For do I now persuade
men, or God?
Or do I seek to
please men?
For if I still
pleased men,
I would not be a
bondservant of Christ.
But I make known to
you 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 it came
through the
revelation of Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1: 10 -- 12
Throughout
the history of the Hebrews and of Christians have a similarity; there are those
who would use the religion of the people to teach a false religion. Nothing has changed for we still have this
problem with us today. Moses wrote
about such problem as this is and how to handle it: "If there are rises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams,
and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass,
of which he spoke to you, saying, ’Let us go after other gods’ -- which you
have not known –‘Let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that
prophet or dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know
whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your
soul. You shall walk after the LORD
your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall
serve Him and hold fast to Him. But
that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has
spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of
the land of Egypt and redeem you from the house of bondage, to entice you from
the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your
midst" (Deuteronomy 13: 1 -- 5).
This declaration is so important especially when we consider how men by
powerful talents mislead men, and high sounding claims that they have inspiration of
supernatural powers. We see this in
those so-called Christian churches where they tout and preach and demand that
people follow some sort of supernatural revelation, even having their students or
congregants go and lay on graves as to somehow pick up some sort of spirit, or a
walk-through tunnels of fire, or even to speak in some sort of unknown
gibberish language, and to go about attempting to pray for healing for people
and they do this as though they are receiving a special revelation from
God. Well, did not Paul say that he
received a revelation from God? Yes
question is what was he talking about?
When we study the Bible we must study it in its completeness and not
simply pull out certain scriptures to prove our point so we look at the letter
to the Ephesians to get an understanding of what Paul was writing to the
Galatians. If you remember Ephesus is
just south of the land of Galatia and maybe even considered to be part of
Galatia although in this case Paul was writing to a particular church in
Ephesus and not the churches in the land of Galatia. So let us see what Paul wrote to the Ephesians: "For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner
of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles -- if indeed you have heard of the
dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that might
revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written are ready
by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of
Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has
now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets; that the
Gentiles should be fellow errors, of the same body, and partakers of his That
promise in Christ through the Gospel, of which I became a minister according to
the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His
power" (Ephesians 3: 1 -- 7).
What was his revelation that Paul received other than the fact that
Jesus Christ was the Messiah, the promised Messiah, who is the Son of God, who
was God incarnate in the flesh? It was
not some revelation that he was to go about healing people or speaking in some
sort of gibberish language or any other thing for this revelation was a mystery
that was unknown to the Jewish people before the arrival of Jesus Christ on
earth, and, before His death and resurrection, and ascension into heaven. It was not until the Holy Spirit was given
to each believer under the new dispensation, the new covenant, that was given
to the Christian church by Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. It was this: that no longer that which was
hidden in the past is no longer to be hidden and that the Gentiles who were
forbidden to come into the Jewish nation unless they followed some sort of
ritual, especially circumcision, was no longer necessary for the all peoples
could now become partakers of the promise of Jesus Christ through the
Gospel. Notice this: it was not by some
sort of signs and wonders that people came to be partakers, no, it was the
Gospel. And this gospel is that Jesus
Christ came to forgive sin and applies that work on the cross whereby men can
be justified in sanctified to whomever are the children of God, His bride. Paul in this letter has to reprove Galatian
churches for their unsteadiness in the faith.
It was their defection that was his greatest surprise and sorrow. It is true today for those who preach the truth of the Gospel that they are sorrowful and even surprised
that many would fall prey to the antics and practices of those false preachers
and teachers who speak of special revelation when we have no need for anything
other than a word of God that teaches us all things by means of the Bible aided by
the Holy Spirit. Quick running about
looking for what is not to be sought.
Jesus reiterated that what is written in Deuteronomy: we are to do that
which God has commanded us and we do this by walking in what He has commanded and this by putting away the evil and furthermore as Jesus said: "we are to
love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul.
How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking
the heed according to Your word.
With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me
not wander from Your commandments!
Your word I have hidden in my heart,
that I
might not sin against You.
Psalm 119: 9 -- 11
God does not hide His commandments from you
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