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The Apostle Paul's Epistle
to the Galatians |
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Chapter 1
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1Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of
man, but through Yeshua the Messiah and God the Father, who
raised Him from the dead),
As he usually did in his letters, Paul identified himself as an
apostle. The word "apostle" is a transliteration of the Greek
word "apostolos" and means "one sent forth." The word "apostolos"
is parallel to the Hebrew word "shaluach." In rabbinic
literature, the "shaluchim" (plural form of "shaluach") were
messengers, sent by the Sanhedrin, who would announce the
official beginning of a new month (by keeping watch of the new
moon). Therefore, it was not out of the ordinary for the
prominent disciples of Yeshua to call themselves apostles since
they were commissioned to announce the coming kingdom.
Specifically, Paul was sent by Yeshua (Acts 9:15) to
present the message of His kingship to the non-Jewish world,
which was largely pagan at the time.
The title "messiah" (from the Hebrew word "mashiach," with its
Greek equivalent "christos/christ") means "anointed one" and was
a Jewish idiom that referred to the king. The kings of Israel
were ceremonially anointed with oil to signify that they were
God's chosen ruler over His people. Paul always used the title
"Messiah" to refer to Yeshua, through whom he was sent.
"Messiah" is an idiom for "king," with Yeshua being the ultimate
King of Israel; it was the duty of His disciples, then and now,
to proclaim His reign over God's people. Paul was an apostle of
the king, following his duty.
It's with this in mind that Paul proclaimed that his authority
(and thus his message) did not come from man or a group of men
(such as the Sanhedrin), but rather from God Himself through the
resurrected Messiah, who had been given all authority (Matthew
28:19-20). As we will see, the Influencers were no doubt
making the Gentile Believers question Paul's authority. They
hoped to cast doubt on Paul's authority and therefore his
message, which would cause the Gentile Believers turn away from
Paul's teaching and accept their message that a Gentile had to
become a proselyte in order to truly be a part of the community.
2and all the brethren who are with me, To the assemblies of
Galatia:
The fact that he mentioned that this letter is also from all of
the "brothers" who were with him meant that he wasn't alone in
his position. The letter is addressed to the "ecclesia" of
Galatia. The Greek word "ecclesia" simply means "assembly." It's
unfortunate that the word "church" is used in most English
translations because it carries an anachronistic connotation.
There were no "churches" in the first century, as we would
understand the term. To put it another way, there were no
buildings or congregations outside of the main synagogue
community. "Ecclesia" is used in the Septuagint to refer to the
Assembly of Israel; therefore, it was adopted by the believing
communities to describe their fellowships. As discussed in the
introduction, Paul did not consider the Believers to be a
different group separate from Israel. The assemblies referred to
here were the communities throughout the region of Galatia that
had confessed Yeshua as the Messiah and were living out their
faith in the context of Paul's interpretation of the Torah.
3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Master
Yeshua the Messiah 4who 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, 5to whom be the glory forevermore.
Amen.
Paul brought the Messiah's substitutionary death to the
forefront to remind the Galatians where their hope lay.
Specifically, Paul reminded the Galatians that it is only
through the Messiah's death that they have a place in the World
to Come. In Judaism, both in the first century and today, there
is only This World and The World to Come. This World
(corresponding to "this present evil age") refers to man's
current state; that is, living in a sinful world in our mortal
bodies. The World to Come refers the time in the future when
Messiah will be reigning from Jerusalem, sin will have been
abolished and Believers will live forever in immortal bodies. As
we will see, the Influencers were persuading the Gentile
Believers to become proselytes with the idea that unless they
did so, they would have no share in the World to Come. By
clearly presenting the fact that Yeshua died for our sins with
the purpose of bringing us into the World to Come, an event
brought about by the will of God, Paul was subtly implying that
it was false and foolhardy to think there was another way to be
saved, or that there was something to be done in addition to
Yeshua's death for salvation.
