The holy spirit fire in paul

THE HOLY SPIRIT FIRE IN PAUL
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Acts 13:9 9Then Saul, who was also calledPaul, filled
with the Holy Spirit, looked straightat Elymas and
said,
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
SeekersAfter God
Acts 13:7
R. Tuck
This passageintroduces to us a Roman official, speaks ofhim in generally
goodterms as a "prudent man," but lets us know something of his secret
feelings and his unrest of heart, by adding that he "desiredto hear the Word
of God." The way in which heathen religions prepared the way for the gospel
is often pointed out, but we have not yet adequatelyapprehended the factthat
a Divine work of preparation was carried on in many heathen souls; such
instances as this of Sergius Paulus being properly treated as prominent
examples of a generalfact. It is to the yearning of the heathen heart for the
true God and the eternal life that St. Paul makes his appeals;and in later

missionary work remarkable instances have been met with of soul-seeking for
God, before the missionaries brought the gospellight. We ought, indeed, to
expectto find men everywhere seeking afterGod, seeing that "he hath made
of one blood all nations to dwell upon the earth," and has never "left himself
without a witness;" but a conceptionof the exclusivenessofthe revelationin
Christ has so occupied Christian thought that the noble conceptionof Christ's
revelation as the ultimate issue and completion of all other revelations, is only
now gaining acceptance.Menhave so strongly felt the antagonistic sides ofthe
heathen religions that they have failed to ask whether earnestsouls within
utterly corrupt systems may not be
"Infants crying in the night;
Infants crying for the light;
And with no language but a cry." DeanPlumptre gives an interesting
inscription - the date of which is, however, uncertain, and may be of the
secondor third century after Christ - found at Galgoi, in Cyprus, which shows
a yearning after something higher than the polytheism of Greece. It reads
thus: "Thou, the one God, the greatest, the most glorious Name, help us all,
we beseechthee." The unrest and anxious inquiring of Sergius Paulus are
farther indicated in the fact that he had come into the power of Elymas the
sorcerer, who evidently persuaded him that he could settle all his doubts. The
subject introduced by this incident may be consideredunder the following
divisions: -
I. THE NATURAL DISPOSITIONOF MAN TO SEEK FOR GOD.
Remember St. Augustine's words, "Manis made for God, and canfind no rest
till he finds rest in him." Seeking Godis necessaryto the dependent creature,
who must lean, and must find some one on whom he may perfectly lean. "A
belief in some personalpower, the arbiter of man's destiny, above and beyond
himself, is a primary necessityof the human mind. Mankind cannever
dispense with this belief, howeversuperfluous in certain casesand for a time it
may seemto be to the individual" (Canon Farrar). Much has been made of
the factthat some tribes of men have been found which had no name for God,
and indeed no knowledge ofhim or concernto hear about him; but it may

fairly be urged, from the utterly degradedcondition of these tribes, that men
have never lost their care for God until they have virtually lost their
manhood. Degradedto be like the beasts, they cease to have uplooking eyes
and yearning hearts. Humanity is knit in brotherhood by its greatunited cry
for its Father.
II. THE THINGS THAT MAY TEMPORARILYSATISFY THE SEEKING.
These take one of three forms; either:
1. The absorption of a man in purely material and selfish interests, which may
overlay and crush down the soul's greatneeds; just as now the world and its
business and pleasure so often silence the soul's cry in the Christian.
2. The teachings of a philosophy which attempts to put "thoughts" and"
ideas" in the place of a living being.
3. So-calledfalse religions, whichgive unworthy views of God, but, by
ceremonial, seek to satisfythe religious instinct. Such religions offer, what
man appears to need, a doctrine about God, and a cult or worship of him. It
may be shown that, in subtle forms, men are enticed from their seekings,even
in these Christian days, by one or other of these evil influences.
III. THE UNREST WHICH SOONER OR LATER RETURNS. Forman can
only find permanent restin that which is true. The false has no "staying
power." It may seemto fit at one time, but life advances, new needs arise, new
thoughts stir within, and the false theory will no longerserve, - the man finds
himself looking out again, as anxiously as in the early days, and with the
feeling that life is passing and the time for the quest is brief, for the truth and
God wherein are final rest. Sooneror later a man wakes up from his sleepof
delusion, feels the darkness all about him, and puts out his hand, feeling after
God, if haply he may find him. The unrest that surely comes to men within the
world's care and pleasure, within skepticalphilosophies, and within merely
ceremonialreligions, is our constant plea for the preaching of the gospeland
the revelationto men of God, in Christ manifest.
IV. THE RESPONSE WHICH GOD SURELY MAKES WHEN A WHOLE
SOUL IS TURNED To HIM. He waiteth to be gracious, stands at the door

ready for the opening, really wants every man to be saved, in the mystery of
his greatFatherhoodhas a real need of souls, desires their love, finds his own
joy in their trust, and so is sure to respond when men turn and seek him. And
finding God, and coming into personalrelations with him, is the end of man's
quest. Against God, and everything in life is hard and dark and wrong. Apart
from God, and all life and relations lie bathed in the lurid glow of stormy
passionand self-will. With God, and earth, life, duty, and fellowship catchthe
soft, sweetsunlight, and everything takes on its beauty and perfection. If we
have God we have all; and we have all in God, in the God whom St. Paul
preached, of whose glory Jesus the Man is the express and blessedimage. -
R.T.
Biblical Illustrator
Then Saul (who also is called Paul).
Acts 13:9-11
The crisis in Saul's history and his change of name
J. S. Howson, D. D.
From this point Paul appears as the greatfigure in every picture, and
Barnabas falls into the background. The great apostle now enters on his work
as preacher to the Gentiles; and simultaneously his name is changed. As
"Abram" was changedinto "Abraham" when Godpromised that he should
be the "father of many nations"; as "Simon" was changedinto "Peter" when
it was said, "On this rock I will build My Church"; so Saul is changed into
"Paul" at the moment of his victory among the heathen. What the plains of
Mamre were to the patriarch, what CaesareaPhilippi was to the fisherman of
Galilee, that was Paphos to the tent maker of Tarsus. Are we to suppose that
the name was now given for the first time — that he adopted it as significant
of his own feelings — or that Sergius Paulus conferred it on him in grateful
commemorationof the benefits he had received, or that "Paul," having been a

Gentile form of the apostle's name in early life conjointly with the Hebrew
"Saul," was now used to the exclusionof the other to indicate that he had
recededfrom his position as a JewishChristian, to become the friend and
teacherof the Gentiles? We are inclined to the opinion that the Cilician
apostle had this Roman name before he was a Christian. This adoption of a
Gentile name is so far from being alien to the spirit of a Jewishfamily, that a
similar practice may be tracedthrough all the periods of Hebrew history.
Beginning with the Persianepoch( B.C. 550-350), we find such names as
Nehemiah, Sehammai, Betteshazzar, whichbetray an oriental origin, and
show that Jewishappellatives followedthe growth of the living language. In
the Greek period we encounter the names of Philip, and his son Alexander,
and of Alexander's successors — Antiochus, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, Antipater;
the names of Greek philosophers, such as Zeus and Epicurus; even Greek
mythologicalnames, as Jasonand Menelaus. Whenwe mention the Roman
names adopted by the Jews the coincidence is still more striking — Crispus,
Justus, Niger, Drusilla and Priscilla might have been Roman matrons. The
Aquila of St. Paul is the counterpart of the Apella of Horace. Again, in the
earlier part of the Middle Ages we find Jews calling themselves Basil, Leo,
Theodosius, Sophia, and in the latter part Albert, Benedict, Crispin, Denys. It
is indeed remarkable that the separatednation should bear in the very names
recordedin its annals the trace of every nation with whom it has come in
contactand never united. It is important to our present purpose to remark
that double names often occurin combination, the one national, the other
foreign. The earliestinstances are Belteshazzar-Danieland Esther-Hadasa.
Frequently there was no resemblance or natural connectionbetweenthe two
words, as in Herod-Agrippa, Salome-Alexandra, Inda-Aristobulus, Simon
Peter. Sometimes the meaning was reproduced, as in Malich-Kleodemus. At
other times an alliterating resemblance ofsound seems to have dictated the
choice, as in Jose-Jason, Hillel-Julus, Saul-Paulus. Thus satisfactoryreasons
can be adduced for the apostle's double name without having recourse to the
hypothesis of , who suggests thatas Scipio was calledAfricanus from the
conquestof Africa, and Metellus Creticus from the conquestof Crete, so Saul
carried awayhis new name as a trophy of his victory over the heathenism of
the proconsulPaulus, or to the notion of when he alludes to the literal
meaning of the word Paulus, and contrasts Saulthe unbridled king, the

proud, self-confident persecutorof David, with Paul, the lowly, the penitent,
who deliberately wished to indicate by his very name that he was "the leastof
the apostles"and "less than the leastof all saints." Yet we must not neglect
the coincidentoccurrence ofthese two names just here. We need not hesitate
to dwell on the associations whichare connectedwith the name of Paulus, or
on the thoughts which are naturally calledup when we notice the critical
passagewhere it is first given to Saul. It is surely not unworthy of notice that
as Peter's first Gentile convertwas a member of the Cornelianhouse, so the
surname of the noblest family of the Cornelian house was the link betweenthe
Apostle of the Gentiles and his convert at Paphos. Norcan we find a nobler
Christian version of any line of a heathen poet than by comparing what
Horace says of him who fell at Canute, "Animae magnae prodigum Paulum,"
with the words of him who said at Miletus, "I count not my life dear unto
myself," etc. And though Saul most probably had the name of Paulat an
earlier period, and that it came from some connectionof his ancestors
(perhaps as manumitted slaves)with some member of the AEmilian Pauli; yet
we cannot believe it accidentalthat it occurs at this point of the inspired
narrative. The heathen name rises to the surface at the moment Paul enters on
his office as apostle to the heathen. The Roman name is stereotypedat the
moment when he converts the Roman governor;and the place where this
occurs is the very spot which was notorious for what the gospelforbids and
destroys. Here, having achievedhis victory, the apostle erectedhis trophy, as
Moses,whenAmalek was discomfited, "built an altar, and calledthe name of
it Jehovah-nissi— the Lord my banner."
(J. S. Howson, D. D.)
Filled with the Holy Ghost, sethis eyes on him, and said, O full of all subtlety
and mischief.
Sin and its punishment
J. W. Burn.

