<p>9:15 <i>But the Lord said to him: Go your way. For he is a chosen vessel to me<em>- </em></i>The Lord spoke of Paul even before his conversion as &quot;a chosen vessel unto me&quot;. The words &quot;chosen&quot; 'elect' and &quot;vessel&quot; recur frequently in Paul's reasoning in Romans 9-11, where he argues that <em>we</em> are chosen vessels, elected / chosen by grace (Rom. 9:22,25). It's as if Paul is warning us not to see him as a special case, a piece of Divine artwork to be admired in passing; but as a very real example of how God is just as powerfully at work with <em>us</em>. Truly Paul 'bore' Christ to the world just as John 'bore' (s.w.) Christ's Gospel (Acts 9:15 = Mt. 3:11). But surely Paul had the Lord's words here in mind in 2 Cor. 4:7: &quot;But we have this treasure in earthly vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves&quot;. And the preceding verses are also full of allusion to the Damascus road, speaking of God shining into our hearts with the knowledge of Jesus.<br />&ldquo;A chosen vessel&rdquo; refers to how &ldquo;The Holy One of Israel... has chosen you Messiah&rdquo; (Is. 49:7 RSV). This is one of a number of instances of where Old Testament Messianic Scriptures are applied to Paul in the context of his preaching Christ.</p><p><em>To bear my name- </em>Paul was to bear Christ&rsquo;s name to the world <em>in that he</em> would suffer great things for the sake of that Name (Acts 9:15,16). His sharing in the Lord&rsquo;s sufferings was the bearing of the Name before men. The Greek word for &lsquo;bear&rsquo; in Acts 9:15 is the same used in Lk. 14:27 about bearing the cross. To bear His name to the world is to bear His cross. The record of the disciples&rsquo; persecution for the sake of their witness is studded with references to their preaching being <em>in</em> the Name of Jesus (Acts 4:2,7,9,10,12 RV). Whoever heard them heard Jesus (Lk. 10:16). The prophecy of Psalm 2 concerning how &ldquo;the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ&rdquo; was appropriated by the preachers to themselves even though it is elsewhere applied to the crucifixion (Acts 4:26).</p><p><i>Before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel</i>- Therefore the reference to Paul being the apostle to the Gentiles and Peter going to the Jews may not mean that they had such distinct roles. That may have described a local or temporary situation. </p>