[Articles in the Summed Up series are intended to be summaries of chapters of selected theological books. The author(s) will be quoted verbatim for the purposes of ensuring accurate representation]
The Epistles of Paul
(pp.87-90)
A) About the author of the chapter:
Louis Berkhof “graduated from Calvin Theological Seminary in 1900 …
In 1902 he went to Princeton University for two years earning a B.D. degree …
In 1906 he was appointed to the faculty of Calvin Theological Seminary. He assumed the presidency of the seminary in 1931 …” [1]
[1] http://www.calvin.edu/hh/seminary_presidents/semm_pres_berkhof.htm
B) Chapter Summary:
“Little can be said regarding the personal appearance of the great apostle. In the Acts of Paul and Thecla he is represented as “short, bald, bow-legged, with meeting eyebrows, hooked nose, full of grace.” John of Antioch preserves a similar tradition, which adds, however, that he was “round-shouldered and had a mixture of pale and red in his complexion and an ample beard.” His opponents at Corinth said of him: “His letters are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech contemptible,” II Cor. 10:10 ff. He himself refers once and again to his physical weaknesses. In all probability he was not a man of magnificent physique.”1
“His personal life was full of contrasts, as Deissmann correctly observes. He was encumbered with an ailing body, and yet was a man of great endurance and of almost unlimited capacity for work in the Kingdom of God.”2
“… we obtain the following result:
- Pauls Conversion A. D. 37
- First Visit to Jerusalem A. D. 40
- Beginning of his Work at Antioch A. D. 44
- First Missionary Journey A. D. 45—48
- Delegated to the Council of Jerusalem A. D. 50
- Second Missionary Journey A. D. 5 1—53
- Third Missionary Journey A. D. 54—58
- Captivity at Jerusalem and Caesarea A. D. 58—60
- Arrives at Rome A. D. 61
- First Captivity at Rome A. D. 61—63
- Period between first and second Captivity A. D. 63—67
- Second Captivity and Death A. D. 67 or 68.”3