Galatians 1:12
For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Truth to Learn
The gospel message which Paul so faithfully preached came from God, not from man.
Meaning Explained
Paul now informs the Galatian Christians that the truth of the gospel that he has been preaching did not come from another man, he was not taught the gospel by someone else but by direct revelation from Jesus Christ. It is true that Paul learned Judaism from someone else. He was, in fact, a student of the famed Rabbi Gamaliel, one of the greatest teachers in Judaism of his day, as he told the Jews in the
I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today. (Acts 22:3)
It may be argued that Paul was taught by Ananias who laid his hands on Paul to give him back his sight after having encountered the Lord in the road to
Then he said, “The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth.” (Acts 22:14)
In the same 22nd chapter of Acts, as Paul continued to testify to the Jews in the
Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance and saw Him saying to me, “Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.”’
So I said, “Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.”
Then He said to me, “Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.” (Acts 22:17-20)
Later on in this part of Galatians Paul will explain how he spent several years in Arabia. It was possibly during this time that Christ appeared to him again and taught him the truths that he was to communicate to the world.
The point is that neither did Paul make-up his own gospel message nor did he declare a message taught to him by another man, and he certainly didn’t declare a message from an angel of heaven. Paul proclaimed God’s message to the world and we are to proclaim God’s message to the world today.
Application
Our words and actions declare what we truly believe. What message do others get from you? Is it a worldly message, a message of man, or God’s message?
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2007 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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