August 20, 2025 | Be God's Family
The Gospel of Jesus Christ
Scripture: Galatians 1:11-12 (NIV)
11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
Devotional
I am writing this devotion on Easter Monday, the day following Easter Sunday. We were informed, inspired, and enlightened during Holy Week through teachings and stories about the Last Supper, the New Covenant, Jesus’ crucifixion, and Jesus’ resurrection. These happenings are integral to our Christian faith. In fact, our Christian faith is founded on believing in the resurrection of Jesus and receiving Him as our Savior.
I am reflecting now on the connections between Holy Week and today’s verses of Galatians 1:11-12. The book of Galatians was written by the Apostle Paul in approximately 49 AD, sixteen years after Jesus’ resurrection. Christianity was rapidly spreading across the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. Paul had preached the gospel to the Galatians several years earlier, and many had received Jesus Christ as their Savior. In verses 11 and 12, Paul was warning the Galatians to stop following other false gospels about how to be saved. These false gospels were developed and taught by men, not by God (BibleRef.com).
The gospel Paul claimed to preach was “not from man or through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father” (D. Guzak, Enduring Word). In other words, Paul, being filled with the Holy Spirit, preached what was revealed into his heart by Jesus and any substantial differences in content from other preachers were not to be considered as inspired by God. Holy Week reminds us to be faithful to the words of Jesus and God and beware of false gospels.
In similar verses in 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, Paul warned them to remember the gospel that he had preached "which you [the Corinthians] received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you."
What does this mean for us today? Reading the gospel without revelation from the Holy Spirit is not the means to receive God’s grace. We have to receive it in our hearts and then do as Jesus commanded, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).
The simple yet magnificent truth is written in Jesus’ words, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Poem
You Ask
Psalm 113
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes, with the princes of his people.
Psalm 113:7-8
You ask why I am a follower of Jesus?
You ask why I love the Lord?
I could spew forth
Scripture
Theology
Apologetics
Trying to make your mind
Understand
Comprehend
Be convinced
But not a single mental exercise
Could replace
The Divine’s revelation
The Spirit’s transformation
The Savior’s reconciliation
Which came upon me
Over time
And yet
In an instant
Swelling me with
Grace
Love
Hope
Faith
I am now at peace
I am now known
I am now loved
