Galatians 1

¹Paul, an apostle--sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead-- ²and all the brothers with me,
To the churches in Galatia:
³Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Galatians 1:1-5

Explanation:

Greetings (1:1-5)
One missionary friend always captures my attention by scrawling a special message to me in red ink across the top of his formally typed prayer letter and drawing red arrows to several paragraphs circled in red. The main points of the letter shout out at me. Once I see them, I know what the letter is all about; the rest expands and explains.

Paul grabs our attention in the introduction of his letter to the Galatians by filling the typical formal greetings with two strong emphases: his God-given authority and his Christ-centered message. Once you grasp these points, you have the gist of the whole letter.

God-Given Authority (1:1)

In Paul's day, Greek letters began with a formal salutation: the writer's name, the recipient's name and a greeting. Paul introduces himself as an apostle--sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead. The title apostle designated one who was given authority to represent another. This title was used in the early church in a broad sense to designate missionary leaders (see Acts 14:14). The title was also used in a narrow sense for those who had been given unique authority from Christ to be his representatives and the founders of the church (see Acts 1:21-26). In Galatians 1 Paul claims the title for himself in the narrow sense. He recognizes that there were those who were apostles before him (1:17), but he does not see himself as subordinate to the original apostles. If the original apostles had been the source of his commission or the agents of his commission (as the false teachers in the Galatian church were probably suggesting), then he would have been subordinate to them. But his authority was not derived from a human source or even through a human agency; his authority was directly given to him by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead. Note how this antithesis clearly places Jesus Christ on the side of God (not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ). The risen Lord had directly commissioned Paul. So those who challenged Paul's message were in fact challenging the Lord who had commissioned him.

Have you ever found yourself questioning, challenging or even rejecting any of Paul's statements? Paul's claim to apostolic authority should cause us to reconsider when our own opinions or "the general consensus of scholarly opinion" would lead us to disagree with him. It appears that the Galatian readers were in danger of turning from Paul's message and hence discrediting his authority. From Paul's time to our day, many have pointed to apparent contradictions and "hard sayings" in his letters and scolded him for his errant teachings. But if Paul has apostolic authority by virtue of his direct commission from the risen Christ, then we may not judge him on the basis of our opinions, for he is the apostolic representative of Christ. Our acceptance of Paul's authority should be guided by Jesus' own words to his apostles: "He who receives you receives me" (Mt 10:40).

Paul's affirmation of his divine appointment also encourages us to affirm our own divine appointments. We may not play the role of apostles, but we are given work to do by God's appointment. If we view our work as just another job to do for a difficult boss, we will soon become discouraged. But if by faith we can see that God has given us work to do for him, then we can overcome even the most difficult obstacles. All work is sacred if it has been given to us by God. Paul was able to endure through all the hardships he faced because he was convinced that his work was given to him by God.

Christ-Centered Message (1:2-5)

After Paul introduces himself (v. 1) and identifies his readers (v. 2) in keeping with the conventions of Greek letters in his day, he greets his readers: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you is a combination of the typical Greek and Hebrew forms of greeting. But it is much more than that. These two words sum up the basis and the consequence, the root and the fruit, of the total work of salvation accomplished by God through Jesus Christ. Grace is God's unconditional, unearned acceptance of us accomplished through the love-gift of Christ. The experience of grace by faith results in peace, a sense of harmony and completeness in our relationship with God and with one another. To look for grace and peace from any person, organization or activity in the world is to forget that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are the only source of these blessings.

The mention of the name of Christ sparks a declaration about the work of Christ. In three brief phrases Paul outlines the basic structure of his Christ-centered message. First, Christ gave himself for our sins. The sacrificial, self-giving work of Christ on the cross is the final answer to the problem of all our moral failure and guilt. For that reason the victory over sin accomplished by the cross of Christ is the main theme of this letter (2:20-21; 3:1, 13; 4:4; 5:1, 11, 24; 6:12, 14), which rebukes believers for substituting humanistic solutions for the cross of Christ.

