Galatians 1:1. “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)” PAUL, AN APOSTLE. Not of men, but by God Himself: no other authority higher than He;
A man set apart; sent from God – no man could make him an apostle be.
He was set apart from the womb when born and trained as a strict Pharisee.
But God by His grace, called him away from the law and set him free.
Free now, to be the man that he should. Free to serve God as best he could.
Free to learn from God Himself, free to obey with no thought for self.
Free to live to the Lord alone, free to preach the Gospel of grace alone.
Free to make truth always clear to men, free from the curse of the law instead.
A messenger for God, he was not his own; a bondservant for God was he.
The life he lived by God’s grace alone; now an apostle to the Gentiles to be.
He had no doubt he served the living Lord; on the Damascus Road he met;
Through persecution, opposition, and strife - for Jesus, his Lord, he was set.
“O Lord, the heart of a man who is called by God, is never satisfied with less than total occupation with the
One who has called him to live for Him, with Him, through Him because Christ is our life. When this is true, every aspect of life fits the way it should. All praise to Thee, Amen.”