mh_parser/vol_split/48 - Galatians/Chapter 1.xml

<div2 id="Gal.ii" n="ii" next="Gal.iii" prev="Gal.i" progress="54.79%" title="Chapter I">
<h2 id="Gal.ii-p0.1">G A L A T I A N S.</h2>
<h3 id="Gal.ii-p0.2">CHAP. I.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Gal.ii-p1">In this chapter, after the preface or introduction
(<scripRef id="Gal.ii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.1-Gal.1.5" parsed="|Gal|1|1|1|5" passage="Ga 1:1-5">ver. 1-5</scripRef>), the apostle
severely reproves these churches for their defection from the faith
(<scripRef id="Gal.ii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.6-Gal.1.9" parsed="|Gal|1|6|1|9" passage="Ga 1:6-9">ver. 6-9</scripRef>), and then proves
his own apostleship, which his enemies had brought them to
question, I. From his end and design in preaching the gospel,
<scripRef id="Gal.ii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.10" parsed="|Gal|1|10|0|0" passage="Ga 1:10">ver. 10</scripRef>. II. From his having
received it by immediate revelation, <scripRef id="Gal.ii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.11-Gal.1.12" parsed="|Gal|1|11|1|12" passage="Ga 1:11,12">ver. 11, 12</scripRef>. For the proof of which he
acquaints them, 1. What his former conversation was, <scripRef id="Gal.ii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.13-Gal.1.14" parsed="|Gal|1|13|1|14" passage="Ga 1:13,14">ver. 13, 14</scripRef>. 2. How he was
converted, and called to the apostleship, <scripRef id="Gal.ii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.15-Gal.1.16" parsed="|Gal|1|15|1|16" passage="Ga 1:15,16">ver. 15, 16</scripRef>. 3. How he behaved himself
afterwards, <scripRef id="Gal.ii-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.16-Gal.1.24" parsed="|Gal|1|16|1|24" passage="Ga 1:16-24">ver. 16, to the
end</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Gal.ii-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1" parsed="|Gal|1|0|0|0" passage="Ga 1" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Gal.ii-p1.9" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.1-Gal.1.5" parsed="|Gal|1|1|1|5" passage="Ga 1:1-5" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gal.1.1-Gal.1.5">
<h4 id="Gal.ii-p1.10">The Introductory Address. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gal.ii-p1.11">a.
d.</span> 56.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gal.ii-p2">1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man,
but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the
dead;)   2 And all the brethren which are with me, unto the
churches of Galatia:   3 Grace <i>be</i> to you and peace from
God the Father, and <i>from</i> our Lord Jesus Christ,   4 Who
gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this
present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
  5 To whom <i>be</i> glory for ever and ever. Amen.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.ii-p3">In these verses we have the preface or
introduction to the epistle, where observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.ii-p4">I. The person or persons from whom this
epistle is sent—from Paul <i>an apostle,</i> &amp;c., <i>and all
the brethren that were with him.</i> 1. The epistle is sent from
Paul; he only was the penman of it. And, because there were some
among the Galatians who endeavoured to lessen his character and
authority, in the front of it he gives a general account both of
his office and of the manner in which he was called to it, which
afterwards, in this and the following chapter, he enlarges more
upon. As to his office, he was an apostle. He is not afraid to
style himself so, though his enemies would scarcely allow him this
title: and, to let them see that he did not assume this character
without just ground, he acquaints them how he was called to this
dignity and office, and assures them that his commission to it was
wholly divine, for he was an apostle, <i>not of man, neither by
man;</i> he had not the common call of an ordinary minister, but an
extraordinary call from heaven to this office. He neither received
his qualification for it, nor his designation to it, by the
mediation of men, but had both the one and the other directly from
above; for he was an apostle <i>by Jesus Christ,</i> he had his
instructions and commission immediately from him, and consequently
from <i>God the Father,</i> who was one with him in respect of his
divine nature, and who had appointed him, as Mediator, to be the
apostle and high priest of our profession, and as such to authorize
others to this office. He adds, <i>Who raised him from the
dead,</i> both to acquaint us that herein God the Father gave a
public testimony to Christ's being his Son and the promised
Messiah, and also that, as his call to the apostleship was
immediately from Christ, so it was after his resurrection from the
dead, and when he had entered upon his exalted state; so that he
had reason to look upon himself, not only as standing upon a level
with the other apostles, but as in some sort preferred above them;
for, whereas they were called by him when on earth, he had his call
from him when in heaven. Thus does the apostle, being constrained
to it by his adversaries, magnify his office, which shows that
