GALATIANS 1:1-10

These will be a familiar teaching to most of you, but I saw it in a new light, perhaps because I, like many Christians, started in a church that was more oriented toward works than grace, and it was only later that I got a new picture. Most of us belong to churches that teach grace, but an emphasis on works still tends to creep in at times. Look at this phenomenon using Galatians as a guide.

Verses 1-2 Paul stresses that his commission came directly from the risen Lord. In that way, he is countering the claims of the Judaizers who came to Galatia saying that their commission came from James and the mother church located at Jerusalem.

We are sometimes tempted to pass over the phrase “through Jesus Christ and God the Father” without thinking much about it. But actually in verse 1, Paul identifies Jesus with God in three ways. First, Paul distinguishes Jesus and God the Father from any human authorities, thus indicating Jesus' divinity. Secondly, several commentators point out that even calling Jesus “Lord” would indicate his divine status in the eyes of both Jews and Gentiles of the time. And thirdly, the fact that only one preposition dia (“through”) is used for both Jesus and God means that Paul makes no distinction between the two of them. So next time you friendly neighborhood Jehovah Witness knocks on your door and tries to tell you that Jesus isn't God, you merely have to point to Galatians 1:1 to refute them in three different ways.

Paul calls himself an apostle in this first verse. How many apostles are listed in the NT? Original 12 + Matthias + Paul + Jesus (Hebrews 3:1) + Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25) + Andronicus and Junia (Romans 16:7) = 18. The last person is especially intriguing since Junia is a woman's name. Basically the Greek word apostolos means a messenger, an emissary, or one who is sent out.

Paul mentions that there are many others with him as he is writing. Sometimes Paul identifies one or two by name, but in this case Paul is probably putting in a subtle plug to the fact that he is not some lone ranger Christian with his own peculiar theology; all the church is in solidarity with him. It is the Galatians who are on the outs in regard to the truth.

He addresses this letter to the churches of Galatia. Note the plural here. This is not one of his letters written to an individual like Timothy or even to an individual church such as at Corinth or Ephesus. Galatia was a Roman province covering a great deal of central Asia Minor, mainly in present-day Turkey. There is an ongoing controversy among Bible scholars as to which part of Galatia is referred to here, and the answer to that question also affects the time of writing of the letter to some extent. During Paul's first missionary trip, he founded churches in South Galatia in towns such as Derbe, Lystra and Iconium. But during Paul's second journey, he visited parts of North Galatia, although it is not stated that he actually started any churches there. I'll leave the controversy to the scholars to battle out. In any case, this letter is felt by many to be the first one Paul wrote, at least among those we have preserved in the NT, probably before 50 AD.

Verses 3-5 John Stott in his wonderful book The Cross of Christ goes through the various statements found in these verses that describe in a nutshell what God accomplished through Jesus' death:

a. It was both voluntary and determined by God. Thus, it wasn't just an historical accident or expedient.

b. Jesus' death was for our sins.

c. The purpose of his death was to rescue us. The present evil age mentioned in v. 4 means the evil world-system or way of life, alienated from God. Being delivered from evil, of course, doesn't necessarily mean that we will be totally removed from all evil circumstances, but we will be able to triumph over them with God's help.

d. The present result of his death is grace and peace – peace meaning our reconciliation with God.

e. The eternal result of his death is that God will be glorified forever.

“Grace comes from God; glory is due to God. The whole of Christian theology is encapsulated there.”

Why this concentration at the start of the letter on what the cross accomplished? It really countered the Judaizers' contention that man's works are what earn salvation. In contrast, Paul states that it is first and foremost the action of God's grace toward mankind that makes salvation possible. Another commentator called these verses “the earliest and most essential elements of Christian preaching.” (F. R. Coad, International Bible Commentary) The importance of the issue at hand can't be overstated. One scholar put it this way: “To surrender to the Judaizers was to reduce the way of Christ to merely another of the quarreling Jewish sects.”

By the way, I don't know how many of you noted that verses 4-5 actually have some echoes of the Lord's Prayer in them: “free us from this present evil age” is equivalent to “deliver us from evil (or the evil one, as in some translations).” And the doxology “to whom be the glory for ever and ever” is how the longer version of the Lord's Prayer ends.

Now, in an ancient Greek or Roman letter, a certain set formula was used to compose it. First was the greeting stating who wrote the letter and to whom the letter was addressed (vv. 1-2). Next came a prayer for the recipient (vv. 3-5). Finally, right before the body of the letter, the author would express thanks to the recipients. But at this point, Paul surprises us. This is the only one of his letters to completely leave out any statement of thanksgiving. Instead of a thanksgiving, the Galatians get a threat.

