“Set apart” might refer to Paul’s separation from Judaism, or his missionary activity (Acts 13:2.) But it is more likely that the separation that Paul has in mind is his “consecration to a future task,” specifically the task of bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles. Paul uses the word ἀφορίζω (aforizo) in both Gal 1:15 and this passage to describe his calling. But the word is used in the Septuagint for setting apart a firstborn man or animal to God (Numbers 15:20) or consecrating Levites to God’s service (Numbers 8:11). In a few cases, the word is used to describe God separating Israel from the nations to be his people (Lev. 20:26).
Paul chose this word to emphasize his belief that his life was something of a sacrifice to the Lord. A sacrifice no longer lives its own life, but he is wholly given over to the purpose for which he was chosen. But Paul takes this a bit further than a literal sacrifice – Paul set apart by God from birth (Gal 1:15)! This is more like the prophet Jeremiah, who says that he was set apart for prophetic office before he was born (Jer 1:5).
Paul is separated for the purpose of the gospel of God. Since most Christians have an idea of what the “gospel” is they overlook the rich background behind this word. There is both an Jewish and Greco-Roman background to the “good news.”
Looking at the “good news” from the Jewish perspective, the word is associated with the coming time of eschatological judgment and salvation. In the Hebrew Bible, the word בשׂר (bashar) is used in Isa 61:1, for example, to describe the activity of the anointed one, and is associated with both the coming of God’s salvation and his vengeance. This word is translated as εὐαγγέλιον (euangelion) in the LXX. Jesus used the same phrase to describe both his teaching and healing ministry in Galilee (Matt 11:5 and Luke 7:22).
But the Roman world used the phrase “good news” as well. They considered important events in the life of the Emperor as “good news” and celebrated them. It is possible that this word was chosen intentionally to contrast the real good news of salvation with the false peace which comes from the Roman “good news.” This is a counter-cultural and dangerous idea, since it says that the “good news” about the emperor fades into insignificance in the light of the Gospel of God.
On one level, Paul is unique as one who was set apart by God to be the light to the Gentiles. But on another level, Paul is a model for all Christians. Later in the letter Paul says that all believers are to be a “living sacrifice” (12:1). If Christians really lived out their “set apart” calling, I think that the gospel could again be just as counter-cultural as it was in A.D. 55.
Christians today partake in a false “setting apart” by assembling to each other, separating themselves from the rest of humanity. The “setting apart” that God seeks is by faith. That is, we look to Christ as the watcher of our souls. What sets us apart from others is what He sees – not what others see.
P Long, I love this statement, “Paul chose this word to emphasize his belief that his life was something of a sacrifice to the Lord. A sacrifice no longer lives its own life, but he is wholly given over to the purpose for which he was chosen.” I wonder how different the church would look if it were filled with people who were wholly given over to the purposes of God. I wonder how different the world would look if Christians gave their lives wholly as a sacrifice to the world. I would agree with you that, “If Christians really lived out their ‘set apart’ calling… the gospel could again be just as counter-cultural as it was in A.D. 55.”
When I think about the gospel in its literal meaning, the “good news”, my mind immediately goes to the joy of a child when they hear the good news. There is no questioning or skepticism, just faith and excitement. I work at the Salvation Army doing children’s ministry and one experience from this summer comes to mind. I was sharing the gospel to the Pre-k and Kindergarten group using an object lesson, pulling an object out of a bag for each event in the story. They sat quietly and intently listened (which is a rarity). When I reached the part about the crucifixion, the pain and tears in their eyes was overwhelming. But even more overwhelming was their reaction when I reached the part about the resurrection. They literally jumped up and started screaming and dancing and singing “Jesus is alive!” I’ve never, ever witnessed such a reaction, and I will never forget it.
