Galatians 1:11-24 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.
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[a] 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.
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.
8. So which is right...Paul's gospel or the Judaizers? What do the other apostles say?
Again, we don't have a letter written by the chief Judaizer, but it appears that one of the arguments that Paul had to answer was that he wasn't a "real" apostle and that he made up his own gospel. And, of course, he would make it easier than it really is because he wants people to like him.
From what we know of Paul, do you think he ever really spent a lot of time wondering if people liked him? I really don't think so. People feared him. Feared his reputation. Immediately upon his conversion when he began preaching, people wanted to kill him. He had to be rescued by being lowered over the city wall in a basket.
Here Paul is establishing that his gospel came directly from God, not men. He didn't train with the apostles but immediately set out to learn and preach. And people were saved. The gospel the Judaizers held to: based on the early books but even more so on interpretations made by the teachers of the day. The Jews lived by many rules, determined by interpretation of chruch leaders. Paul's gospel clearly wasn't man-made: there were no lists of rules, and man had very little importance in his own salvation...and idea clearly contrary to what the Judaizers believed.
And later on Paul's going to say...oh, yeah, and that message that the apostles in Jerusalem have and the one that I've been preaching without them...it's the same one...because it comes from the same place: Jesus Christ.
And just to finish up Chapter 1, we can take a look at 2 verses that the Judaizers didn't have. Another reason to celebrate the printing press, right?
Here's what Luke wrote in Acts 26:15-18 about Paul's conversion and Jesus' purpose for Paul:
15"Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?'
" 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 16'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
And later on, we have Peter's confirmation of Paul in 2 Peter 3:15-16 (from the Message translation)
14-16So, my dear friends, since this is what you have to look forward to, do your very best to be found living at your best, in purity and peace. Interpret our Master's patient restraint for what it is: salvation. Our good brother Paul, who was given much wisdom in these matters, refers to this in all his letters, and has written you essentially the same thing. Some things Paul writes are difficult to understand. Irresponsible people who don't know what they are talking about twist them every which way. They do it to the rest of the Scriptures, too, destroying themselves as they do it.
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