though men should by no means be proud of any authority they are
possessed of, yet at certain times and upon certain occasions it
may become needful to assert it. But, 2. He joins all the brethren
that were with him in the inscription of the epistle, and writes in
their name as well as his own. By <i>the brethren that were with
him</i> may be understood either the Christians in common of that
place where he now was, or such as were employed as ministers of
the gospel. These, notwithstanding his own superior character and
attainments, he is ready to own as his brethren; and, though he
alone wrote the epistle, yet he joins them with himself in the
inscription of it. Herein, as he shows his own great modesty and
humility, and how remote he was from an assuming temper, so he
might do this to dispose these churches to a greater regard to what
he wrote, since hereby it would appear that he had their
concurrence with him in the doctrine which he had preached, and was
now about to confirm, and that it was no other than what was both
published and professed by others as well as himself.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.ii-p5">II. To whom this epistle is sent—<i>to the
churches of Galatia.</i> There were several churches at that time
in this country, and it should seem that all of them were more or
less corrupted through the arts of those seducers who had crept in
among them; and therefore Paul, on whom <i>came daily the care of
all the churches,</i> being deeply affected with their state, and
concerned for their recovery to the faith and establishment in it,
writes this epistle to them. He directs it to all of them, as being
all more or less concerned in the matter of it; and he gives them
the name of <i>churches,</i> though they had done enough to forfeit
it, for corrupt churches are never allowed to be churches: no doubt
there were some among them who still continued in the faith, and he
was not without hope that others might be recovered to it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.ii-p6">III. The apostolical benediction, <scripRef id="Gal.ii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.3" parsed="|Gal|1|3|0|0" passage="Ga 1:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. Herein the apostle, and
the brethren who were with him, wish these churches <i>grace and
peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.</i> This
is the usual blessing wherewith he blesses the churches in the name
of the Lord—<i>grace and peace.</i> Grace includes God's good-will
towards us and his good work upon us; and peace implies in it all
that inward comfort, or outward prosperity, which is really needful
for us; and they come from God the Father as the fountain, through
Jesus Christ as the channel of conveyance. Both these the apostle
wishes for these Christians. But we may observe, First grace, and
then peace, for there can be no true peace without grace. Having
mentioned the Lord Jesus Christ, he cannot pass without enlarging
upon his love; and therefore adds (<scripRef id="Gal.ii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.4" parsed="|Gal|1|4|0|0" passage="Ga 1:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>), <i>Who gave himself for our sins,
that he might deliver,</i> &amp;c. Jesus Christ gave himself for
our sins, as a great sacrifice to make atonement for us; this the
justice of God required, and to this he freely submitted for our
sakes. One great end hereof was <i>to deliver us from this present
evil world;</i> not only to redeem us from the wrath of God, and
the curse of the law, but also to recover us from the corruption
that is in the world through lust, and to rescue us from the
vicious practices and customs of it, unto which we are naturally
enslaved; and possibly also to set us free from the Mosaic
constitution, for so <b><i>aion houtos</i></b> is used, <scripRef id="Gal.ii-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.2.6 Bible:1Cor.2.8" parsed="|1Cor|2|6|0|0;|1Cor|2|8|0|0" passage="1Co 2:6,8">1 Cor. ii. 6, 8</scripRef>. From this we may
note, 1. This present world is an evil world: it has become so by
the sin of man, and it is so on account of the sin and sorrow with
which it abounds and the many snares and temptations to which we
are exposed as long as we continue in it. But, 2. Jesus Christ has
died to deliver us from this present evil world, not presently to
remove his people out of it, but to rescue them from the power of
it, to keep them from the evil of it, and in due time to possess
them of another and better world. This, the apostle informs us, he
has done <i>according to the will of God and our Father.</i> In
offering up himself a sacrifice for this end and purpose, he acted
by the appointment of the Father, as well as with his own free
consent; and therefore we have the greatest reason to depend upon
the efficacy and acceptableness of what he has done and suffered
for us; yea, hence we have encouragement to look upon God as our
Father, for thus the apostle here represents him: as he is the
Father of our Lord Jesus, so in and through him he is also the
Father of all true believers, as our blessed Saviour himself
acquaints us (<scripRef id="Gal.ii-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:John.20.17" parsed="|John|20|17|0|0" passage="Joh 20:17">John xx.
