Galatians was Paul's first letter, written at the end of his first missionary journey when Gentiles began to come to Christ in droves. A group, sometimes called Judaizers and sometimes the circumcision party, opposed the inclusion of Gentiles in the church. If they were to be part of the church, they needed to become Jewish - follow the law and Jewish rituals. Paul fought them tooth and nail his entire ministry. The gospel was for the whole world.
For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. 12 For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation of Jesus Christ.
13 For you have heard about my former way of life in Judaism: I intensely persecuted God’s church and tried to destroy it. 14 I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. 15 But when God, who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me, so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone. 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to those who had become apostles before me; instead I went to Arabia and came back to Damascus.
18 Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days. 19 But I didn’t see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I declare in the sight of God: I am not lying in what I write to you.
21 Afterward, I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches that are in Christ. 23 They simply kept hearing, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.
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Devotional: From God, Not Man
We have seen the story repeated again and again in our world. A celebrity makes a profession of faith and we look to that person to lead the church. Pretty soon, this baby Christian's faith has floundered and the person has wandered back into the ways of the world. There are several reasons for this, but Paul warned against too quickly laying hands on people. In other words, before we put people in charge of ministries in the church, they ought to take the time to develop character and theological depth, to grow in Christ. Paul's testimony in today's reading shows his belief in this principle.
Paul chastised the Galatians for departing from the gospel he preached to embrace the Jewish law and ritual, something he found incomprehensible. Here, in verses 11-12, Paul makes another bold assertion. His gospel, the core of all he taught - the idea that salvation came by grace through faith apart from any works of the law - was not a product of human reason or intellect. Nobody taught it to Paul but it came to him directly from God, by a revelation.
He shared, in verses 13-17, the basics of what we would call his personal testimony. He had been a man so steeped in Judaism, so passionate about, committed to, and sincere in his faith that he persecuted Christians. Then the shocker came. The God whom he worshiped, the God of his fathers, revealed himself to Paul through the Jesus Christ he'd hated and persecuted. Paul's specific calling was to preach among the Gentiles the riches of God's grace.
Paul described his time in Arabia and Syria and Cilicia. Evidently, he spent time in isolation in these remote regions, receiving revelations from God that became his unique teachings, the core of Pauline theology. It was built on the teachings of Jesus Christ but expanded that teaching in a whole new direction. He taught about the church, about Christ in us, about the end times - things he called mysteries, revealed to him (and the other apostles) but not prior to Pentecost.
It seems, from his timeline, that between Saul's conversion and Paul's ministry was nearly 2 decades. He did not leap immediately into a prominent assignment, but learned and grew and trained until he was ready to carry it out. How many lives have shipwrecked because people took jobs they didn't have the character to carry out?
Paul took his time and when the time was right, God used him mightily.
Father, do your work in my life that I might have the character for whatever assignment you give.
Think and Pray:
Are you working on becoming a man or woman of God?
Do you seek assignments beyond the limits of your character?
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