Galatians: The Revelation of Jesus Christ

We can learn a lot from creation. But without the creator's self-disclosure, We would be blind. Blind to who we are, blind to who God is. 2 Corinthians 4, 6 tells us, God who said, Let light shine out of darkness. has shown in our hearts.

to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. in the face of Jesus Christ. God has shown himself through his word. and through the person of Jesus Christ. In Galatians 1, 11 through 12, Paul argues the trustworthy authority of the gospel of grace.

Let's listen to this message titled The Revelation of Jesus Christ. You can turn in your copy of the scriptures to the book of Galatians. Chapter 1 We will be reading verses 11 through 17. Galatians 1. 11.

Through 17. 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. Let's pray. over the reading of God's word.

Uh Since we do not live Buy bread alone. but by every word that comes from your mouth. Make us hunger for this heavenly food. that it may nourish us today. and the ways of eternal life.

through Jesus Christ, the bread of heaven. Amen. Good morning, church. Paul's letter to the Galatian churches. Our freedom in Christ.

Faith working through love. The title of today's message Is the revelation of Jesus Christ? We're simply going to be looking at two verses today. Verses 11 and 12. Because just prior to that, Paul had made a very strong statement.

with the authority of an apostle. Apostle is one who is specifically commissioned by Jesus Christ to establish truth for the gospel. Not that there is another one, but if somebody comes to you and claims to preach another gospel, let him be what? Accursed. Anathema.

dedicated to the judgment of God. How could he make such a statement like that? Because that's what he's getting into now in this next paragraph. Paul is giving his testimony. He shares it numerous times through the epistles, but also in the book of Acts.

We see his testimony. And the question here today is Where does he get his authority from? He said, There's no other gospel. Don't let anybody teach another gospel, whether it's me, somebody who claims to be an apostle, or even an angel of God. Yeah, we're not.

This is a matter of trustworthy authority. This is a question I believe we need to answer. Is there a trustworthy authority here? Because Paul, he is saying there is objective truth here. What I preached to you is the objective truth of the gospel.

It's not myth, it's not wishful thinking, it's not man-made. It's not some experience that I've had. It's not just a vision that I had.

Now I'm sharing it with you. There is objective truth and reality to the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ, meaning it is anchored in history. And prophecy. And so with that confidence, he could say. No other gospel.

And so he says Verse 11, I would have you know, brothers. What is he saying there? I want you to understand this. Know this. Understand this.

That the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. This is the source. What is the source of Paul's gospel? And you say it's Paul Rich, what makes it Paul's gospel? Here's what makes it Paul's gospel.

Paul preached it.

Okay? It's not a different gospel. There's nothing different from the gospel that Paul preached than the gospel that Peter preached or John or any of the other apostles or any of the elders or any of the martyrs since the beginning of the church. It is the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ. It is what we have handed down from the apostles, the faith handed down, and with the written authority of the Word of God.

It's that gospel.

Now it's interesting what he does here, the gospel that was preached. In the Greek, that's In other words, the gospel that was gospeled. The gospel that was gospeled. The good news That was proclaimed.

Okay? It's what he's saying. Let me tell you what it's not. Let me tell you where it did not come from. First of all, it did not originate with man.

The gospel that I preach did not originate with man. It is not based on mere human thought. The gospel of grace in Jesus Christ is not based on mere human thought.

Now, some may apologetically, some may hear this or see this or listen to this and say, that's really kind of a subjective claim, isn't it? How can you prove that? I'm glad you asked. That's one reason why he wrote this letter.

Okay? So let's keep on that. Let's make this clear, all right? Reason alone, human reason alone, will not take you to the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ. It requires revelation.

Now anybody who might be a scientist said, ooh. That kind of makes me squirm a little bit. Revelation. You know why it makes them squirm? Because revelation is beyond science.

Mm-hmm. I'm not anti-science, definitely not. We benefit from it. But neither am I a Uh Believer in scientism. Science itself is not the ultimate.

means of truth. Revelation is. God has made himself known to us. We must understand that. Talk on that a little bit more later on.

But understand this: the grace of God. If that were to be, if this whole Christianity thing were to be man-made, it wouldn't be a gospel of grace. Because grace is very counterintuitive to our natural way of thinking. It's another reason why he wrote this letter. Man's thinking is bent, naturally bent toward merit-based.

Divine acceptance. Merit-based divine acceptance. That's not grace. Thank you. Here's the second thing he says.

First of all, it did not originate with man. Number two, I am not repeating what I've heard other men say. I am not repeating the gospel that I preached to you, was not me reiterating what I've heard other men say, not even the apostles, not even the elders. He says, no, that's not where I got it from. Interesting, isn't it?

