WALKING IN A STRAIGHT PATH
(Studies in the epistle to the Galatians)
1. REVELATION
Harry Foster
MANY think that this letter to the Galatians was Paul's earliest contribution to the New Testament. Like all of his writings, this is not a treatise but a missive with a direct, personal message. It was written to meet an actual situation of need, written not to provide material for theologians but to show men that straight path of the gospel from which their feet were straying. Its writer remembered all too vividly how Peter, Barnabas and many others almost forsook that path (2:14); he realised the danger that the Galatians were in (5:7); and he wrote, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in order that the whole 'Israel of God' might be rightly guided in their Christian walk (6:16). This is the guidance which I propose to seek, using various headings which roughly correspond with the six chapters. They are: Revelation, Resurrection, The Holy Spirit, Sonship, Liberty and Fellowship.
Our first study, based on chapter one, concentrates on the matter of revelation.
It is impossible for me to give you revelation. Indeed it is impossible to describe how to get revelation, for revelation is a miracle from God. The first public interchange which the Lord Jesus had was with the learned doctors in the temple. He was only twelve years old at the time, but He surprised them all with His wisdom. They marvelled at His words and no doubt discussed the matter after He had returned to Nazareth; but none of them had any revelation of who He really was. Then the last public interchange which Jesus had before His death on the cross was with a man who had little education and no instruction in divine things but, as he himself hung on another cross, this man had a flash of revelation. He perceived what even the well-taught disciples could not see, that Christ was the divine king who might be willing to make a place for him in His eternal kingdom. Even in those excruciating last moments, the Lord must have thanked the Father for performing this miracle of revelation to one of those least likely to be able to receive it.
TO Saul of Tarsus had come a much greater revelation as to the person of Christ, as he was able to testify; and his intention in writing was that his readers should also have a similar inward illumination. He wrote, therefore, not about ideas but about the Lord Jesus, His person, His cross and His resurrection. And he prayed before he wrote, continued praying as he wrote, and went on praying as the Galatians received his letter; with the one objective that Christ should be revealed in them too (4:19). There was nothing formal about this praying, it involved spiritual birth-pangs. In other parts of the letter he addressed them as 'brothers' but in this connection he spoke to and prayed for them as his 'little children'. They were getting far too conceited in their imagined cleverness and he longed that they might abandon all this false doctrinal dexterity and become again those 'babes' to whom the Father loves to reveal His Son. Paul was on sure [87/88] ground when he prayed like this, for his prayer was in line with God's good pleasure. This was the explanation of his own inner revelation -- "It pleased God to reveal His Son in me" (1:15). It was as though God had watched this religious fanatic, trying to serve Him and yet pursuing a course completely contrary to the God whom he wanted to worship. He had longed to show him the truth -- not just true ideas but the living truth as it is in Jesus -- and would have been glad to have had the chance to enlighten him with the knowledge of His Son. Then God's moment came: the inward revelation became a reality. This brought great pleasure to the persecuted Church; it brought even more pleasure to the transformed Saul; but the greatest pleasure of all came to the Father Himself, who likes nothing better than to give men an inward revelation of His Son.
IT is clear that revelation is much more than mere information. Saul the Pharisee possessed much information about Christianity without having any vital revelation of Christ. He knew many Scriptural facts, but they did not help him; in fact he fought them. We also may be enraged by divine truths, or we may perhaps be happy about them, but until something is done in our hearts by God's illuminating Spirit, it is just information and nothing more. When the initial enlightenment has occurred, though, then information can bring great benefit. Think of what happened to Saul when he was in Arabia. We have no certainty as to the exact time spent there, nor are we told how he was occupied, but the implication of his words is that he went there to be alone -- alone with God. What did he take with him? His Bible. Whether he took the actual parchments or not, he had an unrivalled wealth of Scriptural truth stored up in his Pharisee's mind and memory. When such knowledge was only in his head it did him more harm than good, but once the first miracle of revolutionary revelation had happened, then what was in his head could go down into his heart. He had a new Bible. He did not spend that valuable time in Arabia just going over and over his momentary experience of illumination but, having found the key to the Word of God, he was able to open it in the Lord's presence and find ever more unfolding light upon the Lord Jesus. Previously, if he had prayed at all, it would only have been for more understanding of the text, but now his constant petition must have been that the Spirit would unveil the Lord Jesus to his heart as well as to his mind. And if it pleased the Father to give Saul of Tarsus that first inward revelation, how very pleased He must have been to enlarge and deepen the revelation during the time spent in Arabia. Those must have been happy months. Saul, of course, would be thrilled as each day brought fresh light on the Word and showed him more of the Lord Jesus, but how happy God would be -- and always is -- to be giving fuller revelation of His Son.
