Galatians 1:1-10
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.
6: I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel;
7: which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
8: But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!
9: As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!
10: For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.
Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians probably in 57-58 AD while he was at Corinth. He addressed the claims of Judaizing teachers who had convinced the Galatians that Paul hadn’t taught them correctly and that he wasn’t really an apostle. They said he believed in circumcision and insinuated that he only told them not to be circumcised so they would remain in a subordinate state, excluded from the full privileges of Christianity, which only the circumcised could enjoy.1 Paul addressed these accusations, once again having to defend his apostleship, teaching, and motives.
He began with greetings and grace, calling himself an apostle called of God, not man, and gave glory to God. Then he got right to the point—he was amazed that they’d so quickly deserted “Him who called you.” He didn’t say they’d deserted him (Paul) or his teaching, but God Himself. They’d deserted the Lord for a “different gospel” which of course does not exist.
There is only one gospel of Christ. But there were those who distorted the gospel by preaching a part of it untruthfully. Paul emphatically stated that if anyone—even an angel of heaven—preached anything contrary to the true gospel of Christ, he was to be cursed. He wrote this twice to make sure they understood it didn’t matter how prestigious or recognized a preacher might be, if his message was contrary to the true, pure gospel, its wrong.
Paul asked, was he seeking the favor of men or God? He answered by saying if he was trying to please men, he wouldn’t be a bond-servant of Christ. The path of those preaching the true gospel was not an easy path. There was much opposition. It’s clear that Paul was quite concerned about his converts, the Galatians, and their acceptance of this false gospel. We see the struggle the early church had in preserving the truth and keeping the purity of the gospel intact. Thank God for the courageous ones who persevered and defended the true gospel, suffering much in the process.
1 A commentary, critical, practical, and explanatory on the Old and New Testaments by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown (1882). Retrieved from biblehub.com March 28, 2021.
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.
6: I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel;
7: which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
8: But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!
9: As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!
10: For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.
***
Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians probably in 57-58 AD while he was at Corinth. He addressed the claims of Judaizing teachers who had convinced the Galatians that Paul hadn’t taught them correctly and that he wasn’t really an apostle. They said he believed in circumcision and insinuated that he only told them not to be circumcised so they would remain in a subordinate state, excluded from the full privileges of Christianity, which only the circumcised could enjoy.1 Paul addressed these accusations, once again having to defend his apostleship, teaching, and motives.
He began with greetings and grace, calling himself an apostle called of God, not man, and gave glory to God. Then he got right to the point—he was amazed that they’d so quickly deserted “Him who called you.” He didn’t say they’d deserted him (Paul) or his teaching, but God Himself. They’d deserted the Lord for a “different gospel” which of course does not exist.
There is only one gospel of Christ. But there were those who distorted the gospel by preaching a part of it untruthfully. Paul emphatically stated that if anyone—even an angel of heaven—preached anything contrary to the true gospel of Christ, he was to be cursed. He wrote this twice to make sure they understood it didn’t matter how prestigious or recognized a preacher might be, if his message was contrary to the true, pure gospel, its wrong.
Paul asked, was he seeking the favor of men or God? He answered by saying if he was trying to please men, he wouldn’t be a bond-servant of Christ. The path of those preaching the true gospel was not an easy path. There was much opposition. It’s clear that Paul was quite concerned about his converts, the Galatians, and their acceptance of this false gospel. We see the struggle the early church had in preserving the truth and keeping the purity of the gospel intact. Thank God for the courageous ones who persevered and defended the true gospel, suffering much in the process.
1 A commentary, critical, practical, and explanatory on the Old and New Testaments by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown (1882). Retrieved from biblehub.com March 28, 2021.
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