We have watched through the
first verses of the book of Galatians as Paul the apostle has been
giving his background to the members of the churches located there.
Because there are those among them in Galatia who are corrupting the
gospel of Jesus Christ by adding obedience to the law, Paul is
seeking to demonstrate how it was the grace of God that brought forth
his salvation. He has shown this to be true thus far by stating that
when he was converted he did not confer with flesh and blood, nor
with any of the apostles of renown, but went into the deserts of
Arabia and was trained by Jesus Himself for three years. It was only
after those three years that he sought out Peter in Jerusalem and
stayed with him for fifteen days. Paul adds additional comments to
his lack of encounters with many of the apostles in chapter one and
verse nineteen where we read:
But other of the
apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.
Paul
desired that the churches in Galatia know that he received the
teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ from the ultimate authority,
Jesus Christ Himself, so he states, “But other of the apostles
saw I none,”. Paul did not matriculate on the backbones of the
ones who walked daily with Jesus while He was on the Earth, but he
rather was taught by Jesus Himself. Paul was not a “parrot”
apostle who only delivered words that he heard from others. No, Paul
the apostle heard the good news of salvation offered by Jesus from
Jesus. There was no purer gospel nor better source than Him. Although
learning from the disciples might seem like a logical choice for
Paul, he was guided by the Spirit of God to be taught by Jesus
Himself.
The only
exception other than Peter that Paul makes is, “save James the
Lord's brother.” Almost as an afterthought in his mind, Paul
recalls that he did make one other connection while he was in
Jerusalem with the Lord's brother James. James who was one of the
heads of the church in Jerusalem possibly met with Paul some time
while he stayed with Peter. There is no indication by Paul that he
was in Jerusalem to be taught by James or Peter, but rather he was
there to visit them. His refutation of the teachings of the Judaizers
who infiltrated the churches of Galatia was based upon his receiving
the gospel from none other than Jesus, and the only encounters he had
with the apostles was for visitation only.
Once
again we have seen Paul emphasizing his time with the Lord alone.
Rather than receiving all of his teachings from others, Paul saw it
necessary to be alone with the Lord Jesus and learn from Him. We must
remember that it was Jesus Christ who called Paul in the first place
while he was on the road to Damascus. Paul's mission at at that time
was to arrest and convict Christians, however Jesus had another idea
in mind. Since Jesus called Paul, He was also able to equip him for
service.
What
about us? Have we taken time to listen to the Lord Jesus as He
instructs us in His gospel? Do we tend to echo others in our
salvation experience and “parrot” the gospel rather than know it
for ourselves? Is there more about His gospel that the Lord Jesus
would teach us should we take the time with Him? Perhaps as we
reflect upon these strong persuasions of Paul to the church members
in Galatia, we will hear the Holy Spirit directing us to “come
aside” for a while and learn of Jesus Himself.
Next
time Paul will confirm that he isn't lying about his background, so
read ahead, and let us join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look for
the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to
Generation” in all major
bookstore
sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to
e-books, and find it
locally
at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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