Paul

Paul the Apostle: Life, Letters, Theology, and Mission

45 resources in this topic.

Interactive guide

New Testament Explorer: Follow St Paul's missionary journeys on a map, city by city, alongside the Gospels and the parables.

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The Life of Paul

Paul’s story from Saul of Tarsus to missionary, prisoner, apostle, and martyr.

7 resources

• Paul’s Final Years: What Happened After Acts Ends, and How Did Paul Die?
• Paul’s Journey to the “Third Heaven”: What Did He See in 2 Corinthians 12?
• What Was Paul’s “Thorn in the Flesh”? 2 Corinthians 12 Explained
• Paul’s Conversion: Do the Three Accounts in Acts Contradict One Another?
• Paul in Acts vs. Paul’s Own Letters: Do the Accounts Contradict Each Other?
• Did Paul Corrupt Christianity? The Historical Case for His Apostolic Credibility
• (Video) Paul: From Persecutor to Apostle (5 min)

Paul’s Missionary Journeys

Maps, routes, cities, companions, and major events from Paul’s travels.

4 resources

• Paul’s Final Years: What Happened After Acts Ends, and How Did Paul Die?
• Paul’s Collection for Jerusalem: Why He Raised Money—and Why It Mattered
• “All Things to All People”: Did Paul Compromise His Beliefs to Win Converts?
• Paul's Gospel Was Public, Not Secret

Paul’s Letters

Introductions, authorship, themes, and historical context for Paul’s epistles.

11 resources

• Paul’s Collection for Jerusalem: Why He Raised Money—and Why It Mattered
• What Was Paul’s “Thorn in the Flesh”? 2 Corinthians 12 Explained
• Which Bible Did Paul Quote? Paul, the Septuagint, and the Old Testament
• Did Paul Support Slavery? Philemon, Household Codes, and Slavery in the Roman World
• 1 Corinthians 15: How Early Is Paul’s Resurrection Creed—and Why Does It Matter?
• Paul and Women in the Church: Phoebe, Junia, Head Coverings, and ‘Women Keep Silent’
• Paul in Acts vs. Paul’s Own Letters: Do the Accounts Contradict Each Other?
• Which Letters Did Paul Actually Write? The Authentic and Disputed Pauline Epistles
• Paul's Gospel Was Public, Not Secret
• How Early Is Paul? Why His Letters Matter Historically
• (Video) Philippians 1:23 — Why Death Is "Far Better" for the Christian (1 min)

Paul’s Theology

Paul’s teaching on grace, faith, law, sin, Christ, the Church, and salvation.

22 resources

• “All Things to All People”: Did Paul Compromise His Beliefs to Win Converts?
• The Judgment Seat of Christ: What Paul Means by Giving an Account Before Christ
• Tongues, Prophecy, and Spiritual Gifts: What Paul Teaches in 1 Corinthians 12–14
• Must Christians Obey the Government? What Romans 13 Actually Teaches
• Who Is the “I” in Romans 7? Paul’s Most Debated Passage Explained
• Paul on Judgment According to Works: How Does It Fit With Salvation by Grace?
• Did Paul Teach Universal Salvation? Romans 5, 1 Corinthians 15, and “All Will Be Made Alive”
• Paul on Marriage, Sex, and Celibacy: What 1 Corinthians 7 Actually Teaches
• Did Paul Teach Theosis? Participation in Christ, Union With God, and Transformation
• What Is a “Spiritual Body”? Paul’s Teaching on the Resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15
• “Flesh” vs. “Spirit”: Did Paul Believe the Human Body Was Evil?
• Did Paul Support Slavery? Philemon, Household Codes, and Slavery in the Roman World
• Paul and Same-Sex Relations: What Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 6 Actually Say
• Paul and the Eucharist: What 1 Corinthians 10–11 Says About the Body and Blood of Christ
• Paul and Women in the Church: Phoebe, Junia, Head Coverings, and ‘Women Keep Silent’
• Has the Church Replaced Israel? Paul’s Argument in Romans 9–11
• Romans 9 and Predestination: Did Paul Teach Calvinism?
• What Did Paul Mean by ‘Works of the Law’? The Old and New Perspectives Explained
• Did Paul Abolish the Law of Moses? Torah, Grace, and the New Covenant
• Paul’s Warning About “Another Gospel”: Galatians 1 and the LDS Restoration
• Paul and James: Faith, Works, and a False Contradiction
• Did Paul Invent the Divinity of Jesus?

