Thursday, June 21, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Paul the Apostle - Galatians Chapter 1
1Paul, an apostle--not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead-- 2and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: 3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Paul begins his letter to the churches in Galatia by stating the authority by which he has his apostolic calling. He states that he is an apostle, not from men nor through man. When Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, his eyes were opened to the glory of Christ and his life was forever altered. Whereas he once persecuted Christians and sought to devastate the church of Jesus, he now was called to die for Christ. Indeed he did die, but as you can see later in the book of Galatians as well in his other letters, Paul not only died in a physical sense but he also died to his earthly desires in order that he may be set free in Christ. It is a call that we all have from God and one that cannot be taken lightly. To a Christian, death is not death in the way we typically think of it but rather it is life in Christ. It is the way in which God has planned to save us from His wrath and redeem us from the fall.
Paul receives his apostleship not from any man but from Jesus directly. In the early days of Christianity, an apostle was defined as one who was with Jesus in His earthly ministry and then witnessed the resurrection. The twelve disciples that we are familiar with all have that claim. Paul, on the other hand was not there for Jesus’ earthly ministry but rather spent his time doing all that was in his power to destroy this new religion. Paul’s apostleship was being called into question by some. Therefore, he takes the opening of this letter to defend his calling. He states that his apostleship was not received by men or through men but rather through Jesus himself. Just to make his point even stronger Paul explains that his calling was not only from Jesus but from the Father who raised Jesus from the dead. The literal meaning of the word apostle is “one who is sent.” While the other disciples of Christ who had the title of apostle were there for Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, Paul was still sent by Jesus to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles, thus his is rightfully called an apostle.
Paul, therefore, seeks to establish his authority over those to whom the letter is written. It is quite different from the way he normally writes his letters and we will see why later on as we investigate the false preachers who speak of another gospel. What Paul is in effect saying is that his message in this letter, and all other letters, are not his words but rather the words of the living God, sent to him through the Holy Spirit. As is all scripture, the book of Galatians is the divine word of God and should be recognized as such. However, the scriptures to many Christians today exist as a form of self help and good council only when needed. People turn to the scriptures when they are hurting or, often times, when they need a good defense argument for their standpoint. In doing this, the scriptures lose their true meaning to many Christians. We must not see the Bible as a good book filled with stories and great teachings but rather as the authoritative Word of God sent from heaven and written with the authority of the Holy Spirit. Not one word of the Bible is haphazardly placed in there but rather is put there to tell the story of Jesus’ redemption of sin and death. It is indeed one long story made up of several smaller stories that all combine to attest to the true nature of God and his love for his fallen children. The whole book is about Jesus: His coming, His life, His death, His sacrifice, His resurrection, His redemption, His glory. If you are a Christian, you are blessed to have such an amazing collection of books that help to explain the basics of the Christian faith and seek to speak to you through its words. The scriptures are the Words of God. So many people wish that they could hear an audible voice from God counseling them on what path to take and what direction to head. He has done that, he does that for everyone who opens the Bible.
In today’s world of quick fixes and fast remedies, we have lost the appeal to actually open the book and read what it says. We’d rather hear it from someone else or have a cliff notes version that explains the overall meaning of the book. You cannot expect to hear from God if you do not open the book. Mark Driscoll, in one of his sermons on Nehemiah 8 points out that when Ezra began to preach to the crowd in Jerusalem, he opened the book. (The book at that time was the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible.) You cannot really expect to hear from God unless the Word is read. Scripture is necessary to the Christian life. Without it, a Christian loses the true meaning of the Gospel and sets himself up for a wandering away from God. The lack of Biblical literacy in today’s world is astounding. To be a Christian means to live in Christ and to live in Christ in everyday life means to read and submit to scripture. Faithfulness and life cannot come from any other source than through the inspired Word of God that we in this country are so blessed to have so readily available. Scripture is the way in which God can speak to us and the way in which we can hear from God. It was given to us as a free gift just as Jesus was. A gift from a loving and living God so that we may hear of his love for us and his calling to us.