Paul's rebuke, of course, applies to the specific iniquity of Elymas, but with a
master hand the apostle at the same time delineates the characteristicsofsin
in general. The punishment of Elymas is also typical.
I. SIN.
1. Its subtle methods. There is nothing straightforwardabout sin; nor can
there be: for were its nature and consequencesclear, itwould be universally
shunned and abhorred. Its methods, therefore, must needs be crookedand
insinuating. Evil is dressedup in the guise of good. The fruit of the tree was
made pleasantto the eyes of Eve. So is it all through time.
2. Its mischievous effects. It debases the body, degrades the mind, debilitates
the will, and damns the soul.
3. Its Satanic paternity. "The serpent was more subtle than all the beasts of
the field." The devil injects the sinful thought, guides the sinful resolution,
helps the sinful action, and enjoys the sinful effect.
4. Its enmity to righteousness. Rightand wrong are not coordinate powers
which, like adjacentstates, canflourish side by side and enter into peaceful
alliances with eachother. They are ever in irreconcilable antagonism, and the
prosperity of the one is absolutely dependent on the destructionof the other.
5. Its perversion of the right ways of the Lord. This is the essenceofsin. It is
not simply negation, but perversion; and its highest achievementis to secure
the acceptance ofevil under the guise of good. Elymas, as a Jewishprophet,
armed with the authority of a Divine dispensation, threw a spell overthe mind
of the proconsul, and endeavouredto use his usurped authority for selfish and
villainous purposes. Wherein does he differ from the modern hypocrite?
II. ITS PUNISHMENT.
1. Its subtlety is detected.(1)Sometimes sin overreachesitself;it is not
sufficiently comprehensive in its views. Ahab calculatedon getting Naboth's
vineyard, but did not calculate onElijah. So here Elymas overlookedthe
possibility of the advent of a Paul.(2) Sometimes its detectionis the result of
some extraordinary Divine agency — "Saul, filled with the Holy Ghost." The

common saying, "Murder will out." How often, by a trivial oversighton the
part of the criminal, or by some trifling coincidence, has a greatcrime been
revealed.
2. Its mischievous effects are turned upon the sinner. He who sought to blind
the intellectof Sergius Paulus is himself made blind. "Be sure your sin will
find you out."
3. The son inherits the father's punishment. Satan is the prince of darkness,
and his children are doomed to walk in darkness. The dark ways in which the
devil leads his victims leads to "outerdarkness."
4. Its enmity to righteousness is met by the righteous God. "Though hand join
in hand the wickedshall not go unpunished."
5. Its perversion is met by perversion. "He went about," etc. (ver. 11).
(J. W. Burn.)
Reproof:how a true servant of God uses his office of
K. Gerok.
1. Notin carnalpassion, but in the Holy Ghost (ver. 9).
2. Notwith worldly weapons, but with the sword of the Word, by which he
disclosesthe evil state of the heart (ver. 10), and announces the judgment of
God (ver. 11).
3. Notfor death or condemnation, but for warning and for the salvationof
souls.
(K. Gerok.)
The punishment of Elymas was
Apostolic Pastor.

I. IN CORRESPONDENCE WITHTHE TRANSGRESSION. He who
blinded others is himself blinded.
II. STRIKING AND CONVINCING FOR THE SPECTATORS.
III. WITH ALL ITS SEVERITYCONDUCIVE TO AMENDMENT BYAN
INTIMATION OF THE DIVINE MERCY. Paul himself, at his conversion,
had been blind for a season, and knew from his experience how profitable this
darkness was for internal collection and composure of mind.
(Apostolic Pastor.)
The exceptionalcharacterofthe miracle
J. S. Howson, D. D.
The miracles of the New Testamentare generallydistinguished from the Old
by being worthy works of mercy. Two only of our Lord's were inflictions of
severity, and those were attended with no harm to the bodies of men. The
same law pervades the miracles of the apostles. One miracle of wrath was
workedby Peterand Paul; and we cansee sufficient reasons why liars and
hypocrites like Ananias and Sapphira, and impostors like Elymas, should be
publicly punished, and made examples of. A passage in the life of Peter
presents a parallel which is closerin some respects with this interview of Paul
with Bar-Jesus.As Simon Magus, "who had long time bewitched the
Samaritans with his sorceries,"was denouncedby Peter"as still in the gall of
bitterness," etc., and solemnly told that his heart was not right in the sight of
God; so Paul, conscious ofhis apostolic power, and under the power of
immediate inspiration, rebuked Elymas as a child of that devil who is "the
father of lies," as a workerof deceitand mischief, etc. He proceededto
denounce an instantaneous judgment, and according to his prophetic word,
the "hand of the Lord" struck the sorcerer, as it had once struck the apostle
himself — the sight of the magicianbeganto waver, and presently a darkness
settled on it so thick that he ceasedto behold the sun's light. This blindness of
the false prophet opened the eyes of the deputy. That which had been intended
as an oppositionto the gospelproved the means of its extension. We are

ignorant of the degree of this extension in Cyprus. But we cannotdoubt that
when the proconsulwas converted, his influence would make Christianity
reputable; and that from this moment the Gentiles of the island as well as the
Jews had the news of salvationbrought home to them.
(J. S. Howson, D. D.)
Seeking to turn men from the faith
Unprincipled white men have often been greatstumbling blocks in the way of
Indian evangelisation. An Englishman made his boastthat he could induce the
Indians againto drink; and providing himself with ardent spirits, he moved in
his canoe overto the island where the Indians were encamped. Leaving all at
the shore, he went up to the camp, and, inviting the Indians down, brought
forth his bottle. "Come," he said, "we always goodfriends; we once more take
a gooddrink in friendship." "No," saidCaptain Paudaush, "we drink no
more of the fire waters." "Oh, but you will drink with me; we always good
friends"; but while this son of Belialwas urging them to drink, the Indians
struck up, in the tune of Walsall, the hymn they had lately learned to sing —
"O for a thousand tongues to sing
The greatRedeemer's praise!"And while the Indians were singing, this
bacchanalian, defeatedin his wickeddevice, and looking completely
crestfallen, paddled away from the island, leaving the Indians to their
temperance and their religious devotions!
An enemy off righteousness
Mr. Beecheronce met ColonelIngersoll, a greatAmerican atheist, and
ColonelIngersollbegan to discourse on his atheistic views. Mr. Beecherfor
some time was silent, but, after a time, askedto be allowedto tell a story. On
being requested to do so, he said, "As I was walking down town today, I saw a
poor man slowlyand carefully picking his way through mud, in the endeavour
to cross a street. He had just reachedthe middle of the filth when a big, burly

ruffian, himself all bespattered, rushed up to him, jerked the crutches from
under the unfortunate man, and left him sprawling and helpless in the pool of
liquid dirt, which almost engulfed him." "Whata brute he was!" said the
colonel. "Whata brute he was!" they all echoed. "Yes," saidthe old man,
rising from his chair, and brushing back his long white hair, "yes, Colonel
Ingersoll, and you are the man. The human soul is lame, but Christianity gives
it crutches to enable it to pass the highway of life. It is your teaching that
knocks these crutches from under it, and leaves it a helpless and rudderless
wreck in the Slough of Despond. If robbing the human soul of its only support
on this earth — religion — be your profession, why, ply it to your heart's
content. It requires an architectto erect a building; an incendiary may reduce
it to ashes."
Seeking to turn men from the truth
A boy was impressedin one of Mr. Moody's meetings. But his mother said he
was "goodenoughwithout religion," and threw her influence againstMr.
Moody's efforts to win him to Christ. She succeeded, and some time after Mr.
Moody found him in the county jail. "How came you here? Does your mother
know of it?" "No, sir, and pray don't tell her. I came in under an assumed
name, and am going to JolietState prison for four years. She thinks I am in
the army." And Mr. Moody often heard her afterwards, mourning that her
boy was killed.
Why Saul Became Paul
Alexander Maclaren
Acts 13:9
Then Saul, (who also is calledPaul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, sethis eyes on
him.

'Saul (who also is called Paul)' ... -- ACTS xiii.9
Hitherto the Apostle has been known by the former of these names,
henceforwardhe is known exclusively by the latter. Hitherto he has been
secondto his friend Barnabas, henceforwardhe is first. In an earlier verse of
the chapterwe read that 'Barnabas and Saul' were separatedfor their
missionary work, and again, that it was 'Barnabas and Saul' for whom the
governorof Cyprus sent, to hear the word of the Lord. But in a subsequent
verse of the chapter we read that 'Paul and his company loosedfrom Paphos.'
The change in the order of the names is significant, and the change in the
names not less so. Why was it that at this period the Apostle took up this new
designation? I think that the coincidence betweenhis name and that of the
governorof Cyprus, who believed at his preaching, Sergius Paulus, is too
remarkable to be accidental. And though, no doubt, it was the custom for the
Jews ofthat day, especiallyforthose of them who lived in Gentile lands, to
have, for convenience'sake,two names, one Jewish and one Gentile -- one for
use amongsttheir brethren, and one for use amongstthe heathen -- still we
have no distinct intimation that the Apostle bore a Gentile name before this
moment. And the fact that the name which he bears now is the same as that of
his first convert, seems to me to point the explanation.
I take it, then, that the assumption of the name of Paul instead of the name of
Saul occurredat this point, stoodin some relationto his missionary work, and
was intended in some sense as a memorial of his first victory in the preaching
of the Gospel.

I think that there are lessons to be derived from the substitution of one of
these names for the other which may well occupy us for a few moments.
I. First of all, then, the new name expresses a new nature.
Jesus Christ gave the Apostle whom He calledto Himself in the early days, a
new name, in order to prophesy the change which, by the discipline of sorrow
and the communication of the grace of God, should pass over Simon Barjona,
making him into a Peter, a 'Man of Rock.'With characteristic independence,
Saul choosesforhimself a new name, which shall express the change that he
feels has passedoverhis inmost being. True, he does not assume it at his
conversion, but that is no reasonwhy we should not believe that he assumes it
because he is beginning to understand what it is that has happened to him at
his conversion.
The fact that he changes his name as soonas he throws himself into public and
active life, is but gathering into one picturesque symbol his greatprinciple; 'If
any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature. Old things are passedaway
and all things are become new.'
So, dear brethren, we may, from this incident before us, gather this one great
lesson, that the central heart of Christianity is the possessionofa new life,
communicated to us through faith in that Sonof God, Who is the Lord of the
Spirit. Wheresoeverthere is a true faith, there is a new nature. Opinions may
play upon the surface of a man's soul, like moonbeams on the silver sea,
without raising its temperature one degree or sending a single beam into its
dark caverns. And that is the sort of Christianity that satisfies a greatmany of
you -- a Christianity of opinion, a Christianity of surface creed, a Christianity
which at the best slightly modifies some of our outward actions, but leaves the
whole inner man unchanged.

