Down an Unfamiliar Road

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER ONE (Lesson XL)

But let me illustrate, says Bunyan, one reason why the Anointed One, Jesus, shows mercy to sinners is so that they will love Him more. That way, they will start loving Him instead of the things of this world. Now, if He loves to be loved a little, certainly He loves to be loved a lot. Yet, there are few capable of loving Him that much except those that were forgiven much.¹ But the Apostle Paul confessed, that of all the sinners the Anointed One came into the world to save, he was the worst..² That’s why he labored more for the Anointed One than many others because he sinned against God more than others..³ But Paul let people know that wasn’t because of anything that he did that caused him to love the Anointed One, it was because of the grace of God shown to him. That’s why Paul here in verse fifteen reminded the Galatians that they heard all about his former life as a persecutor of Jesus and His followers, but now they’re hearing of him as a preacher for Jesus the Anointed One.

Bunyan could almost hear Paul saying to the Galatians: You talk about grace! You don’t know how much grace it took to save me! It required the marvelous grace of God to look down from heaven on me and rescue me from the terrible end I was headed for. To say that I am now captivated with the sense of the riches of His grace would be an understatement. That’s why I work so hard for Him; for how could I do otherwise since God not only separated me from my sins and from sinners but sanctified all the talents and abilities I have for His royal service? Oh! I’ll never forget His love, nor the circumstances under which I came into contact with that love. When His love took hold of me. I was on my way to Damascus with letters from the high-priest to wreak havoc on God’s people there. That was until that wonderful man of God named Ananias made intercession for me to the Lord that He would have mercy on me. That’s when I became a monument of grace. It made a saint out of me because I was fully persuaded that my transgressions were forgiven and that I now knew I was right with God.⁴

John Edmunds (1801-1874) gives us some insight into why, after Paul’s conversion and the laying on of hands by Ananias in Damascus, he headed for the Arabian Desert instead of for Jerusalem to receive his ordination from the Apostles. The only prior communication between Paul and them was when he helped to hold the cloaks of those who stoned Stephen to death. From there on out he was infamous as the raging persecutor of Christians, causing many of them, men and women, to be dragged off to prison.⁵ It would be like inviting the fox back to apologize to the farmer for killing so many of his chickens. There were plenty of reasons for the Apostles back in Jerusalem to doubt his story and suspect him of being a wolf wearing a sheepskin costume. In fact, after things quieted down, he still would not have gone to the holy city were it not for Barnabas taking him there and vouching for him as being a genuine dedicated believer in Jesus.⁶

Benjamin Jowett (1817-1893), a theology professor at the University of Oxford, gives a similar paraphrase of Paul’s words by having the Apostle say: All of you who know about my former life will totally agree that it was nothing short of a miracle, that I was converted. After I tell you the whole story you will also see how impossible it was that I received the Gospel message I preach, from anyone other than Jesus the Anointed One.⁷ What Jowett is trying to communicate, I believe, is that because of Paul’s stringent persecution of the assembly of believers, he was considered so dangerous that none of the Apostles in Jerusalem would even venture to invite him there, nor come to Damascus to train him. In fact, if it had not been for Barnabas’ intervention, he may have never met Peter, James, and John..⁸

Looking at Paul’s conversion from a Jewish perspective, one Jewish writer notes that it is critical that we recognize the sentence structure of the Greek sentence in this verse to gain a proper understanding of Paul’s confession. His rendition of verse thirteen reads: “For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I violently persecuted the assembly of believers and tried to destroy it.” The word order shows that the Greek particle pote – “former,” (“in time past” – KJV; “my previous way” – NIV), modifies the Greek noun Ioudaïsmos – “life in Judaism.” (“the Jews religion” – KJV). This careful observation is made to show a shift within the makeup of Judaism and not outside of it. Paul did not leave Judaism for a new religion called Christianity. What he did do was switch party lines, from an unbelieving Jewish Pharisee to a believing Yeshua Pharisee, all within the confines of 1st-century Judaism.⁹

Jewish writer Avi ben Mordechai reminds us of how significant Paul’s background was in understanding why he was so persecuted by the Jews no matter which Synagogue he went into during his missionary journeys. After all, he studied under Gamaliel,¹⁰ one of the most highly respected members of the Sanhedrin of that era. But there were other things that made this significant. Gamaliel and those who served before him worked with the chief priests who were aligned with Rome and the Sadducees. Together, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes enforced Rome’s political policies and Judaism’s rabbinical oral laws above the Law of Moses. This is what Paul bought into when he was a Pharisee and a fanatical persecutor of this new group of dissenters who followed the Nazarene called Yeshua, and referred to their teachings as “The Way.”¹¹ And why not, Yeshua said He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life.¹² So Paul was not some ragtag individual who wanted to get attention by persecuting these followers of Yeshua. He was part of the establishment and given their backing in his endeavors to jail and even kill them.¹³ Paul shares how he felt about this in the next verse.

Tim Hegg, another Jewish writer, echoes the same thing. He suggests that we should note that the word “former,” which, when functioning as a particle means “once upon a time,” in modifying the word “manner of life” or “lifestyle.”¹⁴ It does not imply that Paul formerly lived within Judaism but at the time he wrote the Galatians, he was no longer living within Judaism. What he is contrasting is his personal adherence to Jewish Law before and after his faith in Yeshua as the Anointed One, not his former life in Judaism as opposed to his present life apart from Judaism. We might compare his words to what Paul told the Ephesians, “So far as your former way of life is concerned, you must strip off your old nature because your old nature is thoroughly rotted by its deceptive desires.¹⁵”¹⁶

In Andrew Roth’s translation of the Aramaic text of verse thirteen, it gives us the same impression. It reads: “You have heard then, regarding my previous conduct in Judaism, especially about how I followed (pursued) the congregation of Elohim and greatly devastated it.” Ronald Fung also sees Paul’s purpose here is to offer evidence of the divine origin of his Gospel and thereby also for his claim to be an apostle by direct revelation. That’s because “Gospel” and “Apostleship” are for him “quite inseparable: they form the two sides of the one coin bearing the impress of the authority of God’s divine will. So Paul appeals first to his non-Christian past, representing it as something that the Galatians already heard of.¹⁷

Grant Osborne does not believe that Paul stopped being Jewish and became a Gentile. In fact, in Acts of the Apostles, it shows that he continued to observe many aspects of the sacrificial system and never repudiated his Jewish background.¹⁸ Rather, he was a Jewish Christian. He stopped being a slave to the Law under the First Covenant and became part of free-will service in the Final Covenant. When he performed a sacrifice or followed a purity law, he did so from the perspective of one who followed the Anointed One. In fact, Paul found no issues that bothered him over certain Jewish holidays, feasts, and certain rituals as long as they were never counted as merit toward justification and salvation.¹⁹

1:14 I went far beyond anything those of my age in studying the ancient traditions of the Jewish religion. I was totally committed to following these teachings with all my heart and soul.

Paul is not finished letting the Galatians know where he came from on his path to believing in the Anointed One and His Gospel. The same thing emerges almost as clear in one of his other epistles where he argues that he has greater reason for confidence in the flesh than others do. After mentioning his circumcision on the eighth day, he itemizes significant bragging points which are his by virtue of birth, namely, “being of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews.” Then he lists three reasons for confidence in the flesh which are his own achievements: “as to the Law a Pharisee” – a member of a prestigious group of Jews; “as to zeal a persecutor of the assembly of believers,” that is, he was so ardent that he actively persecuted those he opposed; and “as to following religious laws, he was blameless,” that is, a perfect follower of Jewish religious rituals and regulations.

But Paul had a complete turnaround. All these things that were important to me, but because of the Anointed One, I decided that they are worth nothing. Not only these things but now I think that all things are worth nothing compared with the greatness of knowing the Anointed One Jesus my Lord. Because of the Anointed One, I threw away all these things, now that I know that they are all worthless trash. All I want now is the Anointed One. I want to belong to him. In the Anointed One, I am right with God, but my being right does not come from following the Law.²⁰

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER ONE (Lesson XXXIX)

Venerated Medieval Catholic theologian, Robert of Melun, makes a comparison between Paul and the Catholic Church in his day. He starts by pointing out that some Catholics were asking whether the Apostle Paul sinned by persecuting the assembly of believers? They wanted to know since he showed such zeal for the Law and believed he must do this for God’s sake. Many Catholics still hold this position, says Robert. For when conscience dictates that people must do something for God’s sake, they would sin if they did not do it since they would then be acting against their own conscience. Yet if they were to do it, they would offend God. Moreover, “everything that is not of faith is a sin.”¹

Consequently, notes Robert, for such people, Paul believed that he must persecute these assemblies of believers in the Name of God. If he refused to do so, he would be showing contempt for God and would thereby be sinning. Then again, to persecute the assembly of believers is in itself a sin. So, it would seem that he sins if he does this, and yet sins in his conscience if he does not. Either way, then, he would end up sinning. Some people concede, therefore, that the Apostle would have sinned no matter what he did. This was the thinking of some during the Middle Ages.

