GALATIANS - Chapter 1:1-5

Many scholars believe that Galatians was written in the late 40’s or the early 50’s; an approximate date of 50 a.d. is often given. It seems that Paul wrote this letter before the Jerusalem Council mentioned in Acts 15, because although he mentions several trips to Jerusalem, he makes no mention of the council. Because the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 dealt with the exact issues Paul writes about, it would seem strange if it had already happened, yet he made no mention of it. If it is true that Galatians was written around 50 ad, then Paul would have been a Christian for about 15 years, being converted on the road to Damascus around 35 ad.

1Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers and sisters with me, To the churches in Galatia: 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

One way to deny the truthfulness of a message is to deny the authority of the one who gives it. The Galatian church had received the true gospel of grace from Paul and had believed it until some false teachers came in after he was gone. They not only attacked the validity of the message but also that of the messenger. Apparently the Judaizers had convinced some of the Galatian church members that Paul was a self-appointed apostle with no divine commission. So at the outset of the letter Paul dispensed with the usual personal greetings and immediately began to establish the genuineness of his apostolic authority, which he later (1: 11—2:21) expands on in detail. In this brief salutation Paul summarizes his authority (his right to speak), his message (the truths he speaks), and his motive (his reason for speaking).

1 Paul, an apostle - apostle. One sent on a mission with full authority of representation; an ambassador

Romans 1:1

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—

In its primary and technical usage, the term applied to the original twelve who were chosen at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry (Mark 3:14; Luke 6:13) and were set aside to lay the foundation of the early church and to be the channels of God’s completed revelation (Acts 2:42; Eph. 2:20). They were also given power to perform healings and to cast out demons as verifying signs of their divine authority (Acts 2:43; 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:3-4). It should be noted that, shortly before Pentecost, Judas was replaced by Matthias (Acts 1:26).

MacArthur, John F (1987-11-08). Galatians MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Macarthur New Testament Commentary Serie) (Kindle Locations 226-230). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father

“The bluntness of Paul’s denial is due to the charge . . . that Paul was not a genuine apostle because not one of the twelve.”

Martin Luther wrote - “When I was a young man I thought Paul was making too much of his call. I did not understand his purpose. I did not then realize the importance of the ministry . . . We exalt our calling, not to gain glory among men, or money, or satisfaction, or favor, but because people need to be assured that the words we speak are the words of God. This is no sinful pride. It is holy pride.” (Martin Luther)

Acts 20:24 - ²⁴ However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

Acts 9

Saul’s Conversion

9 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

15 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. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

As an illustration of the mistake that may be made in filling an official position in the Church without consulting the Holy Spirit, we have the case of Matthias. A vacancy had occurred in the “Apostolate” by the suicide of Judas. Standing in the upper-room, surrounded by the 120, Peter boldly affirmed that the vacancy must be filled, and of the men who had companied with them during the Lord’s earthly ministry—“One must be ordained to be a witness with us of HIS RESURRECTION.” Acts 1:22. But the Apostles had hitherto had no voice in choosing Apostles. The Lord had done this of His own sovereign will—“Have I not chosen you twelve.” John 6:70, 13:18. Now the Lord had gone back to heaven having commanded His disciples to do NOTHING until His “Vicar” the “Holy Spirit” should come (Luke 24:49), and as he had not yet arrived no business that they might transact would be LEGAL. But in spite of the Lord’s command a nomination was made, and an election held but there is no indication that their choice was ratified by the Holy Spirit when He came. On the contrary, Matthias, who ‘was chosen from that time, passed into obscurity, and his name is never again mentioned. A few years later, on the road to Damascus, the Lord Himself chose Saul of Tarsus to be an Apostle in Judas’ place, certifying to the choice by filling him with the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:15-17),

Jesus called Paul and set him apart before he had contact with any of the other apostles. After several years of divine preparation (see Gal. 1:17-18), he was sent out to begin his work among the Gentiles directly by the Holy Spirit, whose divine appointment was acknowledged by the leaders of the church at Antioch (Acts 13:2-3). Paul’s authority was not man-given or self-given but God-given, and his right to instruct the Galatians was grounded in that divine prerogative.

