The Author of Grace

The Author of Grace
Galatians 1:1-24
July 27, 2025 

Today we start our study in the book of Galatians, a short little book written by Paul to the churches in the area of Galatia. The idea was that this book would be sent to all the churches to cement the truths that are written in it into their doctrine and faith.

Many scholars agree that this short little book is arguably seen as one of the most important books in the New Testament.

The western world might have been a complete pagan society without this book, and Christianity could have devolved into just another fringe Jewish sect.

Thank God that this was not His design though, and He used the man, Paul to cement the truth of the gospel of grace into the doctrine of the church, thereby radically changing the course of human history.

This is such an important book that it was the cornerstone of the truth of the Reformation movement started by Martin Luther, as it embodies the general teaching of Christian freedom that separated it from Judaism. It focuses on the teaching of salvation through grace alone which became the dominant theme of the Reformation.

Now as we start off our study in the 1st chapter, we again see that Paul is affirming his authority and apostleship. And just like we saw in Corinthians, the reason for it is that there were those who were teaching in the church that, to be saved, the gentiles would have to follow the Jewish law and convert to Judaism to be part of the new covenant of salvation through faith in Christ, even having to be circumcised.

These were the people that were challenging and bringing Paul’s authority into question, asking where he got this new radical notion of the gospel that he was teaching. Under what authority did he stand?

Ultimately, conflict is between grace and law. Works and faith.

Although it seems like this was an issue for the distant past, we will also see that this is critical for us to understand as it shapes our faith, and by implication our lives, because the same battle is still fought today with people mixing law and grace for salvation, keeping people in bondage and condemnation.

Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians, but was he the author of grace? Was this just something he thought up all by himself?

Before we tackle the rest of Galatians which deals with grace, it will be good for us to understand where Paul received his authority and  doctrine from and why it is so critically important.

We are going to spend several weeks studying this amazing grace; so amazing that sometimes it seems too good to be true. Understanding grace is the foundation of understanding God’s love, which results in peace and joy in us as we live in the freedom Christ purchases for us; freedom from the yoke of slavery and the dominion of sin.

I. The Gospel to the Gentiles Revealed

• To save the church from this perversion of the gospel, Paul had to assert himself as an apostle and defend his ministry and the gospel that he was proclaiming.
• This is why he starts out the letter with “Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead)”.
• Some might have been saying, “Who ordained you, Paul? Who sent you? Who laid hands on you?”
• Paul says that He had received the revelation of the gospel to be presented to the gentiles, not from man, but Jesus Himself.

A. Jesus Christ revealed the Gospel

• Jesus’ mission on earth was to show the love of God, and to seek and save the lost. He was showing grace, revealing the good news.
• Jesus touched the unclean lepers. He let the unclean woman with the issue of blood touch Him.
• The law says that a rebellious son should be stoned. Jesus teaches that the prodigal son is embraced by the father.
• The law says an adulterous woman should be stoned. Jesus restores the adulterous woman brough before Him.
• Jesus even healed on the Sabbath day, proclaiming himself Lord of the Sabbath. He hints at the idea that even keeping the Sabbath would be fulfilled in Him as He becomes our Sabbath rest.
• This created enormous tension between Jesus and the religious leaders, which eventually ended in them crucifying Him for, according to them, blaspheming and breaking the law.
• Jesus proclaimed that you cannot put new wine in old wineskins. He was referring to the gospel of grace that He was revealing that doesn’t not mix with the law.
• The law cannot contain, cannot handle the substance of grace.
• The law knew no grace. The law is the bar that is set, and anything less than that is not good enough. Any failure to keep the law is total failure.
• The law was never meant to save. The law is intended to set the standard by which everyone will be measured and judged.
• The law is impersonal. For there to be mercy or grace, there needs to be a person who is compassionate. Yet, this is the conundrum. A compassionate judge still has to uphold the law. By being merciful and disregarding the law, he will become unjust.
• The compassion came from God through His son, Jesus. The law has been fulfilled by Christ so that we no longer stand under the law, but can receive His unmerited favor as a gift. This is grace. The theme of our studies for the next couple of weeks.

B. Paul received it from Jesus

• Jesus started proclaiming this with His message and actions, although it was veiled before the cross, because the substitutionary death of Christ has not yet happened.
• The revelation and understanding of what Christ has done on the cross was only revealed by Him to the apostles after He rose from the grave when they received the revelation of grace.
• Now we know that Paul was not one of Jesus’ followers who would have heard this taught by Jesus after the resurrection. In fact, he was their greatest enemy. So where did Paul receive this good news or hear of the gospel?
• We know that Paul had his revelation of Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, where he was knocked off his high horse, blinded by the encounter, which, by the way was an important proof of the fact that it happened, and also created witnesses to his conversion and the miracle of sight that he regained, thereby confirming his encounter.
• But then, interestingly, he says that he went to the desert of Arabia for three years where he received the gospel he was to preach to the gentiles directly from Jesus.