Others, however, say that his desire was good because he wished to demonstrate his obedience to God, obedience that he exhibited by destroying what he thought was contempt for God by these Christians. Yet the deed itself was still evil and wrong because he carried it out based upon an incorrect understanding. Nevertheless, the zeal and fervor of love that was in the Apostle’s heart were good, and it is on that basis that the erroneous deed is excused.² Sometimes misplaced zeal and enthusiasm can do more harm than good.

Not only were Medieval Catholics judged by such criteria, but Protestants and Pentecostals followed suit. In many cases, Catholics were not only censured by what they did in contradiction to Roman Catholic teachings, but they were also criticized for what they did not do as taught and outlined by Catholic doctrine. For instance, if they did not pray to the saints each day for a certain length of time; pray the Rosary or go to the confession booth on a regular basis; or, in some cases, if they were not baptized in water as the Church specified it should be done, they were looked down on as being insincere. However, those who followed such dictates with holistic fervor were seen as the holiest in their dedication to God and Catholicism. My, what a heavy burden to carry!

Those who’ve studied the Greek writings available in Paul’s day have noted that the way most men dealt with traditional teachings, even teachings of their own country, was to receive them all exactly as they were delivered, without applying any critical test of authenticity whatsoever.³ Jewish scholars, like Paul, did the same thing. We can even say, that in some fundamental Protestant and Pentecostal denominations many ministers followed the same pattern of preaching what they heard from the previous generation without finding out, through research and study, if what they were preaching was Biblically correct.

Martin Luther gives a personal testimony about his conversion. He came to the knowledge of the truth by the same kindness of God. From his own lips, Luther confessed that he crucified the Anointed One daily in cloistered life as a monk, and blasphemed God by practicing his wrong faith. Outwardly he kept himself celibate, poor, and obedient. He was constantly fasting, tarrying, praying, saying the masses, and the like. Yet under the cloak of his outward respectability, he continually mistrusted, doubted, feared, hated, and blasphemed God. His self-righteousness was like a muddy puddle of water. But now, he realizes that Satan loves such saints. They are his darlings, for they quickly destroy their body and soul by depriving themselves of the blessings of God’s generous gifts. He also stood in awe of the pope’s authority. To dissent from him, he considered a crime worthy of eternal death.

Luther heard about Bohemian Reformer John Huss (1369-1415),⁴ and considered him as nothing but a cursed heretic. He counted it a sin even to even think about him. He would have gladly gathered the wood to burn him. And, he would feel that he was doing God a real service.⁵ Then one day, Luther was rummaging through the shelves of a library and happened upon a volume of sermons by Huss. “I was overwhelmed with astonishment,” Luther later wrote. “I could not understand for what cause they burned such great a man at the stake, a man who explained the Scriptures with so much gravity and skill.” Everyone’s testimony is different, but the principle is the same. Doing what you think was right without knowing how wrong it is. Like a rancher’s son who was taught from his youth up that red meat was the most beneficial for protein and muscle build, only to find out later how much it contributed to cholesterol and blocked arteries.

Reformer John Calvin also noticed how strongly Paul was attached to the old customs and how he strove to get ahead of his peers in compliance. Calvin points out that those Paul called his equals were those of his own age; for a comparison with older persons would have been unsuitable. When he speaks of the traditions of the fathers, he means, not those oral traditions by which the Law of God was corrupted, but the Law of God itself. This was the kind of education Paul received from his childhood, which was supplied through the hands of his ancestors and parents. Having been strongly attached to the customs of his forefathers, it would have been no easy matter to tear himself from them, were it not for the fact that the Lord drew him away by a miracle.⁶

Puritan theologian William Perkins (1558-1602) tells a personal story to go along with what Paul is telling the Galatians about his conversion. Perkins recalled, that a minister was invited to speak to a Protestant congregation in western England. There was much persecution then against the Puritans, this is why they fled to America. Three young men entered the church with the intention of interrupting the minister and even brought stones in their pockets for that purpose. Not too long after the minister began, one of the youths cursed and whispered, “Let’s have a go (attack) at him now.” But one of the others cautioned that they should wait a little longer just in case he said something that they could really harass him for. After a short time, another boy in the group said, “We’ve heard enough, let’s throw some stones now.” But again, the older boy stopped him. “He’s not as bad as I expected. Let’s hear a little more.” In Perkins’ own words he says: “The preacher concluded without having been interrupted.” Now mark my words, one of these three young men was later executed for forgery; the second sits under a death sentence for murder; the third, through the infinite mercy of God, is the one speaking to you now.⁷ No doubt Paul felt the same way.

Jakob Arminius (1560-1609) shares what he thinks about those who must learn by overcoming some weakness or obstruction put in their path out of ignorance. It’s like taking away a stony heart and having a soft heart put in its place.⁸ This is accomplished by the Holy Spirit by exciting in the hearts of believers sacred respect and reverence for God.⁹ From what these Scriptures say, those acts will easily be made manifest if all ideas are suspended that might allow sins of every kind.

Think about this: God permitted Saul, whom “in His anger, He gave to the Israelites as their king,”¹⁰ even though God knew Saul would through hatred persecute David, even though he knew David’s integrity was faithful and true.¹¹ Nevertheless, David enjoyed the friendship and fellowship of Saul’s son Jonathan who resisted his father’s attempts against David. And God even permitted David, after having enjoyed many victories and having already been crowned King of Judah and Israel, to remain as king despite his adulterous affair with Bathsheba. Even though David went back on his commitment to God, God did not go back on His commitment to Judah and Israel.

By the same token, God permitted Peter, who loved Jesus the Anointed One, although he was somewhat boastful, to be endued with Power from on High even after he denied Him in a moment of doubt and fear. As a result, Peter was able to declare his allegiance to the Anointed One with even greater energy through the Holy Spirit. In fact, he confessed the Anointed One courageously even to his moment of death.¹² In the same manner, God permitted Saul of Tarsus, a fanatic zealot for the Law to persecute the Anointed One through ignorance, until “He revealed His Son in him,” by which a persecutor was transformed into a preacher.¹³

John Bunyan (1628-1688) also touches on the fact that by saving Paul, God was showing mercy to a great and unworthy sinner. The news that Paul converted would have been good news for the vilest of sinners. It would have come as welcomed good news for those with despairing souls. For Bunyan, this is the Doctrine that Jesus came to have mercy and save sinners no matter how unworthy they might be to receive grace. One reason for this is because the biggest sinners need to be saved the most. And when any of them receive the Anointed One’s offer of mercy and forgiveness, that lifts up His name even higher. Not only that, but once the word spreads, others will be even more encouraged to come to Him for salvation.

Also in Bunyan’s thinking, this display of love and mercy to sinners will weaken the kingdom of Satan and cause it to lose favor in the world. And once these delivered sinners become part of the Body of the Anointed One, their testimony will help struggling believers to fight any temptation to return to the bondage of sin. That’s because the vilest of sinners becoming one of God’s chosen saints will love Him even more than maybe someone who was found with little to forgive.

Pablo Picasso famous Spanish painter, sculptor, and ceramicist is regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. We should take what this great artist has to say because the latest sale of one of his paintings went for $106.5 million dollars. On one occasion Pablo said, “I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”

For most people today, the exact opposite is true. They don’t want to try doing something they cannot do because it’s a waste of time. Psychologist Heidi Halvorson offers several things a person should do when they just don’t want to do it. We all know those things we keep wanting to do but there’s so much else we need to do first. It’s the worst kind of procrastination. We keep moving things in the way so we can push it off for another day or week.

But can you imagine how much less guilt, stress, and frustration you would feel if you could somehow just make yourself do the things you don’t want to do when you are actually supposed to do them? Not to mention how much happier and more effective you would be? The good news (and it’s very good news) is that you can get better about not putting things off if you use the right strategy. Figuring out which strategy to use depends on why you are procrastinating in the first place, says Dr. Halvorson.

One of the reasons you keep putting something off is because you’re afraid you’ll fail or mess things up. But instead of thinking negative, think positive. Start promoting the idea that you’ll end up so much better off if you do it than you will be trying to avoid it. Such motivation will push you forward while being anxious and doubtful will cause you to take no action at all.

Another reason why we often postpone doing something we know ought to be done is because we keep telling ourselves it will work itself out. Sorry, but the theory of evolution doesn’t work in these cases. Instead of concentrating on promotion, you are obsessed with prevention. Why not leave things the way they are instead of taking a chance and ruining things.

Another reason you keep putting something off is that you just don’t feel like doing it. It’s hard to ignore your feelings. How many times have you used the excuse of “I can’t get out of bed that early to exercise,” or, “I just can’t get up the energy to exercise with so much on my mind?” The truth is, your excusing yourself just because you don’t “feel” like it. There’s no one tying you to your bed in the morning, there are no imitating people preventing you from exercising. If you wait until you “feel” like doing something, nothing will ever get done. The truth is, you don’t have to feel like it to do it. The only thing stopping you is yourself.

One more reason you may be putting something off that needs to be done is because you’re not excited about doing it. So the excuse you use is that tomorrow you’ll start, or the next time you have the opportunity you’ll get started. Remember, “self-control” is not only a method used to keep from doing something, but it can also be used to start doing something. You must do yourself a favor and stop leaning on willpower and switch to mindpower. Make up your mind to do it whether you feel like it or not.

With our just having celebrated the heroes of D-Day at Normandy, do you think those soldiers, sailors, airmen, paratroopers, and marines were excited about running full speed into the hail of bullets, shells, mortars, and grenades knowing they may not live more than five to ten minutes? No! They did it because they knew they “had” to do it in order to save Europe, and eventually the USA, from the terrors of Nazism. They weren’t thinking about failure, they were concentrating on victory. That’s why Europe is free today.

The Apostle Paul put it very succinctly, everyone is in the race, but the only ones who receive a prize are the ones who exercise self-control and keeps going.¹ He no doubt said that because as a young Jewish lad he was told what wise King Solomon once said about a lazy person who wants something without trying to get it, while the persevering person will have their desires fulfilled.² And in the Book of Ecclesiastes we read that every time we have work that needs to be done, we should do the best we can. If we don’t it will never get done once we are in the grave. There are no ideas, no planning, and no visions for success there. It’s the place where everything we needed to do dies with us.³

There are few joys and elation that a person can experience any better than when you know you’ve pushed yourself beyond your doubt, fears, anxieties, and unwillingness to try something because you don’t want to be a failure at it and are able to look at you effort and handiwork and be proud of yourself. This not only applies to this world and everyday life, but also to our spiritual world and our place in the life to come. So don’t think about it, just do it! – Dr. Robert R Seyda

BLUE RIBBON DAY

This heart touching story ought to be inspiring to everyone, not just teachers and professors. In a sense, we are all teachers. But the question is, what are we teaching? What are we teaching our children? What are we teaching our spouses? What are we teaching our neighbors? What are we teaching our workmates? What are we teaching our fellow believers? When we find the answers to these questions, perhaps we can then find out what we are teaching ourselves.

As the report goes, a teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in High School by telling them the difference they each made, using a plan developed by Helice Bridges of Del Mar, California. She called each student to the front of the class, one at a time. First, she told them how they made a difference to her and the class. Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted with gold letters which read, “Who I Am Makes A Difference.”

Afterward, the teacher decided to do a class project to see what kind of impact recognition would have on a community. She gave each of the students three more blue ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this Acknowledgment Ceremony around the community. Then they were to follow up on the results by noting who honored whom and report back to the class in a week.

One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby company and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two extra ribbons, and said, “We’re doing a class project on recognition, and we’d like you to go out, find somebody to honor, give them a blue ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they can acknowledge a third person to keep this acknowledgment ceremony going. Then please report back to me and tell me what happened.”

Later that day the junior executive went in to see his boss, who was known as being kind of an old grouchy fellow. He sat his boss down and he told him that he deeply admired him for being such a creative genius. The boss seemed very surprised. The junior executive asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon and would he give him permission to put it on him. His surprised boss said, “Well, sure.”

The junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it on his boss’s jacket just above his heart. As he gave him the last extra ribbon, he said, “Would you do me a favor? Would you take this extra ribbon and pass it on by honoring somebody else? The young boy who first gave me the ribbons is doing a project in school and we want to keep this recognition ceremony going and find out how it affects the people who receive it.”

That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat him down. He said, “The most incredible thing happened to me today I was in my office and one of the junior executives came in and told me he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius. Imagine that, he thinks I’m a creative genius. Then he put this blue ribbon that says ‘Who I Am Makes A Difference’ on my jacket above my heart. He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor.

As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honor with this ribbon and I thought about you. I want to honor you, son. My days are really hectic and when I come home I don’t take the time to pay much attention to you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough grades in school, or for your bedroom being in a mess. But somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and, well, just let you know that you do make a difference to me. Next to your mother, you are the most important person in my life. You’re a great kid and I love you!

The startled boy began to sob and sob, and he just couldn’t stop crying. His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, “Dad, you don’t know how important this blue ribbon is to me now. You see, I was planning on committing suicide tomorrow because I didn’t think you loved me. But now I don’t need to do that because I found out I am important to you!”

I wouldn’t say that Jesus had this in mind when He told His followers to do to others what they would like others to do to them. But I don’t think He would have rejected it either. But the one thing that I do believe is that when Jesus said that we are to love one another just as much as He loved us, that is more than a class project, that is a commandment.¹ If Jesus were to visit you tonight and ask you if you have kept this commandment, what would your answer be? – Dr. Robert R Seyda

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER ONE (Lesson XXXVIII)

1:13 I’m sure you’ve heard about my past, when I was a Jewish religious fanatic, and how I viciously attacked God’s assembly of believers and did everything I could to destroy it.”

Jewish writer Mark A. Nanos believed that Paul was wanting to do more here than just bring up his well-known past. His was his modest way of saying that he anticipated that these Judaizers would come to these Galatians, saying that they were bringing a new revelation. They would also attempt to put themselves on the same spiritual and intellectual level as the Galatian believers. This would certainly allow them to assume the authority to instruct the believers to accept what they were telling them and that any resistance on their part would jeopardize getting the intended message. In other words, Paul by his own experiences knew that it was quite ordinary for any audience, who was being told of a new revelation, to be curious as to where it came from and by whom was it given. In such a case, these Judaizers should have been ready to defend what they were saying the same way Paul answered those who opposed the Gospel message that he was delivering. So why didn’t they do so, that was certainly a mystery to Paul.¹

So Paul shares his personal biography with them on how things were at one point in his life. Apparently, this came as no secret to the good folks in Galatia, most likely because Paul’s family, who live in the next province of Cilicia to the east, already spread the word. He showed no interest in hiding anything about his past. The Gospel Paul preached to them was the same message by which he was converted. So, he not only talked the talk but walked the walk. If the Judaizers thought they were pious champions of the Jewish faith, Paul outdid them all as one of the most devout defenders of Judaism. That’s why he hated this new cult that followed this Jesus of Nazareth. He went after them like a bounty hunter. His fellow Pharisees looked on him as a hero, while Christians saw him as a religious hoodlum. It should be understood that Paul did not attack the believers in Jesus the Anointed One because he necessarily hated them, but he did so as a patriotic defender of the traditions of the Pharisees which he zealously lived by and believed all should do so.

In case the Galatians weren’t sure Paul actually converted to Christianity, he confesses to his guilt in persecuting them. He thought he was standing up for God’s chosen people and their faith, without realizing he was persecuting God’s Son and His Gospel. So, now that he’s on their side, he refers to this new company of believers as God’s Church. If he used the term “the Anointed One’s Church,” the Judaizers would immediately be on his case for ignoring all God taught His people through Moses and the Prophets. But Paul wanted both Jew and Gentile believers to know that just as God the Father and God the Son were one, therefore, everyone who believes in Jesus, be they Jew and Gentile, are also one with God and His Church.

