Monday: Paul’s Calling
Though Paul’s epistles generally follow the basic format of ancient letters, Galatians contains a number of unique features not found in Paul’s other epistles. When recognized, these differences can help us better understand the situation Paul was addressing.
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Compare Paul’s opening salutation in Galatians 1:1-2 with what he writes in Ephesians 1:1, Philippians 1:1, and 2 Thessalonians 1:1. In what ways is Paul’s salutation in Galatians similar to and different from the others?
Paul’s opening salutation in Galatians is not only a bit longer than in his others, but he goes out of his way to describe the basis of his apostolic authority. Literally, the word apostle means “someone who is sent” or “a messenger.” In the New Testament, in the strictest sense, it refers to the original twelve followers of Jesus and others whom Christ sent to tell people about Him (Gal. 1:19, 1 Cor. 15:7). Paul declares that he belongs to this select group.
The fact that Paul so strongly denies that his apostleship rests on any human being suggests that there was an attempt by some in Galatia to undermine his apostolic authority. Why? As we have seen, some in the church were not happy with Paul’s message that salvation was based on faith in Christ alone and not on works of the law. They felt that Paul’s gospel was undermining obedience. These troublemakers were subtle. They knew that the foundation of Paul’s gospel message was directly tied to the source of his apostolic authority (John 3:34), and they determined to launch a powerful attack against that authority.
Yet, they did not directly deny Paul’s apostleship; they merely argued that it was not really too significant. They likely claimed that Paul was not one of Jesus’ original followers; his authority, therefore, was not from God but from humans — perhaps from the church leaders from Antioch who commissioned Paul and Barnabas as missionaries (Acts 13:1-3). Or, perhaps, it came only from Ananias, who baptized Paul in the first place (Acts 9:10-18). Paul, in their opinion, was simply a messenger from Antioch or Damascus — nothing more! Consequently, they argued that his message was merely his own opinion, not the Word of God.
Paul recognized the danger these allegations posed, and so he immediately defends his God-given apostleship.
| In what ways, even subtly, is the authority of Scripture being challenged today within the confines of our church? How can we recognize these challenges? More important, how have they (perhaps) influenced your own thinking in regard to the authority of the Bible? |
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I have heard it said not only in churches but also the media, that the things written in the Bible was relevant for the time in which they were written and some of the teachings are no longer relevant to us today. While this may be so on some topics we are in danger of disregarding what remains relevant . Let us - Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15
Very true i don't know which country you are in but its also common here in Malawi. Traditions of men are cleeping in slowly and scripture is being desregarded. But thank God for he Assured that "nobody can do nothing againts the truth but for the truth" 2 corinthians 13:8
It true that the Biblical Texts were written to address some contemporary matter of the time but they also apply to us who live at the close of age. Let us not be snared by the devil there are piece of the holy writ which are not relevant to us. The Devil wants to take advantage of every opportunity so that he may cause to cast doubts on the Holy Scriptures so that when the Christ comes back in his second advent He will get that we are not ready to go home. (2 Corinthians 2:9)
We are being challenged on the perpetuity of God's law, the relationship of the New to the Old covenant, the need for the pre-advent judgment in the face of being under grace and not the law, and other doctrines that are based on tradition and a partial understanding of Scripture. There are some theologians who are questioning the literalness of the Genesis account of creation and the flood. They are thereby putting doubt on the words and authority of some of the writers of scripture and even Christ who quote the Genesis account as literal. In fact the authority of all of Scripture and the gospel comes into doubt if the literal Genesis account of creation and the flood is denied. Am I overstating this issue?
I believe that all in the bible is relevant in all particular times; for instance: To be modest in our dress no matter what century we live in, to watch our speech, how we treat each other...no matter what century we live in. The bible is relevant for all times,for all seasons and all situations, forever!
I agree that much of scripture given in old times is relevant to us even now, all these things were given as examples to us e.g.how disobedience will be eternally punished if we continue in our sin without repentance ie extracting a lesson from Sodom and Gomorrah. Now my question is what about things which were given to the israelites like circumcision and lets say Deut 22:5 'The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.'How can we understand this? trousers on Women's suits for instance, are trousers menswear? of course in a safety job a work-suit with trousers is safer but how about in normal casual dress and in normal weather? cause in cold weather perhaps trousers are warmer practically. In short it seems humane to take the practical route, but in a case where there are no reasons to practically wear a pair trousers, is it considered menswear or in our modern day day its considered a neutral attire...I have encountered people saying I cannot go to church in this trousers probably fearing to be judged but rightfully are these people supposed to be judged?
Ths short answer to your question is, "No!". I am a man and there is no way that I would be seen wearing trousers cut for a woman; and my wife says that men's trousers have too many pockets and are the wrong shape for her.
The real reason for the instruction about men's clothing in the Bible was that clothing was not to be worn to deceive others of the gender of the wearer. The issue is the deception, not the clothes.
I have to say that now-a-days many women are wearing some form of trousers in both formal, professional, and informal situations with nobody expressing difficulty in determining the gender of the wearer. Furthermore, trousers are much more modest than the short miniskirts that come back into fashion from time-to-time.
Finally a story from my youth. When I was a College student many years ago, one of the great events each term was a hike in the steep hills surrounding the College. Women students were required to wear dresses but the question of trousers/slacks had come up in faculty meetings. One rather older staff member was adamant that the ladies wear dresses, so the point was made that he should be one of the supervising staff on this occasion. After climbing some of the steep hills and clambering over rocks and boulders he came back with a changed perspective. He said, "I think I got it wrong. What I saw on that hike convinced me that the ladies should wear slacks on all future hikes!"
