How Paul Became an Apostle

¹¹ Let me tell you, my friends, that the gospel I preach is not of human origin. ¹² I did not receive it from any human being, nor did anyone teach it to me. It was Jesus Christ himself who revealed it to me.

^13 (A)You have been told how I used to live when I was devoted to the Jewish religion, how I persecuted without mercy the church of God and did my best to destroy it. ^14 (B)I was ahead of most other Jews of my age in my practice of the Jewish religion, and was much more devoted to the traditions of our ancestors.

^15 (C)But God in his grace chose me even before I was born, and called me to serve him. And when he decided ¹⁶ to reveal his Son to me, so that I might preach the Good News about him to the Gentiles, I did not go to anyone for advice, ¹⁷ nor did I go to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before me. Instead, I went at once to Arabia, and then I returned to Damascus. ^18 (D)It was three years later that I went to Jerusalem to obtain information from Peter, and I stayed with him for two weeks. ¹⁹ I did not see any other apostle except James,^[a] the Lord's brother.

²⁰ What I write is true. God knows that I am not lying!

²¹ Afterward I went to places in Syria and Cilicia. ²² At that time the members of the churches in Judea did not know me personally. ²³ They knew only what others were saying: “The man who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith that he once tried to destroy!” ²⁴ And so they praised God because of me.

Paul and the Other Apostles

2 ^(E)Fourteen years later I went back to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. ² I went because God revealed to me that I should go. In a private meeting with the leaders I explained the gospel message that I preach to the Gentiles. I did not want my work in the past or in the present to be a failure. ³ My companion Titus, even though he is Greek, was not forced to be circumcised, ⁴ although some wanted it done. Pretending to be believers, these men slipped into our group as spies, in order to find out about the freedom we have through our union with Christ Jesus. They wanted to make slaves of us, ⁵ but in order to keep the truth of the gospel safe for you, we did not give in to them for a minute.

^6 (F)But those who seemed to be the leaders—I say this because it makes no difference to me what they were; God does not judge by outward appearances—those leaders, I say, made no new suggestions to me. ⁷ On the contrary, they saw that God had given me the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the task of preaching the gospel to the Jews. ⁸ For by God's power I was made an apostle to the Gentiles, just as Peter was made an apostle to the Jews. ⁹ James, Peter, and John, who seemed to be the leaders, recognized that God had given me this special task; so they shook hands with Barnabas and me, as a sign that we were all partners. We agreed that Barnabas and I would work among the Gentiles and they among the Jews. ¹⁰ All they asked was that we should remember the needy in their group, which is the very thing I have^[b] been eager to do.