Abstract
The Acts of the Apostles describes – sometimes in rather colorful details – signs and wonders wrought by the apostle Paul. Can this portrait of the apostle be corroborated based on his own letters? Or do we have to conclude that contemporaries of the apostle paint a more or less hagiographic picture of Paul’s miraculous activities? What is the place of miracles surrounding Paul and wrought by him within the whole of his life and mission? A survey of Paul’s letters allows us to get a view of how the apostle sees the function of signs, wonders, and mighty works within the dynamics of the proclamation of the gospel. Viewed in this way, the possible difference between information based upon Paul’s own communication and that of his contemporaries about him appears to decrease. A clearer picture of the part miracles play within the whole of Paul’s mission may also help to rethink modern and post-modern worldviews from a biblical perspective.
Highlights
The apostle Paul is usually more associated with theological reasoning than with signs, wonders, and mighty works;1 those were especially the hallmark of Jesus’s presence among Israel
Can this portrait of the apostle be cor roborated based on his own letters? Or do we have to conclude that contemporaries of the apostle paint a more or less hagiographic picture of Paul’s miraculous activities? What is the place of miracles surrounding Paul and wrought by him within the whole of his life and mission? A survey of Paul’s letters allows us to get a view of how the apostle sees the function of signs, wonders, and mighty works within the dynamics of the pro clamation of the gospel
This difference may be smaller than usually stated. It may originate from Paul’s modesty. From one of his extant letters to the Christian congregation in Corinth, we know how he would rather boast in his weakness,3 as turns out from his ironical reversal of the prize known as the corona muralis that was awarded to a soldier who first managed to scale the wall during an assault of a beleaguered city
Summary
The apostle Paul is usually more associated with theological reasoning than with signs, wonders, and mighty works; those were especially the hallmark of Jesus’s presence among Israel. When focusing on the apostle Paul and the miraculous, the conclusions based on the Book of Acts are the following: 1) the borders between what we would call miraculous or what we would call coincidental are not so clear-cut in the mind of first century Christians, 2) we should concentrate on miracles worked by the apostle, and on miracles happening to him in his proclamation of the gospel, 3) God uses both ongoing suffering and miraculous rescue in the mis sion of the apostle We could take these conclusions with us in our toolbox when approaching Paul’s letters. Rom 15:19 (“power of signs and wonders” 1 Cor 12:9-10.28–29 (healings, tongues [ἐν δυνάμει σημείων καὶ τεράτων])
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
