A Man Sent From God
Galatians 1:11-24
Intro.
* Every once in a while, God finds him a man who is unwilling to be like everyone else.
* God finds him a person who has the courage to stand up and to stand out.
* God finds him an Abraham, an Elijah, a David, or a Daniel
* Too many of us are satisfied to be like some other well-known Christian.
* We are unwilling or too afraid to step out and cut a new path through the forest of our times.
(From W. Wiersbe… 3 statements) -
1) Emerson wrote – "Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.”
2) The English art critic John Ruskin said, “I fear uniformity. You cannot manufacture great men any more than you can manufacture gold.”
3) The German philosopher Schopenhauer wrote, “We forfeit three-fourths of ourselves in order to be like other people.”
Joke - Failing Eyesight
I read of an older lady who was expecting a gentleman friend to call on
her later in the day. She was nervous because her eyesight was failing and was afraid her friend might reject her because she was less than perfect. So, she came up with a plan to prove to him that she could see perfectly.
She put a straight pin in a tree that was about 200 feet from her front porch.
When her friend arrived, they sat in the porch swing and were talking when she suddenly stopped the conversation and asked, "Is that a pin sticking in that tree?"
Her friend squinted his eyes and said, "I don’t see a thing."
"Well, I’m going to go see," she said as she jumped up, ran toward the tree, and collided with a cow.
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* It is amazing what we will do to be like other people.
* Paul was a unique servant of God.
* None of us could ever be like him in dedication, fervor, or compassion for people.
* I believe much of the reason Paul was such great an example and such an effective minister, is because of the experiences he had with God.
- He was blinded by his first encounter with Jesus.
- He saw things no other human has ever seen… caught up into the third heaven
- Because of the abundance of the revelations, he was given a thorn in the flesh.
* Here in Galatians, we see the uniqueness of Paul and his message.
I. The message v. 11-12
A. Negatively v. 11-12b
1. The message was not man-made v. 11
* NIV – "not something that man made up"
* It wasn’t the brain child of Paul.
* He didn’t dream it up
* Not a human invention
* Not manufactured by man
* Not a device or invented story of man’s brain;
2. The message was not received from man v. 12a
* Not from Gamaliel, at whose feet he was brought up;
-- he received the law from him, and knowledge of the Jews’ religion
and the traditions of the elders, BUT not one iota of the Gospel;
* Not handed down like traditional teaching
* Ordinary ministers receive their call to preach the gospel by the mediation of others,
* There was no superior or Pope to lay hands on Paul and pass on their authority to him.
3. The message was not taught by man v. 12b
* He did not learn it of men, as men learn law, physics, philosophy, and other things at school
* It wasn’t a seminary degree that gave Paul the gospel.
* Human nature could never have revealed it to him
* There was no human training involved.
* There was no human instructor that taught Paul the gospel.
* There was no University of Tarsus that taught Paul the gospel.
* It was not by information from others, but by revelation from heaven
B. Positively v. 12c
1. The message originated with God
* Paul’s message and ministry had divine origin.
* The gospel wasn’t man’s idea, it was God’s from the beginning of time.
- Man’s idea is to earn your way by doing something. God’s way- different
2. The message came through God’s Son
* Paul received the Gospel from Jesus
* Both Paul’s message and ministry were given to him from God.
* Paul’s knowledge of the gospel and his authority to preach it came from Jesus himself.
* Paul had heard Stephen preach as he held his clothes and Paul had personal contacts with Ananias and Barnabas, but he was not indebted to them for his knowledge of the gospel.
* It was by revelation of Jesus himself.
II. The man v. 13-24
A. Paul’s life before conversion v. 13-14
1) Spiteful persecutor of Christians v. 13
* "kata huperbole" – literally – "down, exceedingly, beyond measure" (way down)
* Paul beat them down… hated them,… persecuted them,…drove them from home
* Act 26:9-11 I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. (10) Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. (11) And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.
Act 8:1-3 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. (2) And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. (3) As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
2) Superior to his peers v. 14a
* Paul wasn’t satisfied to be average,…he had to be at the top of his class.
* Above and beyond what others were doing.
* Paul had a greater amount of zeal than his peers.
* With his sharp mind and fiery zeal, Paul quickly rose to the top.
* He was indeed a Pharisee of the Pharisees.
3) Successful by worldly standards v. 14b
* Paul was climbing the religious ladder of success.
* Prestige, power, influence, pride were of utmost importance to Paul.
* Before his conversion, Paul wanted to reach the top.
* He longed for the applause of man
* He had reputation and recognition and he lived for it! … he longed for it.
B. Paul’s conversion experience v. 15-16b
1) Divine initiation v. 15a
* When and where does conversion start?
* v. 15a "But when it pleased God,…"
* God is the initiator (timing) begins with God
* Not say " When I got ready…" or " When Paul decided…"
* "When it pleased God,…"
* Paul wasn’t looking for Jesus, Jesus was looking for Paul.
* Paul wasn’t running to God, he was running from and fighting against God
* God is the initiator of conversion… He begins the process.
* 1John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.
* John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
* God’s love to us is prior to our love to him
* His love is the incentive and cause of our love for Him.