Imagine if we treated the good news in this way. It would be revolutionary. Polhill explains how Paul described the gospel: “The death of Christ was the great dividing line of history. God no longer “forbears” human sinfulness. He dealt with it decisively in Christ, showing himself to be just (taking sin seriously) and justifier (providing people a means to be set right from sin and for relationship with himself.” (Polhill, 288). We serve an amazing God and we should devote our lives to spreading this good news.
Emily Renberg, I was touched by your story of the reaction of the young children to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I bless you for your ministry to the young people in Jesus’ name.
However, if people were wholly given over to the purposes of God, they would not be going to church. Rather, they would be serving God.
Living a life set apart for God has always been counter-cultural and always will be. Abraham had many challenges while striving to devote his life and legacy to God and we continue to face similar challenges, although it is fair to say that we seem to be slacking in the area of zeal. We lack in surrender. This idea of a living sacrifice entails so much more surrender than we realize sometimes, but I really liked when you said, P. Long, ” A sacrifice no longer lives its own life, but he is wholly given over to the purpose for which he was chosen.”. We, as Christians, are called to spread the gospel (Matthew 28:19-20), yet we find every excuse we can to avoid doing so. Sometimes we need to be reminded that our lives belong to One greater than us. We need to be reminded, as Polhill said, “What humans could not do for themselves God has done for them in Jesus Christ.” (Polhill,287) and that because of this sacrifice we have every urgent need to spread this message.
In our own way, we are all set apart by God (Rom. 1:1). Though not everyone believes in predestination, I would say that everyone—to some extent—believes that God has chosen us. “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ” (Eph. 1:4-5a). The Father knew that we would come to know Him through His Son’s death, burial, and resurrection. What would be the point of that if He did not have a plan for the rest of our lives as well? Would He save us then leave us just hanging there with nowhere to go or would He give us a specific purpose or even task that we are set apart to do? Clearly He gave Paul the task of spreading the gospel (Rom. 1:1), but what is your life purpose? How do you know what God set you apart to do? I would say the answer is seeking out God (not just His will for you) with your whole being (worshiping, praying, reading His Word, etc.). Not all of us have a calling to do something that is as clear as Paul’s in Acts chapter nine. Even when God is not clear or is vague, you can still takes steps in certain directions and see if He shuts or opens the door. By no means should you just stop moving. God wants you to put the control in His hands and trust that He will show you the way to go in time. Remember just like Paul did that in everything you should glorify God (1 Cor. 10:31).
“If Christians really lived out their “set apart” calling, I think that the gospel could again be just as counter-cultural as it was in A.D. 55.”
Just as God has blessed each of us with different spiritual gifts, I fully believe that he too, has called each of us. Each person’s calling is different, God has a different plan for each of us to take. I also believe that there are many people that, out of fear, laziness, and comfort, never choose to follow God’s true call for their lives. Most of the time, it seems like the easier and more logical decision is to say no to God’s calling for our lives. But Christ didn’t die so that we should want to live easy lives of comfort. Jesus died on the cross, sacrificing himself for us, for our sins to be forgiven. Just as Christ sacrificed himself, Paul says, we are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God (Polhill 297). When we don’t answer God’s call for our lives, we really aren’t doing this.
Its amazing to me, that when we listen to our lives, God really truly blesses us for it. That doesn’t mean that it will be easy. A lot of the times, if we are truly following God’s plan, it’s the exact opposite of easy. But God will truly bless us for our obedience.
When Paul talks about how he was set apart for the grace and good news of God in vs. 1, I’ve always thought that he was meaning that this separation came about when he was born again into Christ. His rebirth gave him a new calling and purpose to life, and so set him apart from his old life. But when connected with Galatians 1:15, I can see that Paul is actually saying that God had already set him apart for His purpose from before he was born. Even throughout Paul’s childhood, his education with Gamaliel, his persecution of the early Christians, God’s plan for him was being carried out. As “a model for all Christians,” Paul’s life really is a huge testament to God’s power, and to why we need to just trust God. He’s got it all under control, even when we can’t see it.
