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Explore the authenticity of Paul's apostleship and the true source of his gospel in Galatians 1:11-24. Discover how this ties into the message of grace alone, faith alone, and Christ alone.
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GALATIANSTitle: Galatians 1b: Paul’s Apostleship is from GodText: Galatians 1:11-24Galatians 1:11-12 (NIV84)11 I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.By: Pastor Micah Adamson September 24, 2017
Introduction: • The message of the Protestant Reformation can be summed up by 5 “Solas” found in Galatians: • Grace Alone: We are justified by God’s unmerited favor, not be earning it. • Faith Alone: We are justified by trusting God’s grace, not by works of the law. • Christ Alone: We are justified by Jesus’ work of obedience, not our own or anyone else’s. • Scripture Alone: We can find the truth about justification from the Bible as our final authority. • God’s Glory Alone: God is the only one who deserves the credit for saving us.
Summary of Galatians: • Personal - Revelation: God revealed to Paul in the NT that people can only be saved by trusting God’s promise to rescue us from God’s wrath and to make us into God’s people in Christ. • Historical/Theological - Justification: The OT teaches that we can only be justified before God by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (adding our own work to save us denies the gospel). • Practical - Sanctification: And yet, in the New covenant we are sanctified by the Holy Spirit by believing in Jesus and end up obeying God as His children instead of failing to obey as His slaves.
Outline of Galatians: (1 of 3) • Chapter 1-2: Revelation: The Source of the Gospel: it came directly from God (0 OT quotes) • Galatians 1:1-10 Paul's Gospel is from God • Galatians 1:11-24 Paul's Apostleship is from God • Galatians 2:1-10 Paul's Gospel is the same as Peter's Gospel • Galatians 2:11-21 Paul calls Peter to live in light of their shared Gospel (Note: While Galatians 1-2 doesn’t quote from the OT, it does allude to the OT.)
Outline of Galatians: (2 of 3) • Chapter 3-4: Justification: The Content of the Gospel: it’s found in the OT (13 OT quotes) • Galatians 3:1-14 The Old Testament teaches salvation by faith apart from works of the law • Galatians 3:15-29 The Old Testament teaches salvation by promise instead of performance • Galatians 4:1-20 We are saved from being slaves to the law to being Sons of God • Galatians 4:21-31 We are saved by being sons of promise, not sons of slavery
Outline of Galatians: (3 of 3) • Chapter 5-6: Sanctification: The Effects of the Gospel: it changes lives (1 OT quote) • Galatians 5:1-15 Freedom from the slavery of the Law • Galatians 5:16-26 Freedom from the slavery of Sin • Galatians 6:1-10 Resisting sin as Christians • Galatians 6:11-18 Relying on Christ instead of the law
Running Start:Galatians 1:6-10 (NIV84)– Paul's Gospel is from God 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! 10 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Galatians 1:11-24Paul's Apostleship is from God Galatians 1:11-12 (NIV84) 11 I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. • Paul’s gospel is: • Not made up by man = False • Not received from any man, nor taught by any man, but revealed directly by Jesus = True • Paul frequently told the story of his previous life and conversion/call on the Damascus road.
Galatians 1:11-12Paul's Apostleship is from God 2 Peter 1:16 (NIV84) 16 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. • Peter’s gospel is: • Not cleverly invented stories = False • Eyewitnesses of Jesus’ majesty, power, and coming = True • Peter, Paul, and all four gospels, call Peter as an eyewitness to the facts of the gospel.
Galatians 1:11-12Paul's Apostleship is from God • Objection 1: But, isn’t this claim of first hand revelation the same thing that all false prophets claim? • Objection 2: But, doesn’t Paul say that he received his gospel? 1 Corinthians 15:1, 3-5 (NIV84) 1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand…. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 1 Corinthians 15:8 (NIV84) 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
Galatians 1:13-14Paul's Apostleship is from God Galatians 1:13-14 (NIV84) 13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
Galatians 1:15-17Paul's Apostleship is from God Galatians 1:15-17 (NIV84) 15 But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.
Galatians 1:17-24, 2:1bPaul's Apostleship is from God Galatians 1:17-24, 2:1b (NIV84) 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. 18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. 21 Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me. 1 Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas…
Reconstructing/Harmonizing Paul’s travels in Acts and Galatians
Acts 1-5: The beginning of the transmission of the gospel from the Jews to the Gentiles • Acts 1 = Jesus returns to heaven. • Acts 2 = The Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost and Jews and converts to Judaism from all over the Roman world are converted by Peter’s preaching (including people from Turkey around Galatia). • Acts 3-5 = Peter and John (and the other apostles) have a successful preaching and miracle working ministry in Jerusalem before they are persecuted by the Jewish Sanhedrin that executed Jesus.
