“…I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood” Gal1:16
Because Paul was convinced that it is God who called him and
commissioned him to preach the gospel, he did not consider it necessary to
consult with any human leadership or group for counsel. Knowing that the gospel
was more than a collection of information about Christ compiled by people, Paul
didn’t consider it necessary to consult with anybody to ratify what God was
showing him. He knew that he didn’t need a human mediator between him and God
for “there is one mediator between God
and man, the man Christ Jesus” (I Tim. 2:5).
“nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but
I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.” Gal1:17
So Paul explains that he did not go to the original apostles
who had been with Jesus while He was on the earth to seek authentication of the
gospel which he had received from God Himself by revelation. This could be
partly because Paul didn’t regard their apostleship to be superior or primary
to his apostleship. His calling was a divine commissioning from God Himself and
was in no way subordinate to human authority requiring permission or validation
from a human institution or jurisdiction.
Instead, he went away to Arabia, and returned once more to
Damascus. There is no clear information on the exact geographical location of
this Arabia, and there is also very few details about this period in Paul’s
life in the scripture. It is most probable basing on 2Cor11:32-33 and
Acts9:23-25 that Paul went into the area known as the ‘kingdom of the
Nabateans’ which was to the south and east of Syria. From there he went into
Damascus where he was let down in a basket through a window to escape arrest by
the governor of that region who wanted to kill him.
“In Damascus the governor,
under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison,
desiring to arrest me; but I was let down in a basket through a window in the
wall, and escaped from his hands”
Question is why did
Paul instead of going to the apostles in Jerusalem choose to go into Arabia in
a wilderness in a distant land?
Most likely it was to be taught of the Spirit of Christ, and
to listen to God in obedience. He knew that he needed to be prepared by God for
his ministry. This was not the first time such a thing was happening. Moses,
David, John the Baptist and Jesus, had previously been taught of God in the
wilderness after He had called them and revealed His purpose for them.
Paul too needed this preparation time to meditate, reflect and
learn of God so as to renew his mind.
This was especially necessary when we
consider that Paul was a Pharisee and a student of the Old Testament scriptures
and a devout disciple of Judaism (Phil3:4-7). He needed to reorient his
thinking to accept and believe the new reality that all the Old Testament was
fulfilled in Jesus Christ. This was the time for Him to receive this New
Covenant revelation of the Grace of God that would be the basis of all his
ministry for the rest of his life.
“Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and
remained with him fifteen days.” Gal1:18
After being thoroughly taught by Christ Himself in Arabia for
three years concerning his ministry to the Gentiles, Paul now went to Jerusalem
to see and get acquainted with Peter.
It is interesting to note that Paul’s three years of
personal instruction from the risen Lord Jesus in Arabia corresponds very well
with the three years that the original disciples were taught by the physical
Jesus when He was living with them in Palestine.
It is a lesson to us that the ‘historical Jesus’ we read
about in the gospels is not different from the ‘spiritually indwelling Jesus’ who
lives in us today. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Thus Paul’s apostleship is not to be
regarded as inferior to that of the others who were with Jesus in the flesh. And
nor is ours when God calls us.
Another important point for us to note is that Paul
eventually went to Jerusalem as we see in Acts9:26 for a brief visit and spent
only fifteen days there visiting with Peter. That was a very short period. Just
two weeks. It was certainly not sufficient time for Peter to have discipled him
in all there was to know about the gospel. This indeed verifies that Paul did
not receive his gospel understanding from men, but from God.
These false teachers could also have claimed that Paul's
message was different from the one Peter preached. Paul was therefore
reassuring his readers that his message was in harmony with that of Peter and James,
who was the overseer of the Jerusalem church.
“But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's
brother.” Gal1:19
Indeed to further confirm his divine commissioning and to
make it clear that no man sent or commissioned him Paul explains that he “did not see any other of the apostles
except James, the Lord’s brother,” while in Jerusalem.
Paul is not saying that he was independent and alienated
from the other apostles. He is clarifying that he was not dependent upon them
as a disciple, protégé or pupil. He was a disciple of Christ Himself.
“…James, the Lord's brother”
The Roman Catholic church who have always wished to preserve
the perpetual virginity of Mary (and whom they hold in higher regard than they
should), attempt to explain away this scripture by saying that James was a cousin of Jesus, or a step-brother
who was the son of Joseph from a previous marriage. Of course this is a lie
which isn’t backed up by scripture. They just refuse to accept that Mary had
other children.
The idea that Mary remained a virgin for the rest of her life and
ascended into heaven without dying (The Ascension as they call it) is absolute heresy. There is no
biblical proof for either of these allegations. To the contrary, we have
scriptural proof that Mary and Joseph started a family and that Jesus
had younger brothers and sisters.
James was the biological son of Joseph and Mary, the first
male child born of Mary after Jesus. After giving birth to Jesus, Mary and
Joseph later had other children like any other married couple. In fact in Mark6:3
and Matthew13:55-56 all of Jesus’ brothers are named. Verse 56 tells us that he
even had sisters;
Matthew13
54 When He had come to
His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were
astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty
works?
55 Is this not the
carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?
56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these
things?"
These are the same brethren of Jesus who when they heard that
Jesus had begun gathering disciples and preaching came to take Him away saying
that He was crazy;
“And when his family
heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, "He is out of
his mind." Mark3:21ESV
When they arrived where He was, they asked for Him to come
out and go with them and the people told Him that His family was asking for Him
but He refused to come out;
Matthew 12
46 While He was still
talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside,
seeking to speak with Him.
47 Then one said to
Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside,
seeking to speak with You."
48 But he replied to
the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"
49 And stretching out
his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my
brothers!
50 For whoever does
the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
Later, two of His brothers James and Judas believed on Him
as the Messiah and eventually became apostles. They were part of His disciples
(Luke6:16, Acts1:13)
James wrote the book of James and Judas wrote the book of
Jude. Today we know him as the apostle Jude. In his epistle he introduced
himself as the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James. (Jude1:1)
In Luke6:16 and Acts1:13 he is called the brother of James.
In John14:22 he is described as “Judas
(not Iscariot).” The name corresponds with the “Thaddaeus” or “Lebbaeus whose surname was Thaddaeus”
mentioned in Matthew10. Many biblical scholars believe that this Thaddaeus was Judas,
James and Jesus’ brother. However other scholars believe that these two were different
persons. That Thaddeus died during Christ's lifetime, and that Judas was chosen
in his place. There is no scriptural evidence for this however.
Since most of the apostles used to travel and minister in
pairs, James and Peter were a pair and were usually together. Their base was
Jerusalem. That is why when Paul came to see Peter in Jerusalem he also met
James the Lord’s brother.
“(In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!)” Gal1:20
Paul knows how big a deal this is. These Galatians may have
been shocked at the great length to which Paul was willing to go detailing
every move of his and what happened where and when.
Obviously someone was lying to the Galatians. It was either
Paul with his grace gospel or the infiltrating Judaizers who had come in after
him with their legalistic message of works righteousness. So who was it?
He is assuring them that whatever he is saying is true. It’s
like he is taking a legal oath. The one where you swear in front of a judge
that you will tell “the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth, so help me God!” Paul was willing to explain every
place he went and everyone with whom he spoke.
Probably this was in response to accusations by the
infiltrators that Paul was not telling the whole truth about his background and
motives. They could have insinuated that Paul must have initially learned the
gospel from the apostles Peter or James and then decided to deviate from such
acceptable doctrine by becoming a radical heretic who set off on his own
independent mission to the Gentiles without anyone’s backing. They could have
accused him of teaching his own personal interpretation, as well as for being
too liberal and not conforming to tradition.
“Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.” Gal1:21
After assuring his readers that he is telling the truth, he
continues with his narration of the sequence of events that explain his divine
calling and commissioning in Christ. He notes that after his interaction with
the apostles and the Christian brethren in Jerusalem who rejected him
(Acts9:26-30; 22:17-31) he went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
The order of these provinces, may indicate the route he
traveled from Jerusalem, going first through Antioch in Syria, and then to Tarsus,
the capital of Cilicia and settling there for a while. This is interesting to
note because Tarsus is where Paul was born and raised (Acts21:39 and Acts9:11).
Of all places, God chose to take Paul back to the very
beginning to prepare him for his life’s purpose and call. Rejected and pushed
away from the center of Christian activity in Jerusalem, Paul settled in Tarsus
to continue to learn the implications of the revelation of Christ in him.
“And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in
Christ.” Gal1:22
Paul reports that he was unknown by and out of touch with
the mainstream Christianity of his day, having been independently called and
taught by Jesus Christ, the essence of the gospel. He was never a known
disciple or protégé of the apostles nor a celebrity speaker cherished among the
Judean churches around Jerusalem.
It is interesting that Paul refers to these local churches
as being ‘in Christ,’ rather than ‘in
Judaism’. First he is making the point that he is not the only one in the
light, or the only one in the know. The churches in Judea too were in Christ.
Secondly he is showing to the Galatians that the only
acceptable place for them to be as a church is in Christ. Not in some
denomination or religion or belief system or group. Christianity is about
Christ, not about human institutions and groups.
“They only were hearing it said, "He who used to persecute us is
now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." Gal1:23
These people kept hearing that the notorious evil Paul had
been radically changed from a persecutor to a preacher. Skepticism surely abounded
at first. This was unbelievable. That one so thoroughly entrenched and grounded
in Judaism and Old Covenant legalism that he sought to exterminate Christians,
could so radically and so quickly be converted and transformed into a radical Christian.
Moreover a preacher!
And that of all things he was now preaching ‘the faith’, and not some legalistic
belief system that involved dos and don’ts but rather the receptivity of the life
and activity of Jesus Christ in us by faith. This was a remarkable phenomenon.
“And they glorified God because of me.” Gal1:24
Indeed what else can be done when God works in such a mighty
and touching way? To turn your number one enemy and persecutor into your number
one defender and friend is a wonderful thing. The Jewish Christians in Judea who
previously were possibly worrying about Paul coming to drag them away and put
them to death were now hearing that he was one of them. They just praised God
for Paul. The chorus “To God be the glory, for the great things He has done!” was
wholly appropriate.
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