Galatians 1:22-24 22And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.
After Paul spent three years in his home area of Syria and Cilicia, the churches in Judea did not know him. His brief visit with Peter and meeting James did not give enough time for Paul to travel around and meet many people. This appeared to be a rather quiet visit to Jerusalem. It is possible that the Jewish authorities had heard of Paul’s abandonment of his duties and mission to arrest Christians and so he had also become an enemy of the establishment. His later arrest in Acts 22-23, although many years later, implies that the religious authorities had not forgotten him.
Word had gotten out of the change in his life, especially among the believers in Judea. Paul calls these believers the churches of Judea that are in Christ. This significant statement reveals a little of Paul’s ecclesiology. First, these are churches, those who have been called out of the world and into a new relationship and standing before God. These are the people of God, the new Israel inclusive of both Jews and Gentiles. These churches were located in Judea, the center of Christianity. As the church experienced persecution before and around the time of Paul’s visit to Jerusalem, believers were scattered to many places. Antioch became a center of Christianity and the key sending point for Paul’s later travels. Many believers eventually ended up in Rome, as Romans 16 indicates, which became another strong center of Christianity. Third, these churches were in Christ. This phrase could simply mean “Christian,” but usually when Paul uses this phrase, he is meaning something much deeper and profounder. These were believers who had put their whole lives under the lordship of Jesus Christ and were authentic, sincere, and consecrated believers. These were orthodox Christians who were following the true gospel.
These churches had heard of Paul’s transformation. As an indicator of the strength of their own faith, they acknowledged God’s power at work in Paul’s life. They glorified God that God had changed the persecutor into the preacher. They could have doubted this rumor or reacted in fear. But they did not. They knew because of their faith in Jesus that even the worst of sinners can be saved and sanctified. A changed life can be the loudest testimony of all. When a person of influence, like Saul of Tarsus, becomes a believer and his or her life is totally changed, people take notice. We must pray that God will get hold of more people like Paul, and that these people will truly come to understand and live out their faith in Jesus. Fathers, mothers, employers, teachers, politicians, and many other people of position and influence can have a profound impact for God’s kingdom.
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