PAUL'S INTRODUCTORY GREETING (GALATIANS 1:1).
‘Paul, an Apostle, not from men neither through man, but through
Jesus Christ, and God the Father who raised him from the dead.
Paul as usual begins with his credentials. He is an Apostle (apostolos
- ‘one sent out'). And he stresses that this was not... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And all the brothers who are with me, to the churches of Galatia.'
‘All the brothers who are with me.' Paul joins in with his greeting
his fellow-workers, and probably the whole church in the place where
he was. He was always aware that he was not just an individual who had
been especially blessed... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Grace to you, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ.'
‘Grace to you.' Nothing can be more desirable than to have God
looking on us and acting towards us in love and favour, and this is
what is signified by ‘grace' (GRACE - God's Riches At Christ's
Expense). It speaks of the unde... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Who gave himself for our sins, that he may deliver us from this
present evil world, according to the will of our God and Father, to
whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.'
He then declares that in full accordance with the Father's will,
Christ has freely given Himself up and paid a price for us... [ Continue Reading ]
‘I marvel that you are so quickly moving from him who called you in
the grace of Christ to a different Gospel, which is not another. Only
there are some who trouble you and would pervert the Gospel of
Christ.'
He cannot understand why they are allowing themselves to be drawn away
from God's amazing... [ Continue Reading ]
HE EXPRESSES HIS ASTONISHMENT AT HOW QUICKLY THEY HAVE TURNED AWAY
FROM GOD'S ACTIVE GRACE (GALATIANS 1:6).
Paul now expresses his amazement that they have so quickly turned away
from this good news of the free, unmerited favour of God to something
else which is not really a Gospel at all, the slav... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any
Gospel other than that which you received, let him be anathema.'
Did they not remember that they had received the Gospel with powerful
evidence of the working of the Spirit (Galatians 3:2)? Thus anyone,
whether man or supernatural be... [ Continue Reading ]
‘As we have said before, so now we say again. If any man preaches to
you any Gospel other than that which you have received, let him be
anathema.'
He repeats what he has said in a slightly different way. The double
stress and double curse brings out how much his emotions are stirred.
These men who h... [ Continue Reading ]
‘For am I now persuading men or God? Or am I seeking to please men?
If I were still pleasing men I would not be the servant of Christ.'
So he asks them. Do they think that by what he says he is trying to
persuade God to see things as he sees them? No. Far from it. It was
rather God Who had persuaded... [ Continue Reading ]
PAUL RECEIVED HIS KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF GOD'S WAYS FROM GOD
HIMSELF, NOT FROM HUMAN MOUTHS (GALATIANS 1:11).
‘For I make known to you, brothers, as touching the Gospel which was
preached by me, that it is not after man. For I neither received it
from man, nor was I taught it, but it came t... [ Continue Reading ]
PAUL DECLARES HIS CREDENTIALS AND STATES HIS CASE (GALATIANS 1:11 -
GALATIANS 2:21).
Paul will now make clear to them what his credentials are. If they
ask, why should they listen to him, he will now tell them. And he will
then make clear exactly what his message is.
PAUL STATES HIS CREDENTIALS (G... [ Continue Reading ]
‘For you have heard of the way I lived in the past in the Jewish
religion, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure, and made
havoc of it. And I advanced in the Jews' religion beyond many of my
own age in my race, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions
of my fathers.'
For as a de... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But when it pleased him, who separated me, even from my mother's
womb, and called me through his grace, to reveal his Son in me that I
might preach him among the Gentiles, immediately I did not confer with
flesh and blood, neither did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were
Apostles before me, but I... [ Continue Reading ]
PAUL HAD THEN MET PETER AND MUCH LATER CONFERRED WITH THE LEADING
APOSTLES TO ENSURE THAT WHAT HE PREACHED WAS IN ACCORDANCE WITH WHAT
THEY TAUGHT (GALATIANS 1:18 TO GALATIANS 2:3).
‘Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and
stayed with him for fifteen days. And I saw no ot... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now concerning the things about which I am writing to you, behold,
before God I am not lying.'
He is so concerned that they believe the truth of what he is saying
that he confirms his complete honesty ‘before God'. It was important
that they recognised that his teaching came from God. This semi-oa... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, and I was still
unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ, but
they only heard say, ‘He who once persecuted us now preaches the
faith of which he once made havoc'. And they glorified God in me.'
He stresses that at no stage had... [ Continue Reading ]