6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- 7not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. 10For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Here we see Paul defending his Gospel, the Gospel that was revealed to him by Jesus Himself. In today’s world the modern church struggles with different voices from different directions, many of which promoting a false Gospel. You can turn on the TV and watch televangelists pervert the Gospel. Here Paul is heartbroken that after only a short time from hearing the true Gospel, the people of the churches in Galatia have turned their ears to a different gospel. That different gospel is not revealed in this passage but it does not matter. The Gospel has been distorted and there is little being done to prevent this. The true meaning of the Gospel is hard to hear for many. It tells of a justification through faith that whoever believes in Christ will live and whoever does not will die. It takes you out of the picture and in your place puts the sacrificed Jesus. Jesus hung on a tree to redeem our lives from the pits of Hell. The Gospel is the story of God’s love for us and his plan to redeem us from sin and death. The wages for sin is death. There are no good works large enough to get you into Heaven and there are no words strong enough to convince God to let you in. Therefore, the Gospel is a scandalous thing. It takes you out of control and puts God in ultimate control.
Herein, is the reason for a false gospel. Religion can create a false gospel that bases salvation on a set of rules or a following of someone’s views other than Jesus’. A false gospel is one in which someone takes the basics of the true Gospel and twists and tweaks them here and there to create something that gets away from the Gospel of justification by faith through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to redeem mankind from sin and justice.
Paul goes on to state that no matter who tells you a gospel separate from the true Gospel is seeking to steer you off course and is cursed by God. If an angel comes to proclaim a new Gospel, he too is cursed by God and telling a lie. This angel is therefore a demon and will spend his eternity in Hell.
Paul points out that he is not seeking the approval of men but only the approval of God. To please men is to deny serving Christ. This is a big struggle for most people. The need to be accepted is one that is very strong in the hearts of many. In that, we find ourselves wanting to please others through our words and actions. Some spend their whole lives in despair because they can’t seem to please everyone at the same time. Indeed it is impossible to do so. But, if we, like Paul, choose to serve Christ alone, we will be able to look to one person rather than a multitude and seek to please that One. As John Piper says in his commentary on this passage,
“The most thrilling implication of verse 10 for me personally is this: The absoluteness of Christ's lordship is gloriously liberating. It frees me from having to worry about pleasing one person here and another person there. It brings unity and integrity to my life. When you live to please only one person, everything you do is integrated because it relates to that one person. Shall I go to this movie? Read this book? Make this purchase? Take this job? Go out on this date? Marry this person? What a freeing thing it is to know that there is one person who is to be pleased in every decision of life—Jesus. Sometimes pleasing him will please others. Sometimes it won't, and that will hurt. But the deep joy of a single-minded life is worth it all.”
Indeed to seek to please Christ is the only way in which we can, at the end of the day, know that we have been faithful in our efforts. If we continually seek to please Christ in all the we do both privately and publically, personally and corporately, we can find a satisfaction in our lives. Here again comes the vital importance of scripture, for how will we know how to please Christ if we are not constantly embedded in the Word? How can our lives take the form of discipleship without opening the book?
11For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. 12For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. 18Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother. 20(In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) 21Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23They only were hearing it said, "He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." 24And they glorified God because of me.
Paul’s purpose in this first chapter has been to defend his apostolic calling and the Gospel. He has sought to bring light to the authority of his words. In the last verses of chapter 1, Paul points out his old ways of life. He speaks to his growing importance in the Jewish religion and his rank among his counterparts. He then says something that is vitally important to verify his title of apostle. He says beginning in verse 15 that when Jesus revealed Himself to him, he did not consult any human. He is essentially saying that he did not study under any of the other apostles and thus did not get his Gospel from anyone but rather through revelation by Christ. He says that he went to Arabia and then to Damascus. Only after three years did he then go to Jerusalem to visit Peter and while he was there he only met with one other apostle, James. His stay with Peter was a mere 15 days, not nearly long enough to have the extensive training that it would require to understand the fullness of the Gospel that he clearly has.
What Paul is saying here is that he got his understanding of who Jesus is through Jesus Himself. He went away for three years to spend time listening to God. While we do not know what Paul did on a day to day basis during that time, it was no doubt spent reading the Word of God, meditating on its meaning, and opening his heart to the voice of God. This is a lesson that is once again vital to the Christian life. Along with reading scripture, a Christian must spend time meditating on the Word and in thoughtful prayer. (This, however can take the form of a false gospel if it is seen as the way in which to be justified. It is not, and it should not be, a replacement of the basic truths of the Gospel of grace.) Scripture and prayer go hand in hand. While we can pray to God at any time, we may not hear from Him until we read His Word.
