Galatians 1:13-16 – The Gospel Shows Jesus’ Power
The greatest evidence that Paul can point to against claims that his gospel is from man is the change in his own life. Verse 13 can’t have been an easy verse for Paul to write. ‘I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it’. ‘Violently’ is literally ‘beyond measure’. Now, writing as a Christian, did the pleas & screams of those he’d carried off still echo in his head? Husbands taken from their wives. Mothers separated from their children. No sudden psychological switch can explain what happened. One writer says: ‘Only God could reach a man in that condition – and God did’.
And what did God do? In v12 Paul received a revelation of Jesus Christ. The gospel is a message of hope that comes from beyond this broken world. Outwardly Paul was religious, but he was really just a thug and a murderer. But God began to transform him so that he looked more and more like Jesus Christ.
And then is v. 15 not one of the most encouraging verses in the Bible? If you trust in Jesus you’ll find that he has loved you from before you were even born. From before the world was even made. He has a good plan for you. Before your mother ever held you, he was holding you. Nothing that’s happening to you is a mistake.
So the fact that a Christ-hater like Paul could have his life turned completely around is further proof that this message is not from man. But then in the rest of v. 16 we have even more proof of the truth of the gospel from Paul’s own life. He began to preach to the Gentiles. He was a Hebrew of Hebrews. v14 says he was advancing in Judaism beyond many of his own age among his people, so extremely zealous was he for the traditions of the fathers. Paul would have wanted absolutely nothing to do with Gentiles. But he not only becomes part of a religion in which they’re equal members, he’s commissioned to spend the rest of his life preaching to them.
And really every conversion since then denies human explanation as well. We may not all have been persecuting Christians – but we all hated Christ. Anyone can sit in a church building or even be a member of a church. But only Jesus can transform a life. Whether it happens like a train wreck as it did with Paul, or whether it’s so gradual you don’t know when it actually happened. Only Jesus can transform a life. Has he transformed yours?
Questions
- What happened in Paul’s own life?
- Who alone has the power to change a life like that?
Prayer Points
- Give thanks for the power of Christ to change lives.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.