Paul’s defense of his gospel; Galatians 2

As I have said previously, this is Paul’s first letter, or first epistle, that he writes in his ministry.  And the subject of this letter is to write the Galatians a defense of his apostleship, and a defense of his gospel and the doctrine of justification by faith.  Now we have looked at his autobiographical details in chapter one in which Paul defended his apostleship.  He did that by explaining his conversion on the road to Damascus, and how the Lord Jesus spoke to him directly.

Then we read that immediately following his conversion, he did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, but went to the desert region of Arabia where we believe he received instruction from the Lord Jesus which lasted about three years.  He came back at the end of that three year period to Damascus and was preaching the gospel that he received.  Now this is noteworthy, because the church had been started in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.  And it was in that church, and through that church, that the apostles doctrine was established, and various men were sent from that church to establish churches in the surrounding regions. 

So there was a sense in which Jerusalem was the mother church.  The twelve apostles were there. And the gospel emanated from that church to the other regions. So for Paul to reveal that he did not come from Jerusalem, he had not been a part of that group of apostles, and his doctrine did not come from that church, it was a significant point of criticism.

But what he is doing is showing that his gospel is the gospel of Jesus Christ, it was taught to him by Jesus Christ, and his apostleship was from Jesus Christ.  He says as much in chapter one vs 11 “For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.  For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but [I received it] through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”

But though Paul’s gospel was received directly from Christ, he also wants to show that his gospel is the same gospel as that which the apostles in Jerusalem believed.  He is being criticized and his churches are being undermined by people who were saying that his gospel was not enough.  They said it did not include certain requirements that were necessary for salvation.  Paul refers to these requirements as the law.  But what is really being referred to here is the ceremonial marks of the law, such as circumcision and observing certain days and dietary laws.  Those were the aspects of the law that the critics were trying to get the Gentile congregations to observe.  They basically were saying that they needed to become Jews in practice, and these laws were the defining marks of the Jews.

Now I want you to see that for yourself.  Because we tend to think when we hear the word “law” that it is speaking of the ten commandments.  And to some extent that is included, but the context of what Paul is talking about becomes clear as you read the epistle.  For instance, notice chapter 2 vs 3, Paul says Titus was not compelled to be circumcised.  Circumcision was the law in question. In chapter 2 vs 12, he condemned Peter because he stopped eating with the Gentiles, fearing the party of the circumcision. In vs 6-9, the issue is the circumcised versus the uncircumcised. In chapter 4:9 and 10, Paul equates observing days and months and seasons and years with weak and worthless elemental things by which one would become enslaved again. In 5 vs 2, Paul says that if you receive circumcision then Christ is of no benefit to you.  In 5 vs 3, he says that if you receive circumcision, then you are under the obligation to keep the entire law. In 5 vs 6 he says neither circumcision nor uncircumcision mean anything but faith working through love. In chapter 6 vs 12 he says that hose who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh.  He says in 6:15, neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

So we see that the laws that the Judaisers were concerned about were largely circumcision, and then to a lesser degree certain dietary restrictions, and also observing Jewish days, months and seasons and years.  So it was mostly the ceremonial aspects of the law that they were concerned about, which they were saying that the Gentiles must observe if they were to be truly saved.

So Paul wants to show that circumcision was not a part of the gospel that the apostles in Jerusalem were preaching either.  He says in chapter 2 vs 1, “Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also.  It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but [I did so] in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain.”

Up until this point, Paul had not been in Jerusalem except for 15 days when he had seen Peter.  But that was 14 years prior.  Peter had not taught him the gospel.  He had been taught by Christ in the deserts of Arabia for 3 years before he went to see Peter. But now there had been some things that the Judaisers had accused him of, and they were undermining the churches that he had planted.  And so he had deliberately brought along Titus, a Greek, so that he could confirm that the apostles doctrine concerning salvation was the same as his gospel.  Paul says he met with the apostles privately. In other words, he didn’t walk into a Sunday morning service and disrupt the service in order to bring up this concern.  But he wanted to consult with the leaders privately. 

And notice that Paul said he went up to Jerusalem by revelation from God.The Lord obviously knew that this was a matter that needed to be addressed and settled. That was a 300 mile trip, by the way, which was probably done on foot taking a couple of weeks or so. Paul said that he communicated to them the gospel that he was preaching to the Gentiles. You can read about that in Acts 15.  I don’t have time to read that chapter for you this morning, but you can read it later and find out what the council at Jerusalem decided concerning circumcision.  They basically sided with Barnabas and Paul and sent messengers back with them to the churches to that effect. 

Paul says in summary of that decision in vs 3 “But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. But [it was] because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage.  But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.”

Paul’s point is that the apostles in Jerusalem accepted Titus as a brother in Christ even though he was not circumcised in accord with the Mosaic Law. This shows that the apostles in Jerusalem  accepted the gospel of grace as Paul understood it and had been preaching.  The problem with circumcision then did not come from the apostles, but from the false brethren who were trying to bring them into bondage.

Circumcision was a mark in the flesh that was the sign of initiation into the Jewish faith and the Mosaic covenant.  Today, we don’t have people in the church saying that it’s necessary to be circumcised.  But we do have a similar sign that is viewed as a requirement by some, and that is baptism.  Baptism is an outward sign.  The Catholic Church believes that baptism removes original sin, and daily sin is removed by the mass, and other sins are removed by purgatory.  But many of the characteristics of circumcision are also characteristics of baptism.  And there are some denominations that say that baptism is necessary for salvation.  So the principle of works versus grace is really the crux of the argument here in Galatians, and it is fundamental to the accuracy of the gospel.  That truth of the gospel is what Paul said he wanted to make sure remained with the Galatians, and so he was willing to go to Jerusalem to defend it.

So Paul wants to emphasize that the church in Jerusalem did not correct his gospel, nor add to or detract from his gospel. He says in vs 6 “But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)--well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me.”  Even though Paul met with the apostles a few times, they did not give him the gospel he preached. The leaders in Jerusalem added nothing to the gospel Paul preached or to the apostolic authority he possessed.  They confirmed his gospel, but they did not teach him his gospel.

I don’t think that Paul means any disrespect to the apostles in the way that he refers to them.  But I think he understands that they are men, and somewhat flawed men at that.  They were still learning themselves the distinctions of the new covenant, at least in some respects. They were still intertwined in Judaism to some extent.  And I think Paul recognizes that and consequently is not overawed by their position.  Because he also knows the Lord Jesus.  He has also been taught the doctrine of Christ.  And so as he says in 2Cor. 11:5 “For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles.”

So Paul continues in vs7; “But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter [had been] to the circumcised  (for He who effectually worked for Peter in [his] apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles), and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we [might] [go] to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.”

The apostles of the Jerusalem church (James, the brother of Jesus; Cephas, also known as Peter, and John) accepted Paul and his ministry to the Gentiles. They gave him the right hand of fellowship. That means they endorsed Paul’s gospel, even though they knew that Paul did not require the Gentiles to come under the Mosaic Law in order to be saved.  But instead, they accepted that Peter’s primary ministry was to the circumcised, and Paul’s primary ministry was to the uncircumcised.  Of course, there was overlap in both camps, Peter preaching to Gentiles and Paul preaching to Jews.  But Peter was primarily ministering in Israel, and Paul in Galatia and Asia.

