to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood,to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I didn’t immediately confer with flesh and blood,To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles; straightway I conferred not with flesh and blood:
3 sermons cite this verse
… But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any men. Did you catch that? He said, God was pleased to reveal, verse 16, to reveal his son in me, to reveal Christ in me, so that, purpose clause, why did God, why was he pleased to reveal his son in me? So that I would do what? Preach him, proclaim him among the Gentiles, among the nations. So Christ is in me so that I might preach him among the nations. Don't miss it. Paul is not saying this is relegated to a special call in our lives. He's saying this is the very purpose of our salvation. Because Christ is in us, it's automatically we would give our lives to proclaim that gospel to the entire world. Turn back to Romans, a few pages to the left there. We passed over. Look at Romans chapter 1. …
… You have to live it now, survive it now, explain it later. When I read you Galatians chapter 1, verses 11 through 20, I read that on purpose first, but it's not what Paul said while he was going through his conversion. It's what he said 14 years after the fact. And Saul, excuse me, Paul, the artist formerly known as Saul, saw his Hebrew name. He was named after the first king of Israel. He was from the same tribe of Benjamin. The name Saul means to hear or to ask. Excuse me, not to hear, to ask. Isn't that crazy that in the beginning of the passage, he's asking for letters to persecute the church, and after God gets done with him, he's asking Jesus, who are you? God is changing his questions. Isn't that crazy? As he's explaining to the church at Galatia… This is a group of Christians who didn't grow up Jewish. It's a group of Christians we would call Gentiles. It's who Paul was called to reach. He says in verse 13, I know you heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God. You heard about my previous way of life. Now stop right there. Have you been imprisoned in your previous. …
"I conferred not with flesh and blood." Galatians 1:16. THE conversion of Paul is one of the evidences of the truth of our holy religion. So far as this life was concerned, he had nothing to gain, but everything to lose by becoming a Christian. From being a great Rabbi he came to be the companion of poor fishermen who themselves were the followers of One who was poorer even than they! It is clear that he was no fanatic and not at all likely to be carried away by any sudden impulse. He was clear-headed, thoughtful, logical and his conversion must have been worked by some very extraordinary power—there must have been, to him at least, overwhelming evidence of the truth of what he believed and of that form of faith to which he devoted his whole after life. In addition to supplying us with valuable evidence of the truth of Christianity, Paul has left to us a most remarkable example of its force in his own person. Never was there a man more fully possessed with the Spirit of Christ than he was. He was no feeble saint with just enough Grace to enable him to go limping into Heaven—he was a spiritual athlete, wrestling with the powers of darkness, running with endurance the race set before him and "filled with all the fullness of God." He was one who was indeed "strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might." He threw himself, with all his natural zeal, into the cause of Christ—that natural zeal being so sanctified by the Spirit of God as to make him a mighty and valiant servant of the Lord. I pray that we, also, Beloved, may be what Paul was. I will not even deny his bonds! He did so when he said to king Agrippa, "I would to God that not only you, but also all that hear me this day were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds." But we might be willing even to wear his bonds if we might but have such a character as his fully developed within us! …