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    Letters Pauline and Pastoral: Bible Studies
    Letters Pauline and Pastoral: Bible Studies
    Letters Pauline and Pastoral: Bible Studies
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    Letters Pauline and Pastoral: Bible Studies

    By William Flewelling

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    About this ebook

    The Bible Studies I chose to do came in answer to the request of my first congregation out of seminary. I consistently sought to present a serious, somewhat scholarly approach to the interested among my parishioners. I would take a book in the bible to study, assume it was written or edited to be read from the beginning and make sense to the reader in that format. I attempted to discover for myself and my group what the book sought to convey. In this volume, the study of Galatians (1981) and 1 Thessalonians (1989) followed that pattern exactly. The Pastoral Epistles (1989) treated the three letters both separately and as an extended effort by their author.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateMay 2, 2017
    ISBN9781524690465
    Letters Pauline and Pastoral: Bible Studies
    Author

    William Flewelling

    I am a retired minister from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) living in central Illinois. Since early in 1984, I have used the form I call Reflective Prayers as one way into my sense of the lectionary texts for a given Sunday or other worship occasion. I quickly found the form useful, indeed powerful for me, both in terms of searching the texts and searching me in resonance with the texts - spiritually, that is. The more mature of these have arrived through me over the past couple decades, the last 720 of which have been published with AuthorHouse.com. The practice with this form continues to be fertile for my spirit. I now live with my wife of fifty-six years, three dogs and a handful of cats in the quiet of an Illinois city.

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      Letters Pauline and Pastoral - William Flewelling

      © 2017 William Flewelling. All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

      Published by AuthorHouse  05/02/2017

      ISBN: 978-1-5246-9047-2 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-5246-9046-5 (e)

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

      and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Greek Bible text from: Novum Testamentum Graece, 28th revised edition, Edited by Barbara Aland and others, © 2012 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

      Table Of Contents

      Foreword

      Notes On Paul’s Letter To The Galatians

      Galatians 1:1-5

      Galatians 1:6-10

      Galatians 1:11-24

      Galatians 2:1-10

      Galatians 2:11-14

      Galatians 2:15-21

      Galatians 3:1-5

      Galatians 3:6-14

      Galatians 3:15-18

      Galatians 3:19-25

      Galatians 3:26-29

      Galatians 4:1-7

      Galatians 4:8-11

      Galatians 4:12-20

      Galatians 4:21-31

      Galatians 5:1-12

      Galatians 5:13-24

      Galatians 5:25 – 6:10

      Galatians 6:11-18

      Notes On Paul’s First Letter To The Thessalonians

      1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

      1 Thessalonians 2:1-12

      1 Thessalonians 2:13-16

      1 Thessalonians 2:17-20

      1 Thessalonians 3:1-5

      1 Thessalonians 3:6-10

      1 Thessalonians 3:11-13

      1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

      1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

      1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

      1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

      1 Thessalonians 5:12-22

      1 Thessalonians 5:23-28

      Notes On The Pastoral Epistles

      1 Timothy 1:1-11

      1 Timothy 1:12-23

      1 Timothy 2:1-15

      1 Timothy 3:1-13

      1 Timothy 3:14-16

      1 Timothy 4:1-5

      1 Timothy 4:6 – 5:2

      1 Timothy 5:3-16

      1 Timothy 5:17 – 6:2a

      1 Timothy 6:2b – 10

      1 Timothy 6:11-16

      1 Timothy 6:17-21

      2 Timothy 1:1-14

      2 Timothy 1:15 – 2:13

      2 Timothy 2:14-26

      2 Timothy 3:1-9

      2 Timothy 3:10 – 4:8

      2 Timothy 4:9-22

      Titus 1:1-4

      Titus 1:5-16

      Titus 2:1-15

      Titus 3:1-15

      About the Author

      Foreword

      These three studies collected in this volume were all done during my years at First Christian Church in LaPorte, IN. Galatians was the first one I did with that congregation, running March – July 1981. In part, it was an introduction to those interested in Bible Study of how I went about it. One Elder, Bill Wooden, extended an invitation to more in the congregation one Sunday morning, saying it would give them all they ever wanted to know about Galatians, and then some. I remember that for its humor, knowing full well I was hardly exhaustive. The study on 1 Thessalonians was given in the Spring of 1989 and was the last one actually presented to a study group in that congregation. The Pastoral Epistles were written up for the next Fall, but never presented; they served my purposes directly instead.

