Canada is presently in a fierce diplomatic fight with Saudi Arabia. The government’s confrontation over several human rights issues has resulted in Saudi Arabia, to cut off diplomatic ties, withdraw students and begin a trade war. Critics say that this conflict is over the issue of Saudi Arabia being able to “save face” with their citizens that caused them to take such drastic action. Ego can indeed be a destructive thing. Internationally, countries have gone to war over words. The ability to save face, has diverted many conflicts. Ego can prevent conversation, put barriers up between people and prevent the meaningful exchange of ideas.
Paul’s fight over truth recorded in the book of Galatians seems to come to a head over the issue of ego. It is an avenue that the false teaching Judaizers attack Paul, and an issue that he has to work though his background and put the issue squarely back to truth. After his harsh words to the false teachers who were trying to spoil the gospel by mixing human performance with Christ’s merits, Paul changes to a warm and winsome tone directed to the congregation members whom he is trying to hearten and encourage in the truth. Speaking to them as “brothers,” he takes up the matter of his relationship to the message he bears. He points out to them at once that it is not his own message. In fact, it’s not a human message at all—it’s a divine message. It’s God’s Word. (Panning, A. J. (1997). Galatians, Ephesians (p. 23). Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Pub. House.)
For each of us, it can be difficult to distinguish ourselves from our message. How tightly we cling to our own ego has a tremendous implication for what we aim for. Are we going to do everything in our power for as many people to like us personally, or is truth something to make a line in the sand for, regardless of the consequences.
In Galatians 1:10–12 the Apostle Paul shows presenting the Gospel is not about 1) Pleasing People (Galatians 1:10); 2) A Human Centered Message (Galatians 1:11); nor a 3) A Human Devised Message(Galatians 1:12a), but a 4) Christ Centered Message (Galatians 1:12b).
First, the Gospel is Not About:
1) Pleasing People. (Galatians 1:10)
Galatians 1:10 [10]For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. (ESV)
Paul now begins to elaborate the point the made in verse 1, namely, that the gospel is not “from men” but from God. It is not designed to please men, as if God had to cajole and entice them to believe. It is “the gospel of God” (Rom. 1:1), designed to promote the glory of God and of his Christ (Edgar H. Andrews. Free in Christ: The message of Galatians. Evangelical Press. 1996. p. 28)
Gar (for) has numerous meanings, which are largely determined by context. It can also be translated “because,” “yes, indeed,” “certainly,” “what,” and “why.” It can also sometimes mean “there,” which is a helpful rendering in this verse. “There,” he is saying, referring back to the strong anathemas of the previous two verses, “does that sound like I am a people pleaser? Paul’s pronouncing a curse on men (v. 9) does not fit with the accusations of the Judaizers against him. Rather, it unquestionably seeks to honor God, whose truth was being perverted.
• PEOPLE-PLEASER OR SERVANT OF CHRIST? Which are we? People-pleasers have an inordinate desire to please other people; servants of Christ have an all-consuming passion to please God. People-pleasers are motivated by the fear of man; servants of Christ are inspired by the fear of God. People-pleasers pretend to serve God when they really intend to serve themselves; servants of Christ actually intend to serve God by meeting the needs of other people. People-pleasers are anxious for approval from others and distraught when they don’t get it; servants of Christ simply love others and leave approval or disapproval to the judgment of God. So which are we? People-pleasers or servants of Christ? (Wilson, T. (2013). Galatians: Gospel-Rooted Living. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 35). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.)
Paul asks: “Am I now seeking the approval/favor of man, or of God? Or am I striving to please man?” The expression “striving to please man/win the approval of people” translates the Greek word peitheo [3982, 4275] (persuade), which was associated with a rhetorical strategy that was viewed negatively by many ancients as a contorted and deceptive manner of speaking (Betz 1979: 54–55). Calling Paul a people-pleaser would be to say that Paul was an insincere flatterer, but Paul completely denied using such manipulative tactics. As a servant of Christ, he was determined to follow Christ’s example of humility (cf. 2:20; 5:24; 6:2).( Mohrlang, R., Gerald L. Borchert. (2007). Cornerstone biblical commentary, Vol 14: Romans and Galatians (p. 264). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.)
