Week 8, Day 1: The Source of the Gospel
Today’s Reading: Galatians 3:1-4:31
Some thoughts from Friday’s reading…
There are many self proclaimed modern critics of the Bible which attribute the source of its writing to various men. They make the decision that the prophecies and miracles recorded in the Bible cannot possibly be true, so they have determined that it is the work of various men who have pulled what must be the ultimate hoax upon mankind. If they are correct, then the Book of Mormon has nothing on the deception laid forth in the Bible!
I will not take the time to lay forth an in depth defense of the validity of the Bible, and the information that is contained therein, as that is beyond the scope of this blog. However, I would like to take a brief look at what Paul had to say about the information that he was revealing as a part of book of Galatians.
Paul, if you will recall, was one of the greatest persecutors of the Way, going beyond the city of Jerusalem to Damascus. He was convinced that he was doing what God wanted him to do in destroying those who were Christians. After getting that ball rolling, Paul would never have been converted to Christianity unless he was fully convinced of the message that was delivered to him by Ananias (Acts 9:17-19). Once converted, God sent Paul on a mission–he was going to be the apostle to the Gentiles. Paul, in the beginning of the book of Galatians, defends his apostleship, as well as the message that he was delivering to churches of Galatia. In Galatians 1:11-12, Paul shows the Galatian brethren, as well as us, the manner by which he received the message that he delivered to the saints.
Paul’s method of receiving the gospel was through a revelation of Jesus Christ. He didn’t hear it from men. He didn’t have to go to Jerusalem to be taught by those that were already apostles. He was taught (just as the other apostles had been) by Jesus Himself. This was, and is, a very important point because there were many who questioned whether Paul had the authority to command them as the other apostles did. In fact, there are many instances in Paul’s writing where he finds the need to defend his apostleship (or rather the Holy Spirit defends Paul’s authorship through the inspired writing). Paul tells us in this context (Galatians 1:18) that he didn’t go to associate with the other apostles for 3 years after he was converted! He learned this message from Jesus, and was brought to remembrance, just as the others were, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He didn’t make it up. He didn’t learn it from others. He learned it from Christ.
What might support Paul’s claims in this? First, realize that he had no interaction with the other apostles until he went up to Jerusalem. There, he was initially rejected by the Christians. However, when we see the teaching that is done by Paul, he was able to teach the exact same doctrine that the others were teaching. If he had not learned it from them, then how did he learn it? Just as he claimed, through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
I realize that nothing contained in this brief article will change the mind of the un-believer. There is plenty of evidence available about the legitimacy of the Bible, and the authors of each of the books found therein, which can be found elsewhere. However, I think it is important to see the claims that the apostles (specifically Paul in this case) make for themselves. If we do not believe what Paul claims here, then he has no authority. If he has no authority, then all of his works recorded for us are of any value. If he does not speak authoritatively through the revelation of Christ and of the Holy Spirit, then we have no reason to listen to him. But, since his writing is given credibility by the other writers, then they too lose importance. Essentially, we must discard the whole Bible text if we reject the claims made by Paul in this passage! Perhaps when we get to the book of Ephesians in a few days, we can revisit this subject, as Paul more thoroughly explains the revelation process.
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