The old saying is that you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar. So Paul, in his letters, usually starts out with something good to say about his audience before criticizing them. But not in this case.

Verses 6-7 Verse 6 literally reads, “...deserting the one who called you...”

Who are the Galatians deserting: Paul or God? Word “desert” is only used here by Paul, but it was a common Greek term meaning conversion from one philosophy or religion to another one by abandoning the old belief.

What in these verses would make you think that this issue is important to Paul? (A. “Even an angel,” B. repetition of the curse, C. absence of the expected thanksgiving section in the letter at this point.)

What amazes Paul is how soon the Galatians had been led away from the truth after his visit there. This is a sad lesson, but one that is true today, that fledgling Christians are especially vulnerable to false teachings. So we really have to take them under our wing immediately to make sure that they are not misled. Notice that Paul is accusing them of not only deserting the gospel message, but of deserting God Himself. The Judaizers, like modern legalists, think that they are defending God by their actions and teachings. But in reality, they are working against God. Paul understood this mentality quite well since it described exactly what he had done earlier in persecuting Christians. Donald Guthrie says regarding the word “pervert,” “The idea is not merely a twisting of the gospel, but of giving it an emphasis which virtually transformed it into something else.” One important fact is that Paul talks in the present tense in these verses: “are turning” and “are confusing.” That means that the Galatians hadn't yet quite gotten to the point of completely rejecting the gospel. So Paul is hoping it isn't too late to set them straight. And note that Paul calls it “the gospel of Christ.” It wasn't just Paul's own version of the gospel; it belonged to Christ himself.

Verses 8-9 Three times Paul uses the plural “we,” which may refer to those with him as he is writing (see v. 2) or sort of like Queen Victoria saying, “We are not amused.” And then Paul comes to a point so important that he feels the need to say it twice. There is a subtle difference, however, between the two verses. In v. 8 Paul stresses who proclaimed the gospel and v. 9 stresses who received it. “Thus it describes the co-operative aspect of the origin of every new community of believers. The gospel needs both preaching and receiving,” quoting again from Donald Guthrie. Could an angel actually come preaching another gospel? It wouldn't be surprising considering that Satan is said to masquerade as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). I wonder if Mormons ever think about this verse, considering that Joseph Smith claimed to have received his golden tablets from the angel Moroni, whom he described as “an angel of light” Some commentators think that here Paul is alluding back to the time he and Barnabas first came to Galatia, as described in Acts 14:11 and the people there took them to be divine messengers.

Paul even includes himself in this warning, calling down a curse on himself if he should preach another gospel. This is totally consistent with Paul's attitude elsewhere. Remember when he preached to the Bereans and they searched the scriptures to see if he was telling the truth. Paul didn't criticize them for questioning him, but commended them for it.

The word translated as “accursed” is the Greek anathema, which is how the Jews translated the Hebrew word herem, meaning something dedicated to God for destruction. The early church pronounced an anathema on those who were to be formally excommunicated.

Verse 10 One challenge in reading the epistles is that it is like listening in to only one end of a phone conversation. We can surmise from this verse that the Judaizers had personally attacked Paul's integrity in order to refute his message. This is a technique called an ad hominem argument. The Judaizers may have been saying that Paul wanted to curry favor with the Gentiles by loosening the requirement of circumcision for church membership. So now Paul replies by pointing out how harshly he has started to attack the Galatians' behavior and says in essence, “Would I really talk like this if I was trying to flatter you?”

From this point on in the letter, Paul will pull out all the stops in trying to convince the Galatians of their error:

1. He has already used the historical approach, pointing out his authority as being appointed by Jesus himself to spread the true gospel.

2. Then in this letter, he will give his personal testimony, turning from a strict believer in the law to his present understanding of grace. Our Sunday school teacher often reminds us about a technique he learned at a Dale Carnegie Course called “feel-felt-found.” And that is what Paul will use on the Galatians. You start out by saying, “I know exactly how you feel. That is what I felt until I found the truth.” This technique can be used in a number of different situations.

3. Paul's third argument will be to point to the Galatians' own experience. He reminds them that they all received the Holy Spirit without first having to obey all the Jewish laws.

4. Then there will be an appeal to the OT. Abraham himself received the promise by faith, not by obeying the law, since that hadn't even been given yet.

5. Then Paul will explain the true purpose of the law, as a temporary measure to eventually bring people to faith, which is permanent until Christ comes again.

6. His sixth approach will be a warning to the Galatians not to revert back to a state of bondage. The Gentiles had been slaves to sin and death, but they are now in danger of becoming slaves to the law.

7. And lastly, Paul will even use an allegorical argument involving Abraham's two sons – one obtained by the flesh through a slave, and the other through promise born to a free woman.