1st Peter 2:9-10 says “but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy”. All of us have been set apart by God in order that we may preach the wonderful new of who Jesus Christ is. It is expected of us (Mark 16:15). I really like what Phil Long says when he says “Paul chose this word to emphasize that his life was something of a sacrifice to the Lord. A sacrifice no longer lives its own life, but he is wholly given over to the purpose for which he was chosen”. We should all take something out of this statement. Because God has set us apart we should sacrifice our lives to him. This type of sacrifice Paul talks about is not just the type of sacrifice that says ‘oh well I sacrificed my sleep because I got up and went to church’ or ‘I took time out of my busy schedule to go to youth group’. No, this is more. This is literally taking your life and giving it to God. All of it. Just like an animal getting lead off to slaughter. It gives its life. We should do the same (not in the essence of course of killing yourself for the Lord). Only when we do that will we see something like Phil Long points out in his conclusion—something as counter-cultural as what happened in A.D. 55. Going off of what Emily talked about, I too believe that it would be rather revolutionary! I was so impressed and inspired by Emily’s story. If all of us acted in the way of how Emily and even her kids responded to the gospel, life as we know it would be changed and it would be most enjoyable.
I wonder how different I would look if I were wholly given to the purposes of God? Then I wonder this, for my friends, family, and the students I share life with. What if we were wholly given to the purposes of God? What if the narrative of the gospel (good news) captured our attention like it did with kids Emily serves? What if the gospel was so captivating that we could not help but live out of its trans-formative power (Romans 12:1-2)? Which all brings me to the questions of practicality. What does it really look like to be wholly given to the purposes of God? Coming from a holiness tradition, I feel the “weight” of following Christ through the spirit. I certain level of responsibility on my part has been assumed as well. I am not like Christ as I should be (like I long to be). The good news has transformed aspects of my life but not the whole. My sacrificing only goes so far as my dependance on comfort, fear of failure, guilt will take it. I think is all because the good news has been dulled down through teaching, preaching, and personal study. I am too familiar with the story to have it shock/change me. If we really preached and read the gospels seeing Jesus as a revolutionary, I think we would be compelled by his and others examples. The gospel and entire Biblical narrative has a power rarely seen to us in the west because of our comforts and successes. Sacrifice is not a part of our vocabulary, like it is for Christ followers in the east who “lack” comforts and successes the way we see them. I do not know the solution to our problem (my problem), our numbness (my numbness), and our lack of renewal and transformation other than to study the live of those who lived up being “set apart” (those living now, throughout history, and in Biblical times). We need their example more than ever before. “He (God) grants us his Spirit to enable us to grow into the full measure of his standards, his righteousness” (Polhill 289). Only by clinging to the Spirit of God are we transformed and enabled to live lives of sacrifice unto God. The forgotten God (as Frances Chan labels the Holy Spirit) need precedence in our lives.
I like where you are focused. The answer to your question lies in the direction of embedding in our consciousness the presence of God.
What I’m saying is that when you go to church and acknowledge His presence there, and then leave it when the service is over, you’re not adequately acknowledging His presence…for it is everywhere.
Another way of saying it is that if we really believed Jesus was watching our thoughts we wouldn’t think a lot of them. If we don’t sin in front of others but do sin in private then we are simply living in the fear of man instead of the fear of God.
I absolutely, without a doubt, most fully agree with Anna.
The idea of being “set apart” is not a new one but to actually live out this “set apartness” is a totally different story. I fully believe that believers are set apart. But it seems that we do not take advantage of this being set apart in our lives daily. We do not always live and act like we are called, like we are loved, like we a purpose. We may not all be “set apart” for the same things that Paul was “set apart” for, but we are all “set apart” nonetheless.
Another thought I had when reading what P. Long was saying about the words “good news” and how in A.D. 55 it was very counter-cultural because there was a different kind of “good news” that the Roman people knew of. I wonder if Jesus’ “Good News” is already counter-cultural here in America? It seems that the “good news” of the American culture is when a person makes a good amount of money, buys a house, graduates college, purchase a new car, and so on. The American cultures “good news” is all about attaining stuff and accomplishing great achievements. But the Good News of Jesus Christ has nothing to do with becoming rich or famous, but rather is about dying to self and living for Someone else, not for yourself.
