Galatians Talk 3.
Galatians 1:10-24
In the first two talks we noted that Paul’s purpose in writing Galatians was to correct a serious doctrinal error that had crept into the churches since Paul had planted them. Paul had taught them that we are saved by faith in Jesus, and not by observing the law of the Old Testament, but some were now teaching that circumcision was necessary for salvation, and Paul was amazed that they had so quickly turned away from what he had taught them.
The version of the ‘gospel’ these people were teaching was radically different from the gospel Paul preached and the situation was so serious that Paul went so far as to say that if anybody preached a gospel other than the one that he had preached and which they had accepted, let them be eternally condemned!
And Paul had good reason to speak this strongly. The truth of the gospel was at stake – the gospel for which Christ had died, the gospel which is the only way by which we may be saved. In later chapters Paul would give good theological reasons in defence of the gospel he preached, but first he wanted to make it clear to his readers that:
· He had not received it from any human source.
· He had received it from Jesus Christ himself by personal revelation.
This is the main purpose of what he writes in today’s passage, which we’ll read first before considering each of these two points in turn.
Galatians 1:10-24
10. Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
11. I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
13. For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
15. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16. to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17. nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.
18. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. 19. I saw none of the other apostles – only James, the Lord’s brother.
20. I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. 21. Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22. I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23. They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24. And they praised God because of me.
He had not received it from any human source
In verse 11 Paul says:
the gospel I preached is not something that man made up.
This is so important that he repeats it in three different ways:
I did not receive it from any man (12)
nor was I taught it (12)
I did not consult any man 16).
He wants the Galatians (and us) to know this (11), because believing the true gospel is the only way of salvation. A man-made gospel will save no one! The good news of salvation through faith has its origin in heaven and was received by revelation from heaven. It was God who had set Paul apart and called him by his grace and who had been pleased to reveal his Son in and through Paul (15-16).
So in verses 17-22 Paul emphasises that immediately after his conversion he went into Arabia before returning to Damascus. It was not until three years after that, that he went to Jerusalem where he stayed with Peter for fifteen days and also met James, the Lord’s brother. Paul’s purpose in saying this is to stress that he did not receive his gospel from anyone, not even Peter or James, as he did not meet them until at least three years after his conversion, but in case anyone is inclined to doubt him he says in verse 20:
I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.
He had received it from Jesus Christ himself by personal revelation
The gospel Paul preached came directly from Jesus Christ by supernatural revelation. That’s why he was so determined to defend it. In today’s passage we see three things that emboldened that determination:
1. He remembered the futility of his old way of life
2. His sole desire was to please God
3. He knew God had called him
He remembered the futility of his old way of life
13. For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
He was in Judaism (13, 14). Note how Paul is already referring to Judaism as distinct from Christianity. Judaism had been his way of life (13). He was advancing in it (14). He was extremely zealous for its traditions (14). His sole aim was to please men (10).
But now he was in Christ. Christ was now his way of life (cf. 2:20). His sole aim now was to please him.
Once we give our lives to Jesus, there’s no turning back.
His sole desire was to please God.
10. Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Notice the words now and still. Before his conversion Paul’s aim was to please men, but now he is a servant of Christ. His sole motive was to please God. There was no hidden agenda. He was not politically motivated. If we’re intent on pleasing other people or worried what they will think about us if we don’t do the kind of things they do, our determination to follow Jesus will be weakened. Our motive in all that we do must be to please God. As we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and pleasing to God, we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2).
He knew God had called him
15. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16. to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles…
But when God
Paul had been extremely zealous for the traditions of his ancestors (14), but when God… Because he had been such a fanatical opponent of Christianity, Paul was ever conscious that it was God who had initiated his conversion. It was God who had who set him apart from birth, and called him by his grace, and had been pleased to reveal his Son in him.
set me apart from birth
Literally, from my mother’s womb. How did Paul know this? Perhaps like Jeremiah (1:5) the Lord had told him so. The fact that God has a purpose for our lives from before we were born does not mean that we are predestined to do what he tells us. We all have a choice as to whether we will obey him when he calls us. As Paul later said to King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.
called me by his grace
It is by grace that we are saved, through faith, and that not of ourselves – it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2). If it were not for God’s grace we could not be saved. And it’s because of the grace of God that all we have to do is have faith – and even that is given to us by God. What’s more, it is by grace that we are called to serve him. It’s a privilege to be a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.
reveal his Son in me
We might have expected Paul to say to me rather than in me. Of course, God did reveal his Son to Paul on the Damascus Road. But He revealed Jesus to him in order that he might reveal him in him (or through him). God makes himself real to us so that through us others might know him too.
so that I might preach him among the Gentiles
This was God’s specific purpose for Paul. It was made clear to him right from the start. The book of Acts reveals how that purpose unfolded step by step in Paul’s life. After the initial call which motivated his entire Christian life, Paul received guidance from the Holy Spirit as and when he needed it.
Conclusion
Paul’s purpose in today’s passage was to make clear that the message he preached did not come from man, but by supernatural revelation from the Lord Jesus Christ. At the heart of that message is the wonderful truth that we are not saved by obedience to the law of the Old Testament, but by trusting Jesus as our Saviour. Paul’s determination not only to preach that message, but also to defend it at all costs, was emboldened by three things:
1. He remembered the futility of his old way of life
2. His sole desire was to please God
3. He knew God had called him.
And as we shall see next time, his calling to preach that message was confirmed by other apostles in Chapter 2.