Well good morning Church. Open your Bibles to the book of Galatians please. Galatians chapter 1. And with the Lord's help this morning we'll be examining verses 11 through 24. That's Galatians chapter 1 verses 11 through 24. In regards to our study of the book of Galatians, with these verses today, we move out of the introduction to the letter and we move into the first of three major sections of Galatians. And this is a section that we previously entitled the Fountainhead of the Gospel. From verse 11 through the end of chapter two, Paul defends the purity of his gospel message by proving that God is the source of his gospel. And he does so by defending his apostleship through various autobiographical arguments, of which the first two are given in our verses today. So let us pray, and then we will read our text. Let us pray. Father, we come before you and we are needy. We need your Spirit, Lord, to be poured out upon us. As the preacher, I need your Spirit to fill me, to overflowing, that I might preach in a way that is glorifying to you, that is honoring to you, that is true to your Word. And as your people, We need your spirit to fill our hearts that we might receive your word as truth and respond in obedience. We pray that you'd be pleased to pour him out amongst us this morning, not because we're worthy, but because Christ is worthy. And it's in his name that we pray, amen. Galatians chapter one, we're gonna be reading again, verses 11 through 24. Hear the word of God. For I would have you know, brothers, that 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. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born and who called me by his grace was pleased to reveal his son to me in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone. Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him 15 days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother. In what I am writing to you before God, I do not lie. Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, and I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only were hearing it said, he who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy. And they glorified God because of me. Amen. To attack, The Apostle Paul, friends, is to attack the Lord Jesus Christ. To attack the gospel Paul preached is to attack the Lord Jesus Christ, who is Himself the gospel. and the Judaizers who had infiltrated the churches in Galatia, they were doing both of these things. Not only had they brought in their false gospel, a different gospel, which is actually no gospel at all, not only were they attacking the true gospel of grace, they were also attacking the messenger of that true gospel, the Apostle Paul. And the Judaizers knew that to undermine the message of Paul, that they would have to undermine the person of Paul. They would have to create a crisis of credibility amongst the Galatians regarding Paul's background and authority. So they claimed that Paul, unlike the other apostles, was a self-called man, a self-appointed man. After all, he didn't walk with Christ in the flesh, therefore he could never have been commissioned as an apostle of Christ like the other 12 were. And they also claim that Paul sat as a student under the apostles and was now preaching a watered-down gospel in an attempt to win the praise and adoration of men. Well, these attacks on Paul's apostolic calling and authority, they force him to defend the divine origin of the gospel that he preached. And he does so by way of autobiography, by showing the Galatians that he was not called by a man, but that he was called by God, by showing the Galatians that he was not copying the other apostles, but that he was functioning as an apostle completely independent of the other 12. The title of this sermon is God's Gospel, God's Man. And in our passage, Paul asserts the divine origin of his gospel, and he proceeds to prove that assertion by showing the divine origin of his apostolic calling and ministry. And I want us to see both Paul's declaration and defense of the divine origin of the gospel he preached so that our confidence and our trust in the gospel of grace might be revived and strengthened. And although I trust none of us here are in the process of turning to a false gospel as the Galatians were, the true saving gospel of Jesus Christ is of such importance and magnitude that we can always stand to have our confidence in its divine origin and saving power increased. Can we not? So with these things in view, I'd like to preach this text to you under three different headings. Firstly, in verses 11 and 12, we see Paul's declaration that the gospel is not man's gospel, it is God's gospel. Second, in verses 13 through 16, we see Paul's transformation. his first of two autobiographical arguments for the divine origin of his apostleship. In these verses, he shows that he received both the gospel and his apostolic commission through a revelation of Jesus Christ. And third and finally, in verses 16 through 24, we see Paul's migration, his second autobiographical argument showing that he did not receive the gospel from any man, nor was he taught it by any man. Instead, he operated completely independent from any of the other apostles as he carried out his ministry. So again, our three headings are Paul's declaration, Paul's transformation, and Paul's migration. Starting first with Paul's declaration. Look with me, starting at