📖 Wagalatia — Somo la Kina — Sehemu ya 2: Paulo Anaitetea Injili📖 Galatians Intensive — Unit 2: Paul Defends the Gospel

Andiko: Wagalatia 1:11-2:10Text: Galatians 1:11-2:10

Katika Sehemu ya 1 Paulo aliifafanua injili — injili ya neema — na akatamka laana juu ya yeyote ambaye angehubiri nyingine. Lakini wasumbufu waliokuwa Galatia walikuwa na jibu tayari. Walinong'ona kwamba injili ya Paulo ilikuwa ya kusikia kutoka kwa wengine: kwamba aliijifunza kutoka kwa mitume waliokuwa Yerusalemu kisha akailainisha kwa ajili ya Mataifa, akiiacha sheria kimya kimya. Kama hilo lingekuwa kweli, injili ya Paulo ingeweza "kusahihishwa" kwa kuwarejea wenye mamlaka halisi. Kwa hiyo katika sehemu hii ndefu Paulo hatetei maudhui ya injili yake bali chanzo chake. Hoja yake ni rahisi na yenye nguvu: injili yangu ilikuja kwa ufunuo kutoka kwa Yesu Kristo Mwenyewe, si kutoka kwa mwanadamu yeyote; na nilipokutana hatimaye na mitume wa Yerusalemu, hawakuiongezea kitu — waliitambua na kunipa mkono. Injili ya neema inasimama juu ya mamlaka ya Mungu Mwenyewe, na mitume waliithibitisha badala ya kuisahihisha.In Unit 1 Paul defined the gospel — the gospel of grace — and pronounced a curse on anyone who would preach another. But the troublemakers in Galatia had a reply ready. They whispered that Paul's gospel was secondhand: that he had learned it from the apostles in Jerusalem and then softened it for the Gentiles, quietly leaving out the law. If that were true, Paul's gospel could be "corrected" by appealing to the real authorities. So in this long section Paul defends not the content of his gospel but its source. His argument is simple and powerful: my gospel came by revelation from Jesus Christ Himself, not from any man; and when I finally did meet the Jerusalem apostles, they added nothing to it — they recognized it and shook my hand. The gospel of grace stands on God's own authority, and the apostles confirmed it rather than corrected it.

Si ya KibinadamuNot According to Man

Paulo anaeleza hoja yake waziwazi: "ile injili niliyoihubiri, ya kuwa si ya kibinadamu. Kwa sababu sikuipokea kwa mwanadamu wala sikufundishwa na mwanadamu, bali kwa ufunuo wa Yesu Kristo" (Wagalatia 1:11-12). Hakuipata kutoka kwa mwalimu, shule, wala baraza; Kristo aliyefufuka alimfunulia moja kwa moja. Jambo hili lina maana kwa kila kitu katika waraka huu na kwa kozi yetu yote. Injili iliyoshuka kutoka kwa Mungu haiwezi kuhaririwa na wanadamu. Kama hata Paulo aliipokea badala ya kuibuni, basi hakuna mwalimu, nabii, wala kanisa la baadaye lenye haki ya kuiongezea au kuipunguza. Ujumbe huu una Mwandishi mmoja, naye amekwisha kunena.Paul states his case plainly: "the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:11-12). He did not pick it up from a teacher, a school, or a council; the risen Christ revealed it to him directly. This matters for everything in the letter and for our whole course. A gospel that came down from God cannot be edited by men. If even Paul received it rather than invented it, then no later teacher, prophet, or church has the right to add to it or take from it. The message has one Author, and He has already spoken.

