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.
No comments:
Post a Comment