Martin Luther (1483-1546), is known by many as the father of the Reformation. Luther had tried everything he knew to be a good Christian. He wrote:?"I was a good monk and kept my order so strictly that I could claim that if ever a monk were able to reach heaven by monkish discipline I should have found my way there. All my fellows in the house, who knew me, would bear me out in this. For if it had continued much longer I would, what with vigils, prayers, readings and other such works, have done myself to death".? Yet as hard as Luther worked, his conscience was still troubled by the thought that he was not good enough for God. He didn't understand the gospel of grace. His breakthrough came when he discovered that Christianity was not about what he had to do for God; it was about what God had done for him in Jesus Christ. ( Ryken, P. G. (2005). Galatians. (R. D. Phillips, P. G. Ryken, & D. M. Doriani, Eds.) (pp. 3?5). Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.)
Galatians is a letter for people who wrestle with this: recovering Pharisees. The Pharisees who lived during and after the time of Christ were very religious. They were regular in their worship, orthodox in their theology, and moral in their conduct. Yet something was missing. Although God was in their minds and in their actions, he was not in their hearts. Therefore, their religion was little more than hypocrisy. The Pharisees were hypocrites because they thought that what God would do for them depended on what they did for God. So they read their Bibles, prayed, tithed, and kept the Sabbath as if their salvation depended on it. What they failed to understand is that God's grace cannot be earned; it only comes free.
There is a way out of Pharisaism. The way out is called the gospel. It is the good news that Jesus Christ has already done everything necessary for our salvation. He draws us unto Himself so we can repent of our sin, and trust in him. He will make us right with God by giving us the free gift of his grace. When we reject our own righteousness to receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we become former Pharisees.
The Gospel offers power and freedom. It has the power to defeat sin and death. It provides the only true freedom from the bondage to sin and death. In Galatians 1:1-5, the Apostle Paul explains these facts of the Gospel in stating: 1) His authority (his right to speak) (Galatians 1:1-2), 2) His message (the truths he speaks) (Galatians 1:3–4), and 3) His motive (his reason for speaking) (Galatians 1:5). In understanding these, we understand the power and freedom of life in Christ.
The Gospel offers power and freedom, as seen through Paul’s explanation of His:
1) Authority (Galatians 1:1-2)
Galatians 1:1-2 [1:1]Paul, an apostle--not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead-- [2]and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: (ESV)
I want to cover a lot of ground very quickly in this first section on Authority before we get to the message of the gospel. Nevertheless, don't pass over the content of the salutation lightly as though it contained merely formal niceties such as the ?Dear Sir” or “Yours truly” of a modern letter. The prescript of a Pauline letter by itself constitutes “an essential part of the letter’s content.” ( G. Ebeling, The Truth of the Gospel: An Exposition of Galatians (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984), 8.) The salutation reveals not only the mood in which Galatians was written but also the passion and burden of Paul?s heart that prompted him to write it. What is at stake is the content of the gospel Paul proclaimed to the Galatians. This too is restated with force in these opening verses as Paul draws a theological line in the sand against the false teachers who have undermined the gospel by undermining his apostolic authority (George, T. (2001, c1994). Vol. 30: Galatians (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (76). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Following the custom of his times, the apostle begins his letter by stating his name, Paul. He then establishes his authority as an apostle, 1) first on the basis of his right to the title “apostle,” 2) second on the basis of the manner in which he was chosen for that office, and 3) third on the basis of his relationship to fellow believers.
• While we can assert with great certainty that this epistle owes its content from God, and style to Paul, but the actual mechanics of writing were, most likely, that of an amanuensis (secretary), as evidenced by the notation made as to what he personally wrote in the final words of the epistle. The majority of the epistle was likely generated through the process of dictation..(Elwell, W. A. (1996, c1989). Evangelical Commentary on the Bible . (electronic ed.) (Ga 1:6). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)
Saul then to be known as (Paul which was probably his Roman surname) was born into a Jewish family from the tribe of Benjamin. He was raised as a strict Pharisee (Philippians 3:5), grew up in Tarsus, and was educated under a well-known teacher, Gamaliel (Acts 22:3).( Barton, B. B. (1994). Galatians. Life application Bible commentary (3). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House.)
