The Gospel: All of God, All of Grace Text: Galatians 1:11-24 Series: No Other Gospel, Galatians [#3] Pastor Lyle L. Wahl October 2, 2011 Introduction This is our third week in the book of Galatians. Paul opened the letter with a brief greeting and then moved straight into forcefully and aggressively addressing the issue of false teachers and teaching that had come to those churches. That may have caught them off guard, just as when you pick up the letter may ketch you off guard. It certainly would have captured their attention. Paul could have eased into the discussion. In sports, some competitors start with exploring what the other player or team is like, getting familiar with the opponent, while others come out full tilt. If you drop in on the Saturday ping pong ministry, you will see some players easing into play while warming up, but my observation is (especially with Tavi) when the game begins it is full tilt unless, as with the man who dragged me to a table yesterday, the player is being nice and, as he put it, trying to help me. He took pity on me. Paul stated a few of the facts of the gospel in the first five verses but, as we saw last time, jumped into his main message that there is only one gospel, there is no other gospel, and that there is to be zero tolerance for false teachers and their false messages. As the false teachers tried to convince the believers they had to live under the Jewish law and practices to be saved, they assaulted both Paul s message and qualifications. His message, they would say, has some of the basics but is incomplete. He may not have understood the truth from the apostles accurately, or perhaps he was deliberately distorting it. Being Jewish, and perhaps even from Jerusalem, they may have given the impression they were speaking for the apostles based there. Paul, they said, had no special standing. After all, he was not one of the original apostles. With that in mind, we can understand why Paul launched into a defense of his message and apostleship beginning in 1:11, which continues all the way through chapter 2. Even though he is defending himself, more importantly, he continues to defend the gospel. Interwoven through this last part of chapter one is the central truth that the gospel is all of God, it is all of grace. It comes from God. It s ministry also comes from God by His grace. And all the praise and glory for its everlasting transformation of people belongs to God. Yes, the gospel is all of God, all of grace. The Gospel Comes From God. The good news of Jesus Christ did not originate with any one person or any group of people. It is truth that God revealed. This is not a matter of semantics. It is a foundational
truth that separates the Christian faith from everything else. Paul s answer to the charge of the false teachers that his message was indeed just his, something he dreamed up on his own or misinterpreted from others, is based on this truth. God was the source of the gospel he preached. Look at verse 11. For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me 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 (11-12). Then, perhaps seven or eight years later, he told the believers in Corinth about his visions and revelations of the Lord and that to keep him from being proud because of them, God gave him what Paul referred to as a thorn in the flesh. 1 And a dozen or so years later Paul told the church in Ephesus that God revealed the mystery of Christ to the other apostles as well. 2 This revelation did not take place in a vacuum. The twelve disciples had knowledge of the Old Testament and Jesus had taught them while they were with Him during His ministry. Paul had detailed knowledge of the Old Testament, including the prophecies about the coming Messiah, before he came to see and believe in Christ. God, through the Holy Spirit, brought it all together, revealing the truth of the gospel to them. This is true for the gospel which we have believed and share with others. The source of our true gospel is God. You see, the gospel is not a Paul-thing, an Apostles-thing, a humanthing, but was and is a God-thing. Six times in his letters Paul referred to the gospel as the gospel of God. 3 Turn to the book of Romans (page 119 in the second or New Testament section of the pew Bibles). The first verse, the opening lines, Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh (1:1-3). God gave the promise of the Christ, the promise of the gospel in the holy Scriptures. We do not rely on imagination or speculation, but on God s revealed truth in the Bible. Remember Paul s succinct summary of the gospel in the opening lines of 1 Corinthians 15, For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (3-4). Yes, the source of the gospel, of Paul s gospel, of our gospel, was God. It is God s revealed truth. 2 Timothy 3 tells us that All Scripture is inspired by God [or is breathed out by God] (16). And so it shares the nature of God it is perfect, without error and totally reliable. God tells us through Peter 2
that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. 4 And as such it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. 5 For we who have believed, have been saved, the gospel, all of Scripture is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that [we] may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 6 But, someone may ask, how were people to know, how are we to know those revelations to Paul and the apostles were really from God, were really His truth? That is an excellent question. There always have been people who claimed to speak for God who were not. God instructed Israel not to listen to anyone who would tell them to follow man-made gods, even if they performed signs and wonders. 7 In fact, if someone spoke in God s name things that did not come to pass, he was to be put to death. 8 Think back to the nineteenth century. Some members of one teenager s family joined a Presbyterian church. He wondered what he should do. When he was thinking one day, he claimed that two personages, whose brightness and glory defy description appeared in the air above him. He said he asked them which group he should join, and reported that one said that he must not join any of them, that they all were corrupt and an abomination in his sight. 9 And so began the false religion of Mormonism, which one of its recent leaders described as the pure, unadulterated Christianity of old. Mormonism is Christianity; Christianity is Mormonism; they are one and the same, and they are not to be distinguished from each other in the minutest detail. 10 Far from it. It is a false gospel. How do we know? How can we say that? We must be like the people of Berea who listened to Paul came to their city proclaiming the good news of Christ and then were examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. 11 We must evaluate, test, judge all messages by Scripture. The gospel is all of God, all of grace. The Gospel s Ministry Comes From God. Just as the gospel comes from God, so all true ministry of the gospel comes from Him. Paul defended his message and ministry not based on who he was or what he accomplished, but on the fact that God called him to this ministry and was accomplishing the results. Look at verse 15. God who had set me apart even from my mother s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles (15-16a). God set him apart before he was born. God called him on the road to Damascus to the ministry for which He had set him apart. And notice, it was Christ being revealed in Paul, 3
