Galatians (1:1-5) Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— and all the brothers and sisters with me, To the churches in Galatia: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
We see in this letter to the Galatians, Paul reasserts his apostleship and that he was chosen by Jesus Christ and God himself to minister the Good News—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father. Others in the body of Christ such as the deacons in the church and even the twelfth apostle, Matthias, were not chosen directly by God. Man had input in choosing those individuals to lead the church, but not Paul, an apostle out of season. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one ABNORMALLY born. For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. (1 Corinthians 7-9) Paul’s calling was direct and purposeful, called to present the Good News mainly to the barbaric Gentiles. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” (Acts 9:3-6) To emphasize God’s hand in this calling, Paul was blinded by the light of Jesus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. (Acts 9:9) Three is a complete number, so probably Paul’s blindness was permanent unless divine intervention was involved. During this period of blindness Paul was praying, having a vision that a man called Ananias would come and place his hands on him for healing. Ananias does come to Paul and his sight is restored. All of this divine intervention confirmed to Paul forever that his apostleship came from God, giving him strength to endure many hardships and persecutions in his ministry. Ananias feared Paul but obeyed God. “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:13-16) In this message to Ananias, the Lord revealed his plans for Paul’s life who had previously persecuted the church. Now Paul would suffer for the cause of Christ.
In Paul’s greetings to the Galatians, he affirms his position as an apostle: a person who is part of the body of Christ who births churches. He was placed in that position within the body of Christ by God with a ministry from God. Jesus intervened in Paul’s life of wrath and murder on the road to Damascus, and Paul was sent to the people of Galatia. The Galatians were now under the control of Rome, but in their past they had been under the control of the Greeks and the Gauls. Many wars to exert authority over Galatia are part of the Galatian’s history. Because of the many invasions of people outside of Galatia, the population was a mix of ethnic groups, but they basically spoke Greek. Galatia was a dangerous place to minister the Good News. Paul was almost killed in Lystra. The Jews and Greek speaking people united to stone Paul, leaving him outside of the city for dead. Paul revived, walked back into the city, stayed the night, and then left Lystra to minister in Derbe. After his successful ministry in Derbe, he goes back to the towns that were hostile to his ministry and encourages the believers in those communities. He encourages them to keep the faith, to stay the course in their belief in Jesus Christ as Lord. Paul’s love for the Galatians is revealed by his willingness to visit cities again where people tried to kill him. In doing so, he was not concerned about his own security or wellbeing. He was concerned about those believers he would leave in the land of Galatia. Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger? (2 Corinthians 11:28-29) He experienced the weakness of being completely in control of violent people. He knows the believers in Galatia who heard of what was done to him in Lystra were probably fearful of the same thing that was done to him. He goes back to them and bolsters their resolve to serve God no matter what. Now he is writing to the Galatians about his fear that they have gone astray, wanting to please men rather than God. He knows the Jews among the Gentile Christians are putting pressure on the Gentiles to obey Moses’ law and regulations. He feels anger against this Jewish contamination that is coming against faith in Jesus Christ alone. This yeast is leading the churches in Galatia away from God, not toward God. Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger? He paid such a high price in his body for their deliverance from Satan and now he sees them creeping back into slavery. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. (2 Corinthians 11:26-27) Paul wants the churches where he ministers to realize that his ministry and service to God costs him something. He pays a price and expects them to be faithful to the body of Christ according to God’s will.
Paul fears for his Galatian believers, for their salvation. He knows merely following the law and its regulations will destroy the purity of the message of Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected for the salvation of many; faith in Christ’s work is the only foundation of a new life. The law will never make new creatures; the law will only condemn people, revealing how far away they are from a righteous God. But faith in Jesus’ works makes new creatures, totally pleasing to God. The law separates people from a holy God, for it has no power to change people into holy vessels. Paul worries that the Galatians have been convinced that there is another way to be without one fault before the living God of all creation other than the cross of Christ. Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:1-2) To suffer so much for the birthing of the churches in Galatia and then find them in such a state that his work might be in vain, bothers Paul greatly. He is not going to release the Galatians to such nonsense: combining the law with faith. He knows such a belief will lead to death, not life. Works kill, but faith brings life. Paul says, He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Corinthians 3:6) Paul in his greeting to the Galatians reiterates the truth of the new life in Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Only Jesus can rescue us from this present life of sin and death. No other belief, no other work, no other path will bring us to the household of God. As we will see in this letter, Paul is angry with some of them in Galatia because they are directing these new believers to another way to God. Paul spent his life, sacrificing himself to preach THE WAY, the GOOD NEWS. He is writing to the Galatians to reaffirm the true message to eternal life. He wants to reinforce that faith in Christ Jesus and his work on the cross brings new life. Jesus said, we must be born again! There is no other way. Jesus is our only answer to eternal life. As the Bible says his name is the only name: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12) Walk, breathe, and live in the authority of that name today! Glory to his name forever.
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