Paul adds in vs 10 “[They] only [asked] us to remember the poor--the very thing I also was eager to do.” I think that is the concession that was made to the church in Jerusalem.  It was not that the church in Jerusalem would give Paul anything, but that Paul and the Gentiles might give the church in Jerusalem something.  And that was to remember the poor who were there, who were being persecuted by both the Romans and the Jews.  Many of whom were displaced from their occupations, from their homes, and suffering from what was said in Acts 11 was a famine in that area.  And Paul said he was eager to do that.  We read elsewhere of Paul collecting a contribution for the saints in Jerusalem on a number of occasions and either sending it to them or taking it there himself. I think Paul demonstrated that he understood the debt of gratitude he had for the church in Jerusalem and the kinship he had with them. And so he wanted to participate in that relief for them.

But Paul is not done in describing his relationship with the apostles and the doctrine of the Judaisers which had infiltrated the church.  He says the false gospel of the Judaisers even went so far as to affect Peter. Peter, of course, was the head of the church of the circumcised.  Paul says in vs 11 “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.  For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he [began] to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision.”

I think Paul makes it clear that when Peter eventually came to Antioch he was happy to eat with the Gentiles.  Peter knew theologically that there was nothing unclean which God had made.  You will remember the vision that he had where a great sheet came down from heaven with all kinds of animals in it, and God told him to kill and eat.  And Peter didn’t want to do that because he had never eaten anything unclean.  But God said what I have cleansed let no consider unholy. And as a result of that dream, not only did God pronounce all foods clean, but He also showed Peter that he should preach the gospel to Cornelius, a Roman centurion. 

So Peter had no problem eating bacon and eggs with the Gentiles. But then some men who came from Jerusalem, Paul says from James - probably not meaning that James sent them, but that James was the pastor of the church in Jerusalem at that time- and when they came, Peter withdrew from the Gentiles, fearing the party of the circumcision.  That would be the Judaisers.  Peter was afraid of what they would say if he was seen eating with the Gentiles.

Vs13 “The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.  But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, "If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how [is it that] you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

In the previous trip Paul referenced that he made to Jerusalem, he spoke to the apostles privately.  But here Paul rebukes Peter in the presence of all.  Why the difference?  Well, it was probably because Peter had acted in a public fashion, and it had influenced others in the church, as well as Barnabas.  And so to correct that false doctrine, it needed to be a public rebuke so that everyone affected could see that it was in error and needed to be corrected.

So Paul shows here that rather than Jerusalem rebuking Paul’s gospel and changing it, Paul actually rebuked Jerusalem’s gospel and compels them to change their hypocrisy.  Peter and Barnabas both knew better.  Peter had received a direct vision from God concerning this very thing.  And yet both of them were willing to disregard the truth for the sake of not offending the Jews who were wrong in their doctrine. 

Paul said in 1 Cor. 8, that it may be proper to restrict your freedom for the sake of a weaker brother so that you do not put a stumbling block in front of him.  But this was not that kind of situation.  This was actually putting a stumbling block in front of a weaker brother by implying that it was necessary to be in bondage to the Jewish law. And so Paul had every right to rebuke them for it.

Paul then takes this illustration and uses it to differentiate justification by faith versus justification by the law.  He says in vs 15, "We [are] Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles;  nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”

Paul’s argument is that he and Peter and the other apostles were Jews by nature.  Yet being a Jew and observing the law  did not save them.  It was necessary for them to believe in Christ Jesus so that they might be justified by faith in Christ.  They could never be justified by the works of the law. Justification has always been through faith, not by works. Abraham, the father of the Jews,  was justified by faith. Rom 4:3 says, “For what does the Scripture say? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS."

Justified means declared righteous. We are not determined to be righteous after God has examined us.  No one can be righteous enough to be accepted by God.  But God declares us to be righteous on the basis of Christ’s righteousness. 2 Cor. 5:21, “God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” We are credited with the righteousness of Jesus Christ by faith in Him.

To have faith is to believe in Christ, in who He is, that He is God incarnate, that He is Lord, that He is our Savior, having died on the cross for our sins, and rose again on the third day and ascended to heaven. Rom 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus [as] Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Since salvation is by faith, it is plain to see how wrong it was for Peter to separate from these Gentile Christians because they had not put themselves under the Law of Moses. Since by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified, then what difference does it make in salvation if a Gentile is circumcised according to the Law of Moses? What difference does it make if a Gentile keeps the dietary laws? All that counts in justification is their faith in Christ, because that is the only way we are made right before God.

Paul continues his argument for justification by faith in vs17-19 "But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! For if I rebuild what I have [once] destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.”

I think what Paul is saying here is that Gentiles were considered sinners because they were not circumcised and they ate unclean foods and did not keep the festival days and Sabbaths. So he is asking does justification through faith in Christ make Him a minister of sin? The answer is a resounding No! For we have died to the law. We do not reestablish the law in justification, but the law of the flesh is done away with. Essentially Paul said, “There is more sin in trying to find acceptance before God by our law-keeping than there is sin in everyday life as a Christian.” If he were to try to build a way to God through keeping the law then he would make himself a transgressor.

How is it a sin to build again a way to God through the Law of Moses? In many ways, but perhaps the greatest is that it looks at Jesus, hanging on the cross, taking the punishment we deserved, bearing the wrath of God for us, and says to Him, “That’s all very nice, but it isn’t enough. Your work on the cross won’t be good enough before God until I’m circumcised and eat kosher.” That is to regard the atonement of Christ as insufficient. 

Paul states the conclusion of this doctrine of justification by faith in vs19-21 "For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness [comes] through the Law, then Christ died needlessly." 

Paul realized that the law made him guilty before God, not justified before God. John Calvin said “To die to the law is to renounce it and to be freed from its dominion, so that we have no confidence in it and it does not hold us captive under the yoke of slavery.” As long as Paul still tried to justify himself before God by all his law-keeping, he was dead. But when he died to the law then he could live to God.

Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ. I died to the law when Jesus died on the cross. He died in my place on the cross. I was condemned to die for my sins, but Jesus took my place on the cross. Since we died with Christ on the cross we have been given a new life. Our old life lived under the condemnation of the law is dead. Now we are made alive in Jesus Christ and Jesus is alive in us. Paul realized that on the cross, a great exchange occurred. So Paul’s righteousness wasn’t his, it was the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Paul says, “And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” I live by faith in Him.  I trust Him, I listen to Him, I follow Him, I love Him, I obey Him, I yield to Him. Faith is actively following Christ daily, minute by minute, hour by hour, decision by decision.  Faith is not just something in the past, but it continues. Hab. 2:4 says, the just shall live by faith.

Paul said, “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” To try to keep some or all laws in order to be justified, is to deny the effectualness of Christ’s atonement.  It is to nullify the grace of God. Eph.2:8 says,  Salvation is by grace through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.

Salvation is a gift of God.  What a wonderful doctrine.  Much to wonderful to try to add to it.  To do so is to minimize God’s grace, which would rob God of His sovereignty and diminish HIs character.  God has loved us so much that He was willing to sacrifice His only Son so that He might GIVE us Christ’s righteousness, so that He might justify us. That is grace. God’s gift of salvation which we cannot earn, but we can accept through faith in Jesus Christ.  I trust that you have believed in Christ and received justification from God on the basis of His righteousness. 

Divine revelation, Galatians 1:10-24

                                        

The epistle to the Galatians is Paul’s first letter to the churches.  And perhaps due in a large part to being his first epistle, he spends a large portion of this letter defending his apostleship, and his gospel.  We get something like a summary of his biography in the first couple of chapters, at least the part of his history that has to do with coming to Christ and the beginning of his ministry.

And that was necessary then because there were false teachers that had crept into the churches of Galatia that Paul had started, and they were undermining Paul’s authority and his gospel in order to establish their own gospel, which was a doctrine that said you must add the law of circumcision and other Jewish ceremonies to salvation by faith in order to be really saved.

It’s also beneficial to the church today to understand how Paul came to preach his gospel, and how he became an apostle. One reason is because Paul’s example of conversion illustrates how we are also converted.  And secondly,  because there is a mindset in certain ecclesiastical circles that says that Paul’s message is corrupted.  They say it’s corrupted by the the fact that he is not a real apostle. It’s corrupted by the fact that he is a patriarchal Jew from the sect of the Pharisees that had very strict, demeaning, archaic  views about women.  And there are many modern theologians that think that Paul’s teachings are at odds with Christ’s teachings. So it’s important for us to understand the basis for his gospel.

I don’t know if you have ever given it much thought, but have you ever considered the fact that about half of the New Testament was written by Paul? One man, Paul, who was not one of the original 12 disciples.  He never claims to be a witness to Jesus’s teaching or ministry before Christ’s crucifixion.  And furthermore, there is no advance notice or prophecy in the gospels that a man such as Paul would arise and become the “apostle to the Gentiles” and who would take on such a large role in shaping the church and  writing 13 epistles explaining the gospels.  

According to the Roman Catholic Church, Peter was the apostle to whom the church was entrusted.  But in actuality, I think the modern church owes more to the apostle Paul for it’s doctrine than it does to Peter.  Not to minimize the epistles that Peter, John and Jude wrote, but I believe the epistles of Paul are the backbone of church doctrine.  And because of that, I think it is fair to ask what credentials does Paul have that he would make such a large impact in church formation and history?

Well, I think the best answer to that comes from Paul himself.  There are some things that are given in Acts which I think shows that the apostles in Jerusalem accepted Paul, and even more importantly, confirmed the ministry of Paul. And  another important confirmation is the words of Peter in his epistle, in which he said in 2Peter 3:15-16 “and regard the patience of our Lord [as] salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you,  as also in all [his] letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as [they do] also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.”  

In that statement, Peter reveals that the apostles in Jerusalem considered Paul a beloved brother.  He makes reference to the wisdom given to him by revelation, and he also states that Paul’s writings are scripture.  That’s a pretty good commendation.  

But that commendation would not come for a number of years.  So Paul in writing this first letter finds it necessary to give an autobiographical account of how he received his ministry and the gospel which he was preaching.  Last time we looked at the apostleship of Paul, and how he said that he received his apostleship not from men, but from Jesus Christ.  Now that’s an important distinction, because the other apostles received their apostleship from Jesus Christ as well.  So if Paul received his from men, then it would have been inferior to the other apostles.

The apostles ministry was to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.  And Paul had done that when he established the churches in Galatia. But then false teachers had come in and preached another gospel, a seditious gospel that advocated keeping the law of the Jews in order to be saved.  But Paul said if any man, if even an angel should preach a different gospel other that what they had been given by Paul, they were to be accursed. 

Then in vs 10, Paul says, “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.” I think what he is saying here is really a rebuke to the Galatians.  In giving in to the Judaiser’s doctrine they were in effect trying to please the Jews.  Paul and anyone who had followed his gospel was subject to criticism and even persecution from the Jews.  But if you were to follow the Judaiser’s doctrine, then by accommodating things like circumcision you were relieving the onus of Paul’s doctrine and you would be less likely to receive criticism.  So I think Paul is referring to that in a back handed way as a rebuke to their acquiescence.  And in contrast to that acquiescence, he says he is not trying to please men, but he wants to please God by giving them accurately the gospel of Christ.

That should be the goal of any preacher of the gospel. Sometimes that can be a nuance that goes unnoticed by the church.  But it is very tempting to preach a gospel that accommodates the world’s view and thus finds favor with the world, and avoid certain doctrines of the gospel that are more contentious and controversial to the world’s view in order to gain approval from men.  But the goal of a faithful minister should be to be true to the gospel of Jesus Christ, irregardless of what the culture or society thinks of it.

The source of Paul’s gospel was a revelation from Christ, not something that he learned from other men.  He says that in vs11 “For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but [I received it] through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”

In contrast to the different gospel brought by the false teachers, Paul’s gospel was by a revelation from Jesus Christ. He was in no respect inferior to any of the other apostles.  He was taught by the Lord Jesus the same way that they were taught it.  Furthermore, his gospel was different from the message being taught by the false teachers, because they could not claim that they got their message directly from Christ.

That is the only way that we can know God - by divine revelation.  Man cannot study the cosmos and biology and philosophy and come to know God.  He may come to realize that there must be a God by studying such things, but to really know God, to know His plan and purposes, it must be revealed by God to man.  All that is necessary to be known about God was made known through Jesus Christ.  As John said about Jesus in John 1:14, 18 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. ... 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained [Him.]”

So Paul received his gospel by divine revelation from Jesus Christ.  Some think that this occurred during the Damascus road experience, or in the three days following that Paul was without sight. I don’t think that would have been the full experience. I’m sure the Lord did reveal some things concerning salvation when Paul was converted and awaiting his sight to return.  But I think in this next section we might understand that Paul received it during the time he spent in Arabia.  Let’s listen to his description.

Vs13 “For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it;  and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.  But when God, who had set me apart [even] from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, was pleased  to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood,  nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days.”

Now a parallel scripture concerning Paul’s conversion we can read about in Acts 9. Let me read you just the first part of that.  Acts 9:1-9 “Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest,  and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.  As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him;  and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"  And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" And He [said,] "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,  but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do." The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.  Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus.  And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.”

I wanted to read that for a number of reasons, but one of which was to affirm what Paul says in our text in vs 15 when he says God “had set me apart even from my mother’s womb  called me through His grace.”  Much can be learned about the doctrine of salvation from this statement.  First notice the phrase, “but when God was pleased…”. Paul did not come to Jesus because any man decided that he should. It wasn’t at the pleasure of any man, but when it pleased God. Additionally, God did not choose Paul because there was something in Paul that pleased him; God called Paul through His grace, God’s unmerited favor.

We know this call wasn’t because of anything Paul did because he said that he was called from my mother’s womb. Therefore, God called Paul before Paul did anything to deserve it. This statement is reminiscent of Jacob and Esau, of whom Paul says in Romans 9:11 that God chose Jacob when he was still in the womb, when he had done nothing right or wrong. This illustrates the doctrine of election, or predestination.  It is a doctrine that we cannot really comprehend fully.  We have to accept it by faith.  

Paul states the doctrine of election in Rom. 8:29-30 saying “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined [to become] conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;  and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”  God is the author and finisher of our salvation.  Salvation is of the Lord. And the beginning of our salvation is when God chooses us before the foundation of the world.

