Galatians   Talk 6   Galatians 4:1-31

At the beginning of this chapter Paul picks up on what he has been saying in Chapter 3:23-25 about the temporary nature of the law. He uses a mixture of metaphors to illustrate this.

In 3:23 he sees the law as a jailer keeping us in prison:

23 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law (literally, we were being kept under the law), locked up until faith should be revealed.

In 3:24-25 he sees the law as a pedagogue – an entrusted slave who would lead a young child to school. Its purpose was to lead us to faith in Christ:

24 So the law was (our pedagogue) put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the (pedagogue) supervision of the law.

In 4:1-3 he sees the law as a guardian and trustee appointed by a father until the time came for a child to receive its inheritance:

 What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2 He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world.

The point of each of these metaphors is to show that since the coming of Christ the law is no longer needed:

4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Note:

            God sent his Son at just the right time

            He was born under the law so that we could be set free from the law

            We are redeemed – bought from slavery under the law  

            We have the full rights of sons

            God has given us his Spirit – if we are led by the Spirit we are not under the law

(cf. 5:18)

We are heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).

In the light of all this, in 4:8-11 Paul says, Why are you turning back?

8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you know God – or rather are known by God – how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10 You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11 I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.

Verses 12-20 reflect Paul’s feeling that in deserting his gospel the Galatians were deserting him (cf. 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting…).

The meaning of verse 12 is unclear, but is probably best understood as follows:

Brethren, I beg of you, become as I am [free from the bondage of Jewish ritualism and ordinances], for I also have become as you are [a Gentile]. You did me no wrong [in the days when I first came to you; do not do it now (Amplified Bible).

He reminds them of how well they had received him when he had first come to preach the gospel to them:

13 As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. 14 Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.  15 What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?

The main point of these verses is Paul’s disappointment at the change in the Galatians’ attitude towards him. They are rejecting him in favour of those who preach a false gospel. But he warns them that these Judaizers are wrongly motivated:

17 Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you [from us], so that you may be zealous for them.

Paul’s motives, however, are pure:

18 It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I am with you. 19. My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, 20 how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!

·       He is always zealous for them (18)

·       He is agonizing over them (19)

·       He longs to be with them (20).

Note incidentally, that verses 13-14 also shed light on the subject of healing:

·       Even great Christians (cf. also Epaphroditus, Timothy, Trophimus) get sick

·       They are not always immediately healed

·       God has a purpose in allowing sickness.

In the final part of the chapter (vv. 21-31) Paul uses what is technically known as a rabbinic argument. This is a way of interpreting scripture that he would have learned when he studied under rabbi Gamaliel. His reason for using it here is probably because his Judaizer opponents may well have been familiar with this form of argument and, although it is not something we easily follow today, it would undoubtedly have been understood by them.

But before we look at the argument itself, it will be helpful to remind ourselves of the truth that Paul was seeking to demonstrate by it. We have already seen that Paul’s overall purpose in Galatians was to establish that:

·       no one is saved by obeying the works of the law but by believing the promise of God

·       salvation is by faith alone, not by faith followed by circumcision.

·       the true descendants of Abraham are those who believe as Abraham believed

·       the true Israel is made up of all who believe, whether Jew or Gentile

·       the law enslaves and imprisons people because of their failure to keep it.

Paul now uses an illustration from Genesis to demonstrate these principles. He uses Abraham’s two sons to illustrate the difference between the old covenant God made with Israel at Sinai (the law) and the new covenant made with all who are justified by faith in Christ. He points out that:

22. …Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.

Abraham had two sons:

Ishmael, whose mother Hagar, was a slave

Isaac, whose mother Sarah, was free.

(So, by analogy, the spiritual descendants of Abraham are free from the bondage of the law).

23. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.

Ishmael was born naturally

Isaac was born supernaturally as a result of God’s promise

(So Isaac represents us Christians because we are supernaturally born again).

24 These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. 25. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.

Hagar and Sarah represent two covenants. God gave the law to Moses on Mount Sinai. Paul uses Hagar to stand for Mount Sinai because both she, and the law given at Sinai, produced slavery in their children. And, Paul says, the present city of Jerusalem is also in slavery with her children. So he seems to be saying:

·       Hagar was in bondage (as Sarah’s maidservant)

·       The law puts us in bondage (for reasons he has already given)

·       The (then) present city of Jerusalem was still in bondage (because it had rejected the way of salvation through faith provided by Christ).

BUT

26. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. 27. For it is written: “Be glad, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have no labour pains; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.”

