You know that feeling where you know that God told you to do something but you ignored it? It’s like you’re a petulant child, putting your fingers in your ears saying “God, I can’t hear you!” It becomes a nagging feeling in your gut and it doesn’t go away. That’s how I’ve felt the last few days with this Galatians Bible Study.
God made it clear that I was to get into the practice of not only studying the Word daily on a deeper level than my personal time but I was to write about it daily. Not when I could, not when it was convenient and certainly not when I felt like it. God made it clear to do it daily. And yet yesterday I watched the time pass, saying “I’d do it later” only to be met with painful conviction at the end of the day for not getting it done. Instead of doing it, I went to bed.
Loving Conviction
Here I am yet again, writing under the glow of the lamp so as to not wake up my son (if even an ounce of light peers into his room he won’t sleep and goodness does that boy need sleep). The weight of this conviction is becoming a knot in my stomach that is physically painful. Delayed obedience is still disobedience. Yes, I am doing this today and yes I will get it done before midnight. However, it was not done early in the day as it should have been. I am grateful for His grace and forgiveness for my continued disobedience but I cannot continue to abuse it.
Although this is not what we will be talking about today, I feel as if these moments of reflection as I’m sitting down to the Word are important. The truth is that we’re all human and mess up and there is a loving God waiting for us to turn back to Him. That same loving God has a plan and purpose for us and the least we can do is be obedient to what the Creator of the universe has asked of us. These real human moments, I think, are what studying the Word in this way is really about.
Galatians 1:11-24 Overview
Getting into the study, today I’m diving into Galatians 1:11-24. I recommend reading the passage before we dive in so you know what we’re going to be discussing. If you haven’t already read the first couple of posts, do so before jumping in here. This section is titled “Paul Called by God” in the ESV Bible.
Paul’s Gospel Came from Christ
Starting in verse 11, Paul is clarifying again that the “gospel that was preached by [him] is not man’s gospel” (Gal. 1:11). “Man-made religions emphasize human merit and the necessity of human works for salvation. Paul’s message did not.“[1] He leaves no room for confusion when he says that he “did not receive it from any man, nor was [he] taught it, but [he] received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ” (Gal. 1:12).
“Paul affirmed he did not receive the gospel he preached by means of some course of instruction. Even though that was the way the Galatians received the gospel (as Paul had instructed them), the apostle on the other hand received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. This was the highest authority. How then could the Galatians question his authority and message? And how did they dare deviate from this divinely revealed truth?”[2]
For more on Paul’s story, make sure to go read Acts 9. If you’ve never read it before, it is such a wild testimony to what God can and will do in our lives, even when we are turned completely against Him.
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It’s deep, solid, and totally worth it.
Paul’s Past and Radical Transformation
Verse 13 is where things really begin to get interesting. In it Paul begins to explain what he did before Jesus met him on the road to Damascus. He shares plainy that he ‘persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.” Continuing in verse 14 he says that he “was advancing in Judaism beyond many of [his] own age among [his] people, zealous was [he] for the traditions of [his] fathers.” Paul wasn’t just someone who was kinda sorta interested in Jewish Law. Paul was obsessed. His whole life was dedicated to knowing all that he could, rising in the Jewish pharaseeic ranks faster than others. He was happy slaughtering Christians because he truly believed that he was doing the work of God.
“Thus who could accuse Paul of not being acquainted with the teachings of Judaism when he knew them better than the Judaizers?”[3] So it makes it all the more incredible that Jesus met him where he was, in all of his mess and doubt. Paul “has broken with the life of seeking righteousness through the Law of Moses.”[4] The only way to become righteous is through Christ and Paul’s story is a testimony directly to that. “Paul emphasized that both his conversion and his commission owed nothing to man but were of God. How else could such a transformation—from persecutor to preacher—be explained?”[5]
Set Apart by God’s Grace
In verses 15-16 Paul says that “when he who had set [him] apart before [he] was born, and who called [him] by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles.” There’s so much in these two small verses. First, Paul made sure that the emphasis stayed on God. He isn’t turning it on himself or making it about what he did. Paul is making sure that the Galatians understand that the glory of Paul’s life goes to God and not himself. He wasn’t called because of anything specific that he accomplished, he was called because God had set him apart.
