Galatians
1:1-5, Paul, an apostle—not
from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who
raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with
me, To the churches of Galatia: 3 Grace to you and peace from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself
for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of
our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever.
Amen.
Paul’s
letter to the Galatians is one of the first that he wrote. He wrote this letter
out of a deep concern that the Galatians were turning away from the true gospel
of Jesus Christ. Paul had traveled through Galatia more than once on his
missionary journeys. On his last trip to the region he came to strengthen the
disciples. This letter was probably written before that trip perhaps to prepare
the Galatians for his visit. Paul wants everyone to understand that he was not
called by man but instead he was called through Jesus Christ and God the
Father.
Paul was a chosen instrument.
Originally, Saul of Tarsus. Paul had come to Jerusalem hoping to
heal the breach between Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians. He had
entered the temple courtyard when he was confronted by a mob. Before they could
take his life he was rescued by the Romans and he then asked permission to
speak to the crowd. Let’s look at that speech as recorded by Luke. Paul began
in Acts 22:3, “I am a Jew, born in
Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel
according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God
as all of you are this day.
Being
born in Tarsus was an important part of Paul’s pedigree. He was not only a Jew
he was also a Roman citizen. Up until this point in his life he appears not to
have taken advantage of his citizenship. From this time forward Paul’s
citizenship protected him from his enemies up until the time that he was
executed in Rome. In order to pacify the crowd Paul pointed out that he also
had been zealous for the law just as the crowd around them was that day. He was
a Roman citizen born in Tarsus and he had been…
An enemy of the gospel. Listen to his testimony. Acts
22:4-5, I persecuted this Way
to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as
the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them
I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take
those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.
As he was traveling along that road to Damascus suddenly a great light
shined on him. It was so bright that he went blind. He heard a voice speaking
out of the light. He soon came to know that the light was Jesus Christ. He
obeyed the heavenly vision and went into the city of Damascus waiting for
direction. A Christian disciple named Ananias came to him and Paul was healed
and baptized. He returned to Jerusalem and while he was praying in the temple
Jesus told him to get out of the city because the people there would not listen
to him. We find Paul’s response in verses 19-20, And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in
one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20 And
when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by
and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’
Jesus repeated his command for
Paul to leave the city. Since he had stopped being an enemy of the gospel he
was a great threat to those who were still opposed. In fact Paul had been…
Converted by Jesus. Let’s look at Luke’s account in Acts
9:1-6, But Saul, still
breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the
high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at
Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might
bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he
approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And
falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you
persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he
said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and
enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”
The opponents of Paul who had come to Galatia
claimed to have a better pedigree then Paul did. Some of them, undoubtedly, had
been around when Jesus actually ministered on earth. They believed that they
had seniority over someone who had come to the faith lately.
It was important to Paul that the people of
Galatia understand that he himself was converted by Jesus and not by some man.
Later he would carry this argument further forward. Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ, addressed this letter…
To the churches of Galatia. We do not know exactly where these churches were
located. The district of Galatia is in the middle of what is the modern country
of Turkey. It had been settled by Gauls a couple of hundred years before. These
people were from the same race that settled central Europe and parts of the
British Isles. Paul had been eager to preach the gospel among them but they…
Were denied the gospel at first. Paul and Barnabas may possibly have gone to Galatia on their first missionary journey but there’s no clear record of it. Instead, he and Silas passed through on their way to Troas and from there into Europe. It may seem strange that the Holy Spirit barred them from preaching in Galatia, or anywhere! Look at Luke’s account in Acts 16:6, And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.
Were denied the gospel at first. Paul and Barnabas may possibly have gone to Galatia on their first missionary journey but there’s no clear record of it. Instead, he and Silas passed through on their way to Troas and from there into Europe. It may seem strange that the Holy Spirit barred them from preaching in Galatia, or anywhere! Look at Luke’s account in Acts 16:6, And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.
Wherever Paul went his first goal was to preach the gospel. He was
especially eager to preach where no one had ever preached before. So he went on
his way under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
We need to remember that there is a time for everything. Only God knows
the right time. We simply do the best we can day by day to obey him. As far as
witnessing is concerned, unless we’re clearly told otherwise, “now is the
favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Perhaps if Paul had
stayed in Galatia when he first traveled through there he would’ve missed a
prayer meeting by the river in Philippi and those hearts that were ready to
receive the gospel would have missed out. I don’t know. But I do know they were
prevented from stopping and preaching in Galatia until after they had gone to
Macedonia where they led the group of women and a jailer, among others, to
faith in Christ. The first opportunity for Paul to preach was missed because
the Holy Spirit ordered them not to.
I can imagine Paul walking through those villages looking for someone who
might know Christ. After all, on the day of Pentecost, there were Jews in
Jerusalem who heard the gospel from the regions around Galatia. And as he
walked I can imagine that he was considering how best to present the gospel
when he had the opportunity. That seemed to be the focus of Paul’s life.
Becoming all things to all men that by all means he might win some. So…
Later Paul returned. After ministering in Philippi for some time Paul
and Silas traveled through the countryside on their way to the great
cosmopolitan cities of Athens and Corinth. He stayed a short time in Athens but
in Corinth he stayed for some eighteen months.
Afterward they took
a ship back to Palestine. Let’s return to Luke’s account. Acts 18:22-23, When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and
greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. 23 After
spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next
through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
This is the second time that Galatia is mentioned in the Book of Acts.
The first being when they passed through on their way to Troas. So much is left
out of the account that we can’t properly fill in the details. We have no
record of what the church was like in Caesarea except that Paul went there on
his return. From there he went to his sending church in Antioch located in what
is now Syria. Afterward Paul traveled back into the regions that are now
modern-day Turkey. And on that journey he came back to Galatia. When he arrived
he had some kind of illness. We’re not told what it was. We can only draw some
conclusions from what Paul said to the Galatians. He said that his visit was…
Due to illness. Look at his account in Galatians 4:13-14, You know it was because of a bodily ailment that
I preached the gospel to you at first, 14 and though my
condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me
as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus.
There
was something about his illness that he referred to as a “trial” to the
Galatians. I assume that means that his illness was unattractive or repugnant
to look at. He went on to say that they would have taken out their own eyes for
him if they could. Now that may have been, of course, just a saying. But eye
ailments were very common in the dusty environments of the Roman world. We have
another clue towards the end of the book of Galatians when Paul wrote, “See with what large letters I am writing to you
with my own hand.” That certainly implies that he had some problem with his eyesight.
Paul, the Apostle, wrote to the churches in Galatia in
order to point them to Jesus Christ who came…
To deliver us from the present evil age.
Paul used a common
greeting, “Grace and peace” and he wanted them to understand that…
Grace and peace are from
God. Let’s
look at his letter to the Ephesian church and read about grace. Ephesians
2:8-10, For by grace you have
been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of
God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
The
grace of God is the only reason for our salvation. We are not saved because we
are good nor are we saved because of some good work we did. Even faith is a
gift of God. So when Paul used the greeting, “grace to you”, it meant a whole
lot more than “Hello, how are you? ” “Grace” meant salvation to people who had
no other hope. Someone, many years ago, made the word grace into an acrostic. God’s
Riches At Christ’s Expense.
Elvina Hall,
wrote a poem about God’s grace about a hundred and fifty years ago. It goes
like this:
I hear the Savior say, “Thy
strength indeed is small,
child of weakness, watch and pray, find in
Me thine all in all.”
Lord, now indeed I find Thy
pow’r and Thine alone
can change the leper’s spots and melt the
heart of stone.
Jesus paid it all, all to
Him I owe; sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.
For nothing good have I
whereby Thy grace to claim;
I’ll wash my garments white in the blood
of Calvary’s Lamb.
Jesus paid it all, all to
Him I owe; sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.
And when before the throne I
stand in Him complete,
“Jesus died my soul to save,” my lips
shall still repeat.
Jesus paid it all, all to
Him I owe; sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.
