Who Is Your Mentor?

“Then after fourteen years I went up to Jerusalem again with Barnabas, taking Titus along too. I went there because of a revelation and presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did so only in a private meeting with the influential people, to make sure that I was not running—or had not run—in vain.”  Galatians 2:1-2 NET

Paul, an independent apostle, was not directly connected to the Judean Apostles, yet he preached the same message of Jesus Christ that they did. His ministry, which focused mainly on the gentiles, stood in stark contrast to the Judean Apostles, who upheld Jewish rites and rituals as essential for salvation. This contrast created a tension, especially since the Judean Apostles were located in Jerusalem, where Jewish tradition in their thinking was everything.

Paul tells his story as he returns to Jerusalem some fourteen years after he first met Peter and James; this time, he comes with Barnabas and Titus. The reason for this visit was a revelation Paul received from God, which motivated him to tell the influential people living in Jerusalem about the gospel he and his disciples preached among the Gentiles. Paul taught that everyone was bought with the price of Jesus’ sacrifice, not just the Jews. And that God was reclaiming the nations that He once disinherited at the tower of Babel. The evidence of this is the second chapter of Acts, where the Holy Spirit came upon those in the upper room and were speaking in new languages they had never learned, and there were people located outside the local area of Jerusalem who heard them proclaiming the wonders of God in their own languages.

Paul’s entire ministry is centered on the Deuteronomy 32 worldview, where God is reestablishing His rule over the nations that were disinherited at Babel. Jesus, in His victory over the rebellious spirits, demonstrated His authority and rulership over all opposing spiritual forces presently ruling over the nations. Each principality and power was given notice. His resurrection was a powerful statement, proving their lack of power or influence over Him. This victory over death secures Jesus as God’s own unique son, a natural/divine being wholly acceptable to God. It is also a declaration of war on the ruling spirits over the nations that their time is up, and the true King of the earth has finally arrived, and the entire battle belongs to the Lord for He has already won the victory over them. It also affirms our status as co-heirs with Jesus, sharing equally in His kingdom and all its privileges and blessings that accompany it. Paul's message is that we must also die to our sinful nature that the spirit of Jesus may reside within us that we may become alive in Jesus, (become born again), through this we inherit the eternal life offered by the death and resurrection of Jesus. We must affirm our believing loyalty to Him now and for the rest of our natural lives, that He may live in us now, and in the coming kingdom age. Through this we will become a kingdom of Priests unto our God, serving only Him through Jesus our Lord.  It is Christ in us the hope of Glory!

Paul presented his case steeped heavily in Old Testament theology and belief. He sat under one of the most outstanding teachers in the ancient world, Gamaliel. More on Gamaliel later, but there was no one more Jewish than Paul, and none could match Paul’s Jewish pedigree because he was 100% Israelite, coming from the tribe of Benjamin, and even more, he was a Pharisee. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection, the afterlife, rewards after death, angels, demons, heaven and hell, and believed in eternal life. Still, they had added numerous other laws to God’s laws, which God did not inspire, yet they upheld them as equal to God’s. Paul knew the law and would have been considered a lawyer in that sense, so Paul was at the top of the Jewish religious system, or very close to it, and yet God knocked him down to the ground so that he might be used mightily to bring the message of salvation to the Gentiles. For all of Paul’s excellent Jewish pedigree, he counted it as trash compared to the glory and beauty and majesty of knowing Jesus Christ. (see Philippians 3:8-9).

The first time Gamliel is mentioned is about him sitting on the Jewish council; this man was indeed wise. When the church was brought before the council, it says, “a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while” (see Acts 5:34). The apostles had just been brought before the council and refused to stop preaching about Jesus Christ (see Acts 5:28). Still, the Apostle Peter had said, “We must obey God rather than men” (see Acts 5:29), so when the council “heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them” (see Acts 5:33). That’s where a wise old Pharisee named Gamaliel steps in. He warned them to “keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice” (See Acts 5:38-39). Incredibly, Gamaliel allowed for the possibility of this work being done by God. His foresight and wisdom are truly inspiring. And this is the same Gamaliel who was Paul’s teacher, so imagine what kind of wisdom Gamaliel passed on to Paul (then called Saul).

You should have a mentor because everyone needs to have a male or female mentor, but everyone also needs to mentor someone younger or newer in the faith. Every Timothy needs a Paul to be mentored by, but at the same time every Paul needs a Timothy to mentor. Iron sharpens iron, and rust never sleeps. We need community, fellowship, and a close relationship to help us grow spiritually, spur one another to good works and serve alongside one another. Who’s the Gamaliel in your life? Why not reach out to someone, and while you’re at it, who can you be a mentor to? You might not be a Gamaliel, but you have the Spirit of God in you, and that’s infinitely more than Gamaliel ever had. That’s because the One in us is greater than the one in the world. (see 1 John 4:4)

Stephen Barnett