Bible Study Galatians 1: 1-10

 

Bible Study Galatians 1: 1-10

We will begin our study on the book of Galatians. The following introduction comes from the John MacArthur Study Bible;

Galatians derives its title (pros Galatas) from the region in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) where the churches addressed were located. It is the only one of Paul’s epistles specifically addressed to churches in more than one city (1:2; cf. 3:1; 1 Cor. 16:1).

Author and Date

There is no reason to question the internal claims that the apostle Paul wrote Galatians (1:1; 5:2). Paul was born in Tarsus, a city in the province of Cilicia, not far from Galatia. Under the famous rabbi, Gamaliel, Paul received a thorough training in the OT Scriptures and in the rabbinic traditions at Jerusalem (Acts 22:3). A member of the ultra orthodox sect of the Pharisees (Acts 23:6), he was one of first-century Judaism’s rising stars (1:14; cf. Phil. 3:5, 6).

The course of Paul’s life took a sudden and startling turn when, on his way to Damascus from Jerusalem to persecute Christians, he was confronted by the risen, glorified Christ (see notes on Acts 9). That dramatic encounter turned Paul from Christianity’s chief persecutor to its greatest missionary. His 3 missionary journeys and trip to Rome turned Christianity from a faith that included only a small group of Palestinian Jewish believers into an Empire-wide phenomenon. Galatians is one of 13 inspired letters he addressed to Gentile congregations or his fellow workers. For further biographical information on Paul, see Introduction to Romans: Author and Date.

In chap. 2, Paul described his visit to the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 (see note on 2:1), so he must have written Galatians after that event. Since most scholars date the Jerusalem Council about A.D. 49, the most likely date for Galatians is shortly thereafter.

Background and Setting

In Paul’s day, the word Galatia had two distinct meanings. In a strict ethnic sense, Galatia was the region of central Asia Minor inhabited by the Galatians. They were a Celtic people who had migrated to that region from Gaul (modern France) in the third century B.C. The Romans conquered the Galatians in 189 B.C. but allowed them to have some measure of independence until 25 B.C. when Galatia became a Roman province, incorporating some regions not inhabited by ethnic Galatians (e.g., parts of Lycaonia, Phrygia, and Pisidia). In a political sense, Galatia came to describe the entire Roman province, not merely the region inhabited by the ethnic Galatians.

Paul founded churches in the southern Galatian cities of Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe (Acts 13:14–14:23). These cities, although within the Roman province of Galatia, were not in the ethnic Galatian region. There is no record of Paul’s founding churches in that northern, less populated region.

Those two uses of the word Galatia make it more difficult to determine who the original recipients of the epistle were. Some interpret Galatia in its strict racial sense and argue that Paul addressed this epistle to churches in the northern Galatian region, inhabited by the ethnic descendants of the Gauls. Although the apostle apparently crossed the border into the fringes of ethnic Galatia on at least two occasions (Acts 16:6; 18:23), Acts does not record that he founded any churches or engaged in any evangelistic ministry there.

Because neither Acts nor Galatians mentions any cities or people from northern (ethnic) Galatia, it is reasonable to believe that Paul addressed this epistle to churches located in the southern part of the Roman province, but outside of the ethnic Galatian region. Acts records the apostle’s founding of such churches at Pisidian Antioch (13:14–50), Iconium (13:51–14:7; cf. 16:2), Lystra (14:8–19; cf. 16:2), and Derbe (14:20, 21; cf. 16:1). In addition, the churches Paul addressed had apparently been established before the Jerusalem Council (2:5), and the churches of southern Galatia fit that criterion, having been founded during Paul’s first missionary journey before the Council met. Paul did not visit northern (ethnic) Galatia until after the Jerusalem Council (Acts 16:6).

Paul wrote Galatians to counter judaizing false teachers who were undermining the central NT doctrine of justification by faith (see note on Rom. 3:31). Ignoring the express decree of the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:23–29), they spread their dangerous teaching that Gentiles must first become Jewish proselytes and submit to all the Mosaic law before they could become Christians (see 1:7; 4:17, 21; 5:2–12; 6:12, 13). Shocked by the Galatians’ openness to that damning heresy (cf. 1:6), Paul wrote this letter to defend justification by faith, and warn these churches of the dire consequences of abandoning that essential doctrine. Galatians is the only epistle Paul wrote that does not contain a commendation for its readers—that obvious omission reflects how urgently he felt about confronting the defection and defending the essential doctrine of justification.

Our Text:

Greetings and Grace

1 Paul, an apostle—not sent 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:

3 Grace to you and peace from [a]God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil [b]age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Distorting the Gospel

6 I marvel that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you [c]by the grace of Christ for a different gospel, 7 which is really not another, only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should proclaim to you a gospel [d]contrary to the gospel we have proclaimed to you, let him be [e]accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is proclaiming to you a gospel [f]contrary to what you received, let him be [g]accursed!