Second, the purpose of the cross is expressed dramatically: to rescue us from the present evil age. Paul had an apocalyptic view of history. The revelation (apocalypse--see 1:12, 16; 3:23) of God in Christ had already intersected and forever changed the nature of human history. The cross of Christ inaugurated God's new created order ("new creation"--6:15) in human history. All who believe in the cross are rescued from the present evil age and included in the "new creation." The present age is controlled by destructive, malignant forces, "the basic principles of the world" (4:3, 9). The works of the law do not offer a way of escape. Only the cross of Christ sets the prisoners (3:23) free.

Think of all the movies depicting heroic efforts to rescue prisoners of war. The terrible risk involved, the danger and sacrifice, the suspense and violence, the final emotional homecoming of the emaciated prisoner with his courageous deliverer--these are all elements of the most dramatic story of all, the story of the cross of Christ. And because this story is true, Christians can now enjoy the freedom of the new creation; we are no longer prisoners or slaves under the tyranny of this present, dehumanizing system. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free" (5:1)!

Third, the plan for the cross is according to the will of our God and Father. The Father planned our rescue. At the right time he sent his Son to accomplish our rescue (4:4-5). And now the Father has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts to let us know that we are no longer slaves, but children of the Father (4:6-7). The accomplishment of the Father's plan in history is the expression of his grace and the basis our peace.

With the wonder of God's amazing grace in full view, it's time to sing a doxology to God (1:5)--to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen!

Galatians 1

No Other Gospel

⁶I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- ⁷which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. ⁸But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! ⁹As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
¹⁰Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Galatians 1:6-10

Explanation:

REBUKE SECTION (1:6--4:11)
True love cares enough to confront.

Better is open rebuke

than hidden love.

Wounds from a friend can be trusted,

but an enemy multiplies kisses. (Prov 27:5-6)

Paul demonstrates true love for his Galatian friends by confronting them. In all of his other letters to churches, Paul follows his introductory greetings with a thanksgiving section ("I thank my God for you . . ."). But in Galatians there is no thanksgiving section. The absence of a thanksgiving indicates how extremely serious the problem in the Galatian churches was from Paul's perspective. Instead of offering a thanksgiving, Paul moves right into a lengthy rebuke. He begins the body of his letter with an expression of rebuke, a statement about the reason for his rebuke (1:6) and a reminder of previous instructions. He restates the rebuke in the form of rebuking questions in 3:1-5 and 4:8-10, which add rebukes for foolishness (3:1-3) and negligence in not following the knowledge they had (4:9). The first rebuke regarding a change of mind in 1:6 is restated in 3:3 and 4:9. An expression of distress in 4:11 communicates Paul's negative reaction to this change of mind. The tone of rebuke pervades the entire section of the letter from 1:6 to 4:12.

We know that this rebuke comes from a heart of love. Paul views his friends with affection as "brothers" (1:11; 3:15; 4:12, 28, 31; 5:11, 13; 6:1, 18) and even as "dear children" for whom, he says, "I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you" (4:19). His rebuke expresses strong, deep love. As a wise pastor, he knows that "the corrections of discipline are the way to life" (Prov 6:23).

A young Chinese pastor recently told me that the overriding concern to "save face" in his culture makes confrontation rare and difficult. I responded that in my Southern California home culture, the limitless tolerance for "doing your own thing" often means that confrontation is viewed as illegitimate, judgmental interference in someone's private affairs. Yet we agreed that when confrontation is necessary in certain circumstances because it best expresses our love for others and our commitment to the gospel, we must dare to rebuke with humility and gentleness (see 6:1), even if such a confrontation is countercultural.



Rebuke for Desertion (1:6-10)
The Galatian believers probably thought they were simply adding a few Jewish customs to the gospel in order to enhance the value of their faith in Christ. But this addition to the gospel actually negated the essence of the gospel. First Paul rebukes the Galatians for their desertion; next he blames the confusion on those who perverted the gospel; and then he pronounces a solemn condemnation of all who tamper with the truth of the gospel.

Desertion from the Gospel (1:6)

Paul's expression of astonishment is actually a stinging rebuke: I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. The present tense of the verb deserting tells us that the Galatian Christians had not yet decisively carried out their desertion. They were just starting to turn around and leave. Paul's letter was designed to arrest them before they had gone too far. The one they were deserting was the one who had called them by the grace of Christ. While this may be read as a reference to Paul himself, similar references to God's call by his grace in Paul's life (1:15) and in the Galatians' experience (5:8) indicate that the reference is to God. Paul is stunned that people who had just recently experienced so much of God's miraculous power by his Spirit in their lives (3:1-5) would now turn away from him. They are turning their backs on God in order to follow a different gospel.