As he said to the Thessalonians:
1 Thessalonians 2:4 [4]but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. (ESV)
Paul now notes that: “If I were still trying to please men” which refers to the days when he did seek to please his fellow Jews by zealously persecuting Christians, assuming he was being faithful to God while concentrating his effort on favoring traditional Judaism. But in light of what he taught and the way he had lived since his conversion, the idea that he was still trying to please men was preposterous. If that were true, he would not be a (bond)-servant of Christ. He had surrendered his life entirely to the lordship of Jesus Christ, and that surrender had cost him dearly in human terms. The word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. (Biblical Studies Press. (2001; 2002). The NET Bible Notes (Ga 1:10). Biblical Studies Press.)
Paul elevates the word (bond)-servant (Doulos) by using it in its Hebrew sense to describe a servant who willingly commits themselves to serve a master they love and respect (Ex 21:5, 6; Gal 1:10; Tit 1:1; cf. Ge 26:24; Nu 12:7; 2Sa 7:5; Is 53:11). (MacArthur, J. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible : New American Standard Bible. (Ro 1:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.) For a Jew, this concept did not connote drudgery, but honor and privilege. (Biblical Studies Press. (2001; 2002). The NET Bible Notes (Ga 1:10). Biblical Studies Press.) The challenge is that people are by nature, people pleasers and not martyrs. The desire to escape ridicule and trouble is a human hallmarks. Pleasing others does not bring the severe persecution Paul endured and is totally incompatible with being a bond-servant of Christ.
• Think about this in the perspective of your presentation of the Gospel. When was the last time you openly faced ridicule in witnessing for Christ? If it is not easily recalled, you may be more concerned with pleasing others than God.
Ironically, it was Paul’s Jewish accusers who were people pleasers. It was “to make a good showing in the flesh” that they tried “to compel [Gentile believers] to be circumcised,” for the very purpose of not being “persecuted for the cross of Christ” (Gal. 6:12).
Quote: On the current trend to first seek the approval of others, Timothy George described it like this: “In a market-driven age we are accustomed to think of every church having a special niche, of every visitor as a prospective customer, and every aspect of worship designed to satisfy the consumers. Paul was reminding the Galatians that the gospel was not a product to be peddled on the marketplace of life. It has no need of shrewd salesmen to make it more palatable to modern tastes. The gospel has its own self-generating, dynamic authority and need not be propped up by artificial means, however sophisticated or alluring. One day every person called to the ministry of the word of God must give an account for the stewardship of that office. On that day we will either be “disqualified for the prize” or hear those coveted words, “Well done, faithful servant.” God, not any human audience, is our true constituency”. (George, T. (2001, c1994). Vol. 30: Galatians (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (101). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Please turn to 1 Corinthians. 10
In looking at the life of Paul, it is easy to become confused and think that at times he did seem to be a people pleaser. Context is the key. Paul could be remarkably flexible and tolerant about many things. He agreed for Timothy to be circumcised; he submitted to the purification rites for entering the temple at Jerusalem; he even rejoiced when certain rival missionaries preached Christ out of envy and ambition while he sat in chains (Acts 16:2–5; 21:26; Phil 1:15–18). He was willing, if not always happy, to make such adjustments and concessions whenever the missionary situation required that kind of flexibility so long as the foundational principles of the gospel were not being compromised. When that did occur, however, he was adamantine in his resistance—not budging an inch in his dispute with the false brothers, opposing Peter to his face in a painful confrontation (Gal 2:5, 11–14). (George, T. (2001, c1994). Vol. 30: Galatians (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (101). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers).
1 Corinthians 10 puts the balance in perspective:
1 Corinthians 10:31-33 [31]So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. [32]Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, [33]just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. (ESV)
• The ultimate aim is to glorify God. If personal pride and ego must be sacrificed for the sake of the Gospel, so be it. We are to seek the welfare of others that they may be saved. Yet, never at the expense of the truth of the Gospel.
Illustration: Approval
A young man once studied violin under a world-renowned master. Eventually the time came for the student’s first recital. Following each selection, despite the cheers of the crowd, the performer seemed dissatisfied. Even after the last number, with the shouts louder than ever, the talented violinist stood watching an old man in the balcony. Finally the elderly one smiled and nodded in approval. Immediately the young man relaxed and beamed with happiness. You see, the man in the balcony was his teacher, and thus the applause of the crowd had meant nothing to him until he had first won the hearty approval of his master. (Michael P. Green. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching. Includes indexes. (24). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.)
• If we live our lives for the approval of others, be it our spouse, boss or friends, then they become our idol. If our ultimate aim is the honor of Christ, then that is Godly worship.
The Gospel is Not About: 1) Pleasing People. (Galatians 1:10) nor is it:
2) A Human Centered Message (Galatians 1:11)
Galatians 1:11 [11]For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. (ESV).
Paul begins here saying: “I would have you know” which is from gnorizo, a strong Greek verb that means to make known with certainty, to certify. In vernacular English the phrase could be rendered, “Let me make it perfectly clear.” “The gospel I preach,” he said, “is not human either in nature or in authority. Paul did not invent it or alter it, nor did any one else. Its message is completely divine in origin, without any mixture of human wisdom whatever.” The Gospel exemplified here by Paul, is the standard by which all false human theories of salvation are measured and condemned. False gospels are designed to please human pride. They have their origin in human reasoning, and driven by human desires. (Edgar H. Andrews. Free in Christ: The message of Galatians. Evangelical Press. 1996. p. 29)
Had Paul proclaimed a gospel that was man’s gospel/according to man, it would have been permeated by works righteousness, as is every humanly devised system of religion. Human sinful pride is offended by the idea that only God’s mercy and grace can save him from sin, and humans therefore insists on having a part in their own salvation. This comes in many forms: From taking pride in deciding to follow Christ, in what is perceived as righteous works that God must be impressed with, or the avoidance of actions that they see others sinners doing.
The very fact that Paul preached a message of salvation in which works play absolutely no part was itself evidence that his message was from God and not … man.
• Lest you think that righteous actions are enough, that you evangelize by your lifestyle, the gospel must be presented by words. The preaching here is heralding. It is verbally proclaiming God’s standards, Christ’s fully satisfying actions, and the call to repentance and faith.
Think about the implication of verses 10 & 11 on not centering a message on human means and human pleasure:
• Much of church growth philosophy centers on a “market” approach, discovering what people want. If our ultimate desire is to please people, our packaging of the gospel may take priority over the content. If our message is human centered for meeting felt needs, then we lose the essence of the gospel in repentance of sin and faith in the finished work of Christ alone for eternal life.
Quote: On the content of Preaching, Martin Luther said this: “If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition, every portion of the word of God except precisely that little point which the world and the Devil are at that point attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is tested. To be steady in all the battlefields besides is mere flight and disgrace, if the soldier flinches at that one point” (Green, M. P. (1989). Illustrations for Biblical Preaching : Over 1500 sermon illustrations arranged by topic and indexed exhaustively (Revised edition of: The expositor's illustration file). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.).
• The Gospel of Jesus Christ is fundamentally not about us. That fact is a blow to human pride. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news that Christ died according to the foreknowledge and plan of God in order to satisfy the wrath of God to the glory of God. It is good news to us who see that naturally we are under to curse of God and put our faith in Christ who bore that curse for us.
The Gospel is Not About: 1) Pleasing People. (Galatians 1:10); 2) A Human Centered Message (Galatians 1:11) nor is it:
3) A Human Devised Message (Galatians 1:12a)
Galatians 1:12a [12]For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, (but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ). (ESV)
That statement was particularly directed against the Judaizers, who received their religious instruction primarily from rabbinic tradition by means of rote memorization. (Rather than studying the Scriptures directly), most Jews-religious leaders and laymen alike-looked to human interpretations of Scripture as their religious authority and guide. Their theology, moral standards, and ceremonies had roots in God’s revealed Word of the Old Testament, but the biblical truths and standards had been so diluted and distorted by human interpretations that the Judaism of New Testament times was largely received … from man and taught according to man’s interpretation.
Please turn to Matthew 15
Although the Scriptures, especially the Torah, or law, were ritually given the highest honor, they were not honored by the people through direct study and sincere obedience. In the eyes of many Jews of that day-just as in the eyes of many professing Christians today-Scripture is a religious relic that deserved superficial reverence but not serious study or obedience. The religious ideas they took seriously and attempted to live by were the man-made traditions related to their unique community culture that had accumulated over the previous several hundred years. Many of the traditions not only were not taught in Scripture but contradicted Scripture.
This is what Jesus taught when he said:
Matthew 15:5-6 [5]But you say, 'If anyone tells his father or his mother, "What you would have gained from me is given to God," [6]he need not honor his father.' So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. (ESV)
• The danger today is that tradition or common practice is the first guide to behavior. Allow me to give you a very controversial example. The common practice in most western countries is to ban capital punishment.