17</scripRef>), when he tells his disciples that he was ascending
to his Father and their Father.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.ii-p7">The apostle, having thus taken notice of
the great love wherewith Christ hath loved us, concludes this
preface with a solemn ascription of praise and glory to him
(<scripRef id="Gal.ii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.5" parsed="|Gal|1|5|0|0" passage="Ga 1:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>): <i>To whom be
glory for ever and ever. Amen.</i> Intimating that on this account
he is justly entitled to our highest esteem and regard. Or this
doxology may be considered as referring both to God the Father and
our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom he had just before been wishing
grace and peace. They are both the proper objects of our worship
and adoration, and all honour and glory are perpetually due to
them, both on account of their own infinite excellences, and also
on account of the blessings we receive from them.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gal.ii-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.6-Gal.1.9" parsed="|Gal|1|6|1|9" passage="Ga 1:6-9" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gal.1.6-Gal.1.9">
<h4 id="Gal.ii-p7.3">The Apostle's Concern at Their
Defection. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gal.ii-p7.4">a.
d.</span> 56.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gal.ii-p8">6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him
that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
  7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you,
and would pervert the gospel of Christ.   8 But though we, or
an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that
which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.   9 As
we said before, so say I now again, If any <i>man</i> preach any
other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be
accursed.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.ii-p9">Here the apostle comes to the body of the
epistle; and he begins it with a more general reproof of these
churches for their unsteadiness in the faith, which he afterwards,
in some following parts of it, enlarges more upon. Here we may
observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.ii-p10">I. How much he was concerned at their
defection: <i>I marvel,</i> &amp;c. It filled him at once with the
greatest surprise and sorrow. Their sin and folly were that they
did not hold fast the doctrine of Christianity as it had been
preached to them, but suffered themselves to be removed from the
purity and simplicity of it. And there were several things by which
their defection was greatly aggravated; as, 1. That they were
<i>removed from him that had called them;</i> not only from the
apostle, who had been the instrument of calling them into the
fellowship of the gospel, but from God himself, by whose order and
direction the gospel was preached to them, and they were invited to
a participation of the privileges of it: so that herein they had
been guilty of a great abuse of his kindness and mercy towards
them. 2. That they had been <i>called into the grace of Christ.</i>
As the gospel which had been preached to them was the most glorious
discovery of divine grace and mercy in Christ Jesus; so thereby
they had been called to partake of the greatest blessings and
benefits, such as justification, and reconciliation with God here,
and eternal life and happiness hereafter. These our Lord Jesus has
purchased for us at the expense of his precious blood, and freely
bestows upon all who sincerely accept of him: and therefore, in
proportion to the greatness of the privilege they enjoyed, such
were their sin and folly in deserting it and suffering themselves
to be drawn off from the established way of obtaining these
blessings. 3. That they were <i>so soon removed.</i> In a very
little time they lost that relish and esteem of this grace of
Christ which they seemed to have, and too easily fell in with those
who taught justification by the works of the law, as many did, who
had been bred up in the opinions and notions of the Pharisees,
which they mingled with the doctrine of Christ, and so corrupted
it; and this, as it was an instance of their weakness, so it was a
further aggravation of their guilt. 4. That they were removed to
<i>another gospel, which yet was not another.</i> Thus the apostle
represents the doctrine of these judaizing teachers; he calls it
another gospel, because it opened a different way of justification
and salvation from that which was revealed in the gospel, namely,
by works, and not by faith in Christ. And yet he adds, "<i>Which is
not another</i>—you will find it to be no gospel at all—not
really another gospel, but the perverting of the gospel of Christ,
and the overturning of the foundations of that"—whereby he
intimates that those who go about to establish any other way to
heaven than what the gospel of Christ has revealed are guilty of a
gross perversion of it, and in the issue will find themselves
wretchedly mistaken. Thus the apostle endeavours to impress upon
these Galatians a due sense of their guilt in forsaking the gospel
