Today, Paul is known and
respected as the “Apostle” Paul. But at
the time of the writing of Galatians, some questioned whether he was an apostle
at all. In fact, the talk of the church
in
The Apostle asserted that his gospel was not according to man, received by
man, nor taught to him by man. If he
didn’t get it from any man, then where did he get it? Some no doubt suspected that he made it
up. But when Paul said “not according to
man,” he was including himself as a possible source.
He said that He received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. The Greek word for revelation is “apokalupsis” which means an unveiling. His gospel, he said, had come through an
unveiling by Jesus Christ. The gospel
of grace has come through an unveiling.
This is not something that someone made up. Why is it so important to believe that Paul
saw it by revelation? Because he was a specially chosen vessel (Acts 9:15) that
completed the Word of God (Col. 1:25).
If the Galatians “wrote off” Paul’s gospel, then they would end up with
Christian lives that looked like a strange religious blend of law and grace.
So much depends upon receiving Paul’s gospel. If you were among the believers 2,000 years
ago, how could you know that it really was a matter of revelation?
Paul began to make his case by pointing out that something special had
happened to him. First of all was his
dramatic change. Paul was no borderline
Jew, but one that was doing very well in Judaism. There was no reason for him to drop
Judaism. There was neither threat nor
promise of self-gain that caused him to become a believer. Yet, he experienced such a personal
revolution. A changed life is one
characteristic of revelation. Most
Christians mistake indoctrination with revelation. They can talk wonderfully, but don’t live
very wonderfully. That means they are
under teaching, but not necessarily revelation. Paul was different.
Verses
For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received
it through a revelation by Jesus Christ.
For you have heard of my manner of life formerly in
Judaism, that I persecuted the
—Galatians 1:12-14
Verses:
*1 Thes. 1:8-9
1 John 5:21
2 Cor 6:16
*John 4:23-24
*Acts 19:18-20 (most important is v19)
*Luke 19:1-10 (most important is v8)
*Matt 8:21-22