Paul and the Power of Grace--John Barclay

In his transformative book, Paul and the Power of Grace, John Barclay's central argument is that grace (charis) in Paul is not merely a forgiving attitude but an unconditioned and incongruous gift [see below]—given without regard to the worth of the recipient, which fundamentally reorders the recipient's life and creates a new community. Each section starts with a key concept from Barclay, followed by questions and key passages to study.

Part 1: The Nature of Grace as an Incongruous Gift

Concept: Grace is unconditioned (given freely by God) and incongruous (given without matching the worth, status, or ethnicity of the recipient). It shatters all systems of worth.

Acts Epistles Timeline and Maps

 

• Acts spans about 30 years.
• Paul's 3 journeys are about 12 years from about AD 46-58.

Timeline of Paul's Ministry. Over the course of his ministry, the Apostle Paul traveled > 10,000  miles and established at least 14 churches. Acts records 3 separate missionary journeys that took Paul through Syria, Turkey, Greece, and numerous regions you won't find on modern-day maps.

When Christians were First Called Christians (Acts 11:1-30)

1. How should the church in Jerusalem have received the news of "the Gentiles [receiving] the word of God" (Ac 11:1, 23)? Why were "the circumcised believers" critical of Peter (Ac 11:2-3; Lk 5:30; 15:2; 19:7)? What did they expect of Gentile converts (Ac 15:1, 5; Gal 2:11-14)?
2. What can we learn from Peter's response to their criticism (Ac 11:4-17)?

"The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch" (Ac 11:26b).

How the early Christians described themselves. They spoke of being

• disciples,
• believers,
• saints,
• brothers and sisters,
• Nazarenes (Ac 24:5), or
• followers of the "Way."

By being "called Christians" (Ac 11:26), Luke is indicating that the followers of Jesus were first perceived to be a group clearly distinct from Jews in Antioch. He wants his audience to be able to distinguish Christians (both Jews and Gentiles) from Jews who are not followers of Christ. Thus, this distinction is not ethnic but social on the basis of adherence or religious loyalties. 

How Paul Started His Christian Life (Acts 9:19-31)

1. How did Saul/Paul begin his Christian life (Ac 9:20)? How did he finish (Ac 20:24)?
2. How did you start your Christian life? How comfortable are you to teach and preach that "Jesus is the Son of God" (Ac 9:20)? And to prove that "Jesus is the Messiah" (Ac 9:22)? How could Saul do so?

Paul's early Christian life. Immediately after his conversion, Saul began his Christian life by preaching in Damascus (Ac 9:20) after spending just a few days with the disciples in Damascus (Ac 9:19) without being instructed by those who were Christians before him (Gal 1:11-24), and without the Jerusalem apostles' prior approval, for their role in verifying individuals and missions (Ac 8:14-17; 9:27-28; 11:1-18, 22-24).

• Saul goes from persecutor of Christians (Ac 8:3; 9:1) to preaching Christ (Ac 9:20) and proving that Jesus is the Messiah (Ac 9:22), to being persecuted (Ac 9:23, 29) and needing protection (Ac 9:25, 30).

The Greatest Conversion in History (Acts 9:1-18)

• Video recording, Sun, Feb 12, 2023: The greatest, most famous and perhaps most radical conversion in history.
• ** What is your conversion story? This is my magical mystical supernatural conversion of meeting God for the first time in 1980.

What happened when Saul met Jesus?

1. Contact (Ac 9:3), confrontation (Ac 9:4a), conviction (Ac 9:4b; 2 Cor 3:18; 4:6; 1 Jn 1:5; Jn 1:4-5; 15:25).
2. Command (Ac 9:6; Mt 28:19).
3. Communion (Ac 9:9), conversation (Isa 1:18), connection, contemplation (Phil 4:8), confession (Ac 22:4; 26:10; 1 Cor 15:9; Gal 1:13).
4. Call (Jn 15:16; 1 Pet 2:9) and commission [through Ananias] (Ac 9:15-16); from God (Ac 26:16; 1:8; Mt 28:19).
5. Conversion (Ac 9:3, 17; 22:8; 1 Ti 1:15; Phil 3:7-10; 1 Cor 15:3-4).
6. Cost (Ac 9:16; I Cor 15:31) and contentment (Phil 4:11-12; 1 Tim 6:6).

Critics of Paul in Corinth

Paul's critics/opponents in Corinth commended themselves and denigrated Paul according to their:

1. commanding presence (2 Cor 10:1, 10).
2. concrete displays of power and authority (2 Cor 11:19-20).
3. impressive speech (2 Cor 11:20-21).
4. worthiness to accept full compensation (2 Cor 11:7-11).
5. Jewish pedigree (2 Cor 11:21b-22)).
6. endurance of hardships (2 Cor 11:23-29).
7. mystical visions (2 Cor 12:1-6).

David E. Garland. 2 Corinthians. The New American Commentary. 1999. 454.