GETTING THE GOSPEL RIGHT: Galatians, Part 1
The Gospel
and the Glory of God - Galatians 1:1-5
Introduction: You’ve heard the story of a son who asked his
father for his inheritance, and then went out spent it all on wild living. Soon,
the only work he could get was to feed pigs—the last thing a Jewish boy would
want to do. After a while, when he is so hungry that the pig-slop starts to look good, the prodigal son comes to his senses and returns
home, planning to beg his father’s forgiveness. He even rehearses his speech on
the way: “I have sinned against heaven and against you, I am not worthy to
be your son, can I be servant in your house?” You know the story, he
receives a reception that he never imagined! The father runs to him and
embraces him, he puts a robe on his back, sandals on his feet, a ring on his finger,
and throws a party celebrating his return! There is another son in that story,
an elder son, who hears the celebration and is angry… “You never threw a
party for me and my friends, and I’ve worked hard, serving you faithfully, not
like that son of yours!”
Max Lucado imagined how that
story might have continued… The older brother was just waiting for his brother
to stumble, and he began to taunt him: “If you don’t keep that robe spotless, father
will reject you.” Or, “If you forget to tie those sandals, Father will know you
don’t appreciate him and he’ll take them away.” The taunts were relentless, and
soon the younger son, when he hears his father coming, notices a smudge on his
robe, and so he hides himself. Then his sandals look dusty, so he ignores the
father's calls… Was he wearing that ring the father gave him on the right finger?
He wasn’t sure anymore. Soon he thinks, “It’s hopeless, I’m heading back to the
pigpen!” Lucado says, we have that sequel in the Bible… it is the Letter to the
Galatians. False teachers were starting to convince some among the Galatians
that grace was not enough, that somehow, to maintain our standing with the
Father, we need to add our good works.
Galatians is a letter that was
written to a group of churches which were experiencing an attack on the message
that the Apostle Paul had preached to them: The Good News that Jesus, by His
substitutionary death, provided the forensic basis for sinners to be reconciled
to holy God, and that He rose from the dead proving that He had done it. That
is the good news that God was, in Christ, reconciling sinners to Himself, and
that because of Him, by grace through faith, we can be forgiven and have peace
with God. God is glorified as humans, by His grace, recognize their need and
receive forgiveness through faith in Christ and His finished work. Implicit in the “good news” however, is
some bad news that people often don’t like to hear: apart from Christ we are
sinners deserving judgement, and we cannot save ourselves. It is that message that is the foundation of
the Christian life: Grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Plus
nothing! Today we start a study of Paul’s letter to the Galatians and I hope
you’ll read through, and study with us, and then consider your response to this
book. Reading through the letter,
beginning to end, is a good way to hear its message.
The Scottish pastor, P.T. Forsythe, captured
the message of this letter when he said, "The secret of the Lord is with those who have been broken by his cross
and healed by his Spirit." Galatians is about these two things: the
cross of Christ as the only way a person can get right with God, and the Spirit
of Christ as the only way a person can truly obey God. Jesus has provided
the basis for our reconciliation, and the Spirit provides the power for our
sanctification. Anything that adds to or detracts from the all-sufficiency of
what happened on the cross of Christ is heresy to Paul, “let him be accursed!” That language is as strong as it gets!
According to
Paul, anything that puts human will or effort in place of conscious dependence on God and the finished
work of Christ is no gospel at all! The reason we see such strong language and
emotion in this letter is because that is exactly what seems to be happening
among the churches of Galatia. Some false teachers had been undercutting the
message of the Gospel of Grace, and had begun to lead the people to put human
effort where dependence on the Spirit belonged, and the works of Law where
faith in the cross belonged. Remember the “Solas”
of the Protestant Reformation: Grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone! Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to His
cross I cling! That is Good News, and it is a message worth sharing!
What’s
the big idea? God is glorified when we faithfully share
the Gospel of His Grace!
I. Our Ministry: We
are not apostles, but like Paul, we are under the authority of the Word of
Christ, and we have authority as God’s spokesmen, to bring His message to the
world (1:1-2). The first 2 verses talk about the nature and source of Paul’s
authority…
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…
“Paul,
an apostle…” Paul uses various terms to describe himself and his ministry
in his letters. He is a slave, a
steward, a workman, a servant. As in several of his letters, at the outset of Galatians,
he specifically evokes the title apostolos,
that is, Apostle. The word has the root meaning, “sent one.” More
specifically, in first century usage it referred to “one sent on a mission as
an authorized representative.” In the near-eastern context, the parallel Hebrew
term shaliach had taken on a specific
sense of someone commissioned by the sender, sent with his authority, as His
authorized representative, something akin to the idea of “power of attorney.” He
was to speak for and to be received as the sender. Therefore, in the
cultural context the use of this term apotolos; or its Hebrew equivalent,
shaliach, speaks of an
authorized representative, essentially an ambassador, The one sent spoke for,
and with the authority of, the One who sent him (Mt 10:40; I Thess 2:13). In the technical sense in the NT this refers
to the 11 disciples after the resurrection and to Paul, who encountered the risen
Christ on the road to Damascus and received a direct, personal commission from
him.
