Luther once said of Galatians, "This is my epistle. I am wedded to it."
It is not a significantly long book of the Bible, but it is vitally important. The central theme of the epistle is this: We are justified by faith in Jesus Christ.
1 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,
Paul deliberately uses the word "apostle" in his introduction. He is credentialing.
He credentials are not appointed by man or their feelings towards him, but instead, Christ has called him to be His apostle.
There had been some rumblings that he did not hold the same authority as the apostles. Their reasoning had mostly to do with the fact that he was not one of the twelve. So, he is eliminating any confusion by stating 1. he is an apostle 2. and stating that he is writing with the support of "the brothers".
To the churches of Galatia:
The epistle, itself, was written around A.D. 50.
It was written to a group of churches in the region that were struggling with legalism, upholding Jewish customs and practices, and the perversion of the Gospel that was causing.
Paul had spent some time on missionary journeys in the region, so these churches knew him.
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, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
(Verse 3 is Paul's standard greeting)
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
Paul launches straight into the problem that is at the heart of these churches. There has been a perversion of the one true Gospel.
In perverting the Gospel, they are turning from the sole source of salvation... "him" = Jesus Christ
A distortion of the Gospel can be just as dangerous for those in the Church, as an outright refusal of the Gospel is for those outside of the Church.
8 But 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. 9 As 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.
There's a Yiddish proverb that I think is helpful here. It states, "A half truth is a whole lie." Instead of blatant, obvious lies, sometimes the devil likes to weave a subtle lie into the truth.
So, even if it comes from a seemingly reliable source, or it has an element of truth to it, or it sounds inviting, or more logical, if it in anyway undermines the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it is a lie straight from hell.
The Greek for "let him be accursed" is ἀνάθεμ or "beyond redemption, destroyed, detestable, doomed"
10 For 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.
The word translated "servant" is δοῦλος, which is really best understood as "slave" or "bond-slave".
Meaning Christ has paid for our lives, in full. If we are in Christ, we belong to him.
You may wrestle with the word "slave", which makes sense given the historical connotation of slavery. However, Paul obviously considers it the highest honor of his life. He identifies himself in this way. That's because He knows the character of his Master.
I hope and pray that you have certainty in Jesus during this time. That you would know Jesus loves you. That you would know you have life and freedom in his name, and that He is more than enough.
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