This is not the only time Paul felt led to share the testimony of his conversion to calm down his critics. When he was back in Jerusalem and was at the Temple with others to show his respect for God’s house, he was arrested for defiling this holy institution. So he asked his Roman guard if he could speak to those who raised such a ruckus about bringing in unauthorized individuals onto the Temple grounds. So in Aramaic, he told them about when he persecuted the followers of Jesus because he felt about them the same way the Jews now felt about him.² Paul repeated this again when he stood before King Agrippa some days later.³

But for anyone in Galatia who wanted to know more, surely they would have been able to find out what happened during Paul’s persecution of the Anointed One’s followers when he participated in Stephen being martyred.⁴ But that was not all, Paul (known at that time as Saul), was a fanatic persecutor of all those who called Jesus the Anointed One.⁵ He was honest enough to tell the Corinthians, “I am the least important of all the missionaries. I should not be called a missionary because I made it so hard for God’s church. I am different now.”⁶ And Paul told the Philippians he was so eager to defend his religion that he persecuted the church. And no one could find fault with the way I obeyed the Law of Moses.⁷ And to Timothy, Paul shared what he was before he met the Anointed One and how meeting Him changed his life.⁸

Early church African scholar Marius Victorinus believes that by Paul telling this unsavory part about his life, was another way to show that he learned all that from listening and watching others, so it was far better that he learn the truth from God and Jesus the Anointed One. The aim of this is to prevent the Galatians from entertaining another opinion or supposing that anything needs to be added to the Gospel.⁹ We must remember in those days there was no such thing as a denomination. These converts to the Anointed One were simply known as “The Way” and “Followers of the Anointed One.”

Augustine of Hippo expresses a particular view on Paul’s persecution of the church. In Paul’s mind, if by persecuting God’s church and trying to destroy it Paul advanced up Judaism’s ladder of notables. So it is clear that Judaism is opposed to God’s “called out” ones, not because of the spiritual law that the Jews received but because of their own carnal and slavish way of life. And if by imitating the traditions of his forefathers Paul persecuted the followers of the Anointed One, and the traditions of his ancestors are opposed to their assemblies. Nevertheless, the law is not to blame. For the law is spiritual and does not force anyone to understand it using human logic.¹⁰ The fault lies rather, with those who view what they received intellectually and, moreover, handed it down through many teachings of their own.¹¹ I saw this in my own lifetime growing up in an extremely conservative Pentecostal denomination, where people were judged more by what preachers said the Bible teaches, rather than by what the Bible actually taught.

The great preacher Chrysostom of Constantinople offers what he feels was Paul’s argument. As Paul saw it if his efforts against these assemblies were not based on ulterior motives but from mistaken religious zeal, why should he be motivated by self-pride now that he was promoting these assemblies and embraced the truth? If this then was not his motive, but a godly zeal, similar to what possessed him when he was in error, how much more should he be fired up now that he knows the truth? Ought he not be free from being questioned about his motives. As soon as he changed over to the doctrines of these assemblies he shook off his Jewish prejudices and manifested a zeal even more ardent than before. This should be proof enough that his conversion was sincere, and that the zeal which possesses him now is from above. What other incentives could he have for making such a change, and exchange honor for contempt, peace for peril, and security for distress? Nothing else but his love of truth.¹²

Another member of the 4th-century scholars, Ambrosiaster, notices a theme in what Paul is saying here to those who may have doubted his allegiance to the Anointed One. Perhaps pointing to the false apostles who were causing such discord because of their commitment to the Law, Paul, more or less, says: “He was more dedicated than any of them in his attempts to defend the Law, which he did not do in order to gain the favor of other people but because he thought it was what God wanted.” However, Ambrosiaster feels that Paul now acknowledges that in fact, he was pleasing the leaders of the Jewish faith although he thought he was pleasing God. This seems like a hidden message to the individuals involved, that they too were making the same mistake he once did.

Ambrosiaster suggests that Paul admits he did not know that the time for keeping the Law was in order to gain salvation was over, and that he was faithfully following the teaching of his ancestors as outlined in the oral teachings of the Rabbis, both out of respect for Jewish religion and out of spite against this new way started by Jesus of Nazareth. Not only that, but he was aiming at another goal, and that was to stand head and shoulders above his peers in his zeal for the Law. It took a direct revelation from God through the Anointed One to bring him to his senses, and it was this same revelation he brought to Galatia. So why couldn’t these new believers in Galatia remain as faithful as he was? Why did they so quickly buy into the polluted gospel brought by these false teachers?¹³

Ninth century theologian Haimo of Auxerre offered paraphrase on what he thinks Paul is saying here: “I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries, that is, beyond all those of my own era and those who were my own age. I was advancing in the teaching of the Law according to the tradition of the Pharisees from whose class I was descended. Nobody could rival my zeal for the lessons and inquiries, nor indeed for the persecution of Christians. Thus, they could not match my status in the synagogue.¹⁴ Among my own people, the people of the Pharisees, I was more dedicated to a greater degree, an ardent follower, meaning a diligent imitator, living to prop up the synagogue of my ancestral traditions, namely, of the Pharisees.”¹⁵

When Paul was speaking about his peers, Bruno the Carthusian hears Paul saying: “I advanced, I say, by performing beyond many of my contemporaries who were young and industrious just as I was. I call them contemporaries, not proselytes, for they were among my own people and thus children of Abraham nurtured in the Law just as I was. I also say that I lived as an ardent imitator, a follower, and a lover not only of the Law but also of my ancestral traditions.” Paul is revealing that the prophets bestowed certain traditions that went beyond the Law, such as when Zechariah speaks of the fasting on the first month, the fasting on the fourth, etc.¹⁶ Paul accepted them as traditions for his life because he was so fascinated by them that it was as though they belonged to him. That’s why when he persecuted the assemblies of believers, it was obvious that he didn’t learn anything about the Gospel prior to his conversion.¹⁷

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER ONE (Lesson XXXVII)

Methodist minister Arno C. Gaebelein (1861-1945) thinks that after what Paul says here, it is then incorrect to speak of a “Pauline theology” and a “Pauline gospel,” as if his mind was able to somehow put this all together as his personal idea of the Gospel’s plan of salvation. No mind of man could have ever invented or discovered the marvelous truths of the Gospel on its own. It is supernatural in its revelation and in its power. This makes his experience even more remarkable when we trace and discover what a religious, zealous, law-keeping Pharisee he was before. And where did all this zeal and pain-staking law-keeping dedication lead him? It made him a persecutor of God’s church. On the road to Damascus, the God who separated him at birth called him by His grace, and the Son of God in His glory was revealed to him as well as in him so that He might preach Him to the Gentiles. And he did not confer with Barnabas or Ananias after his conversion, neither did he go to Jerusalem to visit the other Apostles.

To have gone up to Jerusalem, says Gaebelein, would have been for him a natural thing; to go back to the city where he wrought such havoc as a persecutor and there to confess his guilt and testify of the Anointed One, may have appealed to his manhood. But he did not confer with flesh and blood; he did not follow his own reasoning. And why should he go to Jerusalem to consult with the other Apostles? Should he go there to report to them what happened, ask their council and gain their sanction? All this was unnecessary at the moment because he received his calling and commission from the Lord, and there was no need to go and consult any man about it. His independence of Jerusalem and his dependence on the Lord as His servant is thereby established. Those in Jerusalem did not make him an Apostle; the Lord Yeshua did this. After all, once the disciples were called and then sent out by the Anointed One, they didn’t go back to the Rabbis and Elders in Jerusalem to see if they approved.

After three years he went up to Jerusalem to visit with Peter. What happened during that visit? The Apostles did not meet in council to examine Paul about his experience and fitness to preach the Gospel. He did not seek the sanction or authority of the Jerusalem Church counsel, but he visited there with Peter for only fifteen days to become acquainted with him. The other Apostles did not see him at all, not even the beloved disciple, John. Only James the Lord’s brother. The many churches of Judæa did not know him by face but heard that the former persecutor now preached the faith he once tried to destroy.

