Galatians 1:13-24:  “Paul Tells The Story Of His Apostleship And Receiving The Gospel He Preached:  Part 1”

                                                                        By

Jim Bomkamp

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1.                  In our last study, we looked at the introduction to the book of Galatians, and then studied through verse 12 of chapter 1.

 

1.1.            We saw that this book was written not to one church, but to the churches in a certain area, that of Galatia.

 

1.2.            We saw that the people that made up this region of the world were Celtics, and as such they were a people who were very warlike and valued pomp and circumstance.  Plus, they tended to be a very fickle people given to change.  Because of all of these things, these people were easily persuaded to turn away from the simplicity of the salvation through the grace of Christ, to the message that the Judaisers were bringing, namely, that in addition to faith in Christ a person had to keep the rites and rituals of Judaism if they wanted to be saved.

 

1.3.            We saw also that thousands of Jews had been relocated by previous rulers to live in this area of Galatia, and that just as tended to happen in most of the churches in that first generation of the church, the leadership of the churches in Galatia was probably made up of Jewish converts.  The gospel went to the Jews first and when a Jew converted to Christianity he tended to grow spiritually very quickly because he already had a foundation from his Judaism for his Christian life.  He already knew and lived by the scriptures, and he knew much about the nature and ways of God.  But, with these leaders having come from Judaism, they often tended to remain in Judaism, or go back to Judaism.  It was the Jewish leaders of these churches in Galatia who were disturbing them and trying to get the people to practice Judaism in addition to Christianity.

 

1.4.            We saw that Paul was astonished that the churches in Galatia had so quickly turned away from what they had been taught and grown to understand about salvation being by faith in Christ alone plus nothing.  We saw that as a result that he was very direct in his letter to the Galatians.  In this letter he went from a simple greeting and mentioning how that Jesus had died for our sins and risen from the dead, to confronting the church about their departing from the faith.

 

1.5.            We saw that Paul told the church that even if he (and those with him) or even an angel from heaven, were to preach a different gospel, that that person was to be accursed, that is separated from God for all eternity in hell.  From this we saw that Paul did not tolerate false teachers who were leading people astray from the only way that they can receive salvation.

 

1.6.            Paul then sought to establish his authority for the people in the church so that they would accept this letter as authoritarian, and he began this by discussing the fact that he had not received the gospel from man, nor was he taught it by man.  He had received the gospel directly from Jesus Christ, and that was the authority by which he taught them.

 

2.                  In this study, we are going to look at verses 13-24 of chapter 1.

 

2.1.            This is the first part of two studies in which we will look at the life of Paul and how he establishes his authority for the Galatians by telling them about his life before his conversion, as he was a Pharisee of Pharisees, and showed his zeal by persecuting the church.  Then, he will begin to speak of his life afterward when he had met Christ upon the road to Damascus and been called by Him as the apostle to the Gentiles. 

 

2.2.            Paul will likewise begin to talk about where he went and what he did how after he met Christ, specifically being clear that it was not through the apostles that he learned or was taught the gospel, but rather he received by direct revelation from Christ as he was in the desert of Arabia for three years right after coming to salvation.

 

2.3.            It is impossible to over-emphasize the importance and centrality of the apostle Paul in the establishment, theology, practice, and spread of Christianity.  It might be said that he has been more influential in the direction and formation of the early church than not only any other apostle, but possibly all of the rest of the 12 apostles put together.  At an internet website (http://www.ebenezeroldhill.org.uk/articles/paul.pdf), I found these quotes about the apostle Paul:

 

Monod describes him as;

‘Apart from our Saviour… the greatest benefactor of the human race’.

 

Professor F. F. Bruce describes him as;

‘Paul is one of the most significant figures in the history of civilization’.

 

Another describes him as;

‘One of the most profoundly significant men that ever lived.’

 

Another as;

‘One of the outstanding makers of the history of mankind.’