“Paul knew that God had providentially set him apart from birth and that all his life to this point was a preparation for his ministry as a proclaimer of the gospel of God’s grace.”[6] Also, as Paul said he was converted so that he would preach to the Gentiles, the non-Jews. “This was revolutionary because God’s dealings in the OT had been focused on Israel as his chosen nation. Now, with the coming of Christ, there was no distinction: all must come to faith in Christ.”[7]
God wants all of us
This is always such a beautiful topic to think about. God really wants all of us to come to Him. Every single one of us, Jew or not. That just blows my mind. God cares so much about us and wants an individual relationship with each of us, too. It’s not about numbers, it’s about building that intimate one-on-one relationship. It just makes me so emotional and grateful to think about it. In verse 17 he says that he didn’t “go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before [him]” but instead “went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.” While Paul met other Christians, he didn’t ask for their opinion regarding doctrine.
If Paul had questions, “he could readily have gone to Jerusalem for a seminar with the apostles, but he did not. Rather he went immediately into Arabia… [likely] to be away from men and alone with the Lord for personal study, meditation, and to receive further revelation. This zealous student of the Law now pondered the meaning of his conversion and looked for the things concerning Christ in the Old Testament.”[8]
If your prayer life feels distracted or dry, Fervent by Priscilla Shirer is a must-read. It’s not fluffy, it’s a straight-up battle plan for getting strategic and intentional in prayer. Practical, powerful, and rooted in Scripture. Highly recommend. Grab it here.
The Churches Glorified God Because of Paul
Paul even points out that the churches in Judea had all but forgotten about him. “The only report they had recently heard was that this one who had once persecuted the church was now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”[9] This faith obviously includes the false gospel that those preachers were trying to get the Galatians to believe, that justification comes from works instead of faith. This was incredible because it led to more glory being given to God as the Judean church praised Him because of Paul and his testimony. “This was a telling blow to the false teachers. The Jewish Christians in Judea rejoiced in the same gospel the Judaizers sought to undermine.”[10]
Personal Reflection and Application
The wonder and beauty of this portion of Scripture comes from Paul’s life and testimony. Paul was quite literally the last dude you’d ever think would love Jesus, let alone preach the gospel. Yet God had divinely set him apart, knowing all of his mess, using Paul for His glory. It also allowed Paul to lay a solid foundation for the Galations to actually listen to. It becomes harder and harder to argue against what Paul is saying when you know that it came directly from God. When you know Paul’s life and what God brought him out of, it becomes clearer and clearer that Paul is who he says he is.
This points to the obvious truth that Jesus is who He says He is. Thinking about how I could live that kind of life is something that makes me really think about what I need to do differently. How can I honor God in a way that points my entire life to Him? What do I need to do in order to have a whole community of people look at my life and think of God, giving Him glory for what He’s done in me? It begins to highlight the ways that I need to do things differently, how I’m still leaning on myself instead of leaning on Him, how I’m nowhere near as unashamed as Paul was preaching the Gospel. It shows me just how far I have to go while also being so appreciative of the work God has been and is still doing in me.
Closing Encouragement
I pray that this touched you like it touched me. Make sure you’re getting in your Bible yourself. Share your takeaways in the comments. Can’t wait to hear what you think.
I love you, God loves you, now go get in your Bible.
Footnotes
[1] Donald K. Campbell, “Galatians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 591.
[2] Campbell, “Galatians,” 591.
[3] Campbell, “Galatians,” 591.
[4] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2246.
[5] Campbell, “Galatians,” 592.
[6] Campbell, “Galatians,” 591–592.
[7] Crossway Bibles, ESV Study Bible, 2246.
[8] Campbell, “Galatians,” 592.
[9] Campbell, “Galatians,” 592.
[10] Campbell, “Galatians,” 592.
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