Galatians 1:10-17 The Bond-servant & His Message
Consider Paul’s preaching of this revealed Gospel:
Vs 10 Paul’s motivation: Paul’s only motivation was to please God, Man pleasing and God Pleasing are mutually exclusive of one another. The word for “pleasing” is #3982, peitho. It literally means to persuade. (Thayers’ Greek Lexicon) It’s not that Paul is trying to persuade God that he is something that he is not! He is rather seeking to live out this high calling evidentially before God, as I Thessalonians states, “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but (pleasing) God Who tests the hearts.”
Hebrews 6:9 In this passage that gives nightmares to many, but is actually quite plain in its meaning & comfort to the truly faithful, the writer, in keeping with our Lord’s Parable of the Soils, shows how false many showy professions are. Fleshly counterfeits, stony ground hearers, can be very deceptive. But in verse 9, the writer shifts gears. Again we have #3982, peitho, persuaded. The writer is “persuaded (KJV) of better things of you, yes, things that accompany salvation.” He then speaks of the love of the brethren hallmark of true belief of which Apostles John & Paul speak. (I John 3:10-23; Ephesians 1:15; Colossians 1:3-4)
The point is, God judges the heart by visible evidences. Though He knows our hearts perfectly, His judgement will always based on visible deeds, for both good or evil, so that no man or devil can argue with God’s just sentence. Notice that in Revelation 19:12, that “they were judged, each one according to his works. There will be no “yeah buts” in the Day of Judgement. All evidence will be visible and plain in God’s Courtroom. The “thoughts & intents” of the heart are manifested by the “joints & marrow” and is evident before Him Who will one day Judge perfectly the quick & the dead. (Hebrews 4:12-13)
Paul was not a man pleaser. #700 aresko=to strive to please; to accommodate oneself to the opinions, desires, interests of others. (Strongs) Paul uses “aresko” in I Thessalonians 2:4, “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even we speak. Not s pleasing men, but (pleasing) God Who tests the hearts.” Remember, we are not saved by the Grace of God as a religious means of self improvement or self elevation. Paul isn’t the only one who gets a heart evaluation. If the applause of men in ANY WAY influences our word or presentation of the Gospel of Christ, we are no longer “approved by God”!
Vs 11-23 From persecutor to bond-servant!
A. Acts 6:8-7:60 Sitting at the feet of Stephen. Stephen was only concerned with pleasing God, not willing to “white wash” history to save his skin! Notice 7:57-8:1 Paul was present the gospel/history lesson & agreed with the stoning of Stephen. I wonder if a big part of what Jesus is meaning in Acts 9:5, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads”, were Stephens’ words as arrows to the soul of this student of Gamaliel, who himself was not far from the kingdom of God! (Acts 5:34-39; 22:3)
B. Galatians 1:11-17/Acts 9:1-19 Sitting at the feet of Jesus!! Galatians 1:1- His Apostleship and therefore his Gospel, was “not from man, but through Jesus Christ & God the Father”.
1. Acts 22:17-21, 23:11 Paul testifies to his seeing the Risen Lord with his own eyes.
2. Acts 9:3-6 His arrest: The man who sought letters to arrest “people of the way” is himself arrested and given letters Jesus Whom he was persecuting used to liberate millions from the gates of hell! No man-not even an anti-Christ terrorist, can resist God’s will!!! (2 Chronicles 20:6)
3. Acts 9:10-19 His calling is deeply humbling. This Pharisee of the Pharisee’s was struck blind in front of his “underlings”, & must listen to the One he is persecuting. Then he is led by the hand like a little child! His commission doesn’t come from some bishop, pope, or ordination council, but from a simple, obedient servant of the Lord, Ananias, a man we hear no more of after this event!
