"But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, ..." (Gal 1:15, 16a NIV).
It may be argued by some that the Isaiah (49:1-6) passage is speaking in context of Israel, YHWH's servant, with ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 52:13-53:12. Therefore the Apostle Paul would not claim himself to be "a light for the Gentiles" (Isa 49:6). They would be right on the first account, ...
"Simeon took him [the baby Jesus] in his arms and praised God, saying: 'Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a LIGHT FOR REVELATION TO THE GENTILES and for glory to your people Israel'" (Luk 2:28-32, emphasis mine).
... but wrong on the second, since Paul himself quotes this exact verse (Isa 49:6) to refer to his and Barnabas' ministry ...
"For this is what the Lord has commanded us: 'I have made you a LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth'" (Act 13:47, emphasis mine).
... while they were preaching in none other than Pisidian Antioch. In the region called Galatia.
Thus we see that Paul's calling from the womb and his encounter on the Damascus road with the risen Messiah are where he gets his version of the gospel which welcomes Gentiles *as Gentiles*. Paul uses the Scripture of his day very Jewishly, shaping the events of his calling to Christ in order to create a literary "Prophet / Servant to the nations motif" that explains his circumcision-free gospel to the Gentiles of Galatia and beyond. His detractors would have to do better than his scripturally supported supernatural experience -- affirmed by others from Jerusalem (Act 22:9). Which they undoubtedly were unable to do. As the letter to the Galatian disciples continued, the Apostle presses his case further ...
... but that’s for a different study.
-Michael Millier
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