It appears to me that all great men in the Bible who are chosen by God have some sort of ‘wilderness’ experience or time of testing prior to beginning ‘full-time’ ministry. Jacob was led into the wilderness to ‘wrestle with God,’ John the Baptist also, and of course Jesus, by the Spirit, was led to defeat Satan’s tempting. Paul I believe is no exception.
There are many interpretations of Galatians 1:18 were Paul spends 2-3 years in Arabia. I believe that this was Paul’s wilderness experience. I believe this for three reasons, first the ‘pilgrimage shape’ to his journey as described in 1:13-18, second because of where he spent the bulk of His time, and third, because of His Jerusalem destination.
So first, Paul’s description of his journey is very similar to many Pilgrimage journeys where one reconnects with oneself, with the world, and with God. Paul starts in his dark, confused, cornered life as a Pharisee persecuting the church (vv.13-14) then goes through His spiritual ‘eye-opening,’ physical blinding experience in Damascus. Paul then travels through wilderness to digest this and reflect on it and build a personal relationship with Jesus, and then returns to ‘the scene of the crime’ in Damascus to close the experience and launch his ministry (v.17). His first journey to Damascus was bathed in darkness, blindness of heart, and then blindness of eye. He then repeats the journey to Damascus, this time with both his heart and his eyes open.
Second, Paul did not go straight to Jerusalem, or the other Apostles, or (I believe) straight into ministry. He instead went where the ways of the world are different to his experience. Away from both Jewish culture, and Roman culture, Paul goes into Arabia. He spends three years here, as did Jesus spend three days in a tomb, or Jonah in the belly of a fish. And then at the end of this experience he went on to Jerusalem to receive counsel, advice, and validation from the other Apostles.
Third, and finally, we must consider the journey significance of Jerusalem. Throughout the Scriptures chosen men of God ascend mountains, meet with God, receive instructions, then go on to fulfil their calling. Moses for instance, ascended Mt. Sinai, met with God, received the 10 commandments, and then delivered the Law to Israel. Jerusalem is considered Mt. Zion, the Holy Hill (Micah 4), and Jerusalem is of course also where God’s glory dwells. So Jesus in Mark 1-8 ascends the mountain, Mark 9 meets with God (with the disciples), accepts validation ‘this is my Son’ then goes down to Jerusalem to fulfil His work on the cross. So too, Paul goes up to Jerusalem, meets with God’s chosen, receives instruction, then moves on to the ministry that will occupy the rest of His life.
It is therefore likely that Paul, a man of deep spiritual fever, contemplation, Pastoralness, and a deep relationship with God, foundered this on His own 3 year, wilderness experience in Arabia.
Showing posts with label Galatians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Galatians. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Some random exegetical thoughts from Gal. 2:15-21
V15, Paul using ‘we’ refers to birthright Jews, including Peter. He places a distinction between Jews and Gentiles who are ‘sinners’ because they didn’t have the Jewish law to ‘earn’ their righteousness as the Jews had. However the Law’s no–longer a legal claim for Jews, as all can be made righteous in Christ alone. It’s seen here that God takes Jewish sinfulness just as seriously as gentile sinfulness, both must be justified with Christ.
V16a, the general statement. Paul claims this as common-knowledge among Jewish Christians, even though it was taken for granted by Peter that no human being, whether Jew or Gentile will be saved apart from faith in Christ This is ‘the denial of the orthodox Jewish doctrine of Salvation.’ . Jesus Christ has been incorrectly translated, by some, as subjective-genitive instead of objective, this makes a huge difference as it could then read the ‘faith of Christ’, which would be irreconcilable with the next clause ‘believed in Jesus.’
V16b, the personal statement. Faith in Christ is the only way to be justified – as ‘we’ have believed, addressing the same group directly as v15.
V16c, the universal statement. In order to add religious weight to this claim, Paul cites Ps.143:2 to show that ‘no-one living is righteous,’ this is to Jews and Gentiles, no-one will be justified apart from Christ. Fung believes that ‘the knowledge…is grounded in [Paul’s] encounter with Christ’, which would fit with the narrative flow establishing his apostleship. Note that this verse grounds much of Paul’s argument. Note that ‘in view of the controversy in Galatia [this does not imply] that the “works of the Torah” do not need to be done…only that they produce justification before God.’
