Bibles this evening once again to the letter of Galatians chapter 1, Galatians chapter 1, and tonight we will begin with verse number 11. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached to me is not after man. I want to remind us first of all this evening of several truths about an apostle, what it meant to be an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The first thing I bring to our attention is that every time there's a list in the New Testament of ministers of the gospel, the apostles are always named first. Two examples, in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 11 and 12, he gave some apostles and some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. The apostle named the apostles first, and then prophets, and then evangelists, and then pastors and teachers. And also in 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 28, Paul wrote, and God has set some in the church first apostles, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers. Prophet, it's apostle. The word apostle itself means sent, sent.

In Hebrews chapter three, we're told the Lord Jesus himself, the apostle and high priest of our profession, the apostle, the Lord Jesus Christ, he was sent. He was sent by the Father. And I would just remind us, anytime we read that he was sent, it tells us it's talking about the God-man. It's not talking about God the Son apart from him being made flesh. No, it's the Lord Jesus Christ who was sent, who is the apostle and high priest of our profession. He was sent by the Father in 1 John. Chapter 4 in verse 14, why was he sent? What did he come here to do? Why did the father send him here? And we have seen and do testify that the father sent the son to be the savior of the world.

We know why he was sent, the apostle and high priest of our profession. To be sent by Jesus was one of the requirements of an apostle, the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. A man had to have been sent, not by a church, not by another apostle, but he had to have been sent by Jesus Christ our Lord. And there are three other requirements that a man had to meet in order to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. First of all, he had to have been sent by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Second, he had to have received the gospel from Jesus Christ. You see, let me give this example. Timothy could not have been an apostle. Why? Because he learned the gospel from Paul. No, an apostle, he had to be sent by Jesus Christ, and he had to have been taught the gospel, the gospel revealed to him by Jesus Christ himself.

And number three, he had to have seen the resurrected Christ, and we learned that in Acts chapter One, when the church decided they would choose an apostle, remember? That was one of the requirements. He had to have been a man who had seen the Lord Jesus Christ after he had been raised from the dead. And number four, he had to have been given the signs of an apostle. There were signs the apostles had that others didn't have.

Let me remind us of that. In 2 Corinthians, let's turn and look at a couple of verses with me. In 2 Corinthians chapter 12, in this place, Paul reminds the church, the believers in Corinth, that he was an apostle. 2 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 12, truly, truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience and signs and wonders and mighty deeds. These apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, they had the gifts, the signs of an apostle. And I would include in that that the apostles could lay hands on believers and there was an outpouring of the Spirit of God upon those believers.

And I'm going to show us two places where we see that in the Book of Acts. Now no one, you know no one is saved apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. He's the one who convinces us of sin and he's the one who convinces us of the righteousness of Christ. And he's the one who convinces us that our sins were judged at the cross.

Yes. But we find here, if you turn to Acts chapter eight, I want us to see this in Acts chapter eight, because I believe this is A point that really needs to be stressed in our day when people are telling us that these signs of an apostle, the gift of healing, you say, well, preacher, don't you believe God heals? Absolutely.

I believe all healing is from God, don't you? I mean, you can have the best doctors and the best medicine in the world, but if God doesn't bless, you're not going to be healed. All healing is of God, but there's no man who has the power like these apostles did to lay hands upon a person and that person be healed.

And the amazing thing is that even the apostle Paul, we know, had the gifts of an apostle and yet There was one man who was his companion, a believer, that he had to leave at one place, at Miletus, I believe it was, sick. In other words, even with the gift of healing, it had to be God's will for that person to be healed.

Now, here in Acts chapter 8, we read, if you will, beginning in verse 14, Now when the apostles, which were at Jerusalem, heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John. Now these people of Samaria had heard the preaching of Philip. He came among them preaching the gospel. He wasn't an apostle. He was a deacon, evidently, in the church at Jerusalem, and then called to be an evangelist. But he went into this place in Samaria preaching the gospel, and some received the word of God.

In other words, they were converted. They were saved. And when the apostles got word of this, that's what we read there in verse 14, now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem, heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John. Now, Peter is an apostle, John is an apostle, and these two apostles come down to Samaria, and they wanted to see this.

