Paul began with his past conduct as an unconverted Jewish rabbi. (For a vivid account of these years from Paul’s own lips, read Acts 22 and 26, as well as Acts 9.) In this historical flashback, Paul pointed out his relationship to the church (Gal. 1:13) and to the religion of the Jews (Gal. 1:14). He was persecuting the church and profiting and progressing in the Jewish religion. Everything was going his way, and he was rapidly being recognized as a spiritual leader in Israel.
It is interesting to note the words that are used to describe Paul’s activities when he was “Saul of Tarsus” persecuting the church. He “consented” to the murder of Stephen (see Acts 8:1), and then proceeded to “make havoc of the church” (see Acts 8:3) by breaking up families and putting believers in prison. The very atmosphere that he breathed was “threatening and slaughter” (Acts 9:1). So bent on destroying the church was Paul that he voted to kill the believers (Acts 22:4–5; 26:9–11). He mentioned these facts in his letters (1 Cor. 15:9; Phil. 3:6; 1 Tim. 1:13), marveling that God could save such a sinner as he.
Paul actually thought that Jesus was an impostor and His message of salvation a lie. He was sure that God had spoken through Moses, but how could he be sure that God had spoken through Jesus of Nazareth? Steeped in Jewish tradition, young Saul of Tarsus championed his faith. His reputation as a zealous persecutor of “the sect of the Nazarenes” became known far and wide (see Acts 9:13–14). Everybody knew that this brilliant student of Rabbi Gamaliel (Acts 22:3) was well on his way to becoming an influential leader of the Jewish faith. His personal religious life, his scholarship (Acts 26:24), and his zeal in opposing alien religious faiths all combined to make him the most respected young rabbi of his day.
Then something happened: Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor of the church, became Paul the apostle, the preacher of the gospel. This change was not gradual; it happened suddenly and without warning (Acts 9:1–9). Saul was on his way to Damascus to persecute the Christians; a few days later he was in Damascus preaching to the Jews that the Christians are right. How could the Judaizers explain this sudden transformation?
Was Saul’s remarkable “about-face” caused by his own people, the Jews? Unthinkable! The Jews were encouraging Saul in his program of persecution, and his conversion was an embarrassment to them.
Was Saul’s change caused by the Christians he was persecuting? Certainly the believers prayed for him, and no doubt the death of Stephen—and especially the glorious testimony he had given—affected Paul deeply (Acts 22:19–20). But the Christians ran from Paul (Acts 8:1, 4; 9:10–16), and, as far as we know, they had no idea that the young rabbi would ever become a Christian.
But if the amazing change in Paul was not caused by the Jews or the church, then who caused it? It had to have come from God!
No matter how you look at it, the conversion of Paul was a spiritual miracle. It was humanly impossible for Rabbi Saul to become the apostle Paul apart from the miracle of God’s grace. And the same God who saved Paul also called him to be an apostle, and gave him the message of the gospel. For the Judaizers to deny Paul’s apostleship and gospel was the same as denying his conversion! Certainly Paul was preaching the same message that he himself had believed—the truth that had changed him. But no mere human message could effect such a change. Paul’s argument was conclusive: His past conduct as a persecutor of the church plus the dramatic change that he experienced proved that his message and ministry were from God.
The Believer (1:15–16b, 24) Having discussed his past character and conduct, Paul went on to explain his conversion; for, after all, this was the crucial thing in his life. “What I preach to others, I have experienced myself,” he was saying to his accusers. “This is the true gospel. Any other gospel is counterfeit.” In these verses Paul explained the characteristics of his conversion experience.
God did it (vv. 15a, 16a). “It pleased God … to reveal his Son in me.” Whenever Paul spoke or wrote about his conversion, it was always with emphasis on the fact that God did the work. “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9).
God did it by grace (v. 15b). Paul’s experience reminds us of young Jeremiah (Jer. 1:4–10) and also of John the Baptist (Luke 1:5–17). Salvation is by God’s grace, not man’s efforts or character. Grace and called (Gal. 1:15b) go together, for whomever God chooses in His grace He calls through His Word (1 Thess. 1:4–5). The mysteries of God’s sovereign will and man’s responsibility to obey are not fully revealed to us. We do know that God is “not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9), and that those who do trust Christ discover they have been “chosen … in him before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4).
God did it through Christ (v. 16a). In another letter Paul makes it clear that he had plenty to boast about when he was an unconverted man (Phil. 3). He had religion and self-righteousness, as well as reputation and recognition; but he did not have Christ! When, on the Damascus Road, Paul saw his own self-righteous rags contrasted to the righteousness of Christ, he realized what he was missing. “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ” (Phil. 3:7).
God revealed Christ to Paul, in Paul, and through Paul. The “Jews’ religion” (Gal. 1:14) had been an experience of outward rituals and practices; but faith in Christ brought about an inward experience of reality with the Lord. This “inwardness” of Christ was a major truth with Paul (Gal. 2:20; 4:19).
God did it for the sake of others (v. 16b). God chose Paul, not only to save him, but also to use him to win others. In the Bible, the doctrine of election is never taught with a view to producing pride or selfishness. Election involves responsibility. God chose Paul to preach among the Gentiles the same grace that he had experienced. This, in itself, was evidence that Paul’s conversion was of God; for certainly a prejudiced Jewish rabbi would never decide of himself to minister to the despised Gentiles! (See Acts 9:15; 15:12; 22:21–22; Eph. 3:1, 8.)
God did it for His glory (v. 24). As a fanatical rabbi, Paul had all the glory a man could want; but what he was doing did not glorify God. Man was created to glorify God (Isa. 43:7), and man is saved to glorify God (1 Cor. 6:19–20). Bringing glory to God was ever a compelling motive in Paul’s life and ministry (Rom. 11:36; 16:27; 1 Cor. 10:31; Eph. 1:6; 3:20–21; Phil. 4:20). The Judaizers were interested in their own glory (Gal. 6:11–18). That is why they were stealing Paul’s converts and leading them astray. If Paul had been interested in glorifying himself, he could have remained a Jewish rabbi and perhaps become Gamaliel’s successor. But it was the glory of God that motivated Paul, and this ought to motivate our lives as well.
When Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a young preacher, his father, the Rev. John Spurgeon, suggested that Charles go to college to gain prominence. It was arranged for him to meet Dr. Joseph Angus, the principal of Stepney College, London. They were to meet at Mr. Macmillan’s home in Cambridge, and Spurgeon was there at the appointed hour. He waited for two hours, but the learned doctor never appeared. When Spurgeon finally inquired about the man, he discovered that Dr. Angus had been waiting in another room and, because of another appointment, had already departed. Disappointed, Spurgeon left for a preaching engagement. While he was walking along, he heard a voice clearly say to him, “Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not!” (see Jer. 45:5). From that moment, Spurgeon determined to do the will of God for the glory of God; and God blessed him in an exceptional way.
Paul has pictured himself as a persecutor, and has reviewed his character and conduct. He has also pictured himself as a believer, reviewing his conversion. He now presents a third picture.