      Of the studies I did from the New Testament over the years, those from the Catholic Epistles [James, 1 Peter, 1, 2 &3 John] have been published together, as has The Letter To The Romans and The Book of Hebrews. Except for a study of 1 Corinthians and the Gospel of Luke, this collection completes my studies from the New Testament.

      The study on the Pastoral Epistles was partially spurred on by an article saying that the scripture recognized by the author was, indeed, the corpus of the Letters of Paul which are now accepted as his by general consensus [that is, Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians and Philemon]. I wanted to find out if I agreed or not. In addition, the Pastorals are often enough called upon in the Common Lectionary that I felt a better acquaintance would be to my advantage. Like Hebrews, the Pastorals had always been, in substance, difficult for me in homiletical terms. Hence, even without the advantage of an active Bible Study class, the discipline proved to be useful to me. It is, I believe, the only study I ever prepared and never used in practice.

      I hope you find the studies useful and helpful to you, as they have been for me, once again. Thank you.

      William Flewelling

      Notes On Paul’s Letter To The Galatians

      ***

      Bibliographic References:

      Betz, Hans Dieter, Galatians: A Commentary on Paul’s Letter to the Churches in Galatia, Fortress Press, Philadelphia, 1979.

      LSJ = Liddell, Henry George, Scott, Robert, Jones, Sir Henry Stuart, A Greek-English Lexicon With a Supplement, Ninth Edition, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1968.

      Schutz, John Howard, Paul and the Anatomy of Apostolic Authority, Cambridge University Press, NY, 1975.

      Scroggs, Robin, Paul for a New Day, Fortress Press, Philadelphia, 1977.

      Zerwick, Max and Grosvenor, Mary, A Grammatical Analysis of the Greek New Testament, vol. II, Epistles – Apocalypse, Biblical Institute Press, Rome, 1979.

      Notes on Galatians 1:1-5

      Methodology: we will work our way through Galatians bit by bit, on the assumption that we have this letter in hand, that it makes sense when it is read straight through, that the Apostle meant for the Galatians to know what he was talking about. As a third party to the letter, we must learn from Paul what it is that concerns him and also to grapple with what he says. The surest route to understanding is to let Paul raise the questions for us, to let the Apostle encounter us on his own terms [we can hardly suppose him to be a twentieth century American; so we must go to him in order to learn what he has to teach us].

      First, the text:

      1. Paul, an Apostle not from [i.e., not having an origin in] man

      and not through [i.e., not by the agency of] man

      but through Jesus Christ and God Father,

      the One raising him from dead,

      2. and all the with-me brethren

      to the churches of Galatia:

      3. Grace to you and peace from [origin] God our Father

      and Lord Jesus Christ,

      4.                  the One giving himself for the sake of our sins

      that he deliver us

      from this present evil age

      according to the will of God and our Father

      5.                                          to whom be the glory

      unto the ages of the ages. Amen.

      The section with which we are dealing today is the opening of the Epistle. When a letter was sent in the old days, they did not say ‘Dear John’, say what they had to say, and then sign off ‘Sincerely yours, Mary’. Rather, the sender identified him/her self, identified the recipients and gave a brief greeting before starting the body of the letter. Paul customarily gives a greeting of invoked grace and peace from the Lord Jesus and God the Father. This pattern is precisely what we have here, although the concluding doxology [a word of praise/glory] in v.5 is unique among the letters of Paul in the New Testament.

