The life and work of Paul, often referred to by his Hebrew name of Saul, is a subject which, in importance, is second only to the consideration of the ministry of Christ Jesus himself.
Jesus' immediate disciples, Peter and Andrew, James and John, and the rest of the eleven who remained faithful to him, played an important part in spreading the gospel, the "good news" of Christianity, throughout Palestine and probably into Asia Minor, while tradition has it that Peter went as far afield as Rome. But it is Paul who has won for himself the proud titles of the "Missionary Apostle" and the "Apostle of the Gentiles." It was he more than any other who carried the teachings of the Messiah into the Gentile world as a universal religion. Thus, when we examine what is told of the society, or church, of Jesus' followers after their Master's ascension—those followers for whom the men of Antioch in Syria invented what was then the contemptuous term "Christian"—one name stands out more clearly than all the rest, the name of Paul.
At first this might appear strange and almost contradictory. At Caesarea Philippi the Master questioned his disciples as to who the people thought he really was. The answers were various: some took him for John the Baptist, others supposed him to be Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets returned to earth. When he asked the disciples' own opinion, Peter made the unforgettable statement: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" and heard this great declaration from the lips of the Messiah: "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church" (see Matt. 16:13-18; cf. Mark 8:27-29; Luke 9: 18-20). In the circumstances, one might expect Peter to have the chief part in the growth of the Christian Church; but if, as Jesus implied, the truth that Peter proclaimed was the rock on which his church was to be built, the actual building on that foundation was largely left to Paul, who likewise received a great promise: "He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel" (Acts 9: 15).
