Gal 1:13–24 — A Trophy of Sovereign Grace

Review

Paul’s letter to the Galatians is the Magna Carta of gospel liberty—our liberty in Christ from the law as a covenant of works. The letter has three principal movements. Chapters 1–2 concern the Apostle of Gospel Liberty, as Paul defends his apostolic authority and calling to preach the gospel. Chapters 3–4 concern the Doctrine of Gospel Liberty, where Paul explains the gospel and its relationship to the law. Chapters 5–6 concern the Life of Gospel Liberty. Freedom from the law does not mean freedom to sin; believers are to use their liberty to love one another and fulfill the law of Christ.

We are still considering the first movement, the Apostle of Gospel Liberty. This autobiographical section may initially seem surprising. Before explaining the doctrine in chapters 3–4, Paul devotes considerable attention to his conversion, calling, and travels. Yet he has a definite purpose.

The Galatian churches were young congregations Paul had planted during his first missionary journey through cities such as Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. Judaizers had entered these churches and cast doubt upon Paul’s message. They were trying to persuade Gentile believers to adopt the Jewish way of life through circumcision and observance of the Mosaic Law. Paul therefore had to assure the Galatians that they had received the true gospel directly from Christ through his ministry.

Galatians 1:11–12 states the thesis: “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.” Beginning with verse 13 and continuing through chapter 2, Paul develops these two claims: his gospel did not come from man, and it was revealed to him by Christ.

Paul’s Dramatic Turnaround by Sovereign Grace

Paul’s Former Life in Judaism

Paul begins with the second claim by recounting the dramatic reversal that occurred when God revealed his Son to him. He had been exceptionally zealous for Judaism. He sought to keep the law in every detail according to the traditions of his fathers and was advancing beyond many contemporaries of his own age.

His zeal extended beyond his personal observance. He persecuted Jewish believers in Jesus because he regarded them as a threat to the purity of Judaism. As the church began to grow after Christ’s resurrection and ascension, Paul tried violently to destroy it. He thought this persecution demonstrated faithfulness to the law.

The remarkable fact is that God’s grace came to Paul at the height of this zeal. Paul was not seeking Christ. He was pursuing righteousness through the law and actively opposing Christ’s church. He did not invite Jesus into his heart or place Christ upon the throne of his life. God took hold of Paul and turned him completely around.

Three Acts of God

Galatians 1:15–16 identifies three things God did: “He who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me.”

First, God set Paul apart before he was born. This is the doctrine of election. Before Paul had done anything good or evil, God had chosen him and purposed to make him an apostle of Christ.

Second, God called him by grace. On the road to Damascus, God effectually called Paul, gave him a new heart, and granted him faith in Christ.

Third, God revealed his Son to Paul. The title “Son” is significant. Paul did not merely discover that Jesus was the Messiah; he beheld the risen Jesus as the eternal Son of God who had become man to save his people. Galatians 2:20 will again emphasize this title: “The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God.”

The glorious Christ who appeared on the Damascus road was no mere rabbi offering an alternative interpretation. He was the exalted Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords. This revelation established both Paul’s faith and his understanding of the gospel.

Converted and Commissioned

Paul’s conversion was also his commission. God revealed his Son to him “in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles.” The circumstances of this unique conversion served a specific purpose. At the very moment Paul was persecuting Christians, God reversed the direction of his life and appointed him to proclaim Christ among the nations.

God made Paul a trophy of sovereign grace and then a champion of that grace. His conversion not only saved him; it also gave him the gospel he was to preach. The man who had been most zealous for law-righteousness became the apostle who most clearly proclaimed justification by faith in Christ apart from works of the law.

Paul’s Independence from Jerusalem

Paul next returns to his first claim: the gospel he preached was not man’s gospel. His immediate response to his conversion was not to consult “flesh and blood”—mere human beings, including the apostles in Jerusalem. Important though those apostles were, Paul did not need to learn the gospel from them because Christ had already revealed it to him.

Paul had known the basic claims of the Christian faith even before his conversion. He was trying to destroy “the faith” and knew that Christians proclaimed a crucified and risen Messiah. What he lacked was not information about what Christians believed, but faith in the risen Christ. When Christ appeared to him, the persecutor became a preacher of the faith he had attempted to destroy.

Arabia, Damascus, and Jerusalem

Rather than going immediately to Jerusalem, Paul went into Arabia—the region east of Damascus, not necessarily the territory now called Saudi Arabia. Scripture does not tell us precisely what he did there, but he probably devoted himself to prayer, meditation, and study. He reflected upon the revelation he had received and reconsidered the Old Testament in the light of Christ. This period of solitude prepared him for his lifelong ministry to the Gentiles.

