Renewing Your Mind – "A Basket Case"

Podcast: Renewing Your Mind
Host: Ligonier Ministries (Nathan W. Bingham)
Speaker: Dr. R.C. Sproul
Date: August 24, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode launches a new series on the Book of Acts, with a particular focus on the early ministry of the Apostle Paul. Dr. R.C. Sproul centers today's sermon on Paul's dramatic transformation—from persecutor of Christians to bold proclaimer of Jesus as the Son of God. Using Acts 9:20–31 as his text, Dr. Sproul explores what it meant for Paul to call Jesus "the Son of God," the theological and historical meaning behind this title, and the implications for Christian faith. The episode also examines both the spiritual and practical outworkings of Paul's conversion, such as his escape in a basket and the early church's acceptance of him.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Paul’s Radical Transformation

Reference: [01:39]–[06:15]

Paul leaves Jerusalem empowered to persecute Christians but experiences a stunning disruption on the road to Damascus by the risen Christ.
Dr. Sproul highlights the irony that Paul “entered into Damascus being led by the hand” after being struck blind—the strong persecutor entering the city in weakness.
- Quote ([03:59]):
  “He left Jerusalem in strength, but was interrupted on the route to Damascus by the intrusion into his life by the risen Christ...he entered Damascus being led by the hand, because God had struck him blind.” — Dr. R.C. Sproul
Paul is ministered to by Ananias, regains his sight, and is immediately empowered to preach Jesus as the Messiah.

2. The Theological Weight of ‘Son of God’

Reference: [06:15]–[14:30]

Dr. Sproul notes this is the only time in Acts that Jesus is directly called the “Son of God.”
The episode digs into the difference between the titular use of "Son of Man" and "Son of God."
- While tempting to assign “Son of Man” to Jesus’s humanity and “Son of God” to his divinity, both titles are richer and more nuanced.
- “Son of Man” refers to the heavenly figure in Daniel; paradoxically, it also reflects Jesus’s divinity.
- “Son of God” in the Old Testament could refer to angels, the nation of Israel, or Davidic kings—but in the New Testament it is elevated to signify Jesus’s unique relationship with the Father.
- Quote ([10:05]):
  “But the principal and chief significance of that title ‘Son of Man’ is that it refers to the Old Testament personage who is a heavenly character… In a sense, the title Son of Man describes more of Jesus’ divine nature than it does his human nature.” — Dr. R.C. Sproul

3. Obedience and Sonship

Dr. Sproul connects biblical sonship to obedience. True children are those who obey their spiritual father.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees: “You are of your father the devil” ([13:27]), highlighting that one’s actions declare their true lineage.
Jesus is the unique Son because of his absolute and perfect obedience to the Father in his humanity, but there is more:
- “He was the Son of God in his humanity because of his sinlessness and because of his perfect obedience, he warranted this title, the Son of God.” ([13:58]) — Dr. R.C. Sproul
Yet, Sonship also refers to eternal generation—the unique (“monogenes”) Son, not created but eternally begotten.

4. Historic Controversies: Nicene Response to Arianism

Reference: [15:00]–[18:45]

Dr. Sproul outlines the fourth-century controversy over Christ’s divinity. Arius argued that if Jesus was “begotten,” he had a beginning.
The Council of Nicaea responded: Christ is “begotten, not made”—eternally begotten, of one substance (homoousios) with the Father.
- Quote ([18:10]):
  “…the begottenness here refers to an eternal relationship…that Christ is individually, singularly, the only one ever uniquely begotten, begotten eternally of the Father, because he is very God, of very God. There never was a time when the Son was not.” — Dr. R.C. Sproul
This message is at the root of Paul’s proclamation and early Christian confession: Jesus as God incarnate.

5. Paul’s Immediate Preaching and the Church’s Astonishment

Reference: [19:20]–[22:20]

Paul’s about-face and bold preaching that Jesus is the Son of God provoke astonishment, then hostility.
- Quote ([19:53]):
  “Isn’t this the one who destroyed everybody who called on this name Jesus in Jerusalem and had come here for that purpose that he might bring them bound to the chief priests? And the answer…was yes, yes, this is the same guy.” — Dr. R.C. Sproul
As Paul preached, opposition grew and a murder plot forced his escape: he is lowered through a window in a basket, symbolizing humility and weakness.

6. Barnabas’s Advocacy and Paul’s Ongoing Ministry

Upon return to Jerusalem, believers are understandably wary of Paul. Barnabas (“son of encouragement”) vouches for him.
- Quote ([22:57]):
  “Barnabas…interceded for Paul, vouched for Paul to the disciples… and told how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.” — Dr. R.C. Sproul
Paul continues to preach boldly in Jerusalem; again, plots necessitate his removal to Tarsus for safety.