      Paul identifies himself to us. He is an apostle. We know well that the word ‘Apostle’ was title given in the Church to a select few prominent leaders in the first generation. In particular, we know the twelve disciples [actually, the prominently chosen ones at the core of the larger group of followers of Jesus, all of whom are at times called disciples: the chosen dozen are often singled out as The Twelve] as Apostles. Paul and Barnabas also bear the title. An Apostle is one who is particularly sent out with the full authority of the Lord, the sender. In the Church, the Apostle was one who had particular responsibility for building up [or edifying] the Church of Jesus Christ. Although there were apostles sent out by individual congregations, the title clung most closely to the few principal leaders of the budding Church.

      For the sake of this particular situation in Galatia, Paul emphasizes that his apostleship derives from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. His commission or sending forth derived from God; there was not a human origin, nor a human agency in establishing his position. The real question is that of establishing from the beginning his authority for what he had to say to the Galatians. We will see that he is telling them off and discrediting those who had compromised the faith which had been planted among the churches of Galatia. In order to accomplish that objective, his position and authority had to be clarified. Paul was sent by God. His authority stemmed from God.

      It is helpful, I believe, to note what we mean by authority. The explanation developed by Schutz in his Paul and the Anatomy of Apostolic Authority seems very helpful to me. Authority, he says, is the interpretation of Power. In this case, the power is the gospel concerning Jesus Christ, the power of God toward salvation for all the ‘faithing’ ones [see Romans 1:16-17]; the power is divine in nature. Authority in turn, is aligned with the dearest interpretation of that divine power into the human sphere of God’s saving action. Authority is drawn to be approaching the bigness and majesty of the power of God. A third term Schutz introduces is legitimacy. We see legitimate action as that which has solid backing, is authorized by some governing body; clergy are ordained by the Church and are answerable to that body if their work is to be legitimate. Legitimacy, however, is the interpretation of authority, the bringing of the proper authority into usable and controllable structures. For safety and care, we rely on legitimation. Can we, however, substitute legitimate spokespeople for authority in the labors of the Church? [What about the Reformation?] And if we are to respect authority, what do we do to test the movement and the spirit of the interpretation and making present of the power of God? Where lies our responsibility? If a man or woman comes to us and says ‘I have a word from God’, how do we decide whether we should believe him/her, or not?

      Paul definitely is grounding his ministry upon the calling agency of Jesus Christ and of God the Father who raised Jesus from the dead. With that fact, we can begin on our continuing reflection upon the question of authority.

      Paul includes his brethren in the address; they are with him in the concern and in the sending of the letter to the congregations in Galatia.

      Galatia, for interest’s sake, was a province of the Roman Empire, one which was situated in north central Asia Minor [modern Turkey], near the Black Sea. The Galatian people were of Celtic extraction, tribal cousins of the modern Irish and Welsh peoples. They were skilled workers and fiercely independent as a people: such was their heritage as Galatians. The Galatians had been mingled with Greek and Roman influences simply because of the world and the part of the world in which they lived.

      Notice that Paul is addressing the churches of Galatia. That is a statement which suggests that Paul takes the Christian to be a person who lives as a part of the Church and, in a more local perception, congregation. Identity comes from the social and personal association in which we are personally invested. One cannot be a Christian, in other words, without investment of self into the Christian community, the Church. Realizing that fact, Paul addresses the churches. All pertinent persons will be included in that shared communion of lives and souls in Christ.

      To these Christian assemblies, Paul invokes grace [a loving gift, a sense of graciousness extended to include us in its space, yet for which gift the gift itself makes us worthy] and peace [the wholeness and completeness and perfection – however it may be now pre-imaged – which is found in the Spirit of the Living God]. These invoked gifts are asked from God the Father [notice how he picks up the Dominical Abba] and the Lord Jesus Christ. More specifically, it is God our Father; it is a shared Fatherhood: God may be my Father only because God is Our Father. Again, Paul is showing by reflex the association which we have together in the Lord.

