Received from Jesus Christ

09/24/11

Scripture:

Good morning!  How do we know what is true spiritually with all of the spiritualities that are out there?  There are books on spirituality, there’s tons of things on the internet on spirituality.  How do we know what’s right?  How do we know if the spirituality that we experience really is true?  Well, we’re going to continue the sermon series on Getting our Gospel Right this morning with a sermon that I have entitled, “Received from Jesus Christ,” and I’d like to make a statement that’s kind of at the core of the message as I found it in Galatians—Christian spiritual growth is entirely dependent upon our relationship with Jesus Christ as our source.   Let me say that again:  Christian spiritual growth is entirely dependent upon our ongoing relationship with Jesus Christ as our source.  We may think of ourselves as spiritually knowledgeable or informed or experienced people, but if we do not have an ongoing relationship with Jesus Christ through His Word and His Spirit, then our spirituality is bogus.  Now I choose that word carefully and intentionally.  The word ‘bogus’ means fake or deceitful, false, dishonest or fraudulently imitating something.  We simply cannot create or claim Christian spirituality apart from that which is imparted to us by and through Jesus Christ. 

Our text that I’ll be reading in a moment is from Paul’s letter to the Galatians, chapter 1, verses 11-24.  And I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of the Bible.  In this text Paul writes about his conversion, about the source and thus the authenticity of his message, about the continuity between God's work in himself and God's work in Peter because of the Gospel, about the truth of what he writes, about the reaction of people because of his background, and about the effect of his ministry.  We’re going to explore the question are people glorifying God because of what God is doing in us individually and as a church, and we’ll remind ourselves that it takes time to grow in our spiritual lives because spiritual growth is a process, not an event.  And we will recall that spiritual growth is dependent upon our relationship with Jesus Christ as our source.  So turning to the Book of Galatians, chapter 1 and beginning in verse 11 Paul wrote this:

Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the Gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning.  I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me.  Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.  You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted God's church.  I did my best to destroy it.  I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors.  But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace.  Then it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles.  When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being.  Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was.  Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus.  Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to get to know Peter, and I stayed with him for fifteen days.  The only other apostle I met at that time was James, the Lord’s brother.  I declare before God that what I am writing to you is not a lie.  After that visit I went north into the provinces of Syria and Cilicia.  And still the Christians in the churches in Judea didn’t know me personally.  All they knew was that people were saying, “The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!”  And they praised God because of me.

May God bless this as we hear his message this morning.

So what does the text say to us?  Paul writes about his conversion and it’s a strong example of God's sovereign will and the choice of Paul to be his apostle.  He said even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace, and then he says it pleased him...it pleased God...to reveal his Son to me.  You notice that this is not Paul’s choice, it’s not Paul’s initiative, it’s not Paul’s accomplishment.  This is all the work of God to reveal his Son to me so that—and that little phrase indicates here’s a purpose, here’s a reason—so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. 

Paul writes about the source and thus the authenticity of his message.  He says I want you to understand that the Gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning.  I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me.  Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.  You see because God was the source of the Gospel message Paul was preaching, Paul tells us it was not based on human reasoning nor did it come from any human source.  When Paul says that he received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ, what he’s doing is establishing the authenticity of his message. 

Paul then writes about the continuity or, if you will, the parallel, similarity, between God's work in himself and God's work in Peter because of the Gospel.  He says when I received Jesus Christ, when I saw Jesus, I didn’t rush out to consult with any human being.  I didn’t go up to Jerusalem to consult with the others who were apostles before me.  You see there were probably those who were saying how is it that here’s Paul down here preaching a Gospel message, here’s Peter up in Jerusalem preaching the same message?  They must have gotten together.  They must have compared notes or they must have had a common rabbi to teach them what to say.  A part of the authenticity of the Gospel is that it was given to Peter and it was given to Paul entirely separately and yet they had the same message, the same Good News about Jesus Christ.  Again, this establishes the authenticity of the message. 

Paul writes about the truth of what he’s saying in his letter when he says I declare before God that what I am writing to you is not a lie. 

