An Exhaustive Scholarly Investigation into the Soteriological Timeline of the Conversion of Saul of Tarsus

The Scope of Inquiry

This report conducts a full scholarly investigation into this timeline. It rejects a superficial reading that smooths over narrative tensions, instead opting for a rigorous philological, narrative, and theological analysis. The methodology will proceed as follows:

Narrative Harmonization: We will analyze the tripartite accounts in Acts (9, 22, 26) to establish a unified sequence of events, paying close attention to the discrepancies in detail that often signal theological intent.

Phenomenology of Conversion: We will examine the psychological and spiritual state of Saul during the three-day interregnum—blind, fasting, and praying—to determine if these are the actions of a regenerate man or a terrified sinner.

The Role of Ananias: We will scrutinize the figure of Ananias, specifically his use of the address "Brother Saul" (Saoul adelphe) and the imposition of hands for the reception of the Holy Spirit prior to baptism.

Grammatical Exegesis of Acts 22:16: This serves as the report’s crucible. We will perform a deep-dive syntactic analysis of the Greek aorist imperatives (baptisai, apolousai) and their relationship to the aorist middle participle (epikalesamenos). This section will engage with the scholarship of grammarians such as Daniel B. Wallace, A.T. Robertson, and others to determine if the text demands a sacramental efficacy or a faith-response dynamic.

Comparative Pneumatology (The Cornelius Control): We will leverage the narrative of Cornelius (Acts 10-11, 15) as a hermeneutical control. As the paradigmatic Gentile conversion, the sequence of events in Cornelius’s house—Spirit reception followed by baptism—provides a critical template for understanding Paul’s own experience as the "Apostle to the Gentiles."

The Pauline Apologetic (Galatians 1): Finally, we will integrate Paul’s own testimony regarding the "internal" nature of the revelation (en emoi) and his independence from Jerusalem, asking if a sacramental reading of Acts undermines the apologetic force of Galatians.

The ultimate objective is to determine whether the textual evidence supports a "sacramental" reading, where baptism effects the transition from death to life, or a "faith-response" reading, where baptism serves as the formal ratification and seal of a salvation already secured by divine encounter and distinct acts of faith.

Comparative Analysis of the Three Accounts

The variations in Table 1 are not contradictions but rhetorical selections. For the Jewish audience in Acts 22, Paul emphasizes Ananias’s legal piety and the specific command to "wash away sins"—a concept intelligible to a crowd obsessed with ritual purity. In Acts 26, addressing a Roman/Hellenistic audience, Paul omits Ananias entirely, collapsing the timeline to focus on the direct heavenly mandate, thereby emphasizing his unmediated authority. This rhetorical flexibility suggests that we must be cautious about building a rigid dogma on a single detail (like Acts 22:16) without balancing it against the omitted details in parallel accounts.

The Objective-Subjective Revelation

The event is described as an objective occurrence: a light shines, a voice speaks, and companions hear a sound (Acts 9:7). However, Paul’s description in Galatians 1:16 adds a critical interior dimension: God was pleased "to reveal his Son in me" (apokalypsai ton huion autou en emoi).

The preposition en followed by the dative emoi has generated significant scholarly discussion.

The "To Me" View: Some translators render this as "to reveal his Son to me," viewing it as synonymous with the external vision on the road.

The "In Me" View: The Greek en most naturally denotes location within. Scholars such as J.D.G. Dunn and commentaries on Galatians argue that Paul is deliberately describing an internal illumination that coincided with the external vision. This aligns with 2 Corinthians 4:6, where Paul writes, "God... has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

If the revelation was "in" Saul, it suggests a fundamental renovation of his inner being—a regeneration of the heart—at the moment of the encounter. This "inwardness" is characteristic of the New Covenant promise (Jeremiah 31:33: "I will put my law within them"). A purely external vision might terrify, but an internal revelation transforms.

The Dialogical Confession: "Who are You, Lord?"

The dialogue between Saul and Jesus is brief but theological heavy. Saul asks, "Who are You, Lord?" (Ti poiēsō, Kyrie?). The term Kyrie can function as a polite "Sir," but in the context of a blinding theophany, it carries the weight of religious submission.

