The Gospel is Revealed

Galatians 1:11–12 ESV

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

1. The Gospel is not Humanly Contrived (1:11-12a, 16b-22)

Paul Did not Receive It from Man (v.11-12a)

Galatians 1:11–12 ESV

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

Galatians (1) Called from above (1:11–12)

“My gospel (and my preaching of the gospel) do not belong to the purely human level of existence: the gospel message did not come to me through human channels—it was not mediated to me through any man; and my preaching of the gospel has not been guided by human motives and ambitions.”

Paul received the Gospel independently from the other apostles/disciples

This, later, will show that his Gospel matches that of the other disciples.

Paul’s insistence on this also seems to indicate that those who were teaching the false Gospel were claiming that Paul was because he allowed Gentiles to be a part of God’s people.

Paul’s Proof (v.16b-22)

Galatians 1:16–22 ESV

was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.

Consulted No one

Went Away Preaching

Visited Peter and James

Visited Syria and Cilicia

Unknown by Jerusalem Church

Important: The Gospel is God’s Plan

Genesis 3:15 ESV

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

2 Peter 1:21 ESV

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

“Reality, in fact, is usually something you could not have guessed. That is one of the reasons I believe Christianity. It is a religion you could not have guessed. If it offered us just the kind of universe we had always expected, I should feel we were making it up. But, in fact, it is not the sort of thing anyone would have made up. It has just that queer twist about it that real things have. So let us leave behind all these boys’ philosophies–these over simple answers. The problem is not simple and the answer is not going to be simple either.” ― C.S. Lewis

The Gospel is Still God’s Plan

The gospel in a nutshell:

Galatians 2:16 ESV

yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Gospel: We are justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Grace: a gift bestowed when wrath it owed.

How do we discern if a person is espousing the true Gospel or espousing a false Gospel?

If salvation were the plan of man, it will always by by works.

See different religions and ideas here.

Prove yourself good enough; faithful enough

Romans 3:10 ESV

as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;

How we might discern if we do not quite understand grace v. works: “I don’t know if I’m good enough to go to heaven.”

“I don’t know if I’m saved.”

“If I make it.”

“I hope so.”

No confidence in the blood of Christ.

Obsessed with rules and insistent upon them

Insist upon things be done the way we prefer and think best to the possible detriment of one’s feelings or salvation

“I can’t believe she came to church with her hair wet.”

Following traditions and cannot change them.

Cannot grasp that a person can change, esp by prayer.

When we get the gospel wrong, it affects not just our relation with God but with each other.

2. The Gospel is Divinely Revealed (1:12b-16a)

The Damascus Road Conversion (v.12b-14)

Galatians 1:12–14 ESV

For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.

“Revelation” - apocalypsis

An “unveiling”

Paul’s radical change must be explained.

God’s Plan for Paul (v.15-16a)

Galatians 1:15–16 ESV

But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;

God planned to reveal the Gospel to Paul and make him an apostle to the Gentiles “before he was born.”

Example: Jeremiah 1:5 ““Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.””

God's Plan for Us

The Gospel Must be revealed To Us

Matthew 16:16–17 ESV

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

Ephesians 3:4–5 ESV

When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.

Through the preaching of the Word of God:

Romans 10:14 ESV

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

Romans 10:17 ESV

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Through the conviction of the Holy Spirit:

John 16:7–8 ESV

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:

We must remember:

1 John 4:10 ESV

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

God Set Us Apart before We were Born

Romans 8:29–30 ESV

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Ephesians 1:3–6 ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

3. The Revealed Gospel Brings Glory to God (1:23-24)

Paul’s Conversion Observed (v.23)

Galatians 1:23 ESV

They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”

God Gets the Glory (v.24)

Galatians 1:24 ESV

And they glorified God because of me.

Does God get the Glory for our Salvation?

Can people observe our conversion, our faith in Christ?

Matthew 5:14–16 ESV

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

A secret Christian is as incongruous as a hidden light. Lights are to illuminate, not to be hidden; to be displayed, not to be covered. Christians are to be both subtle salt and conspicuous light.

John F. MacArthur

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” ~Brennan Manning

Known for his book Ragamuffin Gospel

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Romans 7:24-25

“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”