Paul and Jesus

How Paul preached Christ and whether his gospel agrees with Jesus and the apostles.

1 resource

• Did Paul Follow the Teaching of Jesus?

Paul and the Other Apostles

Paul’s relationship with Peter, James, John, Barnabas, and the Jerusalem Church.

3 resources

• Paul’s Collection for Jerusalem: Why He Raised Money—and Why It Mattered
• Paul in Acts vs. Paul’s Own Letters: Do the Accounts Contradict Each Other?
• Why Paul's Rebuke of Peter Does Not Prove They Had Different Religions

Paul in Early Church History

How the early Christians received, quoted, defended, and interpreted Paul.

15 resources

• Paul’s Final Years: What Happened After Acts Ends, and How Did Paul Die?
• Paul’s Collection for Jerusalem: Why He Raised Money—and Why It Mattered
• “Saved, Yet So as Through Fire”: What Does 1 Corinthians 3:15 Mean?
• Which Bible Did Paul Quote? Paul, the Septuagint, and the Old Testament
• Baptism for the Dead: What on Earth Is Paul Talking About in 1 Corinthians 15:29?
• Did Paul Teach Theosis? Participation in Christ, Union With God, and Transformation
• Did Paul Support Slavery? Philemon, Household Codes, and Slavery in the Roman World
• Paul and the Eucharist: What 1 Corinthians 10–11 Says About the Body and Blood of Christ
• 1 Corinthians 15: How Early Is Paul’s Resurrection Creed—and Why Does It Matter?
• Paul and Women in the Church: Phoebe, Junia, Head Coverings, and ‘Women Keep Silent’
• Which Letters Did Paul Actually Write? The Authentic and Disputed Pauline Epistles
• Paul, the Crucifixion, and the Earliest Christian Witness
• Did Paul Hijack the Jerusalem Church?
• Paul's Gospel Was Public, Not Secret
• Did Paul Corrupt Christianity? The Historical Case for His Apostolic Credibility

Controversial Questions About Paul

Hard questions about Paul, including women, slavery, the Law, and apostolic authority.

25 resources

• Paul’s Final Years: What Happened After Acts Ends, and How Did Paul Die?
• “All Things to All People”: Did Paul Compromise His Beliefs to Win Converts?
• The Judgment Seat of Christ: What Paul Means by Giving an Account Before Christ
• “Saved, Yet So as Through Fire”: What Does 1 Corinthians 3:15 Mean?
• Paul’s Journey to the “Third Heaven”: What Did He See in 2 Corinthians 12?
• What Was Paul’s “Thorn in the Flesh”? 2 Corinthians 12 Explained
• Tongues, Prophecy, and Spiritual Gifts: What Paul Teaches in 1 Corinthians 12–14
• Must Christians Obey the Government? What Romans 13 Actually Teaches
• Who Is the “I” in Romans 7? Paul’s Most Debated Passage Explained
• Paul on Judgment According to Works: How Does It Fit With Salvation by Grace?
• Baptism for the Dead: What on Earth Is Paul Talking About in 1 Corinthians 15:29?
• Did Paul Teach Universal Salvation? Romans 5, 1 Corinthians 15, and “All Will Be Made Alive”
• Paul on Marriage, Sex, and Celibacy: What 1 Corinthians 7 Actually Teaches
• “Flesh” vs. “Spirit”: Did Paul Believe the Human Body Was Evil?
• Did Paul Support Slavery? Philemon, Household Codes, and Slavery in the Roman World
• Paul and Same-Sex Relations: What Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 6 Actually Say
• Paul and Women in the Church: Phoebe, Junia, Head Coverings, and ‘Women Keep Silent’
• Has the Church Replaced Israel? Paul’s Argument in Romans 9–11
• Romans 9 and Predestination: Did Paul Teach Calvinism?
• What Did Paul Mean by ‘Works of the Law’? The Old and New Perspectives Explained
• Did Paul Abolish the Law of Moses? Torah, Grace, and the New Covenant
• Paul’s Conversion: Do the Three Accounts in Acts Contradict One Another?
• Paul in Acts vs. Paul’s Own Letters: Do the Accounts Contradict Each Other?
• Which Letters Did Paul Actually Write? The Authentic and Disputed Pauline Epistles
• Paul's Gospel Was Public, Not Secret

