur that started breaking apart the foundation of the Roman Empire. The Jewish leaders were concerned about Paul’s ministry because it was undermining their authority and the traditions they had established that were meant to keep the Jews dependent on the priests and Levites that controlled their religious system. While Paul was in Thessalonica preaching the gospel, it says in Acts 17:5-7, “the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Cesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.”

The accusation brought against Paul may have been an extreme exaggeration, but there was probably some truth to the statement that he was turning the world upside down. What was going on was very threatening to both the Jewish and Roman leaders because people were realizing they didn’t have to follow the examples they were being given. Paul told people there was another way to live their lives that would result in happiness, joy, and peace. In the background of what was happening was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesies that had predicted the fall of the Roman Empire. Daniel’s interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Daniel 2:37-44) outlined God’s plan of salvation and revealed that a series of world kingdoms would be established on Earth and eventually be destroyed when Jesus came and established his eternal kingdom. Referring to the image that Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream, Daniel said, “And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixt with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all the kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Daniel 2:42-44).

Isaiah also talked about a time when the world would be turned upside down in reference to the judgment for universal sin (Isaiah 24). Many people may have been fearful of Paul’s message because they knew it was a sign that God’s judgment was coming and understood that there would be no way for them to escape eternal punishment for their sins except through belief in Jesus Christ. The bottom line was the Jews didn’t want to repent, they wanted things to continue as they had been for hundreds, even thousands of years. The special treatment they had received from God had caused the majority of the Jews’ hearts to become hardened beyond repair.

Spiritual fruit

After he identified the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) and the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), Paul went on to say that all Christians are personally responsible for the outcome of their spiritual lives (Galatians 6:4-5). Paul stated, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7). Paul intended that the principle of sowing and reaping would link spiritual activity with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. When he said, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance,” Paul meant that these characteristics would be produced by the Holy Spirit and become more and more visible over time in a Christian’s behavior if he or she remained in fellowship with God.

An important aspect of the principle of sowing and reaping was the idea that a particular type of seed produced a specific kind of fruit (e.g. you can’t grow an apple tree from an orange seed). Whatever kind of seed you started with was the only thing you were able to produce. Jesus’ parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-8) indicated that the seed that needed to be sown in order to reap the fruit of the Spirit was the word of God. In his explanation of this parable, Jesus said:

“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (Matthew 13:19-23, ESV)

The Greek word translated understands in Matthew 13:23, suniemi (soon-ee’-ay-mee) is derived from the word sun (soon) which denotes union; “with or together, i.e. by association, companionship, process, resemblance, possession, instrumentality, addition, etc.” (G4862). Another way of describing the Greek word sun would be assimilation, the process of taking in and fully understanding information or ideas. Assimilation also refers to the absorption and digestion of food or nutrients by the body or any biological system (Oxford Dictionary).

The process of assimilating the word of God can take years, sometimes decades, or even an entire lifetime. What is important to note is that it is an intentional process, one that does not happen automatically. Otherwise, there would be no such thing as a carnal Christian, a person that is saved, but does not produce any spiritual fruit (1 Corinthians 3:3). Paul encouraged believers to stick with the process of spiritual growth, even if it seemed like nothing was happening. He said, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9). In other words, your appointed time to be blessed by God may come when you least expect it, when you are past the point of giving up.

Walking in the Spirit

Paul’s explanation of Christian living focused on the freedom believers obtained by becoming children of God. He said, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1). The Greek word translated liberty, eleutheria (el-yoo-ther-ee’-ah) is derived from the word eleutheros (el-yoo’-ther-os) which means “unrestrained (to go at pleasure) that is (as a citizen) not a slave” (G1658). Slavery was common in the Roman Empire and it is likely that many of the people that Paul preached the gospel to were not Roman citizens. Paul may have used the term eleutheros to describe the effect of salvation as a way of illustrating the complete transformation that occurred when someone was born again.