6I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called
you by the grace of the Messiah, for a different gospel; 7which
is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing
you and want to distort the gospel of the Messiah.
With the greeting out of the way, Paul moved right into the
purpose of the letter: to rebuke the Galatians and to admonish
them to stay in line with the truth. The message that the
Influencers were presenting to the Gentile Believers was
dangerous, and Paul was very conscious of the urgency involved.
Paul used the word "amazed" in its literal sense to show his
surprise and disapproval that the Gentile Believers were
abandoning the message he had presented to them. Unfortunately,
we do not have the details or the circumstances which caused
Paul to write this epistle. We cannot be certain whether the
Gentile Believers of Galatia knew exactly what they were doing
or if they were confused. Regardless of where the Gentile
Believers stood, Paul made it clear that if they accepted the
message of the Influencers they were not only abandoning Paul's
message but were abandoning God Himself. The Influencers'
message was that a Gentile, by becoming a proselyte, could be
fully accepted into the community and thus be reckoned a
legitimate part of Israel.
The grace of the Messiah, on the other hand, was a free gift and
did not depend on a legal status or anything else inherent in
the individual. True salvation is a matter of God's sovereign
grace bestowed upon the individual. The individual is given the
ability to have faith and trusts in the Messiah's death for
forgiveness of sins. This only happens by the work of the Spirit
of God in the individual.
8But 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! 9As 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!
In other words, no matter who it is, whether the message was
man-made or supposedly from God, the Galatians were not to
accept a different message than the one that Paul proclaimed to
them. Paul went so far as to declare that anyone who presents a
false gospel will be forever separated from God ("accursed").10For 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 the Messiah.
Paul contrasted the motivation behind the
Influencers' message with the motivation behind
his message. Specifically, the point of the
Influencers' message requiring Gentiles to
become proselytes was so that they would be
accepted by the larger Jewish community without
any controversy (to "seek the favour of men").
Paul's message put Jews on the same level as
Gentiles (since he declared all men to be under
the power of sin) and thus rocked the
established Jewish community's theological boat.
As we have discussed earlier, the established
theology was that Jews, by virtue of being
Jewish, were already saved. |
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Thus, to accept Gentiles as Gentiles would mean
that there was nothing inherently special about
being Jewish from a salvation perspective.
Paul's message clearly wasn't to find favour
with men (so controversial a message never
could), but rather was proclaimed because it was
the truth.
11For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which
was preached by me is not according to man. 12For I neither
received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it
through a revelation of Yeshua the Messiah.
Paul continued the thought by declaring that his message is not
man-made -- implying that the Influencers' message was. No,
Paul's message was directly from Yeshua the Messiah. Paul made
it clear that his message -- that Gentiles were a part of Israel
by faith alone -- was something he received neither through oral
tradition, nor through his teachers' instruction. What does he
mean that he "received it through a revelation of Yeshua the
Messiah?" Paul was not presented the Good News by one of the
other apostles or any of the other disciples; it was presented
to him directly from the Messiah Himself (Acts 26:14-18).
He did later come to understand the good news as it was revealed
in the Tanakh (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), but like Moses, who
was given the Torah directly from God, Paul was given the Good
News directly from Yeshua.
13For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism,
how I used to persecute the Assembly of God beyond measure and
tried to destroy it; 14and I was advancing in Judaism beyond
many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more
extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.
We should note that the word "former" is modifying the words
"manner of life." In other words, Paul was simply contrasting
his previous way of life in Judaism with his current way of life
in Judaism. These verses are used by those who believe that Paul
was converted to Christianity, or began Christianity himself, to
say that he was disparaging Judaism; instead, he was simply
noting the fact that he used to persecute Believers. Before
coming to faith in the Messiah, Paul believed it was his duty as
a faithful Jew to persecute those who weren't staying in line
with the truth as he knew it. Paul seemingly also trusted in his
own legal Jewish status for salvation and was upset by the
theology of the Believers that all men (including Jews) are in
need of repentance and salvation -- very much like the reaction
he was exciting in the Jewish community. It's possible that the
specific traditions he was referring to in verse 14 have to do
with halachah in regards to Jews being separate from Gentiles.