The content of this different gospel will become evident as we read the letter. But it is clear already that this gospel was not God-centered. It was drawing people away from God to focus on themselves. Preoccupation with racial identity, religious observance and ceremonial rituals was robbing them of their experience of God's grace expressed in Christ. The irony and tragedy of the situation was that in their pious pursuit of spiritual perfection (3:3) they were actually turning away from God.

The Galatian tragedy is a warning for us that not every quest for spirituality is in reality a quest for God. The emphasis in our day on "spirituality" and "spiritual formation" may be a way of finding God. But it may also be a way of running and hiding from God. When we are enticed by provocative books on New Age spirituality, we must remember that the Galatian Christians were trapped by a message that promised spiritual perfection but turned them away from God.

Perversion of the Gospel (1:7)

The fascinating, even spellbinding teaching of some people in the Galatian churches had turned the Galatian believers away from the true gospel. Paul boldly asserts that the different gospel which is so attractive to the Galatian Christians is really no gospel at all. It is a perversion of the gospel of Christ, perpetrated by some people who are trying to cause confusion in the Galatian churches.

Probably these people claimed that their message supplemented and completed Paul's message. They would not have viewed their version of the gospel as heretical. After all, they did not deny the deity of Christ, the cross of Christ or the resurrection of Christ. They subtracted nothing from Paul's message. They only added to it.

But Paul does not allow their gospel to stand as a legitimate option. He sets forth a radical antithesis. His gospel cannot be served alongside other gospels, buffet-style. There is only one true gospel of Christ. The rest of his letter defines the true gospel in antithesis to the false gospel, so that the readers will reject the false and embrace the true.

Condemnation of Perverters of the Gospel (1:8-10)

Paul places all advocates of a gospel that differs from his gospel under condemnation. Adherence to the true gospel is the final test of true authority. Even the authority of a messenger from heaven or the authority of Paul himself must be tested by loyalty to the gospel. It is important to note that Paul holds himself accountable to this ultimate measure of authority. His apostolic authority is not arbitrary; it is valid only as long as he is faithful to the true gospel.

In the history of the church we can observe two extremes in the use of authority. Sometimes those who have leadership roles do not exercise their God-given authority; leaderless churches drift into compromise and divide into competing factions. This was the condition of the Corinthian church. But on the other hand, some persons in leadership roles attempt to exercise absolute control over the church and place themselves above any criticism; enslaved churches lack freedom to grow in faith and love. This was the condition of the Galatian churches. The intruders campaigned for the exclusive devotion of the Galatian Christians (4:17).

The extremes of anarchy and tyranny can be avoided in the church only when we implement Paul's combination of authority and accountability. Leaders in the church should lead with authority, because God is the ultimate source for their position; but they should also lead with humility, because God has set the final standard in the truth of the gospel, by which all are judged. Leaders must be held accountable to this final standard by those who are led.

In verse 9 Paul repeats his previous instruction, which eternally condemns anybody for preaching a gospel other than what the Galatian converts had originally accepted from Paul. Paul's double condemnation sounds terribly harsh and severe in our ears. It expresses an absolute intolerance for anyone who differs from his gospel. How can we seek to maintain harmony in a context of religious pluralism, we might respond, except by showing tolerance for all religious alternatives? Doesn't Paul himself argue for a tolerant acceptance of differences in other situations?

We need to understand that Paul was willing to accommodate himself to differences in matters such as what foods to eat or what days to celebrate (Rom 14--15; 1 Cor 8--10), but when the central truth of the gospel was at stake, he drew a clear line and refused to compromise. He was unyielding in his defense of "the truth of the gospel" (2:5, 14), because he wanted to protect the freedom of God's people. Paul did teach that Christians should "live at peace with everyone" (Rom 12:18); but when anyone negated the core of the gospel, especially the significance of the cross, he did not hesitate to forcefully refute that person, as we see here in Galatians and in his other letters (see 2 Cor 11:13-15; Col 2:8). While we should seek to maintain harmony in a context of religious pluralism by showing tolerance and respect for people of other religious persuasions, this should not lead us to compromise in any way the exclusiveness of the true gospel of Christ.