Paul's Christianity meant a radical change in his whole nature. He went out of
Jerusalema persecutor, he came into Damascus a Christian. He rode out of
Jerusalemhating, loathing, despising Jesus Christ; he groped his way into
Damascus, broken, bruised, clinging contrite to His feet, and clasping His
Cross as his only hope. He went out proud, self-reliant, pluming himself upon
his many prerogatives, his blue blood, his pure descent, his Rabbinical
knowledge, his Pharisaicaltraining, his external religious earnestness, his
rigid morality; he rode into Damascusblind in the eyes, but seeing in the soul,
and discerning that all these things were, as he says in his strong, vehement
way, 'but dung' in comparisonwith his winning Christ.
And his theory of conversion, which he preaches in all his Epistles, is but the
generalisationofhis own personalexperience, which suddenly, and in a
moment, smote his old self to shivers, and raised up a new life, with new
tastes, views, tendencies, aspirations, with new allegianceto a new King. Such
changes, so sudden, so revolutionary, cannot be expectedoften to take place
amongstpeople who, like us, have been listening to Christian teaching all our
lives. But unless there be this infusion of a new life into men's spirits which
shall make them love and long and aspire after new things that once they did
not care for, I know not why we should speak of them as being Christians at
all. The transition is described by Paul as 'passing from death unto life.' That
cannot be a surface thing. A change which needs a new name must be a
profound change. Has our Christianity revolutionised our nature in any such
fashion? It is easyto be a Christian after the superficial fashionwhich passes
muster with so many of us. A verbal acknowledgmentof belief in truths which
we never think about, a purely external performance of acts of worship, a
subscription or two winged by no sympathy, and a fairly respectable life
beneath the cloak ofwhich all evil may burrow undetected -- make the
Christianity of thousands. Paul's Christianity transformed him; does yours
transform you? If it does not, are you quite sure that it is Christianity at all?

II. Then, again, we may take this change of name as being expressive of a life's
work.
Paul is a Roman name. He strips himself of his Jewishconnections and
relationships. His fellow-countrymen who lived amongstthe Gentiles were, as
I said at the beginning of these remarks, in the habit of doing the same thing;
but they carriedboth their names; their Jewishfor use amongsttheir own
people, their Gentile one for use amongstGentiles. Paul seems to have
altogetherdisusedhis old name of Saul. It was almostequivalent to seceding
from Judaism. It is like the acts of the renegades whomone sometimes hears
of, who are found by travellers, dressedin turban and flowing robes, and
bearing some Turkish name, or like some English sailor, lost to home and
kindred, who deserts his ship in an island of the Pacific, and drops his English
name for a barbarous title, in tokenthat he has given up his faith and his
nationality.
So Paul, contemplating for his life's work preaching amongstthe Gentiles,
determines at the beginning, 'I lay down all of which I used to be proud. If my
Jewishdescentand privileges stand in my way I castthem aside.
"Circumcisedthe eighth day, of the stock ofIsrael, of the tribe of Benjamin,
an Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the law, a Pharisee," -- all these I
wrap togetherin one bundle, and toss them behind me that I may be the
better able to help some to whom they would have hindered my access.'A
man with a heart will throw off his silken robes that his arm may be bared to
rescue, and his feet free to run to succour.
So we may, from the change of the Apostle's name, gatherthis lesson, never
out of date, that the only way to help people is to go down to their level. If you
want to bless men, you must identify yourself with them. It is no use standing
on an eminence above them, and patronisingly talking down to them. You
cannot scold, or hector, or lecture men into the possessionand acceptance of

religious truth if you take a position of superiority. As our Masterhas taught
us, if we want to make blind beggars see we must take the blind beggars by
the hand.
The spirit which led the Apostle to change the name of Saul, with its memories
of the royal dignity which, in the personof its greatwearer, had honoured his
tribe, for a Roman name is the same which he formally announces as a
deliberately adopted law of his life. 'To them that are without law I became as
without law ... that I might gain them that are without law ... I am made all
things to all men, that I might by all means save some.'
It is the very inmost principle of the Gospel. The principle that influenced the
servant in this comparatively little matter, is the principle that influenced the
Masterin the mightiest of all events. 'He who was in the form of God, and
thought not equality with Goda thing to be eagerlysnatchedat, made Himself
of no reputation, and was found in fashion as a man and in form as a servant,
and became obedient unto death.' 'For as much as the children were
partakers of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise took part of the same'; and
the mystery of incarnation came to pass, because whenthe Divine would help
men, the only way by which the Infinite love could reachits end was that the
Divine should become man; identifying Himself with those whom He would
help, and stooping to the level of the humanity that He would lift.
And as it is the very essenceandheart of Christ's work, so, my brother, it is
the condition of all work that benefits our fellows. It applies all round. We
must stoopif we would raise. We must put away gifts, culture, everything that
distinguishes us, and come to the level of the men that we seek to help.
Sympathy is the parent of all wise counsel, because it is the parent of all true
understanding of our brethren's wants. Sympathy is the only thing to which
people will listen, sympathy is the only disposition correspondentto the
messagethat we Christians are entrusted with. Fora Christian man to carry

the GospelofInfinite condescensionto his fellows in a spirit other than that of
the Masterand the Gospelwhich he speaks, is an anomaly and a
contradiction.
And, therefore, let us all remember that a vast deal of so-calledChristian
work falls utterly dead and profitless, for no other reasonthan this, that the
doers have forgotten that they must come to the level of the men whom they
would help, before they can expect to bless them.
You remember the old story of the heroic missionary whose heartburned to
carry the Gospelof Jesus Christamongst captives, and as there was no other
way of reaching them, let himself be sold for a slave, and put out his hands to
have the manacles fastenedupon them. It is the law for all Christian service;
become like men if you will help them, -- 'To the weak as weak, allthings to all
men, that we might by all means save some.'
And, my brother, there was no obligation on Paul's part to do Christian work
which does not lie on you.
III. Further, this change of name is a memorial of victory.
The name is that of Paul's first convert. He takes it, as I suppose, because it
seemedto him such a blessedthing that at the very moment when he beganto
sow, Godhelped him to reap. He had gone out to his work, no doubt, with
much trembling, with weaknessand fear. And lo! here, at once, the fields were
white already to the harvest,

Greatconquerors have been named from their victories;Africanus,
Germanicus, Nelsonof the Nile, Napierof Magdala, andthe like. Paul names
himself from the first victory that God gives him to win; and so, as it were,
carries everon his breast a memorial of the wonder that through him it had
been given to preach, and that not without success, amongstthe Gentiles 'the
unsearchable riches of Christ.'
That is to say, this man thought of it as his highest honour, and the thing best
worthy to be remembered about his life, that God had helped him to help his
brethren to know the common Master. Is that your idea of the best thing
about a life? What would you, a professing Christian, like to have for an
epitaph on your grave? 'He was rich; he made a big business in Manchester';
'He was famous, he wrote books';'He was happy and fortunate'; or, 'He
turned many to righteousness'? This man flung away his literary tastes, his
home joys, and his personalambition, and chose as that for which he would
live, and by which he would fain be remembered, that he should bring dark
hearts to the light in which he and they togetherwalked.
His name, in its commemoration of his first success, wouldactas a stimulus to
service and to hope. No doubt the Apostle, like the restof us, had his times of
indolence and languor, and his times of despondencywhen he seemedto have
laboured in vain, and spent his strength for nought. He had but to say'Paul'
to find the antidote to both the one and the other, and in the remembrance of
the pastto find a stimulus for service for the future, and a stimulus for hope
for the time to come. His first convertwas to him the first drop that predicts
the shower, the first primrose that prophesies the wealthof yellow blossoms
and downy green leaves that will fill the woods in a day or two. The first
convert 'bears in his hand a glass which showethmany more.' Look at the
workmenin the streets trying to get up a piece of the roadway. How difficult it
is to lever out the first paving stone from the compactedmass!But when once
it has been withdrawn, the rest is comparativelyeasy. We canunderstand
Paul's triumph and joy over the first stone which he had workedout of the

strongly cementedwall and barrier of heathenism; and his convictionthat
having thus made a breach, if it were but wide enough to let the end of his
lever in, the fall of the whole was only a question of time. I suppose that if the
old alchemists had turned but one grain of base metal into gold they might
have turned tons, if only they had had the retorts and the appliances with
which to do it. And so, what has brought one man's soulinto harmony with
God, and given one man the true life, can do the same for all men. In the first
fruits we may see the fields whitening to the harvest. Let us rejoice then, in
any little work that God helps us to do, and be sure that if so greatbe the joy
of the first fruits, greatbeyond speechwill be the joy of the ingathering.
IV. And now last of all, this change of name is an index of the spirit of a life's
work.
'Paul' means 'little'; 'Saul' means 'desired.' He abandons the name that
prophesied of favour and honour, to adopt a name that bears upon its very
front a professionof humility. His very name is the condensationinto a word
of his abiding conviction:'I am less than the leastof all saints.'Perhaps even
there may he an allusion to his low stature, which may be pointed at in the
sarcasmofhis enemies that his letters were strong, though his bodily presence
was 'weak.'If he was, as Renan calls him, 'an ugly little Jew,'the name has a
double appropriateness.
But, at all events, it is an expressionof the spirit in which he sought to do his
work. The more lofty the consciousnessofhis vocationthe more lowly will a
true man's estimate of himself be. The higher my thought of what God has
given me grace to do, the more shall I feel weigheddown by the consciousness
of my unfitness to do it. And the more grateful my remembrance of what He
has enabled me to do, the more shall I wonder that I have been enabled, and
the more profoundly shall I feelthat it is not my strength but His that has won
the victories.

