“Galatians 1”

Monday, May 01, 2017

The great apostle Paul is under attack. Judaizing teachers, who wanted to return to at least part of the Old Law, needed somehow to discredit Paul and his apostleship. Their influence was leading many away from Christ to a perverted gospel which would only condemn their souls. Galatians is Paul's attempt to reaffirm the truth of the gospel in their lives.

Some have divided the book of Galatians into three major sections:

• Chapters 1‑2 – Personal
• Chapters 3‑4 – Doctrinal
• Chapters 5‑6 – Practical [applications of the truth]

The first ten verses of this opening chapter are a defense of the gospel in its purity and simplicity. The apostle makes it quite clear that no other gospel than the one he had preached to them was acceptable. Even if an angel tried to change the message of the gospel, they were not to listen to any false teaching. Those who preach a different gospel (which he says is not another true gospel, but a perversion of the only true will of God) are under a divine curse from the Lord. Most translations say that such a false teacher is “accursed.” Some versions say that he is “anathema.” This means that the curse comes from God Himself.

In verses 11-24, Paul clarifies and reminds them that his message came through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, not from mere men. This is a fulfillment of the promise from Jesus that He would send the Helper (Comforter, KJV) who would reveal all truth (John 14:26; 16:13).

False teachers (Judaizing teachers) sought to minimize Paul’s influence on Christians by claiming he was not a true apostle of Christ. If he was a false apostle, his teaching could be ignored. In this section, Paul refers to his pre-Christian background and then to his conversion and his inspiration from God.

The account of Paul’s conversion from Judaism is one of the strongest proofs for the validity of Christianity that there is. Why would he change so suddenly from being a persecutor of Christians to one who preached that Jesus was indeed the Christ and the Savior of the world? He explains it in several places by telling them that he personally saw the resurrected Lord after he knew he had been put to death. He could no longer deny that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah of Old Testament prophecy.

--Roger Hillis

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