Down an Unfamiliar Road

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER ONE (Lesson XLVIII)

Even though Paul saw the bright light in the sky with his eyes, and heard the Lord speaking to him with his ears, that was not the whole revelation. It wasn’t until Ananias’ prayer and prophesy caused the scales to peeled away from Paul’s eyes after he heard what the Lord said to his repentant heart and mind that the revelation began. So as Paul says, it was not flesh and blood that reveals the Anointed One to us. Without the teaching of the Spirit, what we see and hear will only be like the letters of the alphabet in a book to a child that cannot read.¹ Both Strong and Matheson are joined by W. E. Channing who stated, we must never forget that being able to perceive and understand things we see and hear is a great gift from God, and for this we should give Him our grateful gratitude.² Channing goes on to say that he is surer that his mental reasoning nature is from God more than those things written in a book is the expression of His will.³ Channing is referring to books written about God’s will by philosophers and scholars.

Paul’s treatment by the Judaizers after he converted to Christianity makes one think of how the Roman Catholic Church handled Martin Luther and John Calvin, who, after their conversion, went out to preach the Gospel without first going to Rome to get approval. One Jewish commentator says that while Paul was in Arabia, he began putting together his revolutionary version of the Gospel. It was revolutionary in that for the first time a Scriptural and theological basis was given for presenting the Gospel to Gentiles without their having to become Jews first.⁴

Sir Robert Anderson (1841-1918), notes that what happened to Paul has been true down through the ages. The open revelation of God to mankind has varied again and again, but His secret revelation to the soul that turns a person away from sin to Him has always been the same. That’s what the Psalmist said: “He brought me up from the roaring pit, up from the muddy ooze, and set my feet on a rock, making my footing firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will look on in awe and put their trust in Adonai.”⁵ That’s why even as His saints sang this three thousand years ago so we can sing it again today.⁶ Anderson goes on to note that Paul’s words here in verse sixteen, “It pleased God to reveal His Son in me,” is Paul’s personal testimony. So if Peter recognized Paul as a child of the Living God, what he said was certainly a revelation from the Father in heaven.⁷ And it was with the rest of those with Peter, they needed to listen to the words of Paul as if they were being spoken by God.⁸

Bible scholar Walter F. Adeney (1849-1920) focuses on what he sees as Paul’s teaching on destiny. It is clear that the Apostle Paul feels that from his birth he was set apart for the great apostolic work of his later years. In fact, there is a destiny in every life. God has His purpose of calling us into being. This destiny is determined for us, not by us. We do not choose the circumstances in which we are born, nor our own gifts and attitudes. We can sometimes escape from our surroundings, but we can never escape from ourselves. Whether a person discovers the world as a prince in a palace, or as a parentless child in an orphanage, is entirely beyond their control. It is equally impossible for them to determine whether they will have the genius of Einstein or confined to the mind of a two-year-old up until adulthood.

Yet, says Adeney, these differences have a huge effect a person’s necessary future! They may unaware of their destiny for a long time. No doubt the Apostle Paul never dreamed, while he sat at the feet of Gamaliel nor while he was harassing Christians, that he would one day be a Champion for the Anointed One. Our destiny is controlled by the providence of God who gradually reveals it to us. But it is our duty to walk in the path we have been assigned to until our destiny is finally realized. God may show you your destiny but He will not carry you to it. To resist God’s leading is to insinuate He doesn’t know what He’s doing. This often happens, because although we have been set apart for a particular job in His vineyard, we may refuse to follow it by our free-will,⁹ but at great cost.¹⁰

Charles B. Stevens (1854-1906) confesses here in verses fifteen and sixteen that as a radical Pharisee Paul was closed minded to any instruction, critique, or intervention by outside sources. For him, it was the Torah and the oral Teachings of the Pharisees that occupied his mind constantly. However, now that the Anointed One revealed Himself to Paul in such an indisputable and miraculous way, he was now just as closed-minded to any other gospel or teaching that might try and persuade him differently. All his understanding of the Jewish way of approaching God was dependent upon what his natural eye could see and comprehend which required good works in order to show one believed. But this unveiling of the Anointed One on the road to Damascus and the witness of Ananias was seen and comprehended by his spiritual eye. The first one required works, this last one required faith in order to believe.¹¹

Jewish scholar Adriaan Liebenberg offers us some insight into how this verse can be understood in a somewhat different way when we see how it was written in the Aramaic text, the language Jesus and Paul spoke. The Aramaic verb negla, which is akin to the Hebrew verb glah means to “uncover, disclose, reveal,”¹² but in Aramaic, it can also mean “manifested,” as in revealing through a visual process. Paul told Timothy how Jesus was manifest in the flesh to be seen and heard.¹³ This was how the disciples saw Him. So Paul wanted everyone to know that Jesus revealed Himself to him through a visual process. So there could be no doubt that his calling was as valid as that of the other Apostles.¹⁴

Several current Bible scholars made a very salient point when they wrote that we should praise God that it was His will to show us grace, not our will. That’s what Paul says: “So then it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy.”¹⁵ Paul didn’t deserve mercy; he didn’t even ask for it. It pursued him. The same holds true for us: we do not deserve God’s mercy, nor do we even know how to seek it. It seeks us. And it finds us. Mercy comes running, and by His grace, God pursues you with His love. His pleasure in you is not dependent on your pursuit of Him, but His pursuit of you. That’s one of the reasons the Judaizers were criticizing the Gospel of free grace that Paul was preaching, and, therefore, tried to discredit his ministry.¹⁶

There’s an old Puritan saying that goes, “God does not break all hearts in the same way.” In other words, we all may have our hearts set on what we think God should do for us, but it doesn’t always work out that way. Because of that, it is necessary that anyone chosen by God for a special ministry, like Paul’s should be willing to include their joys and disappointments in their story and do so honestly. For Paul, his story occurred during the period when God chose to unveil Jesus of Nazareth as the true Anointed One; it paralleled the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of our LORD and Savior. As a result, Paul’s life, his vocation, his whole identity was impacted by the original Gospel message being carried out in his lifetime. Therefore, since he already received God’s approval and direction, he did not need to get any critic’s stamp of approval.

1:16b-17 But I didn’t rush off right away to get approval from anyone. I didn’t even go up to Jerusalem to visit with those who were apostles before I became one. Instead, I took a trip into the Arabian Desert for a while. After that, I returned to Damascus.

Underlying the attitude that Paul expresses here about not feeling obligated to run up to Jerusalem to get the approval of the Apostles for his conversion is expressed very well in the Book of Hebrews: “It is true that we share the same Father with Jesus. And it is true that we share the same kind of flesh and blood because Jesus became a man like us. He died as we must die. Through His death He destroyed the power of the devil who has the power of death.”¹⁷ In other words, Paul entered the arena of the ministry on the same level as the Apostles, and his calling to be an Apostle by the Anointed One Himself was no less important than the calling of the others.

What happened in Damascus after Paul’s conversion was proof enough that his calling was genuine. Luke tells us that once Saul began to preach in the Jewish synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God, all who heard him were surprised and amazed. They wondered if this was the same man who beat and killed the followers of Jesus in Jerusalem; the same person who came to Damascus and shackled the followers of the Anointed One in chains and took them to the head Jewish leaders for interrogation. But this didn’t keep Saul from growing in influence. The Jews living in Damascus were astonished by Saul’s preaching. He was proving that Jesus was the Anointed One.¹⁸ Later, Paul told the Corinthians that in the city of Damascus the leader of the people under King Aretas put soldiers at the gates to arrest me. But I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and I got away.¹⁹

Augustine of Hippo has a very Roman Catholic view on this part of Paul’s story. For him, if Paul visited Peter after preaching the Gospel in Arabia, it was not for the purpose of learning the Gospel from him. Were that the case, he would surely have seen Peter first. Rather, he visited Peter so that by meeting him in person he might build up brotherly love between them. But he did not see any of the other Apostles except James the Lord’s brother.²⁰ James is understood to be the Lord’s brother because he was one of Joseph’s sons by another wife or perhaps one of the relatives of the Lord’s mother Mary²¹.²²

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER ONE (Lesson XLVII)

1:16a Then, at a predesignated point in time God revealed His Son to me so I could go out and evangelize the Gentiles, telling them the good news about Jesus. At that very moment, I decided not to discuss it with anyone.

