Throughout Scripture, God uses the unlikely, unexpected, and ordinary people to accomplish His tasks. David was a shepherd boy who became the King of Israel. Mary was a teenage girl who gave birth to and raised Jesus, the Son of God. I could continue, but hopefully, by now, you understand this point. God uses the "ordinary" to accomplish the extraordinary. This is even true when it comes to providing us Scripture. The words He provided in Scripture came directly from Him, but the words were written down by ordinary people just like you and me. Because these people were dedicated to God's calling on their lives, He used them as instruments to convey His message.
The Apostle Paul, the author of many New Testament books, wrote in Scripture about His dependence on the Holy Spirit as He ministered to people and conveyed God's message to them. When looking at these verses, it is important to understand that the letters he wrote that have become New Testament books were a large part of his ministry. As he wrote about his dependence on the Holy Spirit, he said in 1 Corinthians 2, "When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit's words to explain spiritual truths (verse 13). In other words, Paul's words, both written and spoken, were not his own. They were the words of God. He simply was God's messenger. If you know Paul's story, you know that he would have been a very unexpected messenger to tell the world about Christ. At one point, he was opposed to Christianity and tried to stop it from spreading. Despite these things and Paul's unlikeliness, he is exactly who God chose to carry out the task of spreading Christianity across the world and writing many New Testament books.
Yes, the Bible is the inspired Word of God. At the same time, the words were written by human hands. We do not know all of the human authors, but we know many of them. Understanding this brings color and perspective when reading Scripture. A good study Bible will talk about the book's author, if it is known, at the introduction of each book of the Bible. Praise God that he uses ordinary, unexpected people, like you and me, to carry His message and build His kingdom.
In what ways are you ordinary? This is a weird question, but God takes ordinary people and uses them to do extraordinary things. Write out some of the ways you may be able to stretch to accomplish more for God. If you want to see how far Paul came, be sure to read his story in the Going Deeper section below.
Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains.
As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
“Who are you, lord?” Saul asked.
And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one! Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus. He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink.
Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord!” he replied.
The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”
“But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”
But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”
So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength.
Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem
Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days. And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!”