Acts 6-11: Resistance to the transmission of the gospel from the Jews to the Gentiles • Acts 6 = The church grows to include a lot of Greek converts to Judaism and the apostles choose 7 deacons (with Greek names including: Philip and Stephen) to help them care for the Greek widows. • Acts 6-7 = Stephen has conflict with Greek converts to Judaism, and is killed after preaching a sermon where he concludes that the Jews have always disobeyed God. • Acts 7-8 = Paul was at Stephen’s execution and started persecuting Christians after it. • Acts 8 = Philip moved due to the persecution, preaching to half Jewish Samaritans (Peter and John sent to check on them) and to the Ethiopian convert to Judaism, ending up in Caesarea, near Joppa. - Acts 9 = Interlude: Paul’s conversion story • Acts 9-11 = Peter moves to Joppa, then goes to Caesarea, preaching to the first Gentile who is not a convert to Judaism, and then defending his actions at a church meeting in Jerusalem.
Acts 9: Conversion of the persecutor of the transmission of the gospel from the Jews to the Gentiles • Acts 9 = Paul leaves Jerusalem to persecute Christians in Damascus in Arabia where he is converted. • 3 year gap where Paul is elsewhere in Arabia? • Paul preaches in Damascus until he’s persecuted out of town. • 3 year gap where Paul is elsewhere in Arabia? • Paul returns to Jerusalem where he preaches until he’s persecuted of town due to conflict with Greek speaking Jews (and goes back to Tarsus in Cilicia). • Paul was only in in Jerusalem for 15 days. Barnabas (who was in Damascus?) vouched for Paul and introduced him to the apostles (at least Peter and James).
Acts 11-15: Success of the transmission of the gospel from the Jews to the Gentiles (1 of 2) • Acts 11 = Due to the same persecution Paul started in Jerusalem, Barnabas moves to Antioch in Syria preaching to Greeks who are converted and starts the first church of Gentile non-converts to Judaism. • Barnabas get Paul from Tarsus in Cilicia to come help him in ministry in Antioch in Syria. • A total of 14 years since Paul’s conversion have passed. • Barnabas and Paul go from Antioch in Syria to Jerusalem in Judea to deliver a gift to help with a famine that the Holy Spirit predicted through Agabus (Titus goes with and John Mark comes back). • Acts 12-13 = Paul and Barnabas return from Jerusalem in Judea to Antioch in Syria where they were sent off on their first mission trip at the prompting of the Holy Spirit (they take John Mark with them).
Acts 11-15: Success of the transmission of the gospel from the Jews to the Gentiles (2 of 2) • Acts 13-14 = Paul’s first mission trip through Galatia making both Jewish and Gentile converts returning to Antioch in Syria after strong Jewish persecution on this trip (John Mark leaves them). • Peter visits Antioch followed by Jerusalem Jews who cause Peter to stop eating with Gentiles? • Paul writes Galatians? • Acts 15 = The Jerusalem Council is called after Jews from Jerusalem go to Antioch to tell the Gentile Christians they have to convert to Judaism by getting circumcised and keeping the law.
Recap: Galatians 1:11-24Paul's Apostleship is from God (1 of 2) Galatians 1:11-17 (NIV84) 11 I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.
Recap: Galatians 1:11-24Paul's Apostleship is from God (2 of 2) Galatians 1:18-24 (NIV84) 18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. 21 Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me.
Recap: Galatians 1:11-24Paul's Apostleship is from God • Paul’s argument here is very personal: Paul confesses his own sin of legalism. • Paul says Jesus personally told him to have faith in Jesus instead of trusting in his own works.
Recap: Galatians 1:11-24Paul's Apostleship is from God • Paul’s argument is that God is the one who revealed the gospel to him. • The elements of saving faith can be summarized as: • Knowledge: Do you know the facts of the gospel about Jesus dying and rising for your sin? • Ascent: Do you agree that the facts of the gospel about Jesus are actually true? • Trust: Do you trust in Jesus to save you from your sin as you only hope? • This good news taught by Paul of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, as revealed in the Bible alone as our authority, so that God alone gets the glory, really is true.