Paul’s use of the Greek verb euaggelizō (evangelize) defines the centerpiece of his life and ministry. It is variously translated into English by the King James Version as: “Gospel preached,”¹ “glad tidings,”² “good tidings,”³ “exhortation preached,”⁴ “to preach,”⁵ “to declare,”⁶ “preaching the Gospel,”⁷ “preaching,”⁸ etc. So as we can see, it meant to bring good news to announce good things. And in Paul’s case, it involved bringing the Good News about Yeshua the Anointed One whom God the Father sent in order for the whole world to be saved from the death penalty issued by the Law for sinners. But the idea of euaggelizō is not restricted to the Gospel, it can include proclaiming the truth about the Anointed One in order to win souls for Him, and in this case here in Galatians, to instruct believers in knowing the difference between those who share “good news” and those who peddle “bad news.”⁹ We can see this more clearly when we use the term “evangelize” instead of just “preach” or “preaching.”

Here it sounds very much like Paul experienced something similar to what the Apostle Peter did when he too acknowledges for the first time that Jesus was the Anointed One, the Son of the living God.¹⁰ In Paul’s case, he gave all the credit to God for using the Holy Spirit to help him see what no teaching or learning from what people said may have communicated. In fact, Paul quotes the prophet Isaiah where it is said, “No eye has ever seen or no ear has ever heard or no mind has ever thought of the wonderful things God has made ready for those who love Him.¹¹”¹² While some put this verse in the context of the future, Paul saw it as prophesying what was happening in his day. Perhaps we too can take hope that there are some things yet unrevealed that will happen in our day.

Furthermore, Paul told the Ephesians that many times these revelations are simply waiting on the Holy Spirit to help them gain the wisdom they need in order to understand these secrets that are there for the taking.¹³ In fact, Paul said that God waited to that particular point in time to reveal some of these mysteries, that believers of old would not have understood in their day.¹⁴ And what does that mean for us today? Are there things just waiting to be revealed if we get earnest enough and with plenty of fiery motivation to pray for such an anointing? To tarry until they are endowed with wisdom from on high to understand and participate in what God has waiting for us? When we look back at the Day of Pentecost, the calling of Paul, the Reformation, the Wesleyan Revivals, the Pentecostal Renewal, it tells us that the days of revival are not over.

But that didn’t mean it would be easy. It never has been. Paul experienced that first hand when he went back to Jerusalem to deliver the donations he collected on his last missionary trip. Being among Jews again he went to the Temple to pray. But his reception was not cordial. In fact, when Paul told them about his mission, it caused a riot and a demand to have him killed.¹⁵ However, Paul was not deterred. He told the occupying Romans how God helped him carry out his mission.¹⁶ Yet he ended up in prison.¹⁷ But that was not going to stop him.

Why should he stop? He was given the code to a secret part of God’s plan. He was determined not to quit sharing the Good News even if it killed him.¹⁸ Many obstacles were put in his way but with God’s help, he found a way over them, around them, and even through them.¹⁹ No other religion proclaimed the message he preached.²⁰ And to his young protégé, Timothy, he sent words of encouragement to keep letting God use him for this same purpose. In the end, his trust in God would be rewarded because the Holy Spirit lived in him to help him cope and continue strong to the end.²¹

“So,” Paul is telling the Galatians, “you know God was involved by picking a mean-spirited man like me who thought that Jews, and especially Pharisees, were the elite in God’s kingdom, and send him out to preach to Gentiles, something no self-respecting Jew would even think of doing.” Was Paul telling them this in order to win their approval on how he was carrying out God’s commission to the Gentiles? No! Had Paul doubted his calling, or questioned if this was God’s predetermined plan for his life; he certainly would have been outraged when he ended up with so much jail time during his ministry.

When early church scholar Tertullian (155-240 AD), read verse sixteen, he believes that Paul acted with an ulterior motive by not consulting the Apostles. In one of the earliest Roman Catholic Bibles translated into English, verse sixteen reads, “Immediately I condescended not to flesh and blood.”²² Now Paul knew that there might be plenty in the Jerusalem assembly of believers who insisted that only those who were circumcised would rise in the resurrection. So when Paul identified those he decided not to consult with as “flesh and blood,” he was pointing to these Jewish converts who were not yet freed from what Tertullian calls their “old or former conversation” (“way of doing things”).²³ In other words, Paul’s intent was to do it God’s way not man’s way, even if it went against custom and tradition.

We know that Paul added to his library of Jewish writings the popular Greek writers of his day.²⁴ Whether or not he read the writings of Plato we don’t know, but perhaps he was aware of the two valuable principles Socrates ascribed to: First, that true knowledge is knowledge of causes. Secondly, the process of learning consists not in what is brought to learners, but in what is drawn out of them.²⁵ One main point of contention between Paul and the Judaizers involved their question of how much was he taught or was he taught at all. Paul’s testimony on the revelation he received from the Anointed One proves that it’s what flows out of him to others that counted most.

Baptist preacher Charles Simeon (1759-1836) in his preaching using the text: Galatians 1:15-16 makes clear to his congregation what Paul seems to be saying to the Galatians, that is, we must not negotiate with uncertainty, but act with promptness and decision. There must be in us a firmness that is immovable: yet such firmness must be moderated with graciousness. There is no reason to think that just because those over us in the Lord are not as eager as we are to grow in the Word and it is inhibiting our growth in the Anointed One, we must not remain submitted to remaining stationary. We have been given the liberty to agree or disagree with their stance just as long as we don’t violate the teachings of the Anointed One.

Simeon finishes by saying that while we guard against any unreasonable conformity to the world’s views and lifestyles, we must also guard against two common corruptive tendencies: they are, “being too much in control of every step believers should take,” and “unnecessary criticism of those who do not agree with us.” Unnecessary criticism has the danger of making something that is not sinful, to be sinful. and too much control can become too out of control when demanding compliance with the rules of sanctification when it has nothing to do with holiness. We must be willing to learn and be taught better ways of doing what we are trying to do in helping others to grow as spiritual adults. When there are differences of opinion, we must be willing to listen. But in matters of remaining faithful and true to God’s Word, we must be firm and faithful no matter what the cost.²⁶ Paul once was that legalistic Pharisee trying to keep people away from the Anointed One, but now he’s learned the Christian way of love, mercy, and grace in convincing people to come to the Anointed One.

Augustus H. Strong (1836-1921), Reformed Baptist minister and noted theologian best known for his Systematic Theology, (and not to be confused with James Strong who published his Concordance in 1890), in answering what he called the “idealists in philosophy,” on the subject or “revelation,” made the point that in order for revelation to be effective it must involve causing a new model of intelligence to develop. In other words, one must have a clear understanding of what they are teaching. However, when it comes to understanding divine mysteries, it is impossible without a divine quickening of man’s cognitive powers. Granted, says Strong, that revelation, when originally imparted, was often internal and subjective. Strong was speaking in reference to what Paul says here in verse sixteen about how God’s Son was to be seen in him in order for him to preach about the Anointed One to Gentiles, that did not come by way of revelation by men but by God.²⁷

Strong then appeals to what George Matheson (1842-1906), blind Scottish minister and hymn writer²⁸ said about Paul’s revelation. Matheson asks, “Can any picture be a vision to the eye? Can a thing be revealed to me which has never been revealed in me?” Looking at a picture of a beautiful landscape is not enough to reveal all that one sees, says Matheson, “There could be no beauty without if there were no sense of beauty within.” The same goes for music, says Matheson, without a sense of harmony within there is no harmony perceived in the ear. Likewise with the beauty and oneness with Jesus the Anointed One.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER ONE (Lesson XLVI)

Alvah Hovey (1820-1903) focuses on what Paul wanted to say about his being set apart by God for this ministry to the Gentiles. For Hovey, this is to be understood as Paul being assigned or devoted to a special work, even the preaching of the Anointed One to the Gentiles.¹ The word separated in the King James and the Revised Versions is ambiguous. Paul represents himself as singled out and set apart by the will of God from his very birth to become an Apostle. And the next clause, “called me by His grace,” directs attention to another act of God – namely, the divine authority in his conversion. The same verb is used in Romans 8:30: “And whom He foreordained, them He also called.” This divine calling encompasses all that God does to bring conviction to the moral nature of sinners and directs them to repentance. In Paul’s case, it was the supernatural radiance and the voice of the Anointed One, together with the work of the Holy Spirit in his soul that made a powerful impact on his moral nature which led him so quickly into the new life.²

J. B. Lightfoot (1828-1889), feels that verse fifteen could be condensed to make Paul’s point about his calling, selection, and appointment this way: God did it, not me!¹ Also English theologian William Sanday (1843-1920), Professor of Exegesis on Holy Scripture says of Paul’s selection, calling, and struggle to become an Apostle to the Gentiles, that this was such a crisis that no other being dare interfere, “the soul must wrestle out its own problems between itself and God.”⁴

Charles Spurgeon thinks that all this points to something to often overlooked when it comes to what happens before regeneration and conversion. He calls it, PRECEDING GRACE. Spurgeon laments that we do not attach enough importance to the Grace of God in its dealings with people before He actually brings them to Himself. Paul says that God designed a way to love him before He called him out of the dead world into spiritual life.⁵ To put it another way, most of us are totally unaware of all that God did before He ever sent His Holy Spirit to call us to repentance.

