Second part of Galatians 1 (4)

Galatians 1

15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,

16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.

18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.

19 But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.

20 Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.

21 Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia;

22 And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ:

23 But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.

24 And they glorified God in me.

Pray:

There are two authors of every biblical book: the human author who penned the words, and the divine Author who revealed and inspired every word. While God did not dictate the words to the biblical writers, he did guide their minds so that they wrote their own words under the influence of the Holy Spirit. If Christians really believed what they said when they called the Bible “the word of God,” a lot more would be engaged in serious Bible study. As divine revelation, the Bible deserves, indeed demands, to be studied deeply.[1]

This means that when we study the Bible, we should not be satisfied with a cursory reading in which we insert our own meanings into the text. Instead, we must always ask what God intended to say in every passage. But Bible study should not be a tedious duty we have to perform. It is a sacred privilege and a joy. The deep meaning of any text is a buried treasure; all the riches are waiting under the surface. If we learned there was gold deep under our backyard, nothing would stop us from getting the tools we needed to dig it out. Similarly, in serious Bible study all the treasures and riches of God are waiting to be dug up for our benefit.[2]

Years ago Harold Lindsell, the editor of Christianity Today from 1968 to 1978, called for a “battle for the Bible.” In this remarkable letter Paul is engaged in “the battle for the gospel”—the first great theological battle in the history of the church. It took place when a group of conservative Judahites became upset over the teaching of Grace.

These “Judaizers” visited some of the churches Paul had established, telling the members that they had to become followers of the law before they could become Christian converts. Paul learned that many in the Galatian churches were starting to accept that teaching, and his alarm led him to pen this letter. This helped produce the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 in which the church officially decided that believers did not need to be circumcised and follow the law to become Christians.[3]

Galatians has always been considered one of Paul’s chief letters (with Romans and the Corinthian correspondence), and virtually no one has ever doubted that “Paul an apostle” (Gal 1:1) wrote it. There are so many signs of his hand in the letter, such as his emphasis on the centrality of the gospel and on justification by faith. The first two chapters are almost autobiographical in nature, detailing four key episodes in Paul’s early Christian life: his conversion and early ministry in Arabia (1:13–17); his first Jerusalem visit, when he was accepted by James and Peter (vv. 18–24); his second visit, when his apostolic ministry was accepted by “the pillars” of the church (2:1–10); and the incident of his having to correct Peter to preserve the essence of the gospel (vv. 11–21).[4]

Virtually all of Paul’s letters were written by an amanuensis, a scribe who wrote down Paul’s message. This was likely due to Paul’s poor eyesight (see commentary on 4:13–15), with Paul personally signing the letter to authenticate that it was indeed his own (6:11). Frequently in the Roman world an amanuensis would add a good deal of supplementary material, but with this letter the task certainly amounted to dictation—the letter is so personal that we can only conclude that all of the content stemmed from Paul himself. This is not to suggest that the freedom to fill in explanatory material was never used by an amanuensis in New Testament letters[5]

Paul’s ministry method that guided him throughout his life was established on his first missionary journey.[6]

During that first journey groups of converts,, were established into a thriving set of churches. After Paul had returned from this journey a group of Judaizers opponents visited all of the churches he had established, teaching that Christians had to become servants of the law—be circumcised (6:12) and submit to the Mosaic law (3:5)—before they could be saved. The converts would have been familiar with this expectation, since as God-fearers many of them had previously accepted the Mosaic law and had seriously contemplated submitting to circumcision. These teachers were “disturbing” or “agitating” the new converts (1:7; 5:12), but not for a good cause; their true goal was not really to make them followers of God but to gather followers for themselves so they could brag about their success (4:17; 6:13). Also, they desired to avoid persecution (6:12) and did not wish to be viewed as part of a radical new movement challenging mainline Judaism. So their heresy was not christological (having to do with the doctrine of Christ) but soteriological (related to the doctrine of salvation). They accepted Jesus as both Messiah and Son of God, but circumcision and law were for them at the heart of the gospel—and that message constituted false teaching. Theirs was not Christian but “a different gospel” (1:6).[7]

In addition to impugning Paul’s gospel, these teachers were calling his apostolic authority into question, telling the Galatian churches that Paul was not a true apostle like the Twelve. Paul responded in Galatians 1 that his apostolic commission was not secondary or derivative, coming from the other apostles, but primary, conferred on him directly from Christ. In chapter 2 he showed that his gospel also came directly from Christ and was affirmed by the other apostles as identical to their own.[8]

