The gospel does not have power because of the alpha males who propound it, and all of their assertiveness or their swagger. No, the gospel does not work within the established pecking order of human society, of human influence, otherwise conceived of. And so if I am diminished in the eyes of others by submitting my message and my methods to the scrutiny of others rather than just defending myself or going alone or stonewalling, so be it. My vocation is from God himself. Welcome to MidAmerica Reformed Seminary's Roundtable podcast, a broadcast where the faculty of MidAmerica discuss Reformed theology and cultural issues from a Reformed perspective. You're listening to episode 125, and I'm Jared Luchmore. Thank you for tuning in. In today's episode, we kick off a series with Dr. Marcus Minninger on resolving conflict with peers, particularly between those in ministry and those who are office bearers, all from the perspective of the Apostle Paul. These episodes come from a recent talk at the Niagara Office Bearers Conference at Emmanuel United Reformed Church in Jordan, Ontario, And in this first part, he's going to reflect for a moment on Galatians 2 verse 2, where the Apostle Paul writes, In this text, Dr. Minninger will show us that we are to submit to one another out of reverence for God. Well, the first thing I want to reflect on this morning is the conflict that Paul describes and how he addresses it in Galatians 2.2. Galatians 2.2 where we see Paul giving an example of submitting to one another out of reverence for God. Submitting to one another out of reverence for God. As we turn to think about Galatians 2.2, we need to back up and remind ourselves a bit about the resolute focus that this letter has already from the beginning upon God and God's power and glory rather than that of man. This characterizes Galatians from the outset. We can see it right off the bat in Galatians 1.1 as Paul describes himself and his own ministry. He says, Paul, an apostle, not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead. Immediately then, a contrast between God and man. Then Galatians 1, 11 and 12, something similar. For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. already in the opening and then continuing into the body of the letter, then Paul pits human agency quite strongly against divine agency. And he does so especially to emphasize how his vocation and his message have their source in the monergistic work of our great God and no one else. But given that emphasis early in Galatians, it might surprise us to see what Paul then goes on to describe in Galatians 2.2. The great apostle to the Gentiles, whose vocation and message are from God and not men, takes his message and his ministry and purposefully submits them to the scrutiny of the leaders in Jerusalem when he's experiencing conflict with them. At first blush, we might almost think that he's being inconsistent here, like there's a bit of a gap in the letter or that this is something of a liability to Paul's overall point. And yet further reflection suggests just the opposite. Instead, here is a crucial starting point, I think, for considering God-centered interaction with our peers. Because Paul shows here a more radical form of God-centeredness than we might at first be inclined to consider even ourselves. Paul's concern in the ministry was so theocentric That his actions were not directed by the concerns or interests of any man, even of himself. What Paul sought to protect in his ministry was the fidelity of his content, not his own pride, or even how he would appear before others. In essence then, Paul's submission and deference towards his Heavenly Father mean that he does not think about his own stature in the ministry as something to promote or to defend in and of itself. He does not feel that protecting or promoting his God-given ministry entails protecting or promoting himself. Instead, his devotion to God leads him to humble himself before others, voluntarily offering himself up for their evaluation. If you step back and think about it, this is quite a remarkable text. Because already at this point in his ministry, Paul was a seasoned and successful missionary. He'd been serving for at least 14 years, as the chronology of Galatians goes. He had opened up far more territory to the gospel than those in Jerusalem had up until that point. And he'd done all of this on the basis of a direct commissioning from the Lord Jesus Christ himself from heaven. Would it not have been easy then for him to just soldier on independently of others? In fact, we could argue that practical human wisdom might have told him to do just that. It's going to damage your reputation and your ministry, Paul, if you go and subject yourself to these Jerusalem pillars. It's going to look like you're unsure of yourself or like you're underneath them. People won't look at you as an authority anymore in the same way. You won't project the same kind of confidence. Others will be hesitant to follow you. And honestly, such ideas may well be true, humanly speaking. People do often want a strong, self-made leader. But even if that is true, and submitting to others could damage Paul's effectiveness in human terms, so be it. Paul does not operate here on the basis of these sorts of humanly calculated practicalities or probabilities. He doesn't operate toward his peers on the basis of what is smart politically. He doesn't even have to do, he doesn't even do what might seem on the surface to be consistent with his own theology, right? Trust in God alone. So, deal only with God about all these things. Rather, pitting trust in God against godly submission to our peers in the ministry is really a false dichotomy, isn't it? And it's so often a smokescreen that we devise for our own self-protection. And that's what's really at issue here, isn't it? The temptation to self-protection and self-promotion rather than to a proper God-centered transparency with one another. What Paul does here is actually practice what he preached in one of the most profound ways. The gospel is not