Galatians 1:15-16 (ESV) 15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;
I find this so good that Paul proclaims that Jesus was revealed to him. There has never been separation.
John 1.1 To go back to the very 1beginning, is to find the 2Word already 3present there; 4face to face with God. The Word is 3I am; God’s 2eloquence echoes and 4concludes in him. The Word equals God.
Galatians 1.16 This is the heart of the gospel that I proclaim; it began with the unveiling of his Son 1in me, freeing me to announce the same sonship 2in the masses of non-Jewish people. I felt no immediate urgency to compare notes with those who were familiar with Christ from a mere historic point of view.
(Paul uses the verb, αποκαλυψαι apokalupsai which is the Aorist Infinitive of apokaluptō, to uncover. The Aorist Infinitive, indicates prior completion of an action in relationship to a point in time. Greek Infinitives could have either a present or Aorist form. The contrast between the two forms has more to do with aspect than with time. The Present Infinitive is used to express progressive or imperfective aspect. It pictures the action expressed by the verb as being in progress. The Aorist Infinitive however, does not express progressive aspect. It presents the action expressed by the verb as a completed unit with a beginning and end.
The Greek text is quite clear: “It pleased the Father to reveal his Son in me in order that I may proclaim him in the nations.” The words, ἐν ἐμοὶ en emoi, translate as “in me,” and ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι en tois ethnesi translate as in the nations, or the masses of non Jewish people. The use of the Dative together with the preposition en – en tois ethnesi [from ethnos], further emphasizes location in. Some translations would correctly translate the first part of the sentence, “the Father was pleased to reveal his Son in me”; but then sadly, all translations would translate the same word, in the very next line to say among the nations.
Later, when Barnabas is sent to investigate the conversion of the Greeks in Acts 11, instead of reporting his findings to HQ in Jerusalem, he immediately finds Paul, knowing that Paul’s gospel is the revelation of the mystery of Christ in the nations [see Colossians 1:27]. No wonder then that those believers were the first to be called Christians, or Christ-like Anointed ones.
Jesus Christ confirms that the son of man is the son of God. “Call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father who is in heaven.” [Matthew 23:9] Paul reminds the Greek philosophers in Acts 17 that we live and move and have our being in God; mankind is indeed the offspring of God. He is quoting from their own writings, Epimenedes 600 BC and Aratus, 300 BC. The incorruptible seed of sonship is as much present in every person as the seed is already in all soil, even in the desert, waiting for the rain to awaken and ignite its life.
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, so shall my word be that proceeds from my mouth, it shall not disappoint my purpose, it shall saturate the soil and cause it to bring forth and sprout. Instead of the thorn the cyprus and instead of the brier the myrtle.” [Isaiah 55:8-11, 13]
In Matthew 13:44, Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in an agricultural field. There is more to the field than what meets the eye.
In 2 Corinthians 4:4, 7 Paul says that we have this treasure in earthen vessels. But the god of this world has blindfolded our minds through unbelief [believing a lie about ourselves, Numbers 13:33] to keep us from seeing the light of the gospel revealing the glory of God in the face of Christ who is the image of God, as in a mirror.
When Jesus speaks of the sinner he speaks of him as the lost sheep, coin, or son. [Luke 15] You cannot be lost unless you belong. The inscription and image did not disappear from the coin when it was lost. How can we praise God and with the same mouth curse a person made in his image? [James 3:9 and Luke 20:20-26] Mankind has forgotten what manner of people they are by design; we are the image and likeness bearer of our Maker; this is exactly what Jesus came to reveal and redeem.
We may now behold him with unveiled faces as in a mirror and be immediately transformed [in our understanding] into his likeness. From the glory [opinion] of the flesh to the glory [opinion] of God. Legalistic religion kept the veil in place; the proclamation of the liberating truth of the Good News, removes the veil. The “ugly duckling” didn’t need a face-lift or lessons on how to fake the swan life. It only needed to know the truth about itself to be free indeed.
John 14:20 In that day you will know that we are in seamless union with one another. I am in my Father, you are in me and I am in you. (The incarnation does not divide the Trinity; the incarnation celebrates the redeemed inclusion of humanity. Picture 4 circles with the one fitting into the other – The outer circle is the Father, then Jesus in the Father, then us in Jesus and the Holy Spirit in us. This spells inseparable, intimate oneness. Note that it is not our knowing that positions Jesus in the Father or us in them or the Spirit of Christ in us. Our knowing simply awakens us to the reality of our redeemed oneness. Gold does not become gold when it is discovered but it certainly becomes currency.))
Mirror Bible (https://app.mirrorword.net)
Matthew 6.6 