Galatians, Part 2

Posted by Michael Bunker
editor@lazarusunbound.com

CHAPTER 1

Paul does not hesitate to begin this letter with a salutation that includes a defense of his Apostleship and a direct claim of his own divine appointment to that office. This first chapter will include an introductory defense of himself, along with a quick historical review of his direct and immediate selection by Jesus Christ as an Apostle sent to preach the same gospel he once viciously attacked. It is evident that Paul has a point he wants to make concerning Justification and the necessity of circumcision, but he begins with an able and eager defense of his call to the ministry, to the end that those who troubled the Galatian churches would have their mouths stopped before his sincere and powerful defense of the truth.

Verse 1-5 - Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Paul was not appointed by any man unto the apostleship, not by himself or the other Apostles of God, but by Jesus Christ through His Father, and this by the same awesome power that raised Christ from the dead. It is this same resurrection power that the enemies of Paul attack, and he would have it known that they do not war against him but against the One who sent him to the Church. Paul sends this greeting along with all the saints who are with him, who he intends to be witnesses of his claims along with Christ and His Father. Paul, in his usual way, identifies in his salutation that he is sending his hopes of peace and grace from the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that the Church He had purchased might be delivered from the present evil world. The Greek word “exaireo” here translated as “might deliver us” is a Greek word which means to “separate” or to “pluck out” from among the present evil world. So Paul claims that Christ gave Himself for our sins for the direct purpose of separating us from the evil world around us, and he continues on to say that this separation is “according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

It is not God's purpose that we would be “conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2), but, to the contrary, His will is that we be separated physically from the world, not at some future time in the spiritual realms in heaven, but here we see it is God's will that we be separated “from this present evil world”. It is evident, then, in this book, that God considers the ceremonial and sacrificial laws of Judaism to be part of the “evil world” from which we are to separate. It is no wonder, then, that we see the modern apostate religious world running to embrace evil Judaistic practices which have evidently passed away, while they still erroneously preach that we are to be “in the world, though not of it”.

Verse 6 - I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

Paul is in wonder that the Galatians, among whom he himself first preached the Gospel and spread abroad the great and glorious good news of God's salvation from the dead practices of ritualistic religion, would so soon be removed from the God who had called them into the Grace of Jesus Christ. And it is said here that they who have been so soon removed in their hearts from God were now clinging unto “another gospel” which signifies that it was another of a far different kind and type, wholly different from the Gospel of Grace preached unto them according to the will of God. So we see that there are other gospels calling themselves “christianity”, and that these other gospels are preached by false apostles in order to call professing Christians unto another God altogether, whom we can call another Christ. This validates (and conforms with) the prophecies found in parallel verses in Matthew 24:24 and Mark 13:22, which proclaim that “many Christs” (or anointed ones) and many false prophets will come, and if it were possible, they would deceive even the very elect. So the question that arises here is whether these Galatians are of the elect or not. You will find many false teachers who use these verses in this first chapter to try to prove that true believers may go after a false gospel, and by this they will fall away from Christ and be lost from Him. This does not fit the words used by Paul here at all, and his teaching aligns with the promise of Christ, that all those who are not the very elect will be deceived by false gospels, false prophets and false “christs”.

Verse 7 - Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

After stating that this false gospel was “another gospel”, meaning that it was another of a wholly different type and kind, Paul here says that it is “not another”, meaning that it not just another interpretation or teaching of the same Gospel, but is completely another gospel altogether; and it is through this false gospel that some are attempting to pervert the gospel of Christ.

Now, this perversion of the Gospel is no light thing, but is an attempt to turn souls away from Jesus Christ who wills that the elect of God be separated from this present evil world, and that they not turn again unto the baser things and ceremonial laws of sacrificial Judaism, since these laws (as we read in Hebrews) were not able to make the child of God perfect (Heb. 10:1). In fact it is the turning back to these laws and the subsequent and necessary rejection of Justification by Faith through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross that make up what the Apostle tells us in Hebrews 6:6 is that sin for which the reprobated cannot be brought back to repentance.

Verses 8-9 - But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

Paul commands that the Galatians understand that no man (nor angel, nor any other creature) is permitted to change or alter that Gospel which they received of him during his time with them in that province. This threat is not veiled and goes out to all those who would preach another gospel in opposition to the true Gospel of God. Paul knows that his letters are copied and sent out to the whole known world, and that copies of this letter will be sent to the Churches in Judea and Jerusalem, so that any who would attempt to usurp his authority as an Apostle of God should be warned that there will be no tolerance for Judaizing in the Churches Paul has been sent to oversee. In this we can see that the Gospel Paul had preached in Galatia was both perfect and complete, because he announces anathemas on any creature who would pervert it, add to it, or take away from it in any way. And here we see the Romanist Antichrist religion anathematized many years before they themselves began anathematizing everyone who would not follow them into Apostasy. Paul asserts that there would be no more added to, and nor would there be changes to the perfect Gospel, because he proclaims that the Apostles themselves (including Paul) were not authorized to preach any new or further gospel unto the Church.

Verses 10-12 - For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Paul, anticipating the accusations of enemies both within and without the professing Church, begins to evaluate and explain his own motives. Is he in the profession of conciliating, teaching, and pleasing men? Or is he to be pleasing to God? To whom does Paul owe the ultimate allegiance? Who should he make unhappy by his teaching, men or God? He answers by saying that his duty is to please and serve God, regardless of what men might say. If he became a man-pleaser, he would violate his duty to Jesus Christ and thus would not be the servant of Christ at all. And so it is a simple thing that he should displease men when serving Christ, because the Gospel is not one that men made up, nor did Paul receive this Gospel from men, having not learned it from any man. If the Gospel was from men, then Paul would seek the approbation of man in preaching it, but since he serves only God and not men, he should expect that men will attack him and hate him – just as they have hated God and all his sent prophets. Paul received the gospel by direct revelation from Jesus Christ, and therefore is indebted to Christ alone, and should only serve His divine pleasure and will and not that of men.

Verses 13-19 - For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.

Paul brings back to their remembrance that he had once been a man-pleaser, persecuting the Christians on behalf of the Pharisees Babylonian Judaism. He reminds the people that he had been very zealous in persecuting and wasting the Church of God, and that he had been exceedingly zealous of the traditions of men (which is a great definition of that Babylonian Judaism then practiced by the Jews of Israel), and had neglected the service of God in favor of the service of men. Now, here again we see that this current error in the Galatian Churches is likened unto the coming Antichrist religion of Roman Catholicism, which very heavily leans on the traditions of men while rejecting the Word of God. Who is it that the Antichrist serves, men or God? So, Paul maintains that it is impossible that he would now stoop to serving men, when he had been so gloriously delivered from that evil way, being called by the grace of election and separated in time unto God for His divine purposes. Paul then gives a quick overview of His calling, how being separated for this purpose from the womb, he was eventually called by Jesus Christ who revealed Himself supernaturally to him. “Immediately”, which means “without any intermediate steps”, he did not go to Jerusalem to learn from the Apostles, but separated himself in Damascus to be taught of God. After 3 years of divine revelations and prayer, he did go up to Jerusalem and spent 15 days with Peter. We can be sure that he spent those 15 days validating what he had already been taught with an eyewitness, and relating the divine revelations he had received of Christ concerning the Church. Paul did not go to Peter to receive any new revelation, or to be consecrated to the work for which he had already been divinely ordained, nor was it possible that he could he have received any great new mysteries from Peter in such a short amount of time, but he had gone to Jerusalem, it seems, for reasons that we find in the 9^th Chapter of Acts:

1. He was fleeing the Jews, with whom he had contended with mightily in Damascus, and who now desired to kill him.

2. “he attempted to join himself to the disciples” (Acts 9:26), but they did not believe he was a disciple, and were afraid of him. Not that Paul attempted to join them as one with authority, but it seems he merely wanted to have fellowship with the other believers in Jerusalem but was hindered by their fear of him.

3. When he was presented to the Apostles by Barnabas, who verified his story and his authority as a sent-one from God, they embraced him and accounted him as one of their number. He was then seen going in and out of Jerusalem with the Apostles of God, which was a validation of his acceptance by them (Acts 9:28).

4. He contended against the Grecians, which made enemies of them just as he had made enemies with the Jews, and showed that he spoke with authority even at that time, and that he was not willing to please men, even if it might cost him his life.

So, we can learn from this defense somewhat concerning the accusations that were then being made against Paul by false brethren from Jerusalem. They accused him of being no Apostle at all, or of being a deceived dupe who had merely learned his Gospel from Peter, James and John while in Jerusalem. If these things were true, then the Apostles certainly would not have received him into fellowship, nor would they have validated his Apostleship by “going in and out” with him while he contended mightily against the Greeks in Jerusalem. Just as he had been forced to flee Damascus on account of the Jews, he now is forced to flee Jerusalem on account of the Greeks.

Verses 20-24 - Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not. Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia; And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ: But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in me.

Paul now asserts before God that what he has said is true. Fleeing Jerusalem, we find Paul returning through Syria and Cilicia back to Tarsus his home where he remains for some time before being called to Antioch by Barnabas. Since he was not known in most of the churches of Judea except by reputation as a persecutor, the people now found him to be a great Apostle of the Gospel and glorified God in his conversion and calling.

In the next chapter Paul will begin to relate his further dealings on behalf of the Gospel, and his interactions with the Apostles, so that all mouths will be stopped and the truth of Justification by Faith will be made clear.

Your servant in Christ Jesus,

Michael Bunker

 
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