Paul was a blasphemer and an insolent opponent of Jesus. He was ignorant and unbelieving. What happened?
He received mercy and the grace of our Lord overflowed for him with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 1:14).
Grace ‘overflowed’ like a river in flood … [that] bursts its banks and carries everything before it, sweeping irresistibly on. What the river of grace brought with it, however, was not devastation but blessing … Grace flooded with faith a heart previously filled with unbelief, and flooded with love a heart previously polluted with hatred.
source: John Stott, 1 Timothy (Bible Speaks Today)
Andrew Groves 