• Given his background, teaching and previous vocation, he was extremely well aware of the particular challenges the Galatians were facing from the Judaizers who advocated an adoption of Jewish ritual acts.
An apostle (“one who is sent with a commission”) was an envoy, ambassador, or messenger who was chosen and trained by Jesus Christ as His special emissary for proclaiming His truth during the formative years of the church. In its primary and technical usage, the term applied to the original twelve who were chosen at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry (Mark 3:14; Luke 6:13) and were set aside to lay the foundation of the early church and to be the channels of God’s completed revelation (Acts 2:42; Eph. 2:20), They were also given power to perform healings and to cast out demons as verifying signs of their divine authority (Acts 2:43; 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:3–4). It should be noted that, shortly before Pentecost, Judas was replaced by Matthias (Acts 1:26). In a wider sense, the term apostle is also used of men like Barnabas (Acts 14:14), Silas and Timothy (1 Thess. 1:1; 2:6), and other outstanding leaders (Rom. 16:7). Such men are more specifically called messengers (apostoloi) of the churches (see 2 Cor. 8:23; Phil. 2:25), whereas the Twelve and Paul were “apostles of Jesus Christ.” Neither group was perpetuated. Except for Judas (for obvious reasons), there is no New Testament record of an apostle in either the primary or secondary group being replaced after he died.
Because Paul was not among the original twelve, he needed to defend his apostleship in ways that they did not. Because one of the qualifications was witnessing the risen Christ (Acts 1:22), Paul witnessed the resurrected Christ in a unique way As he was traveling to Damascus (Acts 9:3–5). Through the godly Anamas of Damascus, the Lord declared this former enemy of the gospel to be “a chosen instrument of Mine.(Further personal appearances of the Lord to Paul are recorded in Acts 18:9; 22:17–21; 23:11; and 2 Corinthians 12:1–4 (1 Cor. 9:1). In none of his other salutations, however, does he take pains to emphasize, first negatively and then positively, how he came to be an apostle.( Longenecker, R. N. (1998). Galatians (Vol. 41, p. 4). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.)
Because false teachers were accusing Paul of being a spurious, self-appointed apostle who had no authority to teach and to rule the churches, Paul now explains the manner in which he was chosen, when emphatically stated that his was ?not by human appointment or human commission?. He was not (sent) from men. He had not appointed himself and had not even been divinely appointed through the agency of men as he says nor through man. No human means of any sort was involved in his apostolic commissioning. No human source, no human ceremony, no laying on of hands by any group in Jerusalem, Antioch, or anywhere else was involved in his call to apostleship, though the elders at Antioch were a part of the sending process of his special mission tour to evangelize (Acts 13:1–3). Paul insists that human beings had nothing whatever to do with it. His apostolic commission was human neither directly nor indirectly; it was wholly divine. Paul’s original call to apostleship was directly through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead. Jesus called Paul and set him apart before he had contact with any of the other apostles. It was the risen Lord who commissioned him on the Damascus road, and Paul several times refers to this sight of the risen Christ as an essential condition of his apostleship (see 1 Cor. 9:1; 15:8, 9).( Stott, J. R. W. (1986). The message of Galatians: Only one way (p. 14). Leicester, England; Downer?s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
• Paul certainly had a vastly superior commissioning to any of the false-teaching, self-appointed Judaizers who were confusing the Galatians and trying to set themselves above his authority.
Very early in Galatians we see the mention of the resurrection, without which the gospel would be powerless. The God who appointed Paul an apostle was God the Father, who raised His Son from the dead.
o Apparently, the Galatians were not wholly satisfied with the Savior's work, because they were trying to improve on it by adding their own efforts at law-keeping. (MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Ga 1:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.)
The apostle's frequent mention of God and Father in relation to Jesus Christ throughout the New Testament marks an emphasis that should not be missed. The intent is not for us to understand God as our Father (although that truth is mentioned in Gal.1:4) but the Father in relation to the role He has in the Trinity, particularly His relation to the Son. The intent is to emphasize the significance of the relationship between the first and second members of the Trinity as to essential nature. The title is to express equality of deity between the two, a Father and Son who share the same nature (cf. Matt. 11:27; John 5:17–18, 22; 10:29–33; 14:9; 17:1–5; Rom. 15:6; 2 Cor. 1:3; Eph. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:3; 2 John 3). It asserts that Jesus Christ is the One who is of the nature of God and that the true God is the One who is the Father of Jesus Christ.