7. Resulting Peace and Edification in the Church

Reference: [23:40]–[24:15]

With Paul’s departure, “the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee and Samaria had peace and were edified and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.”
The episode ties this growth and peace to God’s sovereign hand and Paul’s foundational ministry.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Paul’s Transformation:
“He left Jerusalem in strength, but was interrupted on the route to Damascus by the intrusion into his life by the risen Christ…” ([03:59]) — Dr. R.C. Sproul
On the Incarnation:
“The Messiah of Israel was nothing less than God incarnate…” ([00:00] & [18:58]) — Dr. R.C. Sproul
On ‘Son of Man’ and ‘Son of God’:
“…the title Son of Man describes more of Jesus’ divine nature than it does his human nature.” ([10:05])
On Christ’s Eternal Sonship:
“There never was a time when the Son was not.” ([18:28])
On Paul’s Reputation:
“…isn’t this the one who destroyed everybody who called on this name Jesus in Jerusalem…? And the answer…was yes, yes, this is the same guy.” ([19:53])

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |---------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:39 | Reading of Acts 9:20–31 and setting the dramatic context | | 03:59 | Contrast: Paul entering Damascus in weakness vs. leaving Jerusalem in strength | | 06:15 | Examination of “Son of God” and “Son of Man” titles and their significance | | 13:27 | Connection between true sonship and obedience (dialogue with Pharisees in John’s Gospel) | | 15:00 | Explanation of “monogenes,” begottenness, and the Nicene Council's answer to Arianism | | 18:10 | “Begotten, not made”—eternal Sonship and the orthodox Christology | | 19:20 | Paul’s preaching, local astonishment, and the start of Jewish opposition in Damascus | | 21:40 | Paul’s daring escape from Damascus via being lowered in a basket | | 22:57 | The role of Barnabas—the son of encouragement, and vouching for Paul | | 23:40 | Summary of the church flourishing and finding peace in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria |

Conclusion: Application for Today

Dr. Sproul concludes by underlining how Paul’s early ministry—his radical conversion, bold confession of Christ’s full deity and perfect humanity, his tribulations, and the community’s growth—offers encouragement and challenges for Christians today. God’s grace can transform even the most unlikely, and deep theological confession fuels a fruitful, unified church.

For listeners seeking to explore further, the episode invites engagement with the Book of Acts, highlighting the theological riches and transformative stories found therein.

Transcript

A (0:00)

It is that message that the Apostle Paul immediately proclaimed, where he saw Jesus as an enemy to the purity of Jewish monotheistic religion. Now it dawned on him that the Messiah of Israel was nothing less than God incarnate. And so when he was preaching in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God, he was using that title in the fullest measure that it could be used to apply to Christ.

B (0:41)

From the letters he penned to the churches he established or impacted. Once he was converted, the Apostle Paul had a full and fruitful ministry, proclaiming, as you just heard from R.C. sproul, the good news of Jesus, the Son of God. Welcome to this Sunday edition of Renewing youg Mind, where each week we feature the preaching ministry of Dr. Sproul. We're starting a new series this week in the Book of Acts. You'll hear several sermons from Acts highlighting the ministry of the Apostle Paul. But if you'd like to study all of Acts, you can request the Hardcover edition of RC Sproul's commentary on Acts when you give a donation@renewingyourmind.org before midnight tonight. Well, turn your Bible to Acts, chapter 9. Paul's conversion has already taken place earlier in the chapter we pick up now in verse 20. Here's Dr. Sproul.

A (1:39)

Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues that he is the Son of God. And then all who heard were amazed. And they said, is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests? But Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ. Now, after many days were passed, the Jews plotted to kill him. But their plot became known to Saul. And as they watched the gates day and night to kill him, the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket. And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. And so he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. And when the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus. And then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee and Samaria had peace and were edified and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit they were multiplied. We remember that Saul had left Jerusalem on a mission to root out Christians in Damascus. And he got orders from the high priest that authorized him to drag them from their homes and. And bring them back. And so he left the city, breathing out threats, with an entourage, a retinue of mounted soldiers or helpers with him. And he left in strength, but was interrupted on the route to Damascus by the intrusion into his life by the risen Christ in which the apostle Paul was first converted. And he left Jerusalem in strength. He entered into Damascus being led by the hand, because God had struck him blind. And recall that then he had been taken to the street named Straight, where there Ananias ministered to him, laid hands upon him, the Holy Ghost anointed him, and the scales like flakes fell from his eyes, and he was able to see. We read in the text this morning that this one who came blind into the city of Damascus, being led by the hand, became so powerful in such a short period of time that he had to leave the city because there was conspiracy there to kill him. And he left by way of being secreted out a window on the wall of the city and lowered down in a woven basket like so much dirty laundry. So you can imagine the radical shifts in the circumstances and situation of the apostle from the time he first left Jerusalem in power, led in humility into Damascus, and then flees from the city in weakness in a basket that his life may be spared. But in between his entrance into Damascus and. And his departure by the basket, he had a mighty ministry. And I want to spend some time looking specifically at the first statement that Luke tells us about this interim period of the apostolic ministry in Damascus. Immediately, we are told, he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. I want to stop for a few moments and focus on this. That Paul's message, the moment he began preaching in the synagogues there in Damascus was about Jesus as the Christ. And he declared to the Jewish people there that Jesus was. Was the Son of God. Now, it's important for us to notice this because this is the only time in the Book of Acts that the title Son of God is used for Jesus. When we went in A Biblical Overview From Dust to Glory, you recall that I spent some amount of time talking about the titles that are given to Jesus in the New Testament, such as the title Christ, the title Lord. And I spent a lot of time on the significance of the title Son of Man because that's Jesus favorite title for himself. Well, we see two titles juxtaposed in the New Testament with respect to Jesus. On the one hand, the title Son of Man, on the other, the title Son of God. And as I've mentioned to you before, it's tempting in light of the Church's confession that we believe that Jesus was one person with two natures, a human nature and a divine nature. We reach back into church history to the Council of Chalcedon in the fifth century, where the Church confessed her faith about Jesus, saying that Christ is vera homo vera Deus, truly man, truly God, and the two natures perfectly united in one person. Now, that's part of our confession as Christians. But the temptation is to think that when Jesus uses the term Son of Man, that that title refers to his human nature, and when he uses the title Son of God, that that title would refer to his divine nature. But if we draw that conclusion, we will be making a serious error. It's true that when Jesus is called the Son of Man, it has something to do with his human nature. But the principal and chief significance of that title Son of Man is that it refers to the Old Testament personage who is a heavenly character, a heavenly person who dwells in the presence of the ancient of days and, and who was sent from heaven to descend to the earth for a mission. So in a sense, the title Son of Man describes more of Jesus divine nature than it does his human nature. Likewise, when we come to the title Son of God, we would assume that its primary reference would be to his deity. But again, we would trip over ourselves if we drew that inference without great care. Now, I want to take some time this morning to look at it, because here's how Paul announces Jesus in his beginning of his ministry. He preaches in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. What did he mean? Well, in the Old Testament, that title Son of God was used in several ways. In the first instance, the angels of heaven are called the Sons of God. And the Sons of God in that sense are still creatures. They're not divine beings. Then Israel herself as a nation is called the Son of God. Remember the quotation in the New Testament from the Old out of Egypt have I called my Son. So in God's redeeming of the people of Israel, he adopted them into his family and called the whole corporate nation his Son. Kings in the Old Testament were called the sons of God. And also, as the concept of the Messiah developed over time in the Old Testament, the ministry of the Messiah, who would come both as a king and as a suffering servant and so on, also became known as the one who would be known as the Son of God. And so when we get into the New Testament, we hear Jesus at his baptism, when he embraces all of the responsibilities to be the Messiah, when he's anointed by the Holy Ghost, the God speaks audibly from the clouds and announces to those who are there, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And then later on again, God speaks from heaven, audibly saying basically the same message, this is my beloved Son. Hear him. Listen to him. And so what are we to make of this? Well, in the first instance in the New Testament, the idea of sonship is inseparably related to obedience. Remember the controversies that Jesus had with the Pharisees over their relationship with Abraham. Remember, the Pharisees says, we're the children of Abraham. Jesus says, you are not. He said, if you were the children of Abraham, you would do what Abraham would do. Abraham, rejoice to see my day, and you reject me every minute. And before Abraham even was, I am. Do you remember that interaction there? And then he said, you're not the children of Abraham, but you are of your father, the devil. Now, that's quite a contrast between being called the children of Abraham and being called children of Satan. Why did Jesus say that these opponents of his were children of the devil? Well, he answers that question for us. He said, you are the children of the one you obey, and you're obeying