Galatians #3 - "The Rest Of The Story" - Galatians 1:11-24

 


Paul Harvey, an Army veteran of WWII and ABC radio commentary, would start off his program with "Hello Americans" and would end with "Good Day."  His most popular version of his radio program was the Saturday edition titled "The Rest Of The Story."  You received the front half of the story and then after the commercial break you would receive the back half of the story.  I relate this to our passage as Paul is giving us the rest of the story around his conversion to Christianity to help the Christians of the Galatia churches to see and understand the simple and genuine gospel presented to them.

Paul is making the gospel the focal point of every section.  In the first section it is the explanation of what the gospel is and in a way, what the gospel is not.  In the next section he stresses the importance of holding to the gospel as presented to them.  In this section, Paul will relate the gospel to his very life and also share with his readers the rest of the story on what happened after his conversion on the road to Damascus.  All of this is to help the Christians of Galatia to have confidence in what they have heard and not something that is trying to be added to the message of all sufficiency in Christ alone, Paul's soap box.  He will carry this explanation through chapter 2.

Paul tells us where he was; who he met; who he didn't met; and also the impact of what happened to him on those who just heard the story.  He is giving a detailed account of his movements and human interactions.  Paul is defending himself and later he defends the truth of the gospel shared with them and he is probably wishing he didn't have to spend ink and parchment on this content.  I know it is all God's words and inspired by Him through the Holy Spirit so therefore it has a supreme purpose for them and us to read these accounts.

In the midst of clarifying himself as an apostle with a message given by Jesus and also verifying the true message of the gospel, nothing more and nothing less than Jesus, Paul shares again his experience and reflection of this good news on his life in verses 15 & 16.  I say reflection because I think our understanding of our rebirth or conversion to being a Christ follower changes over time.  At first, it is focused much on me and my sins and my salvation.  Later, after much time with the Lord and His words, we switch our focus to Him and His sacrifice and His salvation to us.  

Paul connects that God not only had a huge part in his physical birth but also his spiritual birth.  His physical birth is tied to his spiritual birth for the glory of God. (v.15).  Paul also ascribes the grace of God in which he was called to was revealed by God to him by opening his eyes to see God's Son, Jesus Christ.  This salvation had a purpose from the very beginning to proclaim Him to the Gentiles (v.16).  God had a plan before Paul had a plan.  When God's plan was revealed to Paul through rebirth and salvation, Paul answered the call with repentance and obedience.  Now Paul is fulfilling God's plan rather than his previous plan of persecuting those who followed Jesus Christ.

I think this is also true of us who have answered the call of Christ on our lives.  At first we see it through our eyes but later we start to see it through the eyes of God and His word.  We realize He had a plan for our lives all along.  His plan always involves us answering the call to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and to follow Jesus.  It is through Jesus that we now see His plan to employ His followers to be proclaimers of Him.  My salvation becomes His salvation provided for me.  My benefit of forgiveness of sins and escape of God's wrath and receiving eternal life becomes a mission to spread the good news to others (Gentiles).  My eyes go from what I am receiving from God to what and why He did all this for me.  

This is why the gospel is needed to be heard by the unsaved and the saved.  The unsaved need to hear the gospel to respond appropriately when called.  The saved need to hear the gospel to respond appropriately to fulfill God's plan for our lives, to be proclaimers of Him.  

Adam



A simple man serving a great God and the local pastor of Stillwater Community Chapel (stillwater-chapel.org). We are in our 38th year of full time ministry. God directed us to this local body of believers on the Western Range of the Rockies to grow with them in mission and mindedness of Christ.

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