Paul certainly had a vastly superior commissioning to any of the false-teaching, self-appointed Judaizers who were confusing the Galatians and trying to set themselves above his authority.

MacArthur, John F (1987-11-08). Galatians MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Macarthur New Testament Commentary Series) (Kindle Locations 256-259). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

who raised him from the dead— 2and all the brothers and sisters with me,

Galatians MacArthur New Testament Commentary - A basis of Paul’s authority is implied by his referring to companions with him at the time of writing as brethren, in contrast to his own identification as apostle. Liberal Bible scholars and theologians maintain that the apostles were no more significant or inspired than other human witnesses of Jesus Christ who happened to live at the same time He ministered on earth. What they taught and wrote was based on their own human insight and understanding and was not divinely authoritative or binding on other believers, either of their own day or of later ages. Every believer has his own experiences of what is often called “the Christ event.” Roman Catholic dogma maintains that the church wrote the Bible and is therefore a higher authority than the Bible. The church can therefore add to or modify Scripture as it sees fit, and its ecclesiastical pronouncements are held to have the same spiritual and moral authority as Scripture—even when they clearly contradict scriptural teaching. Paul would have argued against both of those views with every breath in his body. If he and the other apostles of the New Testament were not divinely inspired in a unique and authoritative way, they were the most presumptuous of men, because they boldly and unequivocally claimed to speak and write in God’s name. As apostles they spoke to the church, not on behalf of the church. The church derived its doctrine from the apostles, who received it directly from God (Eph. 3:5). They are never spoken of as apostles of the church but always as apostles of Jesus Christ. Jesus told the Twelve, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me” (John 13:20). A short while later He said to them, “These things I have spoken to you, while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” (14:25-26). Because the apostles’ teaching came directly from the Lord, the writings of Paul, Peter, John, and the others are every much as divinely inspired and authoritative as the words that Jesus spoke in person during His earthly ministry. It is for that reason that red letter Bibles may be misleading, because they suggest that the words Jesus spoke during His three-year earthly ministry are in some way more inspired and precious than other parts of Scripture. As Paul made clear to Timothy, however, “All Scripture is inspired by God” (2 Tim. 3:16), who is the Author of its every word, whether through the prophets, the Lord Jesus Christ, or the apostles. Because the Bible is God’s own Word, to be subject to God is to be subject to the Bible. It is not an amalgam of human opinion but the repository of divine truth.

To the churches in Galatia: 3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

This is Paul’s familiar greeting, drawing from the traditional greetings in both Greek (grace) and Jewish (peace) cultures. Paul uses the exact phrase of verse three five other times in the New Testament.

i. “Grace is always first, peace always second. This is due to the fact that grace is the source of peace. Without grace there is and can be no peace, but when grace is ours, peace must of necessity follow.” (Lenski in his commentary on 1 Corinthians)

ii. Paul uses the word grace 100 times in his writings. Among all the other writers of the New Testament, it is only used 55 times. Paul was truly the apostle of grace.

iii. “These two terms, grace and peace, constitute Christianity.” (Martin Luther)

Chuck Smith - The Greek word grace is a word that in its base meaning is beauty, charm. It has come to mean unmerited favor. And that is its theological kind of a definition. But there is always a beauty attached with grace. And it was the typical Greek greeting. Charis. Peace, the typical Jewish greeting, Shalom. Joined together always by Paul in his epistles, "Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ."

MacArthur, John  - Two of the most precious words related to that God-given gospel are grace and peace. The first is the source of salvation and the second is the result. Grace is positional, peace is practical, and together they flow from God our Father through His Son and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Since it offered no grace and provided no peace, the law system being taught by the lying Judaizers is attacked even in this simple greeting. If being right with God and possessing salvation is by works, as those false teachers maintained, then it is not of grace (Rom. 4:4-5) and can bring no peace, since one never knows if he has enough good works to be eternally secure.