All this proves his claim “an apostle not from men, nor through man,” notes Gaebelein, Afterwards he went into the provinces of Syria and Cilicia preaching and teaching his God-given Gospel everywhere. He tells the Galatians how little time he spent with Peter and the other Apostles. The false teachers brought this against him and challenged his authority as an Apostle on account of not being linked with Peter. He fully affirms all this and shows that his apostleship was entirely independent of Jerusalem and the twelve Apostles. And here we have the character of a true Final Covenant ministry. It is from the Lord, independent of mankind and ecclesiastical authority. Its message is the message of God, from God.¹ I don’t believe that Gaebelein is discounting the need and blessing of having the leadership of a church or denomination behind you. But that’s not where it begins. It starts with a calling from God through His Holy Spirit.

J. C. Philpot, a descendant from Huguenot Protestants,² has an interesting point of view on this verse. He feels that by looking at God’s people in general and their ordinary mode of spiritual living, the revelation of the Anointed One to the soul is a gracious internal discovery by the power of the Holy Spirit that reveals to them who the Anointed One really is by eyes of faith. Nothing is seen or heard by the bodily senses, and yet the presence of His glorious Person is as real as if He could be visibly seen, and His voice is as clear as if He could audibly be heard. It is as though the believer’s eyes and ears have seen His glory and listened to His words.

It is all the result of grace, entirely heavenly and divine, and, therefore, natural senses and reason have no place here. It is a divine bringing into the heart of the power and presence, grace and glory, love and blood of the Anointed One in a way that may only be felt spiritually. Under these spiritual operations and influences – for it is the Spirit’s work to take the things of the Anointed One and reveal them to the soul; it is the Spirit’s role to testify of Jesus – under these sacred influences, divine anointings, and gracious operations, the Anointed One is made known to the heart and looked up to by the spirit. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, the Anointed One is saying to all who believe in Him, “Look to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God; there is no other.³”⁴

Jewish scholar W. Adriaan Liebenberg offers some insights into what he sees here in relationship to Paul’s Jewish heritage. In spite of the fact that Paul’s letter was written in Greek, Liebenberg sees the reference here in Hebrew. So for a Jewish believer, the point Paul is trying to make begins in verses ten and eleven, and in the Jewish Bible this section reads: “Now does that sound as if I were trying to win human approval? No! I want Elohim’s approval! Or that I’m trying to cater to people? If I were still doing that, I would not be a servant of the Anointed One. Furthermore, let me make clear to you, brothers, that the Good News as I proclaim it is not a human product; because neither did I receive it from someone else nor was I taught it – it came through a direct revelation from Yeshua the Messiah. ”

Paul makes it clear that he is not out to please people, but rather to please YaHWeh by teaching His will and using His Words and not the words of mankind. Where can these words of YaHWeH be found? Only in the Hebrew TaNaKh.⁵ No wonder Yeshua used the same reference to these documents consistently by saying, “It has been written.”⁶ Now Paul makes the claim that Jesus the Anointed One taught him the Good News. Does this mean that the Anointed One taught him anything that is not written in the Hebrew Scriptures? Definitely not! We can know this because of what is written in the Book of Acts.

Here we see that Paul used the Hebrew Scriptures to teach the truth of Jesus the Anointed One. If he did not, then the Jews of Berea would not have believed him at all.⁷ Paul taught only from the Hebrew Scriptures. Another fact is that the Final Covenant, especially the Book of Acts, was not yet written so it was impossible to quote from.⁸ It is very clear that Paul used the Scriptures, the TaNaKh, to teach about the Anointed One. So the Anointed One Himself did not teach Paul anything new that is not already found in the Hebrew Scriptures.⁹

Grant Osborne notes that Paul attended no classes, nor did he studied under any Christian teacher. The Gospel was given to him directly by “revelation from Jesus the Anointed One.” There is a question whether this should be interpreted as a general revelation or as a specific revelation. The latter is more likely, referring to the specific revelation Paul received from Jesus on the Damascus road.¹⁰ There is also a question whether this was “a revelation from Jesus” or “a revelation about Jesus.” It is likely that Paul was wanting to show that he received both revelations, they were already his. And he was crystal clear in verse sixteen that it was God who called him, and it was God’s Son Who was revealed to him. So since Yeshua is both God and man, then Paul fully understood about Yeshua from Yeshua.

Osborne points out that it is difficult to determine how much meaning to read into the word “revelation” (Greek apokalypsis) since this word normally has prophetic overtones dealing with the unveiling of God’s heavenly secrets about the last days. It is unlikely that Paul was thinking here of the second coming and the end of this age. Rather, he appears to be saying that the giving of the Gospel is part of the inauguration of the age to come, the age that began with the Anointed One’s incarnation. In the back of his mind may have been the kingdom truths represented in the Gospel of Mark,¹¹ which summarizes Jesus’ message as “The time has come. The kingdom of God has arrived. Repent and believe the Good News!” The main emphasis here, however, is on the Damascus road vision of the Anointed One who called Paul to be an Apostle and revealed to him these Gospel truths.¹²

English Sunday School teacher J. L. Nye offers this illustration on how the message that Paul brought to the Galatians was not something he or someone else made up. It was from God, and, therefore, possessed more power than anything he could have come up with. Nye says:

During the 1880s in Lawrence, England13 evangelist E. P. Hammond held an evangelistic campaign. As a result, several thousand were brought to the Lord. One of those was the wife of a local theater owner. So many townspeople were converted that both theaters in town went out of business. The husband, whose wife was converted, was so upset about this, plus the closing of their theater, it caused their marriage to suffer and they separated. He vowed secretly that if that evangelist ever came back to Lawrence he would kill him. Sure enough, two years later Evangelist Hammond was back for a special meeting. The theater owner sneaked in to get a good look at this culprit who ruined his marriage and business. The Spirit of the Lord was so strong that he ended up at the altar. At the end, he gave his testimony in which he revealed his intentions of harming the evangelist. He joined his wife’s church and became a co-laborer with other Christians to win more souls for the Anointed One in that town.14

No wonder Paul said with confidence that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation, of which he was not ashamed.¹⁵ So neither should we. Just remember, you will never be shamed by the Gospel if you are not ashamed of the Gospel. That’s why the writer of Hebrews said, Jesus, our leader, and teacher. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy He knew would be His afterward. So keep your eyes on Him.¹⁶

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER ONE (Lesson XXXVI)

Obviously, the Apostle Paul and his ministry are a prime example of just the opposite of what Brown describes. Paul’s dedication to his calling and ministry rose above all other things in his life. He willingly suffered end endured many things that he called small in comparison to what awaited him in heaven. Pleasing the One who called him was more important than pleasing himself or his admirers. The angels in heaven rejoiced over each new member born into God’s spiritual family.¹ And I agree with Brown, that the angels in heaven probably weep each time they see one of His chosen servants indulging in personal delights and ego trips rather than carrying their cross to the glory of God.

Johann Lange (1802-1884) sees a clear distinction made here by Paul as to his calling and his revelation. His calling came on the road to Damascus and later with the laying on hands by Ananias. But his revelation was soon to be described as three years in the Arabian desert before he ever went to Jerusalem to meet the Apostles.² So it appears that Paul must first meet the Anointed One, receive his calling, and then his anointing before he can understand anything about the Gospel the Anointed One was going to send him out to preach, especially to the Gentiles.³

James Barr Walker (1805-1887), professor of philosophy at Wheaton College, makes the comparison between a traveler being told by another traveler of a spring by the roadside. There is no reason to doubt someone who has been there and drank from the spring with water that strengthened them as it did many others. In the same way, the Apostle Paul says that what he knows about the Anointed One and the Gospel, was shared with him by the Holy Spirit.⁴ And that spring represented the promises of the First Covenant about who the Anointed One would be, all of which was fulfilled in Jesus the Anointed One. It’s not so much that Paul was given insight and knowledge that none of the other Apostles learned from Jesus. It was only that this was what made Paul believe what Jesus told him as opposed to not believing the Apostles when he was persecuting the Church.⁵

William O’Conor (1820-1887) touches on a point that so far has not been fully explored by other commentators. Paul was given the privilege of sitting in Jerusalem at the feet of the venerated Sanhedrin member, Rabbi Gamaliel. So he was very familiar with the Jewish form of teaching. In fact, when the Mishnah was composed by Rabbi Judah HaNasi (the Prince), the oral teachings of the Rabbis were finally committed to writing following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. The first known printed edition of the Mishnah was published by Joshua Solomon ben Israel Nathan Soncino on May 8, 1492.⁶

Before the times of Rabbi Judah, it was forbidden to write a public record of the Oral Law, although notes for teaching and private use were permitted. This prohibition existed for several reasons. First, because new situations always arise, writing down the Oral Law would limit its scope. Second, just as any complex body of knowledge, such as surgery, cannot be learned from textbooks alone but also requires interaction with a master teacher, so, too, the Oral Law cannot be fully understood without a living Rebbe to explain its meaning. Third, Gentiles could claim it as their own, saying they are the chosen Jewish people, much as they attempted to do based on their translation of the Bible. Without the oral interpretation of the Written Torah, it remains a sealed book, thus forestalling such claims. All those important ideas to the contrary, Rabbi Judah realized that Roman rule was only temporary. Eventually, times would become unstable again, and Jews would scatter throughout the world. It was thus necessary for every Jew to have a guidebook spelling out the major points of all the mitzvim (Laws).