      There is a Christological statement in verse 4. Who is the Lord Jesus Christ? [Remember: Paul claims his authority as one based upon Jesus and the divine calling. Thus this undergirds Paul’s claim to authority and the understanding of authority by which we may make judgments of acceptance or rejection of such claims.] Jesus gives himself ‘for the sake of our sins’. The preposition is hyper: the basic meaning is above the surface of [our sins]. Could it be that ‘for the sake of’ means that it is a purging cover? so that they are being fundamentally changed in the self-giving of Christ? And the giving ‘for the sake of our sins’ is done in such a manner that he delivers us, that he works to set us free, that there comes to be a separation between us and this evil age? The work of Christ, then, is to draw us to be separated in Spirit from this evil age. The covering of sins is done so as to effect that separation. The work, moreover, is done according to the will of ‘God and our Father’ [a statement emphasizing the Fatherhood of God – such that God exemplifies what it means to be a father and ‘father’ – the idea – indicates the closeness of God to ‘His’ people]. What sort of authority, then, is Paul claiming? What sort of test of authority is he demanding? [His opponents also claimed authority: that truth must undergird our reading, too.]

      Finally, Paul adds a doxology; one is not usually placed in this part of the letter. The ‘word of glory’ is addressed to God our Father. The glory comes from the people and is given to God unto the ages of ages. The direction and the conscious effort are important to see. Glory is given, handed over from us to God. Notice the ongoing commitment implied in the doxological statement. Since Paul’s authority is an ongoing concern, as we have seen, what is involved with the doxology? We know that authority is claimed as coming from God; is the doxology supportive of the frame of reference for Paul’s claim to and concern for his own authority? C. S. Lewis made a study some years back [in The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses, Macmillan Co., NY, 1949] in which he noted that glory, and the words other languages use for glory, carry the two notions of brilliance and heaviness. There is substance which glitters – most likely from within itself – to glory. So, in giving glory, we grant substance to God, and heavy substance from ourselves. We give our brilliance to God.

      To direct some further thoughts, let us consider:

      (1) What sorts of ways do we have suggested for testing claims of authority, particularly in religious contexts?

      (2) Does the Apostolic commission extend to this day?

      in people in some sort of succession?

      in the writings of the apostles?

      in the Church, as an inclusive, mystically founded

                  Body?

      (3) What is the force of the labels given to Christ Jesus and to God? I.e., God as our Father and as the One raising Jesus from the dead, and Jesus as the One giving himself, etc.?

      Notes on Galatians 1:6-10

      First, the text:

      6.           I am amazed/marvel that so quickly you have turned away

      from the calling-you-in-grace Christ

      into another gospel –

      7.                     which is not another;

      except that there are those troubling you

      and those willing to alter/distort the gospel of Christ.

      8.           But, even if we, or an angel from heaven should proclaim

      to you contrary to that proclaimed to you;

      let him be anathema/accursed/cut off.

      9.           As we have said, so now again I say:

      if anyone proclaims to you

      contrary to that you receive,

      let him be anathema.

      10.        For now, am I persuading man? or God?

      or do I live to be pleasing men?

      If I were still being pleasing to men,

      I would not be a slave of Christ.

      In the opening segment of Galatians, we spoke of the problem of authority for writing. We also raised the question as to what it is that is the judging point for true authority [i.e., a proper interpretation of God’s power which is at work in the gospel]. Having been concerned to establish the base of his position, Paul opens up upon the Galatians quickly. He even omits the customary thanksgiving concerning the recipients of the letter – this is the only such omission in the extant Pauline letters. Paul is upset about what is happening in Galatia. Rather obviously he was somewhere else and had heard reports of what was happening in his earlier place of Apostolic labor. The reports must have been reliable, from the mouths of trusted compatriots in the gospel, for his reaction is strong: ‘I marvel that so quickly you have turned away from … Christ’.