Paul eventually went to Jerusalem, but only after three years and for the limited purpose of becoming acquainted with Peter. He remained with Peter for fifteen days and also met James, the Lord’s brother. He did not go to obtain either the historical facts of Christ’s death and resurrection or his distinctive understanding of the gospel. He already possessed both.

Afterward, Paul traveled into Syria and Cilicia. His contact with the Judean churches was so limited that most believers there did not know him personally. They had only heard, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” Their response was to glorify God because of him. They did not praise Paul’s natural ability; they praised the God whose grace had transformed him.

Independence without Disagreement

Paul emphasizes his independence from the Jerusalem leadership, but he does not claim to disagree with them. Chapter 2 will show that Peter, James, and John recognized his ministry and gave him the right hand of fellowship. Nevertheless, Paul did not derive his authority or gospel from them.

This emphasis was necessary because the Judaizers disparaged Paul as a latecomer and falsely claimed the authority of Jerusalem for themselves. One might expect Paul simply to appeal to the original apostles’ approval. Instead, he first establishes that his commission came directly from Christ.

If Paul had presented himself as a subordinate who learned his gospel from the Jerusalem apostles, he would have undermined the point of his unique call. Christ appointed him to proclaim with particular clarity that sinners are justified by faith alone in Christ, not by obedience to the law. Paul sometimes calls this message “my gospel,” not because he invented it, but because Christ uniquely entrusted it to him for his apostolic mission.

Paul’s autobiography therefore belongs to the substance of the gospel. He is not merely another theologian offering his own perspective alongside those of other teachers. His message carries divine authority because the risen Christ commissioned him to proclaim it. As Paul later told King Agrippa, he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. His ministry and letters fulfill the calling he received from Christ.

Doctrine and Application

The Sovereignty of God in Salvation

Paul’s conversion displays the sovereignty of God. Anyone who knew him beforehand would probably have regarded him as the person least likely to become a Christian. He was not merely an unbeliever but a violent persecutor intent on destroying the church. Yet he was no match for sovereign grace. God intervened, transformed him, and gave him an entirely new direction.

Paul could take no credit for his salvation. He knew that he did not deserve grace, and therefore all glory belonged to God. His faith arose not from superior character, intelligence, or insight, but from God’s election and effectual call.

Acts 13:48 states the same truth concerning the Gentiles in Antioch in Pisidia: “As many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” God’s appointment lies behind faith. Paul believed because God had set him apart before birth and called him by grace. We likewise cannot attribute our faith to something better in ourselves; we must give all glory to God.

The Sufficiency of Christ

Paul’s conversion also displays his distinctive doctrine of gospel liberty. He encountered the risen Christ while zealously seeking to establish his own righteousness through the law. In that moment, he saw that his supposed righteousness was not merely insufficient but sinful, for his zeal had made him a persecutor of Christ’s people.

Christ’s appearance showed Paul that Christ is all our righteousness. His dramatic reversal is powerful evidence that no one is justified by works of the law, but only through faith in Christ. Paul did not prepare himself to receive grace, nor did his moral striving contribute to his acceptance. The risen Christ confronted him and gave him faith.

A young man who once visited this church illustrates the difficulty many people have with Paul. He was exploring Christianity after listening to Jordan Peterson and was interested in religion as a source of moral guidance, meaning, and help in ordering his life. He repeatedly asked why Paul seemed so important to Christianity. Paul’s singular focus upon Christ did not fit comfortably within a moralistic approach to religion. Paul places moral effort in a subordinate position: good works matter, but they are consequences of the gospel, not the gospel itself.

Paul’s conversion marks a decisive moment in the church’s understanding of the distinction between law and gospel. The distinction was not invented by Paul; it is rooted in the Old Testament. Yet through Paul’s conversion, commission, and reflection upon Scripture, it shines with exceptional clarity.

All forms of legalism are refuted by this event. The obvious form teaches that God reckons us righteous because of our works. Softer forms may deny justification by works while making our works the basis of assurance, treating them as the means by which we sanctify ourselves, or suggesting that they prepare us to receive grace. Paul’s conversion leaves no room for human boasting. He did not prepare himself, make himself worthy, or produce faith from within. God acted in sovereign grace.

The violent persecutor became a trophy of sovereign grace, and that trophy became a champion of grace. Through his preaching, we receive the same gospel and are called to trust Christ alone.