Satan, not Abraham, not Moses, not God. And since you obey Satan, it can be said that you are the children of Satan. Now, conversely, the same idea is used to describe sonship with respect to Jesus. You are the child of the One whom you obey. Jesus is uniquely the Son of God in the sense that he, of all people in history, was completely and absolutely obedient to the Father in his humanity. He was the Son of God in his humanity. Because of his sinlessness and because of his perfect obedience, he warranted this title, the Son of God. And so we could just stop there and say, well, here the term Son of God has nothing to say about Jesus divine nature. It simply refers to his human nature in his perfect obedience. No, no, no, no, no. Because the New Testament, though it clearly talks about his sonship in terms of obedience, nevertheless goes beyond it to the transcendent aspect of Christ's unique relationship to the Father. Now some of you will recall when we preached through the Gospel of John that at the very beginning of our study of the Gospel of John, in the prologue to the Gospel of John, at the end of that, Jesus is described by John as the monogenes, the only begotten of the Father. Remember that. Now that's a loaded term. It doesn't mean the first begotten, but the prefix mono means the uniquely begotten one, the only one that ever had been begotten of the Father, the only one that ever will be begotten of the Father. That there is a unique begottenness that is in view there with respect to Jesus. Now it's that language of begottenness that provoked one of the most serious controversies in all of church history in the 4th century that made it necessary for there to be an ecumenical council of the whole vast expanse of Christendom to come together to Nicaea to meet in council. When Arius denied the deity of Jesus. And Arius argued from the text, if the Bible says Jesus was begotten, that means he had a beginning. And if he had a beginning, he's not eternal. And if he's not eternal, he's not God. So we ought not to be attributing deity to Christ. That was what the council of Nicene was all about. That's what the Nicene Creed was all about. When the Nicene Creed responded with with the famous phraseology that Christ was homoousios of the same substance, that Christ is co substantial and co eternal with the Father. And then it uses the language of begottenness where it says in the Creed that Christ was begotten, comma, not made. In other words, the Church acknowledges that the Bible speaks of the begottenness of Jesus, but the begottenness here refers to an eternal relationship, an eternal begottenness that makes it set apart from any other kind of begottenness you ever follow by that term monogenes that Christ is individually singularly the only one ever uniquely begotten, begotten eternally of the Father, because he is very God, of very God. There never was a time when the Son was not. And so the Church sang her confession saying Glory, a divine attribute. Glory be to the Father and glory be to the Son, and glory be to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, that is from all eternity is still going on. God is still triune. He was always triune, and he evermore shall be triune. His now and evermore shall be world without end. Amen. It's that radical message, and I use the term radical carefully, coming from the Latin radex, which means root. It is that root message that the apostle Paul immediately proclaimed, where he saw Jesus as an enemy to the purity of Jewish monotheistic religion. Now it dawned on him that the Messiah of Israel was nothing less than God incarnate. And so when he was preaching in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God, he was using that title in the fullest measure that it could be used to apply to Christ. And of course, when he did that, when he made that declaration, he was met with astonishment and amazement by his hearers. First of all, because of his about face, they said, isn't this the one who destroyed everybody who called on this name Jesus in Jerusalem and had come here for that purpose that he might bring him bound to the chief priest? And the answer to that question, ladies and gentlemen, was yes, yes, this is the same guy. This is the guy who came here to bind the followers of Jesus and drag them back to Jerusalem. And when he left Jerusalem, he didn't come as a one man vigilante against Christians. He came with the full authorization of the high priest. He came with the warrant for the arrests of Christians issued by the highest authority in Israel, the high Priest at Jerusalem. However, something happened between the beginning of that mission and his arrival in Damascus. What happened simply was this. He met the high priest. He met the eternal high Priest. The high priest who is high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, who will never retire, who will never abdicate his office, who will never leave his office by dying. As all the lines of high priests in Israel had, one after another, their term was limited, their duration was finite. But the high priests changed the orders, gave a new commission, overruled and trumped the high priest in Jerusalem, and gave Paul a whole new mission which he began to carry out, we are told, immediately. And so first he was greeted by amazement. But we are told Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that Jesus is the Christ. This went on for just a few days, until the astonishment of the local Jewish community turned to rage and they plotted to kill him. But Paul heard of the plot, and we saw already that he escaped their hands by being let down from a house. In those days, the city walls would often include within them homes that were built right on the wall, that were part of the wall. And so the friends of Paul took him into the house and, and dropped him out of the window in this basket in the midst of the night so that he could escape. So we are told when Saul came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they're afraid of him because they still don't know what's taking place. But Barnabas, whose name means son of encouragement, interceded for Paul, vouched for Paul to the disciples who were gathered here in Jerusalem and told how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. And so again we are told he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus in Jerusalem and disputing against the Greek speaking Jews, the Hellenists. And then they tried to kill him. But when the disciples found this out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus. Then this brief interlude. The churches in Judea, Galilee and Samaria had peace, and they were edified and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were mollified. Now, before we heard of the conversion of Saul, following on the martyrdom of St. Stephen, we had heard something of Peter's ministry in Jerusalem. And then we have this brief interval where we're introduced to Saul, read of his conversion and of his brief ministry there in Damascus and then back to Jerusalem for a short while, until he's then sent back to Tarsus. But his ministry began in Damascus and it began proving that Christ was the Messiah. And it began proclaiming Jesus in his fullness, in his perfect humanity and his perfect deity, as the Son of the living God.