By contrast with the earthly Jerusalem, however, is the heavenly Jerusalem (the Messianic kingdom of Christ). She is our mother, and her children are free. What’s more, the (spiritual) children descended from Sarah, the barren woman, far outnumber those who are naturally born.

28. Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” (Genesis 21:10)

We Christians are children of promise. We are not naturally born, like Ishmael, but supernaturally born, like Isaac. We are born by the power of the Spirit. Verses 29-30 are a reference back to Genesis 21:9-10. Paul sees Ishmael’s mocking Isaac as symbolising the way the Judaizers were persecuting those who believed his message. But the two cannot coexist. There is only one way of salvation. We must be careful not to compromise.

31 Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

So we are not like Ishmael, born into slavery. We are free from the law, and as Paul will say at the beginning of the next chapter:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened again with a yoke of slavery.

Galatians   Talk 5   Galatians 3:1-29

As we saw when we were studying the first two chapters of Galatians, Paul wrote his letter to them because of the dangerous teaching that had crept into the churches there – that obedience to the law of the Old Testament was essential to salvation.

In chapter 1 he insists that:

·       the only true gospel is the one that he has preached to them (6-10)

·       he had received it by direct revelation from God and not from any human source (11-24).

In chapter 2 he tells how:

·       the message he preached had been accepted by the apostles at Jerusalem (1-10)

·       he had opposed Peter for his inconsistent behaviour by no longer eating with Gentile Christians for fear of what the circumcision group might think of him (11-21).

These verses include the substance of what he said to Peter and form the beginning of a new section of his letter where he gives theological reasons for his teaching that justification is by faith and not by works.

Now, in chapter 3, Paul begins by appealing to the Galatians’ experience of the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives (1-5) and then to the experience of Abraham (6-25) to argue his case. We’ll begin by reading vv 1-5.

1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4 Have you suffered so much for nothing – if it really was for nothing? 5 Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

Paul has already expressed his astonishment that the Galatians have so quickly turned to a different gospel from that which he had preached to them (1:6). Now, in verse 1, he reiterates his amazement and reminds them that they had been saved by believing his clear presentation of the message of Christ crucified. In verse 2 he appeals to their experience:

Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?

But what does he mean by receiving the Spirit? To understand this correctly we need to consider what happened at Pentecost when Jesus’ first disciples received the Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). This was something Jesus had promised them, and which would empower them to be his witnesses (Acts 1:4-8).

It was something promised to the converts at Pentecost if they would repent and be baptised (Acts 2:38-39).

It was so important that when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had become Christians they sent Peter and John to lay hands on them so that they might receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15-18).

And Peter describes the experience of Cornelius and his household as having received the Holy Spirit just as we have (Acts 10:47).

Finally, when Paul finds some disciples at Ephesus, he asks them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? (Acts 19:2) which, of course, implies that it’s possible to believe without at the same time receiving the Spirit.

Now all these examples taken from Acts use the terminology of receiving the Spirit to refer to the supernatural experience of the baptism in the Spirit, rather than to the Spirit’s work in regeneration, but is this the way that Paul is using it here in Galatians?

In my view the answer is definitely YES. We know from Acts 19:2 that Paul used the expression in this way. And it’s unthinkable that on such an important matter Luke, who was one of Paul’s close travelling companions, should use the expression differently from Paul. And in verse 5 the reference to God giving the Spirit and working miracles seems to confirm this.

But what about verse 3, where Paul says:

After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

Doesn’t this suggest that Paul is using receiving the Spirit to refer to their becoming Christians?

The answer to this lies in remembering that, unlike today, when people receive Christ as their saviour but very often are not baptised in water until some weeks or months later – and may or may not be baptised in the Spirit later still – most people in New Testament times would have been saved, baptised in water and baptised in the Spirit all on the same day.

So for them each of these things would have been part of their overall experience of beginning the Christian life. Right from the start their supernatural experience of being baptised in the Spirit was part and parcel of what it meant to be a Christian.

Assuming this to be the case with the Galatians, we can now understand Paul as saying:

You know from your experience of how the Holy Spirit works that it is not in response to human effort, but in response to faith. This is true of how you received the baptism in the Spirit and of the miraculous ways God works in your lives. The same is true of your salvation. You are saved by faith and not by works.

Moving on now to verses 6-9, we find Paul using quotes from the Pentateuch to make several points with regard to Abraham. This would be particularly significant for the circumcision group as it was to Abraham that God first gave circumcision as a sign of the covenant he had made with him. He points out that:

·       Abraham was counted righteous (justified) because of his faith. He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness (6)

·       As a result, it’s those who believe who are children of Abraham (7)

·       When God promised Abraham that through him all nations will be blessed (8), it revealed God’s intention to justify the Gentiles by faith

·       So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith (9).