verse 11, please. For I would have you know, brothers, that 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." Once again, everything that follows these two verses through the end of chapter two, it consists of Paul offering various proofs for this one conclusion. The gospel that he preached to the Galatians, the gospel that they gladly received, the gospel they were now in the process of turning away from, that gospel is not man's gospel, it is God's gospel. Everything from chapter 1 verse 13 through the end of chapter 2 will be focused on proving the declaration that Paul makes here in verses 11 and 12. We'll notice first that Paul begins his declaration of the divine origin of the gospel with the word for. Now this word for is a linking word. It joins verses 11 and 12 with what was said in the preceding verses. And if you remember from last week, Paul pronounced a curse upon anyone who would preach a false gospel, upon anyone who would distort or pervert the gospel of Christ. And he followed this curse by saying in verse 10 that he was not seeking to please man, that he was not a servant of man, but rather he was seeking to please God and he was a servant of Christ. And here in verse 11, Paul is looking back to that statement in verse 10, that he is not a servant of man, but a servant of Christ. He's looking back to that statement as the logical outcome of what he declares here in verses 11 and 12. Look with me once more to verse 10. In verse 10, Paul says, I'm not a servant of man because, verse 11, the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. Verse 10, Paul says, I am a servant of Christ because, verse 12, I received the gospel through a revelation of Jesus Christ. So we should see Paul's argument as a cohesive unit, not simply as random disconnected statements. He is building a case here and each subsequent argument expands upon the previous arguments. Well, Paul then grabs the attention of the Galatians for, I would have you know, and this is a statement that Paul uses in several other places in his letters, One example is when he's reminding the church at Corinth of the fundamentals of the gospel. He says this in 1 Corinthians 15, now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preach to you. So when Paul says to the Galatians, for I would have you know, the Holy Spirit of God is saying to each and every one of us through the apostle, listen up, pay attention, because what follows is of the utmost importance. So brothers and sisters, let us heed the Spirit's command this morning. Well, Paul continues. for I would have you no brothers." Now, it would be simple to pass over this quickly and to move on, but I think it's important. Similar to what we saw in verse two, where Paul addresses this letter to the churches in Galatia. Now, by addressing the Galatians here as brothers, Paul is revealing something to us about his current understanding and his current hope regarding the state of their souls, even in the midst of this onslaught of a false gospel from the Judaizers. If we look forward for a moment to chapter 5, verse 10, Paul makes clear that he has confidence in the Lord, that the Galatians will repent. of turning away from God and turning towards the false gospel of the Judaizers. Despite this gospel treason that is happening in Galatia, Paul is confident that the Lord will grant them repentance. And although this letter is certainly full of strong warnings and strong threatenings, Paul isn't condemning the Galatians outright. Now, as we saw last week, he clearly condemns the Judaizers for their false teaching, but he stops short of condemning the Galatians outright. He is content to issue severe warnings to them for what will happen if they continue in this sin, namely, that Christ will be of no effect for them, that they will fall away from grace, that they will put themselves under the obligation to keep the whole law, but he stops short of anathematizing them as he did the Judaizers, and he handles them with a spirit of gentleness, really, in this letter. And saints, we must take this same approach when dealing with someone who has been enticed by false teaching. And we have the steps of church discipline given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, and they are safeguards for the church. They help us ensure that we don't jump to unnecessary conclusions, that we give every opportunity for the one who is in sin to repent before we treat that person as an unbeliever. So Paul, in the way that he's handling the Galatians here, he's simply modeling the instructions of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, Paul begins his declaration regarding the divine origin of the gospel by making a negative statement, really a threefold negative statement. Before he makes this case, he wants to be crystal clear as to what he does not mean. Look with me starting at verse 11. For I would have you know, brothers, that 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. The gospel that was preached by Paul is not man's gospel. And what was the gospel that was preached by Paul? Well, it was the good news that sinners are justified, that they are declared righteous by God's grace alone through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. This is not the man-made gospel of the Judaizers. This is not the Jesus plus circumcision gospel that is confusing the Galatians. No, Paul's gospel is not