Upon hearing the identification, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," Saul does not argue. He does not defend his Pharisaic zeal. In Acts 22:10, his immediate follow-up is, "What shall I do, Lord?" This shift from persecutor to servant marks the volitional turning point. He has accepted the Lordship of Jesus. In the Pauline conception of salvation, "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord... you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). While the formal confession before the church is yet to come, the existential confession has occurred in the dust of the Damascus road.

The Three Days: Terror or Repentance?

Saul is led by the hand into Damascus, where he spends three days without sight, food, or drink (Acts 9:9). This fast is significant. Is it the catatonic state of a man in shock, or the fasting of a penitent?

Acts 9:11 provides the divine commentary on this state: "Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying."

The present periphrastic construction ("he is praying") indicates a continuous action. In the Lukan narrative, prayer is almost invariably the prelude to major redemptive events and the reception of the Spirit (Luke 3:21; Acts 1:14; 4:31; 10:2).

The Argument for Repentance: A man who knows Jesus is Lord, who is fasting, and who is engaged in prolonged prayer, fits the profile of a believer seeking God, not a condemned sinner fleeing Him. He has believed the revelation (faith) and turned from his path of persecution (repentance).

The "Old Testament" Parallel: Some scholars liken this to Jonah in the belly of the whale—a period of death and darkness before being "spit out" into new life. Just as Jonah prayed from the deep, Saul prays from his darkness.

This "interregnum" is best understood not as a delay in salvation, but as the process of conversion-initiation. He has been "caught" by Christ (Phil 3:12), but the formalization of this capture requires the agency of the church (Ananias).

The Semantics of "Brother Saul" (Saoul Adelphe)

Upon entering the house, Ananias lays his hands on Saul and addresses him: "Brother Saul" (Acts 9:17; 22:13). The Greek vocative Adelphe is pivotal. Does Ananias mean "Brother Jew" or "Brother in Christ"?

The Jewish/Ethnic Interpretation: It is true that Jewish men addressed one another as "brethren" (Acts 2:29; 3:17; 22:1). Proponents of baptismal regeneration argue that Ananias is merely using a polite, ethnic greeting, implying Saul is not yet a Christian brother until he is baptized.

The Christian/Ecclesial Interpretation: This view is far more compelling for several reasons:

Context of Divine Mission: Ananias has just received a vision from the "Lord Jesus" (Acts 9:10) explicitly identifying Saul as a "chosen instrument" (skeuos eklogēs) to bear His name. Ananias knows Saul is chosen by Christ.

Overcoming Fear: Ananias was terrified of Saul (Acts 9:13-14). To call the arch-persecutor "Brother" requires a radical reorientation based on spiritual reality, not merely ethnic courtesy. He is welcoming him into the new community.

Lukan Usage: In Acts, when believers speak to believers, adelphos is the standard terminology for spiritual kinship (Acts 6:3; 9:30; 11:29; 12:17).

The Laying on of Hands: Ananias lays hands on him immediately with the greeting. In Acts, the laying on of hands is associated with the impartation of the Spirit or commissioning (Acts 8:17; 13:3), acts reserved for those within the fold or entering it.

If Ananias calls him "Brother" before the baptism, he acknowledges that the spiritual transaction has already occurred. The baptism that follows is the public recognition of this brotherhood, not the creation of it.

The "Scales" and the Theology of Sight

"Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized" (Acts 9:18).

The term lepides (scales) is a hapax legomenon in the New Testament. While Luke, potentially using medical language, describes a physical crust falling away , the theological weight of the "recovery of sight" cannot be overstated.

In Luke 4:18, Jesus defines his messianic mission (citing Isaiah 61) as bringing "recovery of sight to the blind". Throughout Luke-Acts, physical sight is a metaphor for spiritual perception (e.g., the blind beggar in Luke 18:35-43). Saul’s physical blindness during the three days was a manifestation of his spiritual blindness. The restoration of sight is the sign of his spiritual illumination.

Crucially, the recovery of sight precedes baptism.

