What do you think?
Rate this book
Paul, Apostle of Grace
An engaging and accessible introduction to the life and world of Paul
In this fresh and engaging survey, Frank Thielman introduces readers to the life and world of the apostle Paul. Drawing on the Acts of the Apostles and Paul’s canonical letters as well as noncanonical sources and archeological records, Thielman constructs a vivid picture of the complex historical period and fascinating cultures in which Paul worked. At the same time, Thielman guides readers toward a deeper understanding of who Paul was, what he believed, and how he carried out his ministry.
Solidly grounded in Paul’s own writings as well as scholarly research, the book explores a wide range of compelling What drove Paul to endure often treacherous journeys of hundreds of miles to establish like-minded communities around the world as he knew it? What spurred him to recruit a network of co-workers who were willing to help him in this vast project? What kept him at the task even when it landed him in prison? What prompted him to produce a body of letters to these communities of such depth that millions of people still read them with profit today? Engaging with important questions like these, Paul, the Apostle of Grace is an essential resource for scholars and students of the Bible who want to know more about Paul, his letters, and early Christianity.
In this fresh and engaging survey, Frank Thielman introduces readers to the life and world of the apostle Paul. Drawing on the Acts of the Apostles and Paul’s canonical letters as well as noncanonical sources and archeological records, Thielman constructs a vivid picture of the complex historical period and fascinating cultures in which Paul worked. At the same time, Thielman guides readers toward a deeper understanding of who Paul was, what he believed, and how he carried out his ministry.
Solidly grounded in Paul’s own writings as well as scholarly research, the book explores a wide range of compelling What drove Paul to endure often treacherous journeys of hundreds of miles to establish like-minded communities around the world as he knew it? What spurred him to recruit a network of co-workers who were willing to help him in this vast project? What kept him at the task even when it landed him in prison? What prompted him to produce a body of letters to these communities of such depth that millions of people still read them with profit today? Engaging with important questions like these, Paul, the Apostle of Grace is an essential resource for scholars and students of the Bible who want to know more about Paul, his letters, and early Christianity.
- GenresReligion
557 pages, Hardcover
Published March 27, 2025
5 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 28, 2025
Frank Thielman is an incredible student of Paul. It was a real joy to read his collected thought on the history of Paul’s life in this volume. If you want to understand Paul, his letters, and Acts all together as a cohesive unit, I really recommend reading this! The scholarship is careful and brilliant, I was learning things about Paul on every page from texts I have read dozens of times!
I will say, this book read like a narrative while being packed with information and sources. It was enjoyable to read and edifying.
Thielman just has a way of bringing things out that is humble and compelling. Paul is worth a lifetime of studying! And so this book is really worth reading!
I will say, this book read like a narrative while being packed with information and sources. It was enjoyable to read and edifying.
Thielman just has a way of bringing things out that is humble and compelling. Paul is worth a lifetime of studying! And so this book is really worth reading!
July 28, 2025
Summary: An introduction to the life and world of Paul based on Acts, his letters, and other sources including archaeology.
The sheer number of books on Paul, discussing aspects of his life and theology, attest to his continuing importance to our understanding of the early Christian movement. But often, these discussions focus on a particular book or theological theme. In addition, many of these discussions reflect the narrower scholarly consensus regarding the Pauline corpus. Many relegate Acts to secondary status.
Frank Thielman has written an overview to Paul’s life and world that sets his travels, mission, and writings in a wider historical and cultural context. Unlike some works, Thielman bases his account on all thirteen canonical letters of Paul as well as Acts. He also draws upon non-canonical sources and archaeology to round out this chronological account of Paul’s life, mission, trials, and death.
Beginning with Paul prior to the Damascus road, Thielman traces his travels and the context of each city and region in which he worked. He notes the theologically formative aspects of his training, his early meeting with Peter, and the developing vision of God’s grace for Jew and Gentile alike, formed at Syrian Antioch and elaborated throughout his ministry.
For example, Thielman develops the Jewish opposition Paul encountered in Syrian Antioch, Asia Minor, and Achaia over the inclusion of Gentiles without circumcision. For Paul, their inclusion, and table fellowship as one new people was essential in testifying to the grace of God in Christ. Likewise, Gentile solidarity with the Jerusalem church drove Paul’s collection.
Also, Thielman helps us understand the role and movements of Paul’s companions, notably Prisca and Aquila, Silas, and Timothy. And he fits the composition of each of the letters into Paul’s travels, and later, his imprisonment. He discusses the concerns occasioning each letter, how Paul responds, and how the letters may have been carried to their recipients.
Thielman argues for the reliability of Acts as a source and Luke as a historian and creates a chronology drawing both on letters and Acts. He does take positions on the chronology of Paul’s life that he describes as “outliers.” He equates the Jerusalem conference of Acts 15 with that described in Galatians 2. Thielman argues for Galatians as the earliest of Paul’s letters and affirms a southern hypothesis. He also argues for 1 Timothy, Titus, and 2 Timothy being written within the time covered by Acts. Thus, he argues that Paul was not released from his imprisonment and later re-imprisoned.
Thielman defends his reliance upon Acts and all thirteen canonical letters in his first appendix. And he discusses the imprisonment and the timing and manner of Paul’s death in appendices two and three.
The strength of Thielman’s work is that it reflects a scholarly account that reflects conservative convictions. He accepts the full Pauline corpus and the reliability of Acts. More than that, his account sets Paul’s ministry amid Jewish opposition, imperial concerns, and religious and commercial culture.
Thielman admits at the outset:
“Writing a book about Paul’s life is like putting together a puzzle of a thousand pieces, but a puzzle whose pieces can fit together in different ways. The best one can hope for, perhaps, is a picture that is reasonable and that, at least in some cases, is probable.”