Thus, Paul's point was that he, like the Influencers, once
believed that it was right to be separate from Gentiles and to
persecute anyone who thought differently.
15But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's
womb and called me through His grace, was pleased 16to reveal
His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I
did not immediately consult with flesh and blood,
Paul now moved to the other side of the contrast: the previous
verses spoke of his former manner of life in Judaism, and the
following ones tell of his current manner of life in Judaism.
When Paul experienced the life changing work of the Spirit, he
realized that his legal Jewish status did not afford him
anything in terms of right-standing before God. The work of the
Spirit convicted him and he realized he was a sinner (Romans
7:9 and Galatians 2:19) Paul realized that he was chosen and
it wasn't based on his Jewish status. Paul's transformation
resulted in him being able to present Messiah to non-Jews. Paul,
with his immense Torah knowledge and now being changed and
energized by the Spirit, did not feel he had to consult with
others to proclaim the truth he had come to know.
17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles
before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to
Damascus.
Paul continued to explain what he did after his transforming
encounter with the Messiah. He explained that he didn't
initially go to Jerusalem; he was simply elaborating on his
earlier point that he didn't receive the Good News or the
authority to teach from men, but received it from Yeshua
Himself.
He then noted that he went to Arabia and later to Damascus. The
following verse indicated he spent up to three years in these
areas. We don't know for sure what he was doing in that time
period, but we do know, from studying his epistles as a whole,
that at some point in his life Paul re-studied the Tanakh with
Yeshua and His mission in mind. It's hypothesized among
scholars that this could be the time period when Paul was able
to do this, and correct his previous misinterpretations, with
his eyes now illuminated by the Spirit. No longer interpreting
the Tanakh with the "Jews only" perspective, Paul now saw that
salvation was a matter of God's grace bestowed to people, not
based on their lineage, but based upon God's sovereign choice.
The stories of the choosing of Abraham out of all the peoples,
the choosing of Isaac over Ishmael and the choosing Jacob over
Esau must have cemented the fact, in Paul's mind, that God does
not grant salvation based on who your parents are ("being
Jewish") but rather upon God's sovereign election.
18Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become
acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. 19But
I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the
Master's brother.
Perhaps to provide balance to his point that he received the
Good News directly and independently, he mentioned that he at
least met with Peter in Jerusalem (and thus showed that he
wasn't in opposition to the leadership in Jerusalem). Paul did
not specify what prompted him to stay with Peter, but the Greek
word "historeo," here translated as "acquainted," has the sense
of "to investigate" or "to explore." In other words, Paul was
curious to find out what Peter (and the believing community of
Jerusalem in general) thought of himself and his ministry.
There's no doubt that word of Paul's transformation and ministry
among the communities of the Diaspora had reached the Jerusalem
community. Additionally, Paul noted that he did not see any of
the other apostles except Jacob, the brother of Yeshua.
20(Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God
that I am not lying.) 21Then I went into the regions of Syria
and Cilicia. 22I was still unknown by sight to the assemblies of
Judea which were in the Messiah; 23but only, they kept hearing,
"He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he
once tried to destroy." 24And they were glorifying God because
of me.
In continuing to explain the history leading up to the writing
of this epistle, Paul made an oath. In first century thought, to
make an oath and not keep it only guaranteed God's wrath.
Therefore, when a person made an oath, they were generally
accepted to be telling the truth. Paul had made it clear that he
received the Good News from the Messiah directly and therefore
has proper authority, but he also wanted to make it clear that
this was not in opposition to the leadership at Jerusalem. He
did this by explaining that believers throughout Judea had heard
about his transformation, and they and the leaders in Jerusalem
approved of his ministry. |
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