A Revelation of Jesus Christ

Galatians 1:11-12

“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.”

How often have you listened to a speech or a sermon and wondered, are those the speaker’s thoughts, or did they plagiarize and want the audience to believe it was their thoughts or words?  Now as one who finds joy in putting words on paper, it is impossible to not plagiarize to some degree, in that most of our information comes from someone other than ourselves; like a teacher who you no longer recall the person, but their thoughts have been sealed in your mind, or it may have been words that your granddad or dad have built into your life.  It may be from a book, and you no-longer recall the author but that phrase or thought has become part of who you are.  Yes, this writer is a composite of so many people who have poured both good and bad into my life, and I often share those thoughts with you, not willingly plagiarizing, just not recalling where they came from.

So when the apostle Paul states; “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.”  It’s time to begin looking deep into this man’s life, who was he before his confrontation with Jesus Christ?  Galatians 1:14, gives us a very clear picture of the young man Saul, “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.”  I have often make this statement, the endgame of religion is death, someone shared that thought in a sermon, and it is a true and powerful statement.  When we look at this very religious man named Saul, he is holding the garments of the people who stoned Stephen, and we are told that Saul approved of his execution.  In Acts 8:3, we have this account of the religious Saul; “But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”  But Saul, who later became the apostle Paul, gives this testimony in Acts 22:3-5, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.”

So Paul has a lot of baggage, he had a great teacher, he’s very smart, and he by his own words is zealous for God, and he believes Jesus and His followers need to be removed from planet earth.  And you can read his account in Acts 22 of his encounter with the risen Christ, and then return to Galatians 1:15-22, “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; 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.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice