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Galatians 1:1-3:29
v. 11-14 Paul assures his readers that the gospel is not something he made up. He received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. Keep in mind that Paul was not one of the original twelve apostles. He was a Pharisee who persecuted the early church and was on his way to arrest more Christians when he had a dramatic conversion experience. Paul says it was not the apostles who taught him the gospel, but the Lord Jesus Christ.
v. 15-24 God set Paul apart from birth, called him into His grace, and "revealed His Son" in him so that he could then preach the good news to the Gentiles. Paul didn't go see the apostles in Jerusalem until three years after his conversion. When he finally did go see them he stayed with Peter a mere 15 days. The only other apostle he met was James. Paul was personally unknown to the churches near Jerusalem. They'd only heard about the way he used to persecute believers and that now he was one of them. They praised God because of his conversion. Paul's point is that he did not receive the gospel from any man. He received it from God. Paul did not follow men, he followed God.
2:1-5 Paul continues with his personal story by saying that 14 years later he went to Jerusalem again to see Peter. He went because of a revelation from the Lord. Barnabas and Titus went with him. Paul met with the leaders and told them about the gospel he was preaching among the Gentiles. His gospel to the Gentiles did not require them to be circumcised in order to become Christians. This whole issue of circumcision came up because some "false brothers" (men who seemed to be believers but were not) decided to sneak into the churches to "spy on" their freedom in Christ. (That is, their freedom from the requirements of the Law of Moses.) Paul claims these false brothers intended to "make us slaves." But Paul did not give in to them. He held to the true gospel.
v. 6 Paul is not impressed with men who seem to be important in the eyes of other men. He knows that God looks well beyond external appearances and sees the hearts of everyone. The apostles in Jerusalem added nothing to Paul's message, meaning that he and they were preaching the same gospel. This is remarkable because Paul was so far removed from Jerusalem for more than 15 years and yet he received the same gospel as the original apostles. This helps confirm that it is the true gospel.
v. 7-10 It was clear to the Christian leaders in Jerusalem that God had given Paul the ministry of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles and Peter the ministry of preaching that same gospel to the Jews. They could see the hand of God working in both men's ministries. James, Peter, and John, who were leaders in the Jerusalem church, welcomed Paul and Barnabas as fellow workers in spreading the gospel. The only thing the apostles asked was that Paul would help the poor, which he was already doing.
v. 11-16 Paul confronted Peter in Antioch when Peter began to distance himself from the Gentile believers. Though he once used to eat with them (Jews did not typically dine with Gentiles) Peter stopped doing so when "certain men came from James." Paul says Peter was afraid of these men who were from the circumcision group. Not only Peter, but also the other Jewish-Christian converts and even Barnabas "joined him in his hypocrisy." Paul knew this was "not in line with the truth of the gospel." He accused Peter of hypocrisy and publicly challenged his behavior. He told Peter that the Jews know that no one is justified by observing the law of Moses but rather by faith in Christ. That's why these Jewish men had put their faith in Christ in the first place. They knew the law could not save them.
v. 17-21 Trusting in Christ does not mean they will never sin again. But because they are "in Christ" and no longer under the law it means that the law will not condemn them for their sins. "I died to the law so that I might live for God." Paul claims he has been crucified with Christ. The life he now lives in the body he lives by faith, not by the works of the law. Christ "gave Himself" for Paul because He loves him. Paul is unwilling to "set aside" God's grace in order to cling to a law that will ultimately condemn him. There is no room for compromise in this matter.