These were Gentiles. These were not Jews. These were Gentiles. The Samaritans, it is, I believe, believed that they were half, some of them maybe partly Jewish, but partly Gentile, and they were Samaritans. Remember our Lord speaking to the woman at the well in Samaria. But they heard that those people down there in Samaria, they're not Jews, they've received the word of God.

We've got to check this out. So the apostles go there. When they would come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost. Now, didn't they already have the Holy Ghost? Well, of course. No one's saved. I've already made that point. No one's saved apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. He's the one who regenerates. He's the one who gives faith and repentance.

But when they would come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost, that is, that the Holy Spirit might fall upon these believers like he had on the day of Pentecost. For as yet he was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they, that is, Peter and John, apostles, laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money.

Of course, he wasn't converted. He'd been baptized, hadn't he? That's a proof right there that baptism doesn't save anyone. This man had been baptized, but Peter speaks to him when he offered Peter money, that Peter might give him that gift, that when he laid hands on somebody, they would receive the Holy Spirit. And what did Peter say?

Thy money, verse 20, thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart, thy heart is not right with God. That's where true salvation is, right? In the heart. Not with the outward.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. But the point I'm making here is that to be an apostle, a person had to have the signs of an apostle. And one of those signs was to lay hands on people and the Holy Ghost would fall upon them.

Same thing happened in Acts chapter 10 when Peter took the gospel to Cornelius, a Gentile. And they were amazed. They were amazed that the Holy Spirit fell upon these Gentiles in the same way that he did upon the Jews, the Jewish believers on the day of Pentecost. Look at another place, look at Acts chapter 19. This is when Paul came to Ephesus and he ran into some disciples who had believed. Acts chapter 19 and verse 6. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them.

And they spake with languages and prophesied. So back in our text in Galatians, let me go back over that. I know you're familiar with this, but that's what teaching and preaching is. It's reminding us to be an apostle. A man had to have been sent by the Lord. He had to have received the gospel from the mouth of Christ himself. He had to have the gifts of an apostle. And third, or fourth rather, he had to have seen the resurrected Christ. Had to be able to testify.

Not what he'd heard. You know, if you appear in a court of law, And they call you to witness in a case, and you're up there in the witness stand, and they ask you a question, and you say, well, I heard. Well, we don't want to hear what you heard. We want to know what you know, what you saw, not what you heard. Yeah.

And these witnesses, Paul and all the other apostles, could say, I know, as we sang that hymn just a few minutes ago, I know whom I have believed. He didn't have to say, I know what I believed. I believe that Jesus rose from the grave. I know him who rose from the grave. I've seen him.

Now, starting here in our text at verse 11 and going all the way through chapter two, continuing through chapter two, we have Paul answering the accusations that these false brethren had made against him as they had come among the churches of Galatia. They had come among them adding to the gospel, adding to the person and work of Christ.

You've got to, yes, you believe in Christ, that's good, but also you've got to keep the commandments of Moses. You've got to come under the law. And one very important point, of course, was circumcision. You've got to be circumcised and keep the law in order to be saved.

And not only did they pervert the gospel by adding to it, but they also spoke bad of Paul, that he wasn't a real apostle. He didn't accompany with the Lord like the other apostles did. At best, he would be a secondary apostle. He would have received his authority not from Christ but from the other apostles. And they were undermining Paul's office and his authority and, of course, his message of the gospel.

And so three things I want to point out to us that we see. We'll just go through the rest of the verses in chapter one tonight. But as I said, all of chapter two, he continues to deal with this same issue. First, Paul received the gospel from Christ, verses 11 and 12.

But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached to me is not after man, for I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." Now, when he said, I certify, I certify you, brethren, what he is saying, he's calling upon these believers in the churches there in Galatia To hear what I'm saying now, and to remember this, and to hold this fast against what these false teachers are telling you. Remember this. Hold this fast. I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached to me is not after man.

In other words, I didn't learn it from another man. He had not learned it from men. He had received it, he had not received it rather from the other apostles. He received the gospel as he tells us here by revelation of Jesus Christ. What does that mean? It means that Jesus Christ revealed the gospel to him. He didn't learn the gospel or receive the gospel being preached by another man. No, he received the gospel from the Lord Jesus Christ.

When you read about his conversion in Acts chapter nine, you know the world uses that terminology quite a bit. If you watch the news, sometimes you'll see some politician, he'll say something about So-and-so had a Damascus Road experience or something like that. Even the world recognizes that this was a drastic change in this man. But when you read about it in Acts chapter 9, we read that he was blind.

Remember, he saw the Lord. He saw a great light. And he spoke and said, Lord, who art thou, Lord? I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. And there again, we see the unity, do we not, of the head and the body. He was persecuting the members of Christ, but the Lord Jesus Christ, why persecutest thou me? One, the body is one, right? We're one with Christ. We're in union with Christ. When he revealed himself, I am Jesus, then Saul's next question was, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?

And they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus, and for three days he was blind. What took place during those three days? Well, according to the scripture, all we are told took place, he was praying. He was praying during those three days. And then God sent the man by the name of Ananias to him. And you remember Ananias was afraid to go to him at first.

He'd heard about Saul of Tarsus. He knew something about him. He wasn't playing. No, he was serious. He knew that he'd come there to persecute Christians. But God said, no, you go to him. He's a chosen vessel. And when he came to Saul of Tarsus there, three things were told there in Acts chapter 9 happened. First of all, he could see. He received his sight. He received his sight. Those scales, it was like scales. fell from his eyes. And the second thing we're told there is he was filled with the Holy Spirit. And the third thing, he was baptized.

He wasn't sent, Ananias didn't tell him, now Saul, you need to go up to Jerusalem, talk to those apostles up there and get accredited or something like that to preach the gospel. No, he wasn't sent to any of the apostles to be taught the gospel. He received the gospel from Jesus Christ by revelation, he says. That was one of the requirements, right? To be an apostle. He had to have received the gospel directly from Jesus Christ the Lord.

Look with me again in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, and let's read the first four verses of this chapter. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received and wherein you stand. By which also you are saved, if you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you, first of all, notice, that which I also received. Now, who did he receive this from? From Christ. By revelation, Christ revealed the gospel to him, revealed himself to him.

That which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Everything according to the scriptures, right? What had taken place, the scriptures, the Old Testament, that's all the scriptures they had at this time when Paul wrote these words. That he died according to the scripture, you go back in the In the scriptures, in the Old Testament, you look at those types and pictures and shadows of a sacrifice, a substitute.

And even his burial and resurrection was pictured in type there. I think on the Day of Atonement, that scapegoat, you know, it took two goats, right, to picture the full, the complete work of Christ. He died for our sins, but he carried our sins away.

They never saw that scapegoat again. The same thing is true. You're here in 1 Corinthians. Look back to chapter 11. The same thing is true about the Lord's Supper. In 1 Corinthians 11 and verse 23, For I've received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you."

He didn't ask the apostles. He didn't question Peter or John or James or any of them and ask them, now, how is it that we're to observe the Lord's table? No. He received that. He said, from the Lord, that which also I delivered unto you that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he break and said, take eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me. After the same manner, also he took the cup.

So he received his gospel. He was taught the gospel directly from the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the second thing I wanted to point out here in Galatians chapter one. So first of all, Paul. received the gospel from Jesus Christ. Second, Paul was converted and set apart to preach Christ, beginning with verse 13.

For you 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, and profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation. being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me that I might preach Him among the heathen, immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood, neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me, but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Think about this. When Paul left Jerusalem for Damascus, he had those letters from the high priest giving him authority to arrest and persecute believers.

He was zealous, as he tells us here, of the Jewish traditions. He was very zealous. He went with one goal in mind. I like this. He went with one goal in mind. Why are you going to Damascus, Paul? I'm going there to grab, to apprehend those who confess Jesus to be the Son of God. That's why I'm going there. He had one goal in mind, to persecute Christians. That was his purpose, but not God's. That was his purpose, but not God's.

We've all heard the saying, man proposes and God disposes. In Proverbs chapter 19, verse 21, the wise man said, there are many devices in a man's heart. Nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand. What device was in Paul's heart to persecute the believers and the Lord Jesus Christ? What was God's counsel?