 

James Denney describes him;

‘He is the most important figure in Christian history. He did more than any of the apostles to win the Christian religion its place in the life of the world, and he has done more than any of them in always winning back that place again when it seemed in danger of being lost. Evangelical revival in personalities so powerful as Luther, Wesley and Chalmers has always been kindled afresh at the flame which burns inextinguishable in his testimony to Christ.’

 

Karl Barth speaks of him as one who;

‘Veritably speaks to all men of every age.’

 

Anthony C. Dean, Canon of Windsor in his St Paul His Life and Letters, comments;

‘The influence of Paul the Apostle upon the history of mankind probably exceeded that of any other individual in any age. At the time of his conversion, Christianity was a nameless creed, accepted only by a small and inconspicuous group within the Jewish church. By the time of his martyrdom, some 30 years later, it had become a world religion, embodied in an independent organization. In this form it was destined to change the whole outlook on life of its adherents, to revolutionize their moral code, to influence every social institution and to reshape every political system. The consequences of this transformation have endured for 2000 years.’

 

Gerhardus Voss says of Paul's writings reveal;

‘The genius of the greatest constructive mind ever at work on the data of Christianity.’

 

James D. G. Dunn, referring to claims that Paul is the greatest theologian of all times affirms;

‘Paul’s status within the New Testament Canon in itself gives Paul's theological writings the pre-eminence which overshadows all the Christian theologians who followed.’

 

The Theology of Paul the Apostle p 2

‘Paul’s status within the New Testament Canon in itself gives Paul's theological writings the pre-eminence which overshadows all the Christian theologians who followed.’

 

The Theology of Paul the Apostle p 2

 

James Stalker says that it is hard to find men of such intellectual capacity combined with the practical and organizational abilities of Paul. He continues;

‘He was not only the greatest thinker, but also the very finest worker the church ever possessed.’

We might say that Paul's great calling was to explain the meaning of the cross.

‘There was one great subject especially which Christ had to leave un-explained i.e.. His own death. He could not fully explain it before it had taken place. This became the leading topic of Paul’s thinking…. To show why it was needed and what were it blessed results.’

 

The Life of St Paul p 15

Stalker then gives us this description of Paul's character;

‘There never was such singleness of eye and wholeness of heart. There never was such superhuman and untiring energy. There never was such an accumulation of difficulties victoriously faced and of sufferings cheerfully borne for any cause. In him Jesus Christ went forth to evangelize the world, making use of his hands and feet, his tongue and brain and heart, for doing the work which in his bodily presence he had not been permitted by the limits of his mission to accomplish.’

 

2.4.            Paul’s birth name was “Saul,” and this name means “desired or desired one.”  And the name given to him of “Paul” was more appropriate with a Gentile audience, and means “small or little one.”  Acts 13:9 tells us that Paul had the two names but it doesn’t tell us how he got them, it simply says, “…and Saul who was also known as Paul.”

 

2.5.            Paul was born in Tarsus of Cilicia, in the south east of Asia Minor (now Turkey), of the tribe of Benjamin.  His family had located in this area either through the dispersion of the Jews of the northern kingdom when they were taken captive by Assyria (around 721 BC), or more likely from the captivity of the Jews of the southern kingdom of Judea when they were taken to Babylon in 587 BC.  His mother was a Jew and his father a Roman.  His upbringing was perfect for one who would be called to be the apostle to the Gentiles in the preaching of the gospel.  His Jewish upbringing enabled him to be educated with the best of teachers, Gamaliel of Jerusalem, and also be able to advance in Judaism along with the most elite of leaders.  But, his Roman background and citizenship, plus being raised in a Roman province, helped him to be able to relate to the mentality and thinking of the Gentiles with their Roman and Greek influences. 

 

2.6.            In, “Lessons from the Early Life and Preparation of the Apostle Paul,” it says, “We must never represent God's choice of Saul for the task to which he called him as God having been reduced to look around, somewhat helplessly, for the best man to do a specific job he had in mind. If God wanted a man to do the particular job that Paul did and to write the specific letters that Paul wrote, he prepared a Paul throughout his early life to be that particular man. Paul himself realized this [God] set me apart from birth [for this task] Gal 1:15 see also Isaiah 49:1-2; Jer 1: 5; Luke 1:13 -17.  In the same way God is even now preparing and equipping certain men and women, unknown to them, to accomplish great works for him.”