from men or about men. It's God's work and so it's not about me either. other than as a mere servant. The gospel does not have power because of the alpha males who propound it and all of their assertiveness or their swagger. No, the gospel does not work within the established pecking order of human society, of human influence, otherwise conceived of. And so if I am diminished in the eyes of others by submitting my message and my methods to the scrutiny of others rather than just defending myself or going alone or stonewalling, so be it. My vocation is from God himself. God must make my vocation successful if it is to have any true success at all. And it's precisely because Paul understands this that he takes the initiative in response to revelation given to him to submit himself and his ministry to those who are qualified to examine it. Even those same peers who might seem to be, who might even act like his competitors. But what they seem to be, or what they act like, is ultimately of no concern, as Paul himself states. Their possible calculation of what this means politically is not Paul's concern. No, his concern isn't political at all. It's principal that he not run or labor in vain, as Galatians 2.2 says, itself. And so Paul purposefully and actively subjects himself to the scrutiny of his brothers. And I suggest to you that here we see this reformed principle of theocentricity expressing itself in Paul's own ministry and in his activity towards his fellow office bearers. I think it's so easy in practice to treat the Church of Jesus Christ as a mere human institution, even though, of course, we know in our heads that it is not that. And it's so easy to try, because of this wrong way of thinking, this wrong set of habits that we have, to have a habit also of avoiding scrutiny. We want to take pride in our own abilities or our accomplishments, and so we feel like we're above submitting ourselves to others. It's so easy to cover over potential problem areas in our ministry in order to maintain the appearance of confident authority. It's so easy to come up with the most pious-sounding reasons for doing this. Well, you know, this church needs a leader, and so I need to look respectable. No, the church has a leader, and his name is Jesus, and he is sufficient for the church's needs. Or we may say to ourselves, well, the Lord didn't give me this position for no reason, or Well, I've served just a lot longer, or even maybe with more distinction than them. Let Peter come try church planting first, and then he can talk to me if he wants. But all these things end up as different forms of self-protection. And because of that, they're really different forms of man-centeredness, aren't they? If the Apostle Paul, who had received a direct revelation from Christ, needed to subject his ministry to his peers, than how much more do we. And so it's important that we ask ourselves, do we think and act in accordance with what we profess to be true about God and of his church? Do we actively subject ourselves, our actions, our words, to the scrutiny of those who are fellow office bearers? Do we make excuses for ourselves to protect ourselves? Or do we think of the Christian life and of the Christian ministry competitively, on the basis of our comparison to others, outwardly speaking? Do you assess yourself and your ministry then in a God-centered way? Really, the gospel is not about human comparisons. The gospel is not even about self-preservation. It's not about our names. It's not about our reputation. It's certainly not about appearing quite formidable and without error before others. No, the gospel is about humility and self-sacrifice after the pattern of Jesus Christ, which Paul himself shows us here. It's about submission to God. And because of that, proper submission to one another as well. Why is it, I ask you, that office bearers in particular are so difficult to disagree with or confront? Too often we treat our churches as our territory and our ministries, therefore, as something simply to defend. I was corresponding with a ruling elder in one of our churches recently, and this man was exhausted from the emotional turmoil of having to tell his pastor that he thought his pastor had made some errors in the pulpit. And brothers, this elder really, really loves his pastor and appreciates him and often sings his praises, values his ministry, and works hard in support of him. And yet he laments, Bill just doesn't take criticism well. I trust that that probably resonates with all of us. But it shouldn't resonate quite as much as it does. In the sense that we need to work against the mentality that produces this problem. Not possible to criticize. I think there's a temptation in our churches for us to misunderstand the legacy of somebody like a Martin Luther, or a Guido de Bray, or a J. Gresham Machen, and to think that the Reformed ministry is about strong men who won't budge in the face of opposition. Well, sometimes it is that, but not others. What we need is a God-worked humility before the Lord of glory, before Jesus Christ, And before the truth, whoever speaks that truth to us. And so that means submitting to others' proper judgment. just as much as it means defending the truth in stalwart fashion. It depends on the situation. Technically, I think we acknowledge this to be true, but in practice, I'm afraid, we're often not up to our own profession of faith, in a sense you could say, and not consistent. Yes, God-centered bravery means being willing to stand up against others as needed, which we'll look at in a moment, But also first let's consider this, being willing to submit ourselves to others out of reverence for God. In our next episode, Dr. Menninger turns to Galatians 2, 11 through 14, where he'll speak to confronting one another out of reverence for God. For more episodes, you can find us on our website at midamerica.edu slash podcasts, and wherever you listen to your favorite shows, be sure to search for and subscribe to MidAmerica Reformed Seminary's round table. I'm Jared Luczibor, till next time.