The Mystery Revealed! - Galatians 1:11-24

So much can happen in a month.  Twenty-six days ago on July 5, a young woman by the name of Casey Anthony was declared not guilty of the murder of her not quite three-year-old daughter Caylee.  She was however found guilty of four misdemeanor counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer. (1)

On the ABC News website, there is a video entitled “Casey Anthony’s Top Ten Lies”.  Just the top ten.  Lie number ten on the list is this: "I don't know where she is and that is the God's honest truth." (2)

During the trial Casey and her parents lied dozens of times.  From listening to the recordings and watching the videos it is obvious Casey had absolutely no qualms about lying.  She was so good at it that she has become something of an icon for habitual liars everywhere, an inspiration to anyone who ever questioned whether honesty really is the best policy.  It is hard to comprehend how someone can be so guilty of so much and display little or no regret.  Casey Anthony lied on tape, lied on camera, lied to the police, her lawyer lied to the jury on her behalf, and for all practical purposes, she got away with it.

“Anthony received consecutive sentences of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine for each count, the maximum punishment possible.  With credit for time served and good behavior [emphasis mine], she was released on July 17, 2011.” (3)   But Casey Anthony and God know the truth.

The Jews lied to the Galatians about the apostle Paul.  They brought his apostleship into question.  They cast doubt upon the origin of his gospel message.  They troubled the Galatian Christians regarding Paul’s credibility.  Chapters 1 and 2 of Galatians are Paul’s defense against those lies.  So he testifies here in this letter concerning his own conversion and the progression of his life as he began to preach this gospel of salvation by faith alone and not by works.

What’s makes this text difficult is how it is being presented to us.  Paul has been accused of many things, but we don’t know exactly what those things are.  We have no written record of the accusations of the Jews against him.  So we have to derive what those accusations must have been based solely upon Paul’s defense of himself.  It is as though we’re the jury and we’re only hearing the defense speak.  Paul is making the case for his own innocence without the prosecution being present to state the charges.

Let’s look at our text once again beginning with Galatians 1, verse 11.

11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother. 20 (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me. (Galatians 1:11-24 ESV)

We are trying to track Paul’s movements as he explains them here.  But even with his explanation, it is difficult.  Paul ministered the gospel of salvation by grace for three years before ever going back to Jerusalem.  When we read Acts 9, we see that he began this journey when he left Jerusalem to go north to Damascus and bring back those “heretics” who were saying Jesus of Nazareth had risen from the dead and was the promised Messiah.  But as you know, something rather remarkable happened to Paul on the way to Damascus.  Consequently, he didn’t make it back to Jerusalem for three years.

During that three year period many Jews were persuaded by Paul’s preaching of the Lord Jesus as the Christ.  Luke tells us Paul spent many days with the disciples there.  He began preaching in the synagogue immediately after his conversion.  He gained disciples to himself.  Paul became so influential that the Jews plotted to kill him.  So he sneaked away, went to Arabia, and eventually returned after some time.  In all, he was in Damascus and Arabia for three years.

Finally, he returned to Jerusalem.  But he went back there to visit Peter.  Three years earlier he would have sought to kill Peter.  But now, he sought Peter out in order to fellowship with him.  Those two must have had a very interesting conversation.  It’s very possible that Peter was hesitant to have Paul in his home.  Who knows if Peter believed the rumors concerning Paul’s conversion?  But all Paul tells us here in Galatians is he visited with Cephas for 15 days.  I would have enjoyed hearing that discussion!

Paul didn’t go to Jerusalem to have a conference with the apostles so they could straighten out his theology.  When he visited with Peter, the only other apostle he saw was James, the Lord’s brother.  The church in Jerusalem was extremely suspicious of Paul and rightly so.  His reputation preceded him.

After 15 days with Peter, Paul left Jerusalem once again.  But notice verse 20.  He interjects this statement: In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!  The point is he was not commissioned by the Jerusalem church, or the apostles.  They did not convene a council in order to question him.  He did not get their seal of approval upon his gospel ministry.  Paul spent only 15 days in Jerusalem on his first visit back there.  He did not get his message from the apostles, but from God.

