Galatians 1:14b
"...being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers." In other words, Saul was proud of his genealogy, and he probably was even able to chase it clear back into the Old Testament economy. His heritage as with many Hebrews is and was a bigger thing in fact the purer the blood line the better. Remember, his father must have been some kind of a man of influence as a Roman citizen, because Paul, remember, was also a Roman citizen, so that tells us something about his father and probably his grandfather. All of these things come into play when we look at the man's religious fanaticism. If he could stamp out all of those Hebrews who had followed Christ then he thought he was the winner.
Now its just here we should say that Saul's attitude and ways of interpreting scripture was all reprogrammed by the risen Lord, in other wards Paul was given a New heart. It is this same reprogramming which we as gentiles and the Hebrews as the nation of Israel will one day have happen. This is prophesied by Jeremiah in chapter 31 and verse 34 and is repeated in the Epistle of Hebrews chapter 8 verse 11. Its mans stubborn nature and the religious spirit within him which clings to the old Hebrew traditions of men not knowing the power and nature of God and therefore in a rebellious state disregards all that the New Covenant reveals of the old and its having passed away as an old rag. It is just here that we should mention the story of Lazarus had how those old grave clothes clung to him and then Isaiah's filthy rags in Isaiah 64: 6 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness's are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." These rags are but the old testament and the Levitical Laws and in Lazarus's story Jesus tells those close to him to remove the grave clothes which means the old is about to disappear or be done away with. As Lazarus was raised to newness of life to be clothed by Jesus Himself. Just as the two parables of the old cloth and the new cloth and the old wine skin and the new wine are reflections on one and the same thing in meaning. When we learn Christ through the allowing of the Holy Spirit to do His works within us in the school of obedience He brings us to a knowledge of the Truth as He is the Spirit of all Truth. And in His way develops our hungering for righteousness by way of revealing our undoneness and sins hold on us and those things around us (Ephesians 4:17-24; Romans 13:12, 14). He then begins to reveal just how it is that we're required to attain God's righteousness and that its NOT by our sufficiency because we can't put ourselves on the stake and to death.
Galatians 1:7a
"Which is not another; (Gospel) but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ." It's not a completely different Gospel, but what they were doing was to add it, yes to Paul's Gospel of Grace by adding the Law and its legalism (the Levitical Law, ordinances, rituals of sacrifice, washings and the other 613 articles), and works. Now nothing thrills us more when some one tells us that, "My what a joy. It's like someone took a load off my shoulders when I came out of all that legalism, and realize that it's in Grace and Grace alone that we have to find our salvation (I Corinthians 15:1-4)" So this is the whole theme now that the Apostle Paul is still defending his apostleship as he did all through the Corinthian letters. We find this also as the theme in the Epistle of Hebrews along side the revelation of there becoming two covenants now in play, which we'll touch on later and how they work.
Can we see now why the Holy Spirit put the Corinthian letters where they are, and why Romans is where it is, even though they were written later. Paul declares in Romans the basic doctrine of his Gospel, and then in the Corinthian letters he had to correct and reprove them for having so many other problems. Not so much like the Galatians with religious legalism, but they had divisions and other problems so he had to correct those problems and in correcting them he had to defend his apostleship.
As Paul's writings and his letters are so often totally ignored, we have to remember what an Ivy League president in the late 1800's once said. He said, "We must realize that it's either back, back, back, to the doctrines of Paul or it's on, on, on to apostasy." We believe that more than ever. If we can't get folks back to an understanding of Paul's doctrines, then Christianity as it is known is in dire straits. As it is now a blending of both the old and the new without understanding the err of so doing. Or people are not looking at it at all and are turning to Judaism out of shear desperation of ignorance on their part and again blending things together, in hopes of some how making it through they know not what. This causes many to remain in darkness because of unbelief, just as Israel is held under a cloud because of hardness of heart. Both to suffer the wrath which is to come, first in Israel (judgment starts with) and then to the nations. Now verse 15. So, in this verse, Paul is pretty much still declaring his apostleship and declaring his authority and so he says:
Galatians 1:15
"But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace." (Isaiah 49:1; Jeremiah 1:5) Now that's a Pauline expression. Called me by his Grace. All we have to do is stop and reflect for a moment. What else but Grace could have done what God did with this man on the road to Damascus. Here he was trying to stamp out anyone in Israel that had proclaimed Christ as the Messiah, and had become separated from the mainstream of Judaism, with its legalism, although they (the disciples) were still keeping Temple worship and the religious Law. Evidently Saul had pretty much cleansed the homeland and now he had gone to the chief rulers to get permission to go to Syria and bring back the Jewish believers to Jerusalem for trial, punishment and death. So on the road to Damascus with that heart of absolute hatred with anything contrary to Judaism, the Lord called Him by His Grace. If there was ever a man that didn't deserve what God did for him it was Saul of Tarsus. But, contrary to what most people think, we have to do what is revealed to get right with God. Saul, like Israel of old when they stood on the shores of the Red Sea, did absolutely nothing. Nothing but helplessly call out, "What would you have me do?"
Remember in Genesis when Noah and his family were in the ark? Do we remember what the picture of the sealant of those wood boards is a type of? It was the word "pitch" but in the Hebrew it means "atonement". So it was the atonement that sealed out the flood waters of Noah's ark. Now with the atonement in place and the ark secure, Noah and his family were totally safe. Well, it's the same when we come to Israel standing at their kitchen table in their little huts in Egypt. And the death angel is flying over, and wailing and weeping is carrying on in Egypt, and yet, there, those Hebrew families could stand safe and secure because the blood was on the door frame lentils. Then sometime later they stood on the shores of the Red Sea with no hope. When God spoke, He didn't tell them to do anything except to stand still and see the power of God. And, of course, that was the opening of the Red Sea (the symbol of coming out into the first covenant, we have the same thing when we first come to ourselves and seek redemption the entry into the first covenant is secured at the moment of our conversion and our proof is the in presence of the Holy Spirit's first filling of us ). Now this is exactly where Paul had to find himself. Just exactly like Israel, there was only going to be one place of safety for this man, and that is in the Blood of Christ, and how is he going to appropriate it? Not by doing something, but rather, once the Lord spoke to him, all he could say was, "Lord what would you have me do?" It hasn't changed a bit (he left the first to enter into the second and better covenant). Now we'll look at the two passages referenced above, first Isaiah then Jeremiah.
No comments:
Post a Comment