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Christian Network

   
Step By Step
Second Message on Galatians
Background Passage Galatians Chapter 1
Focal Passage:  Galatians 1:11-24
 
 
 

Galatians 1:10 through Galatians 1:24 (KJV)
10For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet 
pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. 11But I certify you, 
brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. 12For I 
neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of 
Jesus Christ. 13For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ 
religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: 
14And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, 
being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. 15But when it 
pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, 
16To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; 
immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: 17Neither went I up to 
Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and 
returned again unto Damascus. 18Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to 
see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. 19But other of the apostles saw I 
none, save James the Lord’s brother. 20Now the things which I write unto you, 
behold, before God, I lie not. 21Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and 
Cilicia; 22And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in 
Christ: 23But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now 
preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. 24And they glorified God in me.
 
 
 
"How do you account for your longevity?" asked the reporter on Harold's 
one-hundred-and-tenth birthday.
"You might call me a health nut," Harold replied. "I have never smoked or drunk. 
I was always in bed and sound asleep by ten o'clock. And I've always walked 
three miles a day, rain or shine."
"But I had an uncle who followed that exact routine and died when he was 62," 
said the reporter. "How come it didn't work for him?"
"All I can say, "replied Harold, "Is that he didn't keep it up long enough."
Life is a journey that we all must make, and the only way to get through it is 
to take it one day at a time.  Completing things step by step until we are 
finished.  We have to “keep it up long enough” to be successful. 
 
 
In today’s scripture we see Paul going through his conversion experience step by 
step in order for us to see how he had arrived to the place he was.  This 
evening we will look at:
 
Step 1:  The Beginnings
Step 2:  Placing the Past in the Past
Step 3:  Preparing for the Present Mission
Step 4:  Stepping out in Obedience
 
STEP 1:  The Beginnings
 
10For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet 
pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. 11But I certify you, 
brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
 
It is important to Paul that the Galatians remember his apostolic authority. 
While it is true that he and Barnabas were once “sent out” by men at Antioch as 
missionaries, this is not the foundation of his authority. Paul is an apostle in 
the fullest sense of the word, commissioned apart from any human intervention.
 
This was already set out clearly in verse 1 of Galatians when Paul said:
 
 
Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the 
Father, who raised him from the dead;
 
Now in verse eleven he reiterates it, hot on the heels of telling the Galatians 
that he was not there to please them, but rather to be a servant of Christ.  
Paul wanted to keep the message about the Gospel, as indicated in previous 
verses, but at this point it becomes necessary for him to defend the message by 
defending his authority to deliver that message.  
 
The NIV translates verse 11 like this:
 
I  want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that 
man made up.
 
Paul defends himself in this passage of scripture in great detail, but he wants 
us to know that he is also defending the Gospel as well.
As a professional animal trainer, I was disturbed when my own dog developed a 
bad habit. Every time I hung my wash out on the clothesline, she would yank it 
down. Drastic action was called for. I put a white kitchen towel on the line and 

waited. Each time she pulled it off, I scolded her. After two weeks the towel 
was untouched. Then I hung out a large wash and left to do some errands. When I 
came home, my clean clothes were scattered all over the yard. On the line was 
the white kitchen towel. 
·        Lori Andersen, in Reader's Digest 
 
Paul’s gospel didn’t come from man, or from theological tradition, but rather 
directly from Christ Himself along the Damascus road.  Unlike the misbehaving 
puppy in the story I just related, Paul’s teaching was sound doctrine.  
Paul’s authority, along with the gospel he was sharing had been undermined, but 
here in verses 11-12 we see him rectifying the situation.  Step one was 
accepting Christ.
 
Step 2:  Placing the Past in the Past
The following series of advertisements reportedly appeared in a daily newspaper:
Monday: "The Rev. A.J. Jones has one color TV set for sale. Telephone 626-1313 
after 7 p.m. and ask for Mrs. Donnelley who lives with him, cheap."
Tuesday: "We regret any embarrassment caused to Rev. Jones by a typographical 
error in yesterday's paper. The ad should have read: 'The Rev. A.J. Jones has 
one color TV set for sale, cheap...Telephone 626-1313 and ask for Mrs. 
Donnelley, who lives with him after 7 p.m.'"
Wednesday: "The Rev. A.J. Jones informs us that he has received several annoying 
telephone calls because of an incorrect ad in yesterday's paper. It should have 
read: 'The Rev. A.J. Jones has one color TV set for sale, cheap. Telephone 
626-1313 after 7 p.m. and ask for Mrs. Donnelley who loves with him.'"
Thursday: "Please take notice that I, the Rev. A.J. Jones, have no color TV set 
for sale; I have smashed it. Don't call 626-1313 anymore. I have not been 
carrying on with Mrs. Donnelley. She was, until yesterday, my housekeeper.'"
Friday: "Wanted: a housekeeper. Usual housekeeping duties. Good pay. Love in, 
Rev. A.J. Jones. Telephone 626-1313.'"
 
Who among us wouldn’t want to go back and correct the past?  It appears Rev. 

Jones would have been better off letting the past be the past!
In verses 13 & 14 we see Paul talking about his past, and a colorful past it 
was.  If there was ever anyone who might have wanted to erase, or change his 
past, it would have been Paul.  Yet knowing he couldn’t do that, he acknowledged 
it. He’s not telling the Galatian Christians about his past because he is proud 
of it, but rather he is telling them because they had heard about it and he was 
setting the record straight.
The defection of Gamaliel’s star pupil to Christianity was probably a well known 
event among Jews everywhere. To the extent that the Galatian audience included 
former Jews and those heavily influenced by former Jews (cf. v. 7), they knew 
all about Paul’s background.
 
