Canonical dictionary entry

Paul

Paul is the apostle whose conversion and teaching helped carry the gospel across the Gentile world and shape much of the New Testament’s doctrinal witness.

PersonTier 1

Canonical ID: dict_004298Slug: paul

Paul and Barnabas's signs and wondersPaul at LystraPaul bitten by viperPaul's Arrest & Journey to RomePaul's arrest in JerusalemPaul's Caesarean imprisonmentPaul's Roman imprisonmentPaul's voyage to RomePaul, Conversion of

At a glance

Definition: Paul is the apostle whose conversion and teaching helped carry the gospel across the Gentile world and shape much of the New Testament’s doctrinal witness.

Paul is the apostle whose conversion, missionary labor, and letters shape the church's understanding of the gospel.
He moves within Jewish, Hellenistic, and Roman settings while remaining a servant of the risen Christ.
Read Paul historically as an apostle and canonically through the theology of his letters.

Simple explanation

Paul is the apostle whose conversion and teaching helped carry the gospel across the Gentile world.

Academic explanation

Paul is the apostle whose conversion and teaching helped carry the gospel across the Gentile world and shape much of the New Testament’s doctrinal witness. A good dictionary treatment identifies both the historical referent and the theological weight the canon places upon it.

Extended academic explanation

Paul is the apostle whose conversion and teaching helped carry the gospel across the Gentile world and shape much of the New Testament’s doctrinal witness. More fully, the entry should be read as part of Scripture’s unified history of creation, fall, covenant, kingdom, judgment, and redemption. Its significance is not exhausted by bare chronology or geography, because later biblical writers often recall persons, places, and events as theological signs within the unfolding canon.

Biblical context

Biblically, Paul emerges in Acts as persecutor turned apostle and author of letters that address churches, doctrine, ethics, mission, and suffering.

Historical context

Historically, Paul operates within the first-century Roman Empire, moving through synagogues, cities, and trade routes as the gospel advances among Jews and Gentiles.

Key texts

Acts 9:1-19 - Paul’s conversion.
Acts 13:1-3 - Paul sent on mission.
Romans 1:1-6 - Paul’s apostolic identity.
2 Timothy 4:6-8 - Paul’s closing testimony.

Secondary texts

Acts 22:3-21 - Paul retells his conversion and commission in Jerusalem.
Acts 26:12-23 - Paul frames his calling before Agrippa as prophetic fulfillment.
Galatians 1:15-17 - Paul emphasizes God's prior purpose and independent calling.
1 Corinthians 15:9-10 - Paul's apostleship is rooted in grace after former persecution.

Theological significance

Theologically, Paul matters because his letters are a major inspired source for the church’s understanding of the gospel, justification, union with Christ, the church, and the hope of resurrection.

Interpretive cautions

Do not treat Paul as a flat moral example or isolate one episode from the whole canonical portrait. Read Paul in relation to covenant role, historical setting, and the larger movement of Scripture.

Practical significance

Paul helps readers think missionally and doctrinally, holding together gospel truth, church planting, suffering, and the inclusion of the nations.