In Acts 9 we see that the leading persecutor and foremost opponent of Jesus was saved and became a vessel. Saul became one with the Head and with the Body. As a member of the Body, he was qualified to receive the heavenly commission to complete the word of God’s New Testament revelation. Concerning this, he himself says, “I became a minister according to the stewardship of God, which was given to me for you, to complete the word of God” (Col. 1:25). Without the Epistles of Paul, God’s New Testament revelation would not have been completed. Among the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, fourteen were written by Paul as the completion of God’s New Testament economy. With the ministry of Peter and his company we have the initiation, but we do not have the completion. If we had only the ministry of Peter and his company, the New Testament economy of God would not be complete. For this completion there was the need of another vessel, the vessel chosen by God to carry out His New Testament economy. Eventually, God in His wisdom put Paul into prison so that he could write those Epistles which are especially crucial to the New Testament economy of God.
In 9:15 we see that Saul of Tarsus was a chosen vessel. In reading the Scriptures we may not pay adequate attention to the word “vessel,” an important spiritual term. A vessel is a container and therefore is different from a tool or a weapon.
In the Epistles of Paul there is a strong emphasis on the importance of vessels. For example, Romans 9:23 speaks of God making known “the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory.” In Romans 9 we have the thought that human beings were made by God to be vessels to contain Him. In 2 Corinthians 4:7 Paul again speaks of vessels: “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” Then in 2 Timothy 2:20 he says, “In a great house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also wooden and earthen, and some unto honor, and some unto dishonor.” God’s intention in saving Saul of Tarsus was to fill him with Himself and thereby make him an outstanding vessel. In Paul’s writings we see the development of the spiritual significance of the word “vessel.”
It may have been from Ananias that Saul learned that he was a chosen vessel. Saul of Tarsus was chosen by the Lord not only to be His apostle, His servant, and His minister; he was also chosen to be His vessel. In Acts 9:15 the Lord Jesus seemed to be saying to Ananias, “Saul is a chosen vessel. He will contain Me, and his ministry will be to convey Me to the Gentile world.” We all need to see the importance of Saul being a chosen vessel.
In Paul’s life and writings we can see the three elements of western culture—the Hebrew element, the Greek element, and the Roman element. Paul was a composition of these three elements. Therefore, he embodied Hebrew religion, Greek culture, and Roman politics. Because he was a composition of these elements, he became suitable as an earthen vessel to contain and convey the all-inclusive Christ. Paul was adequate to be such a vessel.
In studying the Bible it is not sufficient to know only the letters in black and white. We also need spiritual vision and insight. The Lord Jesus had such vision and insight when He revealed that the divine title “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” indicates resurrection (Matt. 22:23-33). We cannot see such a thing simply by reading the Bible in letters. Only by having spiritual vision and insight can we see that resurrection is implied in this divine title. To have such an understanding is not to allegorize the Scriptures or merely to make inferences. On the contrary, this is to receive revelation through the study of the written Word of God. In our reading of chapter nine of Acts we also need to see the heavenly vision concerning “Me,” Jesus, and the chosen vessel.