Before I Was Born
/
"Why should we listen to what Paul has to say?? He wasn't even part of the twelve that were sent out by Jesus of Nazareth!"
The shouts from the leaders of the church in Galatia would have sounded something like this.
So in his letter, Paul is going to begin telling a story. He will chronicle his years after his conversion, detailing his very limited interaction with the apostles, even getting into all the places he'd been, and the durations of time.
And all of this will prove that Paul did not receive the gospel secondhand, from Jesus's apostles. Rather, Paul himself IS an apostle, with both authority and direct revelation from Jesus Himself.
And along the way on this story, Paul is going to do something that is very classic Paul. He is going to interrupt his story to tell us about the gospel. He just can't help doing it!
It's not a long interruption. We might call it a "gospel nugget." We see it in verses 15 and 16.
"...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..."
We are probably familiar with the account of Paul's conversion. We read it in Acts chapter 9, and then again in chapters 22 and 26 from Paul's telling himself.
The early church had perhaps no greater enemy than Paul. He was "persecuting the church of God violently and trying to destroy it." (Gal. 1:13)
And at the moment of conversion, Paul was on his way to the city of Damascus, where he hoped to find more followers of Jesus that he could persecute, throw in jail, and maybe even oversee the stonings of the leaders.
But then Jesus stepped in. He stopped Paul on his journey, blinded him with His glory, and commissioned him to go preach the good news of what He had done.
In Acts, we read Paul's conversion from his own point of view. But in the letter to the Galatians - in this gospel nugget of chapter 1 - we in a sense read of Paul's conversion from God's point of view.
He is the Main Character.
He is the One who sets apart.
He is the One who calls.
He is the One who reveals.
1. God set apart Paul before he was born.
Think of it. From man's limited perspective, we see an enemy and violent persecutor of God's church. But all the while, God is in control. God has known Paul for decades, since he was in his mom's tummy. Actually, He's known him since eternity past.
And He has set Paul apart and chosen him. Not only to know Him, but also preach His gospel and build His church.
2. God called Paul by His grace.
For Paul, it HAD to be the undeserved kindness of God! Yes, Paul was "advancing in Judaism" and "extremely zealous" for the father's traditions. But we know that earns nothing before a holy God.
On the flip side - again, Paul was a violent persecutor. He had fallen woefully short of God's holy standard to love his neighbor as himself.
Just like us all, Paul could only come to God based on grace.
3. God was pleased to reveal Jesus to Paul.
We should always pay close attention when the Bible clues us in to the very heart of God. What pleases him, what brings Him joy.
And Paul says that God was "pleased" - He was happy, maybe even excited? - to reveal Jesus to Paul.
From a human perspective, we could envision it like God "woke up" that morning thinking, "Today is the day! Today is the day I get to reveal Jesus to Paul, and turn his world upside down!"
What does this mean for us?
Believer in Jesus, these same truths that Paul says of his own conversion are true for you and your own conversion.
God set you apart before you were born.
God called you by his grace.
God was pleased to reveal Jesus to you.
From beginning to end, God has been and will be the Main Character. He has done everything so that you could come to know Him.
May God fill our hearts with thankfulness and worship to Him!
-Joe Groppel