From Luke’s description, it should be obvious that it was God’s grace by which Paul was converted.  He was actually an enemy of Christ at that point.  He was not pursuing Christ.  He had no interest in knowing about salvation through Christ. He was at war with Christ.  And yet by the grace of God Christ came down to Him and shed His light upon Paul, so that he saw with the eyes of his heart that Christ was the Messiah.

And the point that needs to be made is that we are all saved the same way Paul was saved; by God’s grace.  When we were at odds with God, at war with God, not seeking after God, He spread His grace upon us so that our eyes were opened, and we received Him as our Lord and God.  We may not see a light flashing from the sky or hear a voice from heaven, but we experience the same grace in conversion.

Paul wrote of how Jesus was revealed to him by the revelation of Jesus Christ. But in vs 16 Paul says something different happened after his conversion; Jesus is revealed in Paul. God wants to do more than reveal Jesus to us; He wants to reveal Jesus in us.  That’s what happens in conversion. The Spirit of Christ dwells in us, that we might do the works of Christ. And in Paul the result is he preaches the gospel of Christ. He says, “But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles.”

After his conversion, Paul spent three days without sight, before a Christian named Ananias was sent by God to him.  Then when Ananias came to him, he said, ““Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; and he took food and was strengthened.”  I would like you to notice there that there is no mention of speaking in tongues when Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit.  That’s contrary to what a lot of people are teaching, I know, but that is not what the scripture teaches.  It also doesn’t say that Paul didn’t receive the Holy Spirit three days earlier.  But it just says he was filled with the Holy Spirit.  That filling of the Holy Spirit is a filling with power.  It’s not receiving the Holy Spirit.  We believe that the scriptures teach that you receive the Holy Spirit at conversion. In fact, if you don’t receive the Spirit at conversion then you are not saved at all. But there is a subsequent filling of the Spirit which happens when you yield to Him and let Him control and empower you to do His will.

But to the point that Paul made, he is not taught by Ananias.  He is not taught by the disciples at Damascus.  But as he says in Galatians, he received a revelation from Jesus. I think that is likely when he went to Arabia.  It would seem from Paul’s statement that he stayed in Arabia for some time before he returned to Damascus. But there is an interim of three years after his conversion before he went to see Peter in Jerusalem. So possibly during that three year period Paul was taught by Jesus.  If that’s so, then it’s interesting that three years being taught by Jesus in Arabia and Damascus is parallel to the three years the disciples spent learning from Jesus during His ministry on earth.  So again, the case could be made that Paul was not inferior in any way.  As he said in 2Cor. 11:5 “For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles.”

Paul continues his autobiography in vs18 saying, “Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, (that’s Aramaic for Peter) and stayed with him fifteen days.  But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord's brother.  (Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying.) Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.  I was [still] unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ;  but only, they kept hearing, "He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy." And they were glorifying God because of me.”

Paul showed here that he did not learn the gospel from the apostles, because he had been a Christian for three years before he even met the apostles Peter and James. Paul had been given the gospel in a divine revelation from Jesus Christ Himself. I want to share a passage with you from 2 Corinthians which may be a part of what Paul is referring to here.  The timeline of such things is not easy to discern.  But in 2Cor. 12:1-4, 7 Paul wrote,  “Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.  I know a man in Christ (he is speaking of himself) who fourteen years ago--whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows--such a man was caught up to the third heaven.  And I know how such a man--whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows--  was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. ...  Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me--to keep me from exalting myself!”

I can’t say with certainty that is part of the experience that Paul had while he was in Arabia, but it seems to fit. But I don’t doubt that there were multiple events when Paul was given revelation from Jesus.  He says visions and revelations of the Lord, plural.  So there are more than one. But though the things in Paradise he heard and saw on that occasion he was not permitted to speak of, there was obviously things taught to him that he was permitted, even commanded to speak of, which became the basis for his gospel.

After his conversion, God spoke to Ananias about Paul saying, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;

for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” I always think of that last phrase “how much he must suffer for My name’s sake” in regards to these self styled modern day apostles that claim to have special knowledge and revelation from God, and supposedly do all these miracles and speak amazing prophecies. God did not give such gifts to Paul and Peter and the other apostles without it coming at a great cost of personal and physical sacrifice.  I don’t see those self proclaimed apostles experiencing too much sacrifice in their private jets and mansions in Laguna Beach.

But God chose Paul to be an instrument for the proclamation of the gospel.  And God specifically  directed his path in ministry.  He saw Peter for 2 weeks and then was moved on to minister in the regions of the Gentiles.  Paul did not learn the essential content of the gospel from Peter, and  it was also true that the early Christians in Judea were slow in learning just who Paul was in Jesus. All they really knew was that he had been dramatically converted.  They kept hearing, "He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy." And they were glorifying God because of Paul.

Now if Paul is telling the truth, then there is only one response to the message of the apostle, and that is to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ that you may be saved. Does salvation then come by being circumcized? No. Does salvation come by keeping the Sabbath? No. Does salvation come by keeping the law? No. Does salvation come through religion? No. Does salvation come through some religious ritual like baptism, or communion? No. Salvation is of the Lord. You must be born again by the Spirit of Christ. Or, as Paul puts it, in the 3rd chapter in the 6th verse, "Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." 

If you are here this morning and you have never believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and been converted, I call upon you to come to him in faith, trusting in Him who has offered Himself as a sacrifice for sinners. May God open the eyes of your heart so that you respond in faith, casting aside all of your trust in yourself or any human institution. And casting yourself upon the grace of the Lord Jesus. May God help you to come to him and be converted, even as Paul was.

The distortion of the gospel, Galatians 1:1-9

Well, having finished up 2 Timothy last week, we are beginning a new book, which is Galatians. I think I preached through Galatians on Wednesday evenings  maybe around 10 years ago.  However, I can’t find my notes on it, so this will be like starting from scratch for me. But in 2 Timothy, we had what many believe to be the last words that the apostle Paul wrote before he was martyred.  In Galatians, we have what many believe to be the first epistle that Paul wrote.  Galatians was probably written very early in Paul’s ministry. The chances are that he wrote it sometime during the years of 48, 49 AD, and therefore the Epistle to the Galatians probably is the first of the Pauline epistles. In it we get a very good picture of the apostle’s theology at this earliest stage of his ministry.

It’s believed that Paul is writing to the churches in Galatia that he had started when he visited that region on his first missionary journey.  Those churches were Lystra, Derbe, Antioch and Iconium. So Galatia then is not a city, but was a region, a Roman province, which Paul had visited in order to establish churches there.

In this letter, the apostle Paul was seeking to counter false teachers who had come in among his churches, and had sought to teach them that it was not only necessary to believe on Jesus Christ to be saved, but it was also necessary to be circumcised and obey the Jewish ceremonial laws such as pertained to diet and the Sabbath and certain festivals.

In fact, it would seem that the doctrine of the Judaisers, (the name given to those who taught the doctrine that it was necessary to keep the law), is the same doctrine of those described in Acts 15, who came down from Judea to Antioch  and said, “Except you are circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved.”  So the purpose of this letter is to counter that false doctrine.