 

2.7.            G. G. Findlay Hastings wrote in his, “Dictionary of the Bible, about Paul’s Jewish background, “Paul's Jewish religion and moral background obviously played a most significant and vital part in the work he was called to do as a Christian. His experiences a citizen of Tarsus, and as a Roman all played an important part, but his Jewish heritage and training was indispensable. It is said that the New Testament is concealed in the Old Testament, and the Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament. The Old Testament is the prophecy and the New Testament is the fulfillment.  God raised up Paul, a man saturated in the teaching of the Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament and a man who was uniquely able to see and grasp and explain the significance of its fulfillment in Christ. Particularly the meaning of the cross, in the light of the Old Testament sacrifices and the ritual of the Tabernacle.  His Jewish background and rabbinical teaching enabled him to fulfill his destiny as the master theologian of the Christian age. It also enabled him to become under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit the principal writer of the New Testament. 14 epistles are attributed to his name.’

 

2.8.            The events of the apostle Paul’s life:

 

Possible timeline for events of the apostle Paul’s life:

 

2BC – Paul was probably born in Tarsus of Cilicia around this date (same date as our Lord), and of the tribe of Benjamin.  Mother was a Jew, father a Roman

11AD – Paul was sent to Jerusalem around the age of 13 to learn in the schools there, specifically under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3), the most respected teacher.—Easton’s

AD 34  - Paul was in Jerusalem and voted for and participated in the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:54-8:1)

AD 34 - Paul began to persecute the church to the death going door to door (Acts 8:2-3).

AD 35-Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus  (Acts 9:1-19).

AD 35-Paul initially went and began to preach the gospel in Damascus, but then had to flee the city for his life, going down the wall in a basket (Acts 9:20-25).

AD 35-Paul went to the deserts of Arabia where he is silent for 3 years and is taught the gospel message to preach by Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:17).

AD 38-Paul went back to Damascus (Gal. 1:17).

AD 38-Paul took a quick trip to Jerusalem (15 days) and met Peter and James, the Lord’s brother, (Acts 9:26; Gal. 1:18-19), but again he had to flee for his life (Acts 9:28, 29).

AD 38-Paul went back to his home town of Tarsus where he is silent for 6 years (Acts 9:30; Gal. 1:21).

AD 44-Barnabas went to Tarsus to find Paul and then brought him to Antioch (Acts 11:25).

AD 45-Paul sets out from Antioch on 1st missionary journey (Acts 13:2-3).

AD 50-Paul and Barnabas go to Jerusalem to meet with the apostles to determine if the Gentiles need to keep the law (Acts 15:1).

AD 51-Paul takes Silas and goes on 2nd missionary journey (Acts 16:6) to visit churches they had planted.

AD 51- While at Corinth Paul wrote the two letters to the Thessalonians.

AD 54- Paul began his 3rd missionary journey.

AD 55- Before Paul’s exit from Ephesus, he wrote his first letter to the Corinthians.

AD 57- While in Macedonia, Paul wrote his second letter to the Corinthians.

AD 57 - While in Corinth, Paul wrote his epistle to the Galatians.

AD 58 - While still in Corinth, Paul wrote his epistle to the Romans.

AD 58 – Paul goes to Jerusalem and is almost murdered.

AD 58 – Paul is taken to Caesarea and incarcerated when a plot to murder him was discovered.

AD 58 – Paul wrote the epistle to the Colossians (or AD 62 when incarcerated in Rome).

AD 58 – Paul wrote the epistle to the Philippians (or AD 62 when incarcerated in Rome).

AD 58 – Paul wrote the epistle to Philemon (or AD 62 when incarcerated in Rome).

AD 60 – When Paul was tried before Porcius Festus, he appealed to Ceasar and was sent off to Rome (Acts 25:11).

AD 61 – After a perilous journey at sea that included shipwreck, Paul made it to Rome.