In essence Paul is saying, “I preached in the synagogue in Damascus, I was persecuted by the Jews for what I preached, and when I finally made it back down to Jerusalem I hung out with the apostle Peter for over two weeks.  He and I are on the same team, we’re on the same page theologically, and we came to the same conclusions about this gospel message independently of one another.  Why don’t you send someone to Jerusalem and ask him about it!  I am not lying.”

I have a theory.  That is all it is, but I think it’s a pretty good one or else I wouldn’t be intentionally embarrassing myself in front of you.  I believe what God showed Peter in Acts 10 concerning the extent of the gospel is the exact same thing God showed Paul during his three years in Damascus and Arabia.  And God showed it to them at approximately the same time.  Look with me at Acts 9.

We all know what happened in the ninth chapter of Acts: Saul was converted and set apart by God to take the gospel to the Gentiles.  But something else happens in Acts 9: Paul disappears into Arabia.  We don’t know how long he was gone, we don’t know who he spoke to there.  But there is this indefinite period of time spent in Arabia.

Meanwhile, what is taking place elsewhere?  While Paul is AWOL in Arabia, Peter is at work in Judea.  And at this point is seems certain these two men have never met although they both know of each other.  Look at the last half of chapter 9:

32 Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. 35 And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. 37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body the said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner. (Acts 9:32-43 ESV)

So Peter is working among the Jews by preaching and working miracles, and many people are turning to the Lord.  Aeneas is miraculously healed from paralysis and Tabitha is raised from the dead.  As a result, many believed in the Lord.  All of this appears to be happening during Paul’s hiatus in Arabia.  But they are all Jews.  Now take a look at chapter 10.  What happens there?

To make a fairly long story short, I’m going to put it in terms that would cause every self-respecting 20^th Century Dispensationalist to cringe: The Mystery is Revealed to Peter.  Dispensationalists have taught for 100 years that “the mystery”, or in other words, this new dispensation of grace and the creation of an entirely new entity which they are fond of referring to as “The Church, the Body of Christ”; this new plan of God which was never even hinted at in the Old Testament, is now revealed exclusively to Paul.  And it is through Paul that God creates The Church, which is a separate and different entity than Israel.  That, they say is “the Mystery”.

While Paul is somewhere in Damascus or Arabia, Peter winds up at the home of Cornelius, a Gentile.  Through divine revelation, by means of a vision, Peter comes to understand for the first time in his life that salvation is by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ alone, EVEN FOR GENTILES!  That is the mystery revealed to Peter!  Salvation is also for Gentiles!  It is for the nations, not just for the Jews.

Peter is preaching Jesus to this Gentile household with some hesitation and then all of a sudden . . .

44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, 47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days. (Acts 10:44-48 ESV)

Peter is absolutely convinced by God of the salvation of this Gentile household.  He is convinced because they received the Holy Spirit in exactly the same manner as he and the other apostles had at Pentecost.  So, he immediately commands that they be baptized just like any other Jewish Christian, even though they are not Jewish.  What is surprising to Peter in all this is not that they are saved, but that they are uncircumcised and God saves them anyway.

Eventually, Peter has to make his way back to Jerusalem and give an account for his strange behavior at Cornelius’ house in Caesarea.  He reiterates the entire story of chapter 10 which I just told you in a severely abbreviated form to the apostles.  Now look at Acts 11.

1 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, 3 “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4 But Peter began and explained it to them in order: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, [etc., etc.]  (Acts 11:1-5a ESV)

Skip down to verse 17

17 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?” 18 When they heard these things they [most notably the circumcision party] fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” (Acts 11:17-18 ESV)

Now the shock in all of this is that God would save Gentiles AS GENTILES, not as Gentile proselytes into Judaism by means of circumcision.  God can save a Gentile???  How is that possible???  And my theory is that Peter and the rest of the apostles are coming to this amazing realization by means of God revealing this mysterious truth to them at approximately the same time Paul is discovering it in Damascus or Arabia a couple hundred miles away.  They are all being shown that Jesus is the Savior of the world, not just Jews, simultaneously.  Look with me at Ephesians 3.

1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. (Ephesians 3:1-6 ESV)

What is the mystery?  That Gentiles are fellow heirs with the Jews of the promises of God.  That is precisely what Paul said.  This is absolutely NOT the establishment of a new entity called “The Body of Christ” that is separate from Israel.  And the mystery is certainly not something that was revealed solely to Paul and no one else.  Rather it is precisely the opposite.  And during Paul’s 15 days with Peter, I strongly suspect they quickly realized that God had miraculously revealed the mystery of the salvation of the Gentiles to them both.