We learn in the first verse, of course, that the author of the letter is the apostle Paul.  It is his most harsh, explosive letter.  He doesn’t take his usual approach with such letters and start by commending the church.  Instead it is mostly a letter of rebuke.  But the rebuke is based on the fact that the Galatians had surrendered to false teaching which would lead them back into bondage.  Paul has a better message, a message of liberty that is found in Jesus Christ. This is the same message of salvation by faith that he had preached when he founded these churches, and so he is reminding them of that as a means of countering this false doctrine of salvation by works.

By the way, Galatians is sort of a rough draft of Romans.  You will find much of the same material, in roughly the same order, in both books.  Galatians is basically a more brief summary of Romans.  If you were to put the books of Romans and Galatians side by side in comparison, you would find that on the whole Romans tells us what the gospel is, and Galatians tells us what the gospel is not.

Now notice in his salutation he emphasizes the fact that he is an apostle of Jesus Christ in vs 1, “Paul, an apostle (not [sent] from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead),  and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia.”  The foundation of the church’s doctrine was laid down by the apostles. They had a very special ministry.  They were given supernatural, miraculous power to illustrate that they were sent by God with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They had the authority to say “thus says the Lord.” 

And so on the basis of that authority they established the churches, laying down the doctrinal foundation of the faith.  Their doctrine was the true doctrine of Jesus Christ, the gospel. And their ministry was authenticated by miraculous signs for the time that they were given to establish the church.  In 2Cor. 12:12 it says, “The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.” The purpose of their miracles was not to make everyone around them healthy, but to authenticate that they were sent by Christ with the message of the gospel.  And that gospel was the foundation of the church.

Eph 2:19-22, speaking of the church says, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household,  having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner [stone,]  in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,  in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”

So Paul’s apostleship was very important, because he had established these churches in Galatia, and under his apostolic authority he had laid the foundation of the gospel, and now false teachers were attempting to undermine and distort that gospel.

It’s also likely that Paul gives such a reminder of his apostleship credentials in order to counter the Judaisers, who themselves claimed to be sent from the 12 apostles in Jerusalem. The word apostle means "one sent forth.” But a true apostle was sent by Jesus Christ.  That’s why Paul emphasizes that he was sent not by men but by Jesus Christ and God the Father. These Judaisers were probably from Jerusalem, but they were not sanctioned by the 12 apostles.  But nevertheless, they claimed some sort of credentials from the church in Jerusalem which the used to validate their false teaching.

Though he doesn’t commend these churches at the beginning of this letter, yet he does issue a blessing upon these churches.  He says in vs3, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,  who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,  to whom [be] the glory forevermore. Amen.”

Paul blesses them by saying “Grace to you and peace…” Notice the order, it is always grace first. Then peace. No one ever has peace with God who does not first know the grace of God through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is something that we experience throughout the whole of our Christian life, the grace of God and the result is peace.

Paul’s blessing emanates from the great event that displayed the grace of God and issued the peace that they enjoy. And that great event is the cross.  The grace of God is the sacrifice that Jesus became on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, that we might have peace with God.  But not only justification is brought about by that transaction, but sanctification.  He says “who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age.” To be rescued is to be saved, delivered from the present evil age.  That’s a reference to the natural state of man, to be dead in your trespasses and sins.  To be held in captivity by the dominion of darkness.  To be condemned to death as the wages of sin. That’s the present evil age.  But by grace Christ rescued us from sin, from both it’s penalty and it’s power.  And one day, when Christ returns, He will rescue us from it’s presence.  Sin and death will be done away with forever.

Paul emphasizes this doctrine of salvation through grace in this introductory blessing in order to establish that salvation is by grace through faith and not by works such as the false teachers were advocating. If the Galatians remembered the gospel, they would not have been so easily influenced by the Judaisers.  And that’s a standard temptation today, to come to faith in Christ by simple faith, but then be taught by false teachers that you need to add something else, something that you are missing, which will provide the missing link and complete your salvation. False teaching has at it’s roots the idea that Christ’s work of atonement was not satisfactory, it is not enough.  We must add something that is missing.

So in light of this doctrine then, we might ask - are we saved by good works? Are we saved by joining a church? No. Are we saved by baptism? Are we saved by observing the sacraments? Are we saved by keeping the Sabbath? No. Are we saved by culture? Are we saved by education? Are we saved by some great act of philanthropy? No. The Apostle Paul puts it most plainly in the 2nd chapter in the 16th verse. He says,  “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”

On the basis of the doctrine of salvation then, Paul turns to rebuke the Galatians for adopting another gospel, or better said, a distortion of the gospel.  He says in vs 6 “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel;  which is [really] not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.”

First notice that Paul is amazed that the Galatians would be so easily persuaded by the false teachers.  I have said it before, but I think the characteristic of our fallen nature is that man is more prone to believe a lie than he is to believe the truth.  It is our nature to be contrary. As it says in [Rom 3:10-18 "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;  THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; 12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE." "THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING," "THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS";  "WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS";  "THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, 1DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS,  AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN."  "THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES." 

We that have been saved have been given a new nature, but there is still the old nature that lies dormant in our lives, and given the slightest provocation or inducement it rapidly rises up again. The Galatians had listened to the false message of the Judaisers, and ended up believing their lies,  swallowing their doctrine hook, line and sinker. And it amazes Paul.  Really, I think it angers Paul.  He uses very strong language in his argument to the Galatians which I think illustrates his anger.  His anger is mostly directed towards the false teachers.  But perhaps some anger towards the churches who have accommodated such teaching.  

I will say that I too feel a great deal of anger towards false teachers that are at work in the church today.  I believe it is righteous anger.  Jesus said such who put stumbling blocks before His children should have a millstone tied around their neck and the whole bunch dropped off a boat in the middle of the sea. I think that indicates a certain degree of righteous indignation is appropriate. But I am also dismayed, and even amazed when so called believers, when self described “mature Christians” are so easily duped by false doctrine. They should know better.  They should be more on guard against such things. It’s evidence that they are walking according to the old nature, and not living in the new nature.  And when you have invested into these people and poured into them the word of God for months and sometimes even years, and then see them wander off into la-la land doctrinally speaking, it’s kind of upsetting. And usually they don’t just go away alone.  They want to take others with them as they go away.  

Paul says that they aren’t just abandoning his gospel, they are abandoning Christ. They are deserting Christ who died for their sins so that they might receive His righteousness.  But instead of trusting in His righteousness alone, they want to establish their own.  And Paul says that’s equivalent to desertion.  Desertion is a military term.  One breaks rank and leaves the church, the body of Christ for another gospel.

But I think it also speaks of a desire to know some secret to the gospel.  I see a lot of people attracted to the idea of some mystery, something secret, some key that unlocks the mysteries of God.  That was the temptation that took down Eve.  Satan tempted her with a deeper knowledge, the knowledge of God, so that she might be like God.  She believed a lie that she thought would make her wise. That’s the doctrine of Gnosticism. That’s the false doctrine of the Judaisers. That’s the false doctrine of the Charismatics. That’s the false doctrine of numerology. That’s the false doctrine of every cult that has come down through the ages.  That they have discovered some truth that no one else is privy to that unlocks the kingdom of heaven. They have discovered the key to wisdom. But invariably they all lead to spiritual ruin.