AD 62 – Paul wrote the epistle to the Ephesians.

AD 63 - Paul wrote the epistle to the Hebrews.

AD 63 - Paul was released and probably visited western and eastern Europe and Asia Minor.

AD  63- Paul wrote his First Epistle to Timothy.

AD  63 - Paul wrote his Epistle to Titus.

AD 64  - Rome burned with fire and Nero blamed it on the Christians, and as a result Paul was again incarcerated in Rome.

AD 65 - Paul wrote his second epistle to Timothy.

AD 66 - Paul was martyred by Nero (tradition has it that he was beheaded).

 

3.                  VS 1:13-14  - “13 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; 14 and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.” –  Paul begins to tell the Galatians of his life in Judaism before he had come to Christ, telling them about how that he used to persecute the Christian church and even tried to destroy it, and, he was advancing in Judaism beyond many of his contemporaries

 

3.1.            Saul was involved in persecution of believers, including putting them to death, as we see from a couple of places

 

3.1.1.      Acts 22:4:  “4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons.” 

 

3.1.2.      Acts 8:1:  “1 Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.”

 

3.2.            Paul was perhaps very close to being the next high priest in Jerusalem.  He had the best education, and ‘was advancing in Judaism’ at every opportunity, and even showing his zealousness by persecuting the church and being the forerunner in stamping out Christianity for good.  He had thoroughly studied the scriptures and had a scholars understanding of them.

 

4.                  VS 1:15-17  - “15 But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, 17 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.” – Paul tells the Galatians that when God who called him and set him apart from his mother’s womb called him though His grace, that he might preach the gospel to the Gentiles, he did not go immediately and consult with people (flesh and blood) nor did he go to Jerusalem to the apostles, but he went away to Arabia, and then later returned to Damascus

 

4.1.            Note here that Paul describes his calling by God to be an apostle as being something that actually had been ‘even from my mother’s womb’.  Everything that Paul had experienced had prepared him for the day when he would be the apostle to the Gentiles. 

 

4.2.            Each of us as Christians have a calling from God, and we have been set apart by God for a specific purpose.  We may not be called as apostles, but we have a calling by God from all eternity nonetheless.  Our coming to Christ and our experiences and background have all been engineered to equip us to be able to complete that calling God has for us.

 

4.3.            It is interesting to read the verbiage describing his coming to saving faith in Christ, for He says that God, ‘was pleased to reveal His Son in me.’  This reminds me of what Paul told the Colossians in Colossians 1:27 about how that it was Christ in us who is our hope of Glory, “27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  Coming to salvation is the coming to have a relationship with Christ who comes to dwell within us, and also promises us eternal life with Him, just as the apostle John wrote about:  1 John 5:11-13, “11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

 

4.4.            After Jesus appeared to Paul on that road to Damascus, Paul was so convinced of the Lord having called him, and that the Lord would complete that calling in his life, he writes here that he didn’t even consult with anyone else about what he ought to do, he:  “did not immediately consult with flesh and blood.” 

 

4.5.            If most of us had had an experience of the Lord appearing to us and revealing Himself to us, we would have wanted to immediately seek out the Lord’s apostles and get the real scoop from them, but not Paul, for he writes, ‘nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me.’  Again, Paul had confidence that the Lord would complete his calling and prepare him, and thus he didn’t need nor desire to go to the Lord’s apostles to be equipped and prepared for ministry.

 

4.6.            Paul went away to the deserts of ‘Arabia’ and it was there that the Lord trained him for his calling, it was there that the Lord taught him the gospel message that he was to preach.  Even after he had been trained by Jesus in Arabia, when he returned from there he returned to ‘Damascus’, not Jerusalem.

 

4.7.            So, it was in the deserts of Arabia for the three years that Paul was specifically taught by Christ the gospel that he preached.  We will see in chapter 2 verse 1 that it was after a total period of fourteen years since Christ appeared to him initially that Paul went with Barnabas to Jerusalem delivered to the apostles there the gospel that he preached.