It is important for us to see beyond some of the cultural detail described in the Bible and find what the big picture was. There are lessons to be learned, but it is the reasons why instructions were given rather than the detail. There are, for example, no instructions about driving cars or using the Internet in the Bible, but there are principles stated that apply to those situations.
Deut. 22:5 Has puzzled me for a while, but your explanation of it makes sense. It is about deception and not about men wearing pants and women wearing dresses. At the time that the verse was written everyone wore robes (dresses?!) Pants came about much later.
I do not see any attire that is forbidden in the Bible. At least none that come to mind. If there is a guide line that we select for our principles of dress it would have to be practical. Style has been the biggest problem in the affluent societies. As I remember many years ago there were activities that Ellen White would forbid. One was women riding bicycles. The skirts were a problem. If they were going to ride them they would have to lift them out of the way. Automobiles have now solved that problem.
It seems that whenever the Holy Spirit moves in a remarkable manner through a human vessel, the adversary of our souls seeks to stir up doubts about the authority of the messenger in an attempt to discredit both the messenger and their message. In 1888 at the Minneapolis GC the Lord sent "a most precious message" by Elders Jones and Waggoner - righteousness by faith - that, we are told, would have prepared the Adventist church to receive the latter rain at that time. To our dismay, the leadership of the church was stirred up to oppose that proclamation, to the point of attacking E. G. White, who endorsed the message and the messengers.
Now here in 2017, we are standing in the greatest need ever of spiritual revival and reformation. The message of righteousness by faith is still the key to that revival. It is "the third Angel's message in verity." Prayerfully we will learn from the hard lessons of our past SDA church history and receive this message today.
Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me,
Why did Paul introduce himself as an apostle?
Apostles are the ones who Jesus himself called
How did Paul affirm his calling?
Not from men nor through man
But through Jesus Christ
Why did he spend time establishing this?
If you cannot attack the message you attack the messenger
There was a huge fire from a circus tent heading toward the town. A man who was the fastest runner in the group was dressed like a clown ran as fast as he could and tried to warn the people but the people would not listen because the people his message as a joke.
Have you been ridiculed for Christ?
(Excerpt) Paul opens his letter to the Galatians with a spectacular, intimate portrait of God's miraculous, saving intervention of grace in his life and the unique calling which qualified him to be an eyewitness to the Gentiles of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his gospel. "Paul, an apostle - sent not from man nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead." Paul boldly stakes his claim to the high office of apostleship to the dynamic epiphany of the risen Lord Jesus Christ at Damascus road, refuting the claims of the false teachers at Galatia that Paul was neither an apostle of Jesus nor authorized by divine commission. The Lord Jesus himself accosted Saul - who was present at the eloquent defense of Stephen and was witness to his lynching (Acts 7 - 8:1) - on his way to arresting followers of Jesus: "As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' 'Who are you, Lord?' Saul asked. 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. 'Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.'" Acts 9:1-6.
I must digress from the study for a "shout moment" here. Consider the infinite genius of God, in turning the worst persecutor of Christ into the greatest missionary for Christ! Contemplate the infinite grace of God in sparing Saul's life and saving him from his hell-bound course! Ponder anew the infinite love and mercies of the Savior, sparing this one lost sheep who had so persecuted the church of Christ! How glorious is our God! The longsuffering of God is our salvation!
The moment that Jesus revealed himself to Saul as the One - the crucified and risen Lord, the Christ - whom he was persecuting, Saul was transformed. You see, once you have a personal encounter with Jesus, you can no longer be the same person that you were. Saul was shaken to the very core of his being. Every thing that he thought he knew before, that he sincerely believed was right and true, was all wrong now. The True Light of heaven shone into the dark corridors of his heart, laying bare the barrenness of his parched soul. Nothing in his existence could have prepared him for the massive earthquake that this revelation of Jesus was, a revelation that plumbed the depths of his soul and shook it to the very foundations, reducing it all down to unprofitable vanity!
Good morning all.
I would like to share with you the prayer that I pray before every scripture reading session that I embark in .. e.g. studying of the Sabbath Scholl of the day. .. .. "Father God thank you for your love. Please forgive me my sins. I am about to study your word, please pour me The Holy Spirit so that He can teach how to understand your word, so that He can teach me what it is that He wanted me to understand from your word when He inspired the holy men to write it. What is the message I was to obtain from the words. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen."
My thinking is that who better than the Holy Spirit can explain the scriptures to us, and that is exactly what I end up with, the Holy Spirit's interpretation of the Scriptures.
@Maurice Ashton;
Quite interesting. I somewhat I agree with you.
My experience with dress is that... I left Botswana to go study in Canada. When I came back people were wearing trousers and I asked "Who rewrote the Bible?"
While I was in Canada some of my friends who were non-denominational would not wear pants no matter how cold it was. They would use boots and thick stockings, also for hiking. Myself I wear the pants (but not to church) as the Spirit of God (The Holly Spirit) whispers to me what is right and what is not.
Olenkie
O,the love of Jesus right in the coner where i am if only we realize that listening to GOD,s word we would be at our higher calling level now GOD has his own time individually for us.
I pray but only the holy spirit reviel all things clearly to me.then i know it is truly GOD who does all things for me,it is his love his children that we survive know one is grater than his love for me teach me how to understand more clearly what is my journey? i will rest from my journey when i get home; this week lesson have really inspired me. happy sabbath Evangelist C. Davis