A third basis of Paul’s authority is implied in verse 2 by his referring to companions who were with him at the time of writing as the brothers/brethren, in contrast to his own identification as apostle.
o Paul is saying that he is not alone in his doctrine; in that this doctrine is embraced by all of his colleagues in the Gospel work, traveling with him (Ac 19:29, Gaius and Aristarchus at Ephesus: Ac 20:4, Sopater, Secundus, Timotheus, Tychicus, Trophimus, some, or all of these).
o Not that these were joint authors with Paul of the Epistle: but joined him in the sentiments and salutations. ( Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., Fausset, A. R., Brown, D., & Brown, D. (1997). A commentary, critical and explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments. On spine: Critical and explanatory commentary. (Ga 1:2). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.)
Please turn to Ephesians 3
If Paul and the other apostles of the New Testament were not divinely inspired in a unique and authoritative way, they were the most presumptuous of men, because they boldly and unequivocally claimed to speak and write in God's name. As apostles they spoke to the church, not on behalf of the church. The church derived its doctrine from the apostles, who received it directly from God (Eph. 3:5). As it is explained here in Ephesians 3:
Ephesians 3:4-5 [4]When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, [5]which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. (ESV)
They are never spoken of as apostles of the church but always as apostles of Jesus Christ.
• The authority that I or any other Christian has is not based on a particular denomination that you belong to, the prominence of the human teacher or the office that you hold today. The authority of teaching is only based on the word of God.
(MAP SLIDE)
The direct audience is identified here in Galatians as that of the churches of, (most probably southern) Galatia were in the central Asia Minor cities of Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, where Paul had ministered on both his first and second missionary journeys (Acts 13:14–14:23; 16:1–5). Pessinus and Ancyra were the principal cities; but doubtless there were many other churches in Galatia (Ac 18:23; 1Co 16:1).(Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., Fausset, A. R., Brown, D., & Brown, D. (1997). A commentary, critical and explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments. On spine: Critical and explanatory commentary. (Ga 1:2). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.)
o In the context of the book of Galatians, the fact that Paul founded those churches certainly gave him some authority in dealing with them (cf. 1 Cor. 4:14–21, where Paul expresses his right to reprimand the Corinthians because he was their spiritual father).
• Galatians is a circular letter, intended for several churches. (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson's new illustrated Bible commentary (Ga 1:2). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.)
The question arises as to when this letter was written. The problem in dating Galatians centers around the relationship of the letter to the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 (c. A.D. 49-50), since both were concerned with the question of circumcision and Gentile salvation. Since Paul does not mention the decision of the Conference, some feel that Galatians must have been written in A.D. 48-49, after the first missionary journey and just prior to the Conference. (Believer's Study Bible. 1997, c1995. C1991 Criswell Center for Biblical Studies. (electronic ed.) (Ga 1:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.)
The mention of these churches is brief and impersonal, and there is an apparent lack of the amenities usually found in Paul's epistles. His resentment of their defection from the gospel of grace forced him to dispense with any commendation or personal remarks, and he simply gave a gospel greeting before he rebuked them.
Illustration The Power of the Gospel
The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a figment of human imagination. When preached or taught in the power of God, the gospel will produce results. The lives of people will be changed. No man-made gospel can change the human heart.
When George Whitefield was shaking England with the thunders of his revival preaching, (it was said): ?This man Whitefield is a truly great man. Surely he will be the founder of a new religion.? ?A new religion!? exclaimed the friend. ?Yes,? the man said ?if it is not a new religion, what do you call it?? ?I say of it that it is nothing but the (the Gospel) heated with divine energy in a man who really means what he says.? The (true) Gospel produces (true) conversions when it is preached under the power of the divine Spirit.
• What kind of gospel does your life proclaim? A ?new religion? or the only true gospel of Jesus Christ? (Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (2001). Practical Illustrations: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians (pp. 107?108). Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.)
The Gospel offers power and freedom, as seen through Paul's explanation of:
2) The Message (Galatians 1:3–4) of the Gospel itself:
Galatians 1:3-4 [3]Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, [4]who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, (ESV)
In the Greek culture of Paul’s day the common greeting was chara (“joy”). But although joy is among the many blessings Christians receive from God and should reflect in their lives (Gal. 5:22), the distinctly Christian greeting of grace … and peace held special meaning and significance for Paul and for other believers in the early church. Paul commonly combines the two ideas of grace and peace in the introductions of his letters (1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2).( Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson's new illustrated Bible commentary (Ga 1:3). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.) In fact, ?grace? and ?peace? seem to be Paul's (and the NT's) shorthand way of epitomizing the essence of the gospel, with particular reference to its cause and its effect.(Longenecker, R. N. (1998). Galatians (Vol. 41, p. 7). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.) Paul's greeting attacked the Judaizers? legalistic system. If salvation is by works as they claimed, it is not of grace? and cannot result in peace,? since no one can be sure he has enough good works to be eternally secure.( MacArthur, J. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible : New American Standard Bible. (Ga 1:3). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Two of the most precious words related to the God-given gospel are grace and peace. The first is the source of salvation and the second is the result. Grace is positional, peace is practical, and together they flow from God our Father through His Son and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. This shows how habitually Paul identifies the work of the Father and that of Christ. Christ is distinguished from mortal men but identified with God. Grace could be said to come from Christ (1:6) or God (2:21). The same could be said of peace (Col. 3:15; Phil. 4:7). J. Gresham Machen thus refers to verse 3 as ?the most stupendous ascription of deity to our Lord?.( Barnes, P. (2006). A Study Commentary on Galatians (p. 50). Darlington, England; Webster, New York: Evangelical Press.)
Please turn to Romans Chapter 4
Quote: Martin Luther said: ?"Grace releases sin, and peace makes the conscience quiet. The two fiends that torment us are sin and conscience. But Christ has vanquished these two monsters, and trodden them under foot, both in this world, and in the world to come"?. (Martin Luther as quoted in Barton, B. B. (1994). Galatians. Life application Bible commentary (8). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House.)
Paul explains this in Romans 4:
Romans 4:4-5 [4]Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. [5]And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, (ESV)
• If being right with God and possessing salvation is by works, as those false teachers maintained, then it is not of grace (Rom. 4:4–5) and can bring no peace, since one never knows if he has enough good works to be eternally secure.
• I was an actively practicing Roman Catholic growing up. I did everything that Rome told me to do. I was an alter boy, serving mass several times a week. I did every charitable work I could find though the Roman Catholic fraternal order, the Knight of Columbus. But after I did all this, I still had no assurance of Salvation. In fact I was taught that such assurance was heretical.
• This is no different from every works based religion, like Islam, to that taught by the cults like Jehovah's witness.
o In fact the teaching of assurance in Salvation is often the doctrine I go to in witnessing, for it clearly distinguishes genuine Christianity from counterfeits.
o The true message of salvation is based solely on God's grace (Rom. 1:6; 2:21) received by faith (Eph. 2:8), and it provides peace with God (Rom. 5:1). (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson's new illustrated Bible commentary (Ga 1:3). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.)
In turning from grace to a legalistic system of salvation by works, the Galatians had ignored the significance of the death of Christ.The heart of the gospel in verse 4 is Christ's willing sacrifice of Himself for our sins. The rescue described here..concerns those who by nature are enemies of the Rescuer, and it was accomplished by means of the voluntary death (in this case eternal death) of the Rescuer. One is reminded of a swimmer who plunges into the fast moving current in order to rescue the child that has fallen into the stream and is about to be pitched over the cliff of the cataract to its death. In the act of seizing the youngster and hurling him to the side where loving arms reach out and catch him, he himself is swept over the precipice to his death. All comparisons fall short, however, since in the case of Christ the sacrifice was great beyond all comprehension, and the beneficiaries were thoroughly unworthy of such love!( Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953?2001). Exposition of Galatians (Vol. 8, p. 34). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)
The purpose of the gospel is to deliver (the Greek subjunctive expresses purpose) those who believe in Christ from the present evil age. Jesus?death was a rescue operation, the only possible means of saving human kind from the doomed world and from eternal death by providing for them eternal life. This is an AORIST MIDDLE VERBAL FORM which means ?He, Himself, once and for all, plucked us out of this present evil age. (Utley, R. J. (1997). Paul?s First Letters: Galatians and I & II Thessalonians (Vol. Volume 11, p. 8). Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International.)
