Galatians 1
Galatians 1:1-24
1 Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead),
2 and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:
3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,
4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
5 to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,
7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
10 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.
11 But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.
12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
13 For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.
14 And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace,
16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood,
17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days.
19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.
20 (Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God, I do not lie.)
21 Afterward I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
22 And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ.
23 But they were hearing only, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy.”
24 And they glorified God in me.
While there is a need to be teachable and receptive of instruction from many sources, it is necessary for the real source of revelation to be from the Spirit, for there to be a direct connection to the Spirit of Truth. There may be a strong bond with a minister, but they can become a hindrance to true revelation if they are seen as its source. If their view on every issue is considered to be “the” view, there is a danger of them displacing rather than representing and guiding to the Source. It’s interesting that Paul was kept from just emulating the disciples who went before him and received direct revelation from Jesus as he was separated from the church for a period of time. This allowed him to be able to claim that his ministry wasn’t ordained by men alone, but directly by God.
In the pursuit of the heart of God and the revelation of truth there at His side, it is necessary to develop a direct line to that truth, where it is personally mined with a passion for revelation. There will be wonderful assistance in this through gifted ministers, but the greatest transformation-producing revelation will come when the words of life are received directly from the heart of God in personal communion. Even the amazing quotables from the famous will be more about redirection to the Father’s heart than fixation on the man. Healthy honor and respect will be maintained in this perspective without a dangerous redirect to a human limitation. This will also not be a dangerous segregation from the body and honor for its ministers. True revelation received from the Father’s heart will always engender passion and service to His body rather than assumed independence from and superiority over it.
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