being displayed by the character and control of Christ, that enabled Paul to effectively preach the gospel. Paul s ministry was all of God, all of grace. And so when he struggled with his thorn in the flesh he could understand that God s grace was sufficient for even that. Paul accepted and was grounded in the truth that when he was weak, that is when he did not rely on his own abilities, then he was strong because God perfects power in weakness. 12 When I think about this wonderful reality, my mind goes to Jeremiah, another faithful, effective servant of God. When he was in his late teens or early twenties, God told him, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations (1:5). Jeremiah was astonished and perplexed, as we would have been. He answered, Alas, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth (1:6). God graciously told him, Do not say, I am a youth, because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you (1:7-8). Yes, Jeremiah s ministry, like Paul s, was all of God, all of grace. What was true for Paul and Jeremiah is true for us, for all who have been saved through the gospel. We are God s servants. We have ministry to do for him. That ministry comes from and is empowered by God. It is all of God, all of His grace. One bedrock statement from Scripture for who I am in Christ, who all of us are in Christ, is Ephesians 1. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved (3-6). Then when it comes to God enabling me and each of us for ministry, I often go later in that same letter to chapter 2:10, we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. And, for a bit more detailed description to 1 Corinthians 1, I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (4-9). 4
How about thanking God with these words for yourself and for every other believer at Knox and elsewhere? Isn t it great that it s not all up to us! It doesn t depend on our past or present, our personality or ability. It is all of God and all of grace. It doesn t mean we can sit back, like one man, and wait for an earthquake to pop the potatoes out the ground. There is work to be done. As Paul told his young associate Timothy, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 13 The Gospel s Praise Belongs To God. The gospel comes from God. It s ministry comes from God. So, logically as well as according to Scripture, all the praise for the gospel s work belongs to and should be given to God. While Paul was bright, greatly gifted and highly effective in ministry, he made sure that all knew that all the praise should go to God. Drop down to the last verse of the chapter. And they [that is, the people of Syria and Cilicia as noted in verse 21] were glorifying God because of me (24). Even from those earliest days of ministry he lived and taught so people knew that the praise and glory belonged to God and they gave it to Him, not to Paul. This was a prevailing theme throughout Paul s letters. For example, he told the believers at Corinth that he was ministering for their sake so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. 14 As Peter wrote about serving God, he instructed, Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 15 God graciously does share His glory with His people. Romans 8:17 tells us that children of God are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. But, as God said through Isaiah, My glory I will not give to another (48:11). That is, He does not, will not share glory that belongs to Him alone with anyone. That includes the glory that comes through the ministry of the gospel. Our ministries are not as extensive or memorable to people as Paul s were. But each of us, each child of God has vital service to carry out for God. We must do it for His glory, never our own, and so that people see God and give Him the glory. Paul made this point several times in his first letter to the church at Corinth. They had become focused on human leaders, some were following and boasting in Paul, others in Apollos. Paul yanked them back to reality. 5
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God s fellow workers; you are God s field, God s building. 16 Then a bit later he shines a laser beam on this point, telling them not to be arrogant. For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? 17 From a more positive perspective, Paul prayed for the believers at Thessalonica, To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 18 Make no mistake about it. God is not pleased when we take praise that belongs to Him for what He has done through us. God is not pleased when we give praise to others that belongs to Him. God s light does not shine brightly and clearly through us when we place ourselves or other workers in the center of the spotlight. I once followed a man in a ministry position who had to be center stage in everything. He had good abilities. He had a true and sincere desire to serve God. But he always had to be the focus, and he continually basked in the praise. That limited much of what God would have done through him. It also set some off on the wrong focus for ministry. And It made it difficult for others, such as myself, to follow after him. Going back to the church at Corinth, in addition to telling them that whatever they did they were to do all to the glory of God 19, Paul also told them God s word through Jeremiah, Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord. 20 Apparently they didn t get the message completely in the first letter because he repeated it in his second letter. 21 Conclusion. The Gospel is all of God, all of grace. It comes from God by His grace. It s ministry comes to and through us from God by His grace. It s praise belongs only to Him. In a time of distress, King David called out to God, How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? 22 6
But then he shifted his focus to God and wrote, But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me. 23 Only God s gospel, only His salvation brings true joy in all circumstances. Man-made religion, whether in the first or twenty-first century, cannot bring true joy. It is a never ending, ever lengthening ladder to climb. Thank God today that the gospel that was the power of God for your salvation is all of God, all of grace. Determine to fulfill your ministry and give all the praise to God. Do that now in these next few moments that you spend with the Lord. 1 2 Corinthians 12:1-10. 2 Ephesians 3:4-5. 3 Romans 1:1; 15:16; 2 Corinthians 11:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:2, 8, 9. 4 2 Peter 1:20b-21. 5 Romans 1:16. 6 2 Timothy 3:16b-17. 7 Deuteronomy 13:1-18. 8 Deuteronomy 18:20-22. 9 Smith, Joseph. Joseph Smith History: Chapter 1. The Pearl of Great Price. Neeland Media LLC. Kindle Edition, 19-21. 10 Bruck R. McConkie. Mormon Doctrine. Salt Lake City: Desert Book Co., 1996, page 363. <http://www.4shared.com/get/i3mr10mf/mormon_doctrine Bruce_R_McCon.html>. Accessed 29 September 2011. 11 Acts 17:11. 12 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. 13 2 Timothy 4:5. 14 2 Corinthians 4:15. 15 1 Peter 4:11. 16 1 Corinthians 3:5-9. 17 1 Corinthians 4:7. 7
18 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12. 19 1 Corinthians 10:31. 20 1 Corinthians 1:31; cf. Jeremiah 9:23-24. 21 2 Corinthians 10:17; cf. Jeremiah 9:23-24. 22 Psalm 13:1-2. 23 Psalm 13:5-6. 2011 Lyle L. Wahl Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. 8