Galatians 1 - Another Gospel

The apostle Paul wrote his epistle to the Galatians after arriving back in Antioch after his first missionary journey.  He received report that the Galatians had fallen into error as a result of accepting false teaching.  His letter to the Galatians was written in an attempt to correct this error.

He begins his letter reminding them of his apostleship: Paul was not called by man, but was called by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Jesus from the dead.  Paul was not saved and called by a dead Jesus; for if so, his calling would be of no value.  Jesus had bodily risen from the dead and appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus.  It was after this event that Paul received salvation and his calling as an apostle.  He uses a familiar greeting that is in many other of his epistles, “Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.” (v3.) Do you want the favor and peace of God in your life?  It can only come through the person of Jesus Christ.  It was the Father’s will to send Jesus to die for you and me, in order to forgive our sins and deliver us from this evil world we now live in.  For this, God is worthy of eternal praise.

Paul marveled that the Galatians had so quickly moved away from the Gospel to which they had been called that was by grace, and had believed a false gospel.  Apparently after Paul had left Galatia, there were Jews who came into the Church, and taught that they must believe in Jesus as well as keep the Law in order to be saved.  If anyone comes to you and tells you that you must believe in Jesus plus do something else to be saved, this should be an immediate red flag.  This is how many cults have been formed: They teach that the grace of God through faith is not enough.  You must also do good works, or keep their various rules and rituals.  Paul goes on to say that though they or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel than what they had already preached to them, let them be accursed (eternally condemned).  This was so important that he repeated himself in the next verse.  This is serious stuff, guys!  People who believe that faith in the Jesus of the Bible is not enough are stating that Jesus was not who He said He was, that His work on the cross was not sufficient, and that we must do more to be saved and receive all that god has to offer.  They are on the path to eternity in hell, along with everyone else they persuade to follow them.  This is why Paul used such stern language in his letter to the Galatians: It is a matter of life or death, and it is for all eternity.  This does not mean everyone involved in a cult is intentionally out to deceive people; for often times they are sincere in what they believe.  However, being sincere does not mean they are right.  There is only one true Gospel.  You must place your faith (trust) in the Jesus of the Bible and what He did on the cross for you.  Jesus’ work on the cross was sufficient for you and me, and it is through Him and only Him that we can receive eternal life.  He will spend the greater remainder of this book to remind them of the true Gospel, and exhorting them to continue in it.

The message Paul was preaching was not an attempt to gain man’s favor; in fact, it was what lead to much of Paul’s persecution throughout his missionary journeys.  If Paul had wanted to please man he could have just changed his message to be more appealing to the masses, but he would not have been the servant of Jesus Christ.  He goes into great detail to explain that the message of the Gospel was not something he received from or was taught by man, but he received it as a direct revelation from Jesus Himself.  He was not a likely candidate for salvation or an apostle for that matter, for he previously was a Pharisee, the strictest sect in the Jewish religion.  He was one of the worst persecutors of the Church.  He bound Christians, threw them in prison, and even put some of them to death.  He was responsible for the death of Stephen who was the first martyr of the Church.  Paul was bent on destroying the Church, and nothing was going to detour him until the Lord met him in the way.  He stated that the Lord had actually separated him in his mother’s womb and called him by His grace.  I think it is interesting that the Lord’s plans for us start before we are even born in our mother’s womb.  In fact, Paul wrote to the Ephesians that God chose us in Him before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).  After his salvation and calling, Paul apparently spent some time in the wilderness of Arabia, and no doubt was taught by the Lord while there.  He then returned to Damascus, and later went up to Jerusalem.  Even in Jerusalem, he did not see any of the apostles except Peter and James, the half-brother of Jesus.  He was only there for a short time, and would not visit Jerusalem for another 14 years.  In other words, he didn’t spend time with the apostles to receive revelation and teaching from them.  Again, he was taught by the Lord directly.

In the next chapter Paul will switch gears, and will begin to remind the Galatians of what the true Gospel is.

 

Additional Resources

 

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