      Paul accuses the Christians of Galatia of literally separating themselves from the gospel; the preposition, apo – from/away from – means that a separation has been introduced, a gap or chasm has been brought into being between the Galatians and the Christ they profess. Paul could not understand them doing this; he thought he had left them firm in the one gospel, possessed of his vibrant and powerful vision of the life the Christian has in Christ. The turn happened ‘so quickly’: does this mean that they were still in the first flush of enthusiasm for the faith and still they fell away in confusion? Given what we know of the intensity and depth of Paul’s vision, is it strange that people would fall aside into a more rule-oriented, more easily grasped [as opposed to being grasped by the] vision? On the other side, can we [or anybody – including those early Galatians] dare to compromise the intensity of Christ? Or can we dare to look too low or too easily for the quickening gaze of the Savior? Paul is saying NO. We cannot afford that luxury because it separates us from Christ, the Christ who is ‘calling-you-in-grace’.

      On grace: one rough definition is ‘a pat on the back when we deserve a kick in the pants’. Grace is open. Grace is freely given. Grace accepts the other as s/he is, and more as they might become through the present embrace of the love of God. Grace receives another as a gracious hostess – accepting and giving acceptance while never compromising who she is and never expecting anything but graciousness in return. That is what Paul sees happening in Christ. How could they [or anyone] turn from such a broadly open grandeur and majesty? He is amazed!

      The turn is toward what Paul calls another gospel – then quickly corrects himself: there is only one gospel. He is hard pressed by words. Those who draw back from the immense scale of Paul’s vision call their product the gospel, too. And it does have some features in common. But, like anything cut down in size, it loses its elasticity, its breadth, depth, height and width; it cannot stretch to the reaches of God; it cannot be filled with the graciousness of God. Yet it attracts by its nearly confined definiteness, by its false rigor and lack of sheer spiritual abandon. The contraction – or condensation – is an alteration and a distortion of the gospel of Christ.

      The problem of authority stands behind this sentence. What is Paul suggesting about proper authority, the one he is claiming for himself and denying to his opponents? The fact that he claims that his opponents have a distorted vision of Christ and the gospel is important, for it suggests that there is a deep need to keep the full vision of Christ and the fully spiritual force [we must note that the spiritual always includes the physical as a lesser, component part of itself] of the gospel if authority is to be honestly claimed.

      Verses 8-9 give us a sudden curse or anathema. From Paul’s perspective, the important point is the gospel which has been [and is being] revealed. Anyone, even Paul or one of his friends, even an angel of God [an angel is simply a messenger from God, normally understood as supernatural, spirit-based rather than as an ordinary courier] who would diminish or corrupt the gospel which had been proclaimed – that is, had gone contrary to the rather athletic spirit which had been opened – ‘let him be anathema’. Paul repeats to reinforce his angry concern. Anathema is pronounced against the variant. It is not that the variation is complementary, or even that it tends to concentrate upon one part of the gospel without contradicting the whole. Such a position, albeit less than ideal, would still provide room for the expression of truth. The contracted and wooden so-called gospel is contrary to Paul’s expression and experience. Contraries do not, cannot unite; they cannot because they are antagonistic to each other. Either one is right or the other is right [or both are wrong]; contraries are utterly anathema to each other – that is, they are cut off from each other by an immense abyss.

      Let us realize that these anathemas which Paul is casting about are very pointed. They have also been much abused in the history of the Church, East and West, Orthodox, Roman Catholic or Protestant. It is present even within the New Testament. What happens is that people hold onto the strict line of reasoning. We have received some thing; if anyone goes differently from that, he must be anathema. The problem arises that, albeit in some different ways, the anathema is thrown about by those who have trimmed the grand vision of St. Paul. They claim his [or some other authority’s] word, but they compromise the word with things they learn elsewhere. They must be respectable. They want to hold a position in the world. They cannot permit too radical a gospel. Or, perhaps, the highly demanding position of Paul is too much for some to maintain. So, the grandeur is reduced, brought down to size. [Paul’s letter makes it clear that even his own generation had difficulty with the size of his spirit and the immensity of his thought.] In Paul’s sense, the anathema can only properly come against those who reduce the scope of grace or distort the full impact of the gospel, even for the sake of intelligibility.