Paul spent three years before he went to meet Peter. This is a very telling action. He could have gone straight to the apostles and shown himself as a thirteenth apostle but rather he went off by himself. If we look back throughout the history of the Bible, this is a common occurrence. Moses went to Mount Sinai by himself to hear from God. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness talking with God. John the Baptist spent much of his life in the wilderness listening to God. The prophets spent time alone, listening to God. We cannot always hear from God while going about our daily practices. At times we must find some place quiet to meditate on the Word. We can’t meditate on the Word, however, without reading it. Scripture and prayer go hand in hand. To stay true to the Gospel we must be constantly reminded of it. We do that through the preaching of the Word, the reading of the Word, and the prayer and meditation upon both the preaching and reading of the Word.
I would like to point out verses 22-24. Paul says that throughout Judea he was unknown to many and only referred to as “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” He goes on to say that because of this, they glorified God. Let us glorify God for our own transformation. All of us are sinners. As Paul says in Romans 3:23, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The great thing about the Gospel is that it reminds us that we are undeserving of God’s grace but he gives it to us freely despite that. As Mark Driscoll says, “the bottom line of the Gospel is this: that you are worse that you ever feared, and you are more loved than you ever dreamed.” We, like Paul, have sinned and have found a way to be transformed because of God’s loving grace. If you are a Christian He chose you, you didn’t choose Him. Like those who rejoiced over Paul’s transformation, let us rejoice over the transformation God provides in the lives of so many.
So what can we gain from the first chapter of Galatians? What are some of the ways in which we can apply what Paul says to our lives? We first must ask ourselves a few questions. First of all, how do view scripture? Secondly, what are the false gospels of our day? How do we protect ourselves and others from those false gospels? Who do we try to please, God or men? Let’s be honest with ourselves here, I would say that all of us seek to please at least one person. So how do we get away from that? Is it always bad to strive to please mean? When would it be ok to please men? When would it not be ok? How do we, like Paul, seek to please Christ alone? What role does scripture play in this? What role does prayer play in this? Can we be a servant of Christ if we still seek to please men? Lastly, everyone who calls themselves a Christian has had a transformation from sin to Jesus. What is your story? What does it mean to be transformed in Christ? What does it mean to be in Christ? What role does scripture play in this? What role does prayer play?
Paul begins his letter to the churches in Galatia by stating the authority by which he has his apostolic calling. He states that he is an apostle, not from men nor through man. When Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, his eyes were opened to the glory of Christ and his life was forever altered. Whereas he once persecuted Christians and sought to devastate the church of Jesus, he now was called to die for Christ. Indeed he did die, but as you can see later in the book of Galatians as well in his other letters, Paul not only died in a physical sense but he also died to his earthly desires in order that he may be set free in Christ. It is a call that we all have from God and one that cannot be taken lightly. To a Christian, death is not death in the way we typically think of it but rather it is life in Christ. It is the way in which God has planned to save us from His wrath and redeem us from the fall.
Paul receives his apostleship not from any man but from Jesus directly. In the early days of Christianity, an apostle was defined as one who was with Jesus in His earthly ministry and then witnessed the resurrection. The twelve disciples that we are familiar with all have that claim. Paul, on the other hand was not there for Jesus’ earthly ministry but rather spent his time doing all that was in his power to destroy this new religion. Paul’s apostleship was being called into question by some. Therefore, he takes the opening of this letter to defend his calling. He states that his apostleship was not received by men or through men but rather through Jesus himself. Just to make his point even stronger Paul explains that his calling was not only from Jesus but from the Father who raised Jesus from the dead. The literal meaning of the word apostle is “one who is sent.” While the other disciples of Christ who had the title of apostle were there for Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, Paul was still sent by Jesus to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles, thus his is rightfully called an apostle.
