The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 64

is required by the tenor of the context. If the necessity of adopting either or these it is not admitted, there is nothing in the meth~ds of criticism by the consirleration whole p11ss11ge to m11ke good the apostle's that, rn th~ eourse of the argument which nfilrma.tion, in ver. 12, thot he had received the apostle 1s now purauino- there is nothin,,. the gospel, not from man, but by tho revo• to lead him to speak at aft' of the outwo.rtl lntion of Jesus Ch1ist. If e.fter the one.lo::;y circumstances accompanying hie conversion. of suoh pe.esciges as 1 Tim. i. 16, "That in All that he now hllll occasion to refer to is me 11,s chief might Jesus Christ show forth t~o f~ct that. at tbe.t. time God Almighty all his Jong-suffering;" Rom. ix. 17, "That did himself g1ve to hie soul so clear a. view I· might show in thee my power;" 1 Cor. of bis Son as quo.Iifiecl him at once to preach iv'. 6, "Thcit in 1lB ye might learn; "-we the gospel to the Gentiles; so clear that, were to take the present clause to mean not needing further illumination, he hacl. in '' To reveal to men• the wonderful grace of fact sought none of a.ny mortal man. This his Son by what he did in my case," the is e.ll that the line of argument requires the words would merely point to Christ's mercy apostle now to refer to. A reference to the shown to him as a. sinner; they would sup- actual personal sight which he then he.d of ply no statement of the fact of the apostle's the Lord Jesus would in no way ho.ve sened having been furnished with the knowledge his pmpose. Such reference would not necessary in order that be might show the have even involved by inferonce, much less glad tidings of him among the Gentiles. have definitely stated, the point which he In other words, the clause would neither now is coneerned to state. This point is, satisfy the requirement of ver. 12 nor that plciinly, the communication to bis soul of of the dependent clause which follows. If, the full knowledge of the gospel, e.nd again, after the analogy of the words," Ye nothing else; e.nd accordingly it is this seek a proof of Christ that speaketh in me," alone that be now makes mention of. It in 2 Cor. xiii 3, ta.king this to mean ho.s been questioned at who.t precise j1rnc- " Christ that spee.keth by me : " or if the ture in the narrutive of the ninth chapter of wo1·ds in Acts xvii. 31, "He will judge the the Actd the revelation here spoken of world in righteousness by [Greek, •in'] should be supposed to have to.ken plllce. the Man whom he bath ordained," we pro- Our Lord's personal manifestation of himself pose to uudersta.nd the meo.ning to ba to So.ul on bis road to Damascus, involving "Reveo.l his Son by me," i.e. by my preach- as it did the complete instantaneous over- ing, we are met by the objection that the throw of all bis previous views, relative clause would anticipate the thought ex- alike to "Jesus of Nazareth" and to the pressed by the following words: "That I idea of the expected" Messiah," must hare might show the glad tidings of him among been o.n all-importo.nt preparation for that the Gentiles," which, however, stand as full disclosure of the truth to his soul which expressing their dependent consequence. is here indicated; but there is no snllkient Hero the important question arises how reason for identifying the one with the the reference which the apostle here mo.kes other. The history of the Acts (xxii. Ui) to the revelation of Jesus Christ made " in nnd the Epistles (1 Co1·. xi. 23; 2 Cor. xii. him" stands related to the accounts repeat- I, 8) make mention of se\"eral occasions on edly given in the Acts of the personal which our Lord cippccirs to ho.ve shown him- sight of the Lord Jesus accorded to him at self to St. Paul and made importilnt com- his conversion-accounts which aro con- munications to him; und the incitlen tal firmed in the Epistles by the apostle's own manner in which these have come to be words in 1 Cor. ix. 1, "Am I not o.n apostle? mentioned suggests the bcl:cf that they Ho.ve I not seen Jesus our Lord?" To may have been only o. few out of mo.ny harmonize the two, some have been led to similar instances, others of which ho.vc Jain do violence to the phrase, "reveal in me," unmentioned. There mtly very supposably eo as to make it in some way or other to have been such to.king plo.ce (we will sny) mecin "reveal to me," and thus render it prcsenUy nfter So.ul's baptism, and pointed possible to mo.lce the words refer to thRt forwarll to by our Lord in bis "or,!:; tu personA.l munifesto.tion m11do to Saul's bodily Annni11s, "I will show him how m.rny tliings son~es. Others .Jrnve had recourse to the be must sulfer for my Name's sake" (Acts yet mol'B violent e.nd indeed utterly destruc- ix. 16). It is very possible that wo do not tive cxpeclient of inferring from this pbruse commonly bear enough in mine! how littl~, tluit the revelation of Christ me.de to the in fact, it is thnt the record tells us of this apostle at his conversion we.s 11ltogether o.ncl most interesting event; and, in particuhr, exclusively spirituul; and that the spiritual that we do not 11dcq nately realize the fre- sight of our Lord hud been so roulizing and quency cind the intinrnte cho.rnctcr of the vivid 11s to have been even mistaken by the communications to which this "choice in- apostlo himself for a me.nifesto.tion a.ctuo.lly strument (,meuos <K,\o-yijs)" of Di vino teach- um,le to his sen.se~. We o.re relieved of ing would seem to have been n<lmittecl Ly  28 THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS.