BY THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST

04 May 2021

I used this heading to denote Paul's calling and remarkable teachings as a result of His significant revelation of Jesus Christ. He received His expositions concerning the gospel truth straight from Jesus Himself through special revelation.

Reference: Galatians 1:12 King James Version (KJV) "For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Paul's preaching was a result of the revelation of Christ. At the beginning of the above chapter, he addressed himself as an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead). Remember that Paul, formerly known as Saul, persecuted the Christian churches in his day, and sent out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. One day, as he neared Damascus to carry out his mission, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes, he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. Beloved, by considering this passage, you can now understand why the authority of Paul to preach the gospel was attacked. Nobody saw Jesus speak to Paul when he fell to the ground. The men traveling with Paul (then Saul) only heard a sound. So it was hard for anyone to defend Paul's calling and revelation (see Galatians 1:15-23).

In our referenced Scripture, Paul started defending himself, insisting that he received the truth of the gospel in a direct revelation from Jesus. Nobody taught him his expositions, neither was it a man-invented revelation. Pauline revelation was sound and he wasn't taught by other apostles or prophets. He was not one of the disciples trained by Jesus during his ministry and sent to proclaim the gospel to the world. The only person to confirm his calling was Ananias, whom the Lord spoke to saying, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel" (see Acts 9:15-16 ESV). In other words, Ananias, don't argue. Go! I have picked Paul as my personal representative to non-Jews and kings and Jews.

Beloved, the gospel we proclaim is not of human origin but directly from the revelation of Jesus Christ. The disciples saw Jesus, walked with Him and Jesus sent them. In 1 Peter 1:16 (NIV) Peter says, "For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." The Word we preach is the Word of life, for the Bible says, "And this is the life that was revealed; we have seen it and testified to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:1-3).

We did not meet Christ on earth, but we believe in Him and our fellowship is with Him and with our Father in heaven. 1 Peter 1:8-9 says, "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy, now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." Shalom!

Scripture Reading - John 1:1; John 19:35; 1 John 4:2; 1 John 5:20.

Guided Prayer: Father, your Word says that without faith it is impossible to engage you, for he that comes to you must believe that you exist, and that you are a rewarder of those who diligently seek you. I believe in Christ and the revelation of divine mysteries. Thank you for revealing Christ to me through the glorious gospel and for granting me His personal presence and glory through the Holy Spirit in Jesus' Name, Amen!