Paul does not introduce himself as a self-made man or a religious success story. He stands as a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the Gospel of God. This is not mere sanctification in the abstract; it is a decisive separation for the sake of the Gospel itself. You cannot know Christ apart from this Gospel, for it is the very instrument God uses to sever you from every counterfeit and every shadow of truth. Paul’s separation was not a late development—it was God’s sovereign work from his mother’s womb. This is not a sentimental notion; it is the backbone of God’s dealings with His servants. Paul, like Jeremiah, was set apart before birth, and he recognized it. This is the sovereignty of God: He orchestrates backgrounds, callings, and even the timing of our birth for His purposes.
God’s Sovereign Hand in Preparation
Look at Paul’s life. His background—his education, his culture, his very weaknesses—were all sovereignly arranged. God does not waste anything. The so-called “negative” experiences before salvation are not obstacles but tools. They are the very means by which God brings a person low enough to rely on Christ alone. This is not a tragedy; it is a gift. Human weakness, far from being a liability, is the doorway to dependence on Jesus. God uses your entire history—your interests, your training, your failures, and your pain—to equip you for His kingdom.
Consider Moses and Daniel. Moses, raised in Pharaoh’s house, was saturated in the wisdom and even the occult mysteries of Egypt. This was not so he could practice them, but so he could understand and counter the enemy’s strategies. Daniel, made chief of the astrologers in Babylon, used his position to inject the prophetic program of God into the heart of a pagan empire. The magi who came to worship Christ centuries later were the fruit of Daniel’s influence. God’s sovereignty means that nothing in your background is wasted; all is pressed into service for the Gospel.
Paul himself was steeped in Greek philosophy and the heights of Jewish religion. God then took him to heaven and gave him a direct revelation of Christ. Paul recognized that every detail of his life—his birth, his upbringing, his education, his weaknesses—was orchestrated by God to make him uniquely fit for his apostolic ministry. This is not self-esteem; this is the recognition of God’s hand.
If you imagine your relationship with God began the day you “chose Him,” you have missed the point. God arranged the boundaries of your habitation, the generation in which you live, your intellectual interests, your strengths, and your weaknesses. Even the difficulties that drove you to your knees were His instruments to make you the kind of person who could believe and trust in Christ. This is what it means to be separated unto the Gospel of God: to see God’s sovereign hand in every detail, preparing you for His purpose.
The Gospel: Promised and Fulfilled
The Gospel is not a novelty. It is the fulfillment of promises stretching back to the very beginning. From Genesis, the promise of the Seed—the Son of God—was set forth. Jesus is the Seed of the Woman, the Seed of Abraham, and the Seed of David. Each title is covenantal, each one a link in the unbreakable chain of God’s purpose. The promise to David was not mere sentiment: “I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son.” Christ had to be born into humanity, to be the Seed of David, to inherit the throne and fulfill every covenantal promise.
The prophets did not invent this hope; they received it. Abel, the first prophet, believed the promise of the Seed and demonstrated his faith by offering blood. He understood, by revelation, that only the blood of the promised Seed could cover sin. Every prophet after him, from Abel to Zechariah, bore witness to this Gospel. Their testimony was not about human effort or religious works, but about the coming Christ. The Scripture, Paul says, “preached the Gospel beforehand to Abraham.” The Word of God—Christ Himself—appeared to Abraham and made the everlasting covenant. The promise was always about Christ, and the Gospel is the unveiling of that promise.
The Incarnation and Resurrection: Humanity Exalted
Paul’s Gospel is not vague spirituality. It is anchored in history: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was made the Seed of David according to the flesh. The eternal Son took on humanity, not as a disguise, but as a permanent union. He became like us, suffered, died, and was raised. The resurrection did not make Him the Son of God; it declared His humanity to be glorified and invested with all authority. The Man Christ Jesus now sits at the right hand of God, exalted above every name, with dominion not only over earth but over heaven itself. Angels worship Him. Every knee will bow.
This is not a theological curiosity. If you lose sight of Christ’s incarnation and resurrection—His real humanity and real exaltation—you lose the Gospel. You lose your justification, your inheritance, and your sonship. If Christ is not the Seed of David according to the flesh, if He is not the glorified Son of God in resurrection, you have no access to the promises, no share in the kingdom, and no hope of glory. The entire edifice of salvation collapses if you trade the finished work of Christ for anything else.
The Manifold Wisdom of God Revealed
Why did God do this? Hebrews tells us: because the children were flesh and blood, He partook of the same, to lead many sons into glory. He became like us so that we might be made like Him. This is the destiny of the Church—to be conformed to His image, to share in His glory, to be the many sons among whom He is the Firstborn. The angels, who knew the Son in His eternal glory, are astonished to see Him display mercy, compassion, suffering, and love in His humanity. They marvel at the intimacy believers have with Christ, a knowledge deeper than anything angels possess.
The Church, then, is not a religious club. It is the vessel through which God displays His manifold wisdom to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. The eternal purpose of God is being accomplished in Christ, who was made the Seed of David according to the flesh and declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. This is the Gospel promised beforehand, now revealed and accomplished. To be separated unto this Gospel is to be separated unto Christ Himself, to know Him, and to be made part of God’s eternal purpose.
Let no one rob you of this inheritance by shifting your focus to human effort, religious performance, or anything less than the finished work of Christ. The Gospel is not secondary—it is the very heart of God’s purpose, and your assurance, your sonship, and your inheritance stand or fall with it.
