Debbie Hunn, «Pleasing God or Pleasing People? Defending the Gospel in Galatians 1–2», Vol. 91 (2010) 24-49
Scholars agree that in Gal 1,13–2,21 Paul substantiates his gospel but disagree as to his method. The three common views: that Paul defends his apostolate, that he denies accusations, and that he functions as a paradigm conflict with the text. Instead, Paul sets up two categories in 1,10 — that of seeking to please people and that of seeking to please God — and defends his gospel by means of his Damascus experience together with his subsequent life motivation.
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PLEASING GOD PLEASING PEOPLE ?
OR
know (gnwrızw in v. 11), and it is commonly and correctly
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recognized as his thesis in 1,13-2,21. What has not been recognized
is the role 1,10 plays in the proof of that thesis.
I. View 1: Defense of Paul’s Apostolate
The most widespread understanding of Gal 1,13–2,21 is that
Paul is defending both his gospel and apostolate, with the
authenticity of Paul’s apostolate generally thought to confirm the
truth of his message 2. James Dunn, for example, understands Paul
to begin this defense in v. 1. Dunn says, “It was precisely this claim
[that Christ is the content of the gospel] regarding his ‘gospel to the
Gentiles’ which he thought necessary to defend against the
imputations that apostolic authority had to be transmitted or
validated through human channels (i.1, 11-12)†3. Although Paul
states that his apostolate is God-given and not of human origin in
v. 1, the verse by itself does little to indicate a point Paul will
subsequently defend because he often introduces his letters with the
divine origin of his apostleship. As it stands 1,1 simply begins the
God/human contrast he continues throughout chaps. 1–2. Three
verses later, however, Paul says that Christ gave himself for our sins
to deliver us according to the will of God. Will Paul then connect
his apostolate in v. 1 to his gospel in v. 4 and defend both as God-
given ? In 1,8 Paul explicitly breaks any such link when he says the
Galatians should turn even from him or an angel from heaven who
p r e a c h e s another gospel. Whether or not Paul anticipates
apostatizing, he has certainly disadvantaged his case if he plans to
argue that the Galatians should accept his teaching on the grounds
of apostolic rank.
Scholars also look for evidence of Paul’s defense of his
apostleship in 2,1-10. Alan Brehm, for example, sees the outcome of
the Jerusalem Council as the recognition of both Paul’s gospel and
E.g., F.F. BRUCE, The Epistle to the Galatians. A Commentary on the
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Greek Text (NIGTC; Grand Rapids, MI 1982) 19; J.D.G. DUNN, The Epistle to
the Galatians (Black’s New Testament Commentaries; Peabody, MA 1993) 67;
R.N. LONGENECKER, Galatians (Dallas, TX 1990) 24; T. WIARDA, “The
Jerusalem Council and the Theological Taskâ€, JETS 46 (2003) 238.
DUNN, Galatians, 67.
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