Ep. 11 | Paul Aligning Himself with the Will of God

Speaker: Jesse Turkington

Summary: Paul was a zealot in the sense that he lived out his beliefs fiercely. But what happened when he found out that his beliefs were not based in a living truth?

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Music created by Chad Hoffman
Artwork created by Anthony Kuenzi

Jesse’s Personal Notes:

Galatians 1:10-24

Introduction

Hey guys, welcome to Pickled Parables. My name’s Jesse. 

We are in the exact place where I am most comfortable. Exegetical studies in a book of the Bible. For the life of this podcast, we’ve been dealing with a lot of topics; a lot of topical lessons. But we have finally reached a point where we can bury ourselves into a full study. 

Last week we entered into the beginning of Galatians. It took a lot for us to get in there but now that we’re here we can admire all of the roses and look at all of the pretty things. I’m really excited. 

Today we’re going to pick up our study in Galatians chapter one, verse ten (where we left off from last week). And we’re going to follow the text all the way up to chapter two. 

So let’s get into it!

Review

In the introduction of this letter, Paul sets the groundwork for the defense of his authority and for the defense of his message that he shared with the Galatians.

It appears that there were some people in the churches around Galatia who were attacking Paul’s authority and kind of minimizing his apostolic power. So, if Paul was shown to have little authority then the message that he had shared with them would also have a decreased amount of absoluteness. Like, someone else could come along and add to it and make it better.  

So, Paul defends himself and his message by drenching his words and his rebukes with the very heart of his message. Like, listen to this – 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. (Galatians 1:3-5 ESV)

Along with – 

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another (Gospel), but there are some (people) who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. (Galatians 1:6-7 ESV)

Paul’s words are dripping with the doctrine of the Gospel. That was the message that he shared with the Galatians. So, what he’s doing here is kind of multifaceted. 

1.     He’s reminding them of the gospel that he had shared with them

2.     He’s establishing it as the only gospel 

3.     And, he’s offering correction with it… to the teachings that they had turned to

 Then Paul exercised his authority by saying that if anyone else taught a different gospel, then they should be cursed by God. And man, this is a loaded statement, because Paul is using this pronouncement of a curse as a way to demonstrate his authority and to call out a teaching that we could comfortable assume was being taught. 

The Galatians were struggling with keeping certain Old Testament laws. These laws were important for the Mosaic covenant but they were now superseded by Jesus’ new covenant. And a group of people (who appear to belong to group called the “circumcision party” ((which doesn’t sound much like a party to me)), they were trying to make the Gospel better, if you will, by including certain observances of the law. 

In the Old Testament, there were blessings and cursings attached to the covenantal law. And we can only imagine that this would have been mentioned to the Galatians as a way to promote or instill fear into them so that they follow this better version of the gospel.

So, Paul declares a curse of his own, saying if anyone changes the gospel then they should be accursed.

The next thing he says is in verse 10 – 

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10 ESV)

He also would not have pronounced a curse against the people he’s trying to reach with this letter. 

Galatians 1:11-18

He goes on to say – 

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:11-12 ESV)

Again, like we mentioned last week, notice how Paul called them brothers. This isn’t a biological relationship because, well actually, in the next statement that Paul makes, he talks about his Jewish heritage and the Galatians were from a region in the middle of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) and they had their own culture and heritage. They were not biologically related. 

But Paul calls them brothers because of a Gospel doctrine about how believers are considered brothers and sisters in the family of God. 

This is hinted at when Jesus rose from the dead and said (He was talking with Mary Magdalene) – 

“Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (John 20:17 ESV)

So, theologically speaking, those who have been saved through Jesus have been adopted through Jesus’ sacrificial payment which satisfies God’s righteous wrath towards sin and we are now considered like a legal family member of God. 

So this isn’t a biological relation, this is a spiritual connection, and Paul is using it to reach out to the Galatians. 

I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me (to you) is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:11-12 ESV)

 Paul is referring to the time when Jesus appeared to him while he was persecuting the church. 

For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. (Galatians 1:13 ESV)

Paul was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians but before he arrived, Jesus came to him in His risen form and confronted him saying with his Hebrew name, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? 

Now, Paul was a respected member of the Jewish religious system. If degrees and doctorates were a thing back then, he would have had all of them. He was so invested in the legalism of Judaism. Verse 14 – 

And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. (Galatians 1:14 ESV)

The “traditions of my fathers” is probably a reference to the traditions of the Elders. Which were the oral laws (or the spoken laws) that were made to apply the Mosaic Law and its institutions to new circumstances. 

Jesus actually disregarded these laws during His earthly ministry because He said that they undermined the intent that God had purposed the Law for. 

Jesus said in Mark chapter 7 – 

You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” 

 … “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!  For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God) — then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” (Mark 7:8-13 ESV)

So, Paul was a student under a revered rabbi named Gamaliel and these are things he would have studied. He was a pharisee, a scholar of the Old Testament Law and writings. He was a Hebrew of Hebrews as he once put it. 

Actually, let’s look at what Paul says in another letter about himself. This is what he said about himself in different letter that he wrote to the Philippians – 

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evil-doers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh – though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: (I was) circumcised on the eighth day, (according to the tradition) of my people Israel, (I am) of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrews of Hebrews; as to the law, (I was) a pharisee, as to zeal, (I was) a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, (I was) blameless. 

 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith – that I may know him and share the power of his resurrection, and may share in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:2-11 ESV)

 Paul was a zealot, in the sense that he lived out his beliefs fiercely. He was well educated, studying under a prestigious rabbi. He knew the covenantal law really well. He probably had it memorized. He opposed the church of Christ with an enmity and a violence that was just unparalleled. Nobody taught him the Gospel of Christ but everyone he had learned under had taught him the gospel of man.

Paul was given the Gospel of Christ through a revelation of Jesus. Galatians 1:15 – But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. (Galatians 1:15-17 ESV)

God had purposed this revelation for him before he was even born. 

So, this is Paul’s claim: I was called out from the way I was living my life… by God, who has purposed me before I was even born, to preach Jesus’ Gospel to you. Those of Galatia and other Gentiles. 

And he emphasizes that it was solely God who commissioned him by adding that he didn’t go to the apostles in Jerusalem in order to receive approval from them. Paul says that he ran away into Arabia by himself. 

And after he had time to think through things and meditate, he came back to Damascus and started preaching in the synagogues.

So this was Paul’s defense for his authority: God called me to preach to you and I do not present to you a gospel message made by man because I didn’t receive it from a simple man, I received it from Jesus Himself. I am preaching Jesus’ Gospel. 

And if that is truly the case, then there is no wiggle room for additions to this message.  

Galatians 1:18-24

To really drive that home, Paul then explains the interactions that he did have with the apostles and how they responded to God’s call on his life. Verse 18 – 

Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and (sigh-lease-ee-uh) Cilicia. And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea, that are in Christ. They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God because of me. (Galatians 1:18-24 ESV)

So, three years after Paul’s conversion, he makes his way to Jerusalem where the apostles were. Now, travel was a lot slower in Paul’s time than it is in our time but even for Paul, three years is an excessive amount of time to go from Damascus to Jerusalem. So, it’s clear that this visit was not an immediate priority. 

 And in regard to his emphasis when he said, (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!).

This seems to indicate that there could have been a particular accusation that he was defending himself from. Like maybe, he had gone to the apostles to be approved immediately. 

Again, this is like listening to one side of the conversation, so we’re speculating. But it’s clear he’s giving a thorough defense himself with history that could be verified. 