MacArthur - The apostle’s frequent mention of God and Father in relation to Jesus Christ throughout the New Testament marks an emphasis that should not be missed. The intent is not for us to understand God as our Father (although that truth is mentioned in 1:4) but the Father in relation to the role He has in the Trinity, particularly His relation to the Son. The intent is to emphasize the significance of the relationship between the first and second members of the Trinity as to essential nature. The title is to express equality of deity between the two, a Father and Son who share the same nature.  It asserts that Jesus Christ is the One who is of the nature of God and that the true God is the One who is the Father of Jesus Christ.

4  who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age,

Chuck Smith - Now in speaking of Jesus Christ, he declares that He "gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world." This world is governed by Satan. Jesus called Satan the prince of this world. And referring to him said, "The prince of this world is coming, and has nothing in me" (John 14:30). When Satan tempted Christ by showing to Him the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, and promised to give them to Jesus, if He would just bow down to Satan, Satan bragged, They are mine and I can give them to whomever I will. Jesus did not dispute that. And because Satan is the god of this world, because it is under his control, being given to him by man, it is a present evil world but the purpose of Jesus Christ is to deliver you, His children, from this present evil world. That is God's will to deliver you from it.

Martin Luther on who gave Himself for our sins: “Let us equip ourselves against the accusations of Satan with this and similar passages of Holy Scripture. If he says, ‘Thou shalt be damned,’ you tell him: ‘No, for I fly to Christ who gave Himself for my sins. In accusing me of being a damnable sinner, you are cutting your own throat, Satan. You are reminding me of God’s fatherly goodness toward me, that He so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. In calling me a sinner, Satan, you really comfort me above measure.’ With such heavenly cunning we are to meet the devil’s craft and put from us the memory of sin.”

i. The particular word for evil denotes someone who is not content in being corrupt themselves; they also must corrupt others, and draw them into their same destruction.

ii. The idea behind the word deliver is not deliverance from the presence of something, but deliverance from the power of something. We will not be delivered from the presence of this present evil age until we go to be with Jesus. But we can be experience deliverance from the power of this present evil age right now.

MacArthur - The heart of the gospel is Christ’s willing sacrifice of Himself for our sins. Salvation is not earned by one’s efforts to eliminate sin, but by one’s trust in God’s promise to forgive sin through the work of Jesus Christ. His atoning death was the most essential part of the divine plan of redemption, without which all of His teachings and miraculous works would have been meaningless and a mockery. Apart from Christ’s sacrificial death, His earthly ministry would have portrayed the power and truth of a great and wonderful God—but a God with whom men could never be reconciled, because they had no way out of their sin. Since no man can eliminate sin by works (Rom. 3:20), it must be forgiven. That is why it was absolutely necessary that “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Pet. 2:24). If Christ had not died on our behalf, He could not have been raised on our behalf; and if He had not been raised, Paul says, then preaching the gospel would be vain, trusting in the gospel would be worthless, and all men would still be in their sins (1 Cor. 15:14-17). The statement who gave Himself for our sins affirms that the purpose of Christ’s coming was to be a sin offering

according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

MacArthur, John  - Specifically, every rescued believer is delivered because of the sovereign, gracious will of God. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13). Salvation is thus removed from the will of man and is buried deep in the sovereign decree of God. 

In these five opening verses of Galatians Paul covers the four stages of man’s salvation. The first stage was the sovereign decree of God to save, the second was the death of Christ for man’s sins, the third was the appointment of apostles to testify to that divine provision, and the fourth was the gift of God’s grace and peace to those who believe in Jesus Christ. In each of the stages the Father and the Son work together, because Their will and Their work are always one (John 5:30; 6:38; 10:30).

John 5:30 - ³⁰ By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

John 6:38 - ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.

John 10:30 - ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

TABLE TALK

1.      John 1:13 -  13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. Wait a minute…God’s idea to save me, and not by my will? Explain

Amen expresses the affirmation fitting the worthiness of God to receive glory for such a wondrous provision of eternal, gracious salvation. Alan Cole writes of this word: “When the old-fashioned Cantonese-speaking Christian says at the end of a prayer shing saw. shoh uen (“with all my heart this is what I wish”) he approaches very nearly the original Hebrew meaning” (The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970], p. 37).

