Today, we continue our series entitled “Living the Grace Life,” where we will learn to embrace and walk in God’s unmerited, unearned, and often undeserved favor throughout 2025.
As part of this series, I am teaching a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians. Let’s get into it.
Key scriptures for this year:
2 Corinthians? ?9?:?8? ?TPT??
“Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything—every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.” ?? ??
Galatians? ?5?:?4? ?TPT??
“If you want to be made right with God by fulfilling the obligations of the law, you have cut off more than your flesh—you have cut yourselves off from Christ and have fallen away from the revelation of grace!”
Romans? ?6?:?14? ?ERV??
“Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law. You now live under God’s grace.” ??
1 Corinthians? ?15?:?10? ?NIV??
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”
Scripture(s) we will study today:
Galatians 1:15 TPT
“But then God, who had chosen me from my birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to unveil his Son in me so that I would proclaim the good news of him to the non-Jewish people.”
Galatians 1:15 ERV
“But God had special plans for me and set me apart for his work even before I was born. Through his grace he chose to call me.”
Galatians 1:15 NIV
“But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles…”
Setting the Stage:
This verse reveals one of the most profound truths about God’s grace: your calling was established before you were born. But to fully grasp the power of this truth, we must connect it to what Paul had just finished saying in verses 13-14. Yesterday, we saw Paul openly acknowledge that he persecuted the church, did his very best to destroy it, and was basically a terrorist against the cause of Christ.
Paul had zeal with no knowledge. He did everything possible to disqualify himself from serving God. And yet, in verse 15, he declares the beautiful truth: “But God had chosen me from my birth and called me by his grace.”
Paul’s point is devastating to those who ascribe to performance-based religion: “My God didn’t wait until I performed so I could qualify for my calling—because I did everything I could to disqualify myself, yet I couldn’t disqualify because God qualified me from the foundations of the world!“
This completely demolishes any notion that God’s calling is based on your performance or your qualifications. You cannot disqualify yourself from something you never qualified for in the first place. God called Paul, and called you, before you could ever earn it or lose it.
So, what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Your Purpose Was Established Before Your Performance.
Paul reveals that God set him apart and called him before he was born. This means your divine purpose was established before you could do anything to earn it or disqualify yourself from it. Your calling is grace-based, not performance-based.
How this applies to you:
— You cannot earn what was already given to you before you existed. Nor can you disqualify yourself from something you never qualified for. Your calling is a gift of grace, not a reward for good behavior or religious performance.
— Nothing you’ve done in your past can disqualify you from what God predetermined before your birth. If your calling was established before you could sin, and if God already knew all the sins you would ever commit before He called you, then your sins cannot cancel your calling.
— Stop trying to prove yourself worthy of a calling that was never based on your worthiness in the first place. God chose you by grace, and grace cannot be earned.
— Your potential did not determine your calling. It’s the other way around. Your calling determines your potential. God saw what He would make you, not what you would make yourself.
— The same God who called Paul from the womb has called you for a specific purpose. Your life is not an accident; it’s an assignment from heaven.
— When people question your qualifications for ministry or leadership, remember that God’s calling is not based on human credentials.
— Although we can easily make the argument that Paul spent a significant portion of his life on the wrong team, what God predetermined cannot by grace be unraveled or undone by human failure.
2. Chosen Not Because of Who You Are, But Despite Who You Are.
Paul emphasizes that he was called “by grace.” This means his calling had nothing to do with his qualifications and everything to do with God’s unmerited favor. Grace-based calling means God chose you despite your flaws, not because of your perfection.
How this applies to you:
— God’s calling on your life is based on His grace, not your goodness. This takes all the pressure off trying to be perfect enough to deserve your calling.
— You received your calling the same way you received salvation—as a free gift from God.
— Religious people will always question whether someone “unqualified” can serve God. Paul’s answer is that no one is qualified—we’re all called by grace.
— When you understand that your calling is grace-based, you stop competing with others and start cooperating with God. There’s no competition in grace because everyone is undeserving.
— Grace-based calling means you can walk in confidence, knowing that God knew exactly what He was getting when He chose you. He called you with full knowledge of your flaws.
— Since your calling is by grace, you should stop judging others by standards that don’t even apply to your own calling.
3. God Delights in Using Flawed People.
Paul says God “was pleased” to reveal His Son in him. Think about this—God took pleasure in choosing a persecutor of Christians to become Christianity’s greatest missionary. God delights in making choices that confound human wisdom.
How this applies to you:
— God takes pleasure in using people that others have written off.
— What seems like an unlikely choice to people is often God’s preferred choice. God loves to show His power through weakness and His grace through flawed vessels. Because this puts the spotlight on Him and not on us! Remember, It’s All About HIM!
— God is pleased when He can turn your greatest weakness into your greatest ministry. God took Paul’s passion and turned it around, from destroying the church to building it.
— When you feel unqualified, remember that God finds pleasure in proving that His grace is sufficient for anyone. Your inadequacy is the perfect platform for His glory.
4. Human Alignment + Divine Assignment = Unstoppable Combination.
When God’s grace meets His predetermined purpose in your life, you become unstoppable. Paul’s life demonstrates what happens when someone fully aligns with what God assigned them to do!
How this applies to you:
— When you align with your grace-based calling, you tap into supernatural power that transcends human limitations.
— Your calling gives direction to your grace, and your grace gives power to your calling. Together, they create an unstoppable force that will advance God’s Kingdom in this world.
— Opposition cannot stop what God has predetermined by grace. Paul faced incredible persecution but never stopped fulfilling his calling because it was anchored in grace, not his own power.
— When you operate in your grace-based calling, you work harder than everyone else, but it’s not really you working—it’s grace working through you.
— Your grace-based calling connects you to divine resources, relationships, and opportunities that you could never access through human networking. God opens doors for His plans and purposes.
— Living in your grace-based calling brings fulfillment that performance-based religion never could.
— When you embrace your grace-based calling, you stop striving and start flowing. Your work becomes worship because you are doing what God called you to do.
5. You Cannot Disqualify Yourself From Something You Never Qualified For.
The connection between yesterday’s passage and today’s verse reveals the most liberating truth in Scripture: if Paul couldn’t disqualify himself through persecution and terrorism, then you can’t disqualify yourself through your failures.
How this applies to you:
— Paul did everything possible to work against God’s purposes, yet his calling remained intact because it was established before he could act.
— Your worst moments cannot cancel what God predetermined in your best interests before time began.
— Stop living under the fear that you’ve “blown it” with God. If being a terrorist could not disqualify Paul, if killing a man in cold blood could not disqualify Moses, if sleeping with someone’s wife, getting her pregnant, and then having her husband killed could not disqualify David, if being a prostitute could not disqualify Rahab, then your struggles won’t disqualify you.
— God’s foreknowledge included every mistake you would make, and He called you anyway. Your failures were factored into His decision, not excluded from it.
— When the enemy reminds you of your past, I want you to do two things. First, remind him of his future. Second, remind him that your calling was established before your past existed.
— You are not trying to become qualified for something—you are walking in what God already qualified you for before the foundation of the world.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You that my calling was established before I was born.
Just as Paul could not disqualify himself through persecution, I cannot disqualify myself through my failures.
I declare that my purpose is grace-based, not performance-based.
You called me with full knowledge of every mistake I would make, and You called me anyway.
I cannot lose what I never earned, and I cannot forfeit what was given by grace.
You take pleasure in using the unlikely to do the seemingly unimaginable. Therefore,
I know You will use me for Your glory.
I am aligned with my grace-based purpose, and nothing can stop what You have predetermined.
I am living THE GRACE LIFE, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
