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The Amish Voice
Section II
THE PROOF OF GOD’S MESSENGER AND MESSAGE
Galatians 1:10–2:21
Study 2: THE MINISTER FOLLOWED GOD FIRST IN HIS
LIFE
Text: Galatians 1:17-24
Aim:
To bear a captivating testimony for Christ.
Memory Verse:
“According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that
in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness,
as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my
body, whether it be by life, or by death” (Ph.1:20).
INTRODUCTION:
Think for a moment: What is the most exciting testimony you have
ever heard? What struck you the most?
If you were put on the spot today and asked to share your Chris-
tian testimony, what would it include? One of the most powerful tools
of witnessing is your personal testimony. Unfortunately, many Chris-
tians have not lived the kind of life that bears a strong testimony for
Christ.
The life of the believer should be so strong that it becomes a
tro-
phy
of what God can do in the heart of a person. Note how strong a life
and testimony Paul lived.
Paul was under attack by some critics in the churches of Galatia.
They were saying that he was not a God-called minister and that he
preached a false gospel. They sowed the poison of gossip: that he was
in the ministry only as a profession and for what he could get out of it.
The present passage is a continuation of the former verses. Paul
was proving that his call and message did come from God, that he was
a God-called minister and his message was the true gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. In fact, he had never received the gospel from anyone
other than Christ Himself. To prove his point, he recounted his jour-
neys right after his conversion. The point is this: he sought to learn the
truth from God and from God alone. In the first few years after his
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The Minister Followed God First In His Life
Study 2: Galatians 1:17-24 —Teacher’s Outline and Study Bible
™
1. First, he went to Arabia: He
got alone with God
2. Second, he returned to Da-
mascus: He corrected the
wrong he had previously
done
3. Third, he went to Jerusalem:
He faced his past, vv.13-14
a. Faced Peter & James: Faced
them as an equal—did not
consult them about the gos-
pel
B. The Minister Followed God
First in His Life, 1:17-24
17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem
to them which were apostles be-
fore me; but I went into Arabia,
and returned again unto Damas-
cus.
18 Then after three years I went up
to Jerusalem to see Peter, and
abode with him fifteen days.
19 But other of the apostles saw I
none, save James the Lord’s broth-
er.
20 Now the things which I write
unto you, behold, before God, I lie
not.
21 Afterwards I came into the
regions of Syria and Cilicia;
22 And was unknown by face unto
the churches of Judaea which were
in Christ:
23 But they had heard only, That
he which persecuted us in times
past now preacheth the faith which
once he destroyed.
24 And they glorified God in me.
b. Made a solemn protest: He
was not lying, see vv.11-12
4. Fourth, he went to Syria &
Cilicia, that is, Tarsus: He
faced
his
hometown,
Ac.21:39
5. Fifth, he bore the fruit of a
God-centered life
a. His testimony spread
b. His life honored God