Paul and World Religions / Cults

How Paul’s gospel compares with Mormonism, Islam, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other movements.

3 resources

• Baptism for the Dead: What on Earth Is Paul Talking About in 1 Corinthians 15:29?
• Paul, the Crucifixion, and the Earliest Christian Witness
• Paul’s Warning About “Another Gospel”: Galatians 1 and the LDS Restoration

Paul’s Major Passages Explained

Clear explanations of Paul’s most important and debated biblical passages.

25 resources

• The Judgment Seat of Christ: What Paul Means by Giving an Account Before Christ
• “Saved, Yet So as Through Fire”: What Does 1 Corinthians 3:15 Mean?
• Paul’s Journey to the “Third Heaven”: What Did He See in 2 Corinthians 12?
• What Was Paul’s “Thorn in the Flesh”? 2 Corinthians 12 Explained
• Tongues, Prophecy, and Spiritual Gifts: What Paul Teaches in 1 Corinthians 12–14
• Must Christians Obey the Government? What Romans 13 Actually Teaches
• Who Is the “I” in Romans 7? Paul’s Most Debated Passage Explained
• Paul on Judgment According to Works: How Does It Fit With Salvation by Grace?
• Which Bible Did Paul Quote? Paul, the Septuagint, and the Old Testament
• Baptism for the Dead: What on Earth Is Paul Talking About in 1 Corinthians 15:29?
• Did Paul Teach Universal Salvation? Romans 5, 1 Corinthians 15, and “All Will Be Made Alive”
• Paul on Marriage, Sex, and Celibacy: What 1 Corinthians 7 Actually Teaches
• Did Paul Teach Theosis? Participation in Christ, Union With God, and Transformation
• What Is a “Spiritual Body”? Paul’s Teaching on the Resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15
• “Flesh” vs. “Spirit”: Did Paul Believe the Human Body Was Evil?
• Paul and Same-Sex Relations: What Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 6 Actually Say
• Paul and the Eucharist: What 1 Corinthians 10–11 Says About the Body and Blood of Christ
• 1 Corinthians 15: How Early Is Paul’s Resurrection Creed—and Why Does It Matter?
• Has the Church Replaced Israel? Paul’s Argument in Romans 9–11
• Romans 9 and Predestination: Did Paul Teach Calvinism?
• What Did Paul Mean by ‘Works of the Law’? The Old and New Perspectives Explained
• Did Paul Abolish the Law of Moses? Torah, Grace, and the New Covenant
• Paul’s Conversion: Do the Three Accounts in Acts Contradict One Another?
• Paul’s Warning About “Another Gospel”: Galatians 1 and the LDS Restoration
• (Video) Philippians 1:23 — Why Death Is "Far Better" for the Christian (1 min)

Paul for Devotion and Spiritual Formation

Lessons from Paul on prayer, suffering, courage, joy, holiness, and union with Christ.

4 resources

• “All Things to All People”: Did Paul Compromise His Beliefs to Win Converts?
• Paul’s Journey to the “Third Heaven”: What Did He See in 2 Corinthians 12?
• What Was Paul’s “Thorn in the Flesh”? 2 Corinthians 12 Explained
• (Video) Philippians 1:23 — Why Death Is "Far Better" for the Christian (1 min)

More in this topic

3 resources

• Paul vs. James: Do Faith and Works Contradict Each Other?
• Paul: From Persecutor to Apostle
• (Video) Paul: From Persecutor to Apostle (1 min)