Uncoerced Speech
“Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—” (Gal. 1:1)
When arguments mount and tensions rise in a relationship, the first solution for any couple is to talk. From newlyweds to afternoon talk shows, the primary means of reconciliation is the initiation of conversation. “Let’s talk about it.” However, in each of these scenarios, we are dealing with equals, with the bone of our bone and the flesh of our flesh. Even when Grant and Lee gathered at Appomattox after many long years of fighting, these men stood before one another as equals. But what about when equality is lacking?
Let us never forget that every revelation of the Gospel comes from God’s own initiative. Paul was not called from men nor through man, nor was his gospel an attempt by men to drag God down from His heavenly height. The Epistle to the Galatians stands as a snapshot of a perennial human problem, of attempting to oblige God to forgive. If I do enough, if I pray enough, if I sacrifice enough, God will be obligated to forgive me. David Brainerd – the famous missionary to the Native Americans in the 1740s – once confessed that while performing spiritual duties, he “had a secret hope of recommending [himself] to God by [his] religious duties.” Our sacrifice cannot obligate God’s speech.
Instead, Paul was called to be an apostle “through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead.” Paul was called to deliver the gospel – the good news that “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them” (2 Cor. 5:19). As salvation is all of grace, so too is every word of redemption spoken. We did not move God to speak any more than we moved God to save. The three words most associated with God’s speech and God’s salvation are grace, mercy, and love. Each of these are free, uncoerced acts. When we open the Scriptures, our first thought should be, “God didn’t have to speak, but He did.” What thankfulness this breeds!
As much as this lift our hearts to unending praise, this also provides a warning to us. Love moved God to speak just as much as it moved Him to predestine us and to send His Son for us (Eph. 1:4-5; John 3:16). If we treat His Word lightly, if we fail to trust what He says, if we fail to obey the gospel of God, what vengeance will love spurned inflict upon us (2 Thess. 1:8)? We have received something precious, so let us take God at His Word and rest in His message of reconciliation.