Remember 1 Corinthians 1:26-31: Never, ever, minimize your’s or anyone else’s place in the body of Christ!! God has you where He wants you. Never, ever be “wowed” by the eloquent, the charismatic, the “beautiful” people in places of power in the “church”. Some who have detracted from the Glory of God by their “gifts”, have been eaten by worms! (Acts 12:21-23)
4. Acts 9:16 The purpose of God’s calling: “To reveal His Son in me.” His calling wasn’t just merely a matter of words, to preach right stuff. In some way, in some measure, he was to “embody” his Subject, Christ Jesus. Paul was to embody the mystery of which he speaks in Colossians 1:25-27, “which is Christ in you, the Hope of Glory.” Paul’s Apostolic ministry was unique, never to be duplicated by any one, but in some measure, this “revealing His Son in me” is the heart impact of his Gospel upon all who believe!
5. Acts 9:15-16 His commission requires him to walk in the footsteps of the Suffering Servan, Jesus. Yes, he will speak before kings & magistrates, but always as a prisoner, never as an honored guest!
C. Consider his Message:
1. Acts 9:20-22 He preached Christ from the very first, that HE IS (not was) the Son of God, proving to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. There isn’t a time frame mentioned in Acts, but it would appear that Vs 20-22 may have been during the 3 years mentioned in Galatians 1:18, probably at the feet of Jesus, just as the other Apostles had their 3 years with Jesus.
2. Acts 13:13-40 At Antioch of Pisidia. Paul’s first recorded sermon & it covers the same historical ground as that of Peter in Acts 2 & Stephen in Acts 7.
1) It is in the synagogue. This was Paul’s initial pattern. (Acts 9:20,17::2) He is in transition from the Jew first part of Jesus’ command to the Gentiles. (Acts 1:8, 8:15, 13:46, 18:6, 17:2) Remember: Acts is the transitional history of God’s calling out a people for His Name, from being primarily focused upon the Jews in the Old Covenant to majoring on the Gentiles in the New Covenant. Paul is God’s key instrument in this transitional message!
2) Notice the Active, Living Soveriegn God in his message. There is no mention of Moses, Joshua, no specific erson until he gets to Samuel & Israel’s rejecting Gd in asking for a king.(I Sameuel 8:7) I believe that in mentioning Samuel, he is setting the stage for David’s Seed, Jesus.(Vs 23) Buy notice the tone: God does everything! His human agency is hardly acknowledged! Paul is building to the point that “the promise which was made to the fathers, God has fulfilled for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus.” (Vs 33-34) Significantly, Paul equates “today I have begotten You” in the second Psalm to the Resurrection of Jesus and also, the prophecy os the Sure Mercies of David”. Vs 29-37 are consumed with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!!! Finally, he drives home the point that only through this Resurrected Man can anyone find the forgiveness of sins that the Law and its sacrifices could not provide.
3. Acts 17:16-34 In Athens before the pagan philosophers: Paul’s first recorded sermon that as primarily to Gentiles. Note especially Vs 18 & 31-32.
a. Even here, this occasion begins in the synagogue (vs 17), but his discourse spilled over into the marketplace. Here some of the philosophers heard him “babble” about the Resurrections of Jesus and invited him to the Aeropagus so that they might add to the pantheon of doctrines & gods that they “worshiped”.
b. Notice the Visibility and Sovereignty of this “unknown” Living God that he proclaims! This God made the world and everything in it and is Lord of heaven and earth and His Worship cannot be contained in humanly constructed buildings. (Take note, contemporary Christians!) Without quoting the 1st commandment directly, he makes it plain in Vs 29.
c. Vs 31 He declares the judgement of all men, “He will judge the world in righteousness by the MAN Whom He Ordained.” He has given assurance of this to all (the Judgement by Christ Jesus) by raising Him from the dead.”
To sum up Paul’s message:
1. He starts with the Sovereign God, not sinful needy man!
2. He speaks of a Living, Active, Sovereign, Who is visibly completely in charge of heaven & earth and everything in it!
3. This God has sent His Son, Christ Jesus, THE MAN, by Whom He will judge all mankind.
4. In the face of that coming judgement, forgiveness of sins is only possible through this MAN. (Acts 13:38-39)
5. The Resurrection of Jesus is central to His Gospel, whether to Jews (13:28-35, or to Gentiles. (17:31-32)
6. He makes no apology, makes no attempt to prove, for his confidence is in the God of the Gospel to do His Work!!!
Consider Paul’s preaching of this revealed Gospel:
Vs 10 Paul’s motivation: Paul’s only motivation was to please God, Man pleasing and God Pleasing are mutually exclusive of one another. The word for “pleasing” is #3982, peitho. It literally means to persuade. (Thayers’ Greek Lexicon) It’s not that Paul is trying to persuade God that he is something that he is not! He is rather seeking to live out this high calling evidentially before God, as I Thessalonians states, “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but (pleasing) God Who tests the hearts.”