And how are they blessed? By being declared righteous in God’s sight, just as Abraham was, by faith, and as a result be able to receive the promise of the Spirit by faith (14).

This is in direct contrast to those who rely on observing the law (10). They are cursed rather than blessed. In verse 10 he says:

All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”

The people who were insisting that circumcision was essential to salvation were relying on the law to save them. But the problem with this is that the law itself says that everyone who does not obey everything in it is cursed. So Paul is saying, If you think you can be saved by obeying the law, remember that you must obey everything in it! And since you can’t, you are cursed, not saved.

11 Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.” 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”

What’s more, says Paul, the Old Testament itself teaches that you can’t be saved by obeying the law, because it says in Habakkuk 2:4 that the righteous will live by faith. But the law isn’t based on faith, but on obedience to it, because it says that the man who does these things will live by them. So salvation by the law, if that were possible, would be dependent on obedience to all of it. And if we’re not, we’re under its curse. But, thank God, Christ has redeemed us from that.

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

So what is this curse of the law that Christ has redeemed us from? It’s our failure to keep it in its entirety! As we shall see later, the purpose of the law was to highlight our disobedience to God and to point to our need of a Saviour. By his substitutionary death on the cross Christ has borne the penalty that our disobedience to God deserves.

If we understand this verse correctly in its context, we see that by the curse of the law Paul is not referring to specific curses contained within the law (e.g. Deuteronomy 28), but to the fact that, unless we keep every part of it, the law places us under God’s curse.

But, thank God, he has redeemed us from the curse of the law, and his purpose in redeeming us is not just negative. In verse 14 we read that:

He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

Paul then proceeds to explain in greater detail what he has been saying by using the illustration of a covenant (15). He likens the promises God made to Abraham and his seed to a covenant that cannot be broken, and he clarifies that the use of the word seed in the singular implies that it refers to just one person, not many, and that person is Christ (16).

It is in Christ that all the nations of the world will be blessed (cf. 7). The law, which came 430 years after God made this promise to Abraham, does not do away with God’s covenant promise (17). And since the blessing depends on God’s gracious promise, it cannot be dependent on keeping the law (18). (Therefore, salvation is not dependent on circumcision).

So what was the point of the law? Paul gives his answer in verses 19-23. It was a temporary addition until Christ came (19). It was not opposed to God’s promises, but the problem with the law was that it couldn’t impart life (21) because the whole world is a prisoner of sin (22).

 So the only way that the promise can be received is by faith in Jesus Christ. And until he came everyone was imprisoned by the law (23). As we shall see next time, Paul will go on the clarify this in the opening verses of chapter 4, but first he seems to want to break away from his discussion of the shortcomings of the law in order to remind us of the blessings of faith in Christ.

We’re all children of God

26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,

We’re identified with Christ

27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Your identity is not in your nationality, social status, or even your gender. It’s in Christ!

We belong to Christ. We’re the true children of Abraham. We have a wonderful inheritance

29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Galatians   Talk 4   Galatians 2

So far in this series we have seen that Paul’s purpose in writing Galatians was to correct a serious doctrinal error. Some were teaching that faith in Christ was not sufficient for salvation and that obedience to the law of the Old Testament, especially with regard to circumcision, was required as well. The situation was so serious that Paul went so far as to say that if anybody preached a gospel other than the one that he had preached and which the Galatians had accepted, they should be eternally condemned!

If this seems rather strong, we need to remember that our only hope of salvation is through believing that Jesus took the punishment our sins deserved when he died on the cross. This and this alone is all that is necessary for salvation. To teach that something else is necessary is to deny the efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice (v21) and encourages people to put their hope in a false ‘gospel’ by trying to get right with God by our own good works.

In defence of the gospel he preached, Paul begins in chapter 1 by making it clear to his readers that:

·       He had not received it from any human source.

·       He had received it from Jesus Christ himself by personal revelation.

And as we saw last time, Paul’s determination not only to preach that message, but also to defend it at all costs, was emboldened by three things:

1.     He remembered the futility of his old way of life

2.     His sole desire was to please God

3.     He knew God had called him.

Now, as we move into chapter 2, Paul continues to speak of his own experience (1-10).

He bases his argument against the need for circumcision on the fact that when he had gone up to Jerusalem to visit Peter, James and John:

·       They had not compelled Titus to be circumcised although he was Gentile (3)

·       They had added nothing to his message (6)

·       They had endorsed his ministry to the Gentiles (7-10).