So, dear brethren, for all hope, for all success inour work, for all growth in
Christian grace and character, this disposition of lowly self-abasementand
recognisedunworthiness and infirmity is absolutely indispensable. The
mountain-tops that lift themselves to the stars are barren, and few springs
find their rise there. It is in the lowly valleys that the flowers grow and the
rivers run. And it is they who are humble and lowly in heart to whom God
gives strength to serve Him, and the joy of acceptedservice.
I beseechyou, then, learn your true life's task. Learn how to do it by
identifying yourselves with the humbler brethren whom you would help.
Learn the spirit in which it must be done; the spirit of lowly self-abasement.
And oh! above all, learn this, that unless you have the new life, the life of God
in your hearts, you have no life at all.
Have you, my brother, that faith by which we receive into our spirits Christ's
own Spirit, to be our life? If you have, then you are a new creature, with a
new name, perhaps but dimly visible and faintly audible, amidst the
imperfections of earth, but sure to shine out on the pages of the Lamb's Book
of Life; and to be read 'with tumults of acclaim'before the angels of Heaven.
'I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no
man knowethsave he that receivethit.'
STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary
Saul, who also is - Paul - This is the first time the name Paul occurs, and the
last time in which this apostle is calledSaul, as his common or generalname.

Saul, ‫לואש‬ Shaul, was the name of the first Israelitishking, and signifies asked,
sought; from ‫לאש‬ shaal, he asked, inquired, etc.
Paul, Paulus, if derived from the Latin, signifies little, dwarfish: but if from
the Hebrew, ‫אלפ‬ pala, it signifies extraordinary, wonderful; and this appears
to have been the derivation assignedto it by St. Jerome, com. in Ep. Pauli ad
Philem., who translates it mirabilis, wonderful, and Hesychius must have had
the same in view, for he defines it thus, Παυλος, θαυμαϚος,η εκλεκτος,
συμβουλος, Paul, wonderful, or elect, counsellor. The lexicographerhad
probably here in view, Isaiah 9:6; : his name shall be called (‫פלא‬ ‫ץ‬ ‫ופ‬ pelé
yoêts ) wonderful, counsellor;which he might corrupt into paulus, and thus
make his θαυμαϚος συμβουλος outof it by way of explanation. Triller,
however, supposes the συμβουλος ofHesychius to be corrupted from
συνδουλος fellow servant, which is a term not unfrequently applied to
apostles, etc., in the New Testament, who are calledthe servants of God; and
it is used by Paul himself, Colossians 1:7; Colossians 4:7. The Latin originalis
the most probable. It is well knownthat the Jews in the apostolic age had
frequently two names, one Hebrew, the other Greek orRoman. Saul was born
of Jewishparents, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; he had therefore his first name
from that language, ‫לואש‬Shaul, askedor begged;as it is possible he might
have been a child for whom his parents had addressedtheir fervent petitions
to God. The case ofSamuel is one in point. See 1 Samuel 1:9-18. As he was
born in Tarsus, in Cilicia, he was consequently born a free Roman citizen; and
hence his parents would naturally give him, for cognomen, some name
borrowedfrom the Latin tongue, and Paulus, which signifies little, might
indicate that he was at his birth a small or diminutive child. And it is very
likely that he was low in stature all his days; and that it is to this he refers
himself, 2 Corinthians 10:10, for his bodily presence is weak, and his speech
contemptible. If he were small in stature, his voice would be naturally low and
feeble; and the Greeks, who were fond of a thundering eloquence, would
despise him on this very account.
Filled with the Holy Ghost - Therefore the sentence he pronounced was not
from himself, but from God. And indeed, had he not been under a Divine
influence, it is not likely he would have ventured thus to accostthis sorcererin
the presence ofthe governor, who, no doubt, had greatly admired him.

Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on Acts 13:9". "The Adam Clarke
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/acts-
13.html. 1832.
return to 'Jump List'
Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible
Saul, (who is also calledPaul) - This is the lasttime that this apostle is called
“Saul.” Henceforward, he is designatedby the title by which he is usually
known, as “Paul.” When, or why, this change occurredin the name, has been
a subject on which commentators are not agreed. From the factthat the
change in the name is here first intimated, it would seemprobable that it was
first used in relation to him at this time. By whom the name was given him
whether he assumed it himself, or whether it was first given him by Christians
or by Romans - is not intimated. The name is of Roman origin. In the Latin
language the name Paulussignifies little, dwarfish; and some have conjectured
that it was given by his parents to denote that he was small when born; others,
that it was assumedor conferred in subsequent years because he was little in
stature. The name is not of the same significationas the name Saul. This
signifies one that is asked, ordesired. After all the conjectures onthis subject,
it is probable:
(1) That this name was first used here; for before this, even after his
conversion, he is uniformly called Saul.
(2) that it was given by the Romans, as being a name with which they were
more familiar, and one that was more consonantwith their language and
pronunciation. It was made by the change ofa single letter; and probably
because the name Paul was common among them, and pronounced, perhaps,
with greaterfacility.

(3) Paul suffered himself to be calledby this name, as he was employed chiefly
among the Gentiles. It was common for names to undergo changes quite as
greatas this, without our being able to specifyany particular cause, in passing
from one language to another. Thus, the Hebrew name Jochananamong the
Greeks andLatins was Johannes, with the French it is Jean, with the Dutch
Hans, and with us John (Doddridge). Thus, Onias becomes Menelaus;Hillel,
Pollio; Jakim, Alcimus; Silas, Silvanus, etc. (Grotius).
Filled with the Holy Ghost - Inspired to detecthis sin; to denounce divine
judgment; and to inflict punishment on him. See the notes on Acts 2:4.
Set his eyes on him - Lookedat him intently.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Barnes, Albert. "Commentaryon Acts 13:9". "Barnes'Notes onthe New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/acts-
13.html. 1870.
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fastenedhis eyes
on him, and said, O full of all guile and all villainy thou sonof the devil, thou
enemy of all righteousness, wiltthou not ceaseto pervert the right ways of the
Lord? And now, behold the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be
blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a
mist and a darkness;and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
Saul, who is also calledPaul ... "The ALSO here does not mean that the name
`Paul' was here given for the first time, but that he had always had it."[16]

"Paul" was the Gentile form of the name "Saul";and as Saul was here
beginning his greatwork among the Gentiles, it was appropriate that the
Gentile form of the name would be used henceforthby Luke, excepton a few
occasions referring to his previous life.
Despite the above, however, Conybeare said, "We cannot believe it accidental
that the words `who is also calledPaul' occur at this particular point."[17] He
made the deduction that the conversionof Sergius Paulus brought the name
Paul to the surface and precipitated the use of it, despite the fact that Paul had
long possessedthe name.
O full of all guile ... etc. This strong denunciation of Elymas was announced by
Paul through a revelation of the Holy Spirit; and the divine authorization of
Paul's condemnation of Elymas was at once evident in the miracle that
confirmed it. The rationalization of this miracle by MacGreggorassertsthat
"Probably the facts are that Paul denouncedBar-Jesus'spiritual blindness,
and this led to the legend"[18]ofPaul's inflicting physical blindness upon
him. Like every satanic falsehood, however, this one also carries its own
refutation. In the matter of Elymas' seeking someoneto lead him by the hand,
the reality of the blindness is proved.
The extraordinary circumstances ofPaul's denunciation of Elymas forbid
preachers in all ages since then to speak similar anathema's againstopponents
of the truth. Paul was an inspired prophet and teacher, under the direct
influence of the Holy Spirit, and there was no possibility whateverof any
mistake or error on Paul's part. The judgment againstElymas was not that of
Paul but of God himself. "The hand of the Lord is upon thee."
A mist... This word, found nowhere else in the New Testament, is another
example of Luke's medical vocabulary. Hippocrates, the ancient Greek
physician called the "Fatherof Medicine," usedthis word "to express a
darkening and dimming of the eyes by cataractorother disease."[19]
For a season... shows that the unusual judgment againstElymas was not
without its element of mercy. His blindness was not permanent.
[16] H. Leo Boles, op. cit., p. 202.

[17] J. W. Conybeare, op. cit., p. 123.
[18] G. H. C. MacGreggor, op. cit., p. 169.
[19] A. C. Hervey, op. cit., p. 401.
Copyright Statement
James Burton Coffman Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other rights reserved.
Bibliography
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on Acts 13:9". "Coffman
Commentaries on the Old and New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/acts-13.html. Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
Then Saul (who also is called Paul),.... He was calledby both these names; as
he was a Jew by birth, his parents called him Saul, that was his Jewishname,
and by which he went among the Jews;and as he was a citizen of a Roman
city, Tarsus in Cilicia, he went among the Romans, or Gentiles, by the name of
Paul, a Romanname; and it was usual with the Jews to be called after this
manner, that is, to have one name among themselves, and another among the
Gentiles:it is a rule with themF14, that
"the Israelites out of the land, their names are as the names of the Gentiles;'
yea, their names differed in Judea and Galilee; a woman went by one name in
Judea, and another in GalileeF15:and it is observable, that Luke calls the
apostle by his Jewishname Saul, whilst he was among the Jews, andonly
preachedamong them; but now he is got among the Gentiles, and was about
to appear openly to be their apostle, he all along hereafter calls him by his
Gentile name Paul: though some think his name was changedupon his

conversion, as it was usual with Jewishpenitents to do; when a man repented
of his sin, he changedhis name (says Maimonides)F16,
"as if he should say, I am another, and not the man that did those (evil)
works.'
So when Maachah, Asa's mother, or rather grandmother, was converted, or
became right, she changedher name into Michaihu, the daughter of Uriel of
Gibeah; that her former name might not be remembered, lestit should be a
reproachunto herF17:though others think, that the apostle was so called,
from Sergius Paulus the deputy, whose conversionhe was the instrument of;
and whose family might choose to call him so, because ofthe nearness in
sound betweenthe two names:others think he had his name Paul, or Paulus,
from the smallness ofhis stature and voice, to which he seems to have some
respect, in 2 Corinthians 10:10 and there is one Samuel the little, which the
Jewishdoctors often speak of, and who by some is takento be the same with
the Apostle Paul. This name is by Jerom, or OrigenF18, interpreted
"wonderful", as if it came from the Hebrew word ‫אלפ‬ "pala";and others
derive it from ‫,לפפ‬ "paul", which signifies to work;and a laborious worker
the apostle was, anda workman also which needed not to be ashamed;but
since it is certain that Saul was his Hebrew name, it is most likely that this was
a Gentile one, and not of Hebrew derivation: the first accountof these names,
and the reasonof them, seems to be the best: now of him it is said,
that he was filled with the Holy Ghost;which does not design the gifts and
graces ofthe Holy Ghost in general, with which he was always filled, and
thereby qualified for his work as an apostle;but in particular, that he had by
the Spirit, not only a discerning of the wickednessofthis man, but of the will
of God, to make him at this time a public example of divine wrath and
vengeance, forhis opposition to the Gospel:wherefore he
sethis eyes on him; very earnestly, thereby expressing an abhorrence of him,
and indignation againsthim, and as it were threatening him with some sore
judgment to fall upon him.

Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on Acts 13:9". "The New John Gill Exposition of
the Entire Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/acts-
13.html. 1999.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
also … calledPaul — and henceforwardPaulonly; a softening of his former
name, in accommodationto Romanears, and (as the word signifies “little”)
probably with allusion as elsewhere to his insignificance of stature and
appearance (2 Corinthians 10:1, 2 Corinthians 10:10) [Websterand
Wilkinson].
filled with the Holy Ghost — the Spirit coming mightily upon him.
sethis eyes on him and said — HenceforwardBarnabas sinks into the
background. The whole soul of his greatcolleague, now drawn out, as never
before, shoots, by the lightning gaze of his eye, through the dark and tortuous
spirit of the sorcerer. Whata picture!
Copyright Statement

These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on Acts
13:9". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/acts-13.html. 1871-8.
People's New Testament
But Saul, who is also called Paul. From this date he is the chief figure of the
Acts. Barnabas, who had hitherto been the leader, falls behind. The origin of
the name Paul is unknown. It is a Roman name, that of a greatRoman family,
and it is likely that the greatapostle had two names, one Jewish, the other
Gentile, a common thing anciently. Peter, Daniel, Esther, and many others
afford examples.
Filled with the Holy Ghost. Acting under the impulse of the Holy Spirit.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Original work done by Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 atThe
RestorationMovementPages.
Bibliography

Johnson, BartonW. "Commentary on Acts 13:9". "People'sNew Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/pnt/acts-13.html. 1891.
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
But Saul, who is also called Paul (Σαυλος δε ο και Παυλος — Saulos deκαι —
ho kai Paulos). By this remarkably brief phrase Luke presents this epoch in
the life of Saul Paul. The “also” (πληστεις πνευματος αγιου — kai) does not
mean that the name Paul was given now for the first time, rather than he had
always had it. As a Jew and a Roman citizen, he undoubtedly had both names
all the time (cf. John Mark, Symeon Niger, Barsabbas Justus). Jerome held
that the name of Sergius Paulus was adopted by Saul because of his
conversionat this time, but this is a wholly unlikely explanation, “an element
of vulgarity impossible to St. Paul “ (Farrar). Augustine thought that the
meaning of the Latin paulus (little) would incline Saul to adopt, “but as a
proper name the word rather suggestedthe glories of the Aemilian family,
and even to us recalls the name of another Paulus, who was ‹lavish of his
noble life‘” (Page). Among the Jews the name Saul was naturally used up to
this point, but from now on Luke employs Paul save when there is a reference
to his previous life (Acts 22:7; Acts 26:14). His real careeris work among the
Gentiles and Paul is the name used by them. There is a striking similarity in
sound betweenthe Hebrew Saul and the Roman Paul. Paul was proud of his
tribe of Benjamin and so of King Saul (Philemon 3:5).
Filled with the Holy Spirit (πιμπλημι — plēstheis pneumatos hagiou). First
aorist(ingressive)passive participle of ατενισας — pimplēmi with the genitive
case. A specialinflux of powerto meet this emergency. Here was a cultured
heathen, typical of the best in Roman life, who calledforth all the powers of
Paul plus the specialhelp of the Holy Spirit to expose the wickednessof
Elymas Barjesus. If one wonders why the Holy Spirit filled Paul for this
emergencyrather than Barnabas, when Barnabas was namedfirst in Acts
13:2, he can recallthe sovereigntyof the Holy Spirit in his choice of agents (1
Corinthians 12:4-11)and also the specialcall of Paul by Christ (Acts 9:15;
Acts 26:17.).

Fastenedhis eyes (atenisas). As already in Luke 4:20; Luke 22:56;Acts 3:4,
Acts 3:12; Acts 6:15; Acts 10:4.
Copyright Statement
The Robertson's WordPictures of the New Testament. Copyright �
Broadman Press 1932,33,Renewal1960. All rights reserved. Used by
permission of Broadman Press (Southern BaptistSunday SchoolBoard)
Bibliography
Robertson, A.T. "Commentary on Acts 13:9". "Robertson's WordPictures of
the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rwp/acts-13.html. Broadman
Press 1932,33. Renewal1960.
Vincent's Word Studies
Saul - Paul
The first occurrence ofthe name of Paul in the Acts. Hereafter he is
constantly so called, exceptwhen there is a reference to the earlier period of
his life. Various explanations are given of the change of name. The most
satisfactoryseems to be that it was customaryfor Hellenistic Jews to have two
names, the one Hebrew and the other Greek or Latin. Thus John was also
calledMarcus;Symeon, Niger; Barsabas, Justus. As Paul now comes
prominently forward as the apostle to the Gentiles, Luke now retains his
Gentile name, as he did his Jewishname during his ministry among the Jews.
The connectionof the name Paul with that of the deputy seems to me purely
accidental. It was most unlike Paul to assume the name of another man,
convertedby his instrumentality, out of respectto him or as a memorial of his

conversion. Farrarjustly observes that there would have been in this “an
element of vulgarity impossible to St. Paul.”
Set his eyes on him
See on Luke 4:20.
Copyright Statement
The text of this work is public domain.
Bibliography
Vincent, Marvin R. DD. "Commentaryon Acts 13:9". "Vincent's Word
Studies in the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/vnt/acts-13.html. Charles
Schribner's Sons. New York, USA. 1887.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
Then Saul, (who also is calledPaul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, sethis eyes on
him,
Then Saul, who was also calledPaul — It is not improbable, that coming now
among the Romans, they would naturally adapt his name to their own
language, and so calledhim Paul instead of Saul. Perhaps the family of the
proconsul might be the first who addressedto or spoke ofhim by this name.
And from this time, being the apostle of the Gentiles, he himself used the
name which was more familiar to them.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Bibliography

Wesley, John. "Commentary on Acts 13:9". "John Wesley's Explanatory
Notes on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/acts-13.html. 1765.
Abbott's Illustrated New Testament
Who also is calledPaul. Paul is a Latin or Romanname, Saul being of Hebrew
origin. This new name is henceforth always used in the sacredhistory, as from
this time the scene of the apostle's labors was chiefly in Greek and Roman
communities. It was often the case thatnative Jews, associating extensively
with these foreign nations, substituted for their Hebrew name one that was
analogous to it, or derived from it, but of a classicalform. As the Greeks and
Romans were far superior to the Hebrews in cultivation, wealth, refinement,
and power, it is probable that such a name was deemed a more honorable
appellation. It has been supposed that there might be some connection
betweenthis change in the apostle's name, and the visit to Cyprus here
described; as the proconsul of Cyprus, or the deputy, as he is here called, bore
the name of Paulus, or Paul,--the name which the apostle now assumes. But
this is uncertain.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Abbott, John S. C. & Abbott, Jacob. "Commentaryon Acts 13:9". "Abbott's
Illustrated New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ain/acts-13.html. 1878.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

9.And Saul, who was also calledPaul. Luke showethnow how God brake the
bond wherein the deputy was bound. For seeing that he was too much
addicted to the magician, he could not embrace true doctrine as one that was
free and at liberty; for the devil keepeththose minds (which he hath
entangled) in his slavery after a wonderful and incredible manner, that they
cannot see eventhe most plain truth; but so soonas he was once vanquished,
Paul could easily enter in unto the deputy. And mark what Luke saith, that
the faith is overthrown when the word of God is resisted. Whence we may
gather that faith is so grounded in the word, that without this shore (785)it
fainteth at every assault;yea, that it is nothing else but the spiritual building
of the word of God.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Calvin, John. "Commentary on Acts 13:9". "Calvin's Commentary on the
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/acts-13.html. 1840-
57.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
9 Then Saul, (who also is calledPaul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, sethis eyes
on him,
Ver. 9. Who also is calledPaul] Here Saul is first calledPaul, for memory (it is
probable) of the first spoils he brought into the Church, not the head, but the
heart of this Sergius Paulus. The popes likewise change their names at their

enthronization, to show, saith the Gloss, ad permutationem nominis, factam
mutationem hominis. But if they change atall, it is for the worse, as Pius
Secundus, Sextus Quintus, & c. Pope Marcellus would needs retain his old
name, to show his constancy, and that in his private estate he had thoughts
worthy of the popedom.
Set his eyes on him] As if he would have lookedthrough him. After which
lightning followedthat terrible thunder crack, Acts 13:10. Bajazet, of his fiery
looks, was surnamedGilderun, or lightning. In Tamerlane’s eyes satsucha
rare majesty, as a man could hardly endure to behold them without closing
his own; and many with talking with him, and often beholding them, became
dumb. The like is reported of Augustus. And of St Basilit is reported that
when Valens the Arian emperor came unto him, while he was in his holy
exercises,it struck such a terror into the emperor that he reeled and had
fallen had he not been upheld by those that were near him. {a} Godly men
have a daunting presence.
{a} Greg. Orat. de Laudib. Basilii.
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Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on Acts 13:9". John Trapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/acts-
13.html. 1865-1868.