GALATIANS - AN INTRODUCTION

J. Vernon McGee writes:

Paul wrote the book of Galatians on his third missionary trip from Ephesus. It's written to a whole area not a specific church.

The area of Galatia is made up of the People's group called Gauls. They were warlike people of Celtic stock from southern France who came down and invaded into this area South and East of Ephesus.

The Gauls were an interesting people that seem to share a lot of the similar characteristics with America. Caesar had described them as “a fickle people in their resolve, fond of change and not to be trusted “.  Sounds much like America, doesn't it? Another writer characterized them as frank, impetuous, impressible, fond of show, intelligent but extremely inconsistent, the fruit of excessive vanity.  There's a pretty accurate picture of the American people. They wanted to make Paul a God one day and the next they wanted to stone him to death.

This is certainly an epistle directed to a people like us. This book is solemn, stern and severe.  This book does not correct conduct as the Corinthian letters do, but it is corrective. The epistle contains no word of commendation, no word of praise, no word of Thanksgiving. There is no request for prayer, no mention of their standing in Christ and no one with him is mentioned by name. The heart of Paul is laid bare. There is deep emotion. Some say the book of Romans comes from the head of Paul while Galatians comes from the heart of Paul.

This book has been the back bone and the back ground of every spiritual movement and great revival that has come in the past 1900 years.

  

MacArthur New Testament Commentary states

The book of Galatians has been conferred with such titles as the Magna Carta of spiritual liberty, the battle cry of the Reformation, and the Christian’s declaration of independence. It is clearly the Holy Spirit’s charter of spiritual freedom for those who have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Many church historians maintain that the foundation of the Reformation was laid with the writing of Martin Luther’s commentary on Galatians. The great German Reformer said, “The epistle to the Galatians is my epistle. To it I am, as it were, in wedlock. Galatians is my Katherine [the name of his wife].” It was out of his careful and submissive study of Scripture, especially the book of Galatians, that Luther discovered God’s plan of salvation by grace working through faith, a plan unalterably contrary to the thousand-year-old Roman Catholic teaching of salvation by works.   

Merrill C. Tenney wrote of Galatians: “Christianity might have been just one more Jewish sect, and the thought of the Western world might have been entirely pagan had it never been written. Galatians embodies the germinal teaching on Christian freedom which separated Christianity from Judaism, and which launched it upon a career of missionary conquest. It was the cornerstone of the Protestant Reformation, because its teaching of salvation by grace alone became the dominant theme of the preaching of the Reformers.” (Galatians [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1957], p. 15.) The message of Galatians is the message of the Christian’s spiritual freedom, his deliverance by Christ from the bondage of sin and religious legalism. Its message is particularly relevant in our own day, as personal freedom has become the dominant emphasis of countless philosophies both within and without Christendom. Perhaps because Paul was so intensely concerned about the matter of gracious salvation in Christ and about the violent attacks on the gospel being made by the Judaizers, Galatians is the only one of his epistles that gives no word of commendation to its readers. After a brief salutation, the apostle immediately states the problem that prompted the letter: “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you, and want to distort the gospel of Christ” (1:6-7). From that point until the closing benediction (6:18) the letter is a flashing sword wielded by a burning heart. At first thought it seems strange that Paul would have words of commendation for the worldly, divisive, immoral, and immature Corinthian believers and yet have none for the saints of Galatia. To the Corinthians he wrote, “I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:4-7). But for the churches of Galatia the apostle had no such praise. The difference was that, as bad as the Corinthian situation was, the major problem there (with the notable exception regarding resurrection; see 1 Cor. 15) did not pertain so much to right doctrine as to right living. In the Galatian churches, on the other hand, the very heart of the gospel was being undermined by false teachers. The gospel of grace was being trampled, and in its place was being offered the gospel of works, which is no gospel at all but a distortion of God’s truth (Gal. 1:6-7) that leads to damnation rather than salvation (Rom. 3:20). Galatians is not a detached theological treatise but a deeply personal letter written from the grieving heart of a godly man for his spiritual children, whose faith and living were being undermined by false teachers. His heart cry to the Galatian believers was, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1).