      In verse 10, Paul turns afresh to questions. The questions aim at establishing his ground for entering the controversy in Galatia. The word translated above as persuading is derived from a term describing the art of rhetoric. Rhetoric, according to Betz in his commentary on Galatians, and the powers of persuasion were not the most reputable things in the society of that time. What Paul is asking is whether he has been using any tricks or cute turnings of persuasive techniques to bring about the acceptance of the gospel. Does he, in brief, manipulate people or even God in his ministry? This first question is not asking whether Paul is a man-pleaser or a God-pleaser. Rather, the implication is that he is neither a man-manipulator nor a God-manipulator. There is no Madison Avenue influence in what Paul is doing. [Does this say anything for modern procedures for evangelism or nurture? or education or preaching or administration? Does it say anything about Paul’s basis in authority?]

      The second question – ‘do I live to be pleasing to men?’ – is often used to interpret the first question. It seems to me that it proceeds from the first, that it builds upon it and aims further, toward his conclusion. No, Paul is not a mere rhetorician. No, he is not living to please men. [Does that have anything to say about his authority?] If he were, he would not be a slave of Christ. Note that a slave is one who is owned by another, who serves the other at the will of the other – in this case, Christ. The implication is that Paul is not aiming to please himself, either.

      In addition to the scattered questions above, note:

      (1) What is Paul’s challenge to our approach to life and to our submission to the gospel of Jesus Christ?

      (2) Paul sees only one, undivided and indivisible gospel. It may not be diminished and still be the gospel. How far does the Apostle stretch us in faith?

      (3) Paul is inferring and presuming a way of dealing with people, of relating with them. There is reciprocity among people in Christ. There is a common submission to God. How is Paul’s authority working within that framework? Manipulation is excluded. Pleasing the people is excluded. Diminishing the vision is anathema. What is left among Christians? Can the core be relaxed or forgotten? If so, what is the price?

      Notes on Galatians 1:11-24

      First, the text:

      11.        And I make known to you, brethren: the gospel which was

      proclaimed under my agency

      is not according to men

      12.                    for I did not receive it from man

      nor was I taught;

      but by the agency of the revelation of Jesus Christ.

      13.        For you heard my way of life formerly in Judaism,

      that according to excess I persecuted the Church

      of God

      and I tried to destroy her,

      14.                    and I progressed in Judaism above many

      contemporaries in my tribe,

      being extraordinarily zealous

      of the traditions/handings-down

      of my fathers.

      15.        But when the one separating me from my mother’s womb

      resolved and called through his grace,

      to reveal to me his son in order that I might

      proclaim him,

      immediately I did not consult with flesh and blood,

      17.                                nor did I go up unto Jerusalem

      toward those [who were] apostles

      before me,

      but I went apart into Arabia

      and again unto Damascus.

      18.        Then, after three years, I went up unto Jerusalem,

      to visit [for the purpose of coming to know] Kephas;

      and I remained facing him fifteen days.

      19.        Others of the apostles I did not see –

      except James, the brother of the Lord.

      20.        What things I write to you: behold, before God, that

      I do not lie.

      21.        Then I went into the region of Syria and Cilicia.

      22.        And I was unbeknownst by the face to the churches

      of Judea, to those in Christ.

      23.        Only, they were ones hearing that

      the one persecuting then

      now preaches the faith

      which then he tried to destroy.

      24.        And they glorified God in me.

      Paul continues to outline his position, emphasizing the divine origin of the gospel he preached. The problem was not, as some today do, to retract from the institutional church [Paul’s collection for the saints in Jerusalem would suffice to make that clear] but the drastic extension of the depth and the breadth of the Church’s labors in the Lord. Whatever the people of the churches in Galatia may have previously thought, this letter makes it clear that the word Paul preached was not just hand-me-down knowledge. Paul did not go to school for it. Nor did he learn it from others. Rather, it was revealed/uncovered for him by the agency of Jesus Christ.

      [I should note that Paul was well versed in what we call the Old Testament: in his day, it was the Scripture. He had been educated in the rabbinic way, learning at the feet of Gamaliel, a most prominent rabbi of the middle of the first half of the first century.]

      Immediately we meet up with the notion of revelation. Note first of all that Paul had been a very well schooled Pharisee. He knew the scriptures [i.e., the Old Testament –the New was not yet written!] and the traditions of the Jews. He quite likely was familiar with the broad outlines of the budding traditions about Jesus of Nazareth; at least he knew enough to recognize the challenge to the knowledge and the faith he already shared with his Jewish brothers and sisters. He was not totally blank on God as he came out of this religiously strenuous background. He was, rather, passionately concerned about God and about the relationship between God and His people. He may well have known the facts of Jesus beforehand, but they were as hollow then as today, even worthless, until, Jesus Christ revealed to him the gospel. We begin to suspect that the gospel is more than just facts – those things Paul knew before he became a Christian; and his opponents knew the facts very well right now as well. The confusion of mere facts was clarified [and still is] by this gospel which concerned Jesus Christ. Could it be that the revelation of the gospel was precisely the vision of the closely involving life which Paul describes as ‘in Christ’? If so, what sort of action is evolved from us as heirs of that revelation? Or, how big is our gospel?

      Paul then enters into his pertinent autobiography [verse 13]. He had been a zealous Jew. He had been one to hold fast to the traditions of his fathers. He had progressed in the faith and practice of Judaism beyond his fathers. He had progressed in the faith and practice of Judaism beyond his years. He had been a prime persecutor of the Church. He had tried to destroy the heterodox views of the Church, at that time an active minority sect within Judaism. Paul was active in his religious life; he was quite energetic in his urgent desire to serve the God handed down to him in the traditions of Israel – the same God revealed in Christ Jesus.

      As an aside, we ought to remember tradition because our own life as Christians is heavily endowed with the weight of tradition. What we have most readily at hand is the fruit of people, men and women, and their experience. Even the scriptures are written by human beings. There has been an element of inspiration involved in the sparks of tradition-building. But the whole has been entrusted to people who pass it all along as Tradition. And we are doing the same thing; we have to pass it along for all of our life is lived in personal dialog with Tradition. We talk with it; we criticize it and receive its criticism in return. We draw from tradition and, to a slight extent at the least, we add to that tradition. Anyone active in a congregation over a series of decades – twenty years is enough to begin to see it happening – can see that process unfolding locally. For us, then, Paul’s comments strike at the very point where we must meet critically, rather than accepting blindly, our own tradition – both in terms of our Christian faith and our equally complex cultural heritage. Upon what authority can we enter into critical dialog with our world? Does it have anything to do with the clear-heartedness of the vision Christ reveals to his servants? and which Paul claims to be the enlivener/quickener of mere facts?

      Paul claims that God had separated him – set him apart – from his mother’s womb. This is the same thing we find in Jeremiah 1. The sense of vocation overwhelms the man, commands the person and sets him aright within the foreordained/predestined movement of God. Note: this is not all predetermined; Paul could have resisted or turned aside. The details also were not prescribed; Paul framed them himself in response to God. The question of human freedom and the grand movements of God are difficult ones; they do not admit simplistic answers. Rather, the feel of the quest comes only slowly at the depths of our souls under the continuing pressure of prayer.

      When the time had come, God [the separating One] resolved and called Paul through Grace. Grace – graciousness is an apt approximation – is the agency by which God called. The resolve and call were to reveal God’s son that Paul might proclaim him. Whatever else happened and prepared the moment, God acted before Paul so as to generate the crisis of faith. The judgment of

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