Sermon Bible Commentary
Acts 13:9
The assumption of the name of Paul instead of the name of Saul stoodin some
relation to his missionarywork, and was intended in some sense as a
memorial of his first victory in the preaching of the gospel.
I. The new name expresses a new nature. The centralheart of Christianity is
the possessionofa new life, communicatedto us through faith in that Son of
God who is the Lord of the spirit. Wheresoeverthere is a true faith, there is a
new nature. A change which needs a new name must be a profound change.
Has our Christianity revolutionisedour nature in any such fashion?
II. We may take this change of name as being expressive of a life's work. Paul
is a Roman name. He strips himself of his Jewishconnections and
relationships. His fellow-countrymen who lived among the Gentiles were in
the habit of doing the same thing; but they carried both their names—their
Jewishfor use amongsttheir own people, their Gentile one for use amongst
Gentiles. Paul seems to have altogetherdisused his old name Saul. It was
almost equivalent to seceding from Judaism. We may, from the change in the
Apostle's name, gather this lesson, never out of date, that the only wayto help
people is to go down to their level. If you want to bless men, you must identify
yourself with them.
III. The change of name is a memorial of victory. The name is that of his first
convert. He takes it, as I suppose, because it seemedto him such a blessed
thing that at the very moment when he began to sow God helped him to reap.
Paul names himself from the first victory that God gave him to win, and so, as
it were, carries everat his breasta memorial of the wonder that through him
it had been given to preach, and that not without success,amongstthe
Gentiles the "unsearchable riches ofChrist."
IV. This change of name is an index of the spirit of a life's work. "Paul"
means "little";"Saul" means "desired." He abandons the name that

of his abiding conviction, "I am less than the leastof all saints." So, for all
hope, for all success in our work, for all growth in Christian grace and
character, this disposition of lowly self-abasement. And, above all, learn this—
that unless you have the new life, the life of God in your hearts, you have no
life at all.
A. Maclaren, ChristianCommonwealth, May 7th, 1885.
Reference:Acts 13:12.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxx., No. 1781.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Nicoll, William R. "Commentary on Acts 13:9". "SermonBible
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/sbc/acts-
13.html.
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
Acts 13:9. Saul, (who also is called Paul,)— The reasons whichhave been
assignedfor Saul's taking the name of Paul, are various and many. Some
think that he had the name of Paul given him from converting Sergius Paulus,
as Scipio was calledAfricanus from his conquering Africa, and as other
Romans had names given them from subduing other countries. Others
suppose that he had receivedat his circumcisionthe two names of Paul and
Saul; that is, Paul as his Roman name, for he was born a freeman of Rome;—
and Saul, as his Jewishname; for he was a Jew, and even an Hebrew of the
Hebrews. As therefore he used to be called Saul, while he continued among
the Jews, thatbeing a more common and acceptable name among them; so
henceforth, being to go among the Gentiles, he took the name of Paul, as one
which would be better known, and more acceptable to them. Forthe same

reasonSilas, who was afterwards St. Paul's greatcompanion, appears to have
had also the name of Sylvanus, and to have gone by the former name among
the Jews, andby the latter among the Romans; for he seems to have been a
freeman of Rome, as wellas St. Paul. Beza thinks, that St.Paul having
conversedhitherto chiefly with Jews and Syrians, to whom the name of Saul
was familiar, and now coming among Greeks and Romans, they would
naturally pronounce his name Paul; as one whose Hebrew name was
Jochanan, would be calledby the Greeks and Latins, Johannes, by the French
Jean, by the Dutch Hans, and by the English John; and he thinks that the
family of this proconsul might be the first who addressedor spoke to him by
the name of Paul.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Coke, Thomas. "Commentaryon Acts 13:9". Thomas Coke Commentaryon
the Holy Bible. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tcc/acts-
13.html. 1801-1803.
Greek TestamentCriticalExegeticalCommentary
9. ὁ καὶ παῦλος] This notice marks the transition from the former part of his
history, where he is uniformly calledSaul, to the latter and largerportion,
where he is without exceptionknown as Paul. I do not regardit as indicative
of any change of name at the time of this incident, or from that time: the
evidence which I deduce from it is of a different kind, and not without interest
to enquirers into the characterand authorship of our history. Hitherto, our
Evangelisthas been describing events, the truth of which he had ascertained
by researchand from the narratives of others. But henceforwardthere is
reasonto think that the joint memoirs of himself and the greatApostle furnish

the material of the book. In those memoirs the Apostle is universally known
by the name PAUL, which supersededthe other. If this was the first incident
at which Luke was present, or the first memoir derived from Paul himself, or,
which is plain, howeverdoubtful may be the other alternatives, the
commencementof that part of the history which is to narrate the teaching and
travels of the Apostle Paul,—it would be natural that a note should be made,
identifying the two names as belonging to the same person.
The καί must not be understood as having any reference to Sergius Paulus,
‘who also (as well as Sergius) was calledPaul.’ Galen(see above)uses the
same expressionin speaking of his Sergius Paulus: σέργιός τε, ὁ καὶ
παῦλος.…, and then, a few lines down, calls him ὁ παῦλος. It signifies that
Paulus was a secondname borne by Saul, in conformity with a Jewish
practice as old as the captivity (or even as Joseph, see Genesis 41:45), of
adopting a Gentile name. Mr. Howsontraces it through the Persianperiod
(see Daniel1:7; Esther 2:7), the Greek (1 Maccabees12:16;1 Maccabees
16:11;2 Maccabees 4:29), and the Roman (Acts 13:1; ch. Acts 1:23; Acts 18:8,
&c.), and the middle ages, downto modern times. Jerome has conjectured
that the name was adoptedby Saul in memory of this event: ‘Diligenter
attende, quod hic primum Pauli nomen inceperit. Ut enim Scipio, subjecta
Africa, Africani sibi nomen assumpsit, et Metellus, Creta insula subjugata,
insigne Creticisuæ familiæ reportavit;—et imperatores nunc usque Romani
ex subjectis gentibus Adiabenici, Parthici, Sarmaticinuncupantur: ita et
Saulus ad prædicationem gentium missus, a primo ecclesiæ spolio Proconsule
Sergio Paulo victoriæ suæ tropæa retulit, erexitque vexillum ut Paulus
diceretur e Saulo.’(In Ep. ad Philemon 1:1, vol. vii. pp. 746 f.) It is strange
that any one could be found capable of so utterly mistaking the characterof
St. Paul, or of producing so unfortunate an analogyto justify the mistake. (I
may observe that Wordsw.’s apology, thatJerome does not saythat the
Apostle gave himself this name on this account, is distinctly precluded by
Jerome’s language, “erexitque vexillum ut Paulus diceretur e Saulo.” This
Wordsw., translating the final words “and instead of Saul was calledPaul,”
has missedseeing. Notice too Augustine’s “amavit,” below.)It is yet stranger
that Augustine should, in his Confessions (viii. 4, vol. i. p. 753), adopt the same
view: ‘Ipse minimus Apostolorum tuorum … ex priore Saulo Paulus vocari

amavit, ob tam magnæ insigne victoriæ.’ (Elsewhere Augustine gives another,
but not much better reason:‘Paulus Apostolus, cum Saulus prius vocaretur,
non ob aliud, quantum mihi videtur, hoc nomen elegit, nisi ut se ostenderet
parvum, tanquam minimum Apostolorum.’ De Spir. et Lit. c. 7, vol. x. p. 207.)
So also Olshausen. A more probable way of accounting for the additional
name is pointed out by observing that such names were often alliterative of or
allusive to the original Jewishname:—as Grotius in his note: ‘Saulus qui et
Paulus: id est, qui, ex quo cum Romanis conversaricœpit, hoc nomine, a suo
non abludente, cœpit a Romanis appellari. Sic qui Jesus Judæis, Græcis Jason
(or Justus, Colossians 4:11):Hillel, Pollio:Onias, Menelaus (Jos. Antt. xii. 5.
1): Jakim (= Eliakim), Alcimus. Apud Romanos, Silas, Silvanus, ut notavit
Hieronymus: Pasides, Pansa,ut Suetonius in Crassitio:Diocles,Diocletianus:
Biglinitza, sororJustiniani, Romane Vigilantia.’
ἀτενίσας εἰς αὐτόν]It seems probable that Paul never entirely recoveredhis
sight as before, after the δόξα τοῦ φωτὸς ἐκείνου. We have severalapparent
allusions to weaknessin his sight, or to something which rendered his bodily
presence contemptible. In ch. Acts 23:1, the same expression, ἀτενίσας τῷ
συνεδρίῳ, occurs, and may have some bearing (see note there) on his not
recognizing the high priest. See also Galatians 4:13;Galatians 4:15;Galatians
6:11, and 2 Corinthians 12:7; 2 Corinthians 12:9, and notes. The traditional
notices of his personal appearance (see C. and H. p. 181, note) representhim
as having contractedand overhanging eyebrows.
Whateverthe word may imply, it appears like the graphic description of an
eye witness, who was not Paul himself. So also περιάγων ἐζήτει χειραγωγούς,
below.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Alford, Henry. "Commentary on Acts 13:9". Greek TestamentCritical
ExegeticalCommentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hac/acts-13.html. 1863-1878.
Heinrich Meyer's Critical and ExegeticalCommentaryon the New Testament
Acts 13:9. σαῦλος δὲ, ὁ καὶ παῦλος] sc. λεγόμενος. Schaefer,ad Bos Ell. p. 213.
As Saul ( ‫אָׁל‬ ‫ּו‬‫,ל‬ the longedfor) is here for the first time and always henceforth
(comp. the name Abraham from Genesis 17:5 onwards) mentioned under his
Roman name Paul, but before this, equally without exception, only under his
Hebrew name, we must assume a set historicalpurpose in the remark ὁ καὶ
παῦλος introduced at this particular point, according to which the reader is to
be reminded of the relation—otherwisepresupposedas wellknown—ofthis
name to the historicalconnectionbefore us. It is therefore the most probable
opinion, because the most exempt from arbitrariness, that the name Paul was
given to the apostle as a memorial of the conversionof Sergius Paulus effected
by him.(6) “A primo ecclesiaespolio, proconsule SergioPaulo, victoriae suae
trophaea retulit, erexitque vexillum, ut Paulus diceretur e Saulo,” Jerome, in
ep. ad Philem.; comp. de vir. ill. 5. The same view is adopted by Valla, Bengel,
Olshausen, Baumgarten, Ewald;also by Baur, I. p. 106, ed. 2, according to
whom, however, legendalone has wished to connectthe change of name
somehow adoptedby the apostle—whichcontains a parallelwith Peter,
Matthew 16:16—withan important act of his apostolic life; comp. Zeller, p.
213. Either the apostle himself now adopted this name, possibly at the request
of the proconsul(Ewald), or—which at leastexcludes entirely the objection
often made to this view, that it is at variance with the modesty of the apostle—
the Christians, perhaps first of all his companions at the time, so named him
in honourable remembrance of that memorable conversioneffectedon his
first missionary journey. Kuinoel, indeed, thinks that the servants of the
proconsul may have called the apostle, whose name Saul was unfamiliar (?) to
them, Paul; and that he thenceforth was glad to retain this name as a Roman
citizen, and on accountof his intercourse with the Gentiles. But such a purely
Gentile origin of the name is hardly reconcilable with its universal recognition