Sequence: (1) Ananias speaks/Lays hands -> (2) Sight restored/Scales fall -> (3) Saul arises -> (4) Saul is baptized.

If "recovery of sight" is the Lukan metaphor for salvation/illumination (cf. Acts 26:18 "to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light... that they may receive forgiveness of sins"), then Saul received this illumination before he entered the water. He was baptized as a man who could see, not a blind man seeking sight. The scales falling represents the removal of the "god of this world's" blinding influence (2 Cor 4:4), an event simultaneous with the filling of the Spirit.

The Filling of the Holy Spirit: The Timeline

Acts 9:17 states Ananias's purpose: "...that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

In the Lukan narrative, the filling/reception of the Holy Spirit is the definitive mark of the believer (Rom 8:9; Acts 10:47). The text of Acts 9:17-18 links the laying on of hands to the filling of the Spirit and the restoration of sight. While baptism follows, the text does not say "Be baptized so that you may receive the Spirit." It implies the Spirit is given through Ananias's ministry of touch and word prior to the water rite.

This aligns Paul with the Cornelius pattern (discussed in Section 5), where the Spirit is received before baptism, rather than the Acts 2:38 pattern (baptism -> Spirit). As an Apostle born "out of due time" (1 Cor 15:8) and the Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul’s experience mirrors the Gentile pattern of immediate Spirit reception upon faith.

Morphological Analysis

The sentence consists of two main clauses containing imperatives, modified by participles.

Anastas baptisai kai apolousai tas hamartias sou epikalesamenos to onoma autou.

Grammatical Morphology of Acts 22:16

The Significance of the Middle Voice (Baptisai)

Standard Greek verbs have active and passive voices. Baptisai here is Middle.

Passive: "Be baptized" (Action done to the subject).

Middle: "Get yourself baptized" or "Submit yourself to baptism" (Subject participates in the action or acts in their own interest).

The use of the middle voice emphasizes Saul’s volition. He is not merely a passive recipient of a rite; he is actively submitting to the ordinance. This aligns with the "faith-response" model. He is acting upon his faith.

The Participle Epikalesamenos: Antecedent vs. Simultaneous

The theological hinge of the verse is the relationship between the imperatives (baptisai/apolousai) and the participle (epikalesamenos).

View A: Antecedent Action ("Having Called") Standard Greek grammar often posits that an aorist participle indicates action prior to the main verb. If applied rigidly here:

Translation: "Rise, get baptized and wash away your sins, having [already] called on his name."

Implication: The "calling on the name" (which saves, per Joel 2:32) happened before the baptism—likely on the road or during the three days of prayer. The baptism and washing are thus the formal ratification of a salvation already secured by that prior call. This view clearly separates salvation (the call) from the rite (baptism).

View B: Simultaneous Action ("By Calling") Noted Greek grammarians like Daniel B. Wallace and A.T. Robertson argue that when an aorist participle modifies an aorist imperative (as it does here), the action is frequently simultaneous or modal.

Translation: "Get baptized and wash away your sins by calling on his name."

Implication: This establishes a tighter link. The "washing away of sins" is accomplished not by the water itself, but by the instrumentality of calling on the name of the Lord.

The Theological Synthesis of the Grammar: Even if we accept the simultaneous view (which is grammatically stronger), it does not support baptismal regeneration in the mechanical sense. The text does not say "Be baptized and thereby wash away your sins." It links the washing to the calling.

The water is the setting.

The Name is the agent.

The Calling is the instrument.

In the Jewish and early Christian context, baptism was the public venue where one "called upon the name" (invoked Jesus as Lord). The washing of sins is tied to the invocation, not the immersion alone. Therefore, Ananias is saying: "Formalize your conversion. Go to the water, and there, as you invoke Jesus as Lord, know that your sins are washed away."

If Saul had refused to call on the name, the water would have been just water (1 Peter 3:21: "not the removal of dirt from the flesh"). The salvific efficacy lies in the appeal (eperotema), which is an act of faith.

The "Gentile Pentecost" (Acts 10:44-48)

In Acts 10, Peter preaches to the Gentile household of Cornelius.