Yet all of this changed when Paul accepted Christ.  It is interesting that Paul 
refers to his way of life “in Judaism.” He does not call it a time when he 
served God under the previous covenant; it is almost as though God had nothing 
to do with it. Similarly, in the next verse Paul will refer to “Judaism” and 
“the traditions of my fathers.” These references show a clear-cut break with the 
past.
Title:   The College Press NIV Commentary: Galatians & Ephesians 
Author:   Boles, Kenneth L., M.A. 
 
Paul himself relates in Acts 22:3 that “under Gamaliel I was thoroughly 
trained in the law of our fathers, and was just as zealous for God as any of you 

are today.” Not only so, but he was apparently at the top of his class, 
“advancing 
beyond many his own age.” (The same word for “advance” is found in a similar 
context in Luke 2:52, where Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, in favor with 
God and men.) 
 
In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we find that salvations brings a true and genuine change.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)
17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed 
away; behold, all things are become new.
It is equally, and vitally important for the Galatians, and us as well to leave 
the past in the past.  Step 2 is to leave the past behind.
 
Step 3:  Preparing for the Present Mission

Galatians 1:15 through Galatians 1:18 (KJV)
15But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me 
by his grace, 16To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the 
heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: 17Neither went I up 
to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and 
returned again unto Damascus. 18Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to 
see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.
 
It wasn’t sufficient for Paul, nor is it for us, to simply give up the past and 
nothing else.  Paul was given a mission and he needed to prepare for it.
 
Several centuries ago, a Japanese emperor commissioned an artist to paint a 
bird. A number of months passed, then several years, and still no painting was 
brought to the palace. Finally the emperor became so exasperated that he went to 
the artist's home to demand an explanation. Instead of making excuses, the 
artist placed a blank canvas on the easel. In less than an hour, he completed a 
painting that was to become a brilliant masterpiece. When the emperor asked the 
reason for the delay, the artist showed him armloads of drawings of feathers, 
wings, heads, and feet. Then he explained that all of this research and study 
had been necessary before he could complete the painting.
·      Our Daily Bread, May 18
 
Paul tells us right in verse 16 that he didn’t go and talk to Peter, or James, 
or indeed any human.  He went away to a place of quiet and solitude to study the 
Old Testament.
 
If we are to be effective in our own mission we must do the study and research 
before we begin.  We must prepare our minds, and our hearts to do God’s work.  
This is step 3, preparation.
 
Step 4:  Stepping Out In Obedience
 
Galatians 1:18 through Galatians 1:24 (KJV)
18Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him 
fifteen days. 19But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s 
brother. 20Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not. 
21Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia; 22And was unknown by 
face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ: 23But they had heard 
only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which 
once he destroyed. 24And they glorified God in me.
 
 
In these final verses of chapter one, we find Paul going about the Lord’s work 
as he was instructed.  Having been saved, having come to grips with his 
checkered past, having prepared for the battle, Paul follows through and does 
what is expected of him.
 
Imagine, if you will, that you work for a company whose president found it 
necessary to travel out of the country and spend an extended period of time 
abroad. So he says to you and the other trusted employees, "Look, I'm going to 
leave. And while I'm gone, I want you to pay close attention to the business. 
You manage things while I'm away. I will write you regularly. When I do, I will 
instruct you in what you should do from now until I return from this trip." 
Everyone agrees. He leaves and stays gone for a couple of years. During that 
time he writes often, communicating his desires and concerns. Finally he 
returns. He walks up to the front door of the company and immediately discovers 
everything is in a mess--weeds flourishing in the flower beds, windows broken 
across the front of the building, the gal at the front desk dozing, loud music 
roaring from several offices, two or three people engaged in horseplay in the 
back room. Instead of making a profit, the business has suffered a grat loss. 
Without hesitation he calls everyone together and with a frown asks, "What 
happened? Didn't you get my letters?" You say, "Oh, yeah, sure. We got all your 
letters. We've even bound them in a book. And some of us have memorized them. In 
fact, we have 'letter study' every Sunday. You know, those were really great 
letters." I think the president would then ask, "But what did you do about my 
instructions?" And, no doubt the employees would respond, "Do? Well, nothing. 
But we read every one!"
·      Charles Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity, p. 242 
When Paul finally went to Jerusalem, he met for 15 days with Peter, where they 
built their relationship.  In this visit Peter and Paul became partners instead 
of rivals.  They understood the mission goals were the same for both of them.  
Paul was obedient, as was Peter, and we see the believers rejoicing because of 
it.
We see in verses 21-24 that Paul did indeed have an effective ministry, not in 
Jerusalem, but in the lands of the Gentiles.
Conclusion
Paul shares with us this autobiography to convince the Galatians that the 
message he is preaching is God’s message.  He shares that he is totally 
independent from the Jerusalem church, even though he has their approval.  Paul 
followed certain steps to get where he was, and we too must follow those steps 
of salvation, purging the past, preparation, and obedience.
 

Rev. Charles Mims    
Copyright ©2000 by Claim The Victory Ministries
South Peninsula Baptist Church
Daytona Beach, FL