man's gospel. And it's not man's gospel because Paul did not receive it from any man, nor was he taught it by any man. Paul didn't attend the first century equivalent of the Faithful Men School of Pastoral Training. Paul didn't enroll in seminary. And as we'll see, he didn't even learn of the gospel from the other apostles. Paul did not receive the gospel the way that ministers today receive the gospel, the way Pastor Jerry and I received the gospel. Today, God calls pastors to take the body of doctrine contained within His authoritative and all-sufficient Word and to entrust that body of doctrine to faithful men, faithful men who will be able to teach others also. This is God's pattern for training ministers in the post-apostolic age. But Paul was not subject to this pattern of transmission because Paul didn't receive the gospel from other men. He received it from Christ himself. Look to verse 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. And this word revelation means an immediate transfer of understanding of divine truth to a man without normal methods. Without normal methods. Paul does not tell us the exact details of how and when Christ revealed the gospel to him. He is silent on that. But regardless, we know that this gospel revelation from the Lord Jesus Christ, it was successful in equipping Paul for ministry, because when we read of his conversion in Acts 9, Luke tells us that immediately he began to preach the gospel in Damascus. Paul is explicit here. He did not receive the gospel from a man. He was not taught the gospel by any man. Instead, it was revealed to him by Jesus Christ himself. Therefore, the gospel he preached is not man's gospel, but God's gospel. And beloved, if it is God's gospel, then it is surely true. It is surely reliable. It is surely dependable. Friends, it is no vain hope to obey the words of Jesus Christ and to repent and believe the gospel. Because the gospel, the good news that Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again for sinners, it is not a man-made message. It is God's message to mankind. It's God's gospel and you can trust him. Well, before we leave this heading, can we just recognize the obvious truth of Paul's declaration here, his assertion that the gospel he preached is not man's gospel, but God's? Isn't this truth really self-evident to us? when we consider the gospel, the fact that the holy God of the universe sent his only begotten son, the second person of the Godhead, into his creation to assume human flesh, to live, die, and rise again for sinners. Sinners who hate God, by the way. Not sinners who love God, sinners who hate God. for sinners like you and me who were enemies of God, who had no desire to be reconciled with our Creator. We were perfectly content to live, die, and go to hell for all eternity. And when we consider the wonder of the gospel of God, the uniqueness of the gospel, and to use a phrase from our confession of faith, the heavenliness of the matter, when we consider this, isn't it obvious to us that the gospel could never have been invented by a man? Isn't it obvious to us that the beauty of a most merciful and most just God expressed in the giving and in the crushing of his only begotten son for sinners. Isn't it plain and clear to us that no man could have invented such a message as this? Friends, the gospel in particular, but the Bible in general, Both of them are self-attesting to their own divine origin. And when we read the Bible and when we consider the gospel of Christ, we cannot help but declare with Paul that it is not man's gospel, it is indeed God's gospel. Paul's message to the Galatians, it is a message that we should hear loud and clear this morning. The gospel Paul preached, the gospel preserved for us in the scriptures, the gospel that was preached to you and applied effectually to your hearts by the Holy Spirit of God, bringing you from death to life, this gospel is not a man-made gospel. It does not find its source in humankind. Rather, it is divine in origin. The fountainhead of the gospel is God himself. And we, like the Galatians, should see Paul's declaration here in verses 11 and 12 and have our hearts strengthened. We should have our faith increased knowing that the gospel that has been preached to us, the gospel that we are standing in right now, it is from him and we can trust him with our souls. So we've seen under our first heading, Paul's declaration of the divine origin of the one true gospel. Secondly, in verses 13 through 16, we see Paul's transformation, his first autobiographical argument in defense of his apostleship. Look with me to verse 13. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. Paul begins to tell of his transformation by starting with his pre-converted state. He refers to that here as his former life in Judaism. And this was no secret to the Galatians. They had heard of his former life in Judaism. Paul himself, no doubt, told them as he testified to them of God's saving grace during that first missionary journey. The Galatians knew that Paul was formerly a Hebrew of Hebrews. They knew that he was the next big thing in Judaism. Listen to how Paul himself describes his life before Christ. This is from Philippians chapter three. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more. circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law, blameless. Paul was going places in the Jewish religion. He was a rising rabbinical star. And he says it himself in verse 14, I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age. Paul was on a fast track to religious power and influence. Paul's not a C student here, friends. Paul is an A plus Jew. He is the best of the best. And Paul's former life in Judaism was marked primarily by two things. He mentions the first one in verse 13. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. Paul was dead set on persecuting the church of God, on trying to destroy it. Now understand friends, Paul was not writing off color social media posts here. That's not the type of persecution he's talking about. Paul was rounding up Christians. He was putting them in jail. He was approving of executions. He was scattering believers to the four winds. This was his great passion in life, kicking against the goads, trying to destroy the church of Christ. But what a vain life's goal that is. What a pointless exercise it is to try and destroy the church of Christ. Now, despite making a dent in the visible church in Jerusalem, all Paul's persecution served to do was to grow the invisible church. His persecutions pushed believers out of Jerusalem into the surrounding regions. And what did they do? They took the gospel with them. And more people came to Christ. So friends, it was a vain exercise for Paul to do this, but it's not only vain looking back and seeing Paul's life and saying, what a waste of your time. We can look today and say that it is a vain exercise for anyone. to try and persecute or destroy the church of Christ. The head of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ, he has promised that he will build his church. He has promised that not one of those given to him by his father will be lost. And despite what wicked men do to the visible church of God on earth, they can never destroy the invisible church. And you can take this to the bank, friends. Every persecutor of the church will bow the knee to Christ. They will confess that he is Lord, and they will do it in this life like Paul did, or they will do it in the life to come. That is a promise. And as our world becomes increasingly hostile to God and to God's rule, it will become increasingly hostile to us. But fear not, brethren, the head of the church has promised that not even the gates of hell will prevail against his church. And if God be for us, who can be against us? Nobody can. So Paul's first great passion for his former life in Judaism was persecuting the church of God. Well, his second great passion is found in verse 14. Look there with me. and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the word of God, for loving God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, for loving my neighbor as myself, for anticipating the arrival of the promised Messiah. No, that's not what we read here. Paul was so extremely zealous for the traditions of his fathers. The traditions that Paul is referencing here, they go far beyond the law of God that's given to us in the Old Testament. These traditions included hundreds of what were called hedges or fences, which were added to the law of God under the pretense of keeping men at a distance from breaking God's law. These traditions were essentially the blue chalk lines that Pastor Jerry has been teaching about in his lessons on Christian liberty. The Pharisees would take God's law and they would try to improve upon it. Now, I mean, that just sounds so ridiculous, doesn't it? They would take God's law and they would try to improve upon it, you're already failing, by adding restrictions that were not there. And as has rightly been said before, if today you forbid what God allows, it will not be long before you allow what God forbids. This Pharisaical zeal for man-made traditions was so often the target of our Lord's rebukes during his earthly ministry. And speaking of this zeal for tradition, Jesus would say to a group of Pharisees and scribes, you leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men. He would go on. You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition. Friends, if you can believe it, this was the Apostle Paul. His driving passion in life was his extreme zeal, not for the gospel of Christ, but for the traditions of his fathers. And consider how relevant this illustration of Paul's past is to the Galatians' current situation. Remember that Paul is writing to correct the error of the Galatians who had begun to receive a false gospel, a false gospel based upon the traditions of man rather than the Word of God. What once was true of Paul, the fact that he had an overwhelming zeal, not for God or for the truth of God, but for the traditions of his fathers. This is currently true for the Judaizers, the ones who were upsetting the minds of the Galatians. And Paul is saying, I used to be just like them, but God opened my eyes, which brings us to verse 15. Look with me there. But when he, but when God. Paul had a plan for his life. He was going places in Judaism, but friends, God had a different plan. And brothers and sisters, you once had a plan for your life, but God had a different plan. If you are in Christ this morning, there was a time when you were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, a slave to various passions and pleasures, passing your days in malice and envy, hated by others and full of hatred for them. That was you. That was me. But, but when