Galatians 1:15-24 Preparation for Preaching the Gospel
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: May 26, 2020 Galatians 1:15-24
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God because of me.
(Understanding the Text) Here, Paul recounts his early history as a Christian in order to demonstrate that his knowledge came either directly from Peter and/or James or from Jesus Himself. Paul explains that what he received from Peter was only 2 weeks worth of instruction and that it had taken place three years after his conversion. Paul’s point is that he knows what he knows directly from God, not secondhand from another apostle.
(Revelation of God) Paul started from Jerusalem to Damascus. Just outside of Damascus, Jesus revealed Himself to Paul. I think it is interesting that Paul refers to the One who set him apart before birth and who gave Paul grace as the Father rather than the Son. This implies how much Paul thought that the Father loved the Gentiles and wanted them to be saved. Paul is reminding the Galatians that the Father chose him specifically to give them the gospel. These other teachers were not chosen specifically by God to evangelize the Gentiles. They were taking it upon themselves to spread their own ideas. They were not under direct orders from God like Paul was.
(Understanding the Text) Guzik’s commentary makes the point that Paul is making a play on words here when he speaks of God setting him apart. “Separated is an important word. The Greek word aphorizo is related to the word used as a title for the religious elite in Paul’s day, the “separated ones” known as the Pharisees. Before Paul came to Jesus, he was an important Pharisee (Php_3:5), but he wasn’t really separated to God. Now, through the work of Jesus, he was really separated to God! i. “The word is akin to that for ‘Pharisee’, and the Pharisees were in no doubt about it: they held firmly that they were ‘separated’ to God.” (Morris).” Paul said that he thought he was separated out as a Pharisee by his own choice and that of his family, but now he has truly been separated out by God Himself. Thus, Paul is making a point about the Pharisaical Judaizing Christians who the Galatians were listening to. Being separated out by humans as a Pharisee was inferior to being separated out by the Father Himself to serve Him.
After Paul was healed in Damascus, he went away to Arabia. Then later he returned to Damascus. What was the time framework? Why did he feel the need to go away? Robertson’s Word Commentary says “This visit to Arabia has to come between the two visits to Damascus which are not distinguished in Act 9:22. In Act 9:23 Luke does speak of ‘considerable days’ and so we must place the visit to Arabia between Act 9:22, Act 9:23.” “But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him,” (Acts 9:22-23). Vincent’s Word Studies deals with where Arabia was. “It is entirely impossible to decide what Paul means by this term, since the word was so loosely used and so variously applied. Many think the Sinaitic peninsula is meant (Stanley, Farrar, Matheson, Lightfoot). Others, the district of Auranitis near Damascus (Lipsius, Conybeare and Howson, Lewin, McGiffert). Others again the district of Arabia Petraea.” Guzik’s commentary says that Paul lived in a quiet deserted place outside of Damascus, in other words, the district of Aruanitis near Damascus.
After three years, Paul went up to Jerusalem. Is this three years after his conversion or three years after returning to Damascus from Arabia? Guzik’s commentary says that it is three years after Paul’s conversion. He says that Paul’s point here is that Paul studied by himself for three years before he had any contact with the other apostles. I guess that is also why Paul makes the point that he went to Arabia. He is trying to say that he did not learn from the people of Damascus either. He learned directly from God and the scriptures.
Paul’s primary teacher in Jerusalem was Peter. He saw James a little. The commentaries point out that the reason that Paul mentions that this was James, the brother of Jesus, was because at that time, James, the brother of John, was still alive and there was James the lesser in residence also. I had not realized that Paul was converted and had been a Christian for a while before the death of James, John’s brother. Cool. When I checked it out, I realized that this was even before Peter’s vision of the unclean animals and the sending of Peter to Cornelius. (I do not remember my source for this information. Check it out for yourself rather than relying on my timing of events.)
God was getting everything in order at the right time. Saul sent Jews out of Jerusalem who started spreading the word to the Gentiles at Antioch. He was converted and off the scene for three years as he searched the scriptures to understand not just what he got wrong but also the justification for the calling that he was supposed to follow. He knew that he was supposed to convert Gentiles, but he also knew that his calling went against everything he had been raised to believe. He had to have more than one man’s (Ananias’) message if he was going to be committed to this calling and break every rule of Judaism that he had been raised with. He studied the scriptures and a veil fell from his eyes as he saw that his culture had it all wrong. Either around that time or a little later, he got more confirmation by being taken up into heaven. However, God also gave Paul one more confirmation. Paul heard that Peter received a vision and had an experience that made it official that Jesus wanted the gospel to go to the Gentiles. Thus, it makes sense why Paul wanted to speak to Peter. Paul knew that he was called to go to the Gentiles but before he really started the mission that he had been called to, he wanted to speak to the apostle who had officially opened up the gospel to the Gentiles. This makes me think that the parts of Acts about Peter were probably part of what Paul and Peter spoke about. Luke probably heard those stories from Paul. Paul did not speak with the other apostles, so Luke did not have a source for stories about the other apostles’ activities.