So the Apostle Paul was very much aware of how these oral traditions slowly replaced the Torah as the guiding light for Judaism around the world. So he expressed no interest in seeing the Gospel, which contained the teachings of the Anointed One, following the same route. Unfortunately, that is exactly what has happened the last few years where Ministers cite a Scripture but never read it, and the text for their sermon is not from the Bible but from book or audio tape. No wonder Paul wanted the Galatians to know that he did not arrive at his understanding of the Gospel after years of listening to any oral traditional teaching. It was a revelation, just like John’s revelation on the Isle of Patmos, made possible by the Holy Spirit.

Theologian Alvah Hovey (1820-1903) thinks that Paul included the I as an unexpressed reference to the older Apostles; “for neither did I,” any more than the other Apostles, received it from a man, such as Peter, James, or John. But German Reformed theologian Friedrich Sieffert objects to this as improbable, because Paul makes no reference to the other Apostles up to this point. The Greek noun apokalypsis used here in verse twelve and translated “revelation” (KJV) signifies, literally, an uncovering, laying bare, unveiling, disclosing. And here in the Final Covenant it always denotes a disclosure of religious truth which was before unknown to the individual. This disclosure is made to the soul either by God himself or by the ascended Anointed One, especially through the operation of the Holy Spirit,⁷ and is in that way distinguished from other modes of instruction.

Hovey contends that a partial revelation of Christian truth, before unknown, was made to Paul when Jesus appeared to him on the way to Damascus; but we cannot suppose that his knowledge of the Gospel was completed at once. The most natural opinion would certainly seem to be this: that as, on the one hand, we may reverently presume that all the fundamental truths of the Gospel would be fully revealed to the Apostle Paul before he commenced preaching. So, on the other hand, it might have been ordained that its deepest mysteries and most profound harmonies should be seen and felt through the practical experiences of his apostolic labors. One cannot avoid speculating that during the first three years of Paul’s conversion a great part of the truth, which he was to preach as the only Gospel, was revealed to him with divine clearness and evidence.⁸

Prominent Northern Irish member of the Plymouth Brethren Movement, William Kelly (1821-1908) states there may be some who object to Paul’s claim of being an independent Apostle apart from the approval or ordination of the other Apostles. After all, they say, we do read of believers setting apart and laying on of hands in the Final Covenant. That is not to be argued, all Bible scholars accept that as being Scriptural. But in some cases, a person who exhibits excellent qualifications for the work of sharing and spreading the Gospel can be chosen by a local congregation and put in charge. They may lack the formal manner in which the church authorities appoint such pastors, but they are clothed with a certain dignity in the eyes of the saints to serve their needs.

For instance, says Kelly, we see that elders are not called “teachers” in Scripture, but simply that they are “likely to teach.”⁹ Their primary function is to oversee the work without being required to get a higher degree in teaching. The power in their teaching will make itself felt. Saints of God will always, in the long run, be obliged to accept it. That’s why when a person receives a gift from the Lord, they need not be worried about having the endorsement of those higher up in the Church just to make it valid. Since God gave the gift He will make it respected. But when there are ministers who have highly respectable qualities as teachers but without ministerial power, they may need to be invested with authority by those above them to be accepted by unspiritual people. Therefore, it seems we read of an Apostle going around and taking the lead in governing, appointing, advising, where certain insights were lacking among the saints.¹⁰

What Kelly is saying, is that a minister or teacher must, first of all, receive a calling from God before they accept a calling from church authorities. And where such individuals are planted in the Body of the Anointed One, but who are without any higher church authority to set them forth, their local congregation can recognize God’s calling on their life and receive them as preachers and teachers. But even as Paul did three years later, he sought out the senior Apostle Peter to get his recognition as being one sent by God to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. And if Peter suspected or detected that Saul of Tarsus was not a genuinely called servant of God, neither he, James, John, or the Council would have approved of his ministry, for he was equal to them in all facets of the ministry. This can be seen both in his calling and his instruction, even though he never mentions any other individual as being his teacher in the desert except the Spirit of Anointed One Himself.¹¹

Joseph Beet (1840-1924) feels that what Paul is trying to explain here is that the preaching of the true Gospel is not possible based on the powers of human intellectual discovery alone. It must be accompanied by a revelation received from God through the Anointed One. Just because someone tells you something they think the Bible says, it is not enough unless the Holy Spirit makes it clear to you.¹² Paul is referencing back to the revelation conveyed to him¹³ by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit¹⁴ of wisdom and revelation received at Damascus though¹⁵ the agency of Ananias. There is no reason to believe that all of this was instantaneous, but that it came progressively. He certainly knew of Jesus before his conversion, that’s why he persecuted Jesus’ followers and saw Stephen martyred. But he was ignorant, like Nicodemus, and needed to be born again before he could fully comprehend the kingdom of God.¹⁶

J. B. Lightfoot (1828-1889) sees Paul’s explanation of how he received the revelation of who Jesus really was and the Gospel that He brought to be transmitted to all mankind through preaching, was no different than that of the other Apostles. They too received this revelation directly from Jesus without it going through another medium such as John the Baptizer. Their three years of walking with Jesus was also similar to Paul’s three years in the Arabian Desert. So Paul was not trying to distinguish himself from the other Apostles as being better than they were.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER ONE (Lesson XXXV)

Medieval commentator Haimo of Auxerre points out that there is a difference between listening to the Gospel and learning the Gospel. When someone hears the Gospel, that person can accept the Gospel by faith. But when a person learns the Gospel, however, they comprehend the spiritual meaning of those things contained within the Gospel; what the Lord offered in mysteries and parables; whether it comes by way of divine revelation or human instruction. In other words, Paul was not just spouting off about what he heard but was rightly dividing the truth that he was given.¹ As a trained Pharisee, Paul discovered the art of manufacturing one’s own philosophy about God and what God wanted people to hear.² However, he learned that truth can come by way of manifestation as he sat in the house where Ananias was sent to find him in Damascus.³

Also, Medieval commentator Bruno the Carthusian adds to this when writing that Paul is trying to tell the Galatians that everything he knew about the Gospel came from Jesus the Anointed One who revealed it to him plainly, rather than speaking through parables as He did to teach the other Apostles. That was during the time He was still mortal and in the flesh and their understanding was still weak. So Paul did not learn it from a human being before the Anointed One’s death but after His resurrection.⁴ When we examine how the original disciples reacted to our Lord’s death, we can see that it took a great effort on the part of the Holy Spirit to get them to believe. But when Paul met the resurrected Lord he believed immediately.

