A Gospel Not From Around Here Text: Galatians 1:11-24
Introduction: Whose Gospel?
We live in an age of boutique gospels. The modern evangelical world has become a spiritual marketplace, where you can pick a gospel that suits your personal tastes and political sensibilities. We have the therapeutic gospel, designed to soothe your anxieties. We have the social justice gospel, which is little more than warmed over Marxism with a Jesus fish bumper sticker. We have the minimalist gospel, which reduces the raging lion of Judah to a manageable housecat that just wants you to be nice. All these gospels have one thing in common: they are "according to man." They are manufactured, domesticated, and ultimately, they are powerless.
Into this confusing marketplace, the Apostle Paul speaks with the force of a thunderclap. He is not interested in market research. He is not workshopping his message. He is not concerned with making the gospel palatable to the Galatian consumers who were being tempted by a different product, the gospel of "Jesus plus circumcision," which is no gospel at all. Paul's central concern in this letter is the pedigree of his message. Where did it come from? Who authorized it? Because if the gospel is from man, you can change it. You can tweak it, update it, and adapt it. But if it is from God, then to alter it in any way is an act of high treason against the King of heaven.
In this passage, Paul is not simply sharing his testimony for sentimental reasons. He is laying his apostolic credentials on the table. He is making a legal argument. He is demonstrating, from the undeniable facts of his own biography, that his gospel is not a human invention but a divine revelation. His past life, his dramatic conversion, and his subsequent ministry all serve as Exhibit A in the case for a gospel uncontaminated by human hands. This is crucial, because the entire argument of Galatians stands or falls on this point. If Paul's gospel is just his opinion, then the Judaizers might have a point. But if it is a direct, unmediated word from the risen Christ, then to add anything to it, like the requirement of circumcision, is to reject it entirely.
What we must see is that this is not just an ancient quarrel. The same battle rages today. The temptation is always to supplement the gospel, to add our traditions, our political agendas, our cultural sensibilities. Paul's testimony here is a bucket of ice water in the face of all such efforts. It forces us to ask the most fundamental question: is the gospel we believe, preach, and live a message from God, or is it something we have cooked up ourselves?
The Text
For I make known to you, brothers, that the gospel which I am proclaiming as good news is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being far more zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who had set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might proclaim Him as good news among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. (Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying!) Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which are in Christ; but only, they kept hearing, "He who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news of the faith which he once tried to destroy." And they were glorifying God because of me.
(Galatians 1:11-24 LSB)
Divine Origin Story (vv. 11-12)
Paul begins with a clear, bold declaration about the nature of his message.
"For I make known to you, brothers, that the gospel which I am proclaiming as good news is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ." (Galatians 1:11-12)
The line is drawn in the sand immediately. The gospel is "not according to man." It is not a human philosophy. It is not the result of a religious brainstorming session. It is not a system of ethics that a committee of wise men devised. It is an alien message. It is from outside our system entirely. This is the fundamental point of collision between Christianity and every other religion or worldview. All other systems are man's attempt to reach up to God. The gospel is God breaking down into our world to rescue us.
Paul doubles down on this. He insists he didn't get it from a human source. "I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it." This is a direct shot across the bow of the Judaizers. Their whole appeal was to human authority and tradition, specifically the authority of the Jerusalem church and the apostles there. Paul is preemptively cutting off that line of argument. He is saying that his gospel did not come to him secondhand. He did not sit in a classroom with Peter as his instructor. He did not get a certificate of completion from the Jerusalem seminary.
His gospel came "through a revelation of Jesus Christ." This was not a gradual dawning of insight. This was not the conclusion of a long philosophical inquiry. This was a sovereign, divine, and direct disclosure. This was the Damascus Road. This was Jesus Christ, in resurrected glory, knocking Saul of Tarsus into the dust and downloading the truth directly into his mind and heart. This is why Paul can be so dogmatic. He is not defending his own clever ideas. He is stewarding a message that was entrusted to him by the King of the universe. To compromise on that message would be to betray the King.
Exhibit A: The Zealous Persecutor (vv. 13-14)
To prove that his gospel could not have been a human invention, Paul calls his former self to the witness stand.
"For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being far more zealous for the traditions of my fathers." (Galatians 1:13-14 LSB)
This is a brilliant rhetorical move. He is saying, "You want to see what a man-made religion produces? Look at me." His life before Christ was the epitome of what the Judaizers were now promoting: a zealous devotion to Judaism and the traditions of the fathers. And where did that lead him? It led him to persecute and try to destroy the church of God.
He was not a casual observer. He was "advancing in Judaism" beyond his peers. He was the star pupil, the one most likely to succeed. He was, by his own admission, "far more zealous." This zeal for tradition is precisely the error that had crept into the Galatian churches. Paul's point is that this path does not lead to Christ; it leads to violent opposition to Christ. His pre-Christian resume is the best possible argument against the Judaizers' theology. No one could look at Saul of Tarsus, the rising star of Pharisaical Judaism, and conclude that he was on a trajectory to become the apostle to the Gentiles. His conversion cannot be explained by natural development. It required a supernatural demolition.
