In 1:16 Paul emphasizes the fact that the Son of God was revealed in him. This indicates that God’s revealing of His Son to us is in us; it is not outward but inward, not by an outward vision but by an inward seeing. It is not an objective revelation but a subjective one.
Moreover, Paul says that it pleased God to reveal His Son in him. This indicates that to reveal the Son of God brings pleasure to God. Nothing is more pleasing to God than the unveiling, the revelation, of the living person of the Son of God.
At the time appointed by God, when Saul, zealous in his religion, was persecuting the church, the Son of God was revealed to him. God could bear with Saul’s zeal for the traditions of his fathers, for this produced a dark background against which to reveal Christ. At a time which was pleasing to Him, God revealed His Son in Saul of Tarsus. God was pleased to reveal to him the living person of the Son of God. To reveal His Son in us is a pleasure to God. It is Christ, the Son of God—not the law—in whom God the Father is always pleased (Matt. 3:17; 12:18; 17:5).
God’s Son, a living person, is versus man’s religion. This was true at the time of Saul of Tarsus, it has been true throughout the centuries, and it is true today. Instead of focusing his attention on this living person, man has a natural tendency to direct his attention to religion with its tradition. But from Genesis 1 through Revelation 22 the Bible reveals a living person. God cares only for this living person.
The record of the experience of the disciples with the Lord Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration illustrates this (Matt. 17:1-8). After bringing Peter, James, and John up into a high mountain apart, the Lord Jesus “was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as the light” (v. 2). Along with the other two disciples, Peter saw the Lord’s glory. He also saw Moses and Elijah speaking with Him. Although it is doubtful that Moses and Elijah were in glory, they nonetheless were speaking with the glorified Jesus. According to Matthew 17:4, Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You are willing, I will make three tents here, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” In making this suggestion, Peter was elevating Moses and Elijah to the same level as that of the Lord Jesus. He was heir of the centuries-old tradition concerning Moses, who represented the law, and Elijah, who represented the prophets. To the Jews, Moses and Elijah were the representatives of the entire Old Testament. Hence, even on the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter was zealous for the traditions regarding Moses and Elijah. But while Peter was still speaking, the record says, “Behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight. Hear Him!” (v. 5). Moses and Elijah then disappeared from the scene. When the disciples lifted up their eyes, “they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone” (v. 8). This indicates that in the eyes of God there is no place for religion or tradition—only the living person of His Son has a place.
It is significant that in Galatians 1:15 and 16 Paul does not say that God revealed Christ in him but that God revealed His Son in him. Speaking of Christ does not lead to the same kind of involvement as does speaking of the Son. The reason for this difference is that whenever we speak of the Son of God, we are immediately involved with the Father and the Spirit. According to the writings of Paul, to have the Son is to have both the Father and the Spirit. The Son is the embodiment of the Triune God realized as the Spirit for our enjoyment (2 Cor. 13:14). Hence, when Paul says that it pleased God to reveal His Son in him, this means that the One revealed in him was the embodiment of the Triune God realized as the processed, all-inclusive Spirit.
In Paul’s Epistles we see that the Son is the mystery of God, the embodiment of God, and the One in whom the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily (Col. 2:2, 9). One day, through incarnation, the Son of God became a man called the last Adam, who, through death and resurrection, became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). In 2 Corinthians 3:17 Paul says, “The Lord is the Spirit.” Putting all these verses together, we see that in incarnation the Son of God, the embodiment of the fullness of the Godhead, became a man and that in resurrection this One is now the life-giving Spirit.
Concerning Christ as the Son of God, there are two “becomings.” According to John 1:14 the Word, the Son of God, became flesh. In other words, He became a man. Furthermore, according to 1 Corinthians 15:45 this One, called the last Adam, became the life-giving Spirit. This is the reason that Paul can say explicitly in 2 Corinthians 3:17 that the Lord is the Spirit. The Son of God is thus the embodiment of the Triune God realized as the all-inclusive Spirit. This wonderful person is versus man’s religion.