Verse 11,12 – For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

• After that he did go down to Jerusalem, but he only spent 15 days with Peter.
• He only returned to Jerusalem 14 years later to meet with the apostles, declaring to them the gospel he was preaching to the gentiles. They agreed with him that the gospel he proclaimed was the true gospel, being saved independent of following the law; the same gospel they received from Jesus and the same message they preached.
• We see this in Acts 3-6 in all Peter’s sermons. This is noteworthy to remember when we get to Galatians 2.
• The confirmation he got from the apostles is very important, because by the testimony of two or three witnesses does a case stand.
• The point Paul is making is that his training and theology did not come from the apostles, but from Jesus. It is then confirmed by the fact that it is the same gospel Jesus taught and the same gospel the apostles taught. Three witnesses.
• This is a wonderful confirmation that this is the gospel given by Jesus Himself to Paul, because there is no other way he could have known it.

Illus – This is the whole point of having two or three different witnesses, who, independent from one another, and unaware of one another can relay the same message. We were just at a pastor’s conference for a week. Let’s say I speak to you tonight and tell you…. Tomorrow, you speak to one of the other pastors and he tells you the same story without knowing that you already spoke to me. You can be quite certain that it happened. Now imagine in 6 months’ time you meet a pastor from Los Angles that was at the conference. He then tells you exactly the same story. Now you can be quite confident that it definitely happened.

II. God uses the Most Unlikely

• Paul then turns our attention to his history to again show the improbability of him hearing this randomly from someone else. By this he is affirming that he had no contact with other believers as they were afraid to trust him because of his background.
• But it also shows us that Paul was, from a human perspective, the most unlikely candidate for this calling, yet from God’s perspective the perfect person for this calling.
• His background prepared him to be the perfect candidate to receive the revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ to be preached to the gentiles.

A. You are set apart  

• Verse 15 – He was set apart for all this by God even from his mother’s womb.
• There is a very important truth hidden here. God has set each and every one of us apart for a purpose, whatever it may be, before you were even born. The joy and adventure of our lives should be to pursue finding out what that is.
• And it might not be obvious. Paul never would have dreamt of him becoming the defender of the faith, the one whose whole life was set on the trajectory to do exactly the opposite.
• He should have been the greatest champion of the law. Yet God turned it around. A Roman citizen, which would later give him the right to appeal to Caesar. He had a deep understanding of Greek culture, preparing him to be able to minister to the gentiles.
• God used every circumstance, situation and all training for his purpose.

Illus – Through my life I can see how God was working His purpose…

• We must realize that each and every one of us is created for a purpose and set apart by God.

Colossians 1:16, For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.

• God doesn’t make mistakes. Some people look at others and think, ‘God must have a plan for them, but not for me.’
• Some might even think they were a mistake; that their parents didn’t plan them. God doesn’t make mistakes. He even knew the decisions that your parents would make before the foundation of the earth, and has already purposed you because of that, turning around what the enemy meant for evil to use it for good.
• If you exist it is because you were created by God. The devil cannot create. He can only distort. And he can only distort through lies which leave people hopeless.
• The truth is that God made you and He has a plan and a dream that you will do what you were created to do.

Ephesians 2:10, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

• God’s plan and heart is that you will be set apart for Him, to take hold of His love and purpose for your life by faith. 

B. God can use you for His glory  

• Because of not believing that God has made them for a purpose, many people live aimlessly. Even some who come to faith in Christ, believe that they just have to suffer through this life to eventually die and get to heaven.
• Because of this lie, they live their daily lives independent from God, hoping that they are making the right choices. They occasionally ask God for a favor or some help, but the gospel is, for the most part, an addendum to their lives.
• This is the total inverse of the truth.
• When you realize that God actually have a plan with your life, it changes everything.

Isaiah 43:7, Everyone who is called by My name, and whom I have created for My glory, whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

Revelation 4:11,Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (KJV)

• When we surrender to God, it means that we bring our whole existence in alignment with God’s will.

Gal 2:20, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

• This is where the gospel gets real and it changes everything. Now we don’t just with fingers crossed stumble through life, hoping for the best.
• Now we can lay our lives down before Him and let Him direct our steps. Whether it is in ministry, or in your job, or in your family, He becomes the captain of your journey. It changes how you pray and what you ask for.

App– Now if you pray for a job, you don’t ask for a great job with a good salary to pay for the house and the cars, and the kids sport program, and….and…and… You ask where God wants you so you can make an impact where he places you. He will sort out the rest as you are first seeking His kingdom. You do not ask to get pregnant with a boy, or a girl within the next 23 days, you ask God to bless you with a child in His time for His purpose.

• When we are standing under God’s authority, He takes responsibility for the mission He puts you on.
• Why? For His glory. It shows His love. It shows who He is. It glorifies Him. And He is worthy of it. Because He paid the ultimate price for the good news to be able to impact us, transform us, save us.
• Now Christianity, our faith, is not an addendum to our lives. Our lives are an addendum to God’s purpose. And, it is the best possible life for us as well, because God’s heart for you is blessing and life in the entirety of your being.

Romans 8:28, And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 

Psalm 23:6, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

• Part of the good news Paul was sharing was his testimony. It reveals amazing grace, penned by God into His life.
• What is your story? What do you want your story to be? Jesus is also the author of grace in your life. Live it for His glory. Let your story become a testimony of the glory of God.
• Become the living letter of grace.