the goodness and loving kindness of God your Savior appeared, beloved, he saved you, not because of works done by you in righteousness, but according to his own mercy. So let us praise God for all of the but God statements in scripture. Well, Paul goes on to list three things that God did to transform him from a persecutor of the church into a preacher of the gospel. In verse 15, Paul tells us that God set him apart before he was born. And the sense here is to separate or to isolate for a divine purpose. And as it relates to Paul, there are really two distinct purposes for which he is being set apart by God. The first purpose is that he might become a child of God, that he might be made an heir with Christ, that he might become a Christian. But the second purpose, of course, is Paul's special calling to be an apostle of Jesus Christ and to take the gospel into the Gentile world. But the point is this, God's plan for Paul started long before he was born. Long before Paul had ever seen the light of day, God set him apart for his own purposes. And the second thing that God did for Paul is seen in the last half of verse 15. Look there, please. We read that God called him by his grace. And this is in reference to the effectual call of the gospel experienced by Paul on the Damascus road. It is in reference to that mysterious work of regeneration performed in Paul that subdued him and transformed him from a hater of Christ into a lover of Christ. And this effectual call was according to God's grace. God called him by his grace. There was nothing in Paul that made him deserving of such a call, that made him worthy of such a transformation. In fact, everything in Paul only merited God's condemnation. yet God called him by his grace. God saved him by his grace. And in Paul's circumstance, God called him to be an apostle of Christ by his grace. Which leads to the third thing that Paul received from God. Verse 16, God revealed his son to him. He revealed Christ to him. Now, a more accurate translation would be that God revealed his son in him and not simply to him. Christ was revealed in Paul. Now consider what Paul will say later in chapter two, verse 20. He'll say this, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. When Christ was revealed to Paul on the Damascus road, Paul was changed from the inside out. Christ was not only revealed externally to Paul, he was revealed internally. He took up residence in Paul's heart. And the same must be true for each one of us. As Matthew Henry comments here, it will but little avail us to have Christ revealed to us if he is not also revealed in us. And friends, why did God do all of this? Why did God set Paul apart before he was born? Why did he call him effectually in time? Why did he reveal his son to him and in him? Was it because Paul had earned God's grace? Was it because Paul had been such a good zealous Pharisee? And God decided, you know what, Paul, you've earned it, I'm gonna reward you. But before we answer this, if you are here this morning as a child of God, if you have been transformed like the apostle was, I want you to consider this question for yourself. Why did God set you apart before you were born? Why did God call you effectually in time? Why did God reveal his son in you? Was it because you had earned some grace from God somehow? based on your performance or behavior? Had you met that minimum threshold of obedience that's required to receive God's grace? No, the answer is the same for you as it is for Paul. Verse 16, God was pleased to reveal his son to Paul. The good pleasure of God's own sovereign will is the sole reason for Paul's transformation. And brothers and sisters, the sole reason for your transformation is the good pleasure of God's own sovereign will. You have earned nothing from God except condemnation and judgment. But instead, because he was pleased to do so, he set you apart from before you were born. He elected you by His grace. In time, He called you effectually, giving you the twin gifts of repentance and faith that you might be justified and counted righteous for Christ's sake. And Christ was revealed in you. The Spirit of Christ took up residence in your heart, and He is daily working in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure, which is your conformity to the image of Christ. All of this God did by his grace and according to the good pleasure of his own sovereign will. This is the gospel Paul received from Christ. This is the gospel he preached to the Galatians. And friends, this is the gospel that the Judaizers were trying to steal from them. And Paul says, no. No, my gospel is not man's gospel, it is God's gospel. My gospel was given to me through a revelation of Jesus Christ. And if any man preached to you a gospel contrary to the one I preached to you, let him be damned. Well, as we reach the end of this heading, let us notice one last detail from our text. As much as our own conversions include being set apart before birth, being called effectually, and having Christ revealed in our hearts, we must understand that Paul's transformation on the road to Damascus was more than a conversion to Christ. Paul's transformation also included his call to the apostleship, his call to preach the gospel of Christ. And in verse 16, Paul points out that God had transformed him, not only to make him his child, but also so that he might preach Christ among the Gentiles. If we look at Acts chapter nine, Luke records these words of the Lord Jesus Christ regarding Paul's calling. Christ says this, he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Friends, it's not just for the Jews, it is for everyone. God had promised for centuries that Christ would be a light unto the nations, that Christ would be the seed of Abraham by whom all the families of the earth would be blessed. God's eternal plan of redemption always included The Gentiles, God's saving purpose is to gather his elect people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. And now Paul, having been transformed by the gospel of God, is commissioned to preach that same gospel amongst the Gentiles. Again, remember that Paul is rebuking the Galatians for receiving a false gospel from the Judaizers, a false gospel that essentially claimed that to be saved, you had to become a Jew. That was the hurdle to salvation. And Paul is saying, no, the plan of God is not that Gentiles should become Jewish. The plan of God is that Gentiles and Jews alike should repent, believe in Christ, and become Christians. The gospel Paul preached, friends, is not man's gospel. It is God's gospel. The gospel Paul preached is the same one preserved for us in the scriptures. It's the same gospel that Christ commands our little church here in Powder Springs, Georgia, to proclaim in our city, to proclaim in our state, to proclaim in our nation, and indeed, to proclaim in all the world. And accordingly, we heard it this morning, Ben Nelms led us in congregational prayer, and what was one of the things that we prayed to God for? We give thanks to the Lord that we are a self-sustaining church. We give thanks to the Lord that we are a self-governing church, and we ask the Lord that we might become a self-propagating church. This means that we might be used of God to propagate, to spread, to carry the gospel throughout the world, according to the commission that Christ gave his church. And Paul's argument in this portion of Galatians, it is key for us in this matter. If the gospel is just a man-made message, what futility there would be in trying to carry that message outside of this building. What a waste of time that would be. But again, the gospel is not from man. The gospel is from God. The fountainhead of the gospel is God himself. And we, like Paul, have been entrusted with a message that is the power of God for salvation. And may God prepare us as a church to carry this saving message out into the world and to be used of him to create more and more worshipers for our great God and King because he is worthy of it. Well, so we've seen here Paul's transformation, his first argument in defense of the divine origin of his apostleship. Paul was not called by a man. Paul was not self-called. Rather, he was regenerated by the sovereign power of God. He had the gospel revealed to him by Christ, and he was called to preach that gospel to the Gentiles. Well, third and finally, in verses 16 through 24, we see Paul's migration, his second autobiographical argument in defense of his apostleship. And we really see this second argument summarized here at the end of verse 16. After he was transformed, after Christ revealed to him the gospel, after he was commissioned to preach the gospel as an apostle of Christ, Paul then says this, I did not immediately consult with anyone, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me. And this is a summary statement for his second argument proving the divine origin of his apostleship. Paul operated independently from the other apostles in Jerusalem. Paul did not, upon his conversion and commission from Christ, run off to Jerusalem and seek to sit under the teaching of the apostles to figure out what he was supposed to do. He didn't go looking for the other apostles to affirm the message that he had received from Christ. or to affirm the calling that Christ had given him. Rather, as we see in verse 17, Paul leaves Damascus for a period of time, we're not sure exactly how long, but he goes for a period of time away into the Arabian desert, and then he returns to Damascus. And when he returns to Damascus, as we've already mentioned, Luke recording this for us in Acts chapter nine, he immediately proclaimed Jesus in the synagogue saying, he is the son of God. So understand what Paul was saying. He didn't consult with anyone regarding the gospel revelation given him by Jesus Christ, not even the other apostles who were in Jerusalem. But instead, he immediately begins preaching the gospel. He immediately begins to preach Christ to those who are in Damascus. And this affirms the sufficiency of the gospel revelation that Christ gave him. Paul had no gaps in his theology. Paul was not unclear in the essential matters of salvation. He had been called into the apostleship by God and was therefore equipped for the apostleship by God. And we should really expect nothing less than this. Consider the vast amount of knowledge that Paul had obtained during his rabbinical studies in the school of Gamaliel. Paul's knowledge of the Old Testament was practically unparalleled in Jerusalem. Yet in his unconverted state, this knowledge was completely useless to him and it was completely useless to others. But now that he has the light of God's illumination shining upon this store of Old Testament knowledge, Paul has no need to consult with anyone, whether in Jerusalem or anywhere else. Therefore, he begins to immediately preach the gospel in Damascus. Well, as you might guess, this honeymoon phase doesn't last forever. And if we are referencing Luke's record in Acts, we see in Acts 23 that when many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him. The Jews in Damascus had reached their breaking point. They had had it up to here with Paul and with his preaching of the gospel. So they do what all tyrants do when they wanna shut somebody up, they plot to kill them. Paul famously escapes from Damascus, being lowered down through the city wall in a basket, and he heads to Jerusalem for the first time since he has come to Christ. Look now to verse 18. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him 15 days." Three years later, that in reference to his conversion and calling. Three years after the Damascus Road experience, three years since he began preaching the gospel, Paul now returns to his old stomping grounds. This time, not as a persecutor of the church, but as a preacher of the gospel. And Paul went with an expressed purpose. He went to visit Cephas. He wanted to visit with Peter, the chief spokesman of the apostles. And speaking of Paul's return to Jerusalem, Luke says this in Acts chapter nine, verse 26. And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples and they were all afraid of him for they did not believe that he was a disciple. Needless to say, Paul is not welcomed into the church at Jerusalem with open arms. He was still thought of as a persecutor of the church. And even in this, we see another proof that Paul had no contact with the Jerusalem apostles until now. They didn't know that he had been converted. They still knew him as Saul the persecutor. So the accusation of the Judaizers that Paul had been taught the gospel by the apostles, this was complete nonsense. They didn't want to have anything to do with him. As the text says, they were all afraid of him. But as it goes, Barnabas happens to be there in Jerusalem. Barnabas vouches for Paul. He tells the disciples of Paul's bold preaching that he had heard in Damascus. And at least two of the disciples are willing to meet with him. Look again to verse 18. Paul says, I remained with Cephas for 15 days, but I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother. There are two things to note here. Paul only saw one of the 12 apostles commissioned by Christ, and that was Peter. James here is not James, the son of Zebedee, the brother of John. It's James, the half-brother of Christ. Now, this James would become a fixture in the church, and particularly in the church in Jerusalem, and write one of our New Testament letters, but he was not one of the 12 apostles of Christ. And the second thing to note here is how short this visit to Jerusalem is. It's only 15 days. On top of that, Luke tells us that during these 15 days in Jerusalem, Paul spent much of his time preaching the gospel. Paul wasn't having long, drawn out theological conversations with Peter and James. There simply wasn't enough time for this. And again, as was the case in almost every place in which the apostle Paul preached, the people wanted to kill him. And that happens here during this 15-day trip to Jerusalem. From Acts 9, verse 29, we read this. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists, but they were seeking to kill him. And when the brothers learned of this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. So Peter and James and potentially Barnabas is there as well. Usher Paul off to Caesarea, where he would take a ship to Tarsus, to his home city, which is located in the region of Cilicia. And that region of Cilicia is right next door to the region of Syria. And Paul references both of these regions in verse 21, and he would preach the gospel in those regions for another 10 years before being recruited by Barnabas to come and pastor the church in Antioch, which of course would become his sending church. But let us not fail to notice in verse 20 how emphatic Paul is about the facts of this Jerusalem visit. Verse 20, and what I am writing to you before God, I do not lie. Now we don't know exactly what the Judaizers are saying to the Galatians, but this much is clear. They had completely distorted Paul's relationship to the other apostles. And Paul is unmistakable. I was not taught the gospel by any man, including the apostles. I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ before God, I do not lie. Now friends, we have to decide, do we believe Paul or do we believe the Judaizers? More specifically, do we believe Paul or do we believe the modern day Judaizers who would seek to undermine Paul's authority in our lives? Who would seek to tell us that Paul, you know, he taught things that Christ would never have approved of. Friends, when Paul spoke as an apostle, which includes the 13 inspired letters preserved for us in the scriptures, when Paul spoke as an apostle, he only spoke what his master and Lord wanted him to speak. When the apostle Paul speaks to us in this book, Jesus Christ is speaking to us. In fact, when any of the inspired writers in this book speak to us, Christ is speaking to us. So despite how unpopular Paul may be in our day and age, let us never be ashamed to stand with the apostle, for the gospel he preached is not man's gospel, it is God's gospel. And let us never be ashamed of God's word. Well, lastly, in