GALATIANS

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GALATIANS

Paul begins his letter to the churches of Galatia immediately addressing a key issue of the epistle: that he is an apostle "not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ..." (1). Joined by unnamed brethren, he sends grace and peace from God and Christ, making reference to the deliverance made possible by Jesus' death for our sins in keeping with God's will (2-4).

This in turns leads to a short doxology (5). Without any thanksgiving or prayer for his recipients as found in other epistles, Paul expresses his amazement that they are so soon turning to a different gospel being offered by those who wish to pervert the gospel of Christ (6-7).

This is followed by a condemnation repeated for emphasis of anyone, even an apostle or angel, who would preach a different gospel than they had already received (8-9). Strong words, yes, but as a servant of Christ Paul is seeking to please God, not man (10). The gospel preached by Paul was being twisted by those who challenged his authority as an apostle.

Therefore Paul proceeds to defend both the gospel and his apostleship by stressing that his gospel was by revelation, and not from man (11-12). As evidence, Paul relates his conduct prior to his conversion, and how by the grace of God he was called to preach the gospel to the Gentiles (13-14). That his gospel was not from man is supported by the scarcity of opportunities he had to be around Peter or the other apostles (15-20). After his conversion, most of his time was spent in Syria and Cilicia, with the churches of Judea knowing Paul only by what they heard. And what they heard led them to glorify God (21-24)!

ORIGIN OF PAUL’S APOSTLESHIP.

From the text itself, we can see that an apostle is‑
Someone sent (v.1), which is what the word "apostle" literally means.
Someone sent with a message received ...by revelation from Jesus Christ (v.12), which means that he was directly commissioned by Jesus and given the message, which he calls the gospel 1 preached (v.11).
Someone with authority, who can use his teaching as the standard for judging who is orthodox and who is heretical (if anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! v.9)
Paul also affirms his apostleship did not come from any human being. Christ only and directly taught him and commissioned him.

WHY PAUL WROTE THE EPISTLE

Jewish-Christians from Palestine had visited the congregations of the Galatians after Paul's visit there and taught that Paul's Gospel was incomplete. They persuaded some of the Galatians that salvation required observance of the Torah laws, including circumcision. Paul writes to rebuke and to persuade the Galatians in this letter.

These false teachers, called Judaizers, were troubling the Christians in Galatia.
They were insisting that the Gentile Christians must be circumcised and abide by the ceremonial laws as given by Moses to be saved. Faith in Jesus alone was not enough to save the Gentile Christians. They must add their own works of the law to be saved.
This false teaching of the Judaizers threatened the true gospel of salvation by God's grace alone through faith alone in Jesus.
This false teaching also endangered the faith and salvation of the Christians in Galatia. Paul wrote the letter to clarify and uphold the true gospel that we are justified by grace through faith without the works of the law and to prevent the Christians in Galatia from losing their faith and salvation.

DANGERS OF TWISTING THE GOSPEL VS 6-10

We don't get an actual description of this false teaching until later in the book. But from Paul's contrasting the perverted gospel with grace in v.6-7, and from the incident in 2:3‑5, we learn this.

This group of teachers evidently believed with Paul that Jesus was the Messiah, that he was God himself and had been raised from the dead, and that one needed to believe in Jesus Christ to be saved.
But in addition, this group (sometimes called 'Judaizers') decided that the Gentile Christians were also required to do something else‑‑to abide by all the Old Testament ceremonial laws.
Circumcision was one part of it, but all the "clean" laws of diet and dress and rituals were being enforced on them. The clean laws were very varied, but their point was to teach in the Old Testament that one could not just walk into the presence of a holy God. Rather, we needed to cleanse and prepare ourselves.
The OT clean laws were supposed to be a visual aid and discipline to foster the inward spiritual "cleansing" of repentance and humility before God. They also were a way to teach that it was virtually impossible to really be clean and acceptable to God.
At first sight, the false teachers seemed to only be asking Gentiles to respect Jewish customs and abide by them. But Paul had realized that the coming of Christ not only made the keeping of such regulations obsolete, but now dangerous. For the gospel tells us that we are "clean" and accepted by God, not because of any law‑keeping, but because of what Christ has done for us.
Therefore, the false teachers were saying that Jesus Plus Something was necessary to be acceptable to God, while Paul had taught that Jesus Plus Nothing brought us into his presence.
The central point at issue between Paul and the Judaizers concerned merely the logical‑‑not even the temporal‑‑order of three steps. Paul said: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ'; At that moment you are saved; andImmediately you proceed to keep the law of God.
The Judaizers said: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ'; and keep the law of God the best you can; and thenyou are saved'Paul was then not against Jewish customs but he saw that the requirement compromised the gospel of salvation by grace alone and by Jesus alone.
The principle is that Paul's condemnation falls on any teaching that does not assume that