on the part of the Christian body. Since the time of Calvin, Grotius, and
others, the opinion has become prevalent, that it was only for the sake of
intercourse with those without, as the ambassadorof the faith among the
Gentiles, that the apostle bore, according to the customof the time, the
Roman name; comp. also Laurent, neut. Stud. p. 147. Certainlyit is to be
assumedthat he for this reasonwillingly assentedto the new name given to
him, and willingly left his old name to be forgotten;but the origin of the new
name, occurring just here for the first time, is, by this view, not in the least
explained from the connectionof the narrative before us.
Heinrichs oddly desires to explain this connectionby suggesting that on this
occasion, whenLuke had just mentioned Sergius Paulus, it had occurred to
him that Saul also was calledPaul. Such an accidentis wholly unnatural, as,
when Luke wrote, the name Saul was long out of use, and that of Paul was
universal. The opinion also of Witsius and Hackspan, following Augustine, is
to be rejected:that the apostle in humility, to indicate his spiritual
transformation, assignedto himself the name (Paulus = exiguus); as is also
that of Schrader, d. Ap. Paul. II. p. 14 (after Drusius and Lightfoot), that he
receivedat his circumcisionthe double name; comp. also Wieseler, p. 222 f.
πλησθεὶς πνεύμ. ἁγ.] “actupraesente adversus magum acrem,” Bengel. Comp.
Acts 4:8; Acts 4:31, Acts 7:55, Acts 13:52.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Meyer, Heinrich. "Commentary on Acts 13:9". Heinrich Meyer's Critical and
ExegeticalCommentaryon the New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hmc/acts-13.html. 1832.

Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
Acts 13:9. ὁ καὶ παῦλος, who also Paul) Paul having laid aside his old name,
which he had borne from the time of his circumcision, receives a new name,
equivalent to the surname ‫ןוטק‬ [= little: the Latin paulus, Paulus], which it
seems implied by the particle καὶ that he bore in entering upon his
apostleship;and this new name was given him in consequenceofhis first
gospelvictory towards the westamong the Greeks, the single letter being
changed(S into (70)), not by an error of the Greeks ofCyprus, but by the
Divine counsel, appropriately and seasonably. The cause is either external or
internal. Externally, he seems to have adopted the name of the proconsul,
because lie had showedhimself the friend of Paul, perhaps in confirming his
right as a Roman citizen; for this was wont to be a reasonfor assuming a
name. See Cic. l. 13, fam. ep. 35 and 36. The inner cause is, that Sergius
Paulus himself, the first-fruits of this expedition, had formed a spiritual tie of
connectionwith the apostle. This name besides was one familiar to the
Gentiles, of whom he was presently after the apostle, and agreeable to them,
rather than the Hebrew name, Saul; it answeredalso to his stature, 2
Corinthians 10:10 (“His bodily presence is weak:” Paulus = little), and to his
feeling as respects himself, Ephesians 3:8, with which comp. Psalms 68:27.—
πλησθεὶς, filled) by a presentactive operation, againstthis energetic sorcerer.
Therefore Barnabas gives place to him from this point: Acts 13:13.—
πνεύματος ἁγίου, with the Holy Ghost)John 20:22-23.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bengel, JohannAlbrecht. "Commentary on Acts 13:9". Johann Albrecht
Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jab/acts-13.html. 1897.

Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
It is observable, that St. Luke never before called this greatapostle by the
name of Paul, and henceforth never calls him by the name of Saul. Though
there be no greatdifference in these names,
Saul might be more acceptable to the Jews, amongstwhom hitherto he had
conversed;and
Paul a more pleasing name unto the Gentiles, unto whom he was now sent,
and with whom for the future he should most converse. He was calledSaul as
he was a Jew born, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; and Paul, as he was a denizen of
Rome; the Romans having that name in goodaccountin severalof their chief
families.
Filled with the Holy Ghost; zealfor God’s glory, and faith and powerto work
the ensuing miracle.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentaryon Acts 13:9". Matthew Poole's English
Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/acts-13.html. 1685.
Alexander MacLaren's Expositions ofHoly Scripture
Acts
TO THE REGIONS BEYOND

WHY SAUL BECAME PAUL
Acts 13:9.
Hitherto the Apostle has been known by the former of these names,
henceforwardhe is known exclusively by the latter. Hitherto he has been
secondto his friend Barnabas, henceforwardhe is first. In an earlier verse of
the chapterwe read that ‘Barnabas and Saul’ were separatedfor their
missionary work, and again, that it was ‘Barnabas and Saul’ for whom the
governorof Cyprus sent, to hear the word of the Lord. But in a subsequent
verse of the chapter we read that ‘Paul and his company loosedfrom Paphos.’
The change in the order of the names is significant, and the change in the
names not less so. Why was it that at this period the Apostle took up this new
designation? I think that the coincidence betweenhis name and that of the
governorof Cyprus, who believed at his preaching, Sergius Paulus, is too
remarkable to be accidental. And though, no doubt, it was the custom for the
Jews ofthat day, especiallyforthose of them who lived in Gentile lands, to
have, for convenience’sake, two names, one Jewishand one Gentile-one for
use amongsttheir brethren, and one for use amongstthe heathen-still we have
no distinct intimation that the Apostle bore a Gentile name before this
moment. And the fact that the name which he bears now is the same as that of
his first convert, seems to me to point the explanation.
I take it, then, that the assumption of the name of Paul instead of the name of
Saul occurredat this point, stoodin some relationto his missionary work, and
was intended in some sense as a memorial of his first victory in the preaching
of the Gospel.
I think that there are lessons to be derived from the substitution of one of
these names for the other which may well occupy us for a few moments.
I. First of all, then, the new name expresses a new nature.
Jesus Christ gave the Apostle whom He calledto Himself in the early days, a
new name, in order to prophesy the change which, by the discipline of sorrow

and the communication of the grace of God, should pass over Simon Barjona,
making him into a Peter, a ‘Man of Rock.’With characteristic independence,
Saul choosesforhimself a new name, which shall express the change that he
feels has passedoverhis inmost being. True, he does not assume it at his
conversion, but that is no reasonwhy we should not believe that he assumes it
because he is beginning to understand what it is that has happened to him at
his conversion.
The fact that he changes his name as soonas he throws himself into public and
active life, is but gathering into one picturesque symbol his greatprinciple; ‘If
any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature. Old things are passedaway
and all things are become new.’
So, dear brethren, we may, from this incident before us, gather this one great
lesson, that the central heart of Christianity is the possessionofa new life,
communicated to us through faith in that Sonof God, Who is the Lord of the
Spirit. Wheresoeverthere is a true faith, there is a new nature. Opinions may
play upon the surface of a man’s soul, like moonbeams on the silver sea,
without raising its temperature one degree or sending a single beam into its
dark caverns. And that is the sort of Christianity that satisfies a greatmany of
you-a Christianity of opinion, a Christianity of surface creed, a Christianity
which at the best slightly modifies some of our outward actions, but leaves the
whole inner man unchanged.
Paul’s Christianity meant a radical change in his whole nature. He went out of
Jerusalema persecutor, he came into Damascus a Christian. He rode out of
Jerusalemhating, loathing, despising Jesus Christ; he groped his way into
Damascus, broken, bruised, clinging contrite to His feet, and clasping His
Cross as his only hope. He went out proud, self-reliant, pluming himself upon
his many prerogatives, his blue blood, his pure descent, his Rabbinical
knowledge, his Pharisaicaltraining, his external religious earnestness, his
rigid morality; he rode into Damascusblind in the eyes, but seeing in the soul,
and discerning that all these things were, as he says in his strong, vehement
way, ‘but dung’ in comparisonwith his winning Christ.

And his theory of conversion, which he preaches in all his Epistles, is but the
generalisationofhis own personalexperience, which suddenly, and in a
moment, smote his old self to shivers, and raised up a new life, with new
tastes, views, tendencies, aspirations, with new allegianceto a new King. Such
changes, so sudden, so revolutionary, cannot be expectedoften to take place
amongstpeople who, like us, have been listening to Christian teaching all our
lives. But unless there be this infusion of a new life into men’s spirits which
shall make them love and long and aspire after new things that once they did
not care for, I know not why we should speak of them as being Christians at
all. The transition is described by Paul as ‘passing from death unto life.’ That
cannot be a surface thing. A change which needs a new name must be a
profound change. Has our Christianity revolutionised our nature in any such
fashion? It is easyto be a Christian after the superficial fashionwhich passes
muster with so many of us. A verbal acknowledgmentof belief in truths which
we never think about, a purely external performance of acts of worship, a
subscription or two winged by no sympathy, and a fairly respectable life
beneath the cloak ofwhich all evil may burrow undetected-make the
Christianity of thousands. Paul’s Christianity transformed him; does yours
transform you? If it does not, are you quite sure that it is Christianity at all?
II. Then, again, we may take this change of name as being expressive of a life’s
work.
Paul is a Roman name. He strips himself of his Jewishconnections and
relationships. His fellow-countrymen who lived amongstthe Gentiles were, as
I said at the beginning of these remarks, in the habit of doing the same thing;
but they carriedboth their names; their Jewishfor use amongsttheir own
people, their Gentile one for use amongstGentiles. Paul seems to have
altogetherdisusedhis old name of Saul. It was almostequivalent to seceding
from Judaism. It is like the acts of the renegades whomone sometimes hears
of, who are found by travellers, dressedin turban and flowing robes, and
bearing some Turkish name, or like some English sailor, lost to home and
kindred, who deserts his ship in an island of the Pacific, and drops his English
name for a barbarous title, in tokenthat he has given up his faith and his
nationality.