Later Paul described the church as a
building set on the foundation of the
apostles and prophets (Eph 2:20). A foundation is laid once, and on it the
building is constructed. The apostles had a unique, foundational
ministry. We don’t have apostles in the
technical sense today, who speak with the infallible authority of Christ. Even
so, there is a sense in which we too are sent, each of us, and we’re authorized
to bring the message of His grace to the world.
After identifying himself as an apostle,
Paul then asserts negatively where his authority does not come from:
this is unique to this letter and so demands our attention. Paul wanted to make
it clear that his apostolic authority was not derived from any human or any
group of people. He said it came, “…not
from men…” Some apparently were charging
that since Paul was not one of the original 12, his ministry was secondary or
inferior, he wasn’t a “true” apostle. We
see in Acts that the church in Antioch did send him out, but under orders from
the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:2) and in fulfillment of the word of Jesus.
“…nor
through a man…” Some may have
charged that since Paul had his Damascus road experience it was still necessary
for Ananias to come to him, his apostleship was in some sense mediated by
humans (and so inferior) [see Acts 9:15,16]. We’ll look more at this question as
we work through the letter in the coming weeks. Note here what Paul says: his
apostleship was directly conferred by Jesus himself. This is the positive statement of the source
of Paul’s apostolic authority: “…BUT,
through Jesus Christ and God the Father…” God in His power and glory, God who raised
Jesus from the dead, whose power and grace made salvation available to men, this
God, the God who is, had sent Paul as His ambassador.
One implication of this truth is that every
Word of Scripture must be carefully studied in its context, the meaning and
intention of the author understood, and obeyed. Paul claimed to be bringing
the very Word of God. We need to
remind ourselves as we read this letter that “All Scripture is inspired by God [God-breathed]… and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for training in righteousness…..” We need to receive
every Word of the Bible, including Galatians, for what it is: the very Word of
God, written. God has spoken! We must take Him at His Word.
The apostles were unique, bringing and
writing the Word of Christ under the inspiration of the Spirit. They had a
foundational role in the church as God was working in them and through them
(notice Paul distinguishes himself from “all
the brothers” in v.2. In this letter, none of his companions are named in the
greeting. His intention is clear, there should be no confusion: he was writing
with his full apostolic authority!). We are not apostles, but we do have the
Word of God written. In a sense we are in a better position than Paul, since we
have the entire Bible! And God in His Word gives us authority to bring His
message to the world (Acts 1:8; Mt 28:18ff). In fact, He has entrusted us with
the truth! Remember the Big Idea: God is glorified when we faithfully share
the Gospel of His Grace! So we see 1) Our ministry, as his spokesmen,
and…
II. Our Message: We have been entrusted with the message of His grace (1:3-4). We see the substance of Paul’s message in
these verses, focused on the person and work of Christ.
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…
Already in the expanded greeting we have
a prelude to the Gospel. “Peace,” would have been a standard Jewish
greeting in Paul’s day, as it is among Jews to this day, “Shalom.” Paul typically expands that by starting with the phrase, “…grace to you…” A key idea in Paul’s
theology, this word became part of a Christian greeting that became widely used
in the early church. In the Greco-Roman context letters usually started with the
word chairein, which originally meant something like “rejoice,” but by
this time essentially was equivalent to “greetings” or “hello.” Paul uses a
similar sounding word, Grace, charis,
which in his letters refers to “God’s
unmerited favor…” One commentator said, “This is grace—God’s love expressed in Jesus Christ. This love gives and suffers and finally
conquers and delivers.” Greater love has no one than this, that He
lay down his life for his friends. The acrostic G.R.A.C.E. can be
helpful: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Ephesians
2:8,9 expresses the idea, “For by grace
you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the [free]
gift of God…” Paul’s greeting always
continues, “grace” and…
“…peace…” Not simply an absence of conflict but a state
of life enjoyed by those who have experienced God’s grace. In fact, peace is
often ours in the midst of conflict and trouble! It’s a peace that is independent of outward
circumstances, “peace that passes understanding.”
We see in verse 3 the One who is the subject
of the Gospel. As an ambassador of Christ, Paul is bringing greetings in Jesus’
name. In other words, he knows that he is bringing God’s Word. The full title is used “Lord Jesus Christ.” 1) The title “Lord” in the New Testament (NT) is
more than just “sir” or even “master” when it is applied, post-resurrection, to
Jesus. It is the word mostly commonly used in the Bible to translate “Yahweh,” or
“Jehovah.” He is master, what’s more, He
is God! 2) He is the Lord Jesus, His
name meaning “Savior.” He is God our Savior, the Son of God who came into this
world to suffer and die for our sins. 3)
He is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ is a title that means “anointed one.” The Scriptures predicted a
coming savior, a deliverer and king. Jesus
fulfilled those prophecies made centuries before. This Jesus is the central figure of the
entire Bible: the OT looked ahead to his coming, the Gospels and Acts show the
outworking of God’s plan, and the epistles look back on the facts of the Gospel
and reflect on the implications for how we should then live. Sidlow Baxter said,
"Fundamentally, our Lord’s
message was Himself. He did not come merely to preach a Gospel; He himself is
that Gospel. He did not come merely to give bread; He said, "I am the
bread." He did not come merely to shed light; He said, "I am the
light." He did not come merely to show the door; He said, "I am the
door." ...He did not come merely to point the way; He said, "I am the
way, the truth, and the life."
