Click here for Galatians 1:18-24 Podcast
18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. 21 Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me. (Galatians 1:18-24)
After being separated to God and taught by God for three years, the Apostle Paul went to Jerusalem to spend 15 days with Cephas which is Aramaic pronunciation for Peter. While he was visiting Peter, Paul saw James, the brother of Jesus.
As our text informs us, it is the power of the gospel that transforms us. And, God's transformative working in our lives works always from the inside out.
In our text, Paul establishes how the gospel came to him from God. As a result of hearing the gospel, belief is given a chance. When we embrace the gospel for what it is, God reaching into our lives, offering us hope, we celebrate it for ourselves.
As is indicated in Galatians 2, after some time, there was the need for Paul to confront the Galatians and Peter, for they had lost sight of the grace of God. This happens to all of us: we all lose sight of God's grace. And, when we do this, pride is always there to jump back into the driver's seat of our lives.
In today's text, Paul’s point is the gospel is a message from God. It is proven as such because it has the power to transform us. If the gospel was invented by men, then, when challenged by the hard realities of life, it would be found lacking. Yet, that is not the case, it does the opposite. The gospel has the power to embolden us when things
get complicated. The gospel delivers the life of God into our sin-lured lives.
Paul says that the gospel has everything to do with who we associate with. The gospel gives us God's heart for all people, no matter how different they seem to be. It transforms the way we think
about each other and the way we relate. The authenticity of the gospel is measured by its ability to change hard-hearted people who are willing to be changed.
As indicated in v.24, the result of this change is that others are directed to God and they subsequently praise God because of that change. This is the point of our change: that people would be drawn into a personal relationship with God. If the opposite is happening, people will follow people who have ill motives and reflect the fact that they have no authentic relationship with God, as was the case in Galatia.
I want to close with that thought that Paul leaves us with at the end of v.23: "...the faith he once tried to destroy.” Down through the years many have tried to stamp out this faith. The Lord Jesus told us, "the gates of hell shall not overcome it."
The enduring nature of God's truth underscores the believable nature of God's truth. Take, for example, the perpetuating nature of that little nation called Israel. Opposed by most on the face of the earth, surrounded by enemies, yet they are still there. There is coming a day, perhaps soon, when she will be surrounded and seemingly defeated in battle. But, God will raise her up. You can read more about this future war in Psalm 83.
The veracity of the Christian faith is found in its ability to endure. This kind of faith builds the greatest strength in those of faith in the God of the Bible. It is to our advantage to be defined by God's definition of all things, even when they appear most bleak.