So Paul, contemplating for his life’s work preaching amongstthe Gentiles,
determines at the beginning, ‘I lay down all of which I used to be proud. If my
Jewishdescentand privileges stand in my way I castthem aside.
“Circumcisedthe eighth day, of the stock ofIsrael, of the tribe of Benjamin,
an Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the law, a Pharisee,”-allthese I wrap
togetherin one bundle, and toss them behind me that I may be the better able
to help some to whom they would have hindered my access.’A man with a
heart will throw off his silken robes that his arm may be bared to rescue, and
his feetfree to run to succour.
So we may, from the change of the Apostle’s name, gather this lesson, never
out of date, that the only way to help people is to go down to their level. If you
want to bless men, you must identify yourself with them. It is no use standing
on an eminence above them, and patronisingly talking down to them. You
cannot scold, or hector, or lecture men into the possessionand acceptance of
religious truth if you take a position of superiority. As our Masterhas taught
us, if we want to make blind beggars see we must take the blind beggars by
the hand.
The spirit which led the Apostle to change the name of Saul, with its memories
of the royal dignity which, in the personof its greatwearer, had honoured his
tribe, for a Roman name is the same which he formally announces as a
deliberately adopted law of his life. ‘To them that are without law I became as
without law . . . that I might gain them that are without law . . . I am made all
things to all men, that I might by all means save some.’
It is the very inmost principle of the Gospel. The principle that influenced the
servant in this comparatively little matter, is the principle that influenced the
Masterin the mightiest of all events. ‘He who was in the form of God, and
thought not equality with Goda thing to be eagerlysnatchedat, made Himself
of no reputation, and was found in fashion as a man and in form as a servant,
and became obedient unto death.’ ‘For as much as the children were
partakers of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise took part of the same’; and
the mystery of incarnation came to pass, because when the Divine would help
men, the only way by which the Infinite love could reachits end was that the

Divine should become man; identifying Himself with those whom He would
help, and stooping to the level of the humanity that He would lift.
And as it is the very essenceandheart of Christ’s work, so, my brother, it is
the condition of all work that benefits our fellows. It applies all round. We
must stoopif we would raise. We must put away gifts, culture, everything that
distinguishes us, and come to the level of the men that we seek to help.
Sympathy is the parent of all wise counsel, because it is the parent of all true
understanding of our brethren’s wants. Sympathy is the only thing to which
people will listen, sympathy is the only disposition correspondentto the
messagethat we Christians are entrusted with. Fora Christian man to carry
the GospelofInfinite condescensionto his fellows in a spirit other than that of
the Masterand the Gospelwhich he speaks, is an anomaly and a
contradiction.
And, therefore, let us all remember that a vast deal of so-calledChristian
work falls utterly dead and profitless, for no other reasonthan this, that the
doers have forgotten that they must come to the level of the men whom they
would help, before they can expect to bless them.
You remember the old story of the heroic missionary whose heartburned to
carry the Gospelof Jesus Christamongst captives, and as there was no other
way of reaching them, let himself be sold for a slave, and put out his hands to
have the manacles fastenedupon them. It is the law for all Christian service;
become like men if you will help them,-’To the weak as weak, allthings to all
men, that we might by all means save some.’
And, my brother, there was no obligation on Paul’s part to do Christian work
which does not lie on you.
III. Further, this change of name is a memorial of victory.
The name is that of Paul’s first convert. He takes it, as I suppose, because it
seemedto him such a blessedthing that at the very moment when he beganto
sow, Godhelped him to reap. He had gone out to his work, no doubt, with
much trembling, with weaknessand fear. And lo! here, at once, the fields were
white already to the harvest,

Greatconquerors have been named from their victories;Africanus,
Germanicus, Nelsonof the Nile, Napierof Magdala, andthe like. Paul names
himself from the first victory that God gives him to win; and so, as it were,
carries everon his breast a memorial of the wonder that through him it had
been given to preach, and that not without success, amongstthe Gentiles ‘the
unsearchable riches of Christ.’
That is to say, this man thought of it as his highest honour, and the thing best
worthy to be remembered about his life, that God had helped him to help his
brethren to know the common Master. Is that your idea of the best thing
about a life? What would you, a professing Christian, like to have for an
epitaph on your grave? ‘He was rich; he made a big business in Manchester’;
‘He was famous, he wrote books’;‘He was happy and fortunate’; or, ‘He
turned many to righteousness’? This man flung away his literary tastes, his
home joys, and his personalambition, and chose as that for which he would
live, and by which he would fain be remembered, that he should bring dark
hearts to the light in which he and they togetherwalked.
His name, in its commemoration of his first success, wouldactas a stimulus to
service and to hope. No doubt the Apostle, like the restof us, had his times of
indolence and languor, and his times of despondencywhen he seemedto have
laboured in vain, and spent his strength for nought. He had but to say‘Paul’
to find the antidote to both the one and the other, and in the remembrance of
the pastto find a stimulus for service for the future, and a stimulus for hope
for the time to come. His first convertwas to him the first drop that predicts
the shower, the first primrose that prophesies the wealthof yellow blossoms
and downy green leaves that will fill the woods in a day or two. The first
convert ‘bears in his hand a glass which showethmany more.’ Look at the
workmenin the streets trying to get up a piece of the roadway. How difficult it
is to lever out the first paving stone from the compactedmass!But when once
it has been withdrawn, the rest is comparativelyeasy. We canunderstand
Paul’s triumph and joy over the first stone which he had workedout of the
strongly cementedwall and barrier of heathenism; and his convictionthat
having thus made a breach, if it were but wide enough to let the end of his
lever in, the fall of the whole was only a question of time. I suppose that if the
old alchemists had turned but one grain of base metal into gold they might

have turned tons, if only they had had the retorts and the appliances with
which to do it. And so, what has brought one man’s soulinto harmony with
God, and given one man the true life, can do the same for all men. In the first
fruits we may see the fields whitening to the harvest. Let us rejoice then, in
any little work that God helps us to do, and be sure that if so greatbe the joy
of the first fruits, greatbeyond speechwill be the joy of the ingathering.
IV. And now last of all, this change of name is an index of the spirit of a life’s
work.
‘Paul’ means ‘little’; ‘Saul’ means ‘desired.’ He abandons the name that
of his abiding conviction:‘I am less than the leastof all saints.’Perhaps even
there may he an allusion to his low stature, which may be pointed at in the
sarcasmofhis enemies that his letters were strong, though his bodily presence
was ‘weak.’If he was, as Renancalls him, ‘an ugly little Jew,’the name has a
double appropriateness.
But, at all events, it is an expressionof the spirit in which he sought to do his
work. The more lofty the consciousnessofhis vocationthe more lowly will a
true man’s estimate of himself be. The higher my thought of what Godhas
given me grace to do, the more shall I feel weigheddown by the consciousness
of my unfitness to do it. And the more grateful my remembrance of what He
has enabled me to do, the more shall I wonder that I have been enabled, and
the more profoundly shall I feelthat it is not my strength but His that has won
the victories.
So, dear brethren, for all hope, for all success inour work, for all growth in
Christian grace and character, this disposition of lowly self-abasementand
recognisedunworthiness and infirmity is absolutely indispensable. The
mountain-tops that lift themselves to the stars are barren, and few springs
find their rise there. It is in the lowly valleys that the flowers grow and the
rivers run. And it is they who are humble and lowly in heart to whom God
gives strength to serve Him, and the joy of acceptedservice.

I beseechyou, then, learn your true life’s task. Learn how to do it by
identifying yourselves with the humbler brethren whom you would help.
Learn the spirit in which it must be done; the spirit of lowly self-abasement.
And oh! above all, learn this, that unless you have the new life, the life of God
in your hearts, you have no life at all.
Have you, my brother, that faith by which we receive into our spirits Christ’s
own Spirit, to be our life? If you have, then you are a new creature, with a
new name, perhaps but dimly visible and faintly audible, amidst the
imperfections of earth, but sure to shine out on the pages of the Lamb’s Book
of Life; and to be read ‘with tumults of acclaim’before the angels of Heaven.
‘I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no
man knowethsave he that receivethit.’
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
MacLaren, Alexander. "Commentary on Acts 13:9". Alexander MacLaren's
Expositions of Holy Scripture.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mac/acts-13.html.
Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament
Paul; his Hebrew name was Saul. This is the first time he is called Paul; but
after this, he is always calledby this name.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Edwards, Justin. "Commentary on Acts 13:9". "Family Bible New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/fam/acts-
13.html. American TractSociety. 1851.
Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges
9. Σαῦλος δέ, ὁ καὶ Παῦλος, but Saul, who also is calledPaul. In spite of
Elymas, the proconsul had been determined in his purpose, and Saul had
come before him. At this point we first meet the name by which the great
Apostle is best knownthroughout the Christian Church, and many reasons
have been given why he assumed this name, and why at this time. Some have
thought that the name was adoptedfrom the proconsul’s, his first convert of
distinction, but this is utterly alien to all we know of the characterofSt Paul,
with his sole glory in the cross of Christ. Farmore likely is he to have been
attractedto it, if it were not his before, by the meaning of the Latin word
(paullus = little, see Ter. And. 1. 5. 31;Adelph. 5. 4. 22), and its fitness to be
the name of him who calledhimself the leastof the Apostles. But perhaps he
did only what other Jews were in the habit of doing when they went into
foreign lands, and chose him a name of some significance (for the Jews were
fond of names with a meaning) among those with whom he was about to mix.
DeanHowson(Life and Letters of St Paul, I. p. 164)compares Joses—Jason;
Hillel—lulus, and probably the similarity of sound did often guide the choice
of such a name, and it may have been so with the Apostle’s selection. StLuke,
recognizing that the history of St Paul is now to be his chief theme and that
the work for which that Apostle was separatedwas now begun, names him
henceforth only by the name which became most current in the Churches.
The article ὁ before καὶ belongs to the understood καλούμενος,and is not to
be considereda substitute for the relative.
πλησθεὶς πνεύματος ἁγίου, filled with the Holy Ghost. So we learn that the
punishment inflicted on Elymas was dictated to the Apostle by the Spirit, and

that he knew, from the inward prompting thereof, what would be the result to
the offender.
ἀτενίσας εἰς αὐτὸνεἶπεν, fastenedhis eyes on him and said. For Elymas was
standing by, ready to catchat anything which he could turn to the discredit of
the Apostles. This is meant by St Paul’s rebuke of him, as διαστρέφωντὰς
ὁδοὺς κυρίου τὰς εὐθείας.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
"Commentary on Acts 13:9". "Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools and
Colleges".https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cgt/acts-13.html.
1896.
William Godbey's Commentary on the New Testament
9. “O thou full of all hypocrisy and all rascality, thou son of the devil, thou
enemy of all righteousness, wiltthou not ceaseperverting the right ways of the
Lord?”
Copyright Statement

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