Not from Man, but by Revelation

I told the Galatians plainly what was at stake: "the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:11-12). I say this not to boast but because a false gospel had crept in among them, and everything hangs on where the true one came from. If I invented it, you may weigh it and set it aside. But I did not invent it. It was given to me by the risen Lord himself.

Consider who I was when he gave it. I "persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it," and I "was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age" (Galatians 1:13-14). No one was further from grace, more zealous against Christ, less likely to be won. That is the point. I did not climb my way to God by my law-keeping — I was running the other direction as hard as I could. Grace ran me down.

And hear how I speak of it: God "set me apart before I was born, and... called me by his grace" and "was pleased to reveal his Son to me" (Galatians 1:15-16). Before I drew breath he had marked me out. My rescue was not my achievement but his good pleasure, older than my birth, aimed at his own glory. So it is with everyone he saves. If you are in Christ today, you did not stumble into him by accident; you were sought, named, and called by grace.

Notice too what I did next — or rather, what I did not do. "I did not immediately consult with anyone" (Galatians 1:16). I went away, and only later, after three years, did I see Cephas and James (Galatians 1:18-19). I do not tell you this to hold myself above the other apostles, but to show that the gospel I preach did not pass to me through a chain of men who might have altered it. It came straight from Christ, and it agreed with theirs, because it is one gospel.

And here is where it lands. The churches of Judea "glorified God because of me" (Galatians 1:24). They had never seen my face; they only heard, "He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy" (Galatians 1:23). Their eyes did not go to me but to the God who could do such a thing. So let your eyes go there now. If he could take the chief of persecutors and make him a preacher, there is no one so far gone that grace cannot reach, and no gospel worth trusting but the one that comes down from heaven, freely, in Jesus Christ. Guard it. It is not mine to change, nor yours — it is his, and it is enough.

Grace and peace to you.