Paul says there really isn’t such thing as a different gospel.  There isn’t a different method of salvation.  What the false teachers do is simply distort the gospel. That’s really the devil’s most successful strategy.  Not to come out with a completely new, different gospel.  But to simply distort the true gospel so that it’s out of balance, it’s corrupted, parts of it are swollen out of proportion.  They do that by emphasizing certain passages of scripture and minimizing others. In Acts 20:27 Paul said he did not shrink from teaching the whole counsel of God. The gospel is from Genesis to Revelation.  Not just isolating some verses out of context but teaching the whole counsel of God.

Paul says the goal of these false teachers was to disturb the Galatians.  To draw them out of the peace that they have with God through Christ and say that there is something else, something that they are missing, something that the false teachers are able to provide.  And so they draw the Galatians away from the simplicity of the gospel and the peace that they have with God,  to follow after them.

Is it any wonder that Paul is angry?  What shepherd of his sheep would not be angry at another shepherd who comes along and seduces his sheep from the rich and peaceful pasture that they are feeding in, by enticing them with greener pastures just over the way.  When in fact, such greener pastures do not exist.  Greater spirituality, more intimate communion with God, more power to work miracles and so forth are not just beyond the doctrinal fences of the sound church. But since the sheep are naturally prone to wander, the devil makes sure that there are false shepherds to lead them astray.

What they end up with is a counterfeit gospel. A counterfeit dollar bill may look like a dollar, it’s got the same pictures and symbols on it as a dollar, and some may believe it’s a dollar, but when you go to the bank you find out it’s not a dollar.  It does not have the authority of the US Government behind it. And if you gave up your goods or services for counterfeit money then you have been swindled, you have been robbed. The same can be said for a counterfeit gospel.  It may look the same, sound similar, and believed by many, but when it is brought up into heaven’s court for scrutiny, it is revealed as a false trust. You were trusting in something that was not the accepted currency of heaven.

So Paul has every right to feel righteous indignation at these apostles of Satan.  He says in vs8 “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!”   In 2 Corinthians Paul was addressing some other false teachers who were leading the flock astray.  And he said this in 2Cor. 11:13-14 “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.  No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”

These false teachers are Satanic apostles.  They are sent by Satan to confuse and deceive and mislead.  I don’t care if they purport to be saved.  I don’t care how much they claim to love Jesus. I don’t believe in the supernatural powers that they claim to possess. I would go so far to say that the majority of them you see on television and so forth are even saved.  I can’t say that conclusively, but I can see the evidence of their ministries, and I see the error of their false doctrines.  

Paul says that even if an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to what he had laid down, he is to be accursed. What Paul is saying is that to veer from the truth of the biblical gospel brings one under the divine curse. Now that’s a pretty heavy statement, isn’t it?  But there is no other way to interpret this statement. The Greek word is “anathema.” It means a person or thing doomed to destruction.  That’s a pretty strong word, and Paul says it twice. When a statement is said twice in scripture, it is to show that it is a certainty.

In vs 9 “As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!”  That accursed, anathema, is the millstone that is to be tied around his neck and then he is thrown into the deepest sea. That’s why James says “let not many of you become teachers brethren, for as such we shall incur a stricter condemnation.”  It’s a dangerous thing to be a preacher of the gospel. Because God will hold you to a very high standard.  And those false shepherds that glibly spew their false doctrine to gullible church people will one day face a very angry Great Shepherd, who will judge them with a righteous judgment.  

The apostle’s doctrine is written down for us that we might be more sure of it as the word of God. It’s important that we teach the whole counsel of God, not leaving out the more controversial parts, nor adding to the more exciting parts, but faithfully shepherding the flock of Jesus Christ according to His gospel.

Our hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’s blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name.  I hope that you have trusted in the finished work of Jesus Christ as the atonement for your sins.  There is salvation in nothing else.  There is not salvation in any works that we have done or might do.  

No work of religious ritual can save you. No work of human attainment. No human merit. No keeping of the Law, only by faith in the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ. In what is your trust? Are you trusting only in Christ? I pray that the Holy Spirit has brought you under conviction of your sin, and your need for salvation, and the message of the gospel has illumined your eyes to see the grace that God has provided so that you may be saved.  Call upon the Lord, and receive the gift of His salvation.

The church is it’s people, 2 Timothy 4:9-22

The word of God is not just all theology, but also very practical.  And by the same token, the church is not just all doctrine, but also fellowship.  In Second Timothy, Paul has written extensively about doctrine, the need for sound doctrine, and warned about false teachers, wolves in sheep’s clothing that will ravage the sheep.  He has urged Timothy to stir up the gift that is in him, to study the word, to preach the gospel, to stand firm and to persevere.  Now his epistle is almost over.  But before he closes his letter,  he gives a few personal, parting words to Timothy and to others in the church of a personal nature.  That doesn’t mean this is some sort of subscript that has no meaning for us, other than to those it was  originally intended.  But rather it can  teach us much concerning the individual’s responsibility to the church,  the individual’s response to the gospel, and the fellowship of the people of the church.  The church after all is not brick and mortar, but is made up of individual people, people just like you and me who have been saved.

The word church, by the way, comes from the Greek word “ekklesia” which means called out ones to an assembly. Paul calls the church in 1 Tim.3:15 the household of God. So Christians are called out from the world, set apart as the household of God, the body of Christ, who are assembled together.

Belonging to the household of God is based on a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  And our belonging to the church is not by having your name written on a membership roll, but by personal relationships with one another.  The imperative to those who are Christians is that they will know you are Christians by your love for one another.  Love for one another is not a theoretical construct. Love is practical, personal, and applicable.  And love is worked out in service to one another, and in service to the Lord and His church.

To that end then, we can see much personal, individual application of the command to love one another in these last verses that Paul writes at the end of this letter.  As a reminder,  this is Paul’s last written word that we know of before he was executed by the Roman emperor Nero.  He is writing from a dungeon, possibly just a hole in the ground with a grate overhead. Furthermore, he knows he is about to die, though perhaps he still has some hope that somehow that fate might be averted.  But he is ready to die, nonetheless.  He said the time of my departure is at hand, I am ready to have my life poured out in a final act of sacrifice to the Lord.

But the human side of Paul still desires companionship, still desires love, still desires fellowship with those he loves.  And perhaps more than anyone else, he loves Timothy, who he calls my child, meaning his child in the faith.  Timothy would seem to be the closest thing to family that Paul has on earth.  And in his last days on earth, he wants to see Timothy once again.  I don’t believe that it was just for his own personal comfort though.  I think that he wants to see Timothy so that he can strengthen him in his faith.  Imagine that kind of love.  To be in prison, suffering terribly, and yet your greatest desire before dying is not to be comforted by your loved ones, but to comfort them, to encourage them, for their benefit, and not just your own.

That is love, sacrificial love.  Love is being more concerned about the other person’s needs than about your own.  Love does not seek it’s own fulfillment, but the other persons.  And Paul loves Timothy as his own son. So he says in vs 9, “Make every effort to come to me soon.” There is a sense of urgency in that appeal. Paul knows that his time is short.  If he is to see Timothy again, it must be soon.  

In vs 21, he reiterates that appeal saying, “Make every effort to come before winter.”  We can assume that it might have been late summer or even fall as Paul is writing these words.  Notice in both statements he uses the same phrase, “make every effort…” That’s a pretty strong appeal.  Paul uses that one word in the Greek frequently in his letters.  The same word in Greek is translated as be diligent, be eager, endeavor,  or make every effort.

