Did God Rename Saul to Paul?..No!
One of the many inaccuracies concerning God's Word is regarding Paul and his name. So pervasive is the error that you will often hear it preached from pulpits.
God did change the names of two Old Testament patriarchs: Abram to Abraham (Gen. 17:5) and Jacob to Israel (Gen. 32:28). Strangely the idea seems to be that a similar event happened to Paul when he encountered Jesus on the Damascus Road (Acts 9).
Lets look at some scripture references that clarify this misconception.
First of all in Acts 9:4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”, we see Jesus calling him by the name of Saul.
In Acts 9:17 "Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” In this verse Ananias calls him Saul.
In Acts 13:2 "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” In this verse The Person of the Holy Spirit calls him Saul as well.
In scripture he is called Saul 11 more times after his conversion which would have not been the case had Christ renamed him.
Our clarification comes in Acts 13:9 "Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said," As it turns out Luke tells us that Saul is also called Paul. Saul is his Hebrew name whereas Paul is his koine Greek name.
As God’s people we should work hard to read God’s Word closely and be as faithful to it as we are able, in every area and category. We should not mislead ourselves or those around us.
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