It seems to me that Paul caught a glimpse of God’s love in the moment that he is first introduced to us in Acts 7 because here we are told that he watched the coats of the men who stoned Stephen and the implication is that he had to have heard that man of faith as “he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” Much like Jesus before him, Stephen took a moment of horror and turned it into an eternal memorial of love and testimony. Stephen was so full of the Holy Ghost (Spirit of Christ) that he could only offer love in the face of hatred and violence. Perhaps this was the goad that Jesus referred to when He met Saul on the Road to Damascus. It’s possible that Saul was constantly reminded of that manifestation of God’s love and had to battle with his conscience over his part in that just man’s death.
Paul’s first experience with God’s love was that a man could, under terrible circumstances, love everyone – even his tormentors. This is only possible when one possesses that agape that Paul wrote of in 1 Corinthians 13. Agape is defined as “brotherly love, affection, good will, love, benevolence, and charity.” It is the ability to hold affection for others regardless of how they treat you and it is certainly modeled best by Christ and those who possess His Spirit.
Having been involved in the persecution of the early Church and then being forgiven and placed in a position of leadership and caretaking of those he formally threatened and slaughtered must have been a humbling and awesome experience in the life of Paul. It is no wonder that he could write, “Who shall separate us from the love [agape] of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love [agape]of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Paul had experienced the unconditional love of God and he was never the same.
I’m sure that Paul went through the gamut of emotions and questions, like, “how could He love me,” or “why does He love me so much,” or “what is so different about this man Stephen?” Yet, God took this mass of boiling humanity and turned him into the Apostle to the Gentiles and along the way he not only experienced the love of God, but he practiced it as well.
Paul’s revelation of God’s love was that it could only be received by the Holy Ghost. It is no wonder that he exhorted the Ephesians to “walk in love” because he knew the awesome power of love. Stephen was full of God’s love because he was a man full of the Holy Ghost and it was that fullness that Paul encouraged when he admonished the Ephesians to be “filled with the Spirit.” This was Paul’s revelation and it remains true – especially in our day. We need more “Stephens”, who have a fullness of the Holy Ghost, and more “Pauls,” who recognize that fullness as the love of God.
*First written on May 28, 2004*
The Pillar and Ground of Truth 