Lecture 3 — Paul’s life as a Jew

^1:11^ For I give you to understand, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. [n. 32]

^1:12^ For neither did I receive it of man: nor did I learn it but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. [n. 34]

^1:13^ For you have heard of my behavior in time past in the Jews’ religion: how that, beyond measure, I persecuted the Church of God and wasted it. [n. 35]

^1:14^ And I made progress in the Jews’ religion above many of my equals in my own nation, being more abundantly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. [n. 37]

32. In the foregoing the Apostle rebuked the Galatians for their fickleness of mind in so quickly setting aside the Gospel teaching; now he shows the dignity of the Gospel teaching.

And concerning this he does two things:

first, he commends the authority of the Gospel teaching according to itself;

second on the part both of the other apostles and himself, at then, after fourteen years (Gal 2:1).

The first part is further divided into two others, because

first, he presents his intention;

second, he manifests his purpose, at for you have heard.

Regarding the first he does two things.

First, he proposes what he intends;

second, he proves what he proposes, at for neither.

33. Intending, therefore, to commend the truth of the Gospel teaching, he says, for I give you to understand, brethren. As if to say: so certain am I of the Gospel’s authority, that I would disbelieve not only men but even angels saying the contrary; so that if they were contrary, I would say anathema to them. And I have this certainty, because one must believe God rather than men or angels. Therefore, since I have this Gospel from God, I should and do have the greatest of certainty.

Hence he says, for I give you to understand, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached by me to you and to the other churches is not according to man, i.e., not according to human nature that is at variance with the divine rule or divine revelation.

In this sense, according to man implies something evil: for whereas there is among you envying and contention, are you not carnal, and walk according to man? (1 Cor 3:3). And this is the sense the Apostle takes here. Hence he says, not according to man teaching me or sending me, as if to say: this Gospel can in no way be had from men, but only from God.

34. That is why he adds, for neither did I receive it of man, whereby he precludes two ways of receiving. First, that he did not receive from man the authority to preach. As to this he says, nor of man, i.e., purely man, did I receive it, i.e., the authority to preach the Gospel, but of Christ: and how shall they preach unless they be sent? (Rom 10:15); I have given you for a light of the gentiles (Isa 42:6); this man is to me a vessel of election (Acts 9:15).

Second, that he did not receive the knowledge of what is to be preached from man. Hence he says, nor did I learn it, namely, the Gospel, from mere man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ, i.e., by Jesus Christ showing everything clearly. But to us, God has revealed them (1 Cor 2:10); the Lord has opened my ear, and I do not resist (Isa 50:5), and the Lord has given me a learned tongue (Isa 50:4).

Now this revelation was made to the Apostle when he was rapt into paradise, where he heard secret words which it is not granted to man to utter (2 Cor 12:4).

35. Then when he says, for you have heard of my behavior in time past, he shows that he did not receive the Gospel from men, either before his conversion or after his conversion to Christ, at **but when it pleased him **(Gal 1:15).

That he did not receive it from man before his conversion he shows both by the hatred he bore toward the faith of Christ and toward Christians, and by the zeal he had for Judaism, at and I made progress.

36. He says therefore: I say that I did not receive it of man, and this is true of the time before my conversion. This, indeed, is obvious from my actions at that time and from the hatred I bore toward the faith. For you yourselves have heard, and below to the same purpose: but they had heard only: he who persecuted us in times past now preaches the faith which once he impugned (Gal 1:23), of my behavior in time past, when I was an unbeliever, in the Jews’ religion, when I lived as a Jew. And he says, my, because the evil we do is from ourselves, but whatever good we do is from God: destruction is your own, O Israel: your help is only in me (Hos 13:9).

This you have heard, how that, beyond measure, i.e., more than others, because he bestirred not only himself to this but rulers as well. For others, when they persecuted, were led to it by the rulers, but he urged even them: Saul, as yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest (Acts 9:1). Also because he did this not only in Jerusalem but in the entire region. Hence he received letters to Damascus (Acts 9:2). Therefore what is said in Genesis can be understood as applying to him: Benjamin a ravenous wolf (Gen 49:27). I persecuted the Church of God, i.e., by hunting down Christians and discomfiting them: I am not worthy to be called an apostle (1 Cor 15:9); and I wasted it, not indeed spiritually, because I was unable to turn the hearts of the faithful from their faith, but physically by inflicting bodily punishment on them and casting them into prison: is not this he who persecuted in Jerusalem? (Acts 9:21) often have they fought against me (Ps 129:1).

It is plain, therefore, from the hatred he bore toward the faith of Christ before his conversion, that he did not receive the Gospel from man.

37. It is plain also from the love and burning zeal he had for Judaism, as to outward progress. Hence he says, and I made progress in the Jews’ religion above many of my equals in my own nation: wherein he mentions three things that indicate how great was his progress. For he progressed not above a few but above many, not above old men incapable of progress in learning, but my equals, i.e., young men who were intelligent and capable of progress: it is good for a man, when he has borne the yoke from his youth (Lam 3:27).

Furthermore, not above equals who were foreigners and ignorant of the language, but equals in my own nation, i.e., Jews: I am a Jew, brought up at the feet of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3).

Finally, as to the inward zeal he had for the law. Hence he says, being more abundantly zealous, not only for the law, but for the traditions of my fathers, namely, those traditions which the Jews lawfully kept and which the good fathers added, as is said in a Gloss. He calls these traditions his own because he treasured them as though they were his: according to the law, a Pharisee; according to zeal, persecuting the Church of God (Phil 3:5).

38. But a question arises from the fact that the aforesaid Gloss says: the good fathers added. For it seems that they were not good, because, it is said: you shall not add to the word I speak to you (Deut 4:2). Hence in adding traditions they acted against the command of God and so were not good.

To this one may answer that this word of the Lord is taken to mean that you shall not add anything contrary or alien to the words which I shall speak. But to add certain things not contrary was lawful for them, namely, certain solemn days and the like, as was done in the time of Mordochai and of Judith, in memory of the blessings they received from God.

But against this is the rebuke addressed to them by our Lord, when he says: you have made void the command of the Lord for the traditions of men (Matt 15:16). Hence those traditions were not lawful.

I answer that they are not rebuked for holding the traditions of men, but because for the sake of the traditions of men, they neglect the commands of God.