Paul, therefore, seeks to establish his authority over those to whom the letter is written. It is quite different from the way he normally writes his letters and we will see why later on as we investigate the false preachers who speak of another gospel. What Paul is in effect saying is that his message in this letter, and all other letters, are not his words but rather the words of the living God, sent to him through the Holy Spirit. As is all scripture, the book of Galatians is the divine word of God and should be recognized as such. However, the scriptures to many Christians today exist as a form of self help and good council only when needed. People turn to the scriptures when they are hurting or, often times, when they need a good defense argument for their standpoint. In doing this, the scriptures lose their true meaning to many Christians. We must not see the Bible as a good book filled with stories and great teachings but rather as the authoritative Word of God sent from heaven and written with the authority of the Holy Spirit. Not one word of the Bible is haphazardly placed in there but rather is put there to tell the story of Jesus’ redemption of sin and death. It is indeed one long story made up of several smaller stories that all combine to attest to the true nature of God and his love for his fallen children. The whole book is about Jesus: His coming, His life, His death, His sacrifice, His resurrection, His redemption, His glory. If you are a Christian, you are blessed to have such an amazing collection of books that help to explain the basics of the Christian faith and seek to speak to you through its words. The scriptures are the Words of God. So many people wish that they could hear an audible voice from God counseling them on what path to take and what direction to head. He has done that, he does that for everyone who opens the Bible.
In today’s world of quick fixes and fast remedies, we have lost the appeal to actually open the book and read what it says. We’d rather hear it from someone else or have a cliff notes version that explains the overall meaning of the book. You cannot expect to hear from God if you do not open the book. Mark Driscoll, in one of his sermons on Nehemiah 8 points out that when Ezra began to preach to the crowd in Jerusalem, he opened the book. (The book at that time was the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible.) You cannot really expect to hear from God unless the Word is read. Scripture is necessary to the Christian life. Without it, a Christian loses the true meaning of the Gospel and sets himself up for a wandering away from God. The lack of Biblical literacy in today’s world is astounding. To be a Christian means to live in Christ and to live in Christ in everyday life means to read and submit to scripture. Faithfulness and life cannot come from any other source than through the inspired Word of God that we in this country are so blessed to have so readily available. Scripture is the way in which God can speak to us and the way in which we can hear from God. It was given to us as a free gift just as Jesus was. A gift from a loving and living God so that we may hear of his love for us and his calling to us.
6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- 7not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. 10For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Here we see Paul defending his Gospel, the Gospel that was revealed to him by Jesus Himself. In today’s world the modern church struggles with different voices from different directions, many of which promoting a false Gospel. You can turn on the TV and watch televangelists pervert the Gospel. Here Paul is heartbroken that after only a short time from hearing the true Gospel, the people of the churches in Galatia have turned their ears to a different gospel. That different gospel is not revealed in this passage but it does not matter. The Gospel has been distorted and there is little being done to prevent this. The true meaning of the Gospel is hard to hear for many. It tells of a justification through faith that whoever believes in Christ will live and whoever does not will die. It takes you out of the picture and in your place puts the sacrificed Jesus. Jesus hung on a tree to redeem our lives from the pits of Hell. The Gospel is the story of God’s love for us and his plan to redeem us from sin and death. The wages for sin is death. There are no good works large enough to get you into Heaven and there are no words strong enough to convince God to let you in. Therefore, the Gospel is a scandalous thing. It takes you out of control and puts God in ultimate control.
Herein, is the reason for a false gospel. Religion can create a false gospel that bases salvation on a set of rules or a following of someone’s views other than Jesus’. A false gospel is one in which someone takes the basics of the true Gospel and twists and tweaks them here and there to create something that gets away from the Gospel of justification by faith through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to redeem mankind from sin and justice.
Paul goes on to state that no matter who tells you a gospel separate from the true Gospel is seeking to steer you off course and is cursed by God. If an angel comes to proclaim a new Gospel, he too is cursed by God and telling a lie. This angel is therefore a demon and will spend his eternity in Hell.
Paul points out that he is not seeking the approval of men but only the approval of God. To please men is to deny serving Christ. This is a big struggle for most people. The need to be accepted is one that is very strong in the hearts of many. In that, we find ourselves wanting to please others through our words and actions. Some spend their whole lives in despair because they can’t seem to please everyone at the same time. Indeed it is impossible to do so. But, if we, like Paul, choose to serve Christ alone, we will be able to look to one person rather than a multitude and seek to please that One. As John Piper says in his commentary on this passage,
“The most thrilling implication of verse 10 for me personally is this: The absoluteness of Christ's lordship is gloriously liberating. It frees me from having to worry about pleasing one person here and another person there. It brings unity and integrity to my life. When you live to please only one person, everything you do is integrated because it relates to that one person. Shall I go to this movie? Read this book? Make this purchase? Take this job? Go out on this date? Marry this person? What a freeing thing it is to know that there is one person who is to be pleased in every decision of life—Jesus. Sometimes pleasing him will please others. Sometimes it won't, and that will hurt. But the deep joy of a single-minded life is worth it all.”
