THE ORIGINS OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

THE PROBLEM

There is a problem that you and I have in common. I’m not referring to the aging process, although there is that. I’m not referring to Federal, State, or local government issues, although there is that as well. I’m not referring to problems within the evangelical church in the U.S., although, once again, there is that.

I am referring to something that is much more basic. It is a problem that has plagued mankind ever since the Garden of Eden — the problem of sin. David wrote of this problem during his confessional psalm — where he stated:

Psalm 51:3–5 HCSB

For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me. Against You—You alone—I have sinned and done this evil in Your sight. So You are right when You pass sentence; You are blameless when You judge. Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

Everyone of us in this room this morning is a sinner, both by birth and by choice. And as such we are under the condemnation of God! That is, unless God’s wrath can be satisfied in regards to our sin.

The Good News is that God, according to His eternal counsel, provided a way by which He would be satisfied. He did so by sending His Eternal Son to be born as a man, yet without a sin nature. That is — Jesus was NOT A SINNER BY BIRTH as you and I are. Christ lived the perfect life that we could never live, and therefore He fulfilled the righteous demands of God, which we cannot do.

Romans 8:3 NASB95PARA

For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

Romans 8:3 NASB95PARA

For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

Romans 8:3–4 NASB95PARA

For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Jesus Christ gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen!

The problem of man’s sin has been dealt with by means of God providing a substitute.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NASB95PARA

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

But how does a person appropriate this gracious offering of God? He does so by faith. For the righteous shall live by faith.

That is the basics of the Gospel that Paul had presented to the Galatians when he and Barnabas founded the churches in their region. But some people came from Jerusalem to Galatia and were trying to agitate the believers there by contending that the gospel Paul preached was not the full gospel. Yes, Jesus is the Messiah, and He did die in order to pay the penalty for the sins of God’s people. But in order for you to become God’s people, you not only have to believe the message about Christ, but you have to convert to Judaism.

These men attacked Paul apostleship, his message, and the origins of his message. Ultimately they contended that Paul had been trained by Peter or one of the other apostles and had receive his message from them. And that either they were all wrong, or that Paul had perverted the message he had been trained in.

Today, as we continue in our journey through the Book of Galatians, we will begin to look at the body of this text. We will look at Paul’s thesis regarding the origins of the gospel message which he presented to the Galatians, and then we will look at how he begins to unpack his thesis.

First, let’s read together. As we read it pay particularly close attention to his thesis in verses 11-12, and then to his lack of availability to the apostles in Jerusalem, which is the point of the biographical information found in verses 13-24.

THE THESIS

The first important thesis that Paul makes in the book of Galatians is found in . In this thesis Paul makes three negative statements about the origins of the gospel, followed by one positive statement.

Negative Statements:

Not of Human Origin

Not Received from Man

Not Taught to Me by Man

Positive Statement:

1. Received by a Revelation of Christ

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 10: Romans through Galatians A. Thesis: Paul’s Gospel Feceived Directly from God (1:11, 12)

The revelation of the Christian gospel to Paul, an unexpected unfolding of what had been secret, was a distinctive experience, paralleled only by the experience of those who were apostles before him. It can never be ours. Nevertheless, the gospel that was the product of that experience is unique and is ours; in fact, it is ours precisely because its source was not Paul but God himself. And Christians value it properly only when they make it an integral part of their lives and share it with others.

THE OPPORTUNITY

No Opportunity to Learn the Gospel Before Conversion (vs. 13-14)

No Opportunity to Learn the Gospel Immediately After Conversion (vs. 15-17)

Not in Jerusalem Long Enough to be Trained in the Gospel (vs. 18-20)

THE DIVINE PURPOSE OF GOD

Let’s look again at verses 15-16 and focus on God’s divine purpose in regards to Paul. Notice three things that he emphasized:

Three Things

1. God set Paul apart from the womb – the emphasis is on God’s grace in electing Paul to salvation and to apostleship

Jeremiah 1:5 NASB95PARA

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

2. God called Paul by grace – conversion

3. God revealed His Son in Paul –

a. For the purpose of preaching Christ among the Gentiles

b. God purposes for us to proclaim the message of the gospel to those who are lost as well

OUR AVAILABILITY

We are not apostles — we need to be taught by the means of human agency

We need to make ourselves available to be taught. Do we?

We need to share the things that we are taught with others. Are we?