Galatians 1:11-24 – The transforming Gospel

Paul began in verses 11 and 12 to make the assertion that the Gospel he preached did not originate from man. Here, he made three statements to support what he said. First, he said, “…it was not according to man.”  He meant that the Gospel was not a conjecture of his mind. He did not invent it. Therefore it was not according to man. Secondly, he did not receive it from man, that is, it was not passed down to him like an ancestral tradition. Thirdly, it was not taught to him by man. He was essentially saying that he was not taught the Gospel by any of the apostles before him.

In verse 12, he then made it clear where the Gospel came from; it was “… through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” And when we come to verses 15-16 about his conversion and call, he said, “… God, Who had set me apart … called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles ….”  Again he wanted the believers to know that the Gospel he preached was a revelation from God.

In saying what he said, Paul’s message was about the Lord Himself. And it was the Lord Who Himself personally gave this revelation to Paul. Although he must have already heard about Jesus Christ, he was not convinced that He was the Jews’ long awaited Messiah. But at his conversion, the light of God shone through and Christ revealed Himself in and to him. The purpose was for him to bring the message to the Gentiles.

From three key phases of his life, Paul substantiated all that he was saying: firstly, verses 13-14 describe his life prior to his conversion. He was a well-known radical, fanatical Judaist. His whole mission was to try and annihilate the church, so he persecuted it severely. So extremely zealous was he in Judaism that he was way ahead of many of his contemporaries in his ancestral traditions. At that point, Paul was not only wholeheartedly devoted to the traditions of Judaism but also the destruction of the church.

Secondly, he talked about his encounter with Christ. The conjunction “But” in verse 15 provided the contrast of intention. Paul was bent on advancing Judaism and annihilating the church. However, God Who had chosen him before he was born, revealed Christ in him, called and commissioned him to preach to the Gentiles.

Finally, he recounted what happened following his encounter with Christ in verses 16b-24. This is the third phase of his life. Immediately after his encounter with Christ, he did not consult with anyone. But he went away to Arabia and returned to Damascus later. He stayed in Arabia for three years before making a brief visit to Jerusalem where he met Peter for a brief 15 days. The other person he met was James, the Lord’s brother. After that he went off to Syria and Cilicia. During this time, although the churches in Judea did not even know how he looked like, the report that he was preaching about Christ was circulating in those churches. And the believers glorified God because of what was happening. These three phases of Paul’s life attested to the divine source of his message. His life was revolutionized by the revelation and it brought glory to God.  

All of us who have a relationship with Christ could only see Him because He lifted the veil to show us Who He is.  It’s His invitation to step into His program to have a transformed life. The goal of God is this: that through each of our changed lives, He will be glorified. Let’s step in and step up!