The following comments are sermon notes from Sunday, May 16th concerning the manner in which the Apostle Paul was honestly known by the churches in Galatia  as a minister of the Gospel.

     Christianity is the most personal of religions, but most people do not want to be known personally.   They want to be famous, to have a recognized reputation, yes, but not really to be honestly known. 

    Christianity stands in radical opposition to that.  Its central truth is that even God Himself, wanted to be known among men “in the flesh.”   Hence, the Incarnation.

     We live in a very de-personalized, de-humanized, society.  Modern technology and communication methods make it possible to know people “virtually” which is no personal knowledge at all.  What a confusion of ideas - the unreal appearance of reality!

     We are a ‘celebrity’ culture, vicariously living out our ambitions through people we don’t even know.  A celebrity is a person famous, not for virtue, but for being known by image.

     Today we don’t know the person who leads; we know the “image” that the media projects of that person.  We have to ask, what is the difference between that and the “icons” sold in earlier years?  But… in contrast...

I.  Paul wanted the church to know his story.

     Paul wanted to be “known” by the church!  This apostle who carried divine authority, was a known personality in the churches. " I will walk in the light before you."  How else could we expect to have fellowship one with another?  (1 John 1:9)

• For instance:  Acts 20  “I was with you with great humility and with tears…  teaching you all in public and from house to house… for 3 years I did not cease to confront your minds with the truth and with tears.  You know me.  I was your pastor.  Now… you elders, shepherd the flock bought with the blood of Christ in like manner.”
• 1 Thess. 2  “I was gentle among you, like a nursing mother tenderly taking care of her own children…  we imparted to you, not just the gospel, but our very souls.  That is how dear you had become to us…  You know how we exhorted and encouraged and implored each one of you like a father does his children.”
• 2 Tim. 3  “You, Timothy, my son, know me… for you have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings.”

“Hello Pastor Steve!  I was thinking, a pastor's knowing all the names of the members of his congregation is like God's knowing all of our names, isn't it? When we left our last church, we had been there so long that most people there knew our names. As we looked for a new church, I realized that, since I would be leaving for college in a few years, the pastor and members of any new church we went to would not ever remember my name. And then God led us to Westminster! His grace truly abounds.”

     The churches in Galatia knew that Paul had been “present” with them.  He even now loved them as children.  “My little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! (Gal 4:19)

     He was uninhibited to speak of his radical repentance (his turning around).

     He was not seeking reputation by “name-dropping” even though he used to live like that as a Pharisee.  (He had been professionally advancing far ahead of his competition in the religious hierarchy.)  He didn’t even see one of the other apostles for the first three years after his conversion.

     Later, when he did come to know Peter personally, he did not refrain from rebuking him soundly for his duplicity when his behavior did not match his message.

     We live in a society in which Identity Theft is a scandalous and frequent crime.  Do people really have their identity stolen, or just the external things that they think make up their identity?  The church, I would submit, has allowed its identity to be stolen from a family to a business.

     This has happened largely because too many who lead the church have consented to the theft of their Biblical identity.  The world has redefined their position for them.  They have been moved from shepherds and soul-physicians to CEO’s and corporate managers, social engineers, marketers, religious professionals and would-be celebrities.  But Paul insisted upon being known for who he was in Christ and for what Christ had called him to do.

     Paul’s solution to identity theft was to teach Christians  how to live with their identity secure in Christ, and not to return to performance-based law-keeping.

II.  He wanted to be known because his story displayed the quality of God’s redeeming grace.

He was not concerned about being known for selfish 'celebrity' reasons but so that God’s work would be recognized. 

“It pleased God  (the One Who -

     “set me apart even from my mother’s womb” and  

     “called me by His grace”)  

     “to reveal His Son in me”  

     “in order that I might preach Him among the nations…”  

     “I want you to know about me!” - because of what it says about the Lord Jesus Christ!  And because I realize that the content of the message is dependent upon the character of the man who brings it.

     Why should preachers want to preach?  To bring Jesus to the people!

     "And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you"

     This principle is bigger than its application to Apostles and preachers.

III.  Likewise, the Lord has called us to live openly before one another, so that we might be honestly known, and so that Christ might be revealed in the world. 

     “It pleased the Lord to reveal His Son in me, so that I might announce Him to the nations!”

     God is a God of divine Personhood Who communicates Himself to individuals in personal ways.  Paul is a pattern of that for the whole church.

     Paul wants to be known, because such knowledge, he knows, will reveal Christ Jesus to the world.  It takes a whole church to reveal a whole Christ.

     Our response, “Oh, Lord, reveal Your Son in me, too!”