And the third point that he makes, he says, nor was I taught it. In other words, he did not receive it from a course of instruction on the gospel. Paul did not get this gospel through a discipleship class. Discipleship classes are good, they're necessary for us. But remember, Paul is an apostle.

Right? He says, I didn't get it through a course that was taught. I didn't get it through a Bible study. He says this. But I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

Does that make anybody squirm? Paul is here claiming a direct revelation by Jesus Christ.

Now, he is not the only man in history who has claimed to receive a revelation from the divine. We're going to talk this morning a little bit about what sets him apart. And why we can hold the Bible as trustworthy authority. as the revelation of God.

So let's talk about first of all the word revelation. What is revelation? Revelation, the word, means to make known, to disclose something. And the nuance there is something is disclosed that otherwise could not be known. Right?

That is very, very important to understand that. Again, as I said before, that makes revelation a higher source of truth than science. Why? Because science is simply this: science observes. What is?

Revelation reveals to us something that could not otherwise be known. That's God's job. And God has spoken to us. In so many ways. That's what the writer of Hebrews begins with, isn't it?

Various ways, very many times.

Okay. Let me give you an example of that. I've given this before, and I got this. This is not original with me. I got this from John Lennox, one of my favorite authors and speakers.

And I've heard him at the basics conference. And he happens to be Christian Getty. He is Kristen Getty's uncle.

Okay. Her maiden name was Lennox. No extra charge for that. Just thought you'd like to know. But I respect the man.

Hugely. It's a word now.

Okay. He is a mathematician from Oxford. He's okay, Irishman. And his illustration is this: this is the nature of revelation, all right? Let's say you come into your dining room.

And there's a chocolate cake sitting on the table. You didn't bake that chocolate cake, you have no idea. You're a scientist. You can tear that cake apart. You can look at it under a microscope.

You can study it chemically. You can tell exactly what that cake is made of. You can tell what holds it together. You can tell what makes it taste so delicious. Right.

You can study and learn and know a lot about that cake, but there's two things you cannot know. By science. Who made it? And why? That requires Revelation.

From a personal Source. By personal, I mean not my person, but from a source who is a person. An intelligent being. That's where revelation comes in.

Now, this is what Paul is saying. I received it as a revelation. This gospel of grace in Jesus Christ, I received it as a revelation from Jesus Christ.

Now, it's not something new. It's not like the gospel that Jesus talked about in all the gospel records that he gave the other apostles, like Peter and James, and John and Andrew, and all those guys. This is not a separate gospel. It's the same one. But this revelation that he received, it shows us the necessity of two things: attestation and accountability.

Attestation is verification. How do I know this is true? And this is why the apostles were given authority to do signs and wonders. Whenever God is giving new revelation, he also verifies it with attesting signs. Signs and wonders.

Acts 15 bears that out.

Okay. Hebrews bears that out. Say that explicitly in those passages, right? But it also requires account of not only. attestation but also accountability for those who would purport to be communicating divine truth.

There is accountability there. And Paul was not beyond accountability. We're going to see that here in just a moment.

Okay. So He says, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. Christ made himself known to me.

So this is a divine message. Christ the Messiah. The one foretold in Old Testament prophecies The one who came and walked among us, who lived a perfect life, who died in our place, and rose again the third day, and then ascended back to the Father and sent his Holy Spirit, that Christ made himself known to me. He revealed himself to me. That's a very important claim.

What reason do we have to believe him? We're going to talk about that here in a minute.

Okay, so this is a divine, what Paul is claiming is my gospel that I preach to you is in fact a divine message. And there's two things that make that important. It is a divine. I didn't make it up. It didn't originate with man.

I'm not repeating what I've heard. I didn't get it from a class. It is a divine message, and that means two things. Number one, this divine message has the power to transform human hearts and minds. It's not just a man-made message.

It has the power to transform human hearts and minds. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is what? The power of God unto salvation to all who believe. Mm-hmm. This gospel of grace in Jesus Christ has an ability.

As the law, the inability of the law. Dwight quoted that when he came up here for the call to worship, didn't he? There are certain things the law could not and cannot do. There are certain things that a moral code cannot do, but the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ can do. It bids you fly and gives you wings.

That's powerful, folks. It's so important that we understand the gospel of grace for what it is and don't reduce our Christianity to simply holding to a moral code. If you do that, you have missed the point and the power of the gospel. You're going to see me get passionate about this, okay? Because I think there's way, way too many Christians.

who are missing this. and they've relegated their walk of faith to simply keeping a moral code. And it's powerless, it's graceless.

So it is a divine message. It is the power of God. handed down to us, and the written record has the sa same authority and power.

Okay, that's why Paul wrote these letters as an apostle. The second thing, as a divine message, not only does it have the power to transform hearts and minds. But because it is a divine message This is also true. Adding or taking away invokes divine judgment. Adding to it or taking away from it.

Invokes divine judgment. James says there is a stricter judgment for those who teach. This is one of the reasons. It is a grave responsibility to teach God's self-disclosure. And we take it very seriously here.

It's a grave responsibility. It is what we know to be objective and absolute truth. Meaning it's true for all people at all times. The gospel of grace in Jesus Christ. And he says: if you add to it or you take away from it, You are to be devoted to God's judgment.

It's a strong statement, isn't it? On what basis did he have, what basis did he have to make such a statement?

Now, some would say Just I've said before, there have been numerous people in history who have claimed to receive divine revelation and then therefore communicate it to other people as if that is to be brought to bear upon their lives. Paul's not alone in this. Because the other apostles did too.

Now, the other apostles, they walked with Jesus for the better part of three years. And watched him die and rise again. They saw the empty tomb, they witnessed the resurrected Christ, they watched him ascend back to the Father. Paul wasn't there for that. In fact, after that, and these apostles were then communicating this message after they had received the power of the Holy Spirit.

and they were communicating this message with freedom and abandon. Paul was fighting them. Remember that? These facts then, because talk about this. Four facts.

about the Apostle Paul's ministry. That set him apart from other, and shall I say, false divine messengers. Because any other message from any human being that claims to be a divine message that is not the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ is a false messenger. That's what he's saying. in the verses just prior to this.

Now we have some examples in history. Joseph Smith is one of them. He claimed divine revelation. And claim to write it down authoritatively so that it is truth to be brought to bear upon people's lives. Another one is the Prophet Muhammad.

He claimed divine revelation. So these are just two examples. Let's make a contrast here. Because Paul makes a very strong claim here. I received revelation from Jesus Christ.

It's a strong statement. And a lot of people could say, well, isn't that just a subjective claim? What basis do we have to believe him on this?

Well, let's take these two individuals, for example. When they received their revelation, They were alone. When they've had their first encounter They were Alone. And one reason why they were alone is because they were looking for something new. Literally, they were looking because they were disenchanted with their perceived religious.

atmosphere of their time. I'm not happy with it. I want something better and something new. True of both of those individuals.

So they were looking for it. Here's the truth. You want to hear this? You're not going to be happy about it, but if you're looking for something, you will find it if you look hard enough. With me on that?

Say, ah, I never thought of that. No, you will. If you want it bad enough and you look hard enough, you will find it. Doesn't matter if it's unreasonable. You will find it.

That's how easily we can deceive ourselves. I'm And let's not forget that there's an adversary who loves to provide counterfeits.

Okay, all right, so these two individuals they were alone and they were looking for what they wanted to find. Beyond that, after they ostensibly found it, they maintained unilateral authority over that truth. Unilateral authority over that truth. Until their death, of course.

Okay? That's a negative. And what they revealed was, in fact, new truth. There was no continuity or prophetic foreshadowing of what they revealed. It was new truth.

So now let's, as we've considered that, now let's think about the Apostle Paul. In his ministry. He is an apostle, all right? Number one, here is the base, four things that are the basis upon which we can trust Paul's claim that he received a revelation, that we can trust the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ. Number one.

Continuity. Continuity. The testimony of prophecy. Prophecy foretold the Messiah. Christ fulfilled the prophecies perfectly.

Yeah. And some of those prophecies were written as much as 1,400 years before Christ came to this earth. A thousand years through David, 700 years through the prophet Isaiah. And on and on it goes, okay? All those years before, prophecies, as many as 300 plus prophecies, specifically fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.

Understanding that there is One story in Scripture, all in scripture from the beginning of Genesis all the way through the Old Testament to the Gospels and through the epistles and the book of Revelation. It's all one story with one focus, and that is Jesus Christ. That is Messiah. And the historic person, Jesus Christ, perfectly fit. everything that was foretold about Messiah.

And he accomplished the work necessary.

Okay, so what Paul communicated in his gospel was, shall we say, in line with scripture. It was not new information. It was in line with Scripture. As the scripture says many times, according to the scriptures, Paul said, This is the gospel that I present to you: that Christ. Died what?

According to the scriptures. And that he rose again, what? According to the scriptures, and ascended according to the scriptures.

