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§4 Paul’s Apostolic Credibility and His Relationship to the Jerusalem Church (Gal. 1:13–17)

1:13–14 / And now Paul turns to himself directly, apparently defending himself against criticisms of his past relationship to the Christian movement and particularly to important Christian persons in Jerusalem. Paul begins by reiterating his dramatic call: he went from being one who persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it to one who preached the very message he had been trying to quash. His use of the word “destroy” stresses that in his former life his actions against the church were exceptionally violent and that he had intended to obliterate it. The Galatians are aware of Paul’s previous way of life. The Greek does not tell us whether the Galatians heard about his former manner of life from him on his evangelistic visit or from others subsequent to his departure from Galatia. Either way, the emphasis on my in the Greek gives the impression that Paul takes full responsibility for his previous conduct and does not intend to hide it.

Paul describes himself as one who was extremely zealous for the traditions of Judaism but who, in a dramatic turnabout, responded to a call to preach Christ “among the Gentiles” (v. 16).

Paul describes his former life as being within Judaism (see also v. 14), suggesting that he sees his faith in Christ as separate from the religion into which both he and Christ were born. Some Greek Jewish writers referred to their religion as Judaism (e.g., 2 Macc. 2:21; 8:1; 14:38; 4 Macc. 4:26), but this is not Paul’s normal designation for his religious heritage. By describing the various groups of Christian believers as one entity—the church of God—he further clarifies the distinction between his present and former religious worlds.

Paul boasts that he exceeded others of his age in being zealous for the traditions of his fathers. The phrase “traditions of my fathers” was a common one in both Jewish and pagan ancient writers. Respect for previous traditions was a bulwark of ancient society, and it was a noble thing to be zealous for the traditions. In the face of criticisms that he waters down the faith by not requiring Gentiles to be circumcised and follow Torah, Paul states in effect that his present stance is not because he is either incapable or ignorant of following Torah.

1:15–17 / Paul roots his conversion in God, who determined his role as preacher to the Gentiles from birth. This concept of his having been set apart or appointed also occurs elsewhere in Paul, particularly at Romans 1:1. Paul thinks of his ministry as divinely ordained.

The Greek of the phrase “set me apart from birth” (hoaphorisas me ek koilias mētros mou) can be read to express the idea that the setting apart was from the time when Paul was conceived in his mother’s womb. This concept was part of prophetic self-understanding (cf. Jer. 1:5). The idea that a person or place could be set apart by God for a special purpose is intrinsic to the Jewish religious mind. The prophets, for instance, were understood to be specially designated by God (Deut. 18:15) so that they could speak on behalf of God (Deut. 18:18). Mount Sinai (Exod. 19:23) and the temple (Ezek. 45:1–4) were places that were understood to be set apart as holy.

The apostle’s conversion was also a commission to preach Christ among the Gentiles, or as the Greek (en tois ethnesin) can also be translated, “among the nations.” Paul’s designation of his gospel as one for the nations occurs chiefly in Galatians (here and at Gal. 2:2, 8–9) and Romans. Both letters include a reference to the story of Abraham (e.g., Gal. 3:6–14; 4:22–23; Rom. 4:1–25). Regardless of whether Paul refers to Abraham in Galatians because his opponents had introduced the patriarch into the discussion, Paul was able to find a very useful complex of ideas in the Abraham story. Particularly helpful are the notions that Abraham’s call was to be a great nation (Gen. 12:2), that God promised Abraham he would be the “father of many nations” (Gen. 17:4), and that “through [Abraham’s] offspring all nations on earth will be blessed” (Gen. 22:18). Paul makes the connection between these offspring of Abraham and those of Christ (3:16) and understands his missionary sphere as being among those whom God promised God would eventually bless through the offspring of Abraham. Paul’s description of himself as one sent to preach among the Gentiles/nations is rich with meaning for one so steeped in the traditions of his ancestors.

Whereas elsewhere Paul speaks of non-Jews as Greeks (e.g., Gal. 2:3; Rom. 1:16), here he speaks of them as Gentiles. “Gentile” was a Jewish designation for non-Jews and so more than likely the one used by the rival evangelists. At this point Paul may be echoing his opponents so as to resonate with and then reshape the Galatians’ current sensibilities.

Paul affirms that as soon as God called him he separated himself from Judaism so completely that he did not even go to see those Jews who had become believers in Jesus. Paul’s claim of independence from the Jerusalem church may be a subtle slight to the Jerusalem church, which has not separated from Judaism. Part of his agenda in 2:1–10 is to demonstrate that the church at Jerusalem has problems. There are “false brothers” and a lack of agreement.

Paul’s purpose in describing his conversion experience goes beyond underscoring his credentials as an apostle for the gospel. He says I did not consult any man and elaborates: he did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before he was. Paul reiterates (v. 12) that the gospel he preached to the Galatians was not influenced by human teaching. He now wants to make it particularly clear that it was not even influenced by the views of the Jerusalem believers. Perhaps one of the criticisms of Paul made by the troublemakers in Galatia was that at one point he had accepted the teaching of the Jerusalem church but now, in “trying to please men” (v. 10), he has softened his gospel for the purpose of extending his influence among Gentiles. Paul makes clear that his conversion was an experience untainted by human intervention, that his commission came to him at that moment, and that subsequent to this remarkable experience he was not in contact with the Jerusalem church. The gospel he preached to the Galatians is the unadulterated gospel, bearing no signs of influence from any human source, not even that of Jerusalem Christianity.