To the person who has trusted Christ as Savior, the Gospel is: “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3–4, NASB). It is the Good News that sinners can be forgiven and go to heaven because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross. The Good News of salvation through faith in Christ is the most important message in the world.
This message had changed Paul’s life and, through him, the lives of others. But now this message was being attacked, and Paul was out to defend the truth of the Gospel. Some false teachers had invaded the Galatia churches Paul had founded, and were teaching a different message from that which Paul had taught.
As we start to read the opening of Galatians, we can tell immediately that something is off and wrong, because Paul does not open his letter with his usual praise to God and prayer for the saints. His focus is correcting the perversion. Paul is about to engage in a battle for the truth of the Gospel and the liberty of the Christian life. False teachers are spreading a false “gospel” which is a mixture of Law and grace, and Paul is not going to let these teachers corrupt the message he loves and has taught.
1 Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), 2 and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen. (NASB)
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- The risen Christ is our only source of salvation and with the Father our only source for mission.
- Grace and peace summarize the gospel of salvation.
- Grace, God’s unmerited favor, is the source of salvation. When a person believes in Jesus Christ, he or she receives salvation and peace with God, others, and self. Thus, grace leads to peace. Peace represents life in its wholeness or fullness, a life filled with a sense of satisfaction that only God can give.
- Grace not only saves us from the penalty of sin; it also delivers us from the power of sin
- Christ accomplished the victory over sin through the voluntary gift of Himself to us in dying on the cross. This was all according to God’s eternal plan to bring us salvation.
CLOSER LOOK
Verse 1: The opening of the Galatian epistle is both typical and atypical.[1] The introduction of the letter includes the three standard elements found in epistolary salutation sections: (1) the author, Paul; (2)the addressees – “the churches of Galatia”; and (3) the greeting-“grace to you and peace” (v. 3). However, the usual expression of thanksgiving and praise for believers is totally absent. Further, there is an abruptness about the opening words which plunges the reader immediately into one of Paul’s major concerns, namely, that his apostolic credentials had been challenged. Though not one of the original Twelve, Paul claimed equality with them as an apostle. The word apostolos signifies authority and refers to a person who has a right to speak for God as His representative or delegate.[2] Paul calls himself an apostle to assert his divinely given authority to speak to the problem confronting the Galatian churches.
Paul’s apostleship did not originate with humanity (it was “not sent from men”), that is, he was not appointed an apostle by any official body such as the leaders in Jerusalem or Antioch. Neither did his apostleship originate with any one man (“nor through the agency of man”), however important not even Ananias, who assisted Paul in Damascus (cf. Acts 9:10–17), nor Barnabas, who played a strategic role in opening doors of ministry for Paul in both Jerusalem and Antioch (cf. Acts 9:27; 11:25–26). Rather, Paul made the bold claim that his call was of heavenly origin, from “God the Father” and the risen Lord Jesus Christ. “through Jesus Christ and God the Father” refers to Paul’s unique call to be an apostle (vv. 15-16), which came to him at the same time as his salvation on the road to Damascus (Acts 26:12-18).
Also, “raised Him from the dead,” is the only direct mention of the resurrection of Christ in the epistle. For one, it emphasizes the importance of that event to Paul’s apostleship, for he was not called during the earthly ministry of the Lord but by the resurrected Christ.[3] Second, this reference to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is a central belief to the Christian faith and Paul sets the stage for what is about to come.
Verse 2: Joining with Paul in the sending, though not the writing, of this letter were “all the brethren” with him. These were the apostle’s fellow workers, perhaps this included Barnabas as well as the prophets and teachers with whom Paul ministered in Antioch (see Acts 13:1). This phrase implies that there were a good number of other Christian believers with him. Mentioning these co-laborers emphasized the fact that the teachings of this epistle were not peculiar to Paul but were held in common with others.
The recipients of the letter were “the churches in Galatia.” This was then a circular letter probably directed to the churches founded during the first missionary journey of Paul and located in Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and (Pisidian) Antioch. Remember from the intro, this is taking the Southern view of Galatia, whereas others argue Galatia was in the north.
Verse 3: The traditional Greek and Hebrew forms of greeting, grace and peace, were always used by Paul in his salutations to express the hope that the believing readers might be sustained by daily portions of these blessings. Grace and peace find their source in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace is a variation from the standard greeting of ancient letters in Paul’s time. Peace is the Greek translation of the traditional Hebrew greeting. Paul commonly combines the two ideas of grace and peace in the introduction of his letters (1 Cor 1:3; 2 Cor 1:2). The true message of salvation is based solely on God’s grace (1:6; 2:21) received by faith (eph 2:8), and it provides peace with God (Rom 5:1).
Verse 4–5: Paul concluded his salutation with a magnificent statement regarding the work of Christ on the cross and its delivering power, another major emphasis of this epistle. Christ “gave Himself for our sins” (cf. 1 Tim. 2:6; Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 3:18). His death was voluntary and final. It satisfied God’s righteous demands against sinners, reconciled people to God, and provided for human redemption. This phrase looks ahead to Paul’s discussion of redemption in 3:13-14. It is a quick summary of the Good News: Christ’s death is for you (1 Cor 15:3). Paul states one purpose of Christ’s death is to “rescue us from the present evil age.” The gospel is a liberating message. It delivers believing sinners from the power of the present world system through the power of the indwelling Christ just as certainly as it delivers them from eternal judgment to come. This phrase is also similar to Colossians 1:13, which states that Christ has delivered us from the power of darkness into His kingdom. Both passages develop this truth based on Christ’s redemptive work (Col 1:14), implying that the word “deliver” refers to sanctification in the face of the temptations of this present age. As we read this, we can start thinking if Paul hinting that the Old Testament Law, so strongly promoted by the Galatian legalizers, would be ineffective to accomplish such great things?
In His redemptive work Christ accomplished “the will of our God and Father” (cf. Heb. 10:7–10). Further, in that obedience the Savior brought glory to God (Gal. 1:5; cf. John 17:1). The redeemed will in addition give glory to God forever because of the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. Verse 5 is a doxology that shows that God deserves the glory at every juncture of life (“forevermore”), something which Paul’s message and ministry clearly did.
Thus Paul had already drawn the lines of battle by touching on two vital concerns. He had affirmed his own apostleship and had declared that the basis of mankind’s salvation lies solely in the work of Christ and not in any human works.
[1] Donald K. Campbell, “Galatians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 589.
[2] Donald K. Campbell, “Galatians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 589.
[3] Donald K. Campbell, “Galatians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 590.