That kind of good news is totally counter-cultural to the one here in America.
So maybe the question isn’t about when Christians are going to get their act together and bring a counter-cultural gospel to America, but maybe we should be wondering how we can be a better “light” to the world and bring the already counter-cultural, life changing message of Jesus Christ with us.
I like the twist Joe throws on his post. “So maybe the question isn’t about when Christians are going to get their act together and bring a counter-cultural gospel to America, but maybe we should be wondering how we can be a better “light” to the world and bring the already counter-cultural, life changing message of Jesus Christ with us.” I really think that if we can find a way to do this we will start to flourish as the body of Christ. With all the talk about being set apart, it is assumed that as believers we all need to be live lives that show we are set apart. Today for my small group we talked about Daniel and how he was a man of integrity. Despite being threatened to be thrown into a den of hungry lions, Daniel lived a life that was set apart for God. Daniel 6:5 says, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.” To the people David was working with, it was very clear that he was all about God. This should be true of the people that look at our lives as well. Do they know that in a sense that we are “set apart”?
If they do see us as a different type of Christian that isn’t hypocritical maybe then they will be more open to the beautiful Gospel. Polhill describes the good news as, “He showed that God has in Jesus Christ provided the means for removal of our sin and our establishment as being right and acceptable in his eyes” (287). By living a life wholly surrendered to God I believe they will be more opened to the Gospel message. In Psalm 51, David describes what God desires is a broken and contrite heart. He wants a sacrificed heart, not so much a sacrificed bull.
“It is possible that this word was chosen intentionally to contrast the real good news of salvation with the false peace which comes from the Roman “good news.” The more I study Scripture, the more I find how it needs to be read in context within the culture. So many different things “pop out” when you read it in this way; the “good news” is no exception. I can imagine it would have been a shocking thing and against the cultural norm to hear Christ being preached as “Good news” and it not pertaining to Caesar. Not only does Scripture need to be read in context, but great communicators in the Bible seem to always be culturally relevant. Christ uses “good news” contrasting the other “good news” of Caesar. Paul quotes from plays to be culturally relevant to his audience. “If Christians really lived out their “set apart” calling, I think that the gospel could again be just as counter-cultural as it was in A.D. 55”, (P. Long). I agree with this statement completely. It is a rare thing to see Christians living in this way. It is my hope that this will change, not only in the world, but in my life as well. I have often thought of Romans 12:1, and pondered on what Paul is really saying there. Am i willing to sacrifice all I am to God for His use? I am disappointed often times when I ask this question and know the answer is yes, but my actions and thoughts say no. Paul knew the significance of being “set apart” and valued it highly. We are all set apart, but do we value it?
Many non-Christians do not see Christians as exciting, fun or risk takers. The fact that they have this view means that many Christians are not sold out for Christ. Our life as a Christian should be more exciting than a nonbeliever’s. The people like Jesus, Paul, David and etc. had lives that were full of risks, adventure and love. They were sold out for God and God does not will our lives to be lame. Polhill says, “Christ presented himself as a sacrifice for us. The proper and logical response to this divine act of grace is to sacrifice ourselves in sacred service to our Lord” (Polhill 297). Sacrifice means getting out of one’s comfort zone. Talking about God to someone that does not believe in God can be nerve racking and uncomfortable. Doing a job for God instead of money is counter-cultural. Helping those that are rejected by our culture is also counter-cultural. These acts require sacrifice of self that comes from a life surrendered to God.
