Galatians 1 (6)

Opening Prayer: Psalm 110.1-3
The LORD said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion.
Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
Your people shall be volunteers
In the day of Your power;
In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning,
You have the dew of Your youth.

Sing Psalm 110.1-3
(Aurelia: The Church’s One Foundation)
“Sit by Me at My right hand,” the LORD says to my Lord,
“until I make Your foot stand on all who hate Your Word.”
The LORD sends strength from Zion: “Rule all Your enemies.”
While those who Him rely on go forth their LORD to please.

Read Galatians 1.1-24; meditate on verses 18-24.

Preparation
1. Whom did Paul meet with in Jerusalem?

2. How did the churches of Judea respond to the report of Paul’s conversion?

Meditation
We could learn a lesson here (see yesterday’s Treasure section to prepare). For three years the believers in Judea had heard about Saul’s conversion to Christ. Somewhere toward the end of that time, his initial training in Jesus’ school completed, Paul went to Jerusalem to submit to the Church leaders there.

Peter and James received him and, probably, examined the genuineness of his faith. I can only believe they wept tears of joy at what God had done in Saul. Word continued to spread among the churches in Judea: “He’s been converted!” “He’s in Jerusalem right now!” “Peter and James have confirmed him!” Praise and thanks rose to God throughout the region as the people realized how great His grace is, that the one who formerly persecuted them now was preaching the faith he once tried to destroy. “Praise the Lord! Praise Jesus!”

But notice the wisdom of God in Peter and James: No big rallies, showing off the great-persecutor-turned-preacher-of-Jesus. No immediately giving Saul some prominent place of leadership alongside Peter and James. No booking him to speak in the local churches. No. None of the kind of thing we typically do. He didn’t want it and they wouldn’t do it. Back Saul went to his hometown for fourteen more years! (Gal. 2.1)

In the early church, it took a while to become a church member. Yes, you began with a profession of faith. But then you would be assigned a shepherd to help you bring your life in order behind that confession, so that how you lived began to match up with what you professed. After some months, even a year or more, your shepherd would present you before your house church, who would have witnessed your progress as you lived and worshiped among them; you would give your testimony, and then you would be received as a member of the Body of Christ. The process culminated in your being baptized and taking the Lord’s Supper.

Why don’t we do the kinds of things they did? And why do we do things they wouldn’t have?

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Why don’t we do what they did? And why do we do things that the early church wouldn’t have done?

Could it be that we “think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think?” (Rom. 12.3).
Or could it be that “there is no fear of God before [our] eyes”? (Ps. 36.1; 55.19; Rom. 3.18).
Neither choice is a good one, and I can’t think of another feasible reason to follow our own “good” ideas as opposed to His.

Taking on the Name of Christ is a monumental decision, worthy of great care and dedication.
We are warned from the get-go not to take it on lightly: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain” (Ex. 20.7).

Jesus said, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk. 9.62).

Paul, the former persecutor of Christians, now our diligent, hard-working, brother in the faith, the one for whom we glorify God because He is in him (Gal. 1.24); the one God called through His grace to reveal His Son in (Gal. 1.16), this Paul, said to us and other believers past: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12.1, 2). And there is nothing simple or easy about that assignment. That will take all the effort we have, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to accomplish.

And for all that, we should not expect nor want, “big rallies”, fame, fortune, popularity, or a spot on “Christian” radio or TV.

Jesus told the disciples this story when they requested of Him to “Increase our faith”: “And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’?
Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not.
So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do’” (Lk. 17.7-10). His way.

And truly, when we are striving to be like Jesus, to walk on His path (Ps. 1), in His way (Matt. 22.37-40; Jn. 14.15, 15.14) according to His commands (Ex. 20.1-17), others will glorify God because of the Jesus that is in us. Knowing full well, that we too, have been called of God through His grace to have His Son revealed in us (Gal. 1.15, 16). But let’s do it His way and not ours.

Reflection
1. What does it mean for God to reveal Jesus in you? How does that work?

2. What would you say to a new believer about what to expect in the life of faith? How to make the most of it?

3. How can we know when or whether there is anything in our lives which is not what the Lord wants there? What should we do then?

See here too how exactly he follows the principle of humility. For he says not “they were amazed at me,” “they praised me” or “they were astonished,” but he has shown that all was of grace by saying “they glorified God in me.”  John Chrysostom (344-407), Homily on Galatians 1.24

Closing Prayer: Psalm 110.3-7
Praise Jesus for His excellence, His greatness, and His victory over sin and the devil. Thank and praise Him for saving enemies of Jesus like Paul and you and me.

Sing Psalm 110.3-7
(Aurelia: The Church’s One Foundation)
Your people in Your power, arrayed in holiness,
like dew of morning’s hour shall serve like youth refreshed.
The LORD has sworn and never will He His promise check:
“You are a priest forever after Melchizedek.”

The Lord is at Your right hand to execute His wrath,
and judge all kings and all lands—doomed sinners in His path.
Then, all His foes defeated, He takes His hard-won rest,
in glorious triumph seated with us, redeemed and blessed.

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.