Paul defined liberty as a choice to love others instead of oneself. He stated, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty, only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Galatians 5:13-14). The connection Paul made between love and liberty may have come from the personal revelation he received from the Lord, Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:12). Paul wanted us to understand that the result of receiving salvation by grace was that the Christian’s heart was no longer to be focused on harming others. Instead, love was to be demonstrated to everyone in need.

Paul identified the essential key to successful Christian living in Galatians 5:16 where he stated, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” The phrase “walk in the Spirit” implies spiritual activity. What Paul may have been thinking of was the daily decision-making that controls our behavior. In connection with the freedom he referred to in Galatians 5:1, Paul seemed to be saying that walking in the Spirit was a continual choice to do what God’s word tells us to. Jesus illustrated this principle in his parable of the good Samaritan who chose to stop and help a wounded man in the road rather than pass him by like the priest and Levite had (Luke 10:25-37).

Paul indicated the result of walking in the Spirit was the development of spiritual fruit. After listing the works of the flesh, Paul said, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). Even though these characteristics might seem like natural human tendencies, Paul made it clear that they were only possible as a result of the Holy Spirit’s influence on the believer’s heart. Paul’s statement, “against such there is no law” meant that keeping the law would not produce these divine behaviors. It was only by identification with Jesus Christ that a believer could be expected to act like a child of God.

Adoption into God’s family

The Apostle Paul may have had a more difficult job preaching the gospel to the Gentiles than those who preached the gospel in Israel because of the pagan worship practices of the heathen. The Gentiles were used to offering human sacrifices to please their gods. In many ways, human sacrifice confused the meaning of Jesus’ death on the cross. Paul’s first and probably his primary challenge in preaching the gospel was to establish the concept of grace as the basis for salvation. In order to do that, Paul focused on the belief that the Gentiles would be excluded from God’s kingdom. Paul stated in Galatians 3:28-29, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Paul wanted the Galatians to see themselves as children of God that were entitled to the same inheritance as the Jews. Because the Gentiles had been excluded from God’s blessing for thousands of years, it was probably difficult for them to believe God had included them in his plan of salvation.

Paul used the concept of adoption to explain how a person could become a child and receive the rights of inheritance through redemption. In essence, what Paul was doing was leveling the playing field and making it possible for anyone to enter the kingdom of heaven. Speaking of the Jews, Paul said, “Even so we when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: but when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:3-6).

When Paul first started preaching, he used his experience on the road to Damascus as a dramatic testimony of his conversion. Some of the Galatians may have been eye witnesses to his altered way of life, therefore, his preaching had a big impact on them. Over time, as the Gentiles became more integrated into the Christian community, Paul was concerned that the Galatians had forgotten they were equal with the Jews in their standing with God. Paul used the story of Abraham and his two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, to illustrate the change in status of the Gentiles. Paul pointed out that the Israelites were in bondage to sin, just as much as the Gentiles were, before Jesus came and established a new covenant with them (Galatians 4:25). Then Paul stated, “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise” (Galatians 4:28). Paul’s reference to the Galatians as brethren was intended to clarify that all believers were not only members of God’s family, but descendants of Isaac by faith.

Paul wanted the Galatians to realize that their salvation was just as secure as the Jews’ was. On the day they put their faith in Jesus Christ, they became co-heirs of God’s kingdom. Paul concluded his argument with the admonition, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1). The Greek term that is translated stand fast, steko (stay’-ko) means to be stationary or to hold your position (4739). Basically, what Paul was saying was the Galatians needed to persevere and not give up the victory over sin Jesus had won for them at Calvary.

Faith

Paul associated New Testament believers with the covenant God made with Abraham. He said, “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are children of Abraham” (Galatians 3:6-7). The importance of Paul’s connection was that it meant Christians would inherit the blessings that were originally intended for the nation of Israel. The blessing Paul was referring to can be found in Genesis 15:4-7 where it talks about God’s promise to Abraham. It says, “And behold, the word of the Lord came unto him saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now towards the heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD: and he counted it to him for righteousness. And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.”

