Ephesians 3:3
“that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.”
This is an incredible story. God made known the message of grace to Paul by revelation. This was God's choice. He could have done so with one of the apostles, but He wanted Paul to be the messenger. It had to be done by revelation.
God went to great lengths to get Paul converted. He was a warrior for the other side. Acts 7:58 has Saul as an influential one in the stoning of Stephen. Philippians 3:4b-6 says, "If anyone else thinks he is confident in the flesh, I have more reason: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless." Only a miracle would have converted Saul.
Saul was on his way to Damascus to further persecute christians. Jesus appeared to him, he fell off his horse and said, "Saul, Saul why do you persecute Me?" What a shock. Here Saul thinks he is serving and pleasing God. He learns in that instant that he is against Him. After this he didn't eat for days. He was living in the opposite direction of God. Completely wrong.
This experience converted Saul and he became the greatest christian of all time. He was now a warrior for God. I've heard that his conversion is an argument for the faith. He was all he said he was and he switched directions. That can only be explained that Jesus did appear to him.
It seems that this revelation happened not so long after his conversion (Gal 1:16,17). Jesus revealed Himself to him, but also the message of grace. What a shift for him, a seismic shift. One day he was a committed jew, persecuting the church, not so long after he was a huge leader in the church.
Paul was so significant that the jews sought to kill him. They were waiting at the gait for him. He had to be let down through a window in the city wall to secretly escape. He was aligned with the power structure one day, to becoming public enemy number one later.
Paul was a leader for a long time. In each camp he entered, he was a leader. Now he was important in the church. His head needed to be in the right place. Christianity is all about humility. 2 Corinthians 12:7 tells us how the Lord kept him humble, "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure."
This revelation was quite special. 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 tells us, "I know a man in Christ, who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven. And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows— was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak." Amazing.
Lord, thank You for Paul and the great influence he had on the church as well as the great contributions he made to the bible. The helpful epistles to the amazing book of Romans. Thank You.