And then he goes on and talks about the reaction of people because of his background.  He says still the Christians in the churches in Judea didn’t know me personally.  All they knew was that people were saying, “The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!”  Paul’s life had changed radically.  Paul himself was a witness of the power of the Gospel working in us to change us, to give us a new direction, and so he proclaimed the Gospel that he had tried to destroy, once again demonstrating the authenticity of the Gospel. 

And Paul concludes with this validating effect of his ministry.  He says:  And they praised God because of me.  A part of the power of the Gospel message in the hearts of listeners is to lead us along with Paul into the worship of God. 

So how does this apply to our lives?  Well let’s think about that.  I believe that everything of genuine spiritual value that we have we receive from Jesus Christ. 

Let’s think about salvation.  Salvation itself is a gift of God.  Paul said God chose me by his marvelous grace and our salvation is purely by God's grace.  There’s nothing that we can do to make us deserving.  There’s nothing that we can do that earns salvation for us.  God's choice of us actually takes place even before we’re born.  Paul reminds us, even before we’re born by his marvelous grace. 

Well, if salvation is gift of God, then spiritual knowledge and understanding is also a gift of God. The Gospel message is not based on mere human reasoning.  It’s received from no human source and no one teaches us the deepest spiritual truths.  Spiritual truth is received by the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts through the Word of God revealed through Jesus Christ. I want to repeat that sentence.  Think about this:  Spiritual truth is received by the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts through the Word of God revealed through Jesus Christ.  And it is confirmed through the teaching of the church. 

Spiritual growth is a process, it’s an ongoing process, and is entirely dependent upon our relationship with Jesus Christ as our source.  Paul experienced this process of God preparing him to proclaim the Gospel and it was over a period of several years.  And so for ourselves as well, it takes time and an interaction with God for God to impart to us spiritual truth.

What’s the result of our experiencing the grace of God?  First of all, we are changed.  Glorification and praise of God is the resulting validation of a Christian spiritual life.  We worship the God who gives us the grace to worship him.  Well then, what is to be the witness to others?  I invite all of us to ask the question—are people glorifying God because of what God is doing in us individually and as a church?  That should be the case.  People should see in us a changed life.  They should see in us that we have values that are not the values of the world.  They should see in us that we have a source of authenticity, of power, of truth, of faith, that comes as a gift from God. 

And again, the spiritual growth that we all need to experience is going to take some time.  Spiritual growth is a process, it’s not an event.  We need time spent with God in his word to enable Christian spiritual growth to come to maturity in our lives. 

So I want to go back to the statement that I made at the very beginning: Spiritual growth is entirely dependent upon our relationship with Jesus Christ as our source.  We may think of ourselves as spiritually knowledgeable or informed people, but if we do not have an ongoing relationship with Jesus Christ through His Word and through His Spirit, then our spirituality is bogus.  We cannot create or claim our own Christian spirituality apart from Jesus Christ. 

Now the good news is that God wants each of us to receive genuine Christian spirituality, and he offers it to us through the Word of Jesus Christ by the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. 

I want to challenge you this morning.  I want to challenge you to resolve to make the Bible teachings of and about Jesus Christ the primary source for your spiritual experience of and understanding of life.  You can do this by determining to spend more time listening to what Jesus has to say.  You can do this through personal Bible reading.  You can do it by attending Bible-centered adult Sunday school classes.  You can do it by participating in Bible study groups.  We offer all of these here at Eden Church. There are several Sunday school classes, adult Sunday school classes, now available during the 9:15 hour and there are several Wednesday evening Bible studies that you can come and join and be a part of.  And I challenge you to spend much time in prayer, to trust in Jesus as your source, making him the Lord of your life.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote these words:  “If we wish to pray with confidence and gladness, then the words of Holy Scripture will have to be the solid base of our prayer, for here we know that Jesus Christ, the Word of God, teaches us to pray.  The words which come from God become then the steps on which we find our way to God.” 

There’s a wonderful prayer in the Bible.  It’s also written by the Apostle Paul.  It’s in Ephesians chapter 1, verses 17-19, and I would like to pray this prayer for each of you this morning.  Let us pray. 

I am asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.  I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called.  I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people.  I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe.  And with Paul I pray in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.