CHRIST HAS MADE US FREE GALATIANS _HELEN POCOCK_ ABOUT PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS THE WRITER Paul wrote this letter. His name used to be Saul. He was called Saul until Acts 13:9, when he was first called Paul. He was a *Jewish leader. He used to oppose the Christians. But one day, he met J... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul knew many of the Christians to whom he was writing. God had sent Paul and Barnabas out to *preach the *good news about Jesus. At first, Paul always went to the *Jews to teach them about Jesus. Some *Jews believed Paul, but other *Jews did not believe him. Great crowds listened to Paul. Some *Je... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul did not say where he was at that time. These Christians were probably helping him with his work. In other letters, he mentions the names of his helpers. Galatia is in the country that we now call Turkey. ‘*Church’ is the name for a group of Christians. It does not refer to the building where th... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul prayed for kindness and *peace at the start of every letter that he wrote. Here he used Jesus’ full title. ‘*Lord’ means that Jesus has complete authority. He is head over everything. ‘Jesus’ is his human name. The name Jesus means ‘It is God who saves’. Jesus saves people from their *sins (Mat... [ Continue Reading ]
This is the second main thing that Paul wanted to emphasise at the start of this letter. Jesus came to this world. He died on our behalf to free us from our *sins. Jesus did not do this by himself. He obeyed what God the Father wanted him to do. Now we do not have to live as other people live. We ca... [ Continue Reading ]
God is wonderful. And God’s plan through Jesus is wonderful. Therefore, we should always *worship God. ‘This is the truth’ is the word ‘Amen’. People say ‘Amen’ at the end of a prayer. It shows that they agree with the speaker or writer. Paul expected the Christians in Galatia to agree with his pray... [ Continue Reading ]
In Paul’s other letters, he prayed for the people after his greeting. He usually thanked God for them. He often praised them too. But Paul did not praise the Christians in Galatia in any way. He started to teach them immediately after the greeting. He was sad and angry. He could hardly believe what... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul referred to the false teachers as ‘some people’. He did not mention their names. Paul did not want the Christians to concentrate on the false teachers. Instead, he wanted the Christians to concentrate on the truth. Paul wanted to emphasise that the false teachers were not teaching the truth. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul wrote very strongly in these verses. In verse 1, he had proved that he was a genuine *apostle. So his authority came from God. Therefore, what he had taught the Christians in Galatia was the true *good news. Nothing and nobody could change that truth. If Paul or other Christians taught somethin... [ Continue Reading ]
This probably referred to what Paul said to the Christians in the past. He probably warned them about the false teachers when he first visited Galatia. Paul knew that he was teaching the truth when he spoke about Christ. And the people became Christians because they believed the truth.... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul taught that Christ made people free from the laws and traditions of religion. The false teachers said that Paul was merely trying to please people. But this was a lie. In fact, many people opposed Paul because he taught about Christ. Paul obeyed God and he always wanted to please God. Because o... [ Continue Reading ]
Christians belong to different physical families. However, all Christians belong to God’s family because God is our father. Paul wrote to the Christians in Galatia to teach them the truth. But he called them ‘brothers and sisters’ because he loved them as his family. The *good news about Jesus is t... [ Continue Reading ]
The Christians in Galatia had heard about Paul. Paul did not believe the *good news about Jesus before he met Jesus. In fact, Paul hated the people who trusted Jesus. Paul put many Christians into prison. He approved when Stephen died (Acts 7:55-8). He wanted to destroy the whole Christian *church.... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul had been a very loyal *Jew. He loved the *Jewish law. He was extremely eager about it. He studied it so that he knew it properly. The laws are in the first 5 books of the *Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). All *Jewish boys had to learn and remember many parts... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul had been very eager that all *Jews should obey the *Jewish law and traditions. But he had some very strong opinions. Because of these opinions, Paul had done some terrible things. He did not believe in Jesus. So Paul opposed Christians. But he suddenly became a Christian. Paul realised that Jes... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul wanted to emphasise again that nobody had taught him about Jesus (verse 12). ‘*Apostles’ probably refers to Jesus’ 12 *disciples. Paul considered that he was equal with the other *apostles. Paul did not meet with them. He did not need them to teach him about Jesus. Instead, Paul went away to Ar... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul was still trying to show that nobody taught him about Jesus Christ. Paul did not go to Jerusalem for three years. By then, he was a mature Christian. The Christians in Jerusalem were afraid of Paul (then called Saul) when he went there (Acts 9:26-30). They did not believe that he was a real Chr... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul wanted to convince the Christians in Galatia that he was not lying. The false teachers did not like what Paul taught about Jesus. So they lied about Paul. But Paul knew that he was innocent. And God also knew that Paul was innocent.... [ Continue Reading ]
Many people in Jerusalem had known Paul before he was a Christian. So, Paul went to two large regions where the Christians did not know him. Paul moved away from the *apostles and he worked by himself. The *apostles did not send Paul. He did not work with their authority. Paul came from the town cal... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul had changed completely. The *churches in Judea heard reports about Paul. They were pleased to hear what God was doing in Paul’s life. So they praised God because God had changed Paul so much. This is different from the *churches in Galatia. They had heard Paul teach the *good news about Jesus.... [ Continue Reading ]