One of the things about the Transfer window is that you get all kinds of rumours. For example, this year, there are a few rumours doing the rounds concerning Billy Sharp, Sheffield United’s veteran and prolific striker. He has been linked with my home team, Bradford City. The only thing is that he gets linked with us every year and so the rumour is as believable as the idea that Lionel Messi might sign for us, after all, he too is available on a free transfer. How do you know whether or not to believe the rumours? Can you be sure that the people making the claims really are in the know, that they are credible?
What point was there for the Galatian Christians in reading Paul’s letter. Why should they listen to his voice over and above the voices of the agitators, especially as those agitators seemed to be claiming to come with the authority of leading pillars in the church such as James and Peter?
In this section, Paul begins to answer the question and it will help us to see the relevance of Paul’s message to us today. Why should we read his letters? Why should we pay attention to him?
A look at the text (Galatians 1:11-24)
Paul doesn’t preach a message that he has picked up and adapted from others. It’s not a human message but the message which he has specifically received from Jesus (V11-12). To prove the point, Paul demonstrates how unlikely his conversion to Christianity was. There are two aspects to this, negatively, his strong antagonism to Christianity, he saw the church as dangerous and so tried to destroy it by persecuting Christians. Positively, as in Philippians, Paul presents himself as the archetypal devout Jew, standing out in his generation. Paul is qualified to speak about the benefits and failings of Torah because he was a Torah keeper. He was “zealous … for the traditions of my fathers”. This likely links to what Jesus refers to as “the tradition of the elders” or the oral law developed through Rabbinic teaching and debate (v13-14).[1]
Something happened to change this. Paul had an encounter with God. This wasn’t a chance encounter. God had chosen and set Paul apart even before birth. This is what we sometimes refer to as “election” and links to the doctrine of predestination (v15).
God, the Father called Paul and revealed Jesus to him. Paul is no doubt referring back to his vision on the road to Damascus. At that stage, Paul doesn’t see anyone else, his only knowledge of the Gospel is through this direct encounter with Jesus (v16). He doesn’t even go back to Jerusalem at this stage but instead stays in the region close to Damascus (v17).
It’s three years later before Paul goes up to Jerusalem. There he meets with Cephas, another name for Peter and spends time with him (v18). He doesn’t meet with the other apostles but he does see James, the brother of Jesus. It is possible to infer from this passage either that James is classified as one of the apostles, an exception to the rule or that Paul does not classify him as an apostle (v19-20). He goes, presumably with Peter and James’ blessing to begin serving the Gospel back in Syria (v21). At this stage, he has not met and got to know the other believers in Judea in person (v22). However, his reputation is growing and it is a positive one (v23). The believers hear that he is no longer persecuting but is instead preaching. The result is that they praise God (v24).
Digging Deeper
By insisting that he received the good news directly from Jesus and wasn’t dependent upon other human beings, Paul places himself directly alongside the apostles. Their claim to apostleship was based on being eyewitnesses of Jesus, his life, death and resurrection. Whilst Paul, to the best of our knowledge did not meet Jesus in person, he does encounter him directly after the resurrection. He is now an eyewitness. This also places Paul in the company of the Old Testament prophets and patriarchs as we might see his Damascus Road vision as a form of theophany.
A look at ourselves
It’s important that we understand Paul’s unique reasons for taking time to demonstrate his credentials. Preachers and pastors may at times feel the need to emphasise their own credentials when facing opposition. However, Paul’s purpose here is not to promote himself but to encourage renewed confidence in the Gospel itself. By claiming apostolic authority, he is also insisting that his words are scripture.
The application for us is not to see Paul’s defence as an example for us but to also be encouraged by his defence, our confidence in the Gospel and Scripture should be renewed. This is because when we read the New Testament Gospels and letters we are reading the first hand accounts of those who were close to Jesus, who he commissioned to proclaim his Gospel and who were inspired by the Holy Spirit to bring God’s Word directly to us. This means that to read or listen to Scripture is to enter into a conversation ourselves. We should expect God to speak to us through his word.
[1] See Moo, Galatians, 102.
Faithroots 