3:1-5 The Galatians have been "bewitched" or deceived. When they first became believers they accepted that Christ had been crucified for their sins. But now they were turning to the law because they thought it would somehow make them righteous. Paul asks them whether they received the Holy Spirit by believing what they heard about Christ or by observing the law. Of course their answer would have to be they received the Spirit by their faith in Christ. So after they have started their Christian life with the Spirit were they now going to try using the law to reach their goal of eternal life? Paul calls them foolish for thinking this way. Did God give them the Spirit and work miracles for them while they were under the law? No. God gave the Galatian believers these blessings after they had faith in Christ.
v. 6-9 Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. It was not Abraham's works, nor was it observance of the law, that made him righteous. "Those who believe are children of Abraham," that is, those who believe in Christ are righteous just like Abraham was. That's why Abraham was told long ago that all nations, even Gentiles, would be blessed through him. Those who have faith receive this blessing, not those who observe the law.
v. 10-12 In fact those who rely on the law to make themselves righteous are actually under a curse! Paul quotes a passage that would have been familiar to them, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law" (Deut. 27:6). No one is justified (made righteous in God's sight) by observing the law. "The righteous will live by faith" (Hab. 2:4). The law is not based on faith.
v. 13 Now here's a critical point! Remember Paul said everyone who is under the law is under a curse. They are under God's curse, not a man's curse, because they have not continued "to do everything written in the Book of the Law." This curse is real. It's not just an expression Paul uses to frighten them. There really is a curse. This is very bad news for people. But the curse can be broken.
v. 13-14 "Christ redeemed us (Paul and the believers) from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us." How do we know He "became" a curse? Because He died on a tree!
What does dying on a tree have to do with a curse? The Jews in Paul's audience would have known that in the law of Moses God commanded the Israelites to execute people for certain serious offenses. The person's body was hung on a tree to signify that the offender was under God's curse. The dead body was not to be left on the tree overnight. Deut. 21:22-23 says, "If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse."
Jesus died on a tree (crucifixion on a wooden cross) signifying that He was under God's curse. Jesus redeemed those who have faith in Him because He "became a curse for us." Christ became a curse and redeemed people so that the blessing God promised to Abraham would be passed on to those who have faith like Abraham did.
v. 15-17 Paul uses a familiar example from everyday life; the making of a will. No one "can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established." Once a will is in place its terms are set. The same is true of the covenants made by God. God made promises to Abraham and to his seed (Abraham's heir). Paul makes a special point here that the promises were to be passed on to only one "seed" not to many people or "seeds." This is important because Paul identifies that one "seed" as Jesus Christ.
In other words, the promises God made to Abraham are passed down to Jesus. He is the heir of those promises. The Law of Moses that came 430 years later does not "set aside" the covenant God originally made with Abraham. The law does not "do away with the promise."
430 years Jesus Christ believers
Abraham -------- Law of Moses ------ Abraham's Seed -- Galatians
promise law faith
v. 18 The inheritance must depend on either the law or the promise, it cannot depend on both. Paul states that God gave this inheritance to Abraham through a promise (not through a law).
v. 19-20 If the inheritance could not come through the law then why did God bother giving them the law? "It was added because of transgressions" (sins), but only temporarily. The law was added only "until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come." The mediator of the law was Moses. He could represent the people to God but he could not adequately represent both parties because he was not God. When Jesus came He could serve as a better mediator because He was both human and divine, therefore, He could represent both parties. God is one.
v. 21-24 Paul asks an important question and then answers it. "Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not!" The Law of Moses does not stand against the promises God made to Abraham. If the law could have made people righteous then Jesus would not have needed to come and die to take away sin. "The whole world is a prisoner of sin." But that which was promised to Abraham can now be given through faith in Christ to all who believe. Before faith came they had been "held prisoner by the law." But this was only to last until faith was revealed. The Law of Moses was meant to lead them to faith in Christ. They would then be justified by that faith in Christ.
v. 25 Since faith had already come to these believers Paul says they "are no longer under the supervision of the law." This is a pretty shocking statement coming from a former Pharisee! It's no wonder that many Jews of his day wanted to kill him.
v. 26-29 Paul calls the believers "sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ." It is significant that they have become sons through faith and not through observing the law. By being baptized into Christ they have "clothed themselves with Christ." This has a profoundly unifying effect on them all. So much so, that there is no longer any real distinction between them anymore. It no longer matters if they are Jew/Greek, slave/free, male/female, because now they are all one in Christ. Furthermore, if they are in Christ then they are also counted as Abraham's seed and will share in the inheritance God promised to Abraham.
Much more next time.
--Sandy Blank
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