I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1:11-12 NIV
Apart from Jesus, Paul is likely the most influential person in the history of Christianity. And he is also among the most unlikely. In the verses that follow this passage, he expressed how intensely he had persecuted the church. Paul had made it his mission in life to destroy what he considered to be a heretical sect of the Jewish faith. Until Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, and then his life was transformed.
The Mystery Revealed
After Paul recognized Jesus as Lord, he went into the desert of Arabia. He needed to go back to school. Paul was already well steeped in the Old Testament and was one of the most promising men of his generation. But now, he sat at Jesus’ feet and learned from him. And Jesus revealed to him the mystery hidden from past generations (Eph. 3:2-6). And Paul went out from that time and began to turn the world upside down, proclaiming the good news of Jesus. That all who would believe in Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile, could experience his salvation and have life eternal.