The Word: Peter preaches Christ and forgiveness of sins through His name (Acts 10:43).

The Spirit: "While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word" (Acts 10:44).

The Evidence: They speak in tongues (Acts 10:46).

The Rite: Peter asks, "Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" (Acts 10:47).

Crucial Observation: The Holy Spirit was given before water baptism. In Pauline theology (which Luke supports), "Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him" (Rom 8:9). Therefore, Cornelius belonged to Christ (was saved) before he was baptized.

Peter’s Theological Interpretation (Acts 15:8-9)

When Peter recounts this event at the Jerusalem Council, his interpretation is explicitly soteriological:

"And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith." (Acts 15:8-9)

Peter uses the verb katharizo (to cleanse), which is semantically parallel to apolouo (to wash away) in Acts 22:16.

In Cornelius's case, the "cleansing of the heart" occurred by faith (tei pistei) and was witnessed by the Spirit, all before baptism.

This establishes a precedent: God can and does cleanse the heart and impart the Spirit upon the exercise of faith, independent of the subsequent ritual.

Application to Paul

This precedent is vital for interpreting Paul’s experience. Paul is the "Apostle to the Gentiles" (Rom 11:13). It is theologically consistent that his own conversion would follow the "Gentile pattern" (Spirit/Cleansing upon Faith -> Baptism) rather than the "Jewish/Pentecost pattern" of Acts 2:38 (Baptism -> Spirit).

The "washing" Ananias speaks of in Acts 22:16, therefore, should be viewed phenomenologically. Just as Cornelius was "cleansed by faith" (internal reality) but still needed baptism (external ratification), Paul was "revealed" and "filled" (internal reality) but still needed to "wash away his sins" in the formal, public sense through baptism. The "washing" language in Acts 22 refers to the objective, sacramental application of the forgiveness he had already embraced subjectively on the road.

"Not from Men"

Paul insists: "Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father" (Gal 1:1). He further states, "I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ" (Gal 1:12).

This argument is fragile if Paul’s salvation was mediated by Ananias. If Ananias (a man) was the necessary agent to wash away Paul's sins and confer the Spirit through baptism, Paul’s opponents could argue, "You did receive it through a man! Ananias saved you."

Paul’s fierce independence suggests he viewed his standing before God as established directly by Christ on the Damascus Road. Ananias’s role, while historically real (as acknowledged in Acts), is minimized in Galatians because functionally, Paul’s spiritual life began with the "revelation of His Son in me" (Gal 1:16).

The "Internal" Revelation (En Emoi)

As noted in section 2.1, Paul describes the event as God revealing His Son en emoi ("in me"). This locative phrasing emphasizes the immediate, transformative work of the Spirit on his heart. This internal circumcision of the heart (Col 2:11) is the essence of Pauline soteriology. For Paul to argue this way implies he was conscious of a completed work of grace that did not depend on the subsequent water rite for its validity, though he obeyed the rite as a command of his Lord.

The Joel Prophecy and Romans 10

Acts 2:21 quotes Joel 2:32: "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13 quotes the same: "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

In Romans 10, Paul links this "calling" directly to faith: "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?" (Rom 10:14). The sequence is: Hearing -> Believing -> Calling -> Saving.

Baptism as the "Place of the Call"

The solution to the timeline puzzle is that water baptism was the culturally and theologically designated "place" where the believer formally "called upon the name."

It was not a silent mental assent. It was a public, vocal appeal.

Acts 22:16 links the washing to the calling (epikalesamenos).

1 Peter 3:21 defines baptism not as water-washing but as "an appeal (eperotema) to God for a good conscience."

Conclusion on Timeline: Paul believed on the Road (Faith). He repented during the three days (Repentance). He received the Spirit when Ananias laid hands on him (Regeneration/Filling). He then went to the water to formalize this reality by public confession ("Calling on the Name"), at which point the church recognized his sins as "washed away."

He was saved before baptism in the sense of divine acceptance and Spirit reception (like Cornelius). He was saved at baptism in the sense of formal initiation and the public invocation of the Lordship of Jesus (Acts 22:16).

Synthesis of Soteriological Markers in the Conversion of Paul