So many times this thought of being “set apart” by God is viewed very narrowly. Tina, I do not mean to target you specifically, but you said, “Doing a job for God instead of money is counter-cultural.” I have heard this type of statement form many people, and, for the most part, I agree. However, I also believe that God has set apart some of his followers for exactly this purpose. Yes, it is very “saint-like” to become a missionary (I have the utmost respect for the sacrifices missionaries make), but without the support, many missionaries would not be able to continue their ministry. If money was not an issue, then yes, we could all go into full time ministry. But that is not the case. I believe it is part of God’s plan to have followers whose job is focused on making money. Ideally, we could all be missionaries and pastors etc. Those who make money can be just as devoted to God and set apart by Him as those who are in the “front-lines” of ministry.
I agree fully with what John had said above about God calling some people to make money for supporting the many ministries that are out there from being a pastor, to being a mission. I have a friend from my Church back home whose father makes a good lump some of cash. Yet, he doe not use all of that money just for his family,and friends, but he invests it, and gives to the Church and supports mission families. I believe that this is his calling in life. He has been set apart to support the Church, and others in ministry. I personally cannot do so.
However, I believe there is still more to this being set apart. We are set apart from others not only when we become believers 2 Cor. 5:17, but when we are born. I have been set apart from others on the GBC campus by the ministry I have been called too. I am not saying I will be doing anything better, just that we all have a different ministry in life giving by God.
“If Christians really lived out their “set apart” calling, I think that the gospel could again be just as counter-cultural as it was in A.D. 55.” P Long, I really like this thought. We should act like we have been set apart, since we have been. Paul says in Ephesians 4:14, “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.” The more that we act like we are set apart, the more rooted in our faith we become, and the more rooted we are, the more steady we are and the more we act like the men and women of God we are supposed to be.
Today, the world is completely alright with pointing out Christians that are off the “path” that God has laid out for us. As Christians that live by the Bible’s commands, we go against the grain of what popular culture lives on. However, it is through the roots that we nourish the rest of the body and our soul. We are set apart, and that requires some extra special nourishment sometimes.
“If Christians really lived out their “set apart” calling, I think that the gospel could again be just as counter-cultural as it was in A.D. 55.”
This is a very true statement. Paul may have been called to be a light to the gentiles, and called to travel to the places he traveled and preach the gospel, but we all are really called to be set apart, and to be salt and light in the world (Matthew 5:13-14). Romans 1:16 also displays evidence that Paul was set apart by God. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” “Paul was not ashamed of the gospel, for it represented the very power of God himself” (Polhill, 284). I know the Bible says Paul was a timid speaker at one point in time, but I believe that Paul was one of the most courageous men, and dedicated men to ever present the gospel. He was set apart for very good reason. We as Christians need to strive for the boldness and courage that Paul had, and believing that we are truly set apart for similar causes could help.
When Cory said, “We as Christians need to strive for the boldness and courage that Paul had, and believing that we are truly set apart for similar causes could help.” (Cory Jamieson), it brought to mind when Paul spoke of the “wild beasts” he fought in Ephesus (1 Cor 15:3)…living Christianity in Paul’s time was a lot more dangerous. When Paul speaks of his set-apart calling, he was daring to jump into something so beyond the cultural norms of his time, a life of servant hood, of making himself lower than others to better serve Christ — that was his calling. Today we shun any idea that maybe we might have to serve someone. We want ministry without getting our hands dirty, we want a calling — but it needs to be something glamorous that will draw people like moths to a flame.
Paul’s calling was to serve Christ. ” But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone” (Gal 1:15-16)” To literally be a servant of Christ, going out and teaching the nations of the good news. Today we need a good reminder that our calling is not to be ‘glamorous’ or ‘clean’, but to serve. We are made to wash feet. We are made to preach the good news that obliterates all other news, “This is a counter-cultural and dangerous idea, since it says that the “good news” about the emperor fades into insignificance in the light of the Gospel of God.” (P. Long), we are made to preach the good news of Christ, for “Christ presented himself as a sacrifice for us. The proper and logical response to this divine act of grace is to sacrifice ourselves in sacred service to our Lord (Polhill 297).