Hebrews 6:9 In this passage that gives nightmares to many, but is actually quite plain in its meaning & comfort to the truly faithful, the writer, in keeping with our Lord’s Parable of the Soils, shows how false many showy professions are. Fleshly counterfeits, stony ground hearers, can be very deceptive. But in verse 9, the writer shifts gears. Again we have #3982, peitho, persuaded. The writer is “persuaded (KJV) of better things of you, yes, things that accompany salvation.” He then speaks of the love of the brethren hallmark of true belief of which Apostles John & Paul speak. (I John 3:10-23; Ephesians 1:15; Colossians 1:3-4)
The point is, God judges the heart by visible evidences. Though He knows our hearts perfectly, His judgement will always based on visible deeds, for both good or evil, so that no man or devil can argue with God’s just sentence. Notice that in Revelation 19:12, that “they were judged, each one according to his works. There will be no “yeah buts” in the Day of Judgement. All evidence will be visible and plain in God’s Courtroom. The “thoughts & intents” of the heart are manifested by the “joints & marrow” and is evident before Him Who will one day Judge perfectly the quick & the dead. (Hebrews 4:12-13)
Paul was not a man pleaser. #700 aresko=to strive to please; to accommodate oneself to the opinions, desires, interests of others. (Strongs) Paul uses “aresko” in I Thessalonians 2:4, “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even we speak. Not s pleasing men, but (pleasing) God Who tests the hearts.” Remember, we are not saved by the Grace of God as a religious means of self improvement or self elevation. Paul isn’t the only one who gets a heart evaluation. If the applause of men in ANY WAY influences our word or presentation of the Gospel of Christ, we are no longer “approved by God”!
Vs 11-23 From persecutor to bond-servant!
A. Acts 6:8-7:60 Sitting at the feet of Stephen. Stephen was only concerned with pleasing God, not willing to “white wash” history to save his skin! Notice 7:57-8:1 Paul was present the gospel/history lesson & agreed with the stoning of Stephen. I wonder if a big part of what Jesus is meaning in Acts 9:5, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads”, were Stephens’ words as arrows to the soul of this student of Gamaliel, who himself was not far from the kingdom of God! (Acts 5:34-39; 22:3)
B. Galatians 1:11-17/Acts 9:1-19 Sitting at the feet of Jesus!! Galatians 1:1- His Apostleship and therefore his Gospel, was “not from man, but through Jesus Christ & God the Father”.
1. Acts 22:17-21, 23:11 Paul testifies to his seeing the Risen Lord with his own eyes.
2. Acts 9:3-6 His arrest: The man who sought letters to arrest “people of the way” is himself arrested and given letters Jesus Whom he was persecuting used to liberate millions from the gates of hell! No man-not even an anti-Christ terrorist, can resist God’s will!!! (2 Chronicles 20:6)
3. Acts 9:10-19 His calling is deeply humbling. This Pharisee of the Pharisee’s was struck blind in front of his “underlings”, & must listen to the One he is persecuting. Then he is led by the hand like a little child! His commission doesn’t come from some bishop, pope, or ordination council, but from a simple, obedient servant of the Lord, Ananias, a man we hear no more of after this event!
Remember 1 Corinthians 1:26-31: Never, ever, minimize your’s or anyone else’s place in the body of Christ!! God has you where He wants you. Never, ever be “wowed” by the eloquent, the charismatic, the “beautiful” people in places of power in the “church”. Some who have detracted from the Glory of God by their “gifts”, have been eaten by worms! (Acts 12:21-23)
4. Acts 9:16 The purpose of God’s calling: “To reveal His Son in me.” His calling wasn’t just merely a matter of words, to preach right stuff. In some way, in some measure, he was to “embody” his Subject, Christ Jesus. Paul was to embody the mystery of which he speaks in Colossians 1:25-27, “which is Christ in you, the Hope of Glory.” Paul’s Apostolic ministry was unique, never to be duplicated by any one, but in some measure, this “revealing His Son in me” is the heart impact of his Gospel upon all who believe!
5. Acts 9:15-16 His commission requires him to walk in the footsteps of the Suffering Servan, Jesus. Yes, he will speak before kings & magistrates, but always as a prisoner, never as an honored guest!
C. Consider his Message:
1. Acts 9:20-22 He preached Christ from the very first, that HE IS (not was) the Son of God, proving to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. There isn’t a time frame mentioned in Acts, but it would appear that Vs 20-22 may have been during the 3 years mentioned in Galatians 1:18, probably at the feet of Jesus, just as the other Apostles had their 3 years with Jesus.
2. Acts 13:13-40 At Antioch of Pisidia. Paul’s first recorded sermon & it covers the same historical ground as that of Peter in Acts 2 & Stephen in Acts 7.
1) It is in the synagogue. This was Paul’s initial pattern. (Acts 9:20,17::2) He is in transition from the Jew first part of Jesus’ command to the Gentiles. (Acts 1:8, 8:15, 13:46, 18:6, 17:2) Remember: Acts is the transitional history of God’s calling out a people for His Name, from being primarily focused upon the Jews in the Old Covenant to majoring on the Gentiles in the New Covenant. Paul is God’s key instrument in this transitional message!
2) Notice the Active, Living Soveriegn God in his message. There is no mention of Moses, Joshua, no specific erson until he gets to Samuel & Israel’s rejecting Gd in asking for a king.(I Sameuel 8:7) I believe that in mentioning Samuel, he is setting the stage for David’s Seed, Jesus.(Vs 23) Buy notice the tone: God does everything! His human agency is hardly acknowledged! Paul is building to the point that “the promise which was made to the fathers, God has fulfilled for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus.” (Vs 33-34) Significantly, Paul equates “today I have begotten You” in the second Psalm to the Resurrection of Jesus and also, the prophecy os the Sure Mercies of David”. Vs 29-37 are consumed with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!!! Finally, he drives home the point that only through this Resurrected Man can anyone find the forgiveness of sins that the Law and its sacrifices could not provide.
3. Acts 17:16-34 In Athens before the pagan philosophers: Paul’s first recorded sermon that as primarily to Gentiles. Note especially Vs 18 & 31-32.
a. Even here, this occasion begins in the synagogue (vs 17), but his discourse spilled over into the marketplace. Here some of the philosophers heard him “babble” about the Resurrections of Jesus and invited him to the Aeropagus so that they might add to the pantheon of doctrines & gods that they “worshiped”.
b. Notice the Visibility and Sovereignty of this “unknown” Living God that he proclaims! This God made the world and everything in it and is Lord of heaven and earth and His Worship cannot be contained in humanly constructed buildings. (Take note, contemporary Christians!) Without quoting the 1st commandment directly, he makes it plain in Vs 29.
c. Vs 31 He declares the judgement of all men, “He will judge the world in righteousness by the MAN Whom He Ordained.” He has given assurance of this to all (the Judgement by Christ Jesus) by raising Him from the dead.”
To sum up Paul’s message:
1. He starts with the Sovereign God, not sinful needy man!
2. He speaks of a Living, Active, Sovereign, Who is visibly completely in charge of heaven & earth and everything in it!
3. This God has sent His Son, Christ Jesus, THE MAN, by Whom He will judge all mankind.
4. In the face of that coming judgement, forgiveness of sins is only possible through this MAN. (Acts 13:38-39)
5. The Resurrection of Jesus is central to His Gospel, whether to Jews (13:28-35, or to Gentiles. (17:31-32)
6. He makes no apology, makes no attempt to prove, for his confidence is in the God of the Gospel to do His Work!!!