British Baptist Bible scholar A. F. Barfield (1869) explained what his concept was of how God’s preceding grace worked. He said that as he looked at this earth in which we live, he finds it captured and clothed by God’s all-embracing laws, just like gravity influences the ebb and flow of the tides, of light, of the procession of the seasons – all utterly and absolutely beyond any human control. They reach above, beneath, around, and within; we cannot touch them. There they are; unalterable, unswerving, and necessary – in its most profound sense, predestinated.⁶ The same is true of God’s spiritual realm. There are powers and forces at work over which humankind has no control. Anything that moves or comes into being is all done by God’s will and grace. Those who are called and converted owe nothing to themselves for who they are or what they may become. As Lightfoot indicated, God did it, not us!

Canadian George W. Ridout (1870-1954), who accepted the Chair of Theology at Asbury College (now Asbury University), in Wilmore, Kentucky, where he remained until 1927, before going out to do missionary work in Asia and South America, noted from his experience that God commences His work in a soul by causing it to feel alienated from Him. As the old hymn goes, “I’ve wandered far away from God.”⁷ It causes the sinner to experience true grief and sorrow over their sins and knows it may be a long way back to God. But this is a good thing, because it redoubles their restlessness, and increases their desire to reach out to Him.

However, at first, some try to clean up their lives on their own. But it’s only on the outside and does not make any difference on the inside. The wounds that need healing are on the heart, not just the body. When they become unsatisfied with their progress, some give up but others become more eager and struggle with all their energy and resolve to make even bigger changes. But it’s like taking two steps forward and then three steps backward. Now they feel even more helpless. It’s only when the mercy of God is explained to them and they are instructed to seek inwardly for what they’re looking for outwardly. By God’s grace, they are then made aware of the treasure the Holy Spirit helps them to discover in their heart and soul. They went far and wide looking for an answer when all the time it was near to their heart. For Ridout, this is the message Paul is reminding the Galatians of here in verse sixteen.⁸

Theologian Robert Gundry sees Paul being set apart while in his mother’s womb and then called while on the road to Damascus. This came while he was persecuting the assembly of believers and wreaking havoc on them. This testifies dramatically to God’s absolute sovereign grace, so dramatically, in fact, that the Galatians should retrace their steps back to the Gospel that features this grace undistorted and unappended. And the fact that God was actually “pleased” or “delighted,” as Paul’s Greek verb eudokeō could equally be translated – to reveal His Son in Paul. Nothing need be added to it, Paul wants the Galatians (and us) to know. “In me” doesn’t define the manifestation of God’s Son as an interior revelation that took place only in his mind, although the manifestation certainly did change his mind. For in another place he says that he actually saw the risen Jesus and that the risen Jesus actually appeared to him.⁹ So “in me” means “in my case.¹⁰”¹¹ However, Gundry thinks it only fair to consider that Paul’s revelation that he was called while still in his mother’s womb did not come to him until he was converted and became a follower of the Anointed One.

Based on Jewish tradition of his day, at the age of five Paul began to memorize scripture and study the Torah, along with writing and arithmetic. Then at age ten he listened to a teacher recite a compilation of all the teachings of great rabbis down through the ages, later compiled in the Mishnah, which means “to repeat.” All of this while growing up in the city of Tarsus until he reached age thirteen, when he qualified to be a Bar Mitzvah, which means, “son of the commandment.” Then at age fifteen, his parents sent him to Jerusalem to study all the cultural laws and traditions of Judaism at the feet of the highly revered Rabbi Gamaliel. These would later become part of the Talmud, which combines the Mishnah and the Rabbi’s commentary called the Gemara, which means “to complete.” This section of discussions, debates, interpretations, and commentary on the Mishnah begin in 350 BC, and presented in a question and answer style, so the students could memorize them.

Messianic writer Tim Hegg gives us a picture here from a Jewish perspective of Paul’s calling. Paul speaks of “being set apart from my mother’s womb.” This seems too close a parallel to Jeremiah’s calling to be coincidental,¹² and we should most likely presume that Paul considered his own calling (and thus his authority) to be like that of Jeremiah’s. Even more so, since the meaning of “Pharisee” is (as many believe) derived from the Hebrew root, parash, “to separate,” then Paul’s claim to have been “separated” to the Lord from the time of birth would be speaking directly to the Judaizers. Paul’s association with the Pharisees (of which they may have belonged to or sympathetic of) came to an end when he recognized his true “separation” being unto God through Yeshua, and his life’s mission for which he was separated from the “separated ones” – Pharisees. But the fact that this separation was from birth would mean that his time within the strict sect of Pharisees of which he was a part, was not wasted but something necessary for his ultimate calling.¹³

Nevertheless, some of his critics questioned why Paul thought he was so special that Jesus needed to confront him personally to explain the truth. In their minds, it wasn’t because he was exceptional, but that Paul was such a stubborn and hardheaded person that if anyone possessed the persuasive powers to convinced them they needed to change their ways, it would take the Anointed One to do it. Paul did not argue, he openly admitted that he did not deserve God’s mercy and kindness; he knew God selected a special job for him to do. But just in case any of these Judaizers or Gentiles felt that Paul might become bigheaded, he assures them it was all by God’s grace. So it wasn’t that he felt he earned it, but that God deserved all the credit for being so loving and kind to such an undeserving person.

Perhaps the Galatians, and even those who read this passage today, may wonder if Paul is introducing the doctrine of predestination by believing he was picked out for this ministry before he was born, and, therefore, had little if anything to do with how it came into being. In exploring this, let’s first ask these questions: was Abraham just lucky to be in the right place at the right time, or was he called because God made a plan for his life?¹⁴ Was Moses simply fortunate to be discovered by Pharaoh’s daughter or was it part of God’s grand design? Or was Jeremiah picked by some divine lottery to be “the prophet of the hour” to the Israelites, or did God already factor him in as part of Israel’s future?¹⁵

Needless to say, we can go on and on with Joshua, Daniel, Jeremiah, David, and the disciples, etc. Most Christians accept that God possesses the authority, power, and intellect to do such things without anyone’s permission. But how does it fit into His plan of Divine Will and also human will? Predestination, as it is understood by some, indicates that neither man’s will nor obedience to God’s will plays any role in how they live out their lives. It is preset, and will happen as planned no matter what. But for others, predestination actually refers to predetermination. It’s all part of God’s plan, purpose, and will, but whether or not we participate depends on our willingness and obedience, as Jonah learned the hard way.

But now we need to ask further, even if it is part of God’s plan from the beginning, does it mean that all these people were called and then forced to do what God wanted them to do unwillingly? Moses found out the cost of disobedience when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it as God directed. What if he did what God asked him to do? He would have no doubt entered the Promised Land with everyone else. Judas Iscariot was certainly called, but he gave up his position in the ranks of the disciples because he took things into his own hands. So every believer should strive to syncronize their will with God’s will, and this is done by following God’s Word.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER ONE (Lesson XLV)

Some early twentieth century English translations express the Greek verb didōmi as the “splendor of His grace,”¹ “the manifest splendor of that grace,”² the “generosity of His grace,”³ “His gracious gift of grace,”⁴ to “enhance that glorious manifestation of His loving-kindness” (grace),⁵ being “enriched by His grace,”⁶ “taken us into His favor,”⁷ “made us welcome in the everlasting love He has for His beloved Son,”⁸ and “gave us in The Beloved.”⁹ No wonder this Greek verb is only used two times in the Final Covenant.¹⁰

Even though these translations were not available to Bunyan, he gives his own list and says that the word “grace” signifies all these things,¹¹ in order to make it clear each of these is free to us as an act of God’s own will. That’s why we attribute Grace to our heavenly Father.¹² But it is also attributed to Jesus the Anointed One His Son.¹³ Also to the Holy Spirit.¹⁴ Bunyan feels that he can safely say that the grace of God is extended only on those who will go to heaven. Also, that this assurance of Grace is based on the fact that God ordained His Son to secure our redemption. This Grace is so secure that it gave the Anointed One the power to bring us into a right standing with God the Father.