Paul’s declaration of the Christian’s expected inheritance stressed the importance of faith. Paul used the word faith, or pistis in the Greek, 20 times in the book of Galatians and the word pistis appears 13 times in the third chapter of Galatians alone. The Greek word pistis is derived from the verb peitho (pi’-tho) which means “to convince” (G3982). Therefore, having faith is really just about being convinced that something is true. Genesis 15:6 says that Abraham believed in the LORD, meaning Abraham was convinced that God was telling him the truth. The truth that Christians have to be convinced of is that Jesus died for our sins. Paul stated, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:13-14).

A critical point in Paul’s explanation of justification by faith was his statement, “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe” (Galatians 3:22). What Paul was getting at was the requirement for a person to be a sinner in order to be saved. Some people do not believe they are sinners and therefore, cannot be saved. This was particularly true in Jesus’ day because the Pharisees had led people to believe that it was possible for them to keep the Mosaic Law. Jesus repeatedly pointed out that God’s standard was perfection. In one of his encounters, a young man claimed to have kept all of God’s commandments since he had reached the age of accountability. “Jesus said to him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:21-26).

Justified by faith

Paul was a change agent of sorts because even after Jesus died and was resurrected, his disciples didn’t seem to fully comprehend what he had done for them. Liberty was a foreign concept to the Jews. The temple that the Jews worshipped in was designed to constantly remind them that they were separated from God by their sin. After Jesus died and was resurrected, the Jews, and everyone else, had free access to God. There wasn’t anything they could do from that point forward that wouldn’t be forgiven.

One of the problems the Jewish people had was continuing to think of themselves as God’s chosen or special people. They thought a barrier still existed between God and man. The idea that anyone could freely enter into the presence of God was beyond the Jews’ comprehension. Paul felt it was his responsibility to correct this erroneous thinking. Paul wanted the Jewish people to understand that they were no longer special. That was why they didn’t like Paul’s message and tried to kill him.

One of the ways the Jewish people tried to stop Paul’s gospel message from being accepted was to say that he had made it up, that it wasn’t really true. What he was preaching was so radical that Paul was reluctant to share his message with certain people. It took him 14 years to grow strong enough in his faith that he was willing to confront the leaders of the church in Jerusalem. Peter, especially, was a problem for Paul because everyone trusted Peter and believed everything he said was directly from the Lord.

Finally, when Paul made it back to Jerusalem, he said straight out, God has spoken this message to me and I am obligated to share it with you (Galatians 2:2). “And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship” (Galatians 2:9). Everyone finally agreed that Paul should take his message to the people outside of Israel so that they could become Christians too.

Later, Peter came to visit Paul in a city where he was preaching. Peter stirred up trouble by acting like Paul was doing something wrong. Paul confronted Peter and told him to his face that he was being a hypocrite. The dispute between these two men was about whether or not a person could work his way into heaven. Paul said, “We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

The revelation of Jesus Christ

Paul’s letter to the Galatians opened with a brief testimony of how he became an apostle of Jesus Christ. The primary reason Paul felt it was necessary to share his experience of conversion was because his teaching was being contradicted and its authenticity challenged by Jews that Paul claimed were perverting the gospel of Christ (Galatians 1:7). Paul argued, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8). Paul went on to boldly declare that his message came directly from Jesus and plainly stated, “But I certify to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:11-12).

The importance of Paul having received his message through a revelation of Jesus Christ was that its distinct content could not be verified by anyone else. Whereas, Jesus’ twelve apostles could vouch for the authenticity of each other’s messages, Paul had no one to back him up. Paul explained his situation as being appointed by God for a particular mission, specifically to preach the gospel to the non-Jewish races. He said, “But when it pleased God who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother” (Galatians 1:15-19).

It appears that Paul received his revelation from Jesus during the time he was in the Arabian desert, because according to Acts 9:20, Paul began preaching the gospel while he was in Damascus, before he went up to Jerusalem to see Peter. Paul’s account of his conversion demonstrated that God was solely responsible for his salvation. Paul didn’t seek to become an apostle of Jesus Christ, he was “called” just as Jesus’ twelve apostles had been. The Greek word Paul used that is translated called, kaleo (kal-eh’-o) means to call aloud (G25640. Paul was therefore most likely referring to the voice he heard on the road to Damascus that had asked him the pointed question, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” (Acts 9:4). After Jesus identified himself, Paul asked him, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6), an indication that Paul’s conversion took place after Jesus had identified himself and Paul was able to associate him with the voice he believed to be God’s.

