New Testament 6
Lecture 17
Outline for 1: 15-17
•	B. PAUL’S APOSTLESHIP DEFINED (1:11-2:21)
–	1. An Appeal to Paul’s Conversion & Call  1: 11-17
•	a. Pre-conversion Life  (1:11-14)
•	b. Conversion Change  (1:15)
•	c. Post-conversion Life (1: 16-17ff)
INTRODUCTION
•	As we begin this section, we want to remind ourselves of 1: 10-14.  Remember what Paul said about himself?  So, how do you account for the change in this man’s life? Every effort must have an adequate cause.  When a man is heading down one _____________________and suddenly turns and reverses his action, how can you explain that? How do you explain a man who’s _____________________are suddenly turned up side down? How would Paul explain it?
John Stott succinctly reflects on Paul’s past life:
•	“Now a man I that mental and emotional state is in no _____________________to change his mind, or even to have it changed for him by men… Only God could reach_____________________– and God did!” (Message of Gal., 32).  
MacArthurs continues, 
•	“…prior to his encounter with Christ, there was not the slightest human _____________________or source for his understanding, much less accepting and proclaiming, the gospel of _____________________by God’s grace working through faith completely apart from works. It was foreign to all his previous thinking.” (p. 27).
How Do we Explain it?
•	By education?
•	By_____________________?
•	By new family relationships?
•	By new _____________________for life?
•	How? 
•	Let’s let Paul tell us!
b. Conversion Change (1:15)
•	1. The Pleasure of God -
•	2. The _____________________by God -
•	3. The Timing of God -
•	4. The _____________________of God –
But when He…
•	This first conjunction sets everything that Paul had just said into another category.  He is now ready to show us the reason for a sudden conversion.  This conjunction, but, marks the beginning of Paul’s change!  
•	The Pleasure of God
Paul says that there are some things that bring pleasure to God.  “It _____________________God” is a single Greek word and this grounds this into God’s purposes.  The noun form of this verb in the text, eudokesan, came to be an almost technical term for the _____________________-will of God to man.  Our text indicates a kindly or gracious purpose. 
What was the topic of God’s pleasure?
To reveal His Son through Paul.  When did this happen? On the road to Damascus. Where is this recorded in the _____________________of Acts?

Acts 9

Acts 22

Acts 26
What was the topic of God’s pleasure? To reveal His Son to Paul in a direct and absolutely unique manner.  What does 2 Cor 3:18 say about this experience and how he saw the Lord’s_____________________?? 
2. The Separation by God
•	“when He who had set me apart” is aphorizo and means “to mark off from a _____________________or line.” (Wuest, 49).
•	Paul traces everything back to God.  He it is who set him apart.  Paul understands that God set him apart for a special task, that is the preaching of the Gospel to the _____________________
•	(Acts 13:2 –
•	(Rom 1:1 –
An Unintended Explanation
•	May be that one sees this referring to Paul’s physical birth at which time he was _____________________from his mother.  This is not the intended idea of Paul.  His idea is more like, “who set me apart, devoted me to a special purpose from before my birth, and before I had any _____________________or principles on my own.” 
•	See: 
•	Judges 16:17 -
•	Isa 41:21 –
•	Isa 41: 24 -
•	Isa 49:1, 5 –
The Idea in Other Places
•	Can be found in the destiny of certain children:
•	_____________________birth (Judges 16:17)
•	John the _____________________birth (Luke 1:15)
Out of my mother’s womb
•	Is based on a preposition “ek”.  This is often used to mark the _____________________setting point in 
•	John 6:66
•	John 9:1
•	Acts 9:33
•	Acts 24: 10
So, What?
•	Paul is continuing to show his _____________________separation from the other disciples for his gospel and his authority to _____________________the gospel of JC.
3. The Timing of God
•	From my mother’s womb.  

•	There is essentially two _____________________to select:

•	When I was born or
•	After I was born
4. The Method of God
•	“called” may refer to the call to apostleship or it may be understood as referring to the _____________________to be a Christian (Rom 8:30).  

•	What was Paul called to do _____________________according to verse 16?
“To reveal His Son in me”
•	It is debated by some scholars whether this means the revelation is made “to Paul” or a _____________________made “through” Paul.  The first view seems to best fit the context.  The whole series of argument involves Paul’s _____________________of the Gospel, not the method of revealing it to others.  But, the revelation is not an end of itself…
The Final Purpose
•	Is that Paul might preach Christ among the heathen.  The verb means to “_____________________good news”.  The substance or center of this good news is Jesus Christ, God’s Son.  “Among the Gentiles” defines the _____________________of his mission.   
c. Post-conversion Life (1:16-17ff)
•	Paul has demonstrated the facts related to his call and commission as they are related to his _____________________and call.  Paul will now begin to explain events that followed his conversion which give more evidence of his independence from the other_____________________.  There are three essential elements and in the next lecture (1:17-24). 
•	Paul Did Not go to Jerusalem (1:17)
“Went up” is anerchomai. It was used especially of going to visit Jerusalem.  “Katercheromi” is used to describe the descending journey from the city. The _____________________position of Jerusalem was the place of the Temple and _____________________city of the church.  
“to those who were apostles before me”
“before me” is a translation of the Greek preposition pro. It is used in a _____________________sense.  Paul is referring to those who were disciples before him in point of time. The order of the _____________________text is, “the before me apostles”, shows Paul recognized the apostleship of the 12 as essentially the same in character as his apostleship.
2. I went away to Arabia”
Paul stresses this fact.  The first thing he did when he experienced his conversion and calling was to go down into the region of_____________________.  “Immediately” should probably be connected to both statements found in verse 17: “I did not go the Jerusalem, but I went to _____________________and to Damascus”.
So What?
Paul is showing that he acted completely independent of the _____________________in Jerusalem.  There is absolutely no possibility for human _____________________of his call or his gospel.  
“Flesh”
Is a common _____________________for “man”. 

This is probably true for “flesh and blood”.    
The thought is that Paul did not turn to any human being for_____________________.
Arabia
Is the term applied to the vast peninsula that lies between the Red Sea on the Southwest and the Persian Gulf and the Euphrates River.  We don’t know precisely where Paul visited. He might have gone into the _____________________around the Nabeteans.  No specific reason is given for Paul’s going here, but some speculate that he went away for the purpose of communing with God.  In addition he might have reflected on his past life, _____________________, and behavior.  The journey is not mentioned by Acts.  
How Long?
Verse 18, which is a little further than we wanted to go, makes it _____________________that it was less than three years.  Some feel it is more like _____________________ (Hovey, Acts 9:20-23).
Return “again” to Damascus (v.17)
This may be problematic if all we had was Galatians, but Acts helps us with these details.  Ridderbos explains that “Paul writes about this _____________________of his life as he would about a matter whose background would already be known by his readers (p. 66).  The “again” implies that Paul wants to connect _____________________with the beginning of his ministry and that he returned to Damascus instead of Jerusalem. 
So, What?
This fact is stated to stress his complete _____________________from the apostles in Jerusalem.  He still has not had any _____________________with them.