* Paul says, " I was on my way to hell and Jesus stopped me in my tracks"
* Note- It was a time when Paul seemed least likely to respond to the Gospel.
* You came to God because God came and knocked on your hearts door.
2) Divine origination v. 15a-b
v. 15a-b "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb"
* Paul goes back to the time of his birth.
* God is the source of Salvation.
* Paul’s conversion originated with God
* Reminds us of Jeremiah 1:4-10
Jer 1:4-10 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (5) Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. (6) Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. (7) But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. (8) Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. (9) Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. (10) See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
* Anytime Paul spoke of his conversion he emphasized the fact that God did it.
* Without the Divine, there is no salvation.
* Apart from God and His grace, man is without the hope of ever being saved.
3) Divine motivation v. 15c
v. 15c "…and called me by his grace,"
* Grace is the reason v. 15c God was motivated by grace
? What motivated God to save Paul?
* It wasn’t because he was less sinful than others.
* There was nothing in his background that motivated God to save Paul.
* It wasn’t his education, heritage, or economic status that motivated God
* It was grace!!!
* hymn = "Nothing good have I done to deserve even one"
* Not because we are good people that God saves us.
* Not because we are Americans
* Not because we are responsible providers of our families
* Not even because we are people of character.
* It’s undeserved!...It’s unmerited… It’s GRACE !
* Salvation is not the result of man’s efforts or man’s works,… it’s GRACE
4) Divine revelation v. 16a
"reveal" – lit. – "to take off the cover,… to disclose,… to unveil or reveal
BKC = "God was pleased to reveal His Son in Paul. Blinded as he had been to the deity of Jesus Christ and thinking that the Nazarene was a fraud, God gave Paul an outward vision of Christ on the Damascus Road and later an inner revelation concerning the full significance of the person and work of the Savior. The purpose of this revelation was that Paul might preach Him among the Gentiles.
* There is no salvation until we have an encounter with Jesus Christ.
* There is salvation in none other.
* Not until we see Jesus with the eyes of our heart as the one who is high and lifted up as our substitute, can we be saved.
* God reveals our sin to us ( shows us how lost we are ) and then He reveals His Son as our Saviour.
* Paul had revelation of Jesus, other Christians didn’t have.
* At Paul’s conversion, God said He would appear to him in the future (Act_26:16) apparently for the purpose of revealing His truths to him
Act 26:14-16 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. (15) And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. (16) But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
* The Apostle Peter even calls Paul’s letters “Scripture” (2Pe_3:15-16).
2Pe 3:14-16 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. (15) And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; (16) As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own destruction.
5) Divine glorification v. 24
* God’s glory is the result of salvation.
* They didn’t glorify Paul, but God in Paul.
C. Paul’s seclusion after conversion v. 16b-23
* To convince Paul’s readers that the origin of his message was apart from man, Paul gives a brief chronology of the events of his life immediately after salvation.
* He emphasizes the lack of contact with the Apostles, Peter and James… leaders of the church.
* The logical thing for Paul to do was to go join himself with the Apostles, ( men who had been taught by the Master personally) but Paul didn’t do that.
1) It was deliberate v. 16b-18
a) Arabia b) Damascus c) Jerusalem (15 days) d) Tarsus
* Paul spent 3 years in Arabia and Damascus, not immediately into Jerusalem.
* BKC = "It is doubtful that he went there to evangelize but rather to be away from men and alone with the Lord for personal study, meditation, and to receive further revelation."
* Note – The other Apostles spent about 3 years with Jesus as their teacher, Paul affords himself the same amount of time.
Wiersbe – " At this point we need to remind ourselves that the message of the Gospel came “to the Jew first” (Act_3:26; Rom_1:16). Our Lord’s ministry was to the nation of Israel, and so was the ministry of the Apostles for the first few years (see Acts 1-7). The death of Stephen was a turning point. As the believers were scattered, they took the Good News with them to other places (Act_8:4; Act_11:19). Philip took the message to the Samaritans (Acts 8), and then God directed Peter to introduce it to the Gentiles (Acts 10). However, it remained for Paul to carry the Gospel to the Gentile masses (Act_22:21-22; Eph_3:1, Eph_3:8), and for this reason God kept him separated from the predominantly Jewish ministry being conducted by the Apostles in Jerusalem."
* So neither Paul’s message nor his Apostolic calling came from the Apostles.
* The gospel Paul preached was not a new and modified version of a message Paul had heard preached by others.
* Paul was uniquely and distinctly called out by Jesus to have a ministry to the Gentiles primarily.
2) It was definite v. 20
* God was Paul’s witness that he was telling the truth!
* Paul here takes a solemn oath the he speaks the truth.
* There was no falsehood contained in Paul’s words.
Closing
1) Never give up on anyone!
* Paul would have been voted the least likely to become a Christian!
- He would have won that election by a landslide!
* No one hated Christ and Christians more than Paul.
* If God can change Paul’s heart, God can change anyone!
2) Never consider anything but the Gospel of Jesus for salvation.
* Jesus changed Paul’s life.
* It wasn’t a program, … not a plan, … but an encounter with the person of Jesus
Act 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
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