I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. Galatians 1:11 (NIV)
The gospel is not an invention.
Paul is telling us that the gospel is not a human invention. If Paul had invented the gospel, then his teaching is simply an expression of his own thinking, and we have liberty to disagree with him.
But Paul was an enemy of the gospel: “You have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it” (1:13), and since he opposed it, it stands to reason he did not invent it!
The gospel is not a tradition.
If the gospel is simply the tradition of the church, then the task of each generation would be to adapt the teaching of previous generations to fit the changing needs of the church. But Paul makes it clear: “I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it” (1:12). The gospel did not come to Paul from the church. It is not a tradition to be developed, adapted, or changed.
The gospel is a revelation.
If the gospel did not come from Paul (invention), or from the church (tradition), then where did the gospel come from? “I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ” (1:12). The gospel came from the highest authority. Paul’s gospel came to him by revelation directly from Jesus Christ.
What difference do you think it makes whether the gospel is an invention, a tradition, or a revelation?
