Footsteps # 34

Please Read Galatians Chapter 1.

Letters like Galatians played an essential role in Paul’s apostolic ministry to the Gentile world. He founded a number of churches scattered around the Mediterranean. Although he visited these churches whenever he could, he couldn’t stay in one place too long. To compensate for his absence, Paul wrote letters to the churches in order to give them guidance. Over time, copies of Paul’s letters were shared with other churches; “After you have read this letter, pass it on to the church at Laodicea so they can read it, too. And you should read the letter I wrote to them.“ (Col.4:16). Some letters have been lost, but thirteen books in the NT bear his name.  2Peter.3:15 demonstrates that Paul’s writings were viewed as Scripture. This shows just how much authority his ministry eventually gained early on in the history of the church.

In Paul’s opening lengthy salutation he goes out of his way to describe the basis of his apostolic authority. The word apostle (someone who is sent) originally referred to the 12 followers of Jesus who witnessed His resurrection and who were commissioned to be His witnesses (Gal.1:19, 1Cor.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.

 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 knew that the foundation of Paul’s gospel message was tied directly to the source of his apostolic authority, and they determined to launch a powerful attack against that authority. They likely claimed that Paul was not one of Jesus’ original followers; his authority, therefore, was not from God but from humans—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 from the Word of God. Paul recognized the danger these allegations posed, and so he immediately defends his God-given apostleship.

Even in our own churches today, we need to be vigilant against the subtle attacks on the authority of the Bible.