Kutoka Mtesaji Hadi MhubiriFrom Persecutor to Preacher

Ili kuthibitisha kwamba injili yake haikuwa uvumbuzi wa kibinadamu, Paulo anaelekeza kwenye maisha yake ya zamani: "Maana mmesikia habari za mwenendo wangu zamani katika dini ya Kiyahudi, ya kuwa naliliudhi kanisa la Mungu kupita kiasi, nikaliharibu; nami naliendelea katika dini ya Kiyahudi kupita wengi walio hirimu zangu... nikajitahidi sana katika kuyashika mapokeo ya baba zangu" (Wagalatia 1:13-14). Huyu ndiye mtu wa mwisho duniani ambaye angeweza kubuni injili ya neema isiyotegemea sheria. Alikuwa mtetezi mkali kuliko wote wa sheria na adui mkali kuliko wote wa kanisa. Jambo fulani lilimtokea ambalo hakulitengeneza mwenyewe. "Lakini Mungu, aliyenitenga tangu tumboni mwa mamangu, akaniita kwa neema yake, alipoona vema kumdhihirisha Mwanawe ndani yangu, ili niwahubiri Mataifa habari zake..." (Wagalatia 1:15-16). Yaangalie maneno haya: Mungu alimtenga, akamwita kwa neema yake, na akamdhihirisha Mwanawe ndani yake. Utume wa Paulo, kama ulivyokuwa wokovu wake, ulikuwa zawadi ya neema, si tuzo kwa ajili ya bidii yake. Mtesaji alikuwa mhubiri kwa sababu tu neema ilimshika.To prove his gospel was no human invention, Paul points to his own past: "you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries... being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers" (Galatians 1:13-14). Here is the last man on earth who would have dreamed up a gospel of grace apart from the law. He had been the law's fiercest champion and the church's fiercest enemy. Something happened to him that he did not manufacture. "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles..." (Galatians 1:15-16). Mark the words: God separated him, called him through His grace, and revealed His Son in him. Paul's apostleship, like his salvation, was a gift of grace, not a reward for zeal. The persecutor became a preacher only because grace laid hold of him.

Si Kutoka kwa Mitume WengineNot From the Other Apostles

Kisha Paulo anafuatilia safari zake ili kuonyesha kwamba hakukimbilia Yerusalemu kufundishwa: "mara sikufanya shauri na watu wenye mwili na damu; wala sikupanda kwenda Yerusalemu kwa wale waliokuwa mitume kabla yangu; bali nalikwenda zangu Arabuni, kisha nikarudi tena Dameski" (Wagalatia 1:16-17). Ni baada ya miaka mitatu tu ndipo alipopanda kwenda Yerusalemu, na hata hapo kwa muda mfupi: "nalipanda kwenda Yerusalemu ili kuonana na Kefa (Petro), nikakaa kwake siku kumi na tano. Lakini sikuona mwingine wa wale mitume, ila Yakobo, ndugu yake Bwana" (Wagalatia 1:18-19). Siku kumi na tano pamoja na Petro ni ziara, si seminari. Makanisa ya Uyahudi hayakumjua hata kwa uso; "walikuwa wakisikia tu ya kwamba, Yule aliyekuwa akituudhi zamani, sasa anaihubiri imani ile aliyokuwa akiiharibu; wakamtukuza Mungu kwa ajili yangu" (Wagalatia 1:23-24). Hoja ya Paulo si kwamba aliwadharau mitume wengine — hata kidogo — bali kwamba injili yake haikutoka kwao. Ilitoka kwa Kristo, kwa kujitegemea, na hata hivyo ilikuwa injili ile ile waliyoihubiri wao.Paul then traces his movements to show he did not run to Jerusalem to be trained: "I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus" (Galatians 1:16-17). Only after three years did he go up to Jerusalem, and even then briefly: "I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother" (Galatians 1:18-19). Fifteen days with Peter is a visit, not a seminary. The churches of Judea did not even know his face; "they were hearing only, 'He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy.' And they glorified God in me" (Galatians 1:23-24). Paul's point is not that he despised the other apostles — far from it — but that his gospel did not come from them. It came from Christ, independently, and yet it was the very same gospel they preached.

Injili ya neema ilimjia Paulo kwa ufunuo, si kwa kamati. Kile ambacho Mungu alikitoa kutoka mbinguni, hakuna baraza duniani linaloweza kukirekebisha.The gospel of grace came to Paul by revelation, not by committee. What God gave from heaven, no council on earth may amend.

Injili Yathibitishwa YerusalemuThe Gospel Confirmed at Jerusalem

Miaka kumi na minne baadaye Paulo alipanda kweli kwenda Yerusalemu, kwa ufunuo, na akawaeleza viongozi ile injili aliyoihubiri kati ya Mataifa (Wagalatia 2:1-2). Yaliyotokea huko yalilimaliza jambo hilo. Kwanza, kesi ya kupima: "hata Tito aliyekuwa pamoja nami, ingawa ni Myunani, hakulazimishwa kutahiriwa" (Wagalatia 2:3). Tito alikuwa muumini wa Mataifa asiyetahiriwa, na viongozi hawakumtaka atahiriwe ili akubaliwe. Neema, si tohara, ilitosha.Fourteen years later Paul did go up to Jerusalem, by revelation, and laid before the leaders the gospel he preached among the Gentiles (Galatians 2:1-2). What happened there settled the matter. First, a test case: "not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised" (Galatians 2:3). Titus was an uncircumcised Gentile believer, and the leaders did not require him to be circumcised in order to be accepted. Grace, not circumcision, was enough.