way of justification; and yet at the same time he tempers his
reproof with mildness and tenderness towards them, and represents
them as rather drawn into it by the arts and industry of some that
troubled them than as coming into it of their own accord, which,
though it did not excuse them, yet was some extenuation of their
fault. And hereby he teaches us that, in reproving others, as we
should be faithful, so we should also be gentle, and endeavour
<i>to restore them in the spirit of meekness,</i> <scripRef id="Gal.ii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.6.1" parsed="|Gal|6|1|0|0" passage="Ga 6:1"><i>ch.</i> vi. 1</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.ii-p11">II. How confident he was that the gospel he
had preached to them was the only true gospel. He was so fully
persuaded of this that he pronounced an anathema upon those who
pretended to preach any other gospel (<scripRef id="Gal.ii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.8" parsed="|Gal|1|8|0|0" passage="Ga 1:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>), and, to let them see that this
did not proceed from any rashness or intemperate zeal in him, he
repeated it, <scripRef id="Gal.ii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.9" parsed="|Gal|1|9|0|0" passage="Ga 1:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>.
This will not justify our thundering out anathemas against those
who differ from us in minor things. It is only against those who
forge a new gospel, who overturn the foundation of the covenant of
grace, by setting up the works of the law in the place of Christ's
righteousness, and corrupting Christianity with Judaism, that Paul
denounces this. He puts the case: "Suppose we should preach any
other gospel; nay, suppose an angel from heaven should:" not as if
it were possible for an angel from heaven to be the messenger of a
lie; but it is expressed so the more to strengthen what he was
about to say. "If you have any other gospel preached to you by any
other person, under our name, or under colour of having it from an
angel himself, you must conclude that you are imposed upon: and
whoever preaches another gospel lays himself under a curse, and is
in danger of laying you under it too."</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gal.ii-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.10-Gal.1.24" parsed="|Gal|1|10|1|24" passage="Ga 1:10-24" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gal.1.10-Gal.1.24">
<h4 id="Gal.ii-p11.4">The Apostle's Integrity. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gal.ii-p11.5">a.
d.</span> 56.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gal.ii-p12">10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I
seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the
servant of Christ.   11 But I certify you, brethren, that the
gospel which was preached of me is not after man.   12 For I
neither received it of man, neither was I taught <i>it,</i> but by
the revelation of Jesus Christ.   13 For ye have heard of my
conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond
measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:   14
And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own
nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my
fathers.   15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from
my mother's womb, and called <i>me</i> by his grace,   16 To
reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen;
immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:   17 Neither
went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I
went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.   18 Then
after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode
with him fifteen days.   19 But other of the apostles saw I
none, save James the Lord's brother.   20 Now the things which
I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.   21
Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia;   22
And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judæa which were in
Christ:   23 But they had heard only, That he which persecuted
us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.
  24 And they glorified God in me.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.ii-p13">What Paul had said more generally, in the
preface of this epistle, he now proceeds more particularly to
enlarge upon. There he had declared himself to be an apostle of
Christ; and here he comes more directly to support his claim to
that character and office. There were some in the churches of
Galatia who were prevailed with to call this in question; for those
who preached up the ceremonial law did all they could to lessen
Paul's reputation, who preached the pure gospel of Christ to the
Gentiles: and therefore he here sets himself to prove the divinity
both of his mission and doctrine, that thereby he might wipe off
the aspersions which his enemies had cast upon him, and recover
these Christians into a better opinion of the gospel he had
preached to them. This he gives sufficient evidence of,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.ii-p14">I. From the scope and design of his
ministry, which was <i>not to persuade men, but God,</i> &amp;c.