Was this time in Jerusalem when Barnabas introduced him to the apostles in Acts? Robertson’s Word Pictures says yes. “Only here in N.T. If we turn to Act 9:26-30, we shall see that the visit of two weeks to Peter came after Barnabas endorsed Paul to the suspicious disciples in Jerusalem and probably while he was preaching in the city. It was a delightful experience, but Peter did not start Paul upon his apostleship. He visited him as an equal. Peter no doubt had much to say to Paul.”
After 2 weeks in Jerusalem, Paul went to Syria and Cilicia. What was he doing there? Robertson’s Word Pictures says “This statement agrees with the record in Act 9:30. On klimata, see note on 2Co 11:10. Paul was not idle, but at work in Tarsus and the surrounding country.” “And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus” (Acts 9:30). In other words, Paul was speaking about Jesus in Jerusalem which stirred up the Hellenistic Jews to kill him, so he was sent back to Tarsus so that Jerusalem would calm down. However, Paul didn’t stay in Cilicia where Tarsus was. He went off to Syria also. Antioch is in Syria, so it makes more sense about why Barnabas got Paul to help him with Antioch since Paul had already been going around preaching in the area. We talk about Paul and Barnabas’ journey as the first missionary journey, but I think Paul had already been speaking to the Gentiles in Syria and Cilicia. That was the first missionary endeavor of Paul to the Gentiles. Then it makes sense why Barnabas went there to get Paul. Barnabas needed an expert on the scriptures who was willing to work with Gentiles without prejudice. Paul was already doing this. In addition, Paul had probably shared his calling from Jesus with Barnabas while they were in Jerusalem together, so Barnabas put two and two together and realized that he knew just what God wanted for the church at Antioch.
At this point in time, the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem didn’t have any opinion about Paul’s teaching. They had simply heard that their persecutor had become a follower of Jesus, and they praised God for it. They probably bragged about Paul at that point in time. This contrasted with later when they would be suspicious of Paul because they believed that he was betraying his Jewishness. I like a sentence that Guzik wrote of Paul during this time. “After his conversion, Paul was a ‘normal Christian’ for many years.” This spotlights that Paul spent years preparing before he was sent out to face the beatings, stoning, prison cells, and controversies that he would later be called to face. It also shows that our concept of “normal Christian” is skewed since Paul would never be normal anything. Just because someone is not famous does not mean that they are run-of-the-mill. They may be extraordinary and not famous or controversial. They may be called to be just where they are at the moment, but they are being amazing where they are at even though other people do not realize it. God knows.
(Application) My application for myself is that I cannot teach others to love Jesus, they have to decide to do that for themselves. I cannot receive that love from other teachers, no matter how much I learn from them. Each person has to have his/her own relationship with God. The other application is that God knows the jobs that He wants done. I need to be patient and wait for Him to show me what to do. However, the job in the end is only about telling the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection because God loves us so much.
Summary of My Research for this Devotion
Okay, I think I’ve got a timeline. Paul was converted and healed in Damascus. He left the city but went off to a more deserted area near the city so that he could figure out what had happened to him and what it all meant. He had to come to terms with the fact that everything that he had believed was screwed up and that even what he believed about how God dealt with sinners who chose to be His enemy was wrong. Instead of bringing judgment down on Paul for hurting His disciples, God was calling Paul to be His disciple. None of it made sense, so Paul’s first priority was figuring out what was going on. When he read the scriptures with his new perspective, they opened up before him with a beauty that his old study had never revealed. Paul was able to see clearly what was going on in the Old Testament for the first time. Once he got his own head straightened out, Paul realized that he had to go tell this message to others, so he went back into Damascus and began preaching. The Jews could not refute his Old Testament knowledge, so they used their influence to get the governor of Damascus to sanction their killing of Paul. The other Christians heard about the plot and let Paul down secretly through a window in the wall, and Paul escaped. What should he do now? Well, why not go up to Jerusalem and meet some of the apostles, especially Peter who had some communication with God that had bearing on Paul’s own mission from Jesus? But when he got there, none of the Jewish Christians were willing to give him an introduction to an apostle because they thought it might be a trick. Finally, Barnabas believed him and introduced him to Peter. He spent most of his time with Peter. True to the relationship that is revealed in other places in the scriptures, Peter made sure to inform James, the leader of the Jerusalem church of what was going on and James came in to check out Paul. He must have approved. None of the other apostles came in to meet Paul. Was this out of safety? Was this Paul’s choice, i.e., since he already had Peter, the head of the disciples, why go for the lesser ones? That does not sound right. I think that maybe the two were so intensely focused on speaking of Jesus together that they didn’t think about the others. Also, their topic was probably the Gentiles, which the other disciples were not part of yet. In his free time, Paul thought he should go back to the Hellenistic Jews and right the wrong that he had done to Stephen. However, that just stirred them up, so the Jewish Christians hustled Paul out of Jerusalem and sent him off to Tarsus on a ship from Caesarea. They could not send him back to Damascus because he had stirred up the Jews there. They could not let him stay in Jerusalem or Judea because he had stirred up the Jews there, so the only other alternative was to send him back to his hometown of Tarsus. It was far enough away that the Hellenists wouldn’t follow him, and any trouble he stirred up wouldn’t affect the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem since he would be limited to the Jews of Tarsus, and his family was influential enough there that he should be safe. They never thought about the fact that he would take the gospel to the Gentiles in the area, and maybe stir up trouble for himself among them.