As – Paul’s Gospel 2: 16

Paul’s Gospel
2: 16

As Paul began his letter to the Galatians, he contrasted the gospel he preached to what he called man’s gospel. On the day when God judges the secrets of mankind according to my gospel through Messiah Yeshua (Romans 2:16), my Good News (Romans 16:25). After Paul was saved on the Damascus road, he had a brief period of ministry in that city (Acts 9:20-23), then he went to Arabia for three years (see below), and sat at the feet of Messiah. Just as Yeshua was awakened morning by morning by God the Father, awakening His ear to listen like a disciple (Isaiah 50:4); Paul was awakened morning by morning by Yeshua, opening his understanding to the mind of Messiah and the apostle to the Gentiles.

There, isolated from all human contact, Paul had another look at the TaNaKh, not with the Oral Law (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Ei – The Oral Law) corrupting his thinking, but, led by the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, focusing on the cross of our Lord Yeshua Messiah. Alone with ADONAI, he began putting together his revolutionary version of the gospel – revolutionary in that for the first time a Scriptural and theological basis was given for presenting the gospel to Gentiles without their having first to become Jews. Out of all his meditations emerged the doctrine written in the book of Romans.

It must have taken him considerable time for Messiah and the Ruach to disciple Paul about the various specific issues – the nature of atonement and forgiveness, the authority of the Torah, the meaning of the Messianic prophecies, the role and future of the Jewish people, the preeminent requirement of faith and the shedding of Messiah’s blood for salvation, the role of ethics, and other essential theological matters – to formulate and refine his views to what they were when he wrote his letters to the various churches. As soon as he experienced the call of ADONAI to be an apostle to the Gentiles, he must have realized that his need was not to be taught the Good News as it had been presented to the Jews by Jeremiah (see the commentary on Jeremiah Eo – The Days are Coming, declares the LORD, When I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el), but to think about and meditate privately on its implications for Gentiles. There was no one to guide him on this, save Yeshua and the Spirit, for he would be pioneering; but his training as a Jewish scholar under Gamaliel, uniquely equipped him to investigate those matters above in a fundamental way.⁵²

In a way, what we see happening today in the emerging Messianic movement is similar to what Paul had to go through during the three-year sabbatical after his conversion of faith (Galatians 1:18), and prior to his First Missionary Journey. The real work for Paul was understanding the implications of communicating this Jewish truth to the non-Jewish world. Paul had to be prepared for God’s intention for the Good News of His Son to reach the Gentiles. The gospel needed to maintain the integrity of its Jewish origins, yet, also adapt to new situations and circumstances.

While today as believers we are all recipients of knowing that the Savior has come, the development of the Messianic movement indicates that new situations and circumstances are standing at our doorstep. Originally, Messianic Judaism began as a group of Jewish believers in Yeshua wanting to evangelize and reach out to their fellow Jews. But as an unforeseen consequence of this, the Messianic community also attracted a great number of Gentile believers wanting to know about their Jewish roots. Therefore, today, issues are being asked about Jewish and Gentile believers being one in Messiah (Ephesians 2:14), and how they should live in diligent obedience to ADONAI. In Paul’s day, the question was, “Can these Gentiles be believers?” Today, however, the question seems to be, “Can these Jews be believers?” Perhaps the current season in which we find ourselves – refining our theology and understanding of varied issues – is preparing us to reach out to the world at large, much as Paul was prepared during the three-years after he encountered the Living Yeshua on the Damascus Road.⁵³

In writing to the Galatians, Paul said: I did not receive it from any human, nor was I taught it, but it came through special revelation of Yeshua the Messiah (Galatians 1:12; First Corinthians 15:22). The word revelation is from the Greek word apokalupto, meaning an uncovering of a subjective revelation to an individual. Yeshua Messiah is best understood as the object of that very revelation. In other words, God the Father would reveal God the Son through Paul to others. This revelation was the act of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh uncovering truth incapable of being discovered by the natural mind of mankind.

Paul’s gospel made no distinction between Jew or Gentile (Ephesians 2:14). All are counted in unbelief as sinners, and are judged by God without respect of persons whether given the Torah or not. And just as through Isra’el all the families of the earth [Gentiles] would be blessed (Genesis 12:3), and just as Yeshua was to be a light for the Gentiles (Isaiah 49:6b), Paul would be the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15). The heart of Paul’s teaching “his gospel” – is that it represents not a man-made artifact but a divinely-authored and supernaturally-conveyed “mystery.” In the words which he later employs with the Ephesians, “the mystery of Messiah, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations, as it has now been revealed by the Ruach to His holy emissaries and prophets. This mystery is that the Gentiles are joint heirs and fellow members of the same body and co-sharers of the promise in Messiah Yeshua through the gospel. I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s favor given to me through the exercise of His power” (Ephesians 3:4-7).

