Paul Called by God

… I received it (the gospel) through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:11-24

The false teachers/preachers came to the Galatian church denigrating Paul’s apostleship and charging that Paul was a people-pleaser who would change his message to suit the situation. They were trying to make the Galatians doubt the authenticity of Paul’s position. So, Paul defends his commission from Jesus Christ, starting here and continuing through chapter 2. Paul emphasizes that his gospel does not come from any man. Indeed, these opponents may have said Paul made up his message, perverted the gospel he had received from the other apostles, or Paul was less of an apostle because he was not one of Jesus’ original disciples. Of course, these false teachers/preachers made the erroneous claim that they taught under the auspices of James,’ Jesus’ brother, authority. Such accusations may have been persuasive to the Galatian churches. Lest the Galatian Christians believe the rumors, Paul makes it clear that his gospel came “through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” Certainly, Paul would have learned details of our Savior’s ministry from those whom Paul had formerly persecuted. Paul means that the content of the gospel, the coming of God’s kingdom in and through the ministry of Jesus, came through a direct revelation by the Messiah Himself on the Damascus road. The things Paul learned elsewhere only affirmed this revelation. Paul’s revelation of Christ refers to both the mediator and the content of the gospel, that Jesus Himself delivered the gospel to Paul. It is a gospel that destroys any thought of self-reliance and drives us to lean wholly on Christ as Paul wrote in Romans 11:6. Martin Luther comments, “The doctrine of the gospel takes from men all glory, wisdom, righteousness…and gives the same unto the Creator alone, who made all things of nothing.” No man was involved in the proclamation of or the establishing of the gospel. It is a work of God! Paul, in Galatians, often writes, “the gospel that I proclaim” in order to set the true message of salvation apart from the different gospel brought by the Judaizers. Paul knew that it was God’s gospel, ordained by Him and not subject to change. We did not receive the gospel through a vision of Christ as Paul did but through the preaching of God’s Word, which Word cannot be compromised or ignored as too unloving. We must tell sinners what the gospel is by first telling them how bad sin is.

Source: S C Ball January 9, 2024