Oh this study. It took me 2 false starts (One in 2003 and one in 2007) and I finally finished it last summer. Not a moment behind God’s schedule…
“Galations 1:19 tells us Paul only saw Peter in Jerusalem, but I believe the reference’s intent is the time he spent getting aquainted with Peter. The other apostles may have heard Barnabas stand up for Paul, but Peter was the only one who really got to know the new convert. John did not get to know Paul at this time and may have purposely remained somewhat distant…
Fast-forward your thoughts on the time line to the death of James, John’s beloved brother. We have no reason to believe that much time passeed between Paul’s conversion and the martyrdom of James. We know that Stephen was martyred before Paul’s conversion and that Paul, in fact, gave approval to Stephen’s death.
Even though several years had passed, don’t you imagine that John had some pretty strong feelings about Paul? Even though Paul dramatically gave his life to Christ before James was killed, had I been John, I would have had difficulty embracing him. I’m afraid I would have had thoughts like, if not for people exactly like you, my brother might still be alive.
Maybe John felt none of what I’m describing, but I believe Christ’s first ragtag band of followers wasn’t unlike us at all. None of the other apostles had lost a sibling at this point. I just have to wonder how John felt about Paul those first several years.”
14 years later Paul approached the pillars in the church privately, and the following public meeting is documented in Acts 15 in greater detail. The outcome? Peter, Paul and Barnabas told their testimony of God’s work in Gentiles, and James used the Old Testament to encourage them to not make conversion difficult for non-Jews.
“In Galations 2:9 Paul said, ‘James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship.’ Picture the five men mentioned conferring together and giving approval to one another:
* James, Christ’s half-brother, the unbelieving mocker turned preacher
* Peter, the one sifted like wheat, denying Christ and then having enough faith to return and strengthen his brothers
*John who asked whether he could sit at Chirst’s side in the kingdom and destroy the Samaritans (to whom he later was called to minister and watched the Holy Spirit fall on them)
*Paul, a former religious madman who approved of murdering Stephen and helped fuel a persecution that resulted in the murder of James
*Barnabas, who risked getting hammered by the early chruch by building a bridge between unlikely brothers
That’s just it. We’re all unlikely brothers. In Christ’s church the pillars were never designed to match. Each one is distinct. What need would cookie-cutter disciples meet? None of us were meant to match. We were meant to fit together!
1 Peter 4:10 encourages us to use our gifts to administer God’s grace in its various forms.
We don’t have to agree on every point of doctrine. We don’t even have to always get along. Galations 2 records a fairly heated argument between Peter and Paul. However God expects us to respect one another and acknoweldge the grace God extends to all who are in Christ. Paul came to the leaders in private, but the inference of the right hand of fellowship tells us that they gave him a very public stamp of approval. He needed that approval, and I believe God would have held the pillars of the church responsible for not extending it.
The bottom line, according to 1Cor3:5-9 is we all have a specific task as God’s fellow workers.
When Lifeway approached me with a contract to tape the first series, A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place, I was pitifully wet behind the ears. I was petrified. The enemy came against me with such conflict and fear I think I would’ve backed out had I not signed a contract… I was desperate so I called Kay Arthur’s office and asked to speak to her…
God wasn’t about to let me get in touch with Kay Arthur. First of all, He wanted me to rely on Him alone. God knew how impressionable I was and that I had not yet allowed Him to fully develop my style. I have so much respect for Kay that if I could have, I would have wanted God to make me just like her. What need whatsoever would God have had for such a person? Kay does an excellent job of being Kay…
14 years lapsed between the time Paul first tried to fit in with the apostles and when he finally received the right hand of fellowship. I’d like to suggest that the hand didn’t come a moment behind schedule. What use would God have had for another James? Another Peter? Another John? His mission was distinct. And so, beloved, is yours. God knows what He’s doing! He is busy making you into someone no one else has ever been.”
What did you say? Something about copyright laws? I can’t hear you…