The Pursuit of God · Character

Paul

The apostle who told the Athenians that God is not far from any of us, for in Him we live and move and have our being.

supporting

First appearance: I: Following Hard After God

As a supporting figure in The Pursuit of God, Paul is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Paul is highlighted for his burning desire to know Christ, counting all things as loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus.

In the storyI: Following Hard After GodOpen this moment free

See Paul in I: Following Hard After God Book page

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He is the epistle-writer whose words keep surfacing as the book's doctrinal spine, insisting that God can be known in personal experience rather than merely inferred from evidence. His tension is with a Christianity that has made conversion mechanical and spiritless, where Christ is received without creating any special love in the receiver. He matters to the early arc because his teaching on prevenient grace and the knowable God supplies the theological ground beneath the narrator's restless, first-person pursuit.

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See Paul in I: Following Hard After God

Character Web

9 connections

A slice of how Paul sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Professional
Other

Character groups

Biblical and Historical Examples
Divine and Mystical Voices
Protagonist

+4 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This chapter serves as the dramatic climax because it presents the emotional and psychological peak of the tex…

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Relationships

The Godhead
professional · positive
Paul is an apostle whose writings on grace and the inner man are foundational to the… How this plays out →
The Godhead
professional · positive
Paul is an apostle whose writings on grace and the inner man are foundational to the… How this plays out →

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Paul in I: Following Hard After God

In the story

Paul appears across 7 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

I: Following Hard After God
Paul is highlighted for his burning desire to know Christ, counting all things as loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus.
III: Removing the Veil
Peter is mentioned as shrinking away from Christ, crying 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.'
III: Removing the Veil
Paul is implicitly referenced through the epistle to the Hebrews, and his teaching on the blood of Jesus is foundational to the chapter.
IV: Apprehending God
Implied through the scriptural emphasis on faith and the unseen, as Paul wrote 'we walk by faith, not by sight.'
V: The Universal Presence
Paul is cited for his declaration to the Athenians that in God we live, move, and have our being.
VII: The Gaze of the Soul
Mentioned in connection with his powerful defense of faith in the Roman and Galatian epistles.
X: The Sacrament of Living
Quoted for his exhortation to do all to the glory of God, and his example of tent-making as an act of worship.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Paul unlock in the free preview.

See Paul in I: Following Hard After God