Such a passionate appeal can be applied to all of the commands of God in scripture.  It wouldn’t be out of place to add that before most admonitions in scripture.  How about this one? “Make every effort to not forsake the assembling of yourselves together.” Or make every effort to love one another.  The point I think that needs to be made is there should be every effort made on our part to carry out the commissions and commands of scripture.  There should be every effort to fulfill our ministry in the church.  To our good intentions, we must add a sense of urgency. We need to apply some elbow grease to our works of righteousness.  Some people tend to think that walking in the Spirit has no relevance to working in the flesh.  No, we carry out the desire of the Spirit by the working of the body.  We need to apply some urgency, some extra effort, or to use another phrase, “with all your heart.” 

Jesus said you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.  That means love is making every effort, with your body, soul, and spirit.  Christianity is not just a spiritual dimension, but it is physical as well, involving diligence, endurance, perseverance, continuance, sacrifice.  Present your bodies, Paul said in Romans 12, as a living sacrifice.  Your bodies. I think that applies to the church. It’s not enough to attend church virtually.  We need to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to the church.

Paul says Timothy should make every effort to see me soon because Demas has forsaken me.  Vs 10, “for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens [has gone] to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.”  See, here is the reference to love that is in contrast to the love which Paul has for Timothy, and which Timothy has for Paul.  Christian love is sacrificial, wanting what is best for others, not seeking it’s own.  But Demas, having loved this present world has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.

So Paul is in Rome.  It’s dangerous there.  Demas had been a long time companion of Paul. He has been a part of the church.  We must assume that he was saved.  But he had a divided loyalty.  He had a compromised love.  He tried to love two opposite entities.  He claimed he loved the Lord, but he also loved the world, and the world eventually won him over.

1John 2:15 says “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” When Jesus said we were to take up our cross and follow Him,  he was talking about dying to the world.  James equates loving the world with committing adultery.  He says in James 4:4 “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

Demas loved the world or he grew to love the world more than he loved the church and so he went to Thessalonica.  That was about as far from Rome as you could get.  It was on the other sea, on another coast, and a lot further south.  I suspect it was kind of like going to Florida for the winter.  Man, everyone wants to go to Florida for the winter, don’t they?  Sometimes I think we should just close up shop after Christmas and have church in Florida for a few months.

Now before you get in a dither I’m not saying there is anything wrong with taking a vacation in Florida.  But I don’t think that as Christians, as part of Christ’s body, His church, we are to take a permanent vacation from church or our responsibilities to the church.  I don’t think it’s correct to think that you can retire from the practice of your faith.  You might retire from your law practice, or doctor practice or whatever business you are in, but there is not any indication in scripture that we should ever retire from the practice of our faith.

Demas took off for sunnier, friendlier climates, and left Paul there practically alone in Rome. Demas wasn’t looking forward anymore to the Lord’s return and his reward, but he was looking at cashing in while he could still enjoy the lusts of the world.  And you know, you can almost hear the disappointment and sorrow in Paul’s voice.  Church is about personal relationships with people you love and invest in, and when they leave you, it hurts.  It speaks of Paul’s humanity that he felt sorrow about Demas’s departure.  He missed him. 

Paul had better things to say about two others in his church; “Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.”  These guys were basically missionaries that Paul had sent out.  Not much is known about Crescens, this is the only reference to him in scripture.  But there is some manuscripts that say he went to Gaul, not Galatia, and Gaul is modern day, France.  That’s interesting if true that Crescens might have been the first missionary to France.  

Titus, we know about.  He is the subject of the epistle to Titus which is very similar to the epistle to Timothy.  He was an assistant to the apostle Paul in foreign lands, working to establish the churches.  Dalmatia is modern day Croatia.  So again, another missionary.  One thing that strikes me when I read this sort of thing in the epistles, is that for a society that did not have modern transportation such as we have, that didn’t stop these people from really traveling.  They went tremendous distances without seemingly too much concern.  Perhaps that was one of the great benefits of the Roman Empire.  Their extensive road system and the peace that they brought to that region of the world was a great benefit to travel and to taking the gospel to the world.  But it kind of puts us to shame by comparison when we make very little effort to overcome relatively minor distances in regards to the church.

Vs 11, Paul says “Only Luke is with me.”  That’s a kind of understatement.  I don’t think that Paul meant that in a dismissive way. Luke was a physician and a long time faithful companion to Paul.  Luke of course is the author of the gospel of Luke as well as Acts.  Some people think that Luke might also have been the author of Hebrews, but that is supposition.  What we do know about Luke is that he was faithful.  He left his practice as a doctor to attend to Paul.  What a sacrifice that must have been. And yet what a reward it must have been for Luke as well.  I believe Paul and Luke were a mutual blessing to one another.  Paul ministering to Luke in spiritual things, and Luke ministering to Paul in physical things.  That fulfilled the spiritual principle that Paul stated in 1Cor. 9:11 “If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?”

Then Paul adds, “Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.” Mark had been someone that Paul had refused to take with him on a missionary journey because on a previous missionary journey Mark had decided half way in it to go back home.  He had deserted Paul and Barnabas, and so the next time when Barnabas wanted to take him again, Paul had refused and it resulted in a split between Paul and Barnabas. But obviously, Mark had matured in his faith in the time sense.  He had proven himself to be faithful in service to the Lord.  And now Paul wants him to come with Timothy to help with the ministry to the Romans.  Mark knew Rome well, and he knew the church in that city, and Paul believes he will be the right man for the job of leading that church, though it be a dangerous station.  

As with Timothy earlier, Paul’s concern is not just for his own creature comforts and what Mark might do for him, but his concern is for the church and what Mark might do for it. That’s kind of remarkable, isn’t it? That Paul is superintending the mission of the church at large from a dungeon in Rome. It reminds me of what my wife said about her grandmother, who was bedridden in her later years, and yet managed her house and kitchen from her bedroom until the day she died. Paul is still the leader of the church among the Gentiles even from prison.

Paul sends and commissions men from the dungeon, saying;  “Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.”  Tychicus had accompanied Paul when he was on his third missionary journey, returning from Greece through Macedonia into Asia, on their way to Jerusalem. Tychicus had been with Paul in his first imprisonment. Paul had entrusted him to take his letters to the Ephesians, the Colossians and the Corinthians.  Now Tychicus is taking this letter to Timothy in Ephesus, and he would take over for Timothy while he goes to see Paul.  Tychicus is a very capable person.  I think of Tychicus as like a Navy Seal of the early church.  He was able to travel long distances, through all kinds of danger and hardship, keep on going, making every effort as a faithful servant to the church.

So Timothy doesn’t need to fear leaving Ephesus, for Tychicus would cover for him, and as for Timothy, Paul instructs in vs 13 that “When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments.” The cloak that Paul wanted was probably like a coarse blanket with a hole in the middle for the head, and no arms.  It was needed with the approaching winter in the cold, damp dungeon.  Paul was used to making do with the barest of essentials. It reminds me of his statement regarding the proper perspective of worldly possessions in 1Tim. 6:8. He says, “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” What burdens we add to our lives by possessions.  And what a difficulty to our lives does the purchase and keeping of those possessions add. Paul isn’t burdened down by earthly treasures but he has stored up heavenly ones.