What is more, due to God’s Grace, the kingdom of heaven was placed in His Son’s hands who was then to share it with whosoever He chooses and makes them co-heirs with Him. Not only that, but all the riches needed to supply our needs are also in the Anointed One’s control.¹⁵ But for Bunyan, one of the most important is that because of God’s Grace we have fellowship with the Anointed One because it was His choice, not ours. It is a gift! No wonder Paul exclaimed here in verse fifteen that he was clueless about being already chosen by the Grace and mercy of God for the ministry given to him before his conversion! ¹⁶

Biblical expositor William Burkitt (1650-1703) feels that here in verse fifteen we are given more evidence to prove that Paul is an Apostle extraordinaire, called by God Himself into the ministry for His special service; and that the doctrine he delivered was not immediately from the mouths of the Apostles, but from the mouth of Yeshua the Anointed One. Based on this, says Burkitt, we can draw a couple of conclusions on the qualifications and person needs to have in order to be accepted as a personal spokesperson for the Divine Godhead.

First, the qualification necessary in a minister in order to reveal Jesus the Anointed One to people is, namely, that the Anointed One must be revealed to them and in them. They must learn about the Anointed One themselves before they attempt to preach Him to others. After it pleased God to reveal His Son to Paul, he felt emboldened to preach Him among the Gentile Heathens. As there is no knowledge like the knowledge of experience; so there is no preaching like experimental preaching. Happy are those who can say, not only that which they heard and read, but have also tasted, and felt, and experienced from the Holy Spirit’s operation in and upon their hearts they then declare to others.

Secondly, how quickly the Apostle Paul is willing to obey the call and command of God after he received it. Immediately, he did not confer with other Apostles or ministers, nor did he consult with his own feelings and logic. Furthermore, he did not raise any questions about his own safety nor other interests but instantly did exactly what he was commanded to do. Once the mind of God is revealed, and a person’s conscience is thoroughly satisfied, they cannot be too quick nor too prompt in the execution of divine commands. Their response, especially ministers, missionaries, and mentors should say as Isaiah said, “Here I am, LORD, send me!” What better way to answer and obey God’s call, and implement God’s will and do what pleases Him, not ourselves. As the young Psalmist said to his LORD, “I will hurry, without delay, to obey Your commands.”¹⁷ When doing God’s work we are not expected to do it quickly, but we are quick to do what God gives us to do.¹⁸

Charles Simeon (1759-1836) compares Paul’s conversion to our own. It is evident that Paul was not chosen because of his self-righteous, but that he was chosen to know the Anointed One for himself and to preach about Him to others. Up to the moment of his conversion, he was a blasphemer, injurious villain, and vicious persecutor. His election can be traced to nothing but the sovereign will of God. And to this must our conversion also be traced if we are truly converted at all. We did not choose the Anointed One, but the Anointed One chose us. In fact, we were chosen of God to be part of the Anointed One before the foundation of the world, and “predestined to be adopted as His children” into His family.

In this very epistle St. Paul makes a great point of this. He speaks of the Galatians as having known God, but fearing that was not enough, they were persuaded to begin the work of salvation on their own even after Paul said “you knew God,” or rather “God knew you.”¹⁹ Let us keep in mind, says Simeon, that if we are converted, it is “not because we loved God, but because He loved us.”²⁰ In fact, “He loved us with an everlasting love; therefore, with loving-kindness, He has drawn us.”²¹

James Haldane (1768-1851) offers some thoughts on the reason for Paul’s calling as the emissary to the Gentiles instead of one of the Apostles in Jerusalem. While the Apostles in Jerusalem no doubt would have rejoiced if Saul of Tarsus met a tragic end in order to stop his persecution of the assemblies of believers. But had that occurred, there is no doubt it would have been a repeat of what happened at the Antioch Church when Peter decided to eat with the Jewish converts instead of the Gentiles. What better candidate was there then to arrest the blood-thirsty persecutor of the Church, one born outside of Israel, and send him to both the Jews and Gentiles? Haldane says that to think otherwise would be poor judgment of God’s decision-making process.²²

In Johann Lange’s (1802-1884) commentary we find an interesting point on Paul’s calling that states: “The moving cause of the call was the Divine pleasure; the mediating cause, the boundless grace of God; the instrument, the heaven-sent voice.”²³ In other words. God’s unending grace is what brought Him great pleasure in calling out to Paul on the road to Damascus. It involved nothing about what Paul did or was going to do, it was all about God’s plan for his life from the beginning.

Daniel D. Whedon (1808-1885), professor of Ancient Languages in Wesleyan University, studied law and spent some years pastoring. He was the editor of the Methodist Quarterly Review for more than twenty years. He says that in Paul’s reasoning that God set him apart from his mother’s womb, it should not be understood as “occurring in the womb” or “before he was born,” but from the moment of his being delivered at birth.²⁴ At that very instant God knew the basic elements of his physical and mental being were such as to make him an obvious choice. In order to be an Apostle he needed to be a Jew; to be an Apostle to the Gentiles, he needed to be a Hellenized Jew.²⁵ He needed powerful vitality, a piercing intellect, and iron will. He needed to be one molded before birth for this wonderful future. Yet, says Whedon, we are not to speculate that Paul’s natural generative process or formation was supernaturally overridden by God to include a divine nature shaped in him as part of nature’s development. His selection and call were placed on him on account of the endowments and qualities that were part of him, which were already in the foreknowledge of God.²⁶

William Anderson O’Conor (1820-1887) feels that Paul’s temperament was such that it tended to make him an individual thinker. He was conscious of having lived from childhood in a self-imposed spiritual cocoon, brooding over his own thoughts and uninfluenced by the outer world. Judaism, which to other men was a great congregational system, binding the masses together by a conventional worship and a superficial sympathy, was to him a depository of divine truth, which he nourished early in life by the warmth of his personal zeal. He who owed nothing to his fellow-men or to any human method for the vitality of his Jewish vows was still above all others and best fitted to be the recipient of a living Christianity.

O’Conor goes on to make note that there was harmony between Paul’s soul and his understanding of the Anointed One and the plan of salvation, and to that portion of mankind to whom he was appointed as an Apostle. The Gospel was to be given without any legal mixture to those who were not under the law. He was to be an Apostle with a special temperament and training, who was so absorbed in the spirit of the law that he was able to leave each letter of the law behind like corn husk. That’s why he was the one chosen to be their teacher. It must be remembered, that the law was a temporary solution for an ongoing problem, and was only a temporary part of God’s divine plan. It was not given to the patriarchs: it was part of Israel’s desperate descent into Egypt, and the demoralized discipline of the Israelites when departing from that country. Moreover, the fact that Paul did not think for a moment of consulting any human being, was not merely from lack of opportunity. He was determined to keep the Gospel given to him pure from legal impurities: it resulted from his long-held attitude and thought process.²⁷

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER ONE (Lesson XLIV)

Then Theodoret of Cyrus (393-466 AD), writing to John the finance officer for the diocese of Cyrus,¹ notifies him that he received information that fresh attacks are being made against the Faith of the Gospels, and, therefore, concluded that there may be more danger by not saying anything against such opposition. He heard that worshipers attending services saw that after certain church elders offered prayer, and concluded it in the customary manner, there were some who then continued the prayer with the benediction of, “For to You belongs glory and to Your Anointed One and to the Holy Spirit, Amen.” At the same time, some others said: “By the grace and lovingkindness of Your Anointed One, with whom belongs glory to You and to the Holy Spirit, Amen.”

But then, an archdeacon in the assembly prohibited the use of the expression, “Anointed One” and stated that only the term “Only Begotten Son” is the one that should be used. Theodoret says, that if this is indeed true, it would be impossible not to speak out against such lack of reverence for the Anointed One. It seems that this archdeacon was either dividing the One Lord Jesus the Anointed One into two Sons and regards the “only begotten Son” as lawful and natural in referring to Jesus, but “Anointed One” was a title that was adopted and is, therefore, illegitimate and should not be used in any benediction.

Theodoret then gets to the main point for breaking his silence. Let no one then foolishly suppose that the Anointed One is any other than the only begotten Son. Let no one imagine themselves wiser than the gift of the Spirit. The wise Apostle Paul fixed no other foundation for his faith other than our Lord Jesus the Anointed One. How then can they think of any other foundation when the great Apostle stated clearly, “I am crucified with the Anointed One, nevertheless I live.”² So why fix another foundation on which to stand than that which is already laid? And again “For me to live is the Anointed One and to die is gain,”³ and again “For I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus the Anointed One and Him crucified.”⁴ And a little before that, he says, “But we preach the Anointed One crucified to the Jews a stumbling-block and to the Greeks foolishness, but unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks, the Anointed One the power of God and the wisdom of God.”⁵

Then Theodoret points to what Paul says here in verse fifteen. It was not the twelve apostles, nor Ananias, nor even Paul himself who predetermined that he would end up being the Apostle to the Gentiles, it was Jesus the Anointed One Himself who placed His mark on him before he was even born. And when writing to the Corinthians, Paul did not say, “We preach the Only Begotten Son crucified,” but, “We preach the Anointed One crucified.” This was not meant to show any disrespect to his commission as an Apostle, but that the Anointed One is the only begotten Son of God and the embodiment of God the Word.⁶ It’s amazing how such doctrinal errors found their way into the assembly of believers so early. So we can understand that what is happening in Galatia is already signs of Satan fighting back because he lost the battle on Calvary.