It was important for Paul to stress these things because the Judaizers, with their insistence on obedience to the Jewish law,  probably felt a loyalty to the apostles in Jerusalem and he needed to make it clear that they had endorsed his message. These points will become clear as we now read verses 1-10, which I shall read without further comment.

Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2  I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

4 [This matter arose] because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.

6 As for those who seemed to be important – whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance – those men added nothing to my message.

7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. 8 For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9 James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

However, although Paul was glad of the approval of these brothers, he was not afraid to point out the inconsistency of Peter on these matters. In verses 11-13 he says:

11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13  The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. 14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

Peter

Peter was afraid and hypocritical. He was not infallible. He was in the wrong.

He was still capable of giving in to the fear of what others might think of him (cf. his denial of Jesus).

This was after Jesus had forgiven him and after he had been filled with the Spirit at Pentecost.

This shows that the baptism in the Spirit is not an experience of entire sanctification, as some have taught.

If our actions are not consistent with our professed beliefs, we may lead others astray.

Paul

Paul was not afraid to confront Peter publicly.

He opposed him to his face (not behind his back).

He told Peter first, before telling others about it (e.g. writing to the Galatians).

Confronting people when they are in the wrong takes courage. But if we don’t speak up, we may be guilty of condoning their attitude and actions by our silence.

The beginning of the theological argument (15-21)

Having made his case from his own personal experience, Paul now uses the substance of what he had said to Peter to begin his theological argument.

“We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ 16  know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. 17 “If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. 19  For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

I’m not intending to deal with all these verses in detail. We’ll be concentrating on verses 19-20. But first my attempt at a paraphrase of verses 15-18, the meaning of which is not immediately clear.

15-16 Paul appeals to the experience of his Jewish Christian readers. They have put their faith in Jesus Christ and they know that no one can be saved by observing the law.

17 But that doesn’t mean that, although we still sometimes sin after we are saved, the gospel of salvation through faith in Christ is promoting sin (cf. Romans 6:1).

18 If we rebuild the law after we have rejected it as a way of salvation, by our inability to keep it we will only prove that we are breakers of the law.

But now let’s turn our attention to verses 19-20.

19  For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.

What does Paul mean by died to the law?

It’s probably best to understand this as meaning that Paul started to think of himself as dead as far as the law was concerned. Compare Romans 6:11, where he says something similar:

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

As we shall see later in the series, the law was given to make us aware of our need of Christ because of our inability to keep it in its entirety. We are to think of ourselves as dead to the law because obedience to it cannot save us.

When Paul was confronted by the risen Christ on the Damascus Road, the direction of his life was completely changed. Until then he had been preoccupied with obedience to the law and his understanding of it had led him to persecute Christ’s followers (Acts 22:3-4). But once he had met Christ he began to see himself as dead as far as the law was concerned because now he was to live in obedience to Christ. His question in Acts 22:10, Lord, what shall I do? makes this clear. And when we come to chapter 5 we’ll see how all this works out in practice.

Like Paul we are to think of ourselves as dead to the law and dead to sin. This is because of what Paul says in verse 20:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

The Greek verb that’s used here is sustauroo. It’s the same verb as is used in the Gospels where we’re told that there were two thieves crucified with Jesus (Matthew 27:44). The Greek word for cross is stauros and stauroo means to crucify. The prefix su- or sun- means with. So sustauroo means to crucify with… Now there are at least ten Greek verbs in the New Testament that begin with the prefix su- or sun- and which speak of different aspects of our relationship or identification with Christ.

This would be a whole series of studies in itself, but here’s a quick summary. The New Testament teaches that we:

·       Were crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:6)

·       Were buried with Christ (in baptism) (Colossians 2:12, Romans 6:4)

·       Have been raised with Christ (Ephesians 2:6, Colossians 2:12, 3:1)

·       Have been made alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5, Colossians 2:13)

·       Are seated with Christ (Ephesians 2:6)

·       Are joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17)

·       Suffer with Christ (Romans 8:17)

·       Will reign with Christ (2 Timothy 2:12)

·       Will be glorified with Christ (Romans 8:17).

At first sight, this subject of our identification with Christ is rather difficult to understand. So let me explain it like this. When Jesus came to earth he identified himself with humanity. At his baptism, although he was sinless, he identified himself with sinners. At Calvary he offered himself as a sacrifice for our sin. He was, in effect, saying to God, Let my death count as their death. The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23), but because Jesus’ death counts as ours, the penalty has already been paid. By faith we are made righteous in God’s sight. He sees us as he sees Jesus. By his death on the cross Jesus identified himself with us. When we believe this and accept him as our Saviour, we identify ourselves with him.

