Early in the book of Acts, a heavily influential character arises in the Pharisee Saul. He is first seen in direct opposition to the Christian movement, going so far as to kill off or imprison as many Jesus followers as he could reach. Fast forward in the New Testament, and we see this same character, now called Paul, as a key guide to churches all over the middle east. So, what changed and what is the difference between Saul and Paul?
Because of the harsh contrast between the actions seen when Saul first comes on the scene versus his leadership as Paul later in the New Testament, many often think that Saul’s conversion inspired his name change in order to clearly indicate the difference in his heart. While this may make logical sense to us and is widely regarded in Christian circles, it is not actually true.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has gone, the new has come!
In Acts 9, we find Saul on a trip to Damascus with the intent to take Christians back to Jerusalem as prisoners. That intent quickly changed as Jesus confronted Saul on his journey. There’s nothing quite like a voice from heaven to make you rethink your life decisions! But Saul did not immediately become Paul, nor did he immediately start his missionary work he is famous for. Saul spent 3 years studying and learning from God (Galatians 1:17-18). Soon after, Saul started preaching as seen in Acts 11:26 “...for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people”. Fun fact: this is where disciples were first called Christians! It wasn’t until Acts 13 (12 years after his conversion!) that Saul is first referred to as Paul. After this point, the New Testament never refers to him as “Saul” in the present tense again.
So what changed that caused Saul to now be referred to as Paul? There are three things that could be the culprit. First, Paul had a new mission. Saul is seen as a persecutor of Christians, then a convert himself, and finally a preacher. While that is a great story in and of itself, his greatest impact was as Paul, the missionary who spread the gospel to the gentiles. It may not be a coincidence that the name change occurred during Paul’s first missionary journey as he was living into God’s calling for his life
The second change that could potentially be the reason behind Paul’s official name swap is location. Saul and Paul are different iterations of the same name – Saul being Jewish in origin and Paul being the Roman counterpart to it. Paul’s name change happened in Cyprus, a Hellenistic society. The name change could have been an attempt to connect with those people on the most basic level: his name.
There is one other major change we see noted in the Book of Acts that could be the reason behind Paul’s new name. The first express indication of Paul being “filled with the Holy Spirit” is in the same verse that his new name is shared. “Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit…” (Acts 13:9). Earlier, in Acts 9, Ananias announced that he had come so that Paul would be filled with the Holy Spirit, but it is not directly stated that that happened, only that the scales fell off his eyes, and he was baptized (Acts 9:18). Paul might refer to the Spirit-filled version of Saul.
Regardless of the exact reason why Saul’s name switched to Paul, I am reminded of the beautiful truth Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come!”