These opponents belonged to a movement that began in reaction to the universal gospel proclaimed first by Peter, after the conversion of Cornelius in Acts 11, and then by Paul. At first nearly everyone agreed with Peter’s defense in Acts 11:4–17 of the coming of the Spirit on the God-fearer Cornelius, recognizing that “even to nations God has granted repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18). Very quickly, however, a group, many of them former Pharisees and all of them completely committed to the necessity of circumcision and following the Torah for ALL converts to Christianity, began to dispute this. They were called the Judaizers—those who wanted to make all Christians followers and practitioners of Judaism.[9]

After Paul had disputed this position in his Galatian letter, the Jerusalem Council decided against the Judaizers in Acts 15. Still, they continued to reject that decision and travel around to all the churches, insisting that the believers observe the law before they could be Christian (as in Phil 3:1–4:1). In Galatians 1:6, 8 Paul insisted that these Judaizers were proclaiming “a different gospel” and were “under God’s curse.” To follow their teaching, he declared, was to fall into apostasy and to stop being Christian. So, these enemies of the gospel, though claiming to be Christians, were unbelievers—as, by extension, were their followers.[10]

That very thing goes on to this day. Church after church all around us is teaching salvation through obedience to the law. And even more churches are teaching a form of Judaism that insists that Jews are Gods special chosen people. Rather than simply declaring John 3:16 and the love of God to the entire world.

In short, Paul was using a free/slave distinction against the Judaizers, contending that they were turning converts into slaves to the law rather than pointing them in the direction of freedom in Christ. That led Paul to explain how Christian liberty could be misused in a libertine—an immoral—manner.[11]

The final part of Paul’s rebuke implicitly charges the Galatians with lowering their standards by trying to please the agitators rather than God. Paul makes himself a model for his readers, asking, “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God?” Paul would never allow himself to be influenced by a desire to be liked and to curry favor with others. Truth was infinitely more important to him than popularity. So he asks a second time, “Am I trying to please people?” The implied answer is clear: “Not in any way.” The implication is that the Galatians were doing just that in acceding to the Judaizers’ heresy.[12]

Yet Paul’s opponents were accusing him of aiming to please people. They charged that he was failing to preach the full gospel (which they believed had to center on circumcision and the law, as well as on Christ) in order to please his converts—an accusation he emphatically denied. If any charge were to have been baseless and ridiculous from the beginning, this would have been the one. Paul lived, heart and soul, to please the Lord and challenged others to do the same, referring to the issue frequently (as in Rom 12:1–2; 1 Cor 7:32; 1 Thess 4:1).[13]

This is his point in the last part of this verse: “If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” A better translation than “servant” of the word doulos in this context would be “slave.” Paul not only refrained in every way from seeking to please others but, quite to the contrary, completely surrendered himself to Christ as a bond-slave—a person who chose slavery over freedom and voluntarily gave himself over to his master. Romans 6:20–22 tells us that Christ’s death has redeemed us from the slavery of sin and purchased us to be “slaves of God.” Sin had been an evil, torturous taskmaster, but God is a loving, caring master, so that we, too, place ourselves in willing servitude to him as his bond-slaves. Just as slaves were part of the family of their owner, we become members of the family of God.[14]

While subservience is part of Paul’s point, there was also in his day an elevated air to calling oneself the doulos of someone great, for high government officials viewed themselves as slaves of the emperor. Paul showed his preference for serving God by relinquishing his high status in Judaism (see Phil 3:4–7) to become a persecuted preacher of the Christian gospel and to suffer egregious abuse for his Lord and for his faith (Gal 5:11; 6:17; 2 Cor 11:23–27). This was not a person who lived for the plaudits of others.[15]

The opening of this letter, while following ordinary letter-writing protocol, goes far beyond to highlight both the authority of Paul as apostle (speaking with authority from God) and salvation by Christ alone via his death on the cross (not by the law). In Christ the new age has arrived, and with him this world moves toward its intended end. The glory of God is uppermost, and God’s people must center upon that which leads to the praise and pleasure of God and Christ rather than of self or others. Based on their capitulation to the false views of the Judaizers, the Galatians were not doing this. In our day, too, we must make certain that we do not allow false theology to destroy our usefulness to God and endanger our relationship with him.[16]

Paul’s rebuke of the Galatians begins with verses 6–10. The issues could not have been more important. Failing to guard the essential doctrines of the faith and allowing alternative teachings about Christ and salvation to sneak in to the church will destroy the Christian faith and lead both the purveyors and the adherents of false religion to eternal judgment. There is no such thing as a “different” gospel; anything that departs from the one true gospel is no gospel at all. It is heresy.[17]