10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a slave of Christ.

Verse by verse Commentary:

Verse 1: “Paul, an apostle—not sent from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead—”

In general terms, it means “one who is sent with a commission.” I like to refer to this as an “apostle” with a little “a''. Apostles with a capital “A” do not exist today. One of the qualifications is to be chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. With the selection of Paul, the calling to the office of an Apostle has ceased. I always find it interesting that the remaining Apostles after the fall of Judas selected someone in Act 1 that remained mostly silent. That is because, the Lord Jesus was going to pick Paul as the one to replace Judas. The apostles of Jesus Christ—the 11 and Paul—were special ambassadors or messengers chosen and trained by Christ to lay the foundation of the early church and be the channels of God’s completed revelation  not from men . . . but through Jesus Christ. To defend his apostleship against the false teachers’ attack, Paul emphasized that Christ Himself appointed him as an apostle before he met the other apostles. raised Him from the dead. Paul included this important fact to show that the risen and ascended Christ Himself appointed him, thus Paul was a qualified witness of His resurrection.

Verse 2: “and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:”

You will notice that Paul’s greeting is brief, formal, and terse. No one is personally mentioned. He is not writing just to one church. He is writing to several churches—“churches of Galatia.” Thi epistle was intended to be read by many churches, not just the one.

The word church is used in two ways in the New Testament. One meaning of church includes the universal body of believers, of all different groups, who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. The other meaning of church refers to local assemblies, which is how Paul uses the word here. There were churches, or local assemblies, in many parts of Galatia. There was a church in Antioch of Pisidia, in Derbe, in Lystra, and in other places he had visited. Paul was writing to all the churches, to all of the local assemblies; hence the local church—not the corporate body of believers—is in view here. In the Epistle to the Ephesians we look at the church as a corporate body of believers—the invisible church. But the invisible body is to make itself visible today in a corporate body. Believers should be identified with a local body of believers. 

One joins a local church but is baptized with the Holy Spirit at conversion to be a part of the church body universal. 

Verse 3:  “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,”

This is Paul’s formal greeting that he uses in most of his epistles. The word grace (charis) in this verse was the gentile form of greeting in that day, while peace (shalom) was the religious greeting of the Jews. Now the grace of God must be experienced before the peace that is from God the Father can be experienced. Understand the order: grace first and then peace. I know of so many people today that have lives full of conflict and turmoil. If Christ is Lord, you may still have conflict and turmoil, but your response will be Christlike and not fleshly, e.g., revenge, anger, gossip. Dear Lord, we need more and more of your grace to meet the demands of the day. Grant us grace dear Lord. 

Verse 4: “who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil [a]age, according to the will of our God and Father,”

Jesus Christ “gave Himself for our sins.” There is nothing that we can add to the value of His sacrifice. Nothing! He gave Himself. What do you have to give, friend? Anything? Can you add anything to His sacrifice? All you bring to your salvation is your sins and your sinful depraved heart. He gave Himself. How wonderful and glorious that is! I am speechless when I read a verse like this. He gave Himself! When you give yourself, you have given everything—who you are, what you have, your time, your talent—everything. He gave Himself. He couldn’t give any more. 

A few years ago, I preached a series on “Plus One.” The idea is that whatever you add to the Lord Jesus Christ, will be what you emphasize. It might be baptism, a second act of grace, being baptized with the Holy Spirit. Just listen to church people. What do they talk about? I have known people that stressed tongues, spiritual gifts, soaking, praying trough. Whatever you add to Christ, will be your message. Paul’s message was that Christ gave Himself for our sins. What is your message? Do you have a “Plus One”?

Verse 5: “to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

This is a moment wherein Paul stops to praise God. I am convinced that we should praise God more than we do. Let us get right down to where we live, right down where the rubber meets the road. Did you praise the Lord’s name this morning when you got up? Did you thank Him for a new day? You say, “It was raining.” But did you thank Him for it? Did you praise His name that He brought you to a new day? Do you realize that the only reason you woke up was His grace and mercy?

I had to have a bout with cancer before I came to the place where I thank Him as I should. I had cancer in my late 20’s and in my 60’s. Cancer has a way of bringing into focus what is really important. We are all going to die. So the question is, where is your final destination? When you realize this and place it before your eyes everyday, it will change you.  Now the first thing I do every morning—whether the sun is shining or it’s pouring down rain—is to say, “Lord, thank you for bringing me to a new day.” How wonderful He is! We need to praise Him more. I want Glory to go to the name of my God and my Savior. I don’t want to stand on the sidelines and compromise by endorsing these entertainment driven dramatic productions and songs that are belittling the Lord Jesus Christ. I won’t listen to any song that comes from Bethel, Hillsong, or Elevation church. I am speaking out against them, because He is God manifest in the flesh. He gave Himself for me. I want to praise His name! “To whom be glory for ever and ever.”

“For ever and ever” begins right now and is going on right into eternity.This concludes Paul’s salutation. 

Verse 6: “I marvel that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel,”

The King James translation used the phrase “soon removed” but is better translated “deserting,” as done by the Legacy Standard Bible. The Greek word was used for military desertion, which was punishable by death. The form of this Greek verb indicates that the Galatian believers were voluntarily deserting grace to pursue the legalism taught by the false teachers. This occurs today with many denominations. “So, you want to be in our religious club? Then you have to obey our rules.” These can take the form of dress standards, restrictions on attending certain social events, e.g., ball games, movies, watching television. so quickly. This Greek word can mean either “easily” or “quickly” and sometimes both. No doubt both senses characterized the Galatians’ response to the false teachers’ heretical doctrines. called you. This could be translated “who called you once and for all”, and refers to God’s effectual call to salvation. God had given these believers an internal call to come to Christ. Now, they were interested in having some part of their salvation earned by their works. Now get this, they didn’t want to depend 100% on Christ’s substitutionary death and resurrection, they wanted to make God owe them for their works. This is why Paul reacted so strongly to point out the error. grace of Christ. God’s free and sovereign act of mercy in granting salvation through the death and resurrection of Christ, totally apart from any human work or merit. different gospel. The Judaizers’ perversion of the true gospel. They added the requirements, ceremonies, and standards of the Old Covenant as necessary prerequisites to salvation. The Judaizers’ sought to earn part of their salvation. Pride goes before destruction and that is exactly what happens to people who have a work based righteousness. 

Verse 7: “which is really not another, only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.”

The word “distort” is the Greek word metastrephō. It is a strong word, used by Luke the physician in speaking of the sun turned to darkness (see Act. 2:20), and by James, speaking of laughter turned to mourning (see James 4:9). To attempt to change the gospel has the effect of making it the very opposite of what it really is. This is important to see. In my opinion, this is exactly what the modern day church is doing. There is a move away from the sufficiency of the Scripture and to emphasize feelings, experiences and emotions. Make no mistake. This is another gospel. There is only one Gospel that saves and that is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 8: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to the gospel we have proclaimed to you, let him be accursed!”

Paul’s point is hypothetical, calling on the most unlikely examples for false teaching, either himself or holy angels. The Galatians (and certainly includes us today) should receive no messenger, regardless of how impressive his credentials, if his doctrine of salvation differs in the slightest degree from God’s truth revealed through Christ and the apostles. accursed. The translation of the familiar Greek word anathema, which refers to devoting someone to destruction in eternal hell (cf. Rom. 9:3; 1 Cor. 12:3; 16:22). The world will accuse you of being mean-spirited and a “hater” if you stand for truth. However, that is exactly Paul’s point. We are literally to speak, “let him be accursed” if he comes with a false gospel.

Verse 9: “As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is proclaiming to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be accursed!”

This refers to what Paul taught during an earlier visit to these churches, not to a previous comment in this epistle. If any man. Paul turns from the hypothetical case of v. 8 (Paul or heavenly angels preaching a false gospel) to the real situation faced by the Galatians. The Judaizers were doing just that, and were to be devoted to destruction because of their damning heresy which included a system of works based righteousness. I have seen many denominations that have “club rules.” If you want to be in the club, obey the rules. Candidly, I understand the need to apply the Scriptural principles to modern day issues, but when the rules prescribe additional behavior to be saved other than the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, you have entered the “Plus One” heresy (See comment on verse 4). From hypothetical to actual, Paul wants to be clear regarding rejecting anyone who preaches a false gospel. There is no room for tolerance and affirmation when it comes to your salvation.

Verse 10: “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a slave of Christ.”

If you preach the gospel of salvation through grace today, you may get resistance because it is the gospel of the grace of God that the sinner hates. Man is determined to play some part in his salvation.  Many unsaved religionists do not want to hear the message of grace. They want to hear a message that appeals to the flesh. The gospel of grace informs us that all we bring to the table when it comes to our salvation is the sin that brings death. By nature man responds to legalism. He thinks he doesn’t need a Savior because he has been taught that he is a good person. There will be no salvation until there is Holy Spirit conviction that shows the sinner he is headed to Hell. Many “preachers” today neglect to inform their audience that the Lord Jesus Christ died for them and they needed to repent from their sins and have faith in Him to be saved. Today, ministers want you to make a decision for Christ, accept Him, or make a profession of faith. I saw a written testimony the other day and the person said they “accepted Christ 45 years ago.” My friend, you don’t accept Him, He accepts you because of His shed blood! Now get this, God is not even asking you to live the Christian life. In fact, you cannot live it. God is stating that He will live the Christian life through you.