 

4.1.            All of us as Christians need some periods in our lives where we too get away and spend large amounts of time with the Lord, where our public ministry is silent but we are seeking the Lord and to be taught by Him.  Paul spent a total of 9 years in silence, these three years in the deserts of Arabia, and then another 6 years in his home town of Tarsus.  I knew an evangelist once who every year would go up into the mountains in Colorado and spend a month by himself.  He would spend time in meditation in the scriptures and prayer seeking what God wanted to teach Him and what he was to preach and focus on his ministry for the coming year.  God truly anointed him and his preaching in those times when I heard him speak  But, all of us need those times of preparation by the Lord so that we can be equipped for our calling and ministry.  Have you ever considered that this might just be such a time for you to try to spend extended times alone with the Lord.

 

5.                  VS 1:18-20  - “18 Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. 20 (Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying.)” – Paul says that it was after three years in the deserts of Arabia that he went to Jerusalem to get to know Peter, but he only stayed with him for 15 days, but he did also see James, the Lord’s brother

 

5.1.            It would only be natural for Paul to want to seek out Peter and spend some time with him, especially since Peter had initially been placed in charge of the twelve after Jesus had risen from the dead.

 

5.2.            Note from our chart above that this trip to Jerusalem only lasted fifteen days, not nearly long enough for Peter to teach him the gospel or train him in the ways of an apostle, and it came after his three years in the deserts of Arabia, and after returning to Damascus.

 

AD 35-Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus  (Acts 9:1-19).

AD 35-Paul initially went and began to preach the gospel in Damascus, but then had to flee the city for his life, going down the wall in a basket (Acts 9:20-25).

AD 35-Paul went to the deserts of Arabia where he is silent for 3 years and is taught the gospel message to preach by Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:17).

AD 38-Paul went back to Damascus (Gal. 1:17).

AD 38-Paul took a quick trip to Jerusalem (15 days) and met Peter and James, the Lord’s brother, (Acts 9:26; Gal. 1:18-19), but again he had to flee for his life (Acts 9:28, 29).

 

6.                  VS 1:21-24  - “21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; 23 but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they were glorifying God because of me.” – Paul tells the Galatians that after being at Jerusalem visiting Peter that he went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia, and there he was unknown to the churches of that area, except that they knew of his prior life when he persecuted the churches, and they were glorifying God because of him

 

6.1.            Note from our chart below that this event occurred after Paul returned from the fifteen day visit with the apostle Peter in Jerusalem:

 

AD 38-Paul went back to his home town of Tarsus where he is silent for 6 years (Acts 9:30; Gal. 1:21).

 

6.2.            To emphasize that Paul was still unknown to the church at large at this time, Paul writes here that even after he returned from this short trip to Jerusalem to visit with Peter:  ‘I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ’.

 

6.3.            The churches in the region of Judea had heard that Paul, this prior persecutor of the church, was now preaching the gospel, and ‘they were glorifying God because of’ him.  It was a relief for the church to know that this man who had been so doggedly and unrelentingly hunting down Christians and persecuting them was now one of them, a believer in Christ.

 

7.                  CONCLUSIONS:

 

7.1.            When we see how that the Lord has made it so clear for us that the apostle Paul’s calling and receiving of the gospel came totally by and according to God’s will, we know that we can trust the Lord with our life.

 

7.2.            As we continue to go through the book of Galatians, we will discuss the fact that many times churches can go back under living under the law by making our Christian walk all about rules and rule keeping.  Churches have made rules against smoking, drinking, going to movies, watching television, etc., etc., but legalism kills it doesn’t bring life.  Paul wrote in his epistles about the fact that when he was living his life as a Pharisee that though externally he kept all of the laws and rules of the Pharisees that this produced in him coveting of every kind.  Inwardly, he desired everything that was forbidden.  It was only after he had come to salvation that he was set free.  In his letters he writes about how “all things are lawful but not all things are profitable,” for the Christian.  We have been set free though we do need to use wisdom in the things that we allow, being especially careful not to stumble a weak brother.  When we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, He will lead us in the things that God wants us to do and be.

 

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