With this in mind, let’s go back to Galatians 2:20

20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Because Jesus loved us and gave himself for us, and because we have put our faith in him, we are identified with him. We are in Christ and Christ lives in us. By accepting him as our Saviour we accepted his death as our death (and that’s why our sins are all forgiven). So if his death was our death, we’re dead! We no longer live, but Christ lives in us.

And finally in verse 21 Paul makes the obvious point in defence of his gospel, if it were possible to be saved by obeying the law, there was no point in Christ dying for us.

But thank God, he did. And because he did, and because by accepting him we identified ourselves with him, we should think of ourselves as dead. Dead to thinking that we can save ourselves by our good works. And dead to sin, because Christ now lives within us.

How can we live our lives by faith in the Son of God?

By remembering that he loved us and gave himself for us.

That’s my motivation for living.

I hope it’s yours too.

Galatians Talk 3.

Galatians 1:10-24

In the first two talks we noted that Paul’s purpose in writing Galatians was to correct a serious doctrinal error that had crept into the churches since Paul had planted them. Paul had taught them that we are saved by faith in Jesus, and not by observing the law of the Old Testament, but some were now teaching that circumcision was necessary for salvation, and Paul was amazed that they had so quickly turned away from what he had taught them.

The version of the ‘gospel’ these people were teaching was radically different from the gospel Paul preached and the situation was so serious that Paul went so far as to say that if anybody preached a gospel other than the one that he had preached and which they had accepted, let them be eternally condemned!

And Paul had good reason to speak this strongly. The truth of the gospel was at stake – the gospel for which Christ had died, the gospel which is the only way by which we may be saved. In later chapters Paul would give good theological reasons in defence of the gospel he preached, but first he wanted to make it clear to his readers that:

·       He had not received it from any human source.

·       He had received it from Jesus Christ himself by personal revelation.

This is the main purpose of what he writes in today’s passage, which we’ll read first before considering each of these two points in turn.

Galatians 1:10-24

10. Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

11. I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

13. For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

15. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16. to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17. nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.

18. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. 19. I saw none of the other apostles – only James, the Lord’s brother.

20. I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. 21. Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22. I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23. They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24. And they praised God because of me.

He had not received it from any human source

In verse 11 Paul says:

the gospel I preached is not something that man made up.

This is so important that he repeats it in three different ways:

I did not receive it from any man (12)

nor was I taught it (12)

I did not consult any man 16).

He wants the Galatians (and us) to know this (11), because believing the true gospel is the only way of salvation. A man-made gospel will save no one! The good news of salvation through faith has its origin in heaven and was received by revelation from heaven. It was God who had set Paul apart and called him by his grace and who had been pleased to reveal his Son in and through Paul (15-16).

So in verses 17-22 Paul emphasises that immediately after his conversion he went into Arabia before returning to Damascus. It was not until three years after that, that he went to Jerusalem where he stayed with Peter for fifteen days and also met James, the Lord’s brother. Paul’s purpose in saying this is to stress that he did not receive his gospel from anyone, not even Peter or James, as he did not meet them until at least three years after his conversion, but in case anyone is inclined to doubt him he says in verse 20:

I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.

He had received it from Jesus Christ himself by personal revelation

The gospel Paul preached came directly from Jesus Christ by supernatural revelation. That’s why he was so determined to defend it. In today’s passage we see three things that emboldened that determination:

1.    He remembered the futility of his old way of life

2.    His sole desire was to please God

3.    He knew God had called him

He remembered the futility of his old way of life

13. For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

He was in Judaism (13, 14). Note how Paul is already referring to Judaism as distinct from Christianity. Judaism had been his way of life (13). He was advancing in it (14). He was extremely zealous for its traditions (14). His sole aim was to please men (10).

But now he was in Christ. Christ was now his way of life (cf. 2:20). His sole aim now was to please him.

Once we give our lives to Jesus, there’s no turning back.

His sole desire was to please God.

10. Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Notice the words now and still. Before his conversion Paul’s aim was to please men, but now he is a servant of Christ. His sole motive was to please God. There was no hidden agenda. He was not politically motivated. If we’re intent on pleasing other people or worried what they will think about us if we don’t do the kind of things they do, our determination to follow Jesus will be weakened.  Our motive in all that we do must be to please God. As we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and pleasing to God, we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2).