On one hand, Thielman succeeds admirably in putting all the pieces together. However, this book is touted as a successor to F. F. Bruce’s Paul: The Apostle of the Heart Set Free. As a cohesive reckoning of all the details in a theologically conservative account, that certainly is the case. Thielman incorporates scholarship to which Bruce did not have access. But, in comparison to Bruce, this account seemed too concerned with all the puzzle pieces. While Thielman gets the theology of grace right, I felt the book lacked the overarching vision of grace’s liberating power for Paul and his ministry that I found in Bruce.
Nevertheless, this book is a great resource to read alongside Acts and the letters of Paul. It offers the “big picture” of Paul’s life. We see Paul’s ministry and his letters in context rather than just as disparate biblical passages. Thielman lays a good foundation for anyone pursuing further studies of Paul, the apostle of grace.
___________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
The sheer number of books on Paul, discussing aspects of his life and theology, attest to his continuing importance to our understanding of the early Christian movement. But often, these discussions focus on a particular book or theological theme. In addition, many of these discussions reflect the narrower scholarly consensus regarding the Pauline corpus. Many relegate Acts to secondary status.
Frank Thielman has written an overview to Paul’s life and world that sets his travels, mission, and writings in a wider historical and cultural context. Unlike some works, Thielman bases his account on all thirteen canonical letters of Paul as well as Acts. He also draws upon non-canonical sources and archaeology to round out this chronological account of Paul’s life, mission, trials, and death.
Beginning with Paul prior to the Damascus road, Thielman traces his travels and the context of each city and region in which he worked. He notes the theologically formative aspects of his training, his early meeting with Peter, and the developing vision of God’s grace for Jew and Gentile alike, formed at Syrian Antioch and elaborated throughout his ministry.
For example, Thielman develops the Jewish opposition Paul encountered in Syrian Antioch, Asia Minor, and Achaia over the inclusion of Gentiles without circumcision. For Paul, their inclusion, and table fellowship as one new people was essential in testifying to the grace of God in Christ. Likewise, Gentile solidarity with the Jerusalem church drove Paul’s collection.
Also, Thielman helps us understand the role and movements of Paul’s companions, notably Prisca and Aquila, Silas, and Timothy. And he fits the composition of each of the letters into Paul’s travels, and later, his imprisonment. He discusses the concerns occasioning each letter, how Paul responds, and how the letters may have been carried to their recipients.
Thielman argues for the reliability of Acts as a source and Luke as a historian and creates a chronology drawing both on letters and Acts. He does take positions on the chronology of Paul’s life that he describes as “outliers.” He equates the Jerusalem conference of Acts 15 with that described in Galatians 2. Thielman argues for Galatians as the earliest of Paul’s letters and affirms a southern hypothesis. He also argues for 1 Timothy, Titus, and 2 Timothy being written within the time covered by Acts. Thus, he argues that Paul was not released from his imprisonment and later re-imprisoned.
Thielman defends his reliance upon Acts and all thirteen canonical letters in his first appendix. And he discusses the imprisonment and the timing and manner of Paul’s death in appendices two and three.
The strength of Thielman’s work is that it reflects a scholarly account that reflects conservative convictions. He accepts the full Pauline corpus and the reliability of Acts. More than that, his account sets Paul’s ministry amid Jewish opposition, imperial concerns, and religious and commercial culture.
Thielman admits at the outset:
“Writing a book about Paul’s life is like putting together a puzzle of a thousand pieces, but a puzzle whose pieces can fit together in different ways. The best one can hope for, perhaps, is a picture that is reasonable and that, at least in some cases, is probable.”
On one hand, Thielman succeeds admirably in putting all the pieces together. However, this book is touted as a successor to F. F. Bruce’s Paul: The Apostle of the Heart Set Free. As a cohesive reckoning of all the details in a theologically conservative account, that certainly is the case. Thielman incorporates scholarship to which Bruce did not have access. But, in comparison to Bruce, this account seemed too concerned with all the puzzle pieces. While Thielman gets the theology of grace right, I felt the book lacked the overarching vision of grace’s liberating power for Paul and his ministry that I found in Bruce.
Nevertheless, this book is a great resource to read alongside Acts and the letters of Paul. It offers the “big picture” of Paul’s life. We see Paul’s ministry and his letters in context rather than just as disparate biblical passages. Thielman lays a good foundation for anyone pursuing further studies of Paul, the apostle of grace.
___________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
January 5, 2026
I thought this was a very comprehensive work on Paul and pretty easy to read as far as more academic texts go.
The first third of the book was the most interesting. I felt like that was where he ventured a bit more into exegesis, which he wrote about very well.
The appendices were very interesting and helpful.
The middle 2/3s was a slog in a lot of spots. There were some interesting bits, but I think some more visual cues or language would have helped the points.
If you're looking for a historical background into Corinth, etc, this is especially rich.
I did walk away with a new appreciation for Paul, and I think a more accurate representation of him as a man, not just a writer.
3 stars ⭐⭐⭐
And I'm definitely exploring more Thielman works about different topics for the future
The first third of the book was the most interesting. I felt like that was where he ventured a bit more into exegesis, which he wrote about very well.
The appendices were very interesting and helpful.
The middle 2/3s was a slog in a lot of spots. There were some interesting bits, but I think some more visual cues or language would have helped the points.
If you're looking for a historical background into Corinth, etc, this is especially rich.
I did walk away with a new appreciation for Paul, and I think a more accurate representation of him as a man, not just a writer.
3 stars ⭐⭐⭐
And I'm definitely exploring more Thielman works about different topics for the future
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews