INTRODUCTION
The letter of Galatians was written to the churches of
southern Galatia in present day southern Turkey. These are places Paul and
Barnabas had visited in their first missionary journey recorded in Acts13 and
Acts14 and established churches there in the cities of Lystra, Iconium, Derbe
and Antioch in Pisidia. This letter to the Galatians may have been sent from Antioch
around 48 A.D. That is before Paul’s visit to Jerusalem to attend the apostolic
gathering recorded in Acts 15. If this
is true, Galatians would be the earliest of his letters. Thus a key window into
the foundations of Paul’s revelation of the gospel and the beginnings of his
ministry.
BACKGROUND:
Judaizers (although this word is not used in Scripture) were
a sect of Jewish people who were not willing to accept the teaching of the
apostles recorded in Acts chapter 15.
They continued to insist that Christians must come to God by keeping the
law and other Jewish ceremony. They made
it their business to visit and unsettle the Gentile churches. If observance of the law for the purpose of
salvation had been imposed upon the Gentiles, the Apostle Paul’s work of the
gospel would have all been in vain.
Paul’s letter to the Galatians was to correct the misconception of these
false teachers.
“Paul, an apostle,
(not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who
raised him from the dead)” Gal1:1
Paul starts off by introducing himself as the author of this
letter. He also immediately identifies himself as an apostle. Apparently there
were people going around questioning his credentials and authority as an
apostle since he wasn’t part of the twelve and had never been with Jesus. Paul
immediately establishes his authority to say the things he is going to say. He
identifies himself as an apostle.
An apostle was someone sent or dispatched as an envoy,
emissary or messenger to perform a particular task as an ambassador. There were
apostles sent by churches and then those that had been sent by Jesus Christ
Himself. Paul considered himself to have been specifically mandated and
commissioned by God Himself. His apostleship wasn’t from men, or from a church
or group but from God Almighty. This verse is translated thus in the New Century
Version “I was not chosen to be an
apostle by human beings, nor was I sent from human beings. I was made an
apostle through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Jesus from the dead’
“And all the brethren
which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia” Gal1:2
Paul also makes a point of the fact that he is not a lone
wolf or a lone ranger as many of his critics would have accused him of being.
He had like-minded partners and companions who agreed and subscribed to his
revelation of the gospel and were fellow laborers with him. The contents of
this letter were their opinion as well concerning the issues in Galatia.
He uses the plural ‘churches’ in addressing the Galatians. This
was a circular letter that was not going to a city but rather to a province
(which contained many cities). There were 4 major cities in this province: Antioch Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and
Derbe. Paul had established churches
here on his first missionary journey recorded in Acts 13:1-14:28.
“Grace be to you and
peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ” Gal1:3
Now he begins his greeting the same way he greets all the
other churches that he writes to. With
grace and peace. His greeting in this letter is a crucial preamble to the
themes that he is going to expound upon in the rest of the letter. He is
setting up his reader for what he is going to address in his communication. It
is important to take note.
The Greek word ‘Charis’ expresses the totality of the
function of the gospel of Jesus Christ in and to the believer. In other words
it is the all-encompassing vitality of the Cross and what God has done by it.
The entirety of Christianity can only be explained by God’s
grace. The complete and all sufficient activity of God, deriving out of His
being, motivated by His love and expressed in the living Lord Jesus Christ.
“Who gave himself for our sins, that he might
deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our
Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Gal1:4-5
Jesus gave Himself for our sins. Such a simple statement but
incredibly rich in substance. We see very clearly the grace of God in action in
the action described by this simple statement.
We owed a debt we could not pay. Jesus paid the debt He did
not owe.
He voluntarily submitted to the sacrifice of His own life in
death by crucifixion and paid the price of death for the sin of mankind. He
took the consequence of our sin which is death so that we might receive the
consequence of His obedience which is eternal life by the grace of God.
This action of death by crucifixion and subsequently
restoration by resurrection was the objective of Christ’s coming and offering
Himself.
He came to give His life a ransom for all;
“For even the Son of
man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a
ransom for many.” Mk10:45
“Who gave himself a
ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a
preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher
of the Gentiles in faith and verity.” 1Tim2:6-7
He gave Himself for us;
“I am crucified with
Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me, and gave himself for me.” Gal2:20
“And walk in love, as
Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a
sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” Eph5:2
“Who gave himself for
us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a
peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Tit2:14
He was obedient to God even unto death and death by the
Cross;
“And being found in fashion
as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross.” Phil2:8
All of this was so that we would be restored to God’s
original purpose and plan for man.
The death of Jesus on the Cross is a crucial defining moment.
It is a crux, a point that differentiates human performance (religion) and the
once for all time performance of the finished work of Jesus Christ whereby God
forever settled the issue of justification and provided grace.
The Cross left us with nothing more to do but believe and
receive God’s divine activity and life.
The Cross also serves to deliver us out of this present evil
age which is the kingdom of darkness, satan’s rule and dominion.
The devil is the god of this age of wickedness;
“In whom the god of
this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of
the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto
them.” 2Cor4:4
Energizing the activity of the disobedient, he is the one
who works in them unto sin;
“Wherein in time past
ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience”
Eph2:2
The grace of God is what delivers us from this evil kingdom;
“To open their eyes,
and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God,
that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are
sanctified by faith that is in me.” Acts26:18
The grace of God in Christ has delivered and rescued us by
lifting us out from the enemy’s kingdom and control over us;
“Who hath delivered us
from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear
Son” Col1:13
Even though we are still in the world, we are no longer of
it;
“I have given them thy
word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as
I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the
world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the
world, even as I am not of the world.” Jn17:14-16
By the Cross, God has once for all delivered us from satan’s
power. He has disarmed and triumphed over him in it;
“And having spoiled
principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them
in it.” Col2:15
This deliverance is a present reality (aorist tense), not a
future event. It was achieved by the Cross
and is now available to us by grace
through faith.
We have been delivered from this present evil age so as to
live in the Lordship reign of Jesus Christ in the kingdom of God.
Though we still live in the world, we are no longer slaves
to sin;
“But God be thanked,
that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form
of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became
the servants of righteousness.” Rom6:17-18
We are no longer in bondage to the weak and beggarly
elements;
“But now, after that
ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak
and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage” Gal4:9
Now we don’t have to be involved in the ideologies and
methodologies of this world. We have been delivered from it. Now we just need
to be transformed by renewing your minds so that we may know and prove God’s
will;
“And be not conformed
to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may
prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Rom12:2
God’s will is not something mystical or some puzzle that we
need to figure out. God’s will is always Jesus Christ. His life lived out in a
person to the glory of God.
Man is created for God’s glory;
“Even every one that
is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him;
yea, I have made him.” Isa43:7
We do all to the glory of God;
“Whether therefore ye
eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” 1Cor10:31
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