362 The Spiritual Man
to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away
into Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus” (Gal. 1.16-17).
Revelation, as we have indicated before, is given by God and
received in the spirit. When the Apostle John obtained revelation to
write, he secured it in the spirit (Rev. 1.10). The Bible consistently
testifies that revelation is something which occurs in the believer’s
spirit. Now the Apostle Paul informs us here that he was walking by
the spirit when he received revelation in his spirit to know the Lord
Jesus and to be sent to the Gentiles. He did not confer with flesh and
blood because he had no need to listen further to man’s opinion,
thought or argument. He did not go to Jerusalem to see those who
were spiritually senior to him so as to obtain their view. He simply
followed the leading of his spirit. Since he had received God’s
revelation in his intuition and had known God’s will, he no longer
sought other evidence. He deemed revelation in his spirit sufficient
for guidance. At that time, proclaiming the Lord Jesus to Gentiles
was a new departure. Man’s soul naturally would suggest amassing
more information, especially the opinions of those who had more
preaching experience. But Paul followed the spirit alone. He cared
not what men, not even the most spiritual apostles, would say.
Thus ought we to follow the direct leading of the Lord in our spirit
rather than the words of spiritual people. Does this then imply that
the words of the spiritual fathers are use less? No, they are most
useful. The exhortation and teaching of the fathers are most helpful,
but we nonetheless ought to “weigh what is said” (1 Cor. 14.29). We
must be instructed by the Lord directly in our spirit. When we are
uncertain whether a movement in the spirit is actually of God or not,
we can be helped greatly by those who have been taught deeply in
the Lord. But if we already have known for sure—as Paul was—that
God has so revealed His mind, then we ought not inquire of men, not
even of apostles, should they still exist today.
From the context of this passage we can see the Apostle stresses
that the gospel he preaches was disclosed to him by God rather than