Indeed to seek to please Christ is the only way in which we can, at the end of the day, know that we have been faithful in our efforts. If we continually seek to please Christ in all the we do both privately and publically, personally and corporately, we can find a satisfaction in our lives. Here again comes the vital importance of scripture, for how will we know how to please Christ if we are not constantly embedded in the Word? How can our lives take the form of discipleship without opening the book?
11For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. 12For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. 18Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother. 20(In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) 21Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23They only were hearing it said, "He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." 24And they glorified God because of me.
Paul’s purpose in this first chapter has been to defend his apostolic calling and the Gospel. He has sought to bring light to the authority of his words. In the last verses of chapter 1, Paul points out his old ways of life. He speaks to his growing importance in the Jewish religion and his rank among his counterparts. He then says something that is vitally important to verify his title of apostle. He says beginning in verse 15 that when Jesus revealed Himself to him, he did not consult any human. He is essentially saying that he did not study under any of the other apostles and thus did not get his Gospel from anyone but rather through revelation by Christ. He says that he went to Arabia and then to Damascus. Only after three years did he then go to Jerusalem to visit Peter and while he was there he only met with one other apostle, James. His stay with Peter was a mere 15 days, not nearly long enough to have the extensive training that it would require to understand the fullness of the Gospel that he clearly has.
What Paul is saying here is that he got his understanding of who Jesus is through Jesus Himself. He went away for three years to spend time listening to God. While we do not know what Paul did on a day to day basis during that time, it was no doubt spent reading the Word of God, meditating on its meaning, and opening his heart to the voice of God. This is a lesson that is once again vital to the Christian life. Along with reading scripture, a Christian must spend time meditating on the Word and in thoughtful prayer. (This, however can take the form of a false gospel if it is seen as the way in which to be justified. It is not, and it should not be, a replacement of the basic truths of the Gospel of grace.) Scripture and prayer go hand in hand. While we can pray to God at any time, we may not hear from Him until we read His Word.
Paul spent three years before he went to meet Peter. This is a very telling action. He could have gone straight to the apostles and shown himself as a thirteenth apostle but rather he went off by himself. If we look back throughout the history of the Bible, this is a common occurrence. Moses went to Mount Sinai by himself to hear from God. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness talking with God. John the Baptist spent much of his life in the wilderness listening to God. The prophets spent time alone, listening to God. We cannot always hear from God while going about our daily practices. At times we must find some place quiet to meditate on the Word. We can’t meditate on the Word, however, without reading it. Scripture and prayer go hand in hand. To stay true to the Gospel we must be constantly reminded of it. We do that through the preaching of the Word, the reading of the Word, and the prayer and meditation upon both the preaching and reading of the Word.
I would like to point out verses 22-24. Paul says that throughout Judea he was unknown to many and only referred to as “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” He goes on to say that because of this, they glorified God. Let us glorify God for our own transformation. All of us are sinners. As Paul says in Romans 3:23, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The great thing about the Gospel is that it reminds us that we are undeserving of God’s grace but he gives it to us freely despite that. As Mark Driscoll says, “the bottom line of the Gospel is this: that you are worse that you ever feared, and you are more loved than you ever dreamed.” We, like Paul, have sinned and have found a way to be transformed because of God’s loving grace. If you are a Christian He chose you, you didn’t choose Him. Like those who rejoiced over Paul’s transformation, let us rejoice over the transformation God provides in the lives of so many.
So what can we gain from the first chapter of Galatians? What are some of the ways in which we can apply what Paul says to our lives? We first must ask ourselves a few questions. First of all, how do view scripture? Secondly, what are the false gospels of our day? How do we protect ourselves and others from those false gospels? Who do we try to please, God or men? Let’s be honest with ourselves here, I would say that all of us seek to please at least one person. So how do we get away from that? Is it always bad to strive to please mean? When would it be ok to please men? When would it not be ok? How do we, like Paul, seek to please Christ alone? What role does scripture play in this? What role does prayer play in this? Can we be a servant of Christ if we still seek to please men? Lastly, everyone who calls themselves a Christian has had a transformation from sin to Jesus. What is your story? What does it mean to be transformed in Christ? What does it mean to be in Christ? What role does scripture play in this? What role does prayer play?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)