Lakini kulikuwa na upinzani: "kwa sababu ya ndugu za uongo walioingizwa kwa siri, ambao waliingia kwa siri ili kuupeleleza uhuru wetu tulio nao katika Kristo Yesu, wapate kututia utumwani; ambao hatukujitia chini yao kwa kuwatii, hata saa moja; ili kweli ya Injili ikae pamoja nanyi" (Wagalatia 2:4-5). Hawa hapa tena ni Wayahudishaji, wanaotaka kuiongezea neema sheria na hivyo kuwaburuta watu walio huru warudi utumwani. Paulo hakukubali — hata kwa saa moja — kwa sababu kweli ya injili yenyewe ilikuwa hatarini. Hii ndiyo kanuni ya Sehemu ya 1 ikitendeka: pale ambapo neema peke yake iko hatarini, hakuna nafasi ya maafikiano.But there was opposition: "false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage), to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you" (Galatians 2:4-5). Here are the Judaizers again, wanting to add the law to grace and so drag free people back into slavery. Paul would not give in — not for a single hour — because the truth of the gospel itself was on the line. This is the Unit 1 principle in action: where grace alone is at stake, there is no room for compromise.

Hawakuongeza KituThey Added Nothing

Na wale watu wakuu wa Yerusalemu walifanya nini? "Wale wenye sifa hawakuniongezea kitu" (Wagalatia 2:6). Hawakuisahihisha injili ya Paulo wala kuifungia masharti. Badala yake, walipoiona neema aliyopewa, wale nguzo — Yakobo, Kefa (Petro), na Yohana — "walitupa mimi na Barnaba mkono wa kuume wa shirika, ili sisi twende kwa Mataifa, na wao waende kwa wale wa tohara" (Wagalatia 2:9). Injili moja, iliyotambuliwa na wote; ni mashamba ya utume tu yaliyogawanywa. Ombi lao moja lilikuwa la upole na lenye maana kubwa: "tuwakumbuke maskini; neno lilo hilo ndilo nililokuwa nikijitahidi kulifanya" (Wagalatia 2:10). Mitume hawakuiongezea injili kitu kwa sababu injili ya neema haihitaji kuongezewa kitu. Kuiongezea si kuiboresha bali ni kuiharibu.And what did the great men of Jerusalem do? "Those who seemed to be something added nothing to me" (Galatians 2:6). They did not correct Paul's gospel or fasten requirements onto it. Instead, seeing the grace that was given to him, the pillars — James, Cephas (Peter), and John — "gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised" (Galatians 2:9). One gospel, recognized by all; only the mission fields were divided. Their single request was tender and telling: "that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do" (Galatians 2:10). The apostles added nothing to the gospel because the gospel of grace needs nothing added. To add to it is not to improve it but to destroy it.

Kwa hiyo Sehemu ya 2 inasimika nguzo ya pili kando ya ile ya kwanza. Katika Sehemu ya 1 tulijifunza injili ni nini na kwamba haipaswi kubadilishwa. Hapa tunajifunza inatoka wapi: si kwa wanadamu, bali kwa Mungu kwa ufunuo, na imethibitishwa — si kusahihishwa — na mitume wenyewe. Ndiyo sababu injili ya neema inasimama juu ya kila mwalimu, kila baraza, na kila kizazi. Tunapokibeba kipimo cha Wagalatia 1 katika sehemu zinazokuja, hatuinui kiwango tulichokitengeneza wenyewe. Tunaiinua injili ambayo Mungu aliitoa kutoka mbinguni na ambayo mitume waliipokea kwa mkono wa kuume wa shirika.So Unit 2 plants a second post beside the first. In Unit 1 we learned what the gospel is and that it must not be changed. Here we learn where it comes from: not from men, but from God by revelation, and confirmed — not corrected — by the apostles themselves. This is why the gospel of grace stands above every teacher, every council, and every age. When we carry the test of Galatians 1 into the units ahead, we are not holding up a standard of our own making. We are holding up the gospel God gave from heaven and the apostles received with the right hand of fellowship.

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