The Illustrated Life of Paul

by Charles L. Quarles

Publisher:

Holman

, 2014

Overview

Except for the Lord Jesus himself, no person has been more influential in the history of the church than Saul of Tarsus. Paul’s influence upon the early church’s most cherished convictions is so clear and powerful that some scholars have dared to describe him as the founder of Christianity.

Paul had a greater impact on the formation of the Christian church than any other apostle. He wrote thirteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament so that nearly half of the New Testament documents bear his name. Although some of Paul’s letters are brief compared to other New Testament books, his epistles compromise approximately one-fourth of the total volume of the New Testament.

Approximately sixteen chapters of the Book of Acts focus on Paul’s persecution of the church, conversion, missionary labors, arrest and imprisonment. When these chapters are combined with Paul’s letters, Paul may be recognized as the author or subject of nearly one-third of the New Testament. Paul was not only the most effective Christian missionary and church planter in history, but also the most significant and influential interpreter of Jesus’ teachings and of the significance of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and return.

This book introduces readers to this amazing man and his incredible story. It explains the background of each of Paul’s letters and offers a summary of the beliefs of one of the keenest theological minds in the history of the church. All along, it enables the reader an opportunity to step into the world of Paul with over 150 photos, maps, illustrations, and charts.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Sadducees argued that the course of history was determined solely by human decision. Essenes believed everything was determined in advance by God and human will could not thwart the divine plan. Pharisees affirmed both free human choice and divine sovereignty in a carefully balanced paradox.” (source)

“Jesus did not ask why Paul persecuted his disciples, believers, or followers of the Way. He asked, ‘Why are you persecuting Me?’ In his later reflection on these words, which Paul undoubtedly replayed in his mind again and again, Paul recognized that Jesus had some kind of close connection with his disciples that resulted in Jesus sharing the experiences of his disciples and his disciples sharing Jesus’ experiences as well.” (source)

“Paul also wrote to defend the gospel of grace against Jewish legalism that insisted Gentile believers needed to be circumcised, keep the rituals and celebrations of the Jewish calendar, and observe Jewish dietary laws.” (source)

“only Acts mentions the specific trade (Acts 18:3). Paul and his family were ‘tentmakers.’” (source)

“Paul viewed this act of compromise as sinful and twice called it ‘hypocrisy’ in Galatians 2:13.” (source)

Product Details

• Title: The Illustrated Life of Paul
• Author: Charles L. Quarles
• Publisher: Holman
• Print Publication Date: 2014
• Logos Release Date: 2020
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subjects: Paul, apostle; Bible. N.T. › Biography; Christianity › Biography
• ISBNs: 9781430071778, 9780805494532, 0805494537, 143007177X
• Resource ID: LLS:WS_C807DC8591064159B26A581B5E2CA584
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-03-19T21:44:28Z

About Charles L. Quarles

Charles Quarles is an experienced pastor, missionary, and theological educator. He served as Senior Pastor of three churches in North Mississippi and East Tennessee for over ten years. He served as a missionary of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in Bucharest Romania from 1999 to 2002. He has served as a professor of New Testament and Greek at Clear Creek Baptist Bible College, the Bucharest Baptist Theological Seminary, the University of Bucharest, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and Louisiana College (now Louisiana Christian University). He has served on volunteer mission trips in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tanzania, Turkey, and Cuba.

In addition to many Bible studies, articles in reference works, and reviews, he is the editor or author of a dozen books including The Sermon on the Mount: Restoring Christ’s Message to the Modern Church; The Illustrated Life of Paul; A Theology of Matthew; Matthew in the Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament series; and Matthew in the Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary series. He has two forthcoming books on New Testament textual criticism. He has published research in numerous international journals including New Testament Studies, Novum Testamentum, the Bulletin for Biblical Research, the Bible Translator, and Tyndale Bulletin.

He and his wife Julie have been married since 1989 and have three adult children (Rachael, Hannah, and Joshua) and four grandchildren.