"The Revelation Of Jesus Christ"

Galatians 1:6-12

7) I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

8) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

9) But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

10) As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed

11) For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

12) But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.

13) For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

G

enerally, “to have revelation,” means that something has been illuminated for one so as to lead to greater understanding. It is possible, however, for one to have something “revealed” to him but not “illuminated.” “The revelation of Jesus Christ” specifically speaks to revelation with illumination.

As opposed to much that is considered revelation, all that the Lord reveals, He reveals that we might be brought to a spiritual state. There is no other reason; no other motivation for the Lord to reveal anything to us.

Many times, He may even “show” us those things that may appear not particularly pleasant, nor helpful. However, what we must always remember is that what the Lord does for the individual is to be examined for “lessons” to that individual. As long as we are willing to learn from every situation that the Lord allows, nothing is in vain.

One thing is certain: as long as the Lord is involved, all that comes to us is to aid us in being saved. No matter what assails one; no matter the “hand” he is “dealt,” he must be saved. If it were not to lead to salvation, it would not be allowed.

We are saved for one reason only—and that is to please Him. Pleasing Him can take many different forms, not the least of which is being obedient to Him. The only way for us to do this is to follow His example and the only way that we can follow His example is by operating in the Spirit.

It appears that, particularly today, it is “popular” to believe oneself to be saved. Evidently, the proclamation carries little gratitude with it, for it seems to stop few from complaining about what is “done” to them.

The concern for oneself emanates from the flesh and nothing that the Lord allows is to turn us to the flesh but rather, from it. You see, in that it is impossible to overcome flesh with flesh, in order to have peace in one’s life, he must learn to live in the Spirit!

If we are to realize the promises of God, we must learn to accept what God says. We want the type of life that the Lord says that we can have, but we still want to “steer our own ship.” We cannot have both. You see, human beings are very confused and compromised in their way of thinking and processing information. Therefore, in order to make the correct decisions and manifest the proper behavior, Man must operate as a spiritual being.

The Church is suffering, today, from a “communization” of the gospel. By this, we mean that the carnal man looks to bring the gospel “down” to his “level” in order that he might “understand” it. This is a monumental attempt to “humanize” it. This is largely responsible for the proliferation of different versions of the Bible. You see, the closer one can bring the scripture to what one already understands, the less “spiritual” it is. It now becomes something one can do on his own, necessitating no change.

“The method of the ministry” exists to bring man to spiritual understanding. The Lord knows that this is impossible without “change” and therefore, the Lord allows situations in the lives of each of us that we might see the “necessity” of change. Here’s the secret of this whole “business”: for “things” to change, one’s life must change.

Those changes are not to be superficial, but those that can be wrought only through a change of mind and a change of motivation. Granted, he that is saved must show some signs, but “doing” things will not make one saved. Rather, one’s sole purpose, goal and aim must be to do the “right” (spiritual) thing no matter the cost to self. That cost, indeed, will be the perceived “right” to do as one pleases—whether that involves one’s thinking or actions.

You see, regardless of whether things go “our” way or not, we are to appreciate God and all that He has done. We will be appreciative only if we believe Jesus—and if we believe Him, we will do as He says! Doing as He says will determine the success (or failure) of our spiritual life—and the amount of “revelation” we are willing to accept at the hand of the Lord will determine our willingness to “agree” with Him and His word.