That Gentiles could be saved by God through faith and not by works was brand new information to Paul and Peter and the rest of the apostles, even though the Old Testament is filled with allusions to it, as well as blatant statements which the Jews NEVER grasped.  For thousands of years, the Jews were blinded to the fact that God would be interested in saving anyone other than them.  Had they read their own Scriptures carefully and taken to heart the things written there concerning the rest of the world, they might have seen it.  But Paul says this information was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed.  It was there, but according to verse 9 it was hidden by God.  The Jews did not and could not have seen this coming.

SO . . . all of that in order to make this point: When Paul escaped from Damascus and went to Arabia, Peter was simultaneously sent to the home of the Gentile Cornelius.  Both Paul and Peter are shown at roughly the same time this same revelation concerning salvation for the rest of the world.  It is God’s intention to really and truly save men and women from every tongue and tribe and people and nation in all the world.  And they will be saved, not as Jewish converts, but as uncircumcised Gentiles.

When Paul spends 15 days with Peter it is then that these two men understand they are both preaching the exact same gospel which they were shown by revelation independently of one another.  Paul didn’t get his gospel from Peter.  Paul took his gospel to Peter.  But when he arrived he discovered Peter already had it!  God revealed the mystery of the salvation of the Gentiles to both of them.

This is why Paul’s apostleship should not be questioned by the Galatians.  He is an apostle by virtue of Christ’s work in him, teaching him, and revealing to him the true gospel.  It is the same gospel all the other apostles preach.  So the Galatians should have every confidence in Paul that both he and his message are, and always have been legitimate.

Now I’m going through all of this in order to help us understand not only what Paul is saying to the Galatians, but to understand how the narrative of the New Testament all hangs together, and how historic Dispensational teaching is false.  The things that mark Dispensational teaching are the separation of the Church and Israel, and the eventual rapture of the Church and the leaving behind of Israel during the Great Tribulation.  Dispensationalism is alive and well today.  We see it in best-selling books like the Left Behind series, as well as in the movie by the same name.

However, the Bible does not teach the theology of Dispensationalism.  We see from these texts that there is indeed only one gospel, not two.  There is only one body of Christ, not two.  There is only one church which consists of Jews and Gentiles, not two.  All men everywhere are saved by a single means means: the grace and mercy of God.  The Jews don’t have a special inside track on spirituality.  They don’t have a closer walk with God simply because they are the descendants of Abraham.  There is no caste system within the body of Christ, no division of the people of God into two separate entities: Israel and the Church.

This is precisely why we read in Ephesians 4 these words of Paul:

1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:1-6 ESV)

The Judaizers of Paul’s day were trying to divide the people of God by insisting that salvation was only for Jews.  Today, Dispensationalists try to divide the people of God by making the Church and Israel into two separate “churches” with two separate plans for eternity.

If you and I do not understand the nature of the conflict between Jewish and Gentile Christians in the first century, we will have great difficulty understanding the entire New Testament.  It is largely the story of the conflict between those early Jews who believed in Jesus as the Christ AND circumcision, and the apostles who believed in the salvation of all men by the grace of God alone.  It was a conflict between salvation by grace and salvation by works, the most important work being circumcision.  It was a conflict between a gospel that saves and a gospel that condemns.

True spiritual unity is to be found in Christ alone.  Regardless of race or ethnicity, all of God’s people are one in Christ.  Regardless of when the Lord saved them, whether before the cross or since the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, or after Pentecost, or during the last days, all of God’s people are saved through the blood of Jesus Christ and they are all one.

Regardless of what denominational peculiarities we may allow to divide us, all true believers are one in Christ.  That is what Paul taught, that is what Peter and the other apostles taught, and that is what the “circumcision party”, (i.e. the Judaizers) hated.  That is what much of the New Testament is all about.  If we grasp that, we have a good understanding of what the apostle Paul was all about.

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1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Anthony

2. http://abcnews.go.com/US/casey_anthony_trial/casey-anthony-top-ten-lies/story?id=13742643

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Anthony