What is the meaning of Acts 22:14? Then he said Ananias, “a devout man according to the Law” (Acts 22:12), speaks these words to Saul immediately after restoring his sight. The line reminds us that this message is not Ananias’s opinion but a divinely ordered announcement, echoing how prophets often began with a declarative “Thus says the LORD” (cf. Acts 9:17; 26:16). The God of our fathers By invoking “the God of our fathers,” Ananias links Saul’s experience to the covenant history of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 3:15; Acts 3:13; 5:30). Salvation in Jesus is not a break from Israel’s story; it is its fulfillment. Paul will later affirm this same continuity when he says, “I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything that is written in the Law and the Prophets” (Acts 24:14). has appointed you The verb underscores God’s sovereign choice. Saul’s apostleship is not self-generated; it is a divine assignment, much like Jeremiah’s call “before you were born I set you apart” (Jeremiah 1:5) or Paul’s own testimony, “God… set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace” (Galatians 1:15). The appointment carries authority and responsibility (1 Timothy 1:12). to know His will God does not leave His servants guessing. Saul is granted direct knowledge of the divine plan, ultimately summarized in Christ: “He made known to us the mystery of His will… to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ” (Ephesians 1:9–10). For Paul, that will includes taking the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21; Romans 1:1). and to see the Righteous One “The Righteous One” is a messianic title for Jesus (Isaiah 53:11; Acts 3:14; 7:52). Saul literally saw the risen Christ on the Damascus road (Acts 9:3–5), qualifying him as an apostle: “Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?” (1 Corinthians 9:1). This vision confirms Jesus as perfectly righteous and therefore the only sufficient Savior. and to hear His voice Hearing Christ’s voice goes beyond the initial call; it inaugurates a lifetime of direct guidance (John 10:27). Paul would later recount, “I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul…’” (Acts 26:14). The same voice would continue to direct his ministry (Acts 18:9–10; 23:11), demonstrating that true apostleship involves ongoing communion with the living Lord. summary Acts 22:14 shows that Saul’s conversion is a divine commissioning rooted in Israel’s story, grounded in God’s sovereign choice, and centered on personal encounter with the risen, righteous Christ. Knowing God’s will, seeing Jesus, and hearing His voice equip Paul— and every believer—to live and testify with certainty that the gospel is God’s uninterrupted plan from the fathers to the ends of the earth. |
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