But Paul’s teaching and preaching had no such human basis. Neither translates oude, which is here used emphatically, meaning “not even.” The idea is, “Not even I who might so readily have been taught by men was so taught.” Although he had been highly trained in rabbinic schools and was “a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of [Jewish] religion” (Acts 26:5; cf. 23:6), he had discarded every unscriptural notion he had learned in that man-made religious system. No Jew had more reason than Paul to boast in his accomplishments in Judaism; but everything he had accomplished in the flesh before receiving Christ he counted “as rubbish” (Phil. 3:4–8), and even the elements of the story of Christ that he knew prior to his conversion were shallow and empty because of his unbelief.
• We must be continually checking our thought patterns, assumptions, what we read and hear against the word of God.
What Paul now believed and preached he neither received … from man, nor was … taught by man. There was no human source for Paul’s message. The gospel was not invented by people nor transmitted to him by any human being. This response no doubt reflects another of the Judaizers’ accusations against Paul, namely, that he had been taught his doctrine by the apostles in Jerusalem, who had also abandoned Judaism. Paul received his knowledge by special revelation (1 Cor. 11:23; 15:3; Eph. 3:3; 1 Thess. 4:15). Paul was thus an independent witness to the gospel; and although he had received no instructions directly from the apostles but only from the Holy Spirit, his teachings agreed with theirs. (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version (Ga 1:11–12). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.)
Quote: On the nature of a man centered-gospel, Richard Neibuhr said described it as: “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a Cross” (H. Richard Niebuhr, The Kingdom of God in America [New York: Harper & Row, 1959], p. 193).
• A human devised and centered message has no relevance or solution to a Christ needed rescue.
The Gospel is not about 1) Pleasing People; 2) A Human Centered Message; 3) A Human Devised Message, but a
4) Christ Centered Message. (Galatians 1:12b)
Galatians 1:12b [12] (For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it,) but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (ESV)
The gospel Paul preached and taught was neither a human invention nor a human tradition, but was given to him directly by God through a revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 11:23; 15:3-4). Revelation is from apokalupsis and means an unveiling of something previously secret. Jesus Christ is best understood as the object of that very revelation. It was not that he had no previous knowledge of Jesus. It was for the very reason that he did know something of Him and His work that he had fiercely persecuted those who believed in Him. He obviously had known that Christians believed Jesus was the Son of God and the promised Messiah of the Old Testament, because it was for those claims that Jesus was most criticized and eventually crucified (Luke 23:2, 35; John 5:18; 10:30). Paul had known that Christians believed Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. He also knew that Jesus not only dispensed with the rabbinic traditions but even fulfilled the ceremonial laws of Moses. Before his conversion Paul could have accurately stated many of the central teachings of the gospel. But he did not believe those teachings were true and thus had no grasp of their spiritual meaning and significance. Why accept a letter that is two thousand years old as authoritative for what we believe and how we ought to live? The answer is that Paul was commissioned as an apostle by Christ himself. The New Testament does not claim to be simply another religious book. About eighteen times it uses the word ‘revelation’ (?p????????), which is found in verse 12. The gospel of Christ crucified and risen is not a result of man’s discovery but of God’s revelation.( Barnes, P. (2006). A Study Commentary on Galatians (p. 65). Darlington, England; Webster, New York: Evangelical Press.)
Please turn to John 5
It is not enough for us to know the elements of the Gospel. Satan himself does. We must have the elements of the Gospel as the core of our faith and message.
Jesus said:
John 5:30-39 30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, (ESV)
• As Jesus begin explaining in verse 19, although He is equal to the Father, He and the Father have different functions and roles. He we see how John parades before the reader a multitude of witnesses who bear testimony to Jesus’ true messianic identity and hence establish the world’s guilt in rejecting Jesus. (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2031). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.).
When Paul speaks about the revelation of Jesus Christ, he is saying several things. He is placing his preaching and writing in the same category of revelation as the Old Testament Scriptures which Christ, here in John 5, say speak of him. The gospel that Paul preaches is a revelation of Jesus Christ, he is distinguishing it from the many false gospels of self-improvement, works, social gospel, signs and wonders or ritual.
• The gospel that Paul preaches is a revelation of Jesus Christ, and since the work of Christ is perfect and complete, the Gospel of Him is likewise perfect and complete. It must be only rooted in the perfect completed work of Christ. It cannot take away elements, like Christ’s lordship, nor added to by human works. Likewise, it cannot be changed or improved.
The strength of our faith and message must rest only on the perfect completed work of Christ. Understand this for your assurance of salvation and the yardstick to measure any action both in regards to personal or corporate ministry.
(Format Note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. (1996, c1987). Galatians. Includes indexes. (20). Chicago: Moody Press.)