Of course our unwillingness to compromise the truth of the gospel will sometimes make us quite unpopular. In verse 10 Paul recognizes that his double condemnation of all who preach a gospel different from his gospel will certainly not be seen as an attempt to please people. His rhetorical questions call for a negative answer: "No, Paul, you are obviously not trying to win human approval, but God's." Perhaps Paul had been accused of trying to please people by preaching a gospel that did not require Gentiles to follow Jewish customs. But now after pronouncing judgment on all who preach a perversion of his gospel, he considers himself to be cleared of any accusation that his ambition is to please people. Such an ambition would indicate that he was not a true servant of Christ. By his loyalty to the gospel despite opposition, Paul proves his complete submission to the Lordship of Christ. As a faithful servant to Christ, he is a rebuke to the Galatian believers who are so quickly deserting the One who called them and turning to a different gospel (1:6).

True servants of Christ will not win popularity contests with people who "gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear" (2 Tim 4:3). But even when they are unpopular, true servants of Christ are marked by unswerving loyalty to Christ. We can still hear the clear gospel message today because courageous men and women suffered greatly for their uncompromising defense of it in years past. They resisted immense pressure to renounce their faith in Christ, and they boldly declared, as Martin Luther did, "Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me."

Galatians 1

Paul Called by God

¹¹I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. ¹²I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:11-12

Explanation:

Paul's Autobiography (1:11--2:21)
At this point Paul turns from his rebuke for desertion to an autobiographical account. By clearly setting forth the story of his own loyalty to the gospel, Paul intensifies his rebuke for disloyalty. In contrast to the Galatian believers who turned from the gospel of Christ to follow Jewish customs, Paul tells how he was converted from Judaism and commissioned by God to preach the gospel of Christ and how he was faithful to his commission. His life stands as an eloquent witness to the truth of the gospel.

His autobiography begins with a thesis statement about the origin of the gospel, recounts his conversion and call, describes his first visit with Peter in Jerusalem and the conference with the apostles in Jerusalem, recalls his conflict with Peter in Antioch, and concludes with a personal affirmation of his commitment to live by the gospel.



Thesis Statement (1:11-12)
You might expect that after Paul rebuked the Galatians for desertion he would challenge them to recommit themselves to Christ. Eventually he does command them to "stand firm" (5:1). But before he challenges them, he prepares the way for his imperatives by telling his own story. He does not call for his readers to do anything that he has not done himself. He does not simply point to the way; he has lived out the way of faithfulness to the gospel of Christ. We might do well to learn from Paul that the best way to challenge others to live for Christ is by our own example.

The key to understanding Paul's life story is his encounter with Christ. Paul gives us that key right at the beginning of his autobiography. He wants his dear brothers and sisters to know that the gospel he preached was not made up by human beings, received from human beings or taught to him by human beings; rather, it was received by revelation from Jesus Christ. Note how the not . . . nor . . . rather structure of this claim is parallel to the structure of his affirmation of his apostolic authority in verse 1. Just as he vigorously denied any human origin of his apostleship, so now he denies any human origin for the gospel he preached.

Perhaps these strong denials are Paul's refutation of accusations that he got his message secondhand from the original apostles. Perhaps the troublemakers in the Galatian churches were suggesting that they had a more complete version of the gospel from the original apostles and that the gospel Paul had preached was abbreviated or truncated. But we have little clear evidence to support any theory about the teaching of Paul's opponents. Whatever may have been said about him or his message, Paul wants to make sure that everyone will clearly understand the gospel he preaches. So he affirms in the strongest terms possible that the essential nature of the gospel is God-made, not man-made, because the origin of the gospel he preaches is the revelation from Jesus Christ, not human tradition. The rest of his autobiographical account is constructed to support his claim for the revelatory origin and nature of the gospel.