He knew God had called him

15. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16. to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles…

But when God

Paul had been extremely zealous for the traditions of his ancestors (14), but when God… Because he had been such a fanatical opponent of Christianity, Paul was ever conscious that it was God who had initiated his conversion. It was God who had who set him apart from birth, and called him by his grace, and had been pleased to reveal his Son in him.

set me apart from birth

Literally, from my mother’s womb. How did Paul know this? Perhaps like Jeremiah (1:5) the Lord had told him so. The fact that God has a purpose for our lives from before we were born does not mean that we are predestined to do what he tells us. We all have a choice as to whether we will obey him when he calls us. As Paul later said to King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.

called me by his grace

It is by grace that we are saved, through faith, and that not of ourselves – it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2). If it were not for God’s grace we could not be saved. And it’s because of the grace of God that all we have to do is have faith – and even that is given to us by God. What’s more, it is by grace that we are called to serve him. It’s a privilege to be a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

reveal his Son in me

We might have expected Paul to say to me rather than in me. Of course, God did reveal his Son to Paul on the Damascus Road. But He revealed Jesus to him in order that he might reveal him in him (or through him). God makes himself real to us so that through us others might know him too.

so that I might preach him among the Gentiles

This was God’s specific purpose for Paul. It was made clear to him right from the start. The book of Acts reveals how that purpose unfolded step by step in Paul’s life. After the initial call which motivated his entire Christian life, Paul received guidance from the Holy Spirit as and when he needed it.

Conclusion

Paul’s purpose in today’s passage was to make clear that the message he preached did not come from man, but by supernatural revelation from the Lord Jesus Christ. At the heart of that message is the wonderful truth that we are not saved by obedience to the law of the Old Testament, but by trusting Jesus as our Saviour. Paul’s determination not only to preach that message, but also to defend it at all costs, was emboldened by three things:

1.    He remembered the futility of his old way of life

2.    His sole desire was to please God

3.    He knew God had called him.

And as we shall see next time, his calling to preach that message was confirmed by other apostles in Chapter 2.

JESUS CHRIST, THE RULER OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH

As I was thinking and praying about the message I should bring on the weekend of the coronation of King Charles III, a phrase from Revelation 1:5 came to my mind:

JESUS CHRIST, THE RULER OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH.

Of course, the word king is used in a variety of ways, but its general meaning is someone who rules and it’s in that sense that we’ll be looking at it today. But first, let’s read Revelation 1:4-8.

4 John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father – to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. 7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.  So shall it be! Amen.8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Notice that this passage has something to say about:

·       King Charles, who is one of the kings of the earth.

·       The Lord Jesus Christ, the king of kings, who is the ruler of the kings of the earth.

·       Us Christians who as Christ’s church are a kingdom of priests.

A.     The kings of the earth (5)

Of course, King Charles is just one example. But let’s not to concentrate on King Charles. Rather, let’s take a brief look at what the Bible says about kings and rulers in general. Much of what we say will apply to King Charles – I’ll leave it to you to decide how much – but in many mays it’s more applicable to those who hold high office in government. Please notice 4 things:

1.     Their authority to rule is God-given

Romans 13:1

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

Of course, we know that historically this has been used to insist that kings derived their authority from God and could not therefore be held accountable for their actions by any earthly authority. King James I of England (1603-25), for example. Fortunately, we know that  her late majesty Queen Elizabeth II understood her role as one of servanthood, and there are indications that King Charles will be adopting the same approach. Indeed, in our constitutional system, the power of the monarch is extremely limited anyway.

However, the NT clearly teaches that God himself is the source of all authority, and that all human authority is delegated from him. That’s why as Christians we should obey the laws, pay our taxes etc., unless, of course, the law of the state is contrary to God’s law. But those to whom God has given authority are ultimately accountable to God for the way in which they handle that authority and are responsible for the wellbeing of their people.

2.     Their accountability to their ruler

As we have seen, verse 5 describes the Lord Jesus as the ruler of the kings of the earth. He is the king to whom all other kings are accountable. He is the King of kings. The late queen was very conscious of this, and it is said of Queen Victoria that she hoped that the Lord would return in her lifetime so that she could be the first to cast down her crown at his feet. If only world leaders were equally aware of their accountability to him.

3.     Their responsibility for the wellbeing of their people

Some of the parables Jesus told teach clearly that we are all accountable to God for our use of the things he has entrusted to us. This is particularly true of those who are in authority. The more we have been entrusted with, the more is required of us. Read Ezekiel 34 to see what God says about the shepherds (i.e. kings) of Israel, who had looked after themselves rather than caring for the people.