Another early church scholar Haimo of Auxerre (820-865 AD), points out that Peter and the other Apostles, after having been called by the Lord, were not prepared to preach right away. Furthermore, they did not do so right after His resurrection but were told to wait to receive the Holy Spirit. Paul, on the other hand, immediately after he was baptized, entered the synagogue of the Jews and began preaching publicly without any delay. It is true that one can connect the “immediately” to what follows, but it is better to link it to his remark that “God revealed the Son in me:” that is, through me. It is true that Paul began immediately to preach in Damascus. But after a short pause, Paul was led by the Holy Spirit out into the Arabian wilderness for three years to learn more about the Anointed One, just as the disciples follow Jesus for three years before they began their full-time ministries.

To put it another way, the living Word of the Father, namely, the Son, together with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, contains heaven and earth and fills all things. There is no place that the Son does not fill up through the fullness of His power. Because the Son is everywhere through the power of His divinity and fills all places, so He was also in Paul even though he did not realize it. Therefore, when God the Father gave the faith of His Son to Paul, it was at that time that He disclosed His Son to him. The Son Himself was already present there, however, when the Father made this revelation. Just as, for example, the Son was already present in the womb of the Virgin Mary, where He assumed flesh.⁷

This same thought is repeated by Thomas Aquinas 200 years later, but with this explanation of, “from my mother’s womb.” The Jewish synagogue, says Aquinas, was the womb of the synagogue – the college of Pharisees, who trained Paul in Judaism. Did not our Savior say of the Pharisees, “You’ll sail over high seas and journey overland just to make one proselyte.”⁸ Therefore, the synagogue was his womb. Aquinas could almost hear the words of Solomon in Paul’s thinking, “The sons of my mother have fought against me.”⁹ The womb here is the Pharisees. And from this womb, he was separated by the Holy Spirit into faith in the Gospel – “Separated to the Gospel of God.¹⁰”¹¹

In another of his writings, Aquinas was dealing with the question of whether it was proper for any person to ask for the outcome if they didn’t what the story is? Nature does not supply us with two means of coming to a conclusion, says Aquinas, when only one of which will work. The question must come first before an answer can be found. If humanity tries to examine the effects without a cause, how much less does God do so? Just like a farmer firsts sows the seed in the ground before he looks for a harvest, so God sowed the seeds of virtue and ethics in our souls. Therefore, it is unfitting for Him to implant virtues simply by means of infusion.¹² In other words, He plants the seeds of virtue and then watches them grow. That’s why Paul said, that first God separated him from his mother’s womb, then called him by His grace to reveal His Son to him that he might preach Him among the Gentiles, That’s why he didn’t go to anyone to get their approval.¹³ How foolish it would have been for Paul to go out to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles without first being called by God to do so.

Reformer Martin Luther has a similar story about his transition from the old way of looking at his faith by works and to the new way of experiencing and living it through faith by grace. Here’s what he said:

“We also have come to the knowledge of the truth by the same kindness of God. I crucified the Anointed One daily in my cloistered life and blasphemed God by my wrong faith. Outwardly I kept myself chaste, poor, and obedient. I was much given to fasting, watching, praying, saying of masses, and the like. Yet under the cloak of my outward respectability. I continually mistrusted, doubted, feared, hated, and blasphemed God. My righteousness was a filthy puddle. Satan loves such saints. They are his darlings, for they quickly destroy their body and soul by depriving them of the blessings of God’s generous gifts. I tell you I stood in awe of the pope’s authority. To dissent from him, I considered a crime worthy of eternal death. I thought of John Huss as a cursed heretic. I counted it a sin even to think of him. I would gladly have furnished the wood to burn him. I would have felt I did God a real service . . . Did God call me on account of my holy life? Or on account of my Pharisaical religion? Or on account of my prayers, fastings, and works? Never. Well, then, it is certain God did not call me on account of my blasphemies, persecutions, oppression. What prompted Him to call me? His grace alone.”14

John Calvin offers some advice on how to interpret Paul’s words here. The evidence Paul offers for his Apostleship does not appear strong on the surface. Although, when he was converted to Christianity so quickly, without consulting the Apostles he began preaching the Gospel without one of the Apostles as a mentor. So it might be concluded that he assumed that he was appointed to that office by the revelation of the Anointed One. But while the arguments he employs are various, when they are all collected, will be found sufficiently strong to establish his conclusion. He argues, first, that he was called by the grace of God; next, that his Apostleship was acknowledged as valid by the other Apostles; and the other arguments follow. Let the reader, therefore, remember to read the whole narrative together, and to draw the inference, not from single parts, but from the whole.¹⁵ This is good advice for any preacher or teacher. Always check the context before you try to interpret the text.

John Bunyan (1628-1688) was writing on the topic of being saved by grace, and begins by asking what does it mean to be saved? This involves a person being saved for the purpose for which God created them as part of His eternal plan. This leads Bunyan to ask quizzically, does that mean a person can be saved before they were converted? No! To serve that purpose one must be converted. Therefore, it requires that they be brought to the Anointed One first because no one is able to save but the Anointed One.¹⁶ But more than that, to be saved requires that the individual be willing to persevere until the end.¹⁷ Furthermore, only by persevering to the end would they be eligible for the resurrection and safe transfer to their new bodies and soul to heaven for eternity.¹⁸

Bunyan then focuses in on what does it mean to be “saved by grace?” Of all the meanings that Bunyan could find he chose, “God’s unmerited goodwill and favor.” This definition of grace seems best expressed by Paul when he chose an unusual Greek verb didōmi in speaking of God’s glorious grace having been “bestowed”¹⁹ or “freely given”²⁰ to us.²¹ As far as Bunyan is concerned, the Galatians were trying to earn what was freely given to them so that they could claim that it was by their works they are save.

PSI¹ Seminars is the oldest continuously operating personal and professional training company in the U.S., with over 500,000 graduates of the Basic Seminar. Based in Clearlake Oaks, California, it was founded in 1973 by Thomas and Jane Willhite. Thomas once said: If you are looking for yourself, believe me, you will never find “you” because you are what you believe you can become. You and you alone CREATE your own identity.

This certainly sounds similar to what King Solomon said: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”² It is interesting that the Complete Jewish Bible renders this phrase: “For he is like someone who keeps accounts.” In other words, thinking about where you want to be financially in a year, ten years, or at retirement, you must keep an account of your monetary income and outgo.

So when it comes to what you want to be in the future, writer and development educator, Ruben Chavez, says you need to start acting like the person you want to become. Whatever you do, don’t fake it thinking you’ll make it. Never try to fake your financial status, your so-called accomplishments, or your ego. But even worse, don’t waste your valuable time trying to fake consistency, work ethic, or action. It’s only when a person really knows that they match up with what they claim to be that they are real. But when they know they don’t match up to what they claim, then they are a fake.

The Apostle Paul said that we should not pretend to be what we are not. In order to be what we feel God wants us to be, we must undergo a complete change of mind. If we say we love something or someone, make sure your love is real. ³ Furthermore, the Apostle also said that we should agree with each other when we know it’s the right thing to do, and show our love for each other by being united in our goals and in the way we think. In whatever we do, don’t let selfishness or pride be our guide. Be humble, and honor others more than ourselves. Don’t be interested only in your own life, but care about the lives of others too.⁴

So the bottom line is if you want to become a dependable, loyal, trustworthy, honest, authentic, conscientious, decent spouse, neighbor, friend, co-worker, and most of all, a reliable Christian, don’t wait to become a millionaire, start being what you can be now. You’ll quickly find out your weak areas and be able to strengthen them for the future. It isn’t unreasonable to ask doctors, lawyers, police officers, firefighters, military personnel, etc., to train in order to get better, so why not ask the same of yourself? – Dr. Robert R Seyda

FATHER KNOWS BEST

When I was in grade school we had no TV at home, so I would often spend my time reading, especially if it was raining or cold outside. My favorite books had to do with the settling of America that included pioneer and American Indian stories. One of my favorite authors was Zane Grey. So when I read this story, it brought back childhood memories. I hope the lesson it teaches will resonate with you as well.

It’s the legend of how young Cherokee Indian boys go through the rite of passage to become a man? For any Cherokee lad, his father would take him into the forest, blindfold him and leave him sitting alone on a tree stump the whole night. He was not to remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He could not cry out for help to anyone. If he survives the night, he became a MAN.

But he was forbidden to tell the other boys of his experience because each lad must come into manhood on his own. As the boy sat there in the dark cold night, he was naturally terrified. He could hear all kinds of noises echoing through the forest. Surely, he thought, wild animals must surely be all around watching him. Maybe even some human might find him and do him harm.

As the wind blew swaying the trees, he could feel objects blow across his feet as he sat like a statue on the tree stump. But he did not let it frighten him, he never removed the blindfold. He had to grit his teeth and hold out because it was the only way he could become a man!

Finally, after a horrific night, the sun rays came shining through the tree branches. He knew then it was alright to remove his blindfold. When he did, he discovered his father sitting on the stump right next to him. He had been there watching him the entire night, protecting his son from any harm.

What an appropriate illustration of how all of us grow up from being children of God into men and women of God. This is like a Christian’s rite of passage for all of us. Although at times, we feel like that boy, all alone in the dark without no one around to help us. But in fact, we are never alone. Even when we don’t know it, God is watching over us, sitting right beside us. When trouble comes and we grow frightened, that’s when He reaches out to us to let us know He’s right there. Just because you can’t see God, doesn’t mean He is not there. That’s why the Apostle Paul said that we walk by faith, not by sight.¹ – Dr. Robert R Seyda

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER ONE (Lesson XLIII)

Richard Longenecker believes that the reason it was important in Paul’s day for any Pharisee to see that the Law of Moses was obeyed to the fullest degree, was because it was a vitally important prerequisite for the coming of the Anointed One.¹ This may have been Paul’s Pharisaic attitude when it came to his actions against Christians who, in his eyes, were teaching something totally contrary to his perception of the coming of the Anointed One, by proclaiming this itinerant prophet from Galilee as the Messiah. After all, isn’t this what Moses did when he ordered the immoral Israelites slain at Baal-Peor?² And what about Phinehas ordering the Israelite man and Midianite woman be put to death on the plains of Moab?³ And then there was the actions of Mattathias and the Hasidim in stamping out apostasy from among God’s people.⁴ Or, says Longenecker, it might have been the commendation given to Phinehas for his actions that rang in Paul’s ears as he marched toward Damascus: “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the religious leader, has turned My anger away from the people of Israel. He was jealous with My jealousy among them, so I did not destroy the people of Israel in My jealousy.⁵”⁶

This certainly conforms to what the Essenes taught in their Dead Sea Scrolls.⁷ For instance, in Psalm (Hymn) 4, we find the following words: “The closer I approach [You], the more I am filled with zeal against all workers of iniquity the men of deceit. For none of those who [can] approach You rebel against Your command, nor do any of those who know You alter Your words; for You are righteous, and all Your elect [chosen] are truth [real]. You wilt blot out all injustice and wickedness forever, and Your righteousness will [finally] be revealed before the eyes of all Your creatures.”⁸ These words were written around the time of Jesus’ appearance, so it is not impossible that the Apostle Paul was familiar with them. It certainly would give him more reason to persecute the assembly of believers who worshiped this false Anointed One, Yeshua of Nazareth.

Ronald Fung sees parallelism in what Paul said about why he persecuted the assembly of believers so severely and his total commitment to the ideals of the Pharisees. It was his zeal for this ancestral law as an intense personal concern for its fulfillment, which provided both the inspiration and the vehicle of expression for Paul’s progress in the Jewish religion, and it would seem that his “advance” amounted to, primarily and especially, with “the achievement of righteousness according to the standards and ideals of Pharisaism.” It was the same zeal, moreover, which led to his relentless hostility towards Christianity and intense persecution of the assemblies of believers. Paul claimed there were two forces driving him, which we can see by comparing verse 13b with 14b in the chart below:⁹

13b	beyond measure	I persecuted	the assembly of believers
14b	extremely	zealous for	the traditions of my fathers

Paul was insistent that the Galatians and the Judaizers know what drove him forward and propelled him from being the worst enemy of God and the assembly of believers into being the best friend of God and of these “called-out ones.” He felt that his first motivation (13b) came from him, the second motivation (14b) came from God. That’s why they needed to understand that Paul did not forsake all to follow Jesus the Anointed One by any personally induced karma or vow. It was all God’s doing.

Don Garlington gives a very descriptive review of what the term “zeal” meant to a Jew before and in Paul’s day. Some commentators wish to restrict zeal to “ardent observation of the Torah,” in conformity to what was expected of a first-century Jew. It certainly meant such. But the very mention of zeal calls to mind the war for independence against the Syrians some two hundred years before Paul wrote Galatians. The war was spearheaded by an aged priest named Mattathias who issued the summons: “Let everyone who is zealous for the law and supports the covenant come out with me!”¹⁰ Mattathias himself was a mirror copy of Phinehas,¹¹ whose own zeal for Yahweh set the pattern for all subsequent defenders of covenant purity. Garlington tells us that Pentecostal scholar N. T. Wright notes zeal for a first-century Jew was something he did with a knife. Remember Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane? From that point onward, “zeal for the law” became a battle cry for all loyalist Jews.¹²

Thomas Lancaster highlights Paul’s argument on why he could not have received any education or mentoring from the Apostles that resulted in his understanding of the Gospel and initiated his being called as an Apostle to the Jews. Up until Paul became a disciple of Yeshua of Nazareth, he hated all the disciples of Yeshua. He persecuted them and actually hunted them down to have them incarcerated and even martyred. As such, he displayed a mean streak that drove him to become the most zealous persecutor of Christian believers during his time. After he observed Stephen’s stoning, Paul broke his allegiance with his teacher Gamaliel, defying his ruling regarding the believers .¹³ He went over to the Sadducees, to Caiaphas the high priest, for legal permission to hunt them down, drag them out of synagogues and publicly punish them with severe flogging. It would be three years before he ever met the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem.¹⁴

1:15 But little did I know that by the mercy of God I was chosen for this ministry before I was separated from my mother’s womb.

Being chosen was something that Paul was taught from his youth up. Moses told the children, “The Lord did not give you His love and choose you because you were more people than any of the nations. For the number of your people was less than all nations.”¹⁵ This was something Samuel needed to remind them of when they became worried because they thought to ask for a king somehow hastened his death.¹⁶

Then when King David neared the end of his life and was turning everything over to his son Solomon, he gave the people assurance that all of this was part of God’s plan. He told them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from all the house of my father to be the king of Israel forever. For He has chosen Judah to be a leader. And in the house of Judah, my father’s house, and among my father’s sons, He was pleased to make me king of all Israel. The Lord has given me many sons. And of all my sons, He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the nation of the Lord over Israel. He said to me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who will build My house and My open spaces. For I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his father.”¹⁷

This was not the first time Paul mentioned being chosen. He wrote the Corinthians, “I have been chosen by God to be a missionary of Jesus the Anointed One.”¹⁸ And all of this fit into God’s plan. As he told the Ephesians, “God already planned to have us as His own children. This was done by Jesus the Anointed One. In His plan God wanted this done… He planned long ago to send the Anointed One into the world. The plan was for the Anointed One to gather us all together at the right time.”¹⁹ So if all this was already part of God’s plan for this world and His assembly of believers back then, can we not then believe that the same is the case today? Take heart, none of what you see or hear is by accident. It is all part of God’s great plan.

Paul’s mention that, in his case, he was unknowingly called to this ministry even before he was born. This certainly was something that Paul knew about by studying the prophet Isaiah.²⁰ And the prophet Jeremiah was also given the same assurance by the Lord, “Before I started to put you together in your mother, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart as holy. I chose you to speak to the nations for Me.”²¹ How could all of this be possible? As we have learned before, God’s mystery plan of salvation was already conceived and planned in eternity past. It is only now being revealed and coming true.

For me, we can see this illustrated in Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. This involves the speed of light through space. We know that it takes approximately 8 minutes and 20 seconds for light to travel from the sun to earth. So when you look up at the sun, what you see was in existence for 8 minutes and 20 seconds before you felt it. By the same principle the light from earth’s nearest star, Alpha Centauri, reaches us after traveling through space for 4 years at 186,000 miles per second. That means when you look at this star, what you see already existed 4 years ago before you saw it. So what can we say to galaxies and planets that are hundreds and thousands of light years away? The same as Paul said about the mystery of God’s plan to save not only the Jews but the Gentiles. When it started to happen through Paul’s ministry, this plan was already in effect before such a thing as time and years and centuries were every thought of.

