CERTIFIED!

"But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." (Gal 1:11-12)

THE WORD "CERTIFY" MEANS TO MAKE KNOWN, or give a person to understand. More specifically, it is to clarify the validity of something or someone. In our day, something that is "certified" is considered genuine, or bonafide. The person who certifies something attests to its authenticity or legitimacy.

IN THE CASE OF OUR TEXT, Paul is certifying the legitimacy of the Gospel he preached. He was delivering a report to men – news of good things, sure benefits, and life in the world to come. He was announcing a basis for the remission of sin that was honored by God. His was a message that guaranteed eternal life to the one who believed it. It affirmed that the very righteousness of God would be imputed to those who "believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead" (Rom 4:23). Boldly Paul had preached that by Christ Jesus "all that believe are justified from all things" (Acts 13:39). It certainly was a bold message.

EARLY IN HIS MINISTRY, because of what he preached, "the Jews took counsel to kill him" (Acts 9:23). Some opposed Paul because of what he preached (Acts 18:6). Athenian philosophers "mocked" when they heard him speak of "the resurrection of the dead" (Acts 17:32). Some in the church at Corinth even doubted he was an Apostle at all (1 Cor 9:1-3) – and all because of the Gospel he preached.

PAUL'S PREACHING IS NEARLY AS STRANGE TODAY as when he set the world afire with it two millennia ago. He preached about grace (Eph 2:8-10), the imputation of righteousness (Rom 4:22-24), a new creation (2 Cor 5:21), and being made "accepted in the Beloved" (Eph 1:6). When He expounded the Christ of the Gospel, he affirmed that God "made Him to be sin for us" (2 Cor 5:21), that He was "made a curse for us" (Gal 3:13), and that He "put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Heb 9:26). He boldly announced that God, through Christ, had "reconciled the world unto Himself" (2 Cor 5:18-20), and had set the Son before the world "to be a propitiation through faith in His blood" (Rom 3:25). He said that Jesus, through His death, destroyed the devil (Heb 2:14), plundered principalities and powers (Col 2:15), and consecrated "a new and living way" that gave men access to God Himself (Heb 10:20). He preached a Gospel that would save men if they kept it "in memory" (1 Cor 15:2).

TO THIS VERY DAY religious men argue about what Paul preached. They compare it with James, and imagine there is a conflict. They attempt to redefine the words he used, so as to neutralize their power. They even attempt to do away with them altogether by saying they have been mistranslated, and do not mean what they say. Still others, unwilling to openly contradict what Paul preached, simply keep silence about it, choosing to preach "another Gospel." Such men have a gospel of the Spirit, a gospel of the family, a gospel of a political nation under God, or a gospel of health and wealth.

PAUL, HOWEVER, CERTIFIED HIS GOSPEL, attesting to its genuineness and effectiveness. He said it was "not after man," or "not according to man" (NKJV). That is, it is "not something man made up" (NIV), or "of human origin" (NRSV). The Gospel Paul preached was not the result of his own analysis. It was not that he had restudied the Prophets and come up with a new conclusion. Nor, indeed, had he heard reports about Jesus Christ and formed his own thoughts about Him. He did not receive his Gospel "from man," nor was he "taught it" by men. Rather, he was given the Gospel he preached "through the revelation of Jesus Christ." That is what made it legitimate. That is why those who believed it were blessed. It was a message that Jesus Himself gave to Paul, and that fact certified the Gospel. It can be believed without fear or doubt, and with a steadfast confidence of being blessed.

ALL OF THIS IS RATHER STRAIGHT FORWARD and beyond any controversy – at least among those who believe. The difficulty comes when we consider how little of what Paul preached is being declared in our day. There are whole bodies of professing Christians who have absolutely no idea what Paul preached about righteousness, justification, or sanctification. Their understanding of the grace of God is seriously deficient, and they are generally ignorant of what Jesus Christ has accomplished in their behalf. The marvelous intercessory work of Jesus is rarely mentioned, to say nothing of experiencing the "fellowship of His sufferings" the "the power of His resurrection" (Phil 3:10). Those who traffic in church circles know that I have vastly understated the condition.

IF THE GOSPEL IS CERTIFIED, it needs to be preached, declared, announced, and reported. This is what got the church underway in the first place. The word that was circulated on the day of Pentecost is that people were declaring "the wonderful works of God" (Acts 2:11). That is nothing less than the Gospel of Christ which is "the power of God unto salvation" (Rom 1:16). It is certified, and where it is preached God will work and people will be blessed!

– Given O. Blakely