a) we are too sinful to contribute to our salvation (we need a complete rescue), and therefore

b) we are saved by belief in Jesus work, (the grace of Christ) plus nothing else.

In some churches, it is implicitly or explicitly taught that you are saved through your "surrender" to Christ plus belief in his redeeming work. A condition of strong belief and trust and love to God must be maintained if we are going to "stay saved".

In other churches (usually not the same ones!) it is taught that it doesn't really matter what you believe as long as you are a loving and good person‑‑that all good persons, regardless of religion or no religion, will find God. This means that good works are enough, and Jesus death was not, really necessary.

A third example would be churches that are extremely intolerant of small differences of dress or custom, who control their members very tightly and direct them into the "right" way to eat, dress, date, schedule their time, and so on. A close cousin of this kind of ministry would be missionaries who planted churches in new cultures and insisted that all the converts adopt the same dress, eating, and cultural patterns of the missionaries' home country in order to be baptized.

Most interesting is how Paul includes himself in v.8. He says even if we or an angel from heaven should preach another gospel, let [us] be eternally condemned. This means that Paul is saying that he must be rejected if he ever says, "I've changed my mind about the gospel". His whole argument in chapters 1 and 2 is that the gospel did not come to him through a process of reasoning and reflection‑‑it was received not arrived at. Therefore, he is not free to alter it through reasoning and reflecting. Someone could ask "but if Jesus would appear to Paul or someone and give a different message‑‑what then?" But remember from chapter 2 that Paul had his gospel confirmed by others who had known Christ‑‑this apostolic consensus, this "original gospel", is the touchstone for judging all truth‑claims, from the outside and the inside.

In fact, Paul is saying in v.8 that even his apostolic authority derives from the gospel's authority, not the other way around. He is an apostle because his gospel is true. The gospel is not true because he is an apostle.

Paul lays down, in the strongest possible language, a "plumbline" for judging all truth claims, whether external (from teachers, writers, thinkers, preachers) or internal (feelings, sensations, experience). That standard is the gospel that he (and all the other apostles) received from Christ and propounded and which lies in this book and the rest of the Bible. First, in v.6‑ 7 he tells us that this is the way to judge external authorities, for if any other purported way to God is no way at all. A different gospel ...is no gospel at all. There can be no compromise, no revision, no change. To alter or supplement the gospel is to lose it completely, Paul says. secondly, in vv.8, Paul says that even if we would have a vision, and an angel of light would literally appear to us and give us a message that deviates from the gospel of grace, we can safely attribute that experience to invalid psychological or demonic (or some other) sources.

Our experience must be judged by the gospel, not the gospel by our experience. This is an astonishing claim. Three reasons why Paul is so uncompromising:

First, he says in v.6 you are deserting the one who called you. Paul's argument is that to abandon gospel theology is to abandon Christ personally. What you do in theology eventually effects your experience. In other words, a difference in your understanding of doctrine means a difference in your understanding of who Jesus is.Second, he says in v.6b‑7 a different gospel is no gospel at all. This means that the gospel message, by its very nature, cannot be changed even slightly without being lost. An analogy is a vacuum‑‑you cannot allow in some air and say that it is now a 90% vacuum or an "air enriched vacuum". It either is a complete vacuum or it is no vacuum at all.
In the same way, the message of the gospel is that you are saved by grace through Christ's work and nothing else at all. As soon as you add anything to it at all, you have lost it entirely.
Third, he says in v.8 and v.9 a different gospel brings condemnation. Later he says that different gospels bring a "curse" with them. This means ultimately, that to alter the gospel is to play with eternal life and death. But it means very practically, that the fear, anxiety, guilt (the sense of condemnation and curse) will always be attached to different gospels even in this life. As we will see later in the book, when even Christians experience a sense of condemnation, it is because they are functionally trusting in different gospels‑‑ different ways to earn salvation. The `present age" (v.4) can still influence us.

In light of these three things‑‑we can understand the severity and intensity of Paul's language.

PAUL AND OTHER APOSTLES

Paul says in vs. 16-17 that he did not consult any man or go to Jerusalem, but went immediately to Arabia to preach. Paul was already schooled in The Law and prophets, through study with Gamaliel, the best Hebrew scholar of the day. But he lacked guidance by The Holy Spirit when he was a Pharisee, which Christ gave him through His disciple Ananias at Damascus (Acts 9).

Some people seem to think that when they get baptized, and receive The Holy Spirit, they then know all of God's Word, and then have no need of study. Even very smart people who have read the Word for many years don't know it all and need to continue with studying it.

In the case of Paul, once he received proper understanding by The Holy Spirit, his knowledge of Messiah from the Old Testament was all pulled together in his mind. No doubt, being a persecutor of Christians before, he was also somewhat familiar with Christian doctrine. So don't think that once someone who receives The Spirit, and without knowing The Written Word, that they can just go out and properly teach.

Even though he knew all this, the Apostle Paul went to Jerusalem at least 4-times after his conversion mainly to acquaint himself with the apostles. The Apostle Paul writes that after his conversion, he did not immediately go to Jerusalem until after three years had passed. Consider what Paul wrote to the Galatians."Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas [Peter], and stayed with him fifteen days. But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord's brother" (Galatians 1:18-19).

According to Paul, on this trip he stayed with Peter and also got acquainted with James, the brother of Jesus. But it appears that after staying with Peter for 15 days, However, it is possible that Paul may have left Jerusalem and returned a short time later based on the Scriptures in Acts 9:26-30. Paul went out into the city to get acquainted with the other believers living in Jerusalem. But they were afraid of him. To calm the fears of everyone, Barnabas, a man that knew the Apostle Peter, assured everyone that Paul was now a Christian. "When he [Paul] came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus [Cilicia]" (Acts 9:26-30). It is important to understand that Paul used the Scriptures effectively to support that Jesus is the Messiah, but this got him into deep trouble with the Grecian Jews. They wanted to kill Paul.

When the other Christians learned of this problem, they took Paul to Caesarea and sent him to Tarsus, which is the capital city of Cilicia. Paul stayed in that region and Syria as noted by his own writing as shown below in the book of Galatians."Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia [Tarsus]. I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; but only, they kept hearing, "He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy." (Galatians 1:22-23).

After Paul left Jerusalem to reside in Tarsus, several years passed. We find that Barnabas had gone to Antioch to preach. Barnabas had become acquainted with Paul and knew that he used the Scriptures well. And Barnabas knew that Paul was living in Tarsus. Barnabas went to Tarsus to find the Apostle Paul and bring him to Antioch. This occurred about the year AD 44 to 45 based on the famine that occurred during the reign of Claudius Caesar."he (Barnabas) left for Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world And this took place in the reign of Claudius (Caesar). And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea (Jerusalem) And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders" (Acts 11:25-30).

Based on the Scriptures above, we know that Barnabas and Paul went to Jerusalem together during the famine of AD 44 to 45. And it is apparent that they returned to Antioch after leaving Jerusalem based on Acts chapters 13 and 14. In these two chapters, Barnabas and Paul go on their 1st missionary journey. When they return, they are residing in Antioch. While there, a problem occurs that requires Paul to go to Jerusalem to address the issue of whether the Gentiles will be required to follow the laws of Moses. And it is certain that this is the visit to Jerusalem that Paul is referring to as occurring 14 years after his visit to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter. "Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue" (Acts 15:1-2).

The Apostle Paul wrote about this third trip to Jerusalem in his letter to the Galatians."Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain. But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage" (Galatians 2:1-5).The final visit by The Apostle Paul to Jerusalem occurred about the year AD 57. Luke wrote about this trip in the book of Acts."After this, we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus and one of the early disciples. When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers received us warmly. The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry" (Acts 21:15-19)

PAULS DEFENSE OF HIS APOSTLESHIP AUTHORITY (vs. 11-24)

Paul makes three basic arguments to prove his apostleship authority. Paul is defending his authority because he is so intent on defending the gospel. He moves from a strong appeal to hold on to the gospel (1:6‑9) into a claim that the gospel was not something he made up (1:10‑12). He got it from Jesus.

First, he shows and reminds them in 1:11‑24 that his conversion was well‑known to be miraculous and dramatic (vv.13‑16) and his change in behavior inexplicable by any other means. In that conversion, he was directly commissioned by Christ (v.16).
Secondly, he goes on to demonstrate that for many years he had no real contact with the other apostles or church leaders‑‑so his message was not derived from the other apostles (v.17‑24), but directly from Jesus (v.11‑12). Though he had a tremendous and transforming preaching ministry‑‑no human being had taught him.
Third, he points out that when he finally did meet the apostles, they examined his gospel and concluded that it was the same one they had . This is an extremely strong case. He was divinely commissioned in his miraculous conversion, and as proof he shows his transforming ministry not derived from the apostles, yet the confirmation of his message by the men who knew Christ personally.

GALATIANS CHAPTERTWO

Three Major things we learn from Paul are:

Paul Confronts Galatians for drifting from the faith. He knew so well that a drifting church will dilute its vision, momentum and resources. He therefore wanted Galatians to maintain their primary vision. He wanted them to walk by faith
Paul does not Manipulate the Galatians rather he motivates them. He argues against the idea of salvation by works. He therefore calls the Galatians to grace where they cannot be manipulated by anyone
Paul spoke to Galatians the truth in Love. He goes ahead and addresses difficult issues out of love for the Galatians. He did not compromise his message and also he does not burn any relational bridges. They could not question his deep compassion for them as he corrects them. Paul was outright in his admonition and affirmation

THE JUDAIZERS

The "Judaizers" seem to be a group of Jewish Christians in the first century CE who preached to the recently founded churches of the Gentiles the need to conform to the Law of Moses, even after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This group originated in Jerusalem; we know little about them, only that at least some are likely Pharisees (Acts 15:5). We do not know how organized they were or any names of any individuals within the movement. They are called the "Judaizers" for lack of a more official term; they attempted to make Jews out of Gentile Christians.Judaizers were those who enforced the belief that Gentiles had to live like Jews, including circumcision, to be Jewish and follow Jesus. This term was not used in the Bible, but the characteristics were shown. Paul spread the gospel message of freedom in Christ, which upset the Judaizers, and they did what they could to discredit Paul. Although at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, it was decided that Gentiles did not need to live as Jews to follow Christ, there still was conflict on the issue. These are some of the beliefs the Judaizers used to give the image of Paul preaching a false message, and what Paul said in his own defense of the gospel message.