A specific midrash (a rabbinical commentary on the Torah) anticipates that the Messiah will discover new meanings and interpretations of the Torah, and links this task with the giving of these new meanings and interpretations to the Gentiles. The rabbis teach that the Scripture: Binding his foal to the vine, his donkey’s colt to the choice vine (Genesis 49:11a), implies, when He will come of whom it is written: He is lowly, riding on a donkey – on a colt, the foal of a donkey (Zechariah 9:9). He washes His garments in wine (Genesis 49:11b) suggests that the Messiah will compose for the Gentiles words of the Torah. And the blood of grapes on his robe (Genesis 49:11c), intimates that He will point out their misconceptions. Rabbi Hanin said, “Isra’el will not require the teaching of the royal Messiah in the future, for it says: The [Gentile] nations will go after Him (Isaiah 11:10), but not Isra’el. If so, for what purpose will the royal Messiah come, and what will He do? He will come to assemble the exiles of Isra’el and give the Gentiles thirty pieces, as it says: Then I said to them, ‘If it seems good to you, pay me my wages, but if not, don’t bother!’ So, they weighed out my wages – thirty pieces of silver” (Zechariah 11:12) (Gen.R. 98:9; Tanh.Vaychi 10; Urbach, Sages 310-14).⁵⁴

However, over the centuries, in her pride, Isra’el had generally come to exclude Gentiles from the Kingdom. The Jews viewed Gentiles as dogs, not worthy of being by the side of Abraham (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Hx – The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus). Yet, after he was saved, after spending three years in Arabia sitting under the Master and the Ruach, before Peter went to the house of Cornelius, before Peter’s report to the elders at the Messianic congregation in Jerusalem, and before the council at Jerusalem, Paul taught that salvation in Messiah was available for both Jews and Gentiles before Peter or any of the other twelve Jewish apostles. They also included Gentiles, but they expected that once a Gentile received the gospel about the King of the Jews, he or she would become Jewish. After all, it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs (Matthew 15:26; Mark 7:27). But Paul’s gospel was not just Good News for Isra’el, but for everyone. Before anyone else, Paul taught that Gentiles didn’t have to become Jewish to be saved – a radical idea for his day.

It is both ironic, and tragic, that today far too many churches believe that once Jews receive the gospel about the King of the Jews, they are expected to become Gentiles and join the church, rather than respecting the legitimate need for and support of Messianic synagogues. Far too many Gentiles seem to have forgotten who is grafted into whom. But if some of the branches were broken off and you – being a wild olive – were grafted in among them and became a partaker of the root of the olive tree with its richness, do not boast against the branches (11:118a). It seems to me that when Gentiles make Jews act like Gentiles, assuming that they should ignore their own heritage and culture, that Gentiles are, in fact, boasting against the branches.

34 AD (see the commentary on Acts Bc – Sha’ul Turns from Murderer to Messiah).

34-36 AD Three years in Arabia (see the commentary on Galatians An – Arabia during the Time of Paul)

37 AD (see the commentary on Acts Bg – Peter Goes to the House of Cornelius)

42 AD (see the commentary on Acts Bh – Peter’s Report to Jerusalem)

48 AD (see the commentary on Acts Bs – The Council at Jerusalem)

48 AD Galatians written from Antioch

57 AD Romans written from Corinth

Three times, Paul refers to his gospel message as “my gospel.”

On the day when God judges the secrets of mankind according to “my gospel” through Messiah Yeshua (Romans 2:16).

Now to the One who is able to strengthen you according to “my gospel” and the proclamation of Yeshua the Messiah, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages (Romans 2:25).

Remember Yeshua the Messiah raised from the dead, from the seed of David – according to “my gospel” (Second Timothy 2:8).

Paul preached the resurrection of Messiah as the means of salvation and sanctification for all humanity as part of a new creature, the universal Church, the Body of Messiah (First Corinthians 12:27). Paul’s gospel message was salvation equals faith, plus nothing, and so Paul stands alone in calling it the gospel of Messiah (First Corinthians 9:12), but the fact that he also calls it “my gospel” can only be explained by understanding that Messiah gave it first to Paul exclusively, that’s why he could say “my gospel.”

Dear Righteous Heavenly Father, How loving and wise You are! Praise You that “salvation equals faith, plus nothing”! No amount of good works can be enough to save us – for you require perfection to enter your holy heaven. Only those who have Yeshua’s perfect holiness, can enter God’s perfect heaven. Thank You for graciously giving Yeshua’s righteousness to all who love and follow Him as their Lord and Savior. We beg you on behalf of Messiah, be reconciled to God. He made the One who knew no sin to become a sin offering on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21).

Messiah Yeshua, Who, though existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal to God a thing to be grasped. But He emptied Himself – taking on the form of a slave, becoming the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man. He humbled Himself – becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason, God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow, in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue profess that Yeshua the Messiah is Lord – to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:5c-11). We bow in worship and adoration of such great love! We look forward to praising You thru out all eternity! In the holy name of Your Son and His power of resurrection. Amen