The meaning of this may be either that in his preaching the gospel
he did not act in obedience to men, but God, who had called him to
this work and office; or that his aim therein was to bring persons
to the obedience, not of men, but of God. As he professed to act by
a commission from God; so that which he chiefly aimed at was to
promote his glory, by recovering sinners into a state of subjection
to him. And as this was the great end he was pursuing, so,
agreeably hereunto, <i>he did not seek to please men.</i> He did
not, in his doctrine, accommodate himself to the humours of
persons, either to gain their affection or to avoid their
resentment; but his great care was to approve himself to God. The
judaizing teachers, by whom these churches were corrupted, had
discovered a very different temper; they mixed works with faith,
and the law with the gospel, only to please the Jews, whom they
were willing to court and keep in with, that they might escape
persecution. But Paul was a man of another spirit; he was not so
solicitous to please them, nor to mitigate their rage against him,
as to alter the doctrine of Christ either to gain their favour or
to avoid their fury. And he gives this very good reason for it,
that, <i>if he yet pleased men, he would not be the servant of
Christ.</i> These he knew were utterly inconsistent, and that no
man could serve two such masters; and therefore, though he would
not needlessly displease any, yet he dared not allow himself to
gratify men at the expense of his faithfulness to Christ. Thus,
from the sincerity of his aims and intentions in the discharge of
his office, he proves that he was truly an apostle of Christ. And
from this his temper and behaviour we may note, 1. That the great
end which ministers of the gospel should aim at is to bring men to
God. 2. That those who are faithful will not seek to please men,
but to approve themselves to God. 3. That they must not be
solicitous to please men, if they would approve themselves faithful
servants to Christ. But, if this argument should not be thought
sufficient, he goes on to prove his apostleship,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.ii-p15">II. From the manner wherein he received the
gospel which he preached to them, concerning which he assures them
(<scripRef id="Gal.ii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.11-Gal.1.12" parsed="|Gal|1|11|1|12" passage="Ga 1:11,12"><i>v.</i> 11, 12</scripRef>) that
he had it not by information from others, but by revelation from
heaven. One thing peculiar in the character of an apostle was that
he had been called to, and instructed for, this office immediately
by Christ himself. And in this he here shows that he was by no
means defective, whatever his enemies might suggest to the
contrary. Ordinary ministers, as they receive their call to preach
the gospel by the mediation of others, so it is by means of the
instruction and assistance of others that they are brought to the
knowledge of it. But Paul acquaints them that he had his knowledge
of the gospel, as well as his authority to preach it, directly from
the Lord Jesus: the gospel which he preached was not <i>after man;
he neither received it of man, nor was he taught it by man,</i> but
by immediate inspiration, or revelation from Christ himself. This
he was concerned to make out, to prove himself an apostle: and to
this purpose,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.ii-p16">1. He tells them what his education was,
and what, accordingly, his conversation in time past had been,
<scripRef id="Gal.ii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.13-Gal.1.14" parsed="|Gal|1|13|1|14" passage="Ga 1:13,14"><i>v.</i> 13, 14</scripRef>.
Particularly, he acquaints them that he had been brought up in the
Jewish religion, and <i>that he had profited in it above many his
equals of his own nation</i>—that <i>he had been exceedingly
zealous of the traditions of the elders,</i> such doctrines and
customs as had been invented by their fathers, and conveyed down
from one generation to another; yea, to such a degree that, in his
zeal for them, <i>he had beyond measure persecuted the church of
God, and wasted it.</i> He had not only been a rejecter of the
Christian religion, notwithstanding the many evident proofs that
were given of its divine origin; but he had been a persecutor of it
too, and had applied himself with the utmost violence and rage to
destroy the professors of it. This Paul often takes notice of, for
the magnifying of that free and rich grace which had wrought so
wonderful a change in him, whereby of so great a sinner he was made
a sincere penitent, and from a persecutor had become an apostle.
And it was very fit to mention it here; for it would hence appear
that he was not led to Christianity, as many others are, purely by
education, since he had been bred up in an enmity and opposition to
it; and they might reasonably suppose that it must be something
very extraordinary which had made so great a change in him, which
had conquered the prejudices of his education, and brought him not
only to profess, but to preach, that doctrine, which he had before
so vehemently opposed.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.ii-p17">2. In how wonderful a manner he was turned
from the error of his ways, brought to the knowledge and faith of
Christ, and appointed to the office of an apostle, <scripRef id="Gal.ii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.15-Gal.1.16" parsed="|Gal|1|15|1|16" passage="Ga 1:15,16"><i>v.</i> 15, 16</scripRef>. This was not done
in an ordinary way, nor by ordinary means, but in an extraordinary
manner; for, (1.) God had <i>separated him hereunto from his
mother's womb:</i> the change that was wrought in him was in
pursuance of a divine purpose concerning him, whereby he was
appointed to be a Christian and an apostle, before he came into the
world, or had done either good or evil. (2.) he was <i>called by
his grace.</i> All who are savingly converted are called by the
grace of God; their conversion is the effect of his good pleasure
concerning them, and is effected by his power and grace in them.