Paul
addressed the Galatians with “grace and peace”. Peace is a gift from God that
comes from a root word meaning, “to bind up that which is broken”. Many things in our lives are broken, or have
been before the peace of God came into our lives. Peace is part of the fruit of
the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness,
self-control; against such things there is no law.
Paul wrote the Philippian church, do
not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And
the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7).
God’s
grace leads to our peace and it is a peace that passes all understanding. The
greatest disturber of our peace should be concern about whether or not our sins
have been atoned for and we have a home in heaven. In order to give us this peace…
Jesus gave himself for our
sins. Listen
while I read 1 Peter 2:24, He himself bore our
sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Jesus
voluntarily took our sins into his own body and became a sacrifice for us. He
did this so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. In 2
Corinthians 5:21, we are told, “For our sake he made him to be sin who
knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” During
his last days on earth Jesus said that he would lay down his life himself and
when it was time he would take it up again. Jesus’ life was not taken from him
it was given by him…
To deliver his people. Listen while I read what Jesus himself
had to say. John 10:27-30, “… My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and
they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will
never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My
Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to
snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are
one.”
Notice
that Jesus refers to “My sheep” these are the ones the Father has given to him
out of the world. Luke reports the words of Jesus, “For the Son of Man came
to seek and save the lost.” John remembers that Jesus said, “The thief
comes only to steal, kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have
it abundantly.” The thief is the ruler of this world — the prince of the power
of the air. Jesus came to deliver his people from this present evil age. In the
two thousand years since these words were written the age has not improved at
all. The culture we live in is just as evil as the culture Paul lived in.
We
should gain great confidence from the fact that Jesus was willing to give his
life for our sins so that we could be delivered. That deliverance does not come
with our death, or the return of Jesus. That deliverance comes in the here and
now. We won’t need it in heaven!
All of
this was…
According to the will of God. Isaiah, like Abraham, saw Jesus’ day
and was glad. The prophets may not have fully understood what, in hindsight,
seems clear to us. But there’s no doubt in my mind that Isaiah saw Jesus and
wrote about him. Listen while I read Isaiah 53:4-6, Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our
sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5But
he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon
him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are
healed. 6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every
one—to his own way; and the Lord
has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Seven hundred years before Jesus was
born Isaiah saw Jesus bearing our griefs and carrying our sorrows. He saw that
this Suffering Servant was stricken by mankind’s choice and smitten by God. He
could even see that this one who bore our griefs was pierced for our
transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. Isaiah could see that the
chastisement of the Messiah was necessary to bring us peace and spiritual
healing.
Jesus himself spoke of the will of the
Father. One of those times we find in…
John 6:38-40, For I have come down
from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And
this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he
has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is
the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him
should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Jesus
came down from heaven to do the will of the Father. There is a strong emphasis
on this fact when Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane. There he prayed to the
Father to let this cup pass from him. Then he added, “nevertheless, not as I
will, but as you will.” Surely the prayers of Jesus would always be answered
positively. That probably is the reason he had to add “not as I will” because
if he had not the Father would have intervened on his behalf.
When
the crowd came to arrest him Peter drew his sword and began to fight. Jesus
stopped him. Then he asked, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father,
and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?”
It
was according to the will of the Father that Jesus gave himself for our sins to
deliver us from the present evil age. To God be the glory forever and ever.
Amen.
Saul
of Tarsus, an enemy of the gospel of Jesus Christ, was chosen by God to spread
the gospel across the Roman Empire. He was such an enemy of Jesus that he stood
and held the coats of those who killed Stephen. Then he took charge of the
persecution of the church until Christ confronted him on the Damascus road. He
went to Galatia with the desire to preach the gospel there but was moved on to
bring the gospel to Europe. Later he stopped in Galatia due to an illness and
while he was there he brought the love of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ to
those whom God had chosen. Now he greets the church pronouncing “grace and
peace” as part of the deliverance of God’s people. If you are here today and
you do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior I urge you to submit today to
his grace through faith.
All scripture quotes are from: The
Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible
Society.
No comments:
Post a Comment