• Grace not only saves us from the penalty of sin; it also delivers us from the power of sin. We have been rescued from the enslaving power of this present evil age?a world (of) Satan (1 John 5:19), full of cruelty, tragedy, temptation, and deception.(Anders, M. (1999). Vol. 8: Galatians-Colossians. Holman New Testament Commentary; Holman Reference (6). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Please turn to John 17
Age (aion) does not refer to a period of time but to a passing, transitory system, in this case the evil, satanic world system that has dominated the world since the Fall and will continue to dominate it until the Lord’s return. In the context, evil related to a rot, corruption, diseased and disordered state of affairs. Although believers are not removed from the earth until they die or are raptured, believers are rescued from the present evil age the moment they receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. They are still in the world, but they are no longer of it. (John Brown: Galatians. Geneva Series of Commentaries. Banner of Truth Press. Great Britain. 2001. p.28).
Jesus Prayed for His saints regarding this, in the Garden before His death:
John 17:11 [11] And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. (ESV) [14]I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. [15]I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. [16]They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. [17]Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. [18]As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. (ESV)
The source of the saving gospel of Jesus Christ is the sovereign, loving, compassionate, gracious will of our God and Father. (Cf. Mt 26:42; Jn 6:38?40; Ac 2:22, 23; Ro 8:3, 31, 32; Eph 1:7, 11; Heb 10:4?10). Specifically, every rescued believer is delivered because of the sovereign, gracious will of God. As John explains in: John 1:12-13 [12]But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, [13]who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (ESV)
• The children of God, are those who believed in His name and received Him through repentance of their sins, which itself is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8-9). This occurs not because of human will, or work, but through God drawing people unto himself.
Hymn: In all of this, Paul drives the Galatians, and all of us back to this fundamental fact: Christ gave himself for our sins. For the death of Christ alone explains the presence of grace in our lives; and the death of Christ alone opens the wellspring of salvation: justification, sanctification, glorification. ?"O for a thousand tongues to sing My great Redeemer's praise, The glories of my God and King, The triumphs of His grace!"? What are these triumphs of his grace? ?"He breaks the power of canceled sin, He sets the prisoner free; His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood availed for me."
So, then, when we sin, we don't need to hide from God. When we blow it really badly, we don't have to run away. When we're discouraged with where we are spiritually, we shouldn't flirt with other stuff but instead go back to the cross of Christ, return to the source of grace: the sacrificial self-giving of the Son for our sins. (Wilson, T. (2013). Galatians: Gospel-Rooted Living. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 23). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.)
Finally, and only briefly, we see how the Gospel offers power and freedom, as seen through Paul's explanation of His:
3) The Motive (Galatians 1:5)
Galatians 1:5 [5]to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (ESV)
Paul concludes his introduction with a doxology fitting for such a saving God. Paul's motive for writing to the Galatian churches was that he might acknowledge that God is worthy of glory forever and ever. The apostle's supreme purpose was to glorify his Lord, and he calls all believers to do everything “to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). God’s “glory” (doxa) in general denotes his divine and heavenly radiance, his loftiness and majesty, but since it appears here with the article (the glory) it may refer to that unique glory which belongs to God alone (Fung, R. Y. K. (1988). The Epistle to the Galatians (p. 42). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
In these five opening verses of Galatians Paul covers the four stages of salvation. The first stage was the sovereign decree of God to save, the second was the death of Christ for His peoples sins, the third was the appointment of apostles to testify to that divine provision, and the fourth was the gift of God’s grace and peace to those who believe in Jesus Christ. In each of the stages the Father and the Son work together, because Their will and Their work are always one (John 5:30; 6:38; 10:30).
Amen expresses the affirmation fitting the worthiness of God to receive glory for such a wondrous provision of eternal, gracious salvation.
(Format Note: Outline and base notes from: MacArthur, J. (1996, c1987). Galatians. Includes indexes. (1). Chicago: Moody Press.)
