A Changed Life That Glorifies God

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Scripture • World English Bible

Galatians 1:18–24

WEB

¹⁸Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Peter, and stayed with him fifteen days.

¹⁹But of the other apostles I saw no one except James, the Lord’s brother.

²⁰Now about the things which I write to you, behold, before God, I’m not lying.

²¹Then I came to the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

²²I was still unknown by face to the assemblies of Judea which were in Christ,

²³but they only heard, “He who once persecuted us now preaches the faith that he once tried to destroy.”

²⁴So they glorified God in me.

World English Bible (WEB) • Public Domain

Reflection

Paul’s short account of those first years after his conversion reads like a snapshot of gospel credibility. He made a careful trip to meet Peter and spent time with him. He insists—before God—that he is telling the truth about what happened. Then he returned to regions where he’d formerly worked, and the assemblies in Judea hardly recognized him in person; instead they knew him by reputation: the man who once persecuted Christians now preaches the same faith he tried to destroy. Their response was not admiration for Paul as a celebrity but worship—glorifying God because God had changed a life.

That sequence matters for us. The gospel rescues sinners by grace, and that rescue issues in a changed life. Transformation is not a show for self-promotion, and it’s not a checklist to earn God’s favor. Paul’s point is simpler and deeper: when the power of Christ reaches a person, the result is visible, public, and directed back to God. His integrity—his willingness to insist to God that he’s not lying—underscores that the substance matters. Faith produces evidence, but that evidence is meant to remove attention from the believer and point people to God.

For men building durable faith, this passage offers practical correction and hope. First, don’t confuse visibility with spiritual depth; a reputation can travel faster than personal discipleship, so let your private life match your public witness. Second, be willing to be known honestly—confession and accountability guard against hypocrisy and strengthen credibility. Third, remember the purpose of a changed life: it exists to glorify God and to open doors for the gospel. When others see steady, humble transformation, their reaction should echo the early believers’ response—glory to God—rather than applause for the person who changed.

Finally, Paul’s experience shows that the gospel can repair the worst pasts. A man who once opposed the church became a vessel for its message. That offers both comfort and a mission: no one is beyond God’s rescue, and where rescue happens, live so that God alone receives the glory.

Putting Faith Into Action

Identify two men in your life who need to see Christ lived out, then choose one specific, practical way to serve one of them this week (bring a meal, help with a task, offer to pray) and follow through.
Make a short, honest list of three areas where your life and words don't match. Confess these to God, ask one trusted brother for accountability, and set one measurable corrective step to take this month.
Serve regularly in a public way for the next four weeks (volunteer at a church ministry, neighborhood project, or mentoring program) so others can see the gospel through consistent, humble service.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, let the reality of your rescue shape how I live. Give me integrity so others see your work, not my pride. Help me confess where I fall short and give me courage to change. Use my life to bring you glory and to draw men toward you. Amen.

Memory Verse

Galatians 1:24 — So they glorified God in me. (WEB)

“So they glorified God in me.”

Keep Going Continue to Part 5 Guard the Freedom of the Gospel Galatians · Galatians 2:1–10 Read the next devotional →

Bible Context

Read all of Galatians 1

Galatians 1

World English Bible • WEB

¹Paul, an apostle—not from men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—

²and all the brothers who are with me, to the assemblies of Galatia:

³Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,

⁴who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father—

⁵to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

⁶I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”,

⁷but there isn’t another “good news.” Only there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the Good News of Christ.

⁸But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed.

⁹As we have said before, so I now say again: if any man preaches to you any “good news” other than that which you received, let him be cursed.

¹⁰For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? For if I were still pleasing men, I wouldn’t be a servant of Christ.

¹¹But I make known to you, brothers, concerning the Good News which was preached by me, that it is not according to man.

¹²For I didn’t receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹³For you have heard of my way of living in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the assembly of God and ravaged it.

¹⁴I advanced in the Jews’ religion beyond many of my own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

¹⁵But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through his grace,

¹⁶to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I didn’t immediately confer with flesh and blood,

¹⁷nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia. Then I returned to Damascus.