His purpose? That he preached the gospel. What took place? What will always take place when man decides to do one thing but God's purpose is that he do something else? What's he gonna do? He's gonna do what God purposed. And I like the use of that word counsel, don't you? because that reminds us of the wisdom of God, His infinite wisdom. Counsel, when you take counsel of others, if you have a problem, a dilemma, and you take counsel of others, God doesn't need to do that, He doesn't do that, but He uses that term to show us that His will, His purpose, is the result of infinite wisdom, what he has purposed. Turn back with me to Acts chapter 9. Acts chapter 9 and verse 17.

And Ananias went his way and entered into the house and put in his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord. Even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales, and he received sight, forthwith and rose, and was baptized. And when he received food or meat, he was strengthened, Then we saw certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.

Now notice, and straightway, straightway, he preached Christ in the synagogues that he is the son of God. He didn't confer with any man, with none of the other apostles. But he immediately straightway began to preach that Christ is the Son of God. And then back in our text here in Galatians, he left Damascus. He was in Damascus there where he had set out. Immediately he was in the synagogue preaching Christ, that he is the Son of God.

Verse 17, neither went I up to Jerusalem, to them which were apostles before me, but I went into Arabia. We don't know anything about his time in Arabia. We're not told anything about when he left Damascus. He's going to Damascus. He's saved and immediately begins to preach that Jesus is the Christ. Then he goes into Arabia.

He didn't ask the apostles. He didn't talk with any man as to where he should go now preaching the gospel. Why? Because he was God's servant. And because God directed him and led him into Arabia where he should preach. And we're not told how long he stayed in Arabia.

But then he came back to Damascus. He comes back to Damascus And it was then that the Jews there in Damascus, they had a plot, and they were determined to kill Saul of Tarsus. And you remember, all the little children have heard this in Sunday school, I know, that he was let down through the window in a basket. He was let down out of a house that was built on the wall of Damascus in Damascus.

Now here's the third point. It was then, number three, Paul went up to Jerusalem, verse 18. Then after three years, he's been saved three years now. After three years, went up to Jerusalem to see Peter and John with him and abode with him 15 days. And other of the apostles saw a nun save James, the Lord's brother. Now, if you look in Acts chapter 22, trying to put this together, but in Acts chapter 22, we are told Paul is relating this experience that he had, and I believe it was at this time. He tells us here in Galatians he was only there 15 days, but his purpose may have been to be there longer, but in Acts chapter 22, And verse 16, I hope I have, yes, verse 17.

And it came to pass that when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance and saw him saying unto me, make haste and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem. for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee. And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by and consenting unto his death and kept the raiment of them that slew him. And he that is Lord said unto me, depart, for I will send thee forth. for hence unto the Gentiles. So he was only there a short time and the Lord sent him away from Jerusalem. But here's the point. When he went to Jerusalem, after he had been saved, three years passed.

He had never spoken to any apostle. He had never got directions from any apostle, and when he went up to Jerusalem, he only saw two of them, that is Peter and James. And when he left, back in our text in Galatians, when he left Jerusalem, he went into Syria and Cilicia. And this was an area where none of the apostles had gone. You see the point he's making here? He did not receive his gospel from a man. No, not even from one of the apostles. He received the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ from Christ himself.

And he continued there in Syria and Cilicia for a while preaching the gospel. The believers in Judea, in churches there in Judea, they heard, notice that, and was unknown by faith unto the churches of Judea which were in Christ, but they had heard only that he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. They heard that the lion, the lion was now a lamb. He had left Jerusalem the first time like a lion, a ferocious lion to destroy believers. But now he's like a lamb, following the lamb of God, preaching the gospel of Christ.

And they glorified God in me. And every conversion, every salvation, all the glory goes to God, doesn't it? I mean, from the very beginning, and there is no end. But all the glory of my salvation, of your salvation, who are we going to give that to? To the man we heard preaching? Well, we thank the Lord for the pastors that were faithful to preach the gospel. But we needed more than a faithful preacher. We needed the Lord Jesus Christ to speak to our hearts. Are we gonna give glory to some church or something? Oh no. Unto him the churches gave glory.

That's what we do here tonight. That's what we're doing. Every time we meet, every time we meet as a body of believers, Sing his praises, study his word. What are we doing? We're glorifying God. We're doing what we do in obedience to him. This is what he had commanded us to do. Not forsake the assembling of yourselves together. Here we are. And it's such a blessing to be able to come and worship with other believers. We're going to close tonight.