But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
Paul certifies to the church in Galatia, as a former persecutor turned convert, that the gospel he preached is not after man. Not after man means the gospel did not originate with human beings and was neither received from people nor learned or devised by them, but came directly from heaven through revelation of Jesus Christ and instruction from God in heavenly vision. His years away from Jerusalem after the Damascus vision, followed by only a brief visit there before preaching to the Gentiles, support his claim that he had not received his gospel through human instruction. It stands in contrast to his former life in Judaism, when beyond measure he persecuted and wasted the church of God and advanced beyond many of his equals through exceeding zeal for the traditions of his fathers.
After Christ was revealed to him he gave up the honors and advantages he could have gained in Judaism and devoted his life to preaching the cross. Acknowledging Christ as the Son of God was a tremendous step for him, but the revelation gave him certain knowledge so he knew what he affirmed. The truths he grasped through God's power had been presented in the Old Testament Scriptures and embodied in Christ's life. His conversion and early Christian experience gave him settled conviction, knowledge, and assurance of faith to warn the Galatians and to set forth Christ in clear and unanswerable argument as the resurrection and the life to all who would believe.
His message was righteousness by faith in Jesus, accompanied by the Holy Spirit's convincing power. His understanding of the work he had been doing came after his conversion described in Acts, when he himself suffered from the same human will that showed hatred of Christ. The certification stands against those who trouble believers and would pervert the gospel of Christ into another gospel, and against preaching to please men rather than God, marking the true servant of Christ. The gospel was not to be replaced by teachings that mixed Jewish traditions with it or made circumcision a condition of salvation.
That divine teaching led him to reject human traditions and unnecessary burdens placed on Gentile Christians, including circumcision as a requirement, and to defend their freedom from Jewish rites and ceremonies. His testimony establishes that his gospel came from God and could not be extinguished by earthly opposition. Though his enemies tried again and again to take his life, truth bore away the victory, with angels of God on the ground fighting for him who would not fight for himself.
Paul certifies to the church in Galatia, as a former persecutor turned convert, that the gospel he preached is not after man. Not after man means the gospel did not originate with human beings and was neither received from people nor learned or devised by them, but came directly from heaven through revelation of Jesus Christ and instruction from God in heavenly vision. His years away from Jerusalem after the Damascus vision, followed by only a brief visit there before preaching to the Gentiles, support his claim that he had not received his gospel through human instruction. It stands in contrast to his former life in Judaism, when beyond measure he persecuted and wasted the church of God and advanced beyond many of his equals through exceeding zeal for the traditions of his fathers.
After Christ was revealed to him he gave up the honors and advantages he could have gained in Judaism and devoted his life to preaching the cross. Acknowledging Christ as the Son of God was a tremendous step for him, but the revelation gave him certain knowledge so he knew what he affirmed. The truths he grasped through God's power had been presented in the Old Testament Scriptures and embodied in Christ's life. His conversion and early Christian experience gave him settled conviction, knowledge, and assurance of faith to warn the Galatians and to set forth Christ in clear and unanswerable argument as the resurrection and the life to all who would believe.
His message was righteousness by faith in Jesus, accompanied by the Holy Spirit's convincing power. His understanding of the work he had been doing came after his conversion described in Acts, when he himself suffered from the same human will that showed hatred of Christ. The certification stands against those who trouble believers and would pervert the gospel of Christ into another gospel, and against preaching to please men rather than God, marking the true servant of Christ. The gospel was not to be replaced by teachings that mixed Jewish traditions with it or made circumcision a condition of salvation.
That divine teaching led him to reject human traditions and unnecessary burdens placed on Gentile Christians, including circumcision as a requirement, and to defend their freedom from Jewish rites and ceremonies. His testimony establishes that his gospel came from God and could not be extinguished by earthly opposition. Though his enemies tried again and again to take his life, truth bore away the victory, with angels of God on the ground fighting for him who would not fight for himself.