You might take heart in believing that your call by grace out of sin into a personal relationship with God through His Son, was not a last minute decision. It was planned all along before you were born. But there are some, who when they felt the heat of the Holy Spirit’s presence bringing the light of truth of their sinfulness and God’s offer to redeem them through the work of His Son on the cross on your behalf, they run for cover; they put up the umbrella of resistance. Thank God every day that you finally saw the light, felt the warmth of His love, and heard the voice of the Spirit calling you.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER ONE (Lesson XLII)

It was the characteristic of a Pharisee to hold these traditions as being of equal authority with the principles of the Law. Not only that but in many cases, they awarded them preference. That’s why our Lord told them, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!”¹ These are the traditions that Paul mentions and admits his zeal for observing them to the very letter. After all, in his mind, these things were absolutely necessary for salvation. That why he now tried to convince the Galatians, that his preaching of justification without works of the Law could be attributed to nothing less than the force of truth communicated to him through a revelation from God’s Son by the Holy Spirit.²

James Haldane felt that it was worth mentioning back in the late 1700s in Europe, what corrupted the Jewish religion in Paul’s day, corrupted the Christian religion in Haldane’s day. Both religions held doctrines attributed to the same Holy Scriptures. Both believed that they were given by inspiration of God through the Holy Spirit. Once the educated Rabbis began teaching their understanding of the Scriptures, the Torah was put away, and only what the Rabbis said about the Torah was taught in their synagogues. This was done as a way of preserving the true message of what Moses taught and was seen as an honor to God. In England, the church clergy was doing the same thing by putting their words above the Word of God.

But Haldane believes by doing so they took away the key of knowledge. Jews even forbid the reading of the Torah least someone misinterpreted it. When Rabbis disagreed in their interpretations, it was not on what the Torah said but on what the other Rabbi said. Unfortunately, the same thing happened to the Roman Catholic Church in the Middle Ages. Only priests were allowed to read the Scriptures, but even they never read the Gospels through to see what was said. They took the word of the Vatican teachers and most of all, the Pope. What he said became “ex-cathedra.”³

Believe it or not, even in Evangelical and Pentecostal churches, the creeds and Declarations of Faith that they composed were the final interpretations of whatever Scriptures were attached to them. More people were dismissed from local church roles over violation of church rules than any offence against the Scriptures. But today, the pendulum seems to have swung the other way. While church rules have been softened and not enforced to the letter, the Bible still seems to be a sealed book to many ministers and believers. It is a sad thing that so many Christians are ignorant of even the fundamentals of God’s Holy Word.⁴

Johann Lange believes that Paul is talking here about more than just what he was taught as a Pharisee. His education included the whole Jewish religion. Lange notes that J. B. Lightfoot’s paraphrase of verse thirteen: “My early education is proof that I did not receive the Gospel from man. I was brought up in a rigid school of ritualism, directly opposed to the liberty of the Gospel,”⁵ is proof enough that Paul’s training in Judaism left no room for the Gospel, which came later. Being subject to the constant repetition in memorizing the principles of his Jewish faith is what led him to become a relentless persecutor of the Christian faith. So his conversion to Christianity did not come from some splinter group within Judaism, which was more tolerant of opposing views.⁶ He became a member of the “called out ones” who followed Yeshua of Nazareth because He was the true Messiah.

Alfred E. Bouter (born 1943) sees a comparison between Paul’s fanatic commitment to the principles of Jewish Pharisaism and the Law, and his ultimate commitment to the Gospel of Yeshua the Anointed One and the Cross. Bouter offers a paraphrase of verses thirteen and fourteen to make his point. “For you have heard what was my conversation formerly in Judaism, that I excessively persecuted the assemblies of believers, and ravaged them and advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my nation, being exceedingly zealous of the doctrines of my fathers.”

So when the Lord came to earth, His problem was not with the Law itself that God authorized for Moses to mediate with the children of Israel. Yeshua proved to be a perfect Jew. He lived His life according to the Law God gave through Moses. He Himself said, “Don’t misunderstand why I came. I did not come to abolish the Law of Moses or the Writings of the prophets. No, I came to fulfill them all perfectly.”⁷ He was a law-abiding Jew, the only One who ever kept the Law to perfection. Even a zealot like Paul could not compare to Him. His conflict was not with the Law but with the Jews’ interpretations of the Law and their man-made traditions (later recorded in the Mishnah, the Talmud), and in other rabbinical writings.

The conflict the Lord encountered with rabbinic Judaism, was not the Law of Moses, and its oral laws of the Rabbis of which He was always in disagreement. As for Paul, before his conversion he promoted rabbinic Judaism and was, therefore, by definition, in conflict with the Lord, as he was “exceedingly zealous of the doctrines of his forefathers.”⁸ It was not until Paul gave up his oral law and traditions of the Pharisees to accept the Teaching of Yeshua the Anointed One that he finally saw the light. The Messiah’s teachings agreed with the Law of Moses – which spoke of the Messiah as the successor to Moses,. Based on that Paul was able to reject his errant ways.⁹

Avi ben Mordechai (born 1960) points out that it was exactly this departure by Paul from enforcing the oral laws of the Rabbis and his return to the pure words of the Written Torah and the Prophets,¹⁰ that stirred up so many of the Jewish leaders wherever he went to become his avid enemies,¹¹ and attempt to do to him what they did to Yeshua.¹² So Paul is painting a picture of himself as one time being a great rabbinical master of Jewish oral law, who is now seen by his former friendly friends and colleagues as nothing but a traitor and needed to be silenced. Not because he was breaking the Law, but because they didn’t want to let the truth get out.¹³

As mentioned before, when Paul speaks of the traditions of his forefathers he is talking about oral Rabbinical teachings that later became part of the Mishnah and Talmud. Jewish scholar Adriaan Liebenberg (born 1970) enforces that concept by noting that Paul is revealing who he was before the Anointed One appeared to him. He tells us that he was a very learned man in the oral teachings of the Rabbis.¹⁴ Although he did study the Torah and knew it exceptionally well, many of the teachings and traditions of Judaism were based on the traditions of the elders. Many of these teachings and traditions contradicted the Written Torah. The reason why Paul persecuted the “Assembly of Elohim” is because the Pharisaical law, which was based on Oral Law, was the Law of the State of Israel. Anyone rejecting the Oral Law and following only what is written in the Hebrew Scriptures was persecuted by the Pharisaical rulers.¹⁵

Another Jewish writer, Tim Hegg, asks if Paul’s use of the word “Judaism” here to identify a split between “Judaism” and “Christianity” that already occurred in his time? No! Not in the normal understanding of the word “Christianity.” But it does indicate that the people of “The Way” already had a different view of what membership in the covenant of Abraham really meant and that this fell outside of the boundaries of the Judaism defined according to a Pharisaic view of covenant membership status. Paul uses the Greek noun loudaismos to identify what the KJV calls, “the Jews religion.” It is interesting that the Complete Jewish Bible renders it, “the traditions handed down by my forefathers,” even though the earliest Orthodox Jewish Bible used Yahadut – Judaism.

Unfortunately, during the time following the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, early church writer Ignatius already identified this word Judaism as “that which stood opposed to” Christianity. For instance, in his Letters to the Magnesians, he pits “Judaism” against “Christianity,” which he defines as those who believe in Yeshua of Nazareth as the Messiah. In the short version of this letter, Ignatius wrote: “Be not deceived with strange doctrines, nor with old fables, which are unprofitable. For if we still live according to Jewish law, we acknowledge that we have not received grace. For the divine prophets lived according to the Anointed One – Jesus.”¹⁶ So for early Jewish converts, according to Ignatius, “It is absurd to profess Jesus the Anointed One and to live under Judaism. For Christianity did not embrace Judaism, but Judaism embraced Christianity, so that tongue which believers might use be in union with God”¹⁷.¹⁸

We have a similar situation with the history of Protestantism. At first, it was not an outside organization or cult opposed to the Roman Catholic Church. Many of its early leaders, like Martin Luther, we devout Catholics. The more they read the Scriptures the more they saw that the Church needed reform. So they attempted to reform it from within. It was only when the Roman Church authorities rejected their reforms that they were excommunicated and forced to struggle to stay alive on their own. But before then they tried their best to get the Church’s leadership to see the light. But all for naught. Some of the individual state governments were allowed to choose between Luther’s point of view and that of the Vatican. But that was also denied and religious freedom died. As a result, the followers of Luther and others filed a “Protest” against the cancellation of this freedom. Hence they became known as “Protestants.” So it might be in error for any church organization to refer to themselves as “Protestants” when, in fact, they are not protesting anything the Roman Catholic Church does in the realm of ecumenism.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER ONE (Lesson XLI)

