AS IT IS WRITTEN. . . . by Patrick Henry Reardon
Paul's Apology
It would be easy to suppose that the Gospels, because they fill the first pages of the New Testament, represent the earliest literary exercise in Christian biography. This is not the case, however; the Epistle to the Galatians predates the earliest of the Gospels (Mark) by more than a decade. And if we don't think of Galatians as a work of Christian biography, we are not reading it very
carefully.
The biographical aspect of Galatians is, of course, autobiographical. Indeed, it represents a special form of autobiography; it is a "personal apologetic." It is Paul's defense of his life and ministry, directed against those detractors who claimed he was no real apostle and possessed no valid teaching authority in the Church. To refute those detractors, Paul first appealed to the facts of his life, and that appeal began with the opening chapter of Galatians.
In his two earlier epistles—to the Thessalonians—Paul was content to identify himself simply as "Paul." With Galatians, however, Paul started identifying himself as "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ," sometimes with the addition of "by the will of God."
This designation is emphatic in the case of Galatians, where he begins, "Paul, an apostle, not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead. . . ." The point of Paul's insistence here is that his connection to Jesus is immediate—"that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught but through the revelation of Jesus Christ."
It is in support of this apologetic claim that Paul turns to autobiography, reminding his readers how he started as a seriously observant Jew—even to the level of persecuting Christians. However, this all stopped, says Paul, "when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through his grace, to reveal his Son in me."
This autobiographical comment, which is the first extant account of a Christian's conversion, is significant in several ways.
First, although Paul was certainly not the first convert, he was the first to write about his conversion. Christian literary reflection did not begin with the biography of Jesus but with the testimony of a believer's internal and existential conviction.
Second, even though Paul—as far as we can determine—never knew Jesus "in the days of his flesh," he considered his knowledge of the Savior not one whit inferior to that of the original apostolic band.
Third, the defense of Paul's ministry rested on an immediate, conscious, and existential certainty; it was inseparable from the transformation of his mind, initiated "when it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me."
Fourth, it was the very God of Israel—the God Paul always strove to serve—who revealed this Son. The revelation given in Jesus was not the disclosure of a God hitherto unknown. What was new was this God's relationship to Jesus. It was because of Jesus that Paul could call this God "our God and Father" (1:4).
Patrick Henry Reardon is pastor emeritus of All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church in Chicago, Illinois, and the author of numerous books, including, most recently, Out of Step with God: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Numbers (Ancient Faith Publishing, 2019).
A Journal of Mere Christianity—Delivered to Your Door
- Essays on theology, culture, and the Church
- Contributors from across the Christian traditions
Six print issues (one year) of Touchstone, plus full online access and PDF downloads for only $39.95.
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95.
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more on bible from the online archives
32.2—March/April 2019
on Preserving Physical & Spiritual Nourishment by Nathanael Devlin
27.4—July/August 2014
The Bible, Sacred Theology & the Mind of Christ by Patrick Henry Reardon
more from the online archives
32.2—March/April 2019
Finding Him Again Through the Patriarchal Group by Anthony Esolen
32.1—January/February 2019
on Down Syndrome & the Lives That Matter by David F. Watson
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