Before we continue our study of Paul's autobiography, however, we must address a question that is raised by his claim in this passage that he did not receive the gospel from any human being. This claim seems to be contradicted by his assertion in 1 Corinthians that he had received the gospel from others (1 Cor 15:3-11: "For what I received I passed on to you"). It is helpful to understand the different contexts for these statements. The Corinthians were in danger of subtracting from the central content of the gospel by denying the resurrection of Christ. They were probably influenced by Hellenistic philosophy, which affirmed the immortality of the soul but denied the resurrection of the body. In that context Paul emphasized that from the very beginning of the gospel tradition everyone agreed that the bodily resurrection of Christ was central to the gospel. Paul's gospel did not differ from the early Christian tradition in its basic content. Thus he was eager to affirm that the gospel he had passed on to the Corinthian church was the same as he himself had received from the early church.

The Galatians, however, were in danger of adding to the central content of the gospel by requiring Gentile Christians to maintain a Jewish lifestyle. They may have been influenced by the law-observant Jerusalem church. In this context Paul could not appeal to early church tradition or practice for support. But he could and did appeal to his revelatory encounter with the risen Christ when he was commissioned to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. His mission to the Gentiles was part of his gospel; it was a gospel for Gentiles. Paul understood his Gentile mission to imply that Gentiles would be justified by faith in Christ apart from observance of the Mosaic law. So when he claims that his gospel was not received from any human being (1:12), his focus is not so much the central facts of the gospel as it is the meaning of those facts for Gentiles which was given to him by revelation from Jesus Christ. In fact, as we see in the rest of his autobiography, it is the gospel for Gentiles that is Paul's primary concern.

We may illustrate Paul's unique understanding of the gospel in the light of his Gentile mission by recognizing that every Christian is uniquely gifted by God for a special mission in life. This does not mean that every Christian can claim to have received special revelation as Paul did. But because each Christian is uniquely gifted by the Spirit and called to serve God in some special way, each Christian has a very personal understanding of the gospel message. For example, as I have attempted to contextualize the gospel for the Chinese people in Singapore, where I teach, I have developed a fresh understanding of the meaning of the gospel for Singaporeans: Buddhism's aim to set us free from destructive desires and Confucianism's aim to achieve harmony in our families are both fulfilled when Christ rules in our hearts and homes. All true Christians agree on the basic content of the gospel as Paul defines it in 1 Corinthians 15:3-11, but each Christian sees the gospel in a unique way through the lens of his or her distinctive God-given mission in life.

Galatians 1

¹³For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. ¹⁴I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. ¹⁵But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased ¹⁶to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, ¹⁷nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.

Galatians 1:13-17

Explanation:

Conversion and Call (1:13-17)
The best evidence for Paul's claim to have received his gospel by revelation from Jesus Christ is his conversion. The dramatic change in his life demands some explanation. How could such a fanatical opponent of the followers of Christ become such a devoted preacher of the gospel of Christ? Paul explains that the cause of such a radical change was God's gracious revelation of his Son to him. To appreciate the impact of God's intervention in Paul's life we need to look more closely at three pictures Paul gives of himself: (1) the picture of himself before his conversion; (2) the picture of his encounter with Christ; (3) the picture of himself after God called him.

1. Paul reviews the record of his pre-Christian life in order to show the wonder of God's grace. Twice he refers to his past as his life in Judaism. Although he never ceased to identify himself as a Jew ("I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin"--Rom 11:1), he only used in Judaism as a way of describing his life before he became a new creation "in Christ." The term Judaism was used in Jewish literature for "the Jewish way of belief and life" as contrasted to the way of life in Hellenism. In other words, the distinctive Jewish beliefs and customs which established the boundaries between the Jewish people and the rest of the Hellenistic world were of supreme importance to Paul before his conversion, but they were of no importance after his conversion. Jewish identity markers such as circumcision, kosher food and Sabbath observance were Paul's primary concern before his conversion; but they were no longer significant for Paul after he found his new identity in Christ. As he declares at the end of his letter: "Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation" (6:15).

The contrast between Paul and the Galatian believers stands out in bold relief here. As a Jew, he had turned from his preoccupation with the distinctive Jewish way of life to serve the risen Christ; as Gentiles, they were turning from their focus on Christ to a preoccupation with the distinctive Jewish way of life. No wonder Paul calls them "foolish Galatians" (3:1).

Paul draws attention to two characteristics of his previous way of life in Judaism: his intense persecution of the church (1:13) and his zealous devotion to Jewish traditions (1:14). The two are connected. The message of the church, that a crucified Messiah provides salvation for all, contradicted the traditions of Judaism. Certainly a Messiah on a Roman cross contradicted the Jewish expectation of a Messiah on David's throne. And Jews believed that salvation was to be found only in the law-observant Jewish nation. No wonder then that Paul's zeal for the Jewish traditions made him a fanatical persecutor of the church.

This description of his former life has direct application in the development of his argument. The Galatian believers' preoccupation with Judaism is challenged by this alarming picture of the consequences of devotion to Judaism in his own life. And his point that the gospel he received was not from human beings but by revelation from Jesus Christ is confirmed by this picture of a fanatic who was so opposed to the gospel that no one could have changed his mind except God himself.

2. In his description of his former life, Paul himself is the subject of all the verbs: I persecuted . . . tried to destroy . . . I was advancing . . . and was extremely zealous. In contrast to Paul's ego-centered former life, God himself is the central subject in Paul's conversion. God is the subject of all the verbs: God, who set me apart . . . called . . . was pleased to reveal. God abruptly interrupted Paul's life and turned him around.

As we study Paul's account of his conversion, we can observe four dimensions of God's work in conversion. Of course, Paul's experience of conversion was unique and cannot be used as a model for all to follow. God works in unique ways with each individual. But Paul's account does shed light on the nature of God's gracious work in conversion.

First, God's choice precedes conversion. Like the prophets, Paul sees himself as set apart by God from his birth for his prophetic role (see Is 49:1 and Jer 1:4-5). Although he recognizes that his former life was lived in opposition to God's will, he still claims that his entire life is part of the sovereign plan of God. We may not be able to explain this apparent contradiction, but we can learn from Paul that the sovereignty of God is never an excuse for rebellion against God; it is a basis for trust in God's wisdom and love. As an old hymn puts it, "We'll praise Him for all that is past / And trust Him for all that's to come."

Second, God's decision to set Paul apart from birth led to the life-transforming event of God's gracious call. The two parallel phrases (set me apart . . . called me) teach us that conversion is based on God's loving initiative. Before Paul was born, God chose him. While Paul was trying to destroy the people of God, God called him. That is the meaning of grace: undeserved love. "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!"

Third, God's gracious call led to revelation: God was pleased to reveal his Son in me. The inwardness of God's revelation stressed here by the phrase in me should not be taken as a contradiction of Paul's claims elsewhere to have seen the risen Christ (1 Cor 9:1; 15:8; see also Acts 9:1-19; 22:3-16; 26:12-18). Paul strongly affirmed the external, objective nature of his encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road. But in that encounter, Paul says, God "made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Cor 4:6). God's revelation of his Son in Paul illuminated his mind and heart so that he saw and knew Jesus to be the Son of God. Paul's exclamation "Christ lives in me" (2:20) expresses the lasting result of this inward encounter with the living Christ. The danger of substituting external observance of the law for this intimate relationship with Christ is the central burden of Paul's message to the Galatian believers. His lengthy arguments lead to this point: "God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts" (4:6). His severe warnings alert them to this danger: "You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ" (5:4).

Fourth, Paul says that revelation was given so that I might preach him among the Gentiles (1:16). Paul's conversion included his commission to preach the gospel. He did not have a two-stage experience: first conversion, sometime later a commission to preach. His mission to the Gentiles was given to him in the initial experience of conversion. Christ met him on the road to Damascus in order to send him on his mission to the world. As a result Paul interpreted the gospel itself in the light of his mission to the Gentiles. He called his gospel "the gospel to the Gentiles" (2:7).

God's revelation of his Son is a personal, inward experience of the heart, but it was not meant to be kept private. The purpose of revelation is evangelism. The fruit of true conversion is mission. Evangelism is not some optional extra, an elective course that may or may not be taken. It is the inevitable result of real conversion. There is a centrifugal force released in the experience of conversion which compels the truly converted to participate in God's mission to the world. Too often in testimonies the only results of conversion we hear about are the personal benefits: my peace, my fulfillment, my freedom. But we learn from Paul that God's primary purpose for our conversion is to send us out into the world with the good news about Christ. Our involvement in God's mission in the world is the best testimony to God's gracious work of conversion in our lives.

