Taught by the Lord

In his very first letter, the one to the churches of Galatia, Paul makes a big deal about being taught by the Lord Jesus personally, not taught by the original apostles:

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:11-12)

He goes on from here to lay additional emphasis on not being taught by the apostles.

It makes we wonder:  What would have been so bad about being taught by the apostles?  Is this pride on Paul’s part?  Is he involved in a “who’s the greatest” contest?  (We know that the original twelve did have such arguments, but not after the resurrection.)

In Jesus’s prayer at the last supper, he prayed for his followers, and very importantly prayed:

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:20-21)

It was expected by Jesus that people would believe through the preaching and teaching of the apostles.  And of course that includes us, because we are taught by the writings of those same apostles.  There’s no second-class status for those who hear indirectly.  Jesus prays for all of us to be one.  No distinction.

So why is Paul so adamant about having learned from Jesus himself?

In context (you know to always consider context, right?) it’s clear that there were people challenging Paul’s legitimacy.  As we move on through the letter, we see that trouble was being stirred up by “Judaizers”, that is people who claimed that, yes, Jesus is the Messiah, but you still have to keep the Law of Moses, especially the circumcision requirement.  On his first missionary journey, Paul had established the Galatian churches, when people believed his preaching about Jesus and were baptized.  But right behind him, the Judaizers came through, upsetting people and casting doubt on Paul’s legitimacy.

Later in the letter Paul writes, “They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them.” (Gal 4:17)  This is quite an indictment, saying that these opponents are just politicians, looking to be in charge.  It’s kind of shocking that there would be anyone who uses the gospel to further their own agenda and advance their own prestige and control.  Until you look around.  Anybody doing that these days?  Hm.

My conclusion is that Paul isn’t doing the same thing for himself, that he is genuinely working for the spiritual welfare of those he taught.  Going on in chapter 4, Paul writes:

My little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!  I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you. (Gal 4:19-20)

This is love, not competition.

Still, why so emphatic about being taught by Jesus personally?  It’s part of his whole argument in the first chapter, establishing that what he had taught them was true and carried the stamp of approval of Jesus himself.

What does this do for us?  None of us has had a background like Paul’s.  One thing I take from this is that there will be people who twist the gospel of Jesus Christ in an effort to enhance their standing.  This is terribly misguided.  And it needs to be corrected—authoritatively.  When Paul wrote, there was no New Testament yet.  (It’s just possible that Matthew’s gospel had been written, but it probably wouldn’t have been widely distributed yet.)  What authority could Paul cite?  This: He was an eyewitness of the risen Christ, and he had been personally charged by Jesus to preach and teach.  In other words, he was a true apostle.

Today we don’t have those.  What we do have is the New Testament.  That’s the authority we have to cite.  Although indirectly, we too have actually been taught by Jesus:  we have his words recorded.  And we have been taught by the apostles, as Jesus prayed we would.  Including the Apostle Paul.

Love, Paul