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 ]