Okay? So that's the gospel. And so what Paul gave was. In continuity with the rest of scripture, of existing scripture at the time. and without contradiction.

There is nothing that he presented that contradicted What prophecy told us about Messiah to come.

Okay, so number one is continuity. Very, very powerful. Number two, community. community Paul ministered and taught in community. In other words, he did not have unilateral authority over the truth.

He did not. Rich, didn't he just say, if anyone preaches any other gospel than what I preach to you, let him be accursed? Isn't that unilateral authority? No. He's just simply saying, you heard the gospel straight, and it was the true, objective truth of the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ.

If you hear anything else, it's false. That's what he's saying. But he preached the gospel in community. What do I mean by that? It's like you could say he was accredited by all the other apostles.

Let me give you an example of this. You can turn over to chapter 2 and look at verse 9, or it's on the screen. Look at chapter 2, verse 9. And he's giving his testimony here. And this is after Jesus had revealed himself to him.

It says, And when James, that's James, the brother of Jesus, an apostle, okay, James, and Cephas, and John, Cephas is Peter. And John, y'all know who John was. Who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles. There it is. And there are several other texts like that.

And you can look at Acts chapter 15, which is the Jerusalem Council. Where this issue that Paul is addressing here, this issue arose. Among Galatian churches, among Gentile churches, And then the Judaizers go and say, you have to follow the law of Moses if you are to truly be saved. And Paul said no. Acts 15 says, there was some pretty sharp contention.

Paul said, that is not true. That is not the gospel of grace. Jesus Christ fulfilled the law. You're not required now to keep the law. Doesn't mean we're lawless.

That's for a different time. We're going to get into that, okay? But Acts chapter 15 was the Jerusalem Council. And here's the key. The whole point here is: this is the key, right?

When Paul went, he and Barnabas went, they were part of that Jerusalem council. And it says numerous times in Acts chapter 15, they went up to the apostles and the elders. The apostles and the elders, and the apostles and the elders, and Paul gave his report of the gospel that he was preaching and the work that God and his spirit were doing in the lives of people, bringing them to Christ, transforming their lives, establishing churches. And the apostles and the elders heard that. And they considered this whole issue.

And their conclusion was this, you don't have to keep the law. We're not going to place that burden on you. James speaks up and he says, This is my conclusion. Hearing what God is doing among the Gentiles, the Gentiles are not required to keep the law. And the apostles and the elders.

It says this about them. It seemed good to them. that this was the message.

Okay. Everything that Paul taught. was not only in line with scripture, it was also very much in line with what all the other apostles and elders were teaching. He did not have unilateral authority over the truth. He did so in community.

That, folks, is key. And that is a key element that sets the gospel of grace and biblical revelation apart from any other faith system. especially and including the two that I mentioned earlier.

Okay. So First of all, continuity in line with the scriptures. Number two, community. In line with all the other apostles, Paul did not have unilateral authority over the truth. Number three.

Paul was confronted by Christ and I use the word confronted purposefully. Because when Paul encountered Christ, what was he doing? He was hunting. Christians to arrest them. and throw them in jail.

and even execute them.

Okay, that's what Paul was doing. He was doing so with every ounce of zeal in his being. Because he thought he was serving God.

Okay. And then He was confronted. by the very one that he was opposing. In other words, in other words. Paul wasn't looking for this.

In fact, he was fighting very hard against it. He wasn't looking for this. And he encountered, he experienced a crisis on the road to Damascus, and the Lord appears to him, a blinding light, and Jesus appears to him. And he hears his voice. And here's a key: here's a key element right here, okay?

Paul was not alone when this encounter happened. There was an entourage with him, and they saw the light. And they heard a voice, even though they couldn't understand the voice. All right, and what happened as a result of it? Paul, Saul, his name was, became what?

Blind. And he had to be led.

So that he could be healed. He was confronted by Christ through a Christ. This is recorded in Acts chapter 9. And So, as Christ revealed himself to Saul at that point. He is an Saul then becomes an eyewitness of the resurrected Jesus Christ.

That's powerful.

Now, that's not where he got all of his theology corrected, right? He just simply encountered Christ. We're going to talk about, we're going to conclude the message with that this morning.

Okay. So he was confronted by Christ. What is the basis for Paul being set apart from other divine revealers? Number one, continuity. In line with the scriptures.

Number two, community. accredited by the other apostles. Number three, confronted by Christ. Number four. Paul was commissioned.

to suffer. He was not in this for all the good he was going to get out of it. Paul was commissioned. to suffer. And he knew it.

Why is that important? Paul experienced a radical intellectual and physical commitment. to the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ. And here's why this point is important. Because you look back in history, no one No one.

will give up his or her life for a lie. or for fraud. Yes, they will if they give it up for their belief system, even if that belief system might not be true. But it's their belief system, but they don't believe it's a lie. But no one will give their life up for a lie or for fraud.

Paul From here on lived With Abandon. And so That brings us to the conclusion for this message this morning. He says, I did not receive it from any man, nor as I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. It's not just simply some subjective claim that he made. This is objective truth.

It's objective reality. Objective history. with eyewitnesses. It's falsifiable, in other words. If it were not true, it could be proven that it's not true.

So I leave you this morning with a question. We're going to be going through the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ. And that it's not about simply adhering to a moral code. And we're going to recognize the difference between those two and the freedom that comes, our freedom in Christ. This is a phrase that Paul uses.

Okay. Faith. Working through love. Again, a phrase that Paul uses. But I leave you this morning with this question that I'm going to ask you to contemplate.

What compels you to follow Christ? Christ. What compels you to follow Christ? Let me give you some options. that are common.

Number one. I decided to follow Christ because it seems to make more sense than anything else. You say, Rich, what's wrong with that? I'm just asking. Is that why you're following Christ?

Because it seems to make more sense than anything else. Number two, are you following Christ because you find it attractive? For now. Number three. Are you following Christ because you can say it's what my family followed?

Number four, are you following Christ? Because it is what certain people I admire or respect follow. It's an appeal to authority. Are you following Christ for any of those reasons? And there could be numerous other reasons as well.

But I want you to consider this verse, 2 Corinthians 4, 6. God Who said, all right, the infinite sovereign creator who communicates, God, who said. Let light shine out of darkness, that Creator. Has shown in our hearts to give the light of the world. of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

These are Paul's words. It comes down to this. And here's my question for you. Have you encountered Jesus Christ through his self-disclosure? It's exactly what Paul experienced.

He encountered Jesus Christ. through his self-disclosure. I'm not asking you if you've had a vision of Jesus. Mm. The word of God that we have today, the written authority, is his self-disclosure.

Have you encountered Christ? through his self-disclosure. Paul had two responses. Number one. Who are you?

Lord. You know what Lord means? Master. That's a confession right there, isn't it? Who are you?

Master. Who are you, Lord? Have you surrendered yourself in faith to Jesus Christ? based on what he has disclosed about himself. Who are you, Lord?

And then the second response, the second part of his response was. What shall I do? Lord. Life implications. When Christ is your master, There are life implications.

And so I go back to the question. What compels you to follow Christ? Have you encountered Christ through his self-disclosure? And if you have, what was your response? Was it anything other than, who are you, Lord, and what will I do, Lord?

That leads us into the gospel of grace. In Jesus Christ. May you contemplate these words this morning. There may be some here this morning who have not surrendered in faith to Jesus Christ. That is something you Need to do.

And he calls you. Because he did all the work necessary for you to be reconciled to God. He is the one who said, I am the way, the truth. and the life, no one comes to the Father. but through me.

And you can't just say something like that and get away with it. Unless it's true. And he is.

So I ask you to contemplate that this morning. I will be here, and Pastor Adam will be here. The elders will be standing at the back doors this morning. If you want to ask them further, ask them more questions about becoming a Christian, following Jesus Christ, or maybe you might be brave and willing to confess this morning. You know, I really.

cannot say that I have encountered Christ according to self-disclosure. I've just been following Christ because I thought it was nice. I thought it sounded better than anything else I've heard. Listen, those are not compelling reasons to follow Christ. Have you surrendered in faith to this one?

Who made you? and died for you. That's the gospel of grace. Come to Jesus. in faith.

And he will rescue you. Would you stand with me, please? Yeah. Father, we are grateful. That we can have such a high degree of confidence that you indeed have made yourself known.

And this truth has been handed down through the apostles. with written authority. Commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ and authored by the very Spirit of Christ Himself. Lord, find us to be discerning. Find in our hearts a surrender to you.

Through Jesus Christ. Work in our hearts, I pray, Father, that you would grant us. The confidence, the boldness to leave this place. and live the gospel. As you have called us to, to live in the freedom.

That you purposed and accomplished for us in Jesus Christ. Thank you, Father, for all that you are doing in our hearts even now. And what you will continue to do, Father, we ask. that you would bring great glory to yourself and magnify the Lord Jesus Christ through us. In whose name we pray.

Amen. Thank you for joining us for this message from our Galatians series, Our Freedom in Christ. It was first preached on March 2, 2025 at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The next message will be published next Monday here at delightingrace.com.