3. The conclusion of Paul's conversion story is that after his conversion he did not consult any man. The phrase any man in the NIV is a paraphrase for "flesh and blood." When Peter affirmed that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood [by man--NIV], but by my Father in heaven" (Mt 16:17). Now Paul claims that the same thing is true for his revelation from God.

We can catch the flow of his argument so far by summarizing it this way. The thesis that I did not receive the gospel from any human being but by revelation from Jesus Christ (1:11-12) is demonstrated by the following facts: I was opposed to the church before my conversion (vv. 13-14); in my conversion, God himself revealed his Son in me; and I did not consult with the church after my conversion (vv. 15-17). Paul's argument is designed to show that he is not dependent on or subordinate to any other church leaders for his authority to preach his gospel to the Gentiles. His authority is derived from the gospel that had been revealed to him by God. Therefore when the Galatians turn away from the gospel preached by Paul, they are turning away from God.

Paul is especially concerned to prove that he was not dependent on the original apostles in Jerusalem. He denies that he visited them immediately after his conversion (v. 17). Perhaps Paul is responding here to an accusation that his failure to require circumcision was a departure from the true gospel that he had been commissioned to preach by the original apostles in Jerusalem. It's difficult to know what accusations, if any, Paul is responding to in this part of his argument. But we can be sure that whether Paul is on the defensive or on the offensive, he is determined to prove that his gospel was given by divine revelation, not human tradition, and that his commission to preach this gospel to the Gentiles was part of that divine revelation. He did not receive his commission from the original apostles. While he recognizes the original apostles' priority in time, he adamantly denies that they or their messengers have any authority to change his gospel to the Gentiles, since they are not the source of that gospel--God is.

Instead of visiting the original apostles in Jerusalem after his conversion, Paul went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus (v. 17). It seems clear from the context that Paul is setting up a contrast between going to Jerusalem to receive teaching from the apostles and going to Arabia. Does this contrast imply that during his time in Arabia he received teaching from the Lord? Many commentators have thought so, and it seems a reasonable inference to draw from the context. But we must admit that Paul does not disclose what happened during the time in Arabia. Those were hidden years, at least hidden from any public, historical record.

In our day, when celebrities are converted, the religious media rush to publicize their conversions for the widest possible audience. Put them on TV; feature them in prime-time talk shows. But this immediate publicity can be dangerous to the spiritual health of new converts. Under the harsh, glaring lights of the media they have no space to think through the implications of their new faith, to work through their inconsistencies and to listen to the Lord. They sometimes feel used and abused. They need time, as we all do, to be hidden from the public eye in order to grow and deepen in their faith. Hidden years seem to be part of God's plan for his servants. Moses spent forty years in the desert before his day of fame in Pharaoh's court.

Galatians 1

¹⁸Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. ¹⁹I saw none of the other apostles--only James, the Lord's brother. ²⁰I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. ²¹Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. ²²I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. ²³They only heard the report: "The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." ²⁴And they praised God because of me.

Galatians 1:18-24

Explanation:

Paul's First Visit with Peter in Jerusalem (1:18-24)
After establishing that he was totally independent from the apostles in his conversion experience, Paul now provides a sworn testimony regarding his first encounter with the apostles. His purpose in this account is to demonstrate that his gospel to the Gentiles came not from church tradition but from God, and that he was faithful to this gospel.

Paul is careful to number his years and even count his days: three years after his conversion he spent only fifteen days with Peter. The contrast he draws between the comparatively long time apart from any contact with the apostles and the brief time with Peter highlights his independence. His message must have already been formulated by the end of those three years between his conversion and his first encounter with Peter. And such a short visit with Peter did not alter his course. The purpose of his visit was not to be taught by Peter or to come under Peter's authority, but to get acquainted with Peter (v. 18). Of course they would not have wasted time on small talk. No doubt their conversation during those two weeks centered on Christ and the ministry of the church. Paul would have been deeply interested in Peter's accounts of Jesus' life and ministry. And his concern for the unity of the church would have compelled him to build a good relationship with Peter. But these understandable interests and concerns do not provide a basis for portraying Paul as a disciple or subordinate of Peter. It is just such a portrayal that Paul's account is designed to refute.