The Judaizers said that Paul had no regard for the Law of Moses. Paul responded by explaining the purpose of the law. The law shows people where they have sinned. In realizing their sin, his message of the gospel encouraged the people to depend on Christ and not on themselves, because if they thought they could be sinless by living right, they were mistaken. They were unable to live a sinless able because of their humanity. (Galatians 3)
The Judaizers said that Paul was a traitor to the Jewish faith. Paul responded by explaining his zeal for the Jewish faith. It is because of his zeal for the Jewish faith that he was put in the position where God met him on the Damascus Road and was transformed. Paul took great pride in persecuting the church of The Way putting people in prison and sending them to their deaths. He fought hard against Christianity because he was raised in the Law of Moses and believed it thoroughly.
The Judaizers said that Paul stretched the truth of the gospel so more people would follow him. The apostles responded by supporting the truth of Paul’s message by giving him the right hand of fellowship. They entrusted him with the evangelizing of the Gentiles. Also, Titus, who was a Greek, would not get circumcised showing alliance with the true gospel message that Paul preached. (Galatians 2:1-10)
The Judaizers said that Paul was taking the truth and changing it to meet his own goals. He was accused of being a man pleaser rather than a God pleaser. Paul responded by saying that he received the gospel message directly from Jesus. (Galatians 1:11-12)

IMPORTANCE OF THE GALATIANS EPISTLE

The Galatians letter is one of the greatest and most important letters of Paul. Contains the core of Paul's teaching (1:12)
It is the Magna Carta of Christian liberty.
It is an unassailable citadel against an attack on the gospel.
It guards against salvation by works, spirituality by works and assaults on Christian liberty.
It is one of the most influential of Paul epistle.
It proclaims the power of the gospel over the penalty and power of sin.
Great men of history have esteemed the epistle of Galatians highly.
The battle cry of the Reformation –
The manifesto of freedom in Christ.
The book of Galatians is called the "cornerstone" of the Reformation.
A favorite of Luther – "The pebble from the brook with which the Reformers smote the papal giant of the Middle Ages."
Luther referred to Galatians as his "wife" -- "The epistle to the Galatians is my epistle. To it I am as it were in wedlock. It is my Catherine."
Galatians embodies the crucial credo on Christian freedom.

SIMPLE OUTLINE OF CHAPTER ONE

I. INTRODUCTION (1-10)

A. SALUTATION (1-5)

From Paul, an apostle, and those with him, to the churches of Galatia (1-2)
With a desire for them to have grace and peace from God and Jesus (3)
With mention of Christ's sacrifice for our sins, designed to deliver us from this evil age, in keeping with God's will, to Whom be glory forever (4-5)

B. REASON FOR THE LETTER (6-10)

He is amazed that they are turning from the One who called them in the grace of Christ, to a different and perverted gospel (6-7)
A repeated condemnation against anyone (man, apostle, or angel) who would preach a different gospel than what they had already received (8-9)
Strong words, yes, but coming from one who seeks to serve Christ, not man (10)

II. PAUL'S DEFENSE OF HIS APOSTLESHIP (11-24)

A. THE DIVINE ORIGIN OF HIS GOSPEL (11-17)

His gospel was not according to man, or from man, but directly from Jesus Christ (11-12)
A review of his conduct in Judaism prior to conversion (13-14)
Upon his conversion, an act of Divine revelation itself, he did not confer with man, especially the apostles in Jerusalem (15-17a)
But went to Arabia, and then returned to Damascus (17b)

B. HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER APOSTLES (18-24)

After three years he went to Jerusalem to see Peter, and only then for fifteen days(18)
He saw none of the other apostles, except James, the Lord's brother (19)
With a solemn declaration he affirms these things to be true (20)
Then he went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia (21)
Remaining unknown by face to the churches of Judea (22)
They heard only of his preaching brought about by his conversion, and they glorified God in him (23-24)

Summary Points to Chapter One

The joy of discovering God’s will for our life is a good motivation for studying our Bible.
Christians have a responsibility to provide nurture, warning, and help for their friends who face life’s challenges and temptations
Our knowledge of God’s actions for us should lead us to praise him vs. 4-5
All Christians should evaluate the content of teachings they receive vs. 6-9
We are to care more about doing the will of God than pleasing other people or obtaining personal recognition –vs. 10
We cannot assume our good intentions in serving Christ are always evident even to close observers, and we often must explain our actions- vs 16-24