It is impossible for me to give you revelation. Indeed it is impossible to describe how to get revelation, for revelation is a miracle from God. The first public interchange which the Lord Jesus had was with the learned doctors in the temple. He was only twelve years old at the time, but He surprised them all with His wisdom. They marvelled at His words and no doubt discussed the matter after He had returned to Nazareth; but none of them had any revelation of who He really was. Then the last public interchange which Jesus had before His death on the cross was with a man who had little education and no instruction in divine things but, as he himself hung on another cross, this man had a flash of revelation. He perceived what even the well-taught disciples could not see, that Christ was the divine king who might be willing to make a place for him in His eternal kingdom. Even in those excruciating last moments, the Lord must have thanked the Father for performing this miracle of revelation to one of those least likely to be able to receive it.
TO Saul of Tarsus had come a much greater revelation as to the person of Christ, as he was able to testify; and his intention in writing was that his readers should also have a similar inward illumination. He wrote, therefore, not about ideas but about the Lord Jesus, His person, His cross and His resurrection. And he prayed before he wrote, continued praying as he wrote, and went on praying as the Galatians received his letter; with the one objective that Christ should be revealed in them too (4:19). There was nothing formal about this praying, it involved spiritual birth-pangs. In other parts of the letter he addressed them as 'brothers' but in this connection he spoke to and prayed for them as his 'little children'. They were getting far too conceited in their imagined cleverness and he longed that they might abandon all this false doctrinal dexterity and become again those 'babes' to whom the Father loves to reveal His Son. Paul was on sure [87/88] ground when he prayed like this, for his prayer was in line with God's good pleasure. This was the explanation of his own inner revelation -- "It pleased God to reveal His Son in me" (1:15). It was as though God had watched this religious fanatic, trying to serve Him and yet pursuing a course completely contrary to the God whom he wanted to worship. He had longed to show him the truth -- not just true ideas but the living truth as it is in Jesus -- and would have been glad to have had the chance to enlighten him with the knowledge of His Son. Then God's moment came: the inward revelation became a reality. This brought great pleasure to the persecuted Church; it brought even more pleasure to the transformed Saul; but the greatest pleasure of all came to the Father Himself, who likes nothing better than to give men an inward revelation of His Son.
IT is clear that revelation is much more than mere information. Saul the Pharisee possessed much information about Christianity without having any vital revelation of Christ. He knew many Scriptural facts, but they did not help him; in fact he fought them. We also may be enraged by divine truths, or we may perhaps be happy about them, but until something is done in our hearts by God's illuminating Spirit, it is just information and nothing more. When the initial enlightenment has occurred, though, then information can bring great benefit. Think of what happened to Saul when he was in Arabia. We have no certainty as to the exact time spent there, nor are we told how he was occupied, but the implication of his words is that he went there to be alone -- alone with God. What did he take with him? His Bible. Whether he took the actual parchments or not, he had an unrivalled wealth of Scriptural truth stored up in his Pharisee's mind and memory. When such knowledge was only in his head it did him more harm than good, but once the first miracle of revolutionary revelation had happened, then what was in his head could go down into his heart. He had a new Bible. He did not spend that valuable time in Arabia just going over and over his momentary experience of illumination but, having found the key to the Word of God, he was able to open it in the Lord's presence and find ever more unfolding light upon the Lord Jesus. Previously, if he had prayed at all, it would only have been for more understanding of the text, but now his constant petition must have been that the Spirit would unveil the Lord Jesus to his heart as well as to his mind. And if it pleased the Father to give Saul of Tarsus that first inward revelation, how very pleased He must have been to enlarge and deepen the revelation during the time spent in Arabia. Those must have been happy months. Saul, of course, would be thrilled as each day brought fresh light on the Word and showed him more of the Lord Jesus, but how happy God would be -- and always is -- to be giving fuller revelation of His Son.
