Galatians 1:12
12 For [gar] I [ego] neither [oude] received [paralambano] it [autos] of [para] man, [anthropos] neither [oute] was I taught [didasko] it,
but [alla] by [dia] the revelation [apokalupsis]
of Jesus [Iesous] Christ. [Christos] KJV-Interlinear
12 For I neither received it from
man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus
Christ. NASB
Received, ‘paralambano,’ means to learn, to take,
obtain, collect.
Taught, ‘didasko,’ means to learn by instruction or
example, to train by a process.
In the sense of human learning, we all learn from
life, from our academic activities, and experiences and so forth.
And Paul documents his own credentials of authority
in the scriptures, by clarifying that he did not receive the knowledge of
doctrine from any source of human activity, whether by reading it himself, or
by hearing or receiving instruction from someone else.
He did not attend a school, or some higher level of
education. He was not self-taught. He did not go out to the desert and somehow
pick up what he knows, on his own. There
is no person, no academic institution, no church, no guru living in the hills, not
even the highly structured Levitical Priesthood, that can claim a role in his
education and knowledge of doctrine.
But, ‘alla,’ sets up a contrast between human instruction
or the assimilation of human knowledge, and divine instruction.
Revelation, ‘apokalupsis,’ means appearing, coming,
lighten, manifestation, revealed, to take off the cover, to disclose, to
reveal.
Of Jesus Christ, now places the focus of the divine,
and truth, and the source from which it originates.
This eliminates any and all creatures, whether man
of angel, invented ideas, philosophies, stories, legends, tales, rationales,
logic, religions, and so forth.
When Paul met Jesus on the road and was blinded, he
next spent three years in a place that is not known for its academics or
learning reputations. He explains later
that where he went, which he does not specify, had nothing to do with
pre-existing human ideas or beliefs, and he did not even seek the counsel or
advice or instruction from the then recognized apostles.
Paul learned what he knows, directly from God. And given the time which will be mentioned,
his instruction was apparently intense and his learning rapid and yet thorough.
And so it is clear, that given his short but
intense learning period, he was brought from a totally anti-Christian attitude,
to the biggest proponent of Christianity.
This he did not do on his own, did not learn from people or angels, but
learned through the truth disclosed and revealed by God, to him.
This doctrine was not forced on him, was not
applied by deceit, was not brainwashed into him, but was revealed for what it
was and is, namely the truth.
The last concept here, is the comparison of the two
terms taught versus revealed.
On the one hand to be taught something implies that
another person presses an idea which you must accept as fact. And in contrast, when something is revealed
then you can see for yourself what it is, and come to know it as truth or not. This idea is like a door being opened and Paul
could see what was on the other side of the door, or a light being turned on
and he could see what was in front of him.
All was revealed.
And such was Pauls initial education in
Christianity. He saw what was and what
is, and he discerned between the two, and accepted truth without coercion. God revealed and Paul believed.
And in contrast to the masses of people who
followed Jesus from place to place, seeing his miracles and hearing his words, Paul
did not go to masses of people, but went to the source of truth and recognized
it for what it was and is.
The masses of people actually saw Jesus, listened
to Him teach, saw Him heal, and all they were, was in awe.
They had emotional reactions to what Jesus was
doing. The miracles should have not only
impressed, but they should have made it clear that Jesus was indeed God, and
the magnitude of the miracles should have made it clear that God has awesome
power. Who can heal with a thought or a
touch? No one except God.
And yet most people were stuck in their emotional
reaction to the ‘circus’ act they were watching. The second and third components of miracles,
the identity and the ability, never occurred to them.
