Acts 9:15

Acts 9:15

I. Saul is here a vessel. The word here rendered "vessel" may also be translated "instrument," but either reading gives a good sense. God is an infinite spring giving inexhaustibly forth; men are empty vessels receiving everlastingly of His fulness.

II. He is a vessel unto Me.The vessel had been wrested that day from the power of the enemy; henceforth he will be a vessel separated unto and honoured in the service of Jesus Christ.

III. "He is a chosen vessel unto Me." (1) This must mean that he was a choice vessel. (2) He was chosen or ordained of God unto the work of the Apostleship.

IV. He is a vessel of election unto Me to bear My name.Paul bore the name of Jesus Christ (1) in his intellect, (2) in his heart, (3) in his ministry.

V. He was to bear God's name before Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. (1) The wide scope of his ministry required certain social qualifications which the other apostles did not possess. (2) The work allotted to him demanded great intellectual culture in order to its successful performance. (3) The work demanded much moral courage.

J. Cynddylan Jones, Studies in the Acts,p. 196.

References: Acts 9:15. Bishop Stubbs, Christian World Pulpit,vol. xxvii., p. 49. Acts 9:16. J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons,9th series, p. 48.