Paul’s message to those of us in Christian leadership positions is that we must become teachers of God’s truths and lead our churches into the exciting world of biblical teaching. There is far too much shoddy preaching from Christian leaders who seek to entertain rather than to train. Those who do this are preaching to “itching ears” (2 Tim 4:3), telling the congregation what they want to hear rather than what God would have them hear.[18]

THE DIVINE SOURCE OF PAUL’S GOSPEL (1:11–24)

In verses 6–10 Paul began the transition to the body of his thesis. He introduces his primary argument in two stages: first he asserted that the gospel of the Judaizers was no gospel at all but a distorted pack of lies (vv. 6–10); now he states that the gospel he preaches is of divine origin, the result of revelation f God (vv. 11–12). He proves this in the rest of this section by tracing his own history (1) from his Damascus road vision (vv. 13–17); (2) to his initial failure to seek the approval of others, including the disciples (vv. 18–24), proving that his authority was from God rather than of human derivation; (3) to its recognition and acceptance by the three pillars of the church (2:1–10); and (4) to its substantiation when Paul corrected Peter in Antioch (vv. 11–21). Paul proclaims “the gospel of Christ” (1:7) as the only gospel.[19]

PAUL’S GOSPEL ORIGINATED IN A REVELATION FROM CHRIST (1:11–12)

Not of human origin (1:11–12a)

Paul connects this paragraph to verses 6–10 with a gar (“for”), which could be causal (giving a reason for his previous point) or explanatory (clarifying his previous point). The latter is more likely. The opening “I want you to know [about] the gospel I preached” closely parallels the creedal quote of 1 Corinthians 15:1: “I want to remind [literally, ‘make known to’] you of the gospel I preached to you.” He is saying that this gospel of Christ (Gal 1:7) is not optional or subject to change. It is at the heart of all Christian truth, stemming from God and recognized by the church as creedal and essential. It is not “of human origin” but comes entirely from the Godhead. As I pointed out at verse 10, Paul’s language here may reflect a charge the Judaizers had made against him—that he had made up his own gospel to curry favor with his followers, who would not then have had to be circumcised or follow the law. He denies this vociferously. There is nothing human about his gospel; it is divine truth.[20]

The next phrase, “I did not receive it from any man” (v. 12), seems to contradict 1 Corinthians 15:3, “what I received I passed on to you”—code language among teachers for the passing on of official tradition. Paul’s point is that his gospel did not derive from church tradition, nor had he received it secondhand from the Jerusalem apostles, as he had the stories of Jesus’ appearances from eyewitnesses (1 Cor 15:3–8). The gospel he proclaimed came straight from God himself, with no intervening steps. To reinforce this point he adds, “nor was I taught it.” Paul is not implying that he had learned nothing from the other apostles; indeed, throughout his letters he frequently quotes church teaching he has received. He is specifically stating that he has not been taught the gospel itself through any human agency. His apostolic commission and his reception of the truths of the gospel came directly from the Lord, with no involvement from the other apostles.[21]

Paul had sat in no classes, nor had he sat under any Christian teacher. The gospel had been given to him directly by “revelation from Jesus Christ.” There is a question whether this should be interpreted as general revelation or as a specific revelation. The latter is more likely, referring to the specific revelation Paul had received from Jesus on the Damascus road (Acts 9; 22; 26). There is also a question whether this was “a revelation from Jesus” (subjective, emphasizing Christ’s message in the vision) or “a revelation about Jesus” (objective, emphasizing the vision itself). It is likely that Paul is using here a “general genitive” in the Greek, where both aspects are emphasized. The objective is seen in verse 16, where Paul claims that God had revealed Jesus to him, and the subjective in Jesus’ giving of the gospel to Paul.[22]

It is difficult to determine how much meaning to read into “revelation” (apokalypsis), since this word normally has eschatological overtones dealing with the unveiling of God’s heavenly secrets about the last days. It is unlikely that Paul was thinking here of the second coming and the end of this age. Rather, he appears to be saying that the giving of the gospel is part of the inauguration of the age to come, the age that began with Christ’s incarnation. In the back of his mind may have been the kingdom truths represented by Mark 1:15, which summarizes Jesus’ message as “The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” The main emphasis here, however, is on the Damascus road vision of Christ, who called Paul to be an apostle and revealed to him these gospel truths.[23]

