Galatians 1 (in two parts)

Part 1

Galatians 1:1-10

At a very early stage the Christian faith is in serious danger of being lost. The grace of Christ has been extended to non-Jews. This brought a world of difficulty. Jews enjoyed a special political position in the Roman Empire, and Christianity was upsetting that balance. Additionally, for generations the relationships between Jews and Gentiles had been carefully managed as a matter of ceremonial purity and principle. Christianity was changing everything. Some Jews decided that they would create a solution that would return things to the status quo. Gentiles would be admitted to the Christian faith but only if they committed to being Jewish by converting to Judaism. The effect would be that the gospel would become a subset or just one more splinter of Judaism. It would, in effect, end Christianity. Paul's written response to this threat is this letter. There are two key points Paul makes in this first chapter. First is what Paul is saying. Second, by what authority is he saying it?

Paul is so passionate that he says if anyone, man or angel, should preach another gospel message (which would be a forgery), that person should live under God's eternal curse (verse 8). In verse 4 Paul gives a brief but powerful description of the gospel and expresses the superiority of the Gospel over Judaism. There are three key points Paul brings out. First, Christ gave Himself for our sins. Jesus was no mere prophet of Judaism. He was the sacrifice that took away our sins, the sacrifice to which all Old Testament sacrificial systems pointed and were preparing. Second, His sacrifice delivers us from a world bent on evil. Everything in this world is working to do evil and harm to God's most cherished creation: human beings. The Law of Moses was ultimately unable to effect a rescue from the evil world, especially the evil within each of us. Only Christ’s sacrifice can actually rescue us. Third, this rescue was no accident or fluke. The events of the cross were the specific intent of our God and Father. Jesus didn't die as a hapless victim of circumstance but as the eternally planned sacrifice God wanted.

The attack to which Paul is responding would make Christianity a footnote in the history of Judaism. But in reality the old covenant is the cover page to the great story of God's Plan of Redemption.

“Help me Lord, to see the centrality of Christ in all things. AMEN”

Part 2

Galatians 1:11-24

There are three measures that must always be taken into account: what is said, what is done, and by what authority. In the first part of this chapter, Paul talks or repeats the message of the Gospel in verse 4. In this half of the chapter, Paul addresses what was done and by what authority. What was done was the remarkable change of life that was his. Paul was “the head of his class” in terms of his passion for the law. His persecution of the church was not a deviant or radical expression of his Judaism. It was a logical working out of what he believed. In his attacks on the Christians, he likely thought of the story of Phineas in Numbers 25. This is a story worth reading. Phineas’ act to end corruption in Israel turned God's wrath away and was accredited to Phineas as righteousness. Saul's attitude and attacks on the church were equally extreme. In verse 13, Paul describes his attacks on the church by saying, “I used to persecute,” the word that is used to describe a hunt where the quarry was relentlessly chased to exhaustion. The word “beyond measure” literally means “to throw beyond.” To understand this, compare an NFL quarterback to a Pop Warner kid in how far they could throw a football. That is how far beyond anyone else’s Paul's hunting for Christians went. He also uses the word “destroyed”; this means to “lay waste.” There was nothing left behind after Paul’s attacks. But suddenly he went from the persecutor to a committed follower. Talk is cheap. The measure of what is done proves the claims or change to be true or false. There could be no doubt concerning the change in his life.

As a result of this change, Paul began to teach. But who gave him this message? Some of the opponents doubted the legitimacy of Paul's preaching because they questioned his authority or commissioning. Paul is emphatic that he did not receive his commission or call from anyone or anything other than Christ himself. After his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus and his subsequent conversion, Paul went to Arabia for a sort of one-on-one time with Jesus. There he would have received his message from Christ. We do not know if Jesus physically appeared or if Paul had visions. That is not important. What is important is Paul's message was from Christ! The closer we are to Christ, the better our message. When we have begun to introduce other sources, then we are in trouble. 

After this time in the desert, Paul returns to Damascus to minister. It is only after 3 years of this new life and ministry that Paul meets as equals with the apostle in Jerusalem. The rejection of Paul's message by the heretics was a negation and rejection of the message of Christ's Grace. They were not rejecting Paul, but Christ.

“Lord, help me to stay close to You in every aspect of life and faith. AMEN”