Paul clarified the source of his gospel message in this pericope to convince his readers that the gospel he had preached to them was the true gospel. What the false teachers were presenting was heresy. He began an autobiographical section here (1:11-2:14). It fills one-fifth of the entire epistle. In it he went to great pains to prove that both his gospel and his commission to preach it came directly from Jesus Christ on the Damascus road (vv. 15-16). It did not come to him from any intermediary.
1:11-12 Paul did not receive his gospel from traditional sources (his teachers) nor did he learn it through traditional means (the curriculum of his formal education). It came to him as a special revelation from Jesus Christ, and it was a revelation of who Jesus Christ really is. "According to"(v. 11; Gr. kata) means "from."
". . . it was the gospel of justification by faith which came to Paul as the result of a direct revelation of Jesus Christ."28
1:13-14 Paul was an unusually promising young man in Judaism before his conversion. He was surpassing his contemporaries.
"This probably does not mean that he became more pious than they, but rather that he was more highly esteemed by those in positions of influence, which would have resulted in his being entrusted with more important assignments, such as the trip to Damascus during which he was converted."29
The apostle's actions following that revelation on the Damascus Road supported his claim to having received a divine revelation. The whole direction of his life changed. He had violently rejected the gospel he now preached and had tried to stamp it out believing it was blasphemous heresy. He had followed his ancestral traditions (his teachers' interpretations of the Old Testament). Moreover he had been uncommonly zealous to obey them, to teach them, and to see that the Jews carried them out. "Beyond measure"(Gr. hyperbole) means "to an extraordinary degree."
"Paul's extreme zeal for the law as the reason for his persecution of the Church indicates that he probably belonged to the radical wing of the Pharisaic movement, perhaps the school of Shammai (certainly, Gal. 3:10 and especially 5:3 are more representative of that school than of the school of Hillel). If so, the likelihood is that he was rather hostile to the Gentiles and had little interest in winning them for Judaism.'"30
"Paul's main point in vv. 13-14 was to show that there was nothing in his religious background and preconversion life that could have in any way prepared him for a positive response to the gospel. Quite the contrary."31
1:15-17 What totally revolutionized Paul was God's choice to reveal Himself to him (cf. Isa. 6:1-9; 49:1-6; Jer. 1:4; Ezek. 1:4-3:11).32God had taken the initiative in grace; Paul had simply responded to that grace. God's purpose generally was to manifest Christ through him, His purpose for every believer. Specifically God's purpose was that Paul would become an evangelist to the Gentiles. This calling had been God's intent from the time of Paul's birth.
"Paul had emphasized that he did not receive his message from men before or at the time of his conversion. Now he affirmed that he was free from human influences afterward as well."33
Since his calling had been undoubtedly supernatural and abundantly clear, Paul did not need to consult with anyone natural (i.e., less than supernatural).34He did not need the approval of the other apostles who had also seen and received commissions by the risen Christ either. Paul's revelation was just as authoritative as any they had received. Instead he went to an undefined area of Arabia. Damascus stood on its northwestern edge. He did so apparently to restudy the Scriptural revelations of Messiah but mainly to preach the gospel as an apostle (v. 16).35Then he returned to Damascus, rather than Jerusalem, still feeling no need to obtain the blessing of the other apostles but preaching the gospel (cf. 2 Cor. 11:26-27).
Paul was not being arrogant or uncooperative by behaving as he did. He simply believed in the divine origin and authority of his commission.
"Our study of vv. 11-17 has shown that Paul's conversion is to be understood as involving (a) recognition of the risen Jesus as Messiah, Lord, and Son of God, (b) the experience of being justified by faith apart from legal works, (c) the revelation of the basic principles of the gospel, and (d) the call to be an apostle to the Gentiles."36
Verses 11-17 constitute one of six New Testament passages that describe Paul's conversion and calling (cf. Acts 9:1-7; 22:6-10; 26:12-16; 1 Cor. 9:1-2; 15:3-11).37