The books and the parchments are probably a reference to the scriptures which he calls books, most likely scrolls.  And the parchments are dried skins that were used for writing.  Paul wants to be able to write the churches. In his last days on earth, he gains spiritual sustenance from the books, the scriptures, and he gives spiritual strength to others through the parchments.

Then Paul gives Timothy and the church a warning, vs 14 “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.  Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.”  It’s not clear who Alexander was, whether he lived in Ephesus or Rome.  There is another Alexander mentioned in 1 Timothy 1:20 where Paul says, “Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.”  

It’s possible that this blasphemous Alexander is also Alexander the coppersmith.  If that’s the case, then he was once a part of the church, but he was the cause of much trouble.  So much so, that Paul delivered  him and his companion over to Satan.  That means that God removed his protective mantle from this man and let Satan have his way with him.  If that’s who Alexander was then it’s obvious that he had not died, but was still causing trouble in the church, and Timothy should be on guard against him.

Let me make sure we understand something.  When Satan attacks the church, he is more likely to attack from within than from without the church. Rarely does the government attack the church, or some poilitical institution. But frequently there arises people within the church to sow dissension, strife, controversy, and false doctrine.  And they are not easy to deal with because of their alliances which they make in the church.  But nevertheless, the pastor must rebuke such people who are being used by the devil to make trouble, to be a distraction, to bring in doctrinal confusion.  So Timothy must be on his guard against such people.  And perhaps it’s even necessary to call out such people by name, such as Paul does here.

It’s possible that this Alexander was involved in the trial that Paul had been through. He says, in vs16-18 “At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them.  But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion's mouth.  The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him [be] the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

I don’t think I can safely fill in the blanks of all that is alluded to in this statement, especially regarding the trial and what Paul was charged with and who had brought charges or testified against him.  That’s too much guessing involved.  But look at what we do know.  First Paul used this trial as an opportunity to preach the gospel.  No one supported him in his first defense. The church deserted him in his trial.  But Paul doesn’t hold it against them even as the Lord Jesus did not hold it against the disciples when they deserted Him at His trial.  But most importantly, Paul sees it as a victory because he was able to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. 

And then the other interesting thing Paul says is that the “Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom.”  I think that is a reference to the slander and lies that they said about Paul will one day at the judgment will be revealed as lies, and though Paul may be executed in the body, yet in the spirit he will be rescued and taken to the Lord’s heavenly, or spiritual kingdom.  Death is not defeat for Paul, it is victory.  Because in heaven he will be vindicated and rewarded by the Judge of Heaven and Earth. It’s interesting that in the spiritual kingdom of God, what looks to be defeat on earth actually is victorious in heaven.  It’s a mistake for us to constantly looking for physical victory over trials, over sickness and even death.  In the kingdom of God, taking up your cross is victory.

Speaking of traveling Christians, the greetings he gives to Prisca and Aquila are further evidence that distance meant little to the early Christians. Prisca and Aquila were originally from Rome, they had left there due to anti-Semitism and settled in Corinth where they were converted by Paul.  They eventually traveled with Paul on a missionary journey to Ephesus and he ended up leaving them there.  From there they ministrered to Apollos to whom they expounded the way of God more accurately. When Paul writes from Ephesus to Corinth, he sends greetings from Aquila and Prisca and from the church that is in their house. That’s further evidence that  small house churches were the norm in those days. There weren’t any mega churches in those days.

Then it seems that this couple went back to Rome and had risked their necks for Paul at some point. And now at the time of this writing they are back in Ephesus. He also greets the household of Onesiphorus, which may be a reference to the church in Onesiphorus’s home, and perhaps he is the pastor there. He is mentioned in 1 Timothy for his service to Paul in Rome as well as his service to Ephesus. But the point that can be emphasized is that a godly couple such as Aquila and Prisca and Onesiphorus could have such a major impact on the early church in a variety of geographical locations.

Paul mentions another couple of the men of the church in vs 20, “Erastus remained at Corinth, but Trophimus I left sick at Miletus.” These men were no doubt known by Timothy though they lived in Rome.  Erastus had traveled with Timothy on a previous missionary journey.  One thing that becomes apparent, is that these believers in the early church were missions minded.  Not sending others to be missionaries, but they themselves were constantly engaging the world through missions.  At the very least, we should learn from their examples that we are to be about evangelizing, sharing the gospel wherever we go.  These early believers put us to shame by comparison.

Trophimus  Paul left sick at Miletus.  That’s a very important statement.  First of all, it reveals that it’s not always God’s will that someone is healed of some disease. The name it and claim it crowd among the charismatics don’t want to recognize this.  But Paul was obviously unable to heal Trophimus- he left him sick in Miletus. But that wasn’t due to a lack of faith or a lack of claiming it by Paul, but rather I think it’s indicative of the fact that the apostolic age of miracles was coming to a close. Remember Paul had told Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach problems.  Paul didn’t suggest that Timothy needed to be healed.  Paul himself wasn’t healed of his own thorn in the flesh.  And so I believe that it’s an indication that towards the end of the apostolic age, there was not the miraculous sign gifts being evidenced any more by the apostles.  That was for a particular purpose, at a particular time, in order to show that they were authentic apostles of the Lord Jesus and they spoke His word. Paul said in 2Cor. 12:12 “The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.” But once their apostleship was established, the miraculous gifts began to fade away.  And so we see that with Trophimus.

One last time, Paul urges Timothy to come soon.  Vs 21 “Make every effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, also Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brethren.  The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.”

There really is no biblical references to these people that Paul sends greetings from.  They are mostly Latin names, so it’s probable they were Roman citizens who had been saved during Paul’s ministry there, and had not yet left Rome due to persecution.  

Paul’s final words are to bless Timothy, whom he longs to see, and perhaps never does see again on earth.  He says “The Lord be with your spirit.”  Timothy needed to be strengthened by the Lord in his spirit.  The spirit is the part of our being that has fellowship with the Lord.  And the Spirit of Christ joins with our spirit once we are believers, that we might have life in the Spirit, and be strengthened and taught by the Spirit.  Having been made partakers of the same Spirit, we are brothers and sisters in Christ. 

And that gift of the Spirit is the grace that we are given when we believe in Christ unto salvation.  By the Spirit we are quickened, born again, as a gift of God.  So many Christians today are infatuated with the idea of the gifts of the Spirit as if that will make them able to do miraculous things.  But the greatest gift is the Spirit Himself, by which God does a miracle in us, changing us and transforming us, and giving us the power to do what he has called us to do, which is to love one another and serve the kingdom of heaven through the spread of the gospel.

Jesus called the Holy Spirit  the Spirit of Truth. And He said that the Spirit will lead you and guide you into all truth.  And furthermore He said that when the Spirit comes He will give you power to walk according to the truth.  That is the purpose of the Holy Spirit. He isn’t given to give us goosebumps, to make us dance around erratically in some ecstatic frenzy as if that is evidence of God at work in us.  God is not the author of confusion.  But rather the Spirit is given to teach us the truth, and to empower us to walk in the truth. That’s what the Spirit does, and He is given to us in salvation. Paul simply blesses Timothy to be filled with the Spirit of Christ that he may be bold and courageous to carry out his service to the Lord.

And in like manner, I pray that you will yield to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and make every effort to fulfill your ministry to His church.