His past animosity (1:13–14)

These verses begin with another gar(“for”), showing that Paul is continuing his explanation from verse 11, clarifying that his gospel is not of human origin. In order to prove that only God could have brought about his conversion and commission as the apostle to the Gentiles. Paul recalls his history of devotion to Judaism and his hostility toward everything Christian, reminding the Galatians that they had heard the story before and were already quite familiar with his personal history. He had told them of his past persecution when he founded the church in Galatia.[24]

Persecution of the church (1:13)

Paul had made a clean break with his previous attitudes and actions, which he considered to be entirely in his past. That, in fact, is one of his main points: The Judaizers and their views are part of that past, and he wants the Galatians to know that their views have no part in the present life or beliefs of the church. .. Rather, he was a Christian who once practiced jewish customs. The law had stopped having salvific force, and he was part of the new covenant reality rather than the old. When he performed a sacrifice or followed a purity law, he did so from the perspective of one who followed the Messiah.

Paul was no longer under Jewish influence but was under the influence of Christ.

Paul had been deeply committed to Judaism. With its beliefs and practices. He had considered Christianity an aberration and an abomination. As long as Paul and others allowed this upstart and dangerous new sect to exist, he had reasoned, God would look upon the nation with extreme displeasure. So Paul had felt impelled to so “intensely persecute the church of God” as to “destroy it.” Paul’s zealous oppression of the Christians is often chronicled in Acts. We see it in Acts 7:58–8:1 (the stoning of Stephen); 8:1–3 (the great persecution in Jerusalem); and 9:1–2, 13–14 (his possession of letters from the Sanhedrin allowing him to lead the persecution outside Palestine). He was even instrumental in the imprisonment and execution of several believers (22:4, 19; 26:10–11), leading the charge in such attempts until his conversion on the Damascus road. No wonder many Christians were afraid to trust his conversion (9:26), certain that it was a ruse to suck them in and leave them vulnerable to even more persecution.

His apostolic call (1:15–16a)

Paul returns to the issue of his apostolic authority and adds detail to his proof that he was not subordinate to the Twelve and did not derive his ministry from their authority. Rather, he was independent of Jerusalem and equal to the other apostles; like them he derived his authority directly from Christ. Paul’s authority began with his election, as he testifies that God “set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace” to his apostolic ministry. This is a prophetic motif throughout Scripture for those who receive special calls for specific ministries, echoing Isaiah’s declaration, “Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name” (Isa 49:1), as well as Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” Paul recognized the prophetic aspects of his call and believed that God had brought him into this world for a single purpose. His sense of divine commissioning could hardly have been more pronounced.

While our callings may differ from Paul’s, those Christians who assume that God is uninvolved in their lives could not be more wrong. Each of us is special to him and “called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28). Paul’s emphasis here is on the One who has “called me by his grace.” Paul was well aware of how little he deserved his calling and acceptance as God’s child; like him, we all must remind ourselves that “God does not need me; I need him.” God’s grace is totally beyond our capacity to understand. God, knowing in advance all the terrible things that Paul would do, had still called him before he was even born. He was not only forgiven but given a ministry he could never have imagined. That is the case with each of us if we will but surrender to God’s calling and will for our lives, as Paul did.

The grace-gift is now specified (v. 16a): God was “pleased to reveal his son in me,” a reference to Paul’s Damascus road vision of Acts 9. It brought God pleasure to call Paul to himself (compare 1 Thess 2:8, “delighted to share with you”). Note the stages of revelation: God revealed Christ in the redemptive vision on the road to Damascus (Gal 1:12), and then Christ revealed to Paul the gospel and his mission to the Nations (v. 16). Paul was hardly able to recognize Christ on his own; he had majored in anti-Christian activity for several years and had convinced himself that Jesus was the anti-messiah. But God in his infinite mercy and grace revealed the full reality of the One Paul opposed, proving to Paul that he was deeply loved by the very One he so hated.

It is important to remember that the Roman who pierced the side of Christ fell on his knees and proclaimed truly this was the son of God. Matt 27:54

Matthew 27:54 GB

When the Centurion, & they that were with him watching Jesus, sawe the earthquake, and the things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truely this was the Sonne of God.

It should be noted to all of those who teach the false idea that Paul was a separate kind of apostle to some thing called a gentile is entirely false. Paul was an apostle to the very same Hebrews from the Old Testament who had been spread out among the nations. And no special dispensation for the jews have ever existed.

Certainly the ROMAN Centurion was saved by faith. As all people are regardless of race. .