If you’ve streamed a church service or so, chances are you’ve come across the work of apostle Paul. Saul—his previous name—studied under Gamaliel, a prominent Jewish religious leader. This upbringing explained why Paul could quote Old Testament Scriptures the way a chef could whip up favorite recipes from memory. In fact, Paul was so motivated to keep the Jewish religious law that he hunted followers of Jesus, hauled them to jail, as if his next meal depended on it. His rationale? They were a cult (Acts 8:1-3, Galatians 1:13).
But while he was preoccupied with such a mission, a supernatural phenomenon arrested him. Paul heard Jesus speaking to him—from heaven, no less—before becoming blind for three days (Acts 9:1-9).
What happened changed Paul. Completely. He devoted his life to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ from town to town, disregarding his own safety. Even though the Jewish leaders stirred up opposition against him, beat him up, and even stoned him, Paul pressed on.
This great apostle penned many of the Bible’s most well-known verses housed within books we still peruse today: Romans. First Corinthians and its sequel. Ephesians. I could go on, but it’d take a while to list them all; he wrote nearly half of the New Testament.
Paul’s success in spreading the Word cemented his status as one of the most revered names in Christendom. No wonder churches throughout generations compiled many specifics about this man of God. But did you know about the following particulars? These surprising facts about Paul leave us with important implications.
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1. Respect for Non-Spiritual Strategies
Paul’s status as a spiritual giant in the Church makes it easy to surmise that whatever he included in his letters contains only theological, spiritual, or supernatural teachings. As it turns out, however, this assumption is inaccurate. The famed apostle once addressed Timothy’s stomach issues by resorting to an unexpected solution. He told Timothy to drink wine—literally (1 Timothy 5:23).
Christians vary on whether or not to view alcohol as an acceptable beverage. Despite this disagreement, it’s safe to agree that by telling Timothy to imbibe, Paul handed him non-spiritual advice.
Please don’t overlook the significance of this detail. Paul didn’t tell Timothy to meditate on the Torah to improve his gut health. Neither did he instruct his mentee to fast and pray. Since the Holy Spirit included Paul’s non-spiritual prescription in the written canon, we can interpret this divine decision as God’s approval of non-spiritual methods for healing.
Like what? To a psychologist like myself, the immediate answer is psychotherapy.
Oh, that the body of Christ would welcome psychological methods to ease emotional pain!
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2. Paul Was Unashamed of His Emotions
Most Christians associate the books Paul penned with meaty doctrines and theological truths. Indeed, his words in the New Testament exude both. But did you know he also peppered his letters with a liberal reference to his emotions? For instance, with regard to how the Jews—his own people—rejected Jesus as their Messiah, Paul wrote, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart” (Romans 9:2).
When you think of Paul, do you picture a helpless man? Notice how openly the apostle disclosed his weakness about being persecuted; he felt “completely overwhelmed—beyond strength—so that [he] even despaired of life itself” (2 Corinthians 1:8, CSB).
That’s not all. He even admitted to crying: “through many tears I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart, not to grieve you but to let you know how much I love you” (2 Corinthians 2:4, BSB). Did you also catch how honestly he, a man they respected as an authority figure, expressed his affection to them?
Paul had no toxic masculinity. He felt no need to appear stoic or put on intellectual airs. By letting his letter recipients peek into his feelings, Paul showed remarkable vulnerability.
His authenticity offers a refreshing change from what we often witness in media interviews—of someone muttering “I’m sorry” as tears threaten to break free, as though it’s a sin to let your tears flow publicly.
Let’s follow the apostle’s example instead and unabashedly own our emotional reactions.
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3. The Apostle Paul Had Favorites
God made it clear: He doesn’t play favorites (Romans 2:11). Ironically, this verse came from the man who exemplified the exact opposite. You may have known that Paul ministered to different people in many different localities. But did you know that he singled out one church in a special way? You could even say he played favorites with them.
How else can we explain the following sentiment, which he penned in his second letter to the Corinthians?
“Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so” (2 Corinthians 11:7-9).
See that? Paul refused to charge the Corinthians a fee for preaching the Gospel to them. But since he—like the rest of humanity—required food to survive, Paul had to make a living somehow.
The passage above reveals how. Even though Paul refused to charge the Corinthians, he had no problems receiving the Macedonians’ Venmo.
Perhaps Paul played favorites because, despite his many miracles and grand achievements, he was a human just like us.
There’s an advantage to allowing Paul to step down from the lofty pedestal we’ve built for him: we can regard his record as aspirational. Healing a crippled man (Acts 14:8–10), healing through handkerchiefs (Acts 19:11-12), and even raising the dead (Acts 20:9–12) don’t have to be off-limits to us because of some holy stature he possessed that we somehow lack.
If Paul, who was a flesh and blood just like us, could be used by God in such an astounding manner, we could hope and pray for the same.
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4. Paul Had Many Different “Parts” of His Soul
Okay, parts are a modern concept from Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy. But still. The idea is applicable to Paul because God created humanity to be tripartite—a fancy word that means we have a spirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
The real you, the one who always craves a close connection with God, is your spirit. Your soul—just like your body—contains many parts.
If this news alarms you, relax. Having many parts within your soul doesn’t make you a weirdo. Neither does it mean you’re mentally ill with Dissociative Identity Disorder (previously known as Multiple Personality Disorder).
Having parts just makes you human.
It’s clear from his writing that Paul had polarized parts: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (Romans 7:15). Translation: one part of him aimed to reduce his carb intake, but another part said no can do. So, this part urged Paul to order pita bread every chance he got.
Or how about Paul’s discourse in 1 Corinthians 12:12-26? Yes, the passage mentions different body parts as an analogy for the body of Christ. But as I explained in my book, Grieving Wholeheartedly: Bringing Healing to Every Part of Your Soul, his analogy makes sense when we read it as though Paul were talking about the soul and its parts.
If everyone is born with parts within their soul, it stands to reason that the same can be said of Paul. For instance, he had a religious part. (You can read more on this part in chapter 6 of my book.)
Paul was a human being just like us, complete with feelings and flaws. The only difference is that he has finished his race (2 Timothy 4:7) while ours is continuing. What will our journey look like? How will we complete our respective races? May we live in such obedience to the Father that, at the conclusion of our journey, we’ll hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23).
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Originally published Thursday, 14 August 2025.