 Now Paul say’s that he met with Peter – well actually, he called him Cephas which is Aramaic for “stone or rock.” It’s what Jesus named him in John 1:41. And it’s later revealed why Jesus named him that because it says in Matthew:

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter (the Greek translation of Cephas), and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:16-18 ESV)

Now there’s two different opinions and interpretations about this specific passage … about the church being built on a rock, but my purpose in presenting this to you is to show how Peter was considered to be important. Even among the apostles. He was a leading voice among them and had a prominent role in the church leadership. His name really emphasized that. 

Now, to be clear, this metaphor of …like… foundational material was also used of Christ. Jesus was prophesied to be “the cornerstone” in Isaiah. And Paul used this idea in another letter that he wrote to the Ephesians.

So then you (the Ephesians) are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, (notice the symbolic imagery here) built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22 ESV)

The cornerstone was important because from it came a structure. The cornerstone guided the placement of every other stone so that it was all in alignment. 

And Paul is taking this idea of construction and using it to help illustrate the structure of the early church. He said that the household of God was built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus being the cornerstone.  

So, the idea is that the apostles and prophets follow Jesus’ lead as the cornerstone, who guides their teachings and keeps their direction and correction in alignment with God’s will. From the cornerstone comes the foundation which supports the structure. 

Now, I think Paul referred to Peter with his Aramaic name, purposely. Because later, in chapter 2 of this letter, he calls him Peter (which is what he’s typically referred to as). 

Now, Paul’s purpose in using Cephas, the Aramaic word for “rock,” in this moment could be to add emphasis to the apostle’s role of being the foundation of the church following Jesus’ lead as the cornerstone. 

And particularly, in the context of Paul’s defense, he may be noting how Peter (or Cephas) is an important part of that foundation. 

Because remember, Paul introduced himself as an apostle so he is equating himself with these important foundation-makers. 

So he goes and he meets Peter and the Jesus’ brother, James. (notice how there is a distinction given explaining that this is a blood relative. It’s not brother James in the family of God sense; it’s Jesus’ brother James)

Now, James wasn’t an apostle. There was an apostle named James but he’s not this one. But both Peter and this James were important figure heads in the early church. 

So, Paul met with two important people within the church, Peter, a prominent apostle and James, Jesus’ brother. Now, with this information, one could hardly say that Paul went to Jerusalem and had a membership meeting with the apostles. Like, they didn’t hold a council with him and induct him into the apostolic ministry. He didn’t even meet all of them. 

Paul didn’t go to Jerusalem to be commissioned by the apostles to be an apostle. In fact, he started preaching in Jerusalem. He wasn’t there to receive instruction; he was there to offer it. Verse 18 – 

Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!)

Then I went into the regions of Syria and (sigh-lease-ee-uh) Cilicia. And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea, that are in Christ. They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God because of me. (Galatians 1:18-24 ESV) 

Paul’s preaching in Jerusalem got him into some trouble because people who lived there wanted to kill him and so he fled to Caesarea and then went to up Tarsus, which are towns in the regions of Syria and (sigh-lease-ee-uh) Cilicia. He was only Jerusalem for 15 days. The churches in the area didn’t even get a chance to meet him. They just heard about him. And 15 days is not enough time for a crash course in apostolic ministries.  

Paul did not go to Jerusalem for teaching and instruction from the apostles in order to eventually become an apostle. Paul had already been called out by God and given a message to share. Not a message made by man, but a gospel given by Jesus Christ. 

What this means is that Paul’s authority to preach was given to him by God, not by men. And if Paul was preaching a message that God had given him, then there was no wiggle room for making it better.

Conclusion

Next week we’re gonna see how Paul defends the message that he shared with the Galatians. Today’s passage focused a lot on Paul’s defense of himself and that’s important to carry with us into next week’s lesson. 

Paul has established himself with verifiable history that he was an apostle and as an apostle, part of the foundation of the household of God. 

 Paul was sharing a divine message and building up the church into what it has become today. 

So, next week, we’ll enter into chapter two and work our way through verse ten. 

So until then, I’ll catch you later.