DOCTRINAL EMPHASIS

Paul had special concern for the believers of Galatia and was gravely distressed about the doctrinal dangers that threatened them. The Jewish leaders who stoned Paul at Lystra no doubt continued to intimidate and persecute Jewish converts in Galatia. They were implacable enemies of the gospel and were used by Satan to sow confusion and discord in those and many other infant churches.

An even greater danger, however, were Jews who had made a superficial profession of Christ but turned back to Judaism and sought to make Christianity an extension of their traditional system of works righteousness. Like the false teachers about whom Paul warned the Ephesian elders, the Judaizers arose from within the church itself, “speaking perverse things” and trying “to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:30). The Judaizers were causing great confusion in the churches and were seriously distorting “the gospel of Christ” (Gal. 1:8). They taught that Gentiles must become Jews by circumcision before they could become Christians and that all Christians, Jewish and Gentile alike, were righteous before God only if they remained bound under the Mosaic laws, regulations, and ceremonies (see 2:3-5,11-14; 3:3-5; 4:8-11, 21-31; 5:1-4; 6:12-13). This danger had probably threatened the churches even while Paul was in Galatia, and it doubtlessly intensified after he left. “As we have said before, so I say again now,” the apostle reminded believers there, “if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:9; cf. w 6-8). In addition to teaching the necessity of being circumcised and of keeping the Mosaic law, the false teachers also attacked Paul personally, seeking to undercut his authority and thereby his doctrine. Consequently, he was careful to reaffirm his apostolic credentials. He begins the letter by referring to himself as “an apostle (not sent from men, nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father)” (1:1). Throughout the first two chapters he continues to affirm his divine authority as an apostle of Jesus Christ, equal in every way to the Twelve, including Peter (see 1:12, 15-17; 2:2, 7-9). The theme of Galatians, and a central theme of the entire New Testament, is that true freedom comes only through Jesus Christ. In this letter Paul deals with spiritual freedom on two fronts. The first front (chaps. 3-4) is that of salvation, through which Christ sets a person free from bondage to sin and the law. As the apostle declares in the book of Romans, “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death” (8:2). Paul’s second front in Galatians (chaps. 5-6) is that of sanctification, the freedom God gives His children to live out lives of faithfulness and genuine righteousness, free from sin’s control and legalistic bondage.

BACKGROUND AND DESTINATION

 The name Galatia is derived from the barbaric Gauls, or Celts, who settled in Asia Minor after several centuries of plundering the Greek and Roman empires. Under Roman rule, the original region of Galatia was made part of a larger province by the same name in central Asia Minor (modern Turkey) that encompassed an area some 250 miles north to south and up to 175 miles from east to west. In Paul’s day the name Galatia was used for the original smaller region as well as the province. On the first missionary journey Paul and Barnabas established four churches in the southern part of the province, in the cities of Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe (Acts 13:14-14:23), and those churches apparently came to form something of a regional body of believers. The Galatian epistle itself does not identify the specific local churches, but they were churches in which Paul had personally ministered (4:13-15). The fact that the book of Acts mentions the four churches established by Paul in south Galatia and mentions none in the rest of the province makes it probable that the epistle was addressed primarily to those southern churches. While in Galatia, Paul nearly lost his life, having been stoned and left for dead by antagonistic Jewish leaders who followed him from Antioch and Iconium to Lystra (Acts 14:19-20). After establishing a church in Derbe, Paul and Barnabas revisited the other three cities, “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith” (14:22). On his second journey Paul visited the Galatian churches with Silas, “delivering the decrees, which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe. So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily” (Acts 16:1-5).

THE AUTHOR

 Paul, whose original name was Saul, was a native of Tarsus, a city in southeast Asia Minor not far from southern Galatia. He was raised in a strict Jewish family and was steeped in traditional Jewish legalism. He had been educated under the famous rabbi Gamaliel and carefully trained in Jewish law (Acts 22:3). He was “circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless” (Phil. 3:5-6). Before his conversion he “was advancing in Judaism beyond many of [his] contemporaries among [his] countrymen, being more extremely zealous for [his] ancestral traditions” (Gal. 1:14). Despite his strong legalism and traditionalism, Saul does not appear to have been a religious hypocrite, as were so many other Pharisees. He was spiritually blind and was an enemy of God and His people; but he was not hypocritical. He sincerely believed and adhered to traditional Judaism as God’s way of life for His chosen people. Like many other Jews of his day, Paul truly loved the traditional law and sincerely sought to keep every commandment, to observe every ceremony, and to offer every sacrifice that the covenant of Moses required. He was a legalist of the strictest kind, but he was honestly trying to please God by obeying what he thought was God’s will and does not seem to have been trying to impress others with his religiousness. Defending himself before the Sanhedrin, the apostle declared, “Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day” (Acts 23:1). Although by that time Paul had been a Christian for many years, the context suggests that his statement about having a good conscience before God included his life before conversion. When he persecuted Christians, causing many of them to be imprisoned and put to death (Acts 22:4-5; 26:10-11), he doubtlessly did so with the sincere conviction he was doing God’s will (see Acts 22:3). Although he “was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor,” he nevertheless was “shown mercy, because [he] acted ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Tim. 1:13). Long before Saul of Tarsus became a zealous and dedicated legalist God “had set [him] apart even from [his] mother’s womb, and called [him] through His grace” (Gal. 1:15). The apostle spoke of legalism from firsthand experience, and he also spoke of grace from firsthand experience as well as from firsthand revelation. More than any other apostle he understood the bondage of the law and the freedom of grace.                                                                                                       MacArthur, John F (1987-11-08). Galatians MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Macarthur New Testament Commentary Serie) (Kindle Locations 178-189). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Martin Luther wrote:

The world bears the Gospel a grudge because the Gospel condemns the religious wisdom of the world. Jealous for its own religious views, the world in turn charges the Gospel with being a subversive and licentious doctrine, offensive to God and man, a doctrine to be persecuted as the worst plague on earth.

As a result we have this paradoxical situation: The Gospel supplies the world with the salvation of Jesus Christ, peace of conscience, and every blessing. Just for that the world abhors the Gospel.

These Jewish-Christian fanatics who pushed themselves into the Galatian churches after Paul's departure, boasted that they were the descendants of Abraham, true ministers of Christ, having been trained by the apostles themselves, that they were able to perform miracles.

In every way they sought to undermine the authority of St. Paul. They said to the Galatians: "You have no right to think highly of Paul. He was the last to turn to Christ. But we have seen Christ. We heard Him preach. Paul came later and is beneath us. It is possible for us to be in error--we who have received the Holy Ghost? Paul stands alone. He has not seen Christ, nor has he had much contact with the other apostles. Indeed, he persecuted the Church of Christ for a long time."

When men claiming such credentials come along, they deceive not only the naive, but also those who seemingly are well-established in the faith. This same argument is used by the papacy. "Do you suppose that God for the sake of a few Lutheran heretics would disown His entire Church? Or do you suppose that God would have left His Church floundering in error all these centuries?" The Galatians were taken in by such arguments with the result that Paul's authority and doctrine were drawn in question.

Against these boasting, false apostles, Paul boldly defends his apostolic authority and ministry. Humble man that he was, he will not now take a back seat. He reminds them of the time when he opposed Peter to his face and reproved the chief of the apostles.

Paul devotes the first two chapters to a defense of his office and his Gospel, affirming that he received it, not from men, but from the Lord Jesus Christ by special revelation, and that if he or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel than the one he had preached, he shall be accursed.

TABLE TALK

1.   DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN/WHERE YOU FIRST HEARD THE GOSPEL?  DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT YOU THOUGHT?

2.   CAN YOU COMPLETELY AND HONESTLY SAY YOU FEEL SAVED BY GRACE AND NOT BY WORKS?  DO YOU FEEL COMPLELLED TO DO WORKS?

3.   WHAT MOVES YOU TO WORKS?  EXPLAIN