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Galatians 1:18-20 (JDV)
Galatians 1:18 Next, after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days.
Galatians 1:19 But I didn’t see any of the other missionaries except James, the Lord’s brother.
Galatians 1:20 Notice under the scrutiny of1 God: I am not lying in what I write to you.
magna carta
Perhaps the Judaizers in Galatia had designated one or two of the other missionaries as their opponents and had suggested that Paul colluded with them. But Paul points out here that the only Jerusalem Christians that he has seen for three years were Peter and James – people whose reputations the Judaizers were not about to sully. One of the positive things about being innocent is the evidence usually speaks in your defense.
In the process of simply answering the charges against him, Paul is doing more than defending himself. His defense of his missionary message will serve as a theological magna carta for the congregations. We owe much to those who fought about their faith in the first century.
Lord, thank you for your truth, and the amazing way you revealed it.
1ἐνώπιον