Galatians 1 – Page 3 – Ministry of Grace Church

Category: Galatians 1

Galatians 1:4 – Submissive Giving

Posted on July 15, 2007 by admin

Galatians 1:4

who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

Truth to Learn

Jesus freely gave his life in perfect submission to God the Father as payment for our sins and as an example for us.

Behind the Words

The word translated “deliver” is the Greek word, exeletai which means “to pluck out, to tear out, to take out from a number, to select, or to rescue.”

Meaning Explained

It is interesting that Paul starts out this letter with an immediate statement of the central doctrine of Christianity, namely that Jesus Christ died for our sins. This is something that the Galatians had apparently forgotten, or it had become obscured by other beliefs as we will see in the third chapter of this letter. Notice two things about Christ’s sacrifice. The first is that He “gave Himself.” Jesus’ life was not taken from Him, He gave it up freely on His own. This is confirmed by what is written in the gospel accounts of His death:

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. (Matthew 27:50)

And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into your hands I commit my spirit.’ “ Having said this, He breathed His last. (Luke 23:46)

So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. (John 19:30)

Jesus gave up His spirit, that is, He voluntarily died on our behalf.

The other thing to note about His giving up His life on the cross is the fact that, in doing so, He was acquiescing to the will of God the Father (“according to the will of our God and Father.”) Jesus gave Himself, not because He thought it was a good idea, but because it was what the Father wanted Him to do. Throughout His earthly life, Jesus was committed to doing the will of God the Father. In giving up His life He gave us all an example of submitting to the will of the Father.

And, by giving up His life, according to the present verse, Jesus delivered us from this present evil age. His voluntary death was the means by which Jesus rescued us from the condemnation that is coming on all those who reject Him. Through Jesus’ submission to the Father by giving up His life for us, we were reconciled to the Father.

Application

Are you submitted to the will of our Heavenly Father? Are you willing to do whatever God asks of you? Or are you running your life the way you want to, believing the things you want to instead of learning from the Bible what God the Father wants you to do?

Let me challenge you right now to submit your will to the Father by confessing your sins and seeking His guidance in all areas of your life!

In God’s service, for His glory,

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Galatians 1:3 – Grace and Peace

Posted on July 12, 2007 by admin

Galatians 1:3

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,

Truth to Learn

Peace only comes from God, and it is bestowed on us only through His infinite grace.

Behind the Words

“Grace” is translated from the Greek word charis, which is derived from the verb chairo, meaning “to rejoice.” But charis means more than ‘joy,’ it is the source of our joy. According to The Complete Word Study Dictionary, charis means, “a favor done without expectation of return; the absolutely free expression of the loving kindness of God to men finding its only motive in the bounty and benevolence of the Giver; unearned and unmerited favor.”

The word “peace” is the translation of the Greek word, eirene, which means, “in a civil sense, the opposite of war and dissention and, among individuals, harmony, tranquility, and peace of mind.”

Meaning Explained

Paul now gives a familiar opening blessing of grace and peace. In fact, these two are so inseparable that Paul frequently opens his letters with a blessing of both grace and peace. See also 1Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians1:2; Philippians 1:2; Colossians 1:2; 1Thessalonians 1:1; 2Thessalonians 1:2; Philemon 1:3.

Grace is an important word and concept for the Galatian churches as it is in direct opposition to works of the Law. Remember what Paul taught in Romans:

Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, (Rom 3:20-24)

The other thing Paul bestows on the Galatian churches is peace. For a Christian, this is the calm assurance that God has removed all our sins from us, has declared us righteous, and assures us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. It is only by His grace that He gives us His peace.

Interestingly enough, neither grace nor peace can be obtained by obedience to the Law. We are not saved by works neither are we kept in God’s good graces by works. The Galatian Christians were confused about salvation by grace apart from the works of the law as we will see throughout this letter.

Application

Are you a saved Christian who is still trying to please God by your good works? If so, then stay with us and learn what Paul taught about this type of legalism.

In God’s service, for His glory,

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Galatians 1:2 – To The Church

Posted on July 11, 2007 by admin

Galatians 1:2

and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:

Truth to Learn

We all need to learn about doctrinal error so we can spot it and resist it in any church.

Behind the Words

The word translated “brethren” is adelphos, which is made up of the connective particle a, denoting unity and delphus, which means “the womb.” Hence, it means those who are united through the womb, or those who come from the same womb. Hence, though it is usually thought of as implying males who have the same mother or father, it really means all those, male and female, with a common mother or father. In the New Testament it is used of all those who are members of the church and, therefore, all who are children of God.

Meaning Explained

In this verse Paul includes the fact that there were others with him in support of what he was about to say. It was common for Paul to include others in the salutation of his letters (see 1Corinthians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; and 1Thessalonians 1:1). He also indicates who this letter was written to, ‘the churches of Galatia.’

Galatia was a Roman province in the interior of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) directly north of the island of Cyprus, extending nearly all the way to the Black Sea. Since the borders of Galatia were somewhat ill defined and were often changed, it is difficult to say exactly which churches were included in ‘the churches of Galatia.’ It is possible that they included the churches at Lystra, Iconium, and Derbe, which were churches that Paul and Barnabas visited on the first missionary journey (see Acts chapter 14), although these are referred to as being in Lycaonia according to Acts 14.

There were several cities in Galatia proper such as Ancyria, Tavia, and Pessinus. It is quite possible that a church had been established in each of these cities, and, since they were not far distant from each other, could have been referred to as the churches of Galatia.

Whatever the specific churches were, it is clear that they all had a similar doctrinal error that Paul was intent on correcting. This error had begun to creep into the churches from the very beginning, as converted Jews who had been brought up under the Law of Moses were insisting that all converts to Christianity also keep the Law of Moses. This was the subject of the very first church council recorded for us in Acts chapter 15. We will get more into the details of their doctrinal errors later.

The thing to note is that Paul would not tolerate bad doctrine in the church. To many Christians today, doctrine is a dirty word. They believe that learning doctrine is not nearly as important as loving one another, but Paul would strongly disagree. Doctrine is important and correct doctrine is of paramount importance!

Application

Though this letter was specifically written to the churches in Galatia, it has truths that are pertinent to all Christians. As we go through this letter let us, each one, consider how these truths apply to our own Christian walk.

In God’s service, for His glory,

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Galatians 1:1 – Apostolic Message

Posted on July 10, 2007 by admin

Galatians 1:1

Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead),

Truth to Learn

All who are Christian are thus through the grace of God. He has called us to serve Him and we must humbly obey.

Behind the Words

The word apostle is a transliteration, that is, the word has been carried directly across from the Greek word ‘apostolos’ which means ‘one who is sent with a message.’

Meaning Explained

Paul starts off his letter to the Galatians in his typical style, which was a common way of beginning a letter in his day, by identifying who the letter was from. He also states right at the beginning that he is ‘an apostle.’ He says that his apostleship was not conferred on him from other men nor did he inherit his apostleship from someone else. Instead, he affirms here that he was called to be an apostle by Jesus Christ Himself as conferred on him by God the Father. In this case, as Paul notes in this first verse, he was sent by Jesus Christ. His conversion experience is detailed in Acts chapter 9 and again in Acts chapter 26.

There are two qualifications that are necessary before anyone can be considered an apostle of Jesus Christ. The first is that a person must have actually seen and been in the presence of Jesus and the other is that Jesus must have specifically called that person into the ministry. This is certainly true of the 11 original apostles and it is also true of Paul. The unique thing about Paul’s apostolic calling is that he was specifically sent to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. After Paul’s 3^rd missionary journey he returned to Jerusalem to deliver gifts, probably money, from the Gentile churches in Greece. While he was there he was arrested and put on trial before the Sanhedrin. During his defense in this trial Paul explained why he was specifically taking the gospel message of God to the Gentiles. This is detailed in Acts 22:17-21:

“Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance and saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’

So I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’

Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.’ “

Thus was Paul sent by Christ Himself to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, a task which Paul took very seriously and a task which he pursued until the day of his death.

Application

According to Romans chapter 8, every Christian is called. We each have work that God wants us to do for Him. We must not resist what God has called us to do but we must willingly submit to His will and give Him all the glory.

In God’s service, for His glory,

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