Was Paul who used to be Saul one of Jesus' disciples?

Answer 1

The disciples were a group of people (especially referring to a specific group of twelve) who were students of Jesus before his death. Paul was not a student of Jesus, so he shouldn't be considered a disciple of Jesus. However, he is considered an apostle (one of those sent out by Jesus to spread the gospel).

In the braoder sense of the word discipple means 'one who is taught or trained' and in this sense all Christian including Paul are disciples, but as stated above Paul was not one of the twelve disciples

Answer 2

No. He calls himself a prisoner (Philemon) a bondservant(Titus)and an apostle(all other books he wrote)but not a disciple.The reason for this is a disciple is one who follows that has not seen. An apostle is one who has seen in the flesh.

Another answer:

Actually Paul called himself the 'least of the apostles', but he is still a disciple.

"For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. [1 Corinth. 15:9]

Paul was most definitely an apostle, though not one of the original 12. Here, though, we must not get bogged down on semantics. The term 'disciple' does not refer solely to someone who saw Jesus in the flesh. The term 'disciple' simply means "a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other wise figure".

The term disciple is derived from the New Testament Greek word μαθητής which comes to us from the Latin 'discipulos' which eans 'a learner'. An apostle, however, means a "messenger, he that is sent".

In the gospels the word 'disciple' in the Greek referred to many figures, including:

• The 12 closest companions of Jesus
• the two disciples (one called Cleopas) on the road to Emmaus
• the 72 'outer circle' of disciples as described in Luke 10
• The 'growing multitude' of disciples as stated in Acts, many of whom came to know Jesus solely through the 12 and not by knowing him in the flesh
• People of ALL nations over the last 2000 years who had never met Christ but who accepted him in faith as their Lord and Saviour, as taught by Jesus at the end of Matthew's gospel:

Jesus speaks: "...Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you..." [Matt. 28:19-20]]

So, many, including me, are disciples of Christ, simply because they follow him and his teaching. Paul was also a disciple as he followed Christ. However, he was also an apostle as he proclaimed the message across the Empire via his missions of evangelism.

Answer 3

no