verses 22 through 24, Paul says, reaffirms that his apostleship was independent of the Jerusalem apostle, even after years of ministering in the regions of Syria and Cilicia. He says this, verse 22, and I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They were only hearing it said, he who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy. and they glorified God because of me." Well, we'll see this in chapter two, but Paul wouldn't return to Jerusalem for at least another 11 years after his first visit. As he says, he was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea. Yet after a period of faithful ministry in Syria and Cilicia, they might not have known him in person, but they certainly knew of him. He was no longer infamous for his persecution of the church. Paul was now famous for his preaching of the gospel. And they, that is the Christians in Jerusalem and in the surrounding region of Judea, they glorified God because of Paul. They praised God because of Paul. And more particularly, they praised God because of God's work in Paul's life. They praised God because according to the pleasure of God's own sovereign will, he saw fit to transform Paul by his grace. God was pleased to transform Paul from a persecutor to a preacher. God was pleased to make Paul his man, and God was pleased to arm Paul with his gospel. And the Christians who heard of this magnificent display of God's grace were moved to worship. They were moved to glorify God. And friends, we cannot give God any glory that he doesn't already have. We cannot add to him. but we can be the means by which God magnifies his own glory in the midst of others. And here's a question for all of us this morning. Are you committed? Are you committed before God to live a life that would cause others to look at you and give glory to your father who is in heaven? Are you committed before God to living that type of life? by God's grace, may it be so with each and every one of us. Well, so we've seen Paul's migration, his second argument in defense of the divine origin of his apostleship. Paul was not taught by the other apostles because he had virtually no contact with them for the first 14 years of his ministry. Paul was operating under the authority of Christ and under the tutelage of Christ. And as we conclude, we must remind ourselves once again of the purpose of Paul's defense of his apostleship. What's the purpose of Paul recounting for us his transformation and his migration? Well, he does not do this to protect his own image or to protect his ego. He does it to protect the reputation and the purity of the gospel that he so dearly loved. And the arguments we reviewed today and the ones that we'll see through the end of chapter two really have one ultimate purpose, and that is to prove Paul's declaration in verses 11 and 12. For I would have you know, brothers, that 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. Brothers and sisters, I would have you know that the gospel that has been preached to you is not man's gospel. Brothers and sisters, I would have you know that the gospel which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, it is not man's gospel, it is God's gospel. So brothers and sisters, be confident in God's gospel because it comes from him. Be confident in God's gospel because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. And I would add this, do the necessary work for God's gospel to go forth into the world. Pray for the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field. where God opens up opportunities for you to share the gospel with others, be confident in him, be confident in his gospel and do it. And thirdly, consider what tangible resources you have that might be allocated to the advancement of the gospel amongst the nations. Because again, the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Saints, let us do all of these things, not that we might receive the honor and glory, but to the end that our God may receive the worship and the glory that is due His name. Let us pray. Father, we thank you for your word and ask that you would bless it to our own souls now. We thank you for the gospel that was revealed to Paul, that has been preserved for us in the scriptures, that by your grace has been applied effectually to the hearts of each and every believer in this room. We thank you, oh Lord, for the gospel that not only saved us, but is saving us and will continue to save us to the end. I pray for those this morning who are outside of Christ, who have not had the joyful experience of knowing Christ intimately, of being united to him by faith. Lord, would you show those souls this morning that the gospel is indeed the power of God for salvation, if they would only believe. And Lord, would you draw them irresistibly to Christ, just as you did the Apostle Paul, and apply his work effectually to them, that they might be justified in your sight. And Lord, we pray that you would do all of these things, not that the preacher or the officers or anyone in this congregation or any man would receive the glory, but we pray that you would do these things that others would look in and see the work of God in the lives of those who do not know you, and indeed in the lives of those who know you, and they would give glory to our Father who is in heaven. Lord, we pray all of this in the name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.