Thomas Aquinas notes Paul’s insistence that his revelation did not come to him over a long period of time by way of a fellow believer, but instantaneously from the resurrected Anointed One. This was a two-fold operation. First, that he did not receive from man the authority to preach, but from the Anointed One. As he told the Romans: “And how shall they preach unless they are sent?”⁵ This was part of the message God sent to Paul through Ananias: “This man is to me a vessel of election, to carry my name to the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel”⁶ This is similar to Isaiah’s calling: “1 have given you as a light to the Gentiles, as a covenant for the nations.”⁷

Secondly, he did not receive a full understanding of the Gospel with the help of one or two individuals. It came by way of direct revelation from Jesus the Anointed One. The Anointed One clearly showed him everything he needed to know: “But God revealed them to us.”⁸ Paul could say like Isaiah, “Adonai has given me the ability to speak as a man well taught, so that I, with my words, know how to sustain the weary. Each morning He awakens my ear to hear like those who are taught. Adonai has opened my ear, and I did not resist or turn away.”⁹ Now this revelation was made to the Apostle when he was raptured up into paradise, where “he heard secret words which it is not granted to man to utter.¹⁰”¹¹

John Bunyan (1628-1688) takes a personal interest in what Paul says here about how he received the enlightenment and understanding of the Anointed One and His Word. Bunyan tells how he never endeavored to, nor did he try to, make use of other scholars writings so as to commit plagiarism.¹² Although he doesn’t condemn those who quote other authors. But for himself, he found by experience that what he was taught him by the Word Himself, through the Spirit of the Anointed One, could be preached, maintained, and supported due to a sound and well-established conscience. He chooses not to go into all that at the moment of his writing because he doesn’t want to get into all the details at the moment. Yet, his experience sparked more interest in that text of Scripture than many of the men who came before him. So Bunyan too could say with the Apostle Paul that the Gospel he preached is not of human origin. He did not receive it from any man, nor was he taught it to him by other men. Rather, he received it by revelation from Jesus the Anointed One.¹³

British statesman Baron George Lyttelton (1709-1773), in a letter to his friend Esquire Gilbert West who lived in the town of Wickham, in the county of Kent, just outside London, emphasizes the fact that there was too much against the Apostle Paul for him to be a fraud or Apostolic pretender. As Lord Lyttelton sees it, there is no way Paul could have successfully carried out any such deception. For how could anyone become an expert in explaining the secrets of a religion they never belonged to with any authority, let alone be an accepted Apostle among others who were part of it from the beginning? Logic tells us, says Lyttelton, he would naturally depend on them for his special understanding about Yeshua the Anointed One, someone he persecuted as a bitter enemy. It must have come another way, and by his own account, he makes it plain by what he says here in verse twelve.

Lord Lyttelton goes on to point out that if Paul did fabricate his story of conversion, he certainly would have located it in a place so remote or hidden that there were no witnesses to refute his claims. Lyttelton then cites as an example Joseph Smith and the mysterious golden plates of the Book of Mormon. Instead, the miracle of Paul’s conversion, with its great light from heaven exceeding the brightness of the sun, is placed in the public highway near Damascus; at noonday when the senses of his companions could not be deceived. Were to there to have been any shadow of disproof, how promptly the Jews in Damascus would have nipped the falsehood in the bud by the testimony of the witnesses who were present with Paul at the time. Nor would he be able to point to Ananias as a first- hand witness to his conversion and commissioning.

Furthermore, says Lord Lyttelton, when the Apostle stood on the castle steps of King Agrippa palace and told the whole story, why did not the Jewish authorities silence him at once and forever by showing that nothing of the kind ever took place, and proved it was not true by the abundant evidence of the competent witnesses who were with him? It was an event that took place before the eyes of the world and would be made at once a matter of the strictest scrutiny. And the truth of the matter is that it was so incontestably established that it became a matter of common knowledge. The Jews said the utmost they could against Paul before the Roman court, and yet Paul appealed directly to King Agrippa in presence of Festus as to his own personal knowledge of the truth of the story.¹⁴ In fact, the Jews tried to hide the truth about the resurrection of our Lord by calling the disciples liars, but they made no attempt to silence Paul as a liar. They have been forgotten, but Jesus and Paul are remembered and talked about to this day.

James Haldane (1768-1851), points out that this importance of Paul’s conversion and his commission as the Apostle to the Gentiles was so vital that it is recorded three times in Scripture.¹⁵ But rather than this leading to Paul being venerated and lifted up to a high position in the church, which was later claimed by the church for Peter’s sake, Haldane tells us to look at Paul’s calling as being connected to another aspect of his life he shared with the Corinthians.¹⁶ There he talks about being in prison, whipped, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, long tiring trips, confronted by robbers, sleepless nights, hungry, thirsty, left out in the cold, and not having sufficient clothes. For Paul, that should be reason enough for anyone to accept the fact that without his receiving a divine calling directly from the Anointed One, none of those things would have been tolerated.¹⁷

Greek Bible scholar Maria Mavromataki sees the divine intervention which occurred in the life and activities of Paul as truly beyond the comprehension of human reasoning, which finds it difficult to understand how a fanatical enemy of the Christians could so suddenly accept the word of Christ and, moreover, subsequently become the most tireless herald of it. Paul himself describes his conversion here in verses eleven to seventeen as a miracle from God: “I must make it clear to you, my friends, that the Gospel you heard me preach is not of human origin. I did not take it over from anyone; no one taught it to me; I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ … But then in His good pleasure, God, who from my birth set me apart, and who called me through His grace, chose to reveal His Son in and through me, in order that I might proclaim Him among the Gentiles …”¹⁸

John Brown (1800-1874) must have encountered some situations where ministers’ egos got in the way of their calling and began to promote themselves rather than the One they served. As far as he is concerned, this is a sign of someone with an enlarged mind and shrunken heart.¹⁹ One of the things ministers must always keep in mind is that they will most often be judged, not by their preaching, but by their character. Ministers are not just independent representatives of the Gospel, they are also privileged to hold their office as one of God’s chosen, and sent out as a special messenger with the Good News of His Kingdom.

Brown feels that there is something inconsistent and distasteful about a person whose mind ought to be habitually employed with the glory of God’s Character; the order and stability of the God’s kingdom; the restoration of a ruined world to purity and joy; the incarnation and sacrifice of the Son of God; the transforming and comforting influence of the Holy Spirit; the joys and the sorrows of eternity; and whose focus should be to bring all of these things in their reality and importance to the attention of their fellow believers. But somehow they only have time for themselves, their personal interests, and promoting their particular ministry.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER ONE (Lesson XXXIV)

I was privileged to teach in Bible Schools and theological seminaries in the Europe and Asia, I often heard the term “Contextualize” concerning how to get the Gospel across to people not acquainted with Americanized forms of messaging, evangelism, and church planting. I saw that the Europeans were deductive reasoners, so I started with what they believed and helped them broaden their view and understanding of how it worked, why it worked, and what it worked to accomplish. Asians were mostly inductive reasoners, so I took all the various points of view and collated them so that we could start with one basic understanding to see if all those point of views were valid or not. That’s why, what they built up from there would then be a solid structure.

When I taught in the USA, to some degree, my American students were reductive reasoners so I needed to add back what they put aside, and take out what they put in, and show that without it the whole range and perspective of the Gospel could not be achieved and made relevant to their culture. Paul was doing a little bit of all these things with the Galatians who needed to be reoriented by keeping the truth in focus. Oft times I would hear one of my students say, “But my daddy didn’t preach it that way.”

There was an element of truth in the Judaizers’ suspicion of Paul, which he later admitted when writing to the church in Corinth.¹ That was because Paul’s own understanding of the Law was earlier based on what he learned from the great Jewish teacher, Gamaliel.² Yet, even though he was willing to make cultural concessions related to lifestyles and religious practices, he was adamantly against making any concessions with regard to the Gospel he preached that both Jews and Gentiles are saved by the same grace.

As I ministered around Europe and Asia I discovered there were certain no-no’s that minister’s needed to be aware of. In one country where I went to preach, I found out that the brethren there wore suits but without neckties because they considered it worldly attire. So out of respect I took off my tie and discovered that my messages were just as anointed without it as they were with it. Was I being a hypocrite? No! I never taught that a preacher must wear a tie in order for his message to be powerful.

On another occasion, one well known American healing evangelist I knew was preaching in India and spoke about “Standing on God’s Word” as our foundation. To illustrate his point he put his Bible down on the platform and stood on it. He then invited his Indian interpreter to do the same but the interpreter was horrified and would not comply. I found out later that all the ministers felt insulted that this evangelist did a dishonorable thing to God’s Holy Word.

1:12 No one just handed a manuscript to me, nor did I take notes while attending some teacher’s class. Instead, I received it directly from my teacher our Lord Jesus the Anointed One Himself.

To make his point even stronger Paul states emphatically that he did not sit under the tutelage of any man, not even the disciples to be taught the Gospel. To the Corinthians he wrote, “Am I not an Apostle; have I not seen Jesus our Lord?”³ When speaking of the resurrection and of the appearance of the Anointed One to the disciples and others, he says, “Last of all….he appeared to me also.”⁴ In other words, Paul asks incredulously, do you think I’d be such an idiot as to change or alter the Gospel I received straight from the Anointed One?

