Bible Study - Galatians Chapter 1
Bible Study - Galatians Chapter 1
| 1 Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), |
Apostolos is used here to refer to one sent by Jesus. It literally means one who is sent. There is a difference between those who are sent by man and those who are sent by God. But the word is the same. In Philippians 2:25, Paul refers to Epaphroditus as an apostle sent from the Philippian church to Paul. He was their messenger. Paul is using it here in the narrow sense of one who has special delegated authority and function in the church to accurately proclaim the gospel. This usage is not found in Koine Greek outside the New Testament. However, the Hebrew word saliah also means messenger and carries the connotation of delegated authority. A saliah could perform legal acts on the sender's behalf, even religious requirements, and it was no different than if the sender had done them themselves. This was the basis of the office of apostle, with the differences that an apostle was a lifetime appointment and was a religious office in the first century church. Even in his opening statement Paul includes elements of the true gospel, that Jesus was the Christ and was raised from the dead by the Father. Christ is the Greek word for Messiah. |
| 2 and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: |
Paul's address to the Galatians is uncharacteristically brief. There is no thanks, compliments, or descriptive terms. He doesn't mention any brethren by name, possibly because they wouldn't be known to the Galatians. This may be due to and an emphasis of Paul's anger with the situation at the churches in Galatia. The severe tone of this letter and the post script bears that out. It is notable that he uses the plural for churches, indicating there were a number of churches. As to their location within the province or their makeup little is known other than these were Gentile congregations in the Roman province of Galatia, which is in the central region of what is now Turkey. |
| 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, | Grace and peace are common blessings in Paul's letters. This verse is the gospel message in a nutshell. Jesus was and is God. Christ's sacrifice on the cross brought us God's grace. And the peace of God is the result of our salvation regardless of our immediate circumstances. |
| 4 who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, |
That Christ's sacrifice on the cross was for our sins is central to the gospel message, and the focus of all of Paul's writing. This is an indisputable truth of Christianity. How it does this or why it was necessary are disputable matters and Christians can be Christians no matter what view they hold on these. Although we would be wise to try to understand what scripture teaches about forgiveness of our sins. Evil could also be translated as "wicked", or with both words together. We tend to underestimate how bad things really are in the secular society around us. That we are rescued from this age emphasizes that our current situation is a temporary one, and that Christ's return will bring a new age. In a similar vein, Paul tells us not to conform to this age in Romans 12:2, although some translations render this as world instead of age. It is God's will that we would be rescued from our sin and be reconciled with Him. But the Father will not force us. |
| 5 >to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen. | This is the only doxology in the opening of any of Paul's letters. That we are saved from our own rebellion and sin when we so clearly do not deserve it is reason enough to worship and give glory to God. |
| 6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; | The Israelites saw the 10 plagues on Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea with their own eyes. Yet they turned away from God, made and worshipped a idol of a calf only days after Moses left them alone to speak to God. Here, the Galatian churches have done the same, turning away from God for another gospel, and in a very short time. |
| 7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. |
This other gospel is not a gospel at all. There is only one. Anything that contradicts the real gospel is false. Disturbing or troubling is making trouble for the church. In other words, They are making trouble in their faith by confusing them. This same tactic is used today by false teachers and pastors for various motivations. Paul clearly asserts the troublemakers are doing this deliberately, because they have the will/want to distort the gospel. |
| 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! |
It doesn't matter who is preaching against the gospel, even if it was Paul himself or an angel appeared from heaven. If they are speaking contrary to the gospel not to be listened to by Christians, but accursed. However, many Christians equate the doctrines of their church or their own personal beliefs with the gospel. They equate things that are really disputable matters as if they are the gospel. Disputable matters are things that we can disagree on and both sides are still Christian. Disagreement with the gospel puts one outside Christianity. Calvinism, how baptism should be done, how Christ's sacrifice on the cross saves us, and most other things that are not the gospel are disputable matters. The gospel is not that big or complex. Creeds were written to help people differentiate between what is a central gospel belief and what are disputable matters. This makes it easy to judge if someone or something is Christian or anti-Christian. The gospel is that there is one God in three persons who always existed and created everything else. The three persons are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Son became man and died on the cross for our salvation. He rose from the dead on the third day and one day all Christians will rise with Him. All of humanity has sinned and deserves punishment and death. Our salvation is an undeserved gift we call grace. All we have to do is put our faith in God. We are saved by faith, not by works. But works are the outward evidence of our inward faith. That's it. Disagreement with these puts one outside Christianity. While one can learn what is scriptural and correct about most disputable matters, being wrong on them doesn't make one a non-Christian. |
| 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! | What was said in verse 8 is so important that Paul repeats it, foot-stomping the point. |
| 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 bond-servant of Christ. | It is so easy to value the opinions of the people we can see over God who is unseen. A dynamic, charismatic speaker is easy to go along with. What sounds good is seductive. But we are called to a higher duty. We are to check everything, no matter the source, against scripture. We are to seek God's approval, and not man's. Be sure that those who faithfully follow God will displease men, including family and even people in the church. If you think this is an exaggeration, consider that there are parts of the Bible that a majority of people at church would be offended by if they were read in church. That never ceases to amaze me how people who claim to be Christians think parts of the Bible don't meet their standards. They are placing themselves in God's place. This is the sin of Lucifer. That is not hyperbole or exaggeration. It is that dangerous. We think far too highly of ourselves and fail to have the right attitude of bond-servant / slave to God. But one who sets themself up as God is placing themselves outside God's grace. |
| 11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. | Despite being in the middle of a dressing down, Paul refers to the Galatians as brothers rather than take a fatherly or supervisory role, let alone the role of apostle of Christ. Paul is referring to the gospel he taught when he was personally in Galatia. He is specifically stating that, while it was the gospel he preached, it was not his gospel but that of God. Notable is that Paul always taught the same gospel throughout his life, Christ and Him crucified. |
| 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. | This emphasizes that the gospel message Paul taught is true and reliable. It's not a copy of a copy, nor is it the doctrines of man. Thus, any who contradict it are in error, or are deliberately trying to mislead the church. This also subtly asserts Paul's office of apostle. |
| 1:13-2:14 is Paul's autobiography. | |
| 13 For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; |
Paul was the worst of the worst of persecutors of the church. Paul characterized his persecution with the Greek noun hyperbole, translated into English as beyond measure, intensely, violently, etcetera. Paul was being literal in his description of his persecution. The word for Judaism, ioudaismos, only appears in verses 13 & 14 in the entire New Testament. But its use predates Christianity as it appears in 2 and 4 Maccabees. |
| 14 and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. | Paul thought his persecution was for God and the true faith of Judaism. Paul had advanced far beyond other Pharisees of his age. As Stephen Hawking was in physics, Paul was a super-scholar of the TaNaK. (Torah, the law, Nebiim, the prophets, and Ketubim, the writings.) He was well versed in both the Hebrew original text and in the Greek translation. And he was a zealot for living according to the Tanak. Among Pharisees, strict adherence to the Mosaic law was viewed as a prerequisite to the beginning of the Messianic Age. And his actions were similar to Moses and Aaron killing immoral Israelites in Numbers 25:1-9. |
| 15 But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, was pleased | Paul was given by God the gifts of knowledge, reasoning, and wisdom. But he failed to see the truth in scripture. As amazing of a scholar as he was, he made scripture fit his vision, (eisegesis,) instead of making his vision fit to scripture, (exegesis.) Like the vast majority of his time, he didn't see the suffering Messiah, only the conquering Messiah. So Jesus didn't fit his theology and he missed it. But God's calling for Paul would break through that. |
| 16 to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, |
This is one of the times when God will make His will happen no matter how much we mess things up. Jesus appeared to Paul in person to set him on the right road. It is notable that Paul refers to Jesus Christ "in me". It is not just the Holy Spirit that indwells Christians, but Jesus as well. (This is expressly stated in Galatians 2:20 and 4:6.) And we are in Him. Also notable is that this was so he could "preach Him". Christ, the gospel, and the faith are interchangeable to Paul, which is what he was preaching. |
| I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. |
What is significant about this part of Paul's autobiography is this places him equal to and not subordinate to the other apostles. Paul did not learn second hand, but first hand. It is likely that he spent this time in Arabia in communion with the Spirit, studying the TaNaK. and making the connections his previous and erroneous worldview had caused him to miss. Then he went back to Damascus where he likely spent more time in study with the Christians there. Arabia refers to the Nabatean kingdom of Arabia, a rather large and slightly ill-defined territory. It was east of the Jordan valley rift, and extended from the Red Sea on the southwest to the Euphrates River on the northeast. So Paul may have not gone far at all. But this was definitely away from Judaic influence and jurisdiction. |
| 18 Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. |
Paul doesn't say how much time was in the Nabatean kingdom of Arabia or Damascus. Just that the combined time was three years. (This is likely two years or two years and change as we would count them today.) Paul didn't go to learn from, but to become acquainted with Peter. That Paul spent only half a month with Peter as compared to three years solo study further emphasizes that Paul is not a disciple of Peter, but one of equal rank. Peter confirms this in 2 Peter 3:14-16. |
| 19 But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord's brother. | The Greek ei me can mean except, but normally refers to an exemption from the previous statement. So Paul only met with Peter and James, Christ's half-brother who was the head of the church. (See Acts 15.) This is a biblical example of the one in charge not being the one teaching in the church. Peter and the other apostles were teachers, while James was the overall leader of the church running the administration of it. Today we combine the roles of the leader of the church, chief of the administrative side, teacher, and deacon into one office and call it a pastor. The early church example separated these duties into different offices and people. |
| 20 (Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying.) | This is a legal formula common to the time, similar to the American court oath before testifying. However, in this time and culture the oath followed what was said or written to assert that it was all true. |
| 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. | Paul was not long in Jerusalem. Syria at that time was the area around Antioch, and Cilicia was the area around Tarsus, the city Paul was from. This is further evidence that he did not receive his training and authority from men. |
| 22 I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; 23 but only, they kept hearing, "He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy." |
Word about Paul's conversion and evangelism got back to the churches of Judea, but he did not go there himself for 14 years and operated in areas that were not directly under the Jerusalem apostles. But it was the same gospel he preached, not a Pauline gospel. It is likely that many of the persecutions he mentions in 2 Corinthians 11:23-29 occurred during this period. But there is no direct evidence. He is specific referring to the churches that are "in Christ". Back in verse 16 Paul used the phrase "his Son in me", meaning Jesus Christ dwelled within him. This is the normal state of Christian life, that Christ lives in us and we are in Him. We have a personal relationship with Jesus that includes Him as our Savior, but goes beyond that. He is our elder brother by adoption, our example of how to live who walks with us, and our teacher. It is not just the Holy Spirit that is in us. |
| 24 And they were glorifying God because of me. | The Christians of Judea were praising God because Jesus turned the greatest persecutor into the greatest evangelizer. The implication is that this was a universal attitude at that time. Paul is pointing out that the judaizers that now oppose him and challenge his authority and preaching either aren't from the churches of Judea as they claim, or they have flip-flopped their views. |
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation.