by Kent Leslie ✉️
The gospel preached by me is not of human origin. [1.11] Not that Jesus isn’t a man, but the gospel doesn’t come from a fallen man; it comes from the unfallen, infallible Jesus. And Paul got it straight from Jesus. Same as the Twelve.
For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation of Jesus Christ. [1.12] True, when we read Paul’s conversion stories in Acts, [9.1-20, 22.1-21, 26.12-23] we don’t see Jesus correcting him and telling him what the gospel is. It’s not part of that story.
But Paul’s claims that he got it from Jesus must lead us to a rather obvious conclusion: Jesus appeared to Paul another time to teach him the gospel. Probably multiple times. Because Jesus does appear to Paul multiple times in Acts.
- On the Damascus road. (Of the three times the story’s told, Jesus’s longest statement to Paul is in Acts 26.15-18.)
- A vision Paul has in the temple, in which Jesus speaks with him and sends him to the gentiles, in Acts 22.17-21.
- On the way to Rome, where Jesus encourages him. [Ac 23.11]
It seems obvious—to me, anyway—Jesus trained Paul himself. Taught him everything he taught his Twelve. So when Paul later went to visit Peter for 15 days, [Ac 1.18] it wasn’t to get trained by Peter, as some Christian commentators assume: It was to have Jesus’s best student confirm everything Jesus taught Paul.
True, this interpretation is way more supernatural than some Christians are comfortable with. That’s their hangup. Paul insists multiple times throughout the scriptures that “flesh and blood” [Ac 1.16
Who says Jesus can’t do this sort of thing? Who says Jesus isn’t still doing this sort of thing? No doubt you’ve heard of people in countries where they repress Christians, who have dreams and visions of Jesus. If he doesn’t have evangelists who will share the gospel for him, obviously he’ll do it himself.
The ancient Christian fathers didn’t have any problem with this idea. Marius Victorinus, a fourth-century Roman commentator, points out the whole reason Paul started his letter with “God the Father who raised him from the dead,” [Ga 1.1] is to remind people Jesus isn’t dead. He’s still living, active, and can train himself disciples if he wants. And sometimes he wants.
If Jesus doesn’t appear to you to train you, it’s okay! We got bibles. Paul didn’t; he had yet to write it! But we don’t need special revelation to learn what the gospel is; we just need a good English translation and basic reading comprehension skills.
(If you don’t trust the bible, that’s a whole other problem. Talk to God about that.)