Teamwork

“Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,...” (Galatians 1:1–3).

Paul begins most of his letters in the New Testament with an affirmation of his apostleship. His letter to the churches in Galatia is no exception.  He especially highlights the divine origin of his calling in these verses.  Those who were causing trouble among the congregations were attacking his apostleship, apparently claiming that Paul had less authority than the other apostles or that he was under their authority.   He strongly denies such claims and spends much of the first two chapters in Galatians disproving them.  Paul’s apostleship came from Jesus Christ and God the Father and the facts back him up.

But Paul also affirms something else about his apostleship in these verses that is easy to miss.  We learn that he was an apostle who was part of the team.  “Paul, an apostle....and all the brethren who are with me.”  Yes, Paul received his apostleship directly from heaven but that didn’t  preclude him from working with others in the kingdom of God.  Paul’s gospel certainly wasn’t second-hand, but he was always quick to credit others for partnering in the efforts to spread the good news.  For Paul, apostleship didn’t mean he had some sort of special standing that elevated him over others

The mark of a good Christian leader is not the ability to lord it over others but the ability to work alongside of them.  When His own disciples were fighting over positions of authority, Jesus had to remind them that a leader should be a servant (Luke 22:24-27).  Paul wrote to the Corinthian church that he and his mission team weren’t lords over their faith but “...workers with you…” (2 Corinthians 1:24).  Teamwork is about participation, not position.

God loves you!

Mike