In Paul's record of appointments for that two-week visit, he insists that James, the Lord's brother, was the only other apostle he saw (v. 19). From Paul's references to James in chapter 2 (vv. 9, 12) we know that James had a prominent role in the Jerusalem church. According to Acts, James became the most influential leader in that church. It is not surprising, therefore, that Paul would have had some contact with him. What transpired during that visit Paul does not tell us. But we can be sure from his argument so far that Paul did not report to James as if James were the president of his mission to the Gentiles. While Paul was working for harmony in the church, he was working under a direct commission from God.

Paul confirms the complete reliability of his account so far with a legal oath (1:20). Under Roman law, an oath was used outside of court to indicate that one would be willing to resolve an issue in the courts. But why did Paul think it was necessary to take an oath to defend the veracity of his report? It seems reasonable to suppose that Paul took this oath because he was contradicting a false report of his part in the mission of the church, a report claiming that he had received his gospel and his authority to preach the gospel from the apostles in Jerusalem. Such a report may have been circulated in the churches in Galatia by those who were persuading the Gentile believers to live like Jews since that was the way of believers in the mother church in Jerusalem. If Paul was merely a messenger for that church, then an appeal to the example of that church was more authoritative than Paul's message. Of course these are simply speculations. But if Paul is right that "some false brothers had infiltrated" the church and opposed him (2:4), it is probably also true that false reports had been circulated about him.

It is common, even expected, that public leaders in the church must respond to false reports about their ministry. The best answer to false reports is the truth--absolutely no lies. Not only is personal integrity at stake. The truth of the gospel is also at stake. And it can be defended only by unvarnished truthfulness.

Paul wraps up the record of his first visit to Jerusalem with a further denial of any personal involvement with the church of Jerusalem. Since he went to Syria and Cilicia after his first visit (1:21), he was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ (v. 22). And since Paul was not within the orbit of the Jerusalem church, he was not under the supervision of the Jerusalem apostles.

What Paul did during his time in Syria and Cilicia between his first encounter with the apostles in Jerusalem (vv. 18-19) and his participation in the Jerusalem conference (2:1-10) is clearly stated in his quotation of the report circulated about him in the Judean churches: The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy (1:23). Preaching is actually a translation of "evangelizing." Paul was fully engaged in the work of evangelism. And the content of his message was the faith, a shorthand summary for the gospel of Christ.

The power of the gospel had transformed Paul from a persecutor of believers to a preacher of the faith. The light of the gospel that he had tried to snuff out had penetrated and illuminated his heart and was now shining brightly through his life and preaching. That was the report heard about Paul in the churches of Judea. What a contrast to the false, negative reports about Paul that were being circulated in the churches of Galatia.

In contrast to the Galatian churches, which were turning away from the gospel preached by Paul, the churches in Judea had praised God because Paul was preaching the gospel (v. 24). Although Paul had obviously not learned his gospel from the Judean churches, as he sufficiently demonstrates in the course of his argument, those churches recognized that the gospel Paul preached was the faith, the gospel they believed. When they measured Paul the preacher by the message he preached (just as Paul says every preacher should be measured--vv. 8-9) and found that he was faithful to the true gospel, they gave thanks to God.

The enthusiastic response of the Judean churches to Paul's gospel is certainly a rebuke to the present attitude of the Galatian churches. If only they would learn from the example of the Judean churches and evaluate preachers on the basis of their faithfulness to the true gospel, they would no longer be mesmerized by the troublemakers who had caused such confusion by their perversion of the gospel.

Paul really turns the tables on those troublemakers. They had apparently appealed to the practice of the Jerusalem church and the Judean churches to persuade the Galatian churches to adopt the Jewish way of life. But now Paul appeals to the example of the same churches. They had praised God when they heard the report that Paul now preached the gospel, the same gospel that had changed his life and theirs. Their example still stands as a challenge to churches today. Praising God when we hear that his faithful servants are preaching the gospel will keep our focus on the right thing: God's gracious work through the power of the gospel.