What Paul went through was not for him only. After all, several apostles experienced a revelation, such as Peter on the housetop with regard to Gentiles receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Would they be willing to question Peter’s integrity as to the validity of his revelation and whether or not it came directly from God through the Holy Spirit? But as for Paul, I like the way one version puts it: “I was not taught it or commissioned to preach it by the Apostles in Jerusalem, nor indeed any man. For the Good News that I preach was revealed to me by Jesus the Anointed One himself, who commissioned me to proclaim it. I did not receive it from any human.”⁵

In his travels around Galatia and Greece Paul often visited synagogues, and also on Mars Hill in Athens, challenged the local philosophers to debates over the true God. Perhaps he heard or even saw the inscription in the temple of Apollo at Delphi where the Lacedaemonians placed one of their most famous sayings that became part of everyone’s language, and considered as the first-fruits of their wisdom which simply said: “Know yourself.”⁶

In another ancient document they explain this saying as follows: “…the proverb is applied to those whose boasts exceed what they are, and also serves as a warning to pay no attention to the opinion of the multitude.”⁷ In other words, be sure of yourself; don’t have any doubts about who you are, whose you are, what you are, and how you became what you are. If anything, Paul wanted the Galatians and Judaizers to know that he was absolutely, positively, unequivocally sure about what he received his Gospel from the Anointed One first hand, no matter what others might say.

It’s time to recognize that every Christian is gifted by God for their special mission in life. Few, if any, claim to have received an extraordinary revelation similar to Paul’s. But each Christian is uniquely gifted by the Spirit and called to serve God in some exceptional way. In my travels throughout Asia I often found it necessary to contextualize my good news message, while not diluting the Gospel in the process. I tried my best to learn what Asians loved and hated; what made them happy and what demoralized them; what complemented them and what insulted them. The Gospel can address all these issues if explained properly. But you do not need to rewrite the Gospel just because it speaks against something that a particular culture accepts.

Let me illustrate this in another way: Consider life’s journey like a map, and the Gospel is a compass given to us upon our encounter with the Anointed One in our new birth. We are all headed in the same direction toward the same goal. But some may go by sea, some by land; some slosh through water, some through snow; some endure rain, some hail, some sleet, some fog; some climb mountains, some through valleys; some tolerate heat, some cold; but all are kept on course by the same identical source – their Gospel compass. We don’t change the Gospel’s direction; the Gospel changes our direction.

When Paul refers to his revelation from Jesus the Anointed One, he is making a clear reference to his Damascus Road experience where he encountered the risen Anointed One, from whom he received his commission to go to the Gentiles. This revelation convinced Paul to accept the inescapable reality that the Crucified One was the Anointed One. According to Luke, Jesus “appeared” to Paul for this very purpose.⁸ Paul didn’t see a mere angel, but the Lord Jesus Himself. To describe his experience as a “revelation” tells the Galatians that he was having more than a dream, vision, or trance.

While few, if any, will ever experience their “revelation” of who the Anointed One really is in a similar manner such as Paul, we all have experienced our own revelation. It came through the Gospel; and it is just as real, and just as dynamic as that of Paul. It changed our lives. When we tell people how we came out of the darkness of ignorance about salvation into His marvelous Gospel light redemption, and how we became a new creation in the Anointed One Jesus, they may try and convince us that it’s all a fantasy; a hallucination, something we’ve been duped into believing. However, we know better. We know it is real because we were there; we felt the burden of sin lift off of our shoulders; we experienced the dramatic change, we felt the joy and love of God flood our hearts upon being forgiven.

In Paul’s case, what he once hated he now loved; what he once spoke against with all his vigor, he now preached with all his strength. Jesus told Paul to take this message of salvation to the Gentiles, and in spite of the difficulties he encountered, Paul was not about to change course and adopt the Gospel as espoused by these legalistic teachers. If you go back and read the sermons of early Methodist, Baptist, and Pentecostal preachers, and compare them to what we hear today you’ll see that many have changed course and soften their stance on worldly living and worldly lifestyles, heaven and hell. If it took old fashion, Spirit anointed, sound gospel preaching to bring revival and evangelism in the past, it will take the same for it to happen again. Let us not mistake numbers and popularity for revival, but how society is fundamentally changed because of the number of people who have been transformed by the power of the Gospel.

An early church leader of a local church in Cæsarea and great Bible scholar, named Pamphilus, made the point that Jesus proved He was not an ordinary human by doing what He did when He confronted Paul on the road to Damascus, therefore, there is no doubt that He was divinely human.⁹ And Chrysostom adds that when people who are fierce and hot tempered in their opposite to any cause, require time and much ingenuity for their conversion. But since Paul was so suddenly converted and was rendered clean and sober at the very peak of his madness, he obviously received a divine vision and teaching.¹⁰

And Theodoret Bishop of Cyr believes that it was very shrewd of Paul to mention that he received this message of the Gospel by revelation. The Lord Jesus already ascended into heaven and was no longer visible to all.¹¹ But to Paul He appeared on the road and made him worthy of the ministry of proclamation.¹² So Paul takes this as a defense against the slander of the Judaizers showing that in this too he did not fall short of the other Apostles. For just as the Galatians received the Gospel from him, so likewise he received it from the Anointed One by way of revelation.¹³

“The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win.” This is a quote from pro football coach Vince Lombardi, arguably the greatest football coach of all time, by basketball coach Bobby Knight who won 902 NCAA Division I men’s college basketball games, the most all-time at the time of his retirement. Knight is best known as the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers from 1971 to 2000. So I will take them both at their word that making yourself ready for the contest is more important than the contest itself. Knight goes on to say that, “The actual game, test, or project is just the end of a long process of getting ready.”

But there are others who share this same philosophy. Idowu Koyenikan, an internationally acclaimed organizational consultant, said that “Opportunity does not waste time with those who are unprepared.” And German Kent (born Evelyn LaShawn Palmer), an American print and television journalists, noted that “Your strength doesn’t come from winning. It comes from struggles and hardships. Everything that you go through prepares you for the next level.” And Matshona Dhliwayo, Canadian based Philosopher, entrepreneur, and author, shared that “You don’t have to remind a flower when its time to bloom is near; it has been preparing for it all of its life.” And Lailah GiftyAkita tells us that “Every action in the present prepares us for the future.”

Michael Banks, Software Engineer at Polecat Intelligence, in his article on why preparation is important to your success, said that we should think of preparation as a mustard seed. When you plant the seed, it takes a few years to become a tree. A tree in itself is an embodiment of purpose that seizes the opportunity to provide shelter for birds and people. Actually, opportunities are only identified in the place of preparation. When you apply yourself to developing your craft through knowledge and skill acquisition, you gradually begin to notice the void around your craft. A desire to fill that void grows until you seize that opportunity. I hail from a country with one of the largest crude oil reserve in the world. Prior to when this commodity became a worldwide necessity, no one saw this product as a wheel of change to global energy.

But the Bible is not silent on this subject. King Solomon said that we should first get your fields ready, next plant your crops, and then build your house.¹ He also warned that a smart person foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them, but the average person goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.² But one of Solomon’s best messages on the need for preparation is when he said that people might plan what they want to say, but it is the Lord who gives them the right words. People think that whatever they do is right, but the Lord judges their reason for doing it.³ I would suggest that everyone read the rest of what Solomon said.

Believe it or not, there are some people who wait for an opportunity to come and then prepare for whatever it demands of them. Without being dismissive, I would venture to say that since they don’t know what opportunities may be given to them, they really aren’t sure how to prepare. Having been a teacher, I subscribe to the idea that education is what prepares a person for the future. However, from what I’m hearing today, many schools, colleges, and universities are teaching students to expect what they want from the future and demand that it be given to them when they go out into the workplace.

I learned that the key to success was to start early preparing for the future. I did not know what I would grow up to be, or where life’s path would lead me after high school and my military service. But the more I read, studied, learned, and allowed myself to be tested on the humanities, sciences, and philosophies at the time, the clearer it became to me the direction I felt God wanted me to go. And I can say with all humility, He allowed me to serve in positions of leadership I never dreamed would be mine. When I asked why they chose me for such an important position, their answer was that I seemed to know what I was doing and did it well.

So why not take the words of these successful people and the Word of God and commit yourself to get better at what you’re doing now without waiting for the right opportunity to come. You’ll find that when it does arrive you feel a whole lot more prepared than if you did nothing up to that point. Furthermore, unless you are willing to prepare, the opportunities may never come at all. – Dr. Robert R Seyda