V17, does this make Christ the author of Sin? Paul does not encourage sin in denying the law but as a ‘counterformula’ to be justified ‘in Christ’. Making Christ the ‘minister’ of sin is either a logical conclusion under false premises or an illogical conclusion under correct premises. Although its true that to be justified in Christ makes it necessary to abandon the Law as a means of justification, Christ as the fulfilment of that law makes it logical and necessary.
V18, returning to speak metaphorically in first-person, Paul uses a well-known Jewish example of building. What is the thing torn down? The obvious answer is the Law, which ‘I have destroyed…by the preaching of the Gospel.’ See Pauls earlier elusion to this in ch1:13-14.
V19-20, here ‘Paul presents the basic elements for his theological position.’ I died to the Law, marks the end of the Law. Cause and effect this sheds light on the purpose of Justification, ‘to give glory to God’ to live not to ourselves but to him. Died to the law is specified in the next clause, ‘crucified with Christ,’ ‘Which refers not…to a subjective experiences…but to the believer’s objective position in Christ.’ Paul dying with Christ means that the Law can’t be used as a claim over God and it can’t be used as a claim over Paul either. The result of dying to the law is freedom from it, to enable them to live for God, which again links to later in the Epistle.
V21 . ‘The Christian gospel is the gospel of the grace of God. The Christian faith is the faith of Christ crucified. So if anybody insists that justification is by works…is undermining the foundations of the Christian religion.’
See:
V16a, the general statement. Paul claims this as common-knowledge among Jewish Christians, even though it was taken for granted by Peter that no human being, whether Jew or Gentile will be saved apart from faith in Christ This is ‘the denial of the orthodox Jewish doctrine of Salvation.’ . Jesus Christ has been incorrectly translated, by some, as subjective-genitive instead of objective, this makes a huge difference as it could then read the ‘faith of Christ’, which would be irreconcilable with the next clause ‘believed in Jesus.’
V16b, the personal statement. Faith in Christ is the only way to be justified – as ‘we’ have believed, addressing the same group directly as v15.
V16c, the universal statement. In order to add religious weight to this claim, Paul cites Ps.143:2 to show that ‘no-one living is righteous,’ this is to Jews and Gentiles, no-one will be justified apart from Christ. Fung believes that ‘the knowledge…is grounded in [Paul’s] encounter with Christ’, which would fit with the narrative flow establishing his apostleship. Note that this verse grounds much of Paul’s argument. Note that ‘in view of the controversy in Galatia [this does not imply] that the “works of the Torah” do not need to be done…only that they produce justification before God.’
V17, does this make Christ the author of Sin? Paul does not encourage sin in denying the law but as a ‘counterformula’ to be justified ‘in Christ’. Making Christ the ‘minister’ of sin is either a logical conclusion under false premises or an illogical conclusion under correct premises. Although its true that to be justified in Christ makes it necessary to abandon the Law as a means of justification, Christ as the fulfilment of that law makes it logical and necessary.
V18, returning to speak metaphorically in first-person, Paul uses a well-known Jewish example of building. What is the thing torn down? The obvious answer is the Law, which ‘I have destroyed…by the preaching of the Gospel.’ See Pauls earlier elusion to this in ch1:13-14.
V19-20, here ‘Paul presents the basic elements for his theological position.’ I died to the Law, marks the end of the Law. Cause and effect this sheds light on the purpose of Justification, ‘to give glory to God’ to live not to ourselves but to him. Died to the law is specified in the next clause, ‘crucified with Christ,’ ‘Which refers not…to a subjective experiences…but to the believer’s objective position in Christ.’ Paul dying with Christ means that the Law can’t be used as a claim over God and it can’t be used as a claim over Paul either. The result of dying to the law is freedom from it, to enable them to live for God, which again links to later in the Epistle.
V21 . ‘The Christian gospel is the gospel of the grace of God. The Christian faith is the faith of Christ crucified. So if anybody insists that justification is by works…is undermining the foundations of the Christian religion.’
See:
M. Luther A Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians (James Clarke & Co. Ltd, London, 1535)
R. Y. K. Fung. The Epistle to the Galatians (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1988)
J. Brown The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Galatians (Banner of Truth, Edinburgh, 1853)
B. Witherington III. Grace in Galatia (T & T Clark, London, 1998)
H. D. Betz. A Commentary on Paul’s Letter to the Churches in Galatia (Fortress Press, Philadelphia, 1979.)
J. Stott The Message of Galatians, (IVP, Leicester, 1968
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