Philippi

About halfway through his second missionary journey, Paul arrived at the city of Philippi. “The Roman colony of Philippi (Colonia Augusta Julia Philippensis) was an important city in Macedonia, located on the main highway leading from the eastern provinces to Rome. This road, the Via Egnatia, bisected the city’s forum and was the chief cause of its prosperity and political importance. Ten miles distant on the coast was Neapolis, the place where Paul landed after sailing from Troas, in response to the Macedonian vision. As a prominent city of the gold-producing region of Macedonia, Philippi had a proud history. Named originally after Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great, the city was later honored with the name of Julius Caesar and Augustus” (Philippi in the Time of Paul, p. 1705).

A significant event that probably turned the tide in Paul’s favor in this particular missionary trip was his imprisonment at Philippi. As result of casting a demon out of a female slave, Paul and Silas were arrested and according to Acts 16:22-24, “the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.” The brutal treatment Paul and Silas received was likely meant to deter them from settling down in Philippi. Because they were staying in the home of Lydia, a Philippian citizen “whose heart the Lord opened” (Acts 16:14), Paul and Silas may have been perceived to be a threat to the undisputed cultural dominance the Romans had achieved at Philippi.

Paul and Silas’ miraculous deliverance from prison not only shocked the Philippian jailor, but also caused the magistrates that had beaten them to rethink the position they had taken. Luke tells us that “at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was an earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed” (Acts 16:25-26). Afterward, the keeper of the prison “brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30), and the next morning, “the magistrates sent the sergeants, saying, Let those men go” (Acts 16:35). Paul’s response showed that he was emboldened by the jailor and magistrates’ changes of heart and wanted to make the most of this turn of events. When he was told he was free to go and instructed to leave Philippi peacefully, Paul refused to go unless the magistrates came and gave him a public escort (Acts 16:37). In other words, Paul wanted it to look like he was a hero and that he had won the respect of the Philippian officials, which he apparently had.

Team building

Paul’s second missionary journey, which took place approximately A.D. 49-52, encompassed a much larger territory than his first expedition did. The initial purpose of Paul’s trip was to visit the believers in every city that he and Barnabas had previously preached the gospel in (Acts 15:36), but a conflict between Paul and Barnabas caused the two to go their separate ways. Luke’s description of the incident suggests that the leadership role had become an issue, and at that point, Paul was unwilling to follow Barnabas’ direction. Luke stated, “And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; and Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.

The break up of Paul and Barnabas’ ministry partnership may have seemed like a problem at first, but it actually led to a much better outcome in the end. Because Mark was left behind, he joined up with Peter and eventually wrote the second book of the New Testament titled “The Gospel According to S. Mark.” It is likely that most, if not all of Mark’s factual data came directly from Peter who was a member of Jesus’ inner circle of friends, as well as, the primary leader of the church located in Jerusalem. Paul’s selection of Silas to travel with him may have been the reason why his second trip was much more aggressive than his first, covering approximately twice the amount of territory than his first missionary journey did (Paul’s Second Missionary Journey, p. 1588). When Paul and Silas arrived in Lystra, they were joined by Timothy, “the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium” (Acts:16:1-2).

The fourth person to join Paul’s missionary team was the author of the book of Acts, Luke. The transition in the language from they to we suggests that Luke joined Paul’s team in Troas. It says in Acts 16:8-10, “And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.” Timothy and Luke were key members of Paul’s missionary team that stayed with him throughout the rest of his life. The final book Paul wrote, 2 Timothy was addressed to “my dearly beloved son” (2 Timothy 1:2) indicating Paul and Timothy developed a very close personal relationship. In that book, which was written while Paul was in prison waiting to be executed, Paul said, “Only Luke is with me” (2 Timothy 4:11), suggesting Luke was not only Paul’s partner in ministry, but a faithful companion until his death.