Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Discipleship: Calling for Christ Experience
Galatians 1:11-17
Vs 11-12: “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.”
Vs 11-12: “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.”
In today’s bible portion from the book of Galatians 1: 11-17, Paul refutes the false teachers that have crept into the church and defends his apostleship, focusing on the truth of the gospel and the transformation of his own life. Galatians is about being Fooled. Being Misled. Misled into thinking Jesus is not enough, and that you need the law too. As we navigate through this book we see that the church had heard the gospel message of Jesus and was saved, through faith, but later pressure sets in from the religious elites, and Paul is addressing it. It’s no different today. We go to church, we heard the gospel, we believe and get saved just as we are by faith, and then religion kicks in as people start telling you that you need to do more and try harder so you will be okay with God.
In Galatians 1, we read of a man who made a drastic change in his faith: The Apostle Paul. Paul does not hold himself up as an example of repentance in this text. Instead, Paul makes a vitally important point: “The one gospel is from God.” Paul, says, he left Judaism because the gospel is from God.
In verses 11-12, Paul says the gospel he preached was not according to man. In Paul’s day, there were many gospels according to man. There were the scribes and Pharisees who added many things to the Law God Himself did not add. There were the Judaizers who insisted on Gentiles’ being circumcised and keeping the Law of Moses. But the gospel Paul is preaching is “not according to man.” Paul was not taught the gospel but received the gospel through the revelation of Jesus Christ
In verses 13-14, Paul discusses his former life in Judaism. He was a great persecutor of the church. He advanced in Judaism beyond many of his own contemporaries. Paul reminds the reader that before his conversion he had hated and sought to destroy the church, but that God had graciously saved him and called him to preach the gospel. Paul is an example of a transformed life.
In verses 15-17, Paul makes some vital points about the one gospel that is from God. God separated and called Paul. The work of calling Paul into ministry and revealing Jesus Christ to him was not the work of man. Paul did not immediately confer with flesh and blood. He didn’t talk this over with man. Paul did not go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles Paul is saying, “What I preach is from God, not man.”
To those reading this passage today, I urge you also to look back at your life. We can for sure say that we made some pretty significant mistakes and some bad decisions. Like when Paul reflected back on his story, he could see himself for who he was, Can you also see yourself for who you were, and can you identify how the gospel has changed you?. Like Paul, we too are called to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, bringing glory to God as we live transformed lives as a witness to those around us. We learn from this scripture portion that the Bible is of divine origin, and we should not be angry when someone preaches truth from Scripture. We also learn that God created each one of us and he knows us well and that God’s way is the best. Finally, we need to throw off every man-made tradition for the one gospel which is from God.
In Galatians 1, we read of a man who made a drastic change in his faith: The Apostle Paul. Paul does not hold himself up as an example of repentance in this text. Instead, Paul makes a vitally important point: “The one gospel is from God.” Paul, says, he left Judaism because the gospel is from God.
In verses 11-12, Paul says the gospel he preached was not according to man. In Paul’s day, there were many gospels according to man. There were the scribes and Pharisees who added many things to the Law God Himself did not add. There were the Judaizers who insisted on Gentiles’ being circumcised and keeping the Law of Moses. But the gospel Paul is preaching is “not according to man.” Paul was not taught the gospel but received the gospel through the revelation of Jesus Christ
In verses 13-14, Paul discusses his former life in Judaism. He was a great persecutor of the church. He advanced in Judaism beyond many of his own contemporaries. Paul reminds the reader that before his conversion he had hated and sought to destroy the church, but that God had graciously saved him and called him to preach the gospel. Paul is an example of a transformed life.
In verses 15-17, Paul makes some vital points about the one gospel that is from God. God separated and called Paul. The work of calling Paul into ministry and revealing Jesus Christ to him was not the work of man. Paul did not immediately confer with flesh and blood. He didn’t talk this over with man. Paul did not go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles Paul is saying, “What I preach is from God, not man.”
To those reading this passage today, I urge you also to look back at your life. We can for sure say that we made some pretty significant mistakes and some bad decisions. Like when Paul reflected back on his story, he could see himself for who he was, Can you also see yourself for who you were, and can you identify how the gospel has changed you?. Like Paul, we too are called to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, bringing glory to God as we live transformed lives as a witness to those around us. We learn from this scripture portion that the Bible is of divine origin, and we should not be angry when someone preaches truth from Scripture. We also learn that God created each one of us and he knows us well and that God’s way is the best. Finally, we need to throw off every man-made tradition for the one gospel which is from God.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, as we read Paul’s story and we saw the before and after of his life, I pray that it will build in us the confidence to use our life for the glory of your name and to reflect on what you have saved each one of us from and transformed our lives into. We bring our prayers to You with confidence, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen
Anitha Prince
The Marthoma Church of Staten Island
The Marthoma Church of Staten Island