Getting
the Gospel right has to have as its foundation knowing the One, correctly, as
He is, who is the subject of the Gospel! That was one of the
questions Luke and the other gospel writers took pains to flesh out for us: Who is Jesus? Answer: Messiah, Savior,
and Son of God, in the full, correct, Biblical sense of those titles!
The
descriptors that Paul uses of the work of Jesus get at the substance of the
Gospel (v.4). Read carefully the concise description of the redemptive work of
Jesus Christ:
1) His work is substitutionary – “…he gave himself for our sins…” The
same preposition is used in John 11:50. There Caiaphas said more than he knew,
“…it is better for you that one man die for
the people than that the whole nation perish." He died to rescue a
people for Himself. Our sins made the cross necessary - Jesus took our
punishment (cf. I Pet 2:24).
2) His work was necessary – Why
did he do it? “…that he might deliver us out of this present evil age…”
i.e., “…take us out for himself” (cf.
Acts 7:10,34). He paid the price to rescue us, and set us free! Free from what?
Slavery to sin and Satan. John said in I John 5:19, “the whole world lies in
the power of the evil one.”
3) “…according
to the will of our God and Father…”
The reason governing this redemption is the sovereign will of God
(4c). There is a mysterious
interrelation between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. God is not obligated to save us, but he wills
to save us. Our rescue is “according to
the will of God our Father.” And so,
as Paul told the Corinthians, “…of Him
you are in Christ Jesus” (I Cor 1:30). Yet we are responsible to call people
to repentance and to implore them to receive the free gift of eternal life
through faith in Christ. So, as Paul said, “we urge people on behalf of
Christ to be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20). That points us to the Big Idea: God is glorified when we faithfully
share the Gospel of His Grace!
III. Our Motive: In
sharing His message we bring glory to God (1:5). Paul’s over-riding motivation in all that he
did was to glorify the Lord. God’s glory should be our motive as well:
…to whom be the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
So we are to live for His glory: As Paul said in I Corinthians
6:19,20…
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the
Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a
price. So, glorify God in your body.
In fact, it means that all that we do, we should do for His
glory: Paul said as much in I Corinthians 10:31-33...
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do
all to the glory of God. 32
Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I try to please
everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many,
that they may be saved.
Paul
speaks a doxology at a transition point in Ephesians, 3:20-21,
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than
all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever...
What
is God saying to me
in this passage? Our ministry, our message, our motive: God
is glorified when we faithfully share the Gospel of His Grace! You too have
been sent by the Creator of the universe to be His ambassador, to share the Good
News, right where you are. As we read
Galatians, Paul will urge us to be sure to get the Gospel right! To God be
the glory!
What would God have me to do in
response to this passage? In the parable of the lost son, perhaps
you can identify with the prodigal. At some point you too saw your bankrupt,
hope-less position, and came to the Father for mercy. And He extended grace.
Sometimes, we can hear voices like the elder brother taunting us, pointing
at a smudge on our robe… “Look what you just did, how can father love you?” Or,
“How much time do you spend reading the Bible and praying? That’s all?! How can
you be a Christian?” We have a word for that. Legalism. Grace is not
earned. It is not deserved. It is God’s unmerited favor. Let your struggles,
or your stumbles, lead you to repentance, confess your sins and He is
faithful and just to forgive… Let it remind you: this is why He came, to
save sinners! I can relate to the prodigal, I am him!
Sadly, I’ve also been the elder son,
have you? Not rejoicing in God’s grace toward others, but instead judging them,
rather than building them up and encouraging them, telling them what they need
to do to be a real Christian? Sometimes we think it’s easier to keep
rules than to walk in the Spirit. Jesus spoke that parable in Luke 15 to the Scribes
and Pharisees, religious people who were ridiculing the fact that Jesus received
sinners.
We have been entrusted with the greatest
good news: God was, in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. As we
explore this letter, may we be led deeper in our understanding of the Gospel. Paul
certainly had a unique calling and ministry as the Apostle to the gentiles. If
you know Christ, you also have a unique calling. You are His ambassador to
that group of people in your sphere of influence: relatives, friends,
neighbors, co-workers. When Jesus delivered the Gadarene demoniac, the freed
man wanted to get in the boat with Jesus and His disciples. Jesus said no, go
to your own people, tell them what God has done for you. That is his word to
us as well. We are His ambassadors, right where we live, and there are
people around us who desperately need Jesus. How will they hear lest someone
tell them? Let’s get the Gospel right, and embrace the mission, to the glory
of God. Let’s point others to the One who is the subject of the Gospel, our
Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, to Him be glory, now and forever. Amen.
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