But there was something peculiar in the case of Paul, both in the
suddenness and in the greatness of the change wrought in him, and
also in the manner wherein it was effected, which was not by the
mediation of others, as the instruments of it, but by Christ's
personal appearance to him, and immediate operation upon him,
whereby it was rendered a more special and extraordinary instance
of divine power and favour. (3.) He had Christ <i>revealed in
him.</i> He was not only revealed to him, but in him. It will but
little avail us to have Christ revealed to us if he is not also
revealed in us; but this was not the case of Paul. It pleased God
<i>to reveal his Son in him,</i> to bring him to the knowledge of
Christ and his gospel by special and immediate revelation. And,
(4.) It was with this design, that he should preach him among the
heathen; not only that he should embrace him himself, but preach
him to others; so that he was both a Christian and an apostle by
revelation.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.ii-p18">3. He acquaints them how he behaved himself
hereupon, from <scripRef id="Gal.ii-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.16" parsed="|Gal|1|16|0|0" passage="Ga 1:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>,
to the end. Being thus called to his work and office, <i>he
conferred not with flesh and blood.</i> This may be taken more
generally, and so we may learn from it that, when God calls us by
his grace, we must not consult flesh and blood. But the meaning of
it here is that he did not consult men; he did not apply to any
others for their advice and direction; <i>neither did he go up to
Jerusalem, to those that were apostles before him,</i> as though he
needed to be approved by them, or to receive any further
instructions or authority from them: but, instead of that, he
steered another course, and <i>went into Arabia,</i> either as a
place of retirement proper for receiving further divine
revelations, or in order to preach the gospel there among the
Gentiles, being appointed to be the apostle of the Gentiles; and
thence <i>he returned again to Damascus,</i> where he had first
begun his ministry, and whence he had with difficulty escaped the
rage of his enemies, <scripRef id="Gal.ii-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Acts.9.20-Acts.9.25" parsed="|Acts|9|20|9|25" passage="Ac 9:20-25">Acts
ix</scripRef>. It was not till <i>three years after</i> his
conversion that <i>he went up to Jerusalem, to see Peter;</i> and
when he did so he made but a very short stay with him, no more than
<i>fifteen days;</i> nor, while he was there, did he go much into
conversation; for <i>others of the apostles he saw none, but James,
the Lord's brother.</i> So that it could not well be pretended that
he was indebted to any other either for his knowledge of the gospel
or his authority to preach it; but it appeared that both his
qualifications for, and his call to, the apostolic office were
extraordinary and divine. This account being of importance, to
establish his claim to this office, to remove the unjust censures
of his adversaries, and to recover the Galatians from the
impressions they had received to his prejudice, he confirms it by a
solemn oath (<scripRef id="Gal.ii-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.20" parsed="|Gal|1|20|0|0" passage="Ga 1:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>),
declaring, as in the presence of God, that what he had said was
strictly true, and that he had not in the least falsified in what
he had related, which, though it will not justify us in solemn
appeals to God upon every occasion, yet shows that, in matters of
weight and moment, this may sometimes not only be lawful, but duty.
After this he acquaints them that <i>he came into the regions of
Syria and Cilicia:</i> having made this short visit to Peter, he
returns to his work again. He had no communication at that time
with the <i>churches of Christ in Judea,</i> they had not so much
as <i>seen his face; but, having heard that he who persecuted them
in times past now preached the faith which he once destroyed, they
glorified God</i> because of him; thanksgivings were rendered by
many unto God on that behalf; the very report of this mighty change
in him, as it filled them with joy, so it excited them to give
glory to God on the account of it.</p>
</div></div2>