Even though Paul excelled as a Pharisee in the Jewish religion, he would later come to learn that he was like those God spoke of to Isaiah who says “they belong to me.” They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but memorized prayers and creeds.¹ Also, very much similar to what was said about them later as being uncaring and self-centered.² The sad part is that when Paul said he rose above others in the ranks it simply means there were many more just like him, of which he was the best.³ But as the prophet Jeremiah learned, being the best at doing what’s wrong does not count with God.⁴ These are the same people Jesus dealt with during His time on earth, and we must deal with today.⁵ No wonder Paul warned the Colossians to be aware of such misguided pretenders.⁶

After reading this verse, Chrysostom feels that Paul is saying: what he did against the assemblies of believers was done, not on man’s account but, through zeal for God – mistaken zeal, but zeal nonetheless – so how can he be accused of promoting the assembly of believers just to make himself look good when what he does now for the assembly of believers is done because he knows the truth?⁷ And Jerome feels that Paul is wisely adding to the discussion the fact that he did what he did out of adherence to the traditions of his forefathers, not because it was a law of God. This he no doubt based upon the fact that the Pharisees, who teach doctrines and precepts of men and reject the Law of God, do so to set up their own traditions.⁸

Theologian Robert Gundry gives us a descriptive look at the language Paul uses here to describe his advancement through the ranks of Jewish scholars. Gundry contends that the literal translation of the Greek reads, “I was beating my way forward in Judaism,” means the same as “I was advancing in Judaism.” But a literal translation come across so well with “persecuting the assemblies of believers outrageously and wreaking havoc on it” that it makes one wonder whether Paul intended to portray his advancement in Judaism being credited to him at the expense of the Christians he ravaged.⁹ To put it another way, imagine Paul saying: “I beat my way through the crowd of my fellow Jews in order to get to Christians so I could persecute them, and thereby worked my way up to the front of a zealous mob.”

Gundry then goes on to explain that the phrase: “Beyond my many contemporaries among my kinfolk” (“above many of my equals” – KJV) portrays his advancement, at least in comparative terms, and perhaps also in competitive terms. Even if only in the comparative, we detect self-righteousness in pre-Christian Paul.¹⁰ “Beyond my many contemporaries” may also mean “beyond my contemporaries, who were many,” in which case he claims to have surpassed all his contemporaries in the practice of Judaism. Then the statement: “Being an extraordinary zealot” (“being more exceedingly zealous” – KJV) is reminiscent of the extraordinary zealot Phinehas in the Sinai wilderness.¹¹ And finally: “For my ancestral traditions” (“of the traditions of my fathers” – KJV) doesn’t refer to the First Covenant as such – rather, to it as interpreted in the Pharisaic school of thought which Paul attended to become a Pharisee.¹²

As Gundry sees it: That a revelation of Jesus the Anointed One tore Paul loose from those traditions despite his extraordinary zeal for them should draw the Galatians away from the non-gospel of the Judaizers and back to the Gospel he proclaimed to them. In other words, Paul, at one time, was in deeper and more committed to the old way of the Law than any of these Jewish believers or converted non-Jews in Galatia would ever be. So if the Anointed One could rescue him and set him on the right path, then certainly they should see that the liberation they received through the Gospel Paul preached to them should do the same.¹³

Messianic writer Daniel Thomas Lancaster gives us his view of what Paul is saying here. Says Lancaster, that when Paul said he was advancing in Judaism zealously according to the old traditions, he was not saying “I used to be a legalistic, law-abiding, orthodox Jew, but after finding Jesus I dumped all that.” The Greek verb prokoptō translated as, “going forward, advancing,” is a term which originally meant “ships making headway against the wind and waves at sea.” But Jewish historian Josephus and other contemporary literature of that time used it to mean “making great progress in education.” Paul was really saying: I was an important disciple of an important teacher (Rabban Gamaliel the Elder), and I was zealous to learn the Oral Law, namely, the traditions, and I was advancing very fast to the top of the class. I was headed for a big seat on the Sanhedrin; I was going to be one of the top scholars because I was a prodigy of Gamaliel.¹⁴

By listing the religious pedigree he once cherished but now counts as insignificant, Paul gives us a chance to look at the history of Judaism and the Law. The Jewish faith, based on what God revealed to Moses and passed on through the Prophets, increased by an incredibly large volume of traditions and customs as added by Israel’s religious hierarchy. In his case, Paul was very familiar with the additional teachings that the Scribes and Rabbis added to God’s Law. As such, it became a form of psychological and religious reinforcement from a select group who focused on what the flesh could do to please God and not on what faith could do. Therefore, the Galatians needed to be aware that Paul was not some obscure religious hermit, but that he attained a higher level of respect among his peers than any of them would ever reach.

But now he sees the same thing happening to the Gospel given to believers by the Anointed One Himself. These Judaizers wanted to add some of these same old traditions and customs to improve the teachings of Jesus. This upset Paul because he believed that the Anointed One’s sacrifice, as well as his own personal sufferings, should have given the Galatians a new perspective on the spiritual reinforcement of Love. Here the focus was on others and being significant in their lives. Paul is basically saying: If by following what the Anointed One said is not good enough to get us into heaven, then we might as well throw the whole thing away and start all over.

As a preacher of the Gospel, I cherish the Cross of the Anointed One as much as anyone, and I made it one of the central points of my preaching. But I wonder sometimes if we haven’t taken away it’s real appeal by dressing it up with silver, gold, and precious stones to make it look like an artifact or souvenir, rather than the gross object of torture it really was. Wearing the cross attached to one’s lapel or draped around one’s neck for all to see is not as significant as wearing it attached to the heart and draped in front of the mind for all to experience.

Ambrosiaster sums up what he finds significant here in Paul’s writings. He concludes that if Paul, who was an Israelite and held the rank of rabbi among the Jews, having studied with Gamaliel, a brilliant teacher, and stood head and shoulders above his peers and contemporaries, abandoned the Law for Yeshua, how much less should those outside the Law subject themselves to it! And if this man rejoiced at having gotten out from under the heavy yoke of slavery to the Law, why should the Galatians now lose their freedom to be chained to the Law?¹⁵

Martin Luther continues to compare his personal experience to that of Paul’s. Even as the Apostle was enlightened by the Gospel, so Luther was unfamiliar with their message. And just as Paul was zealous for Judaism’s laws, rites, rituals, regulations, and ceremonies, the same was true of Luther’s zeal for those same things in the Roman Catholic Church. In Luther’s own words he said, “I tried hard to live up to every law as best I could. I punished myself with fasting, meditating, praying, and other exercises more than all those who today hate and persecute me. I was so much in earnest that I imposed upon my body more than it could stand. I honored the pope as a matter of conscience. Whatever I did, I did with a single heart to the glory of God.”¹⁶ Luther is certainly to be applauded for his dedication, but once he found out it was driving him further and further away from God and the Gospel, the more he understood when doing something in error, no matter how zealous you are, it still does not make it right. If there’s anything that keeps you from going directly to God through His Son, it’s best to be free of it before it destroys your freedom to choose.

The Syriac Version translates verse fourteen this way: “I went much farther in Judaism than many of my contemporaries who were of my nation, and was peculiarly zealous for the doctrine of my fathers.”¹⁷ In other words, Paul knew more about the oral teachings started by the scribe Ezra in 450 BC, that would eventually wind up in the Mishnah and Talmud, than his fellow students, but only because he spent more time studying at the feet of Gamaliel than they did. His own personal dedication and persistence are what paid off by expanding his knowledge of what previous Jewish Rabbis said. It wasn’t some inherent superior brainpower that made this possible, but it was his actions in pursuing the truth of his religion. No wonder he was so opposed to any other interpretations of what these Jewish teachers said. And since they did not accept any other Anointed One than the one they envisioned, since Yeshua the Nazarene did not fit their description, he was vehemently opposed to those who heralded Him as the Anointed One. That’s was, until he met Jesus, then everything changed dramatically.

Joseph Benson finds it interesting that Paul mentioned the fact that he started his studies with many boys of the same age. When they arrived in Jerusalem to study for their bar mitzvah, they were all at the same level of education. But then Saul began to pull ahead because of his enthusiasm and zeal to learn the writings of the Rabbis. Over and over he studied their comments on the Law until it was burned into his mind. These are what the Gospel writers and our Lord called the traditions of men began to separate them from what was written by Moses and the Prophets. And then becoming a Pharisee was the crown jewel of Jewish accomplishment. So Paul was not someone down at the bottom looking up at these Judaizers, but someone at the top looking down on them.