Christ Slave – Galatians 1:10-17

atthew Henry says of Paul: “In preaching the gospel, the apostle sought to bring persons to obedience, not of men, but of God. But Paul would not attempt to alter the doctrine of Christ, either to gain their favor, or to avoid their fury. In so important a matter, we must not fear the frowns of men, not seek their favor, by using words of Men's wisdom”. Barnes comments further: “He (Paul) derived his authority from God and not from the Sanhedrin or any earthly council. And the purpose of all this is to say that he had not received his commission to preach from man, but had received it directly from God.” In the context of challenges to his own authority as an apostle and corruption on the question: “What is the Gospel?”, Paul provides the church for all time, marks of authenticity to reinforce our discernment on matters of spiritual life and death. The diagnostic test provided in the context of our passage today provides a framework for evaluating ourselves and to identify imposters and apostasy that would otherwise derail the chief end of the church even today.