The Sovereign Call (vv. 15-17)
The turning point in Paul's testimony, and in history, is not Paul's decision, but God's.
"But when God, who had set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might proclaim Him as good news among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood..." (Galatians 1:15-16 LSB)
"But when God..." These are some of the most beautiful words in Scripture. Paul's life was headed at full speed in one direction, and then God intervened. This was not a chance encounter. God had "set me apart from my mother's womb." This is predestination, plain and simple. Paul's apostleship was not an accident. It was an appointment made in eternity, before Paul had done anything good or evil. God's purposes are not frustrated by our rebellion. In fact, He uses our rebellion as the dark backdrop against which He paints the masterpiece of His grace.
He was "called... through His grace." Grace is unmerited favor. Paul was not called because he was a promising candidate. He was called while he was breathing out threats and murder against the Lord's disciples. This is the nature of grace. It is not a reward for the righteous, but a rescue for the wicked. God was "pleased" to do this. God takes delight in His sovereign, gracious work of salvation.
And what was the content of this call? "To reveal His Son in me." Notice, it is not just to me, as in a vision, but in me. The gospel is an internal reality before it is an external proclamation. Christ Himself takes up residence in the believer. The purpose of this indwelling is mission: "so that I might proclaim Him... among the Gentiles." Salvation is never a private affair. We are saved in order to be sent. We are filled in order to be poured out.
And what was Paul's immediate response to this divine commission? "I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood." He did not go to Jerusalem to get his papers stamped by the apostles. He did not check with the religious authorities. His authority came from a higher court. To have consulted with men would have been to subordinate God's revelation to human approval. Instead, he went to Arabia. He went into a period of solitude and preparation to be taught by Christ Himself, and then returned to Damascus to begin preaching this divinely revealed gospel.
Apostolic Independence (vv. 18-24)
Paul continues to build his case that his authority was not derived from the other apostles.
"Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days... (Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying!)... And they were glorifying God because of me." (Galatians 1:18, 20, 24 LSB)
He makes it clear that a full three years passed before he even met the leaders in Jerusalem. He had a fruitful, independent ministry for three years, proving his commission was not dependent on their approval. When he finally did go, it was "to become acquainted with Cephas" (Peter). He went as a peer, an equal, not as a subordinate seeking validation. The visit was short, just fifteen days. He saw no other apostle except James, the Lord's brother. He is meticulously detailing his limited contact with the Jerusalem leadership to dismantle any argument that he was their disciple.
He understands how incredible this sounds, so he puts himself under oath: "I assure you before God that I am not lying!" The truthfulness of the gospel is at stake, so he calls God as his witness. After this brief visit, he ministered in Syria and Cilicia, far from the Judean heartland. He was a stranger to them by face.
But they had heard the reports. And this is the final, crucial piece of evidence. The Judean churches, the very ones he had once terrorized, heard the news: "He who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news of the faith which he once tried to destroy." The proof of his apostleship was not a letter of commendation from Peter. The proof was the transformed life. The evidence was the undeniable miracle that the church's greatest enemy had become its greatest champion.
And what was their reaction? They did not form a committee to investigate his credentials. They did not question his authority. The text says, "And they were glorifying God because of me." This is the ultimate test of any ministry and any gospel. Does it result in men giving glory to God? The man-made gospels of our day ultimately give glory to man, to our efforts, our compassion, our cleverness. But the true gospel, the one that comes by a revelation of Jesus Christ, is a gospel of such radical grace that it can take a persecutor like Saul and turn him into an apostle like Paul. And when people see that, the only possible response is to glorify God.
Conclusion: No Other Gospel
Paul's personal history is not just an interesting story. It is the foundation of his entire argument. The gospel is not a human product. It is a divine thunderbolt. It does not evolve; it invades. It is not something we achieve; it is something we receive by revelation.
Because this is true, we have no right to tamper with it. We are not editors; we are heralds. Our job is not to make the gospel relevant, but to proclaim the gospel that is eternally relevant. The moment we add our own requirements, our own traditions, our own political hobby horses, we cease to preach the gospel of Christ and begin to preach a gospel "according to man," which is no gospel at all.
The power of the true gospel is seen in its fruit. It does not just make bad men good; it makes dead men live. It takes enemies of God and makes them sons of God. It turns persecutors into preachers. And when this power is on display, it silences all critics and leads the saints to do one thing: glorify God. Our lives, having been interrupted by this same sovereign grace, ought to be the cause of that same reaction in the world around us. May they look at us and say, "The one who once lived for himself is now living for the faith he once ignored," and may they, because of us, glorify God.