4.     Our responsibility to those in authority

a)     We should pray for them

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness (1 Timothy 2:2)

b)     We should submit to them

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and commend those who do right (1 Peter 2:13).

c)     We should honour them

Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honour the emperor (1 Peter 2:17).

B.     JESUS – The ruler of the kings of the earth (5)

WHAT HE IS:  

The ruler of the kings of the earth

The kings of the earth are temporal. They live, they die. And their authority perishes with them. But Jesus is eternal. Before Abraham was, I AM. He always has been, and he always will be, and his power and authority will never end.

1 Timothy 1:17

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 6:15-16

God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honour and might forever. Amen.

N.B. Here God is described as the only ruler. But in Revelation 1:5 Jesus is described as the ruler of the kings of the earth. This is just one of many evidences for the deity of Christ.

The Eternal Son of God

Grace and peace to you from

him who is, and who was, and who is to come

and from the seven spirits before his throne,

and from Jesus Christ (4-5).

Cf. verse 8

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”    

The faithful witness

Jesus said that the reason he came into the world was to bear witness to the truth (John 18:37). His word is reliable. You can count on it. Everything he ever said was true. And because he wouldn’t deny the truth, they crucified him. But God raised him from the dead. Jesus was vindicated! He had said that he would rise from the dead, and he did. And he has promised eternal life to those who believe him. Because he lives, we shall live also. You can rely on what he says. He’s the faithful witness.

The firstborn from the dead

Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

Compare Colossians 1:18 where he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

And in verse 15 he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Everything in heaven and earth was created by him and for him (16). He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (17). In short:

He is supreme in the church. He is supreme in the earth. He is supreme in heaven. He is supreme over death itself.

And in 1 Corinthians 15 Paul tells us that his victory over death is the basis of our victory too:

For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his turn, Christ the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him (1 Corinthians 15:23).

WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR US:

He has freed us from our sins by his blood (5)

We have all sinned, but because Jesus died for us, when we accept him as our Saviour we are freed from the penalty of sin.

He has made us a kingdom, and priests to serve his God and Father (6)

More of this in a moment.

He has promised to come again (7)

7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.  So shall it be! Amen.

The details need not concern us. What matters is:

·       He is coming

·       Those who rejected him will know they were wrong

·       There will be ultimate justice

·       But we have nothing to fear because he has freed us from our sins…

And all this is because he loves us (v5).

C.     YOU AND I  as part of the church, a kingdom of priests

6…and has made us to be a kingdom, and priests to serve his God and Father – to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

1 Peter 2:9-10

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession…

Revelation 5:9-10

And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

Note: he has made us…  you have made them… We’re already a kingdom of priests.

But they will reign on the earth.

Exactly what this will mean in the age to come has not been revealed, but 2 Peter 3:13 tells us that

In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth wherein righteousness dwells.

All earthly rulers are temporary.

Only Christ the supreme ruler is the King Eternal.

We, as Christians, are already part of his kingdom – a kingdom of priests with direct access to God.

But in the age to come WE WILL REIGN WITH HIM.

Galatians   Talk 2.  Galatians 1:6-9

In our first talk we began by looking at three reasons why Galatians is important:

It has made a significant impact on the history of the church

It’s the first thing Paul wrote explaining that salvation is by faith and not by works

It’s of practical relevance to our daily lives.

We then made a start on the text by reading the first 6 verses:

1. Paul, an apostle – sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead  2. and all the brothers with me, To the churches in Galatia:  3. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4. who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5. to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 6. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.

We noted that Paul’s purpose in writing was to correct a serious doctrinal error that had crept into the churches since Paul had planted them. Paul had taught them that we are saved by faith in Jesus, and not by observing the law of the Old Testament, but some were now teaching that circumcision was now necessary for salvation, and Paul was amazed that they had so quickly turned away from what he had taught them (6). And that’s where we pick up the reading today. Let’s read verses 6-7.

6. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel –

7. which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.

v 6 I am astonished

After the customary greeting at the beginning of his letters, Paul usually says something to commend his readers, even if later he has to say something to correct or rebuke them, but the problem in Galatia is so serious that he moves straight into the issue he urgently needs to deal with. He is astonished, astounded, appalled at what they are doing. There are some issues in church life where we need to be direct, although the usual approach to those who need to be corrected is gentleness (6:1).

so quickly deserting

He’s astonished that they’re departing from the gospel he preached to them, but particularly that they’re doing it so quickly. It wasn’t long since they had heard and received his message of salvation by faith in Christ, but they had soon moved away from it when they heard a different ‘gospel’.

the one who called you

But they were not only rejecting the true gospel. They were rejecting the one who had called them. But what does Paul mean by the one? Does he mean himself or Christ? Of course, it is Christ who calls us to salvation and the rejection of Christ is far more serious than the rejection of his messengers. But Jesus did say to his disciples, Whoever rejects you rejects me (Luke 10:16), so is there a double – or even treble – meaning here? In rejecting Paul’s message, they were rejecting the messenger, and in rejecting the messenger they were rejecting Christ, the one who sent him.

What should we do when people reject our message? Paul was certainly exasperated by the behaviour of the Galatians, but he did not desert them. He felt responsible for them and cared enough to warn them of the serious consequences if they continued to reject his message.

by the grace of Christ

As Christ’s messenger, Paul had called them by the grace of Christ. Grace, the unmerited favour of God, was the heart of Paul’s message. On his first visit to Galatia he had preached that

Through Jesus, the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses (Acts 13:38-39).

And this was the message of his grace (14:3).

If the churches he is writing to in Galatians are the same as those he planted in these chapters in Acts, they had certainly already heard Paul’s message of justification by faith.

and are turning to a different gospel

But now they are turning to a different gospel. The word Paul uses for different is heteros, which means another.  In Greek there are two different words for another:

            heteros which means another of a different kind

            and

            allos which means another of the same kind.

Paul uses both these words in verses 6-7. In verse 6 he says that the Galatians are turning to another gospel. Here he uses heteros. Their so called ‘gospel’ of justification by obeying the law of Moses was a totally different kind of gospel than that which Paul preached, justification by faith. Gospel (euangelion in Greek) means good news.  And their insistence that for a man to be saved he must be circumcised as well as believe was certainly not good news!

In most countries today circumcision is probably not the issue that it was back then, but any insistence that any ritual baptism, communion for example is essential to salvation is a false gospel. We should be baptised and take communion because Jesus commanded it, but it’s only faith that saves us.

v 7 which is really no gospel at all

In fact their ‘gospel’ was really no gospel at all. Translated literally, what he says is:

which is not another.

Here Paul uses allos (another of the same kind). Their ‘gospel’ is not the same kind at all. It’s bad news, not good news.

some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ

Any teaching that detracts from the simplicity of the true gospel of salvation by grace through faith is in fact a perversion and will only lead to confusion. In 1 Corinthians 14:33 Paul tells us that God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. It was God the Holy Spirit who brought order out of chaos (Genesis 1:1).

8. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned

9. As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

But even if we…

In effect, Paul is saying, Even if I start preaching a different gospel, don’t believe it! The message of the gospel is more important than the messenger, however impressive their credentials, their personality, or their presentation. It’s the truth of the message that validates the messenger.

or an angel from heaven

This may reflect the Jewish belief that the law had been given through angelic mediators (cf. Acts 7:38) but is more likely to be connected with the fact that Satan masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). Confusion is his work and he’s still in the confusion business today. What Bible believing Christian can fail to see the hand of Satan in the upheaval of moral standards that has taken place in recent decades, as biblical revelation has been rejected, even in some churches, and replaced with the mistaken ideas of godless people?  Those who bring confusion, whether it’s into the churches or into society at large would do well to heed Paul’s urgent warning in these verses:

But why the repetition? This may be just for emphasis, but As we have already said (9) may well be a reference to his teaching when he had planted the churches. However, the two verses are not entirely identical:

Verse 8 refers to the gospel he had preached.

Verse 9 refers to the gospel they had accepted.

Paul had not only preached the true gospel, but the Galatians had accepted it.

let him be eternally condemned

The word Paul uses here is anathema. He uses it in Romans 9:3 where he says that he could wish himself accursed from Christ if only his fellow Jews might be saved. The plain sense there is that he would have been willing to sacrifice his own salvation if only it could achieve theirs. And in 1 Corinthians 16:22 he uses it to say, If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ let them be accursed. So the NIV translation, eternally condemned, here in Galatians, does not seem inappropriate.

But did Paul really want anyone to be eternally condemned? If it sounds like it here, we need to remember that Paul had dedicated his life to preaching the gospel so that others might be saved. If his words seem harsh, we should remind ourselves that God himself, who is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance, will not force salvation on anyone. He has provided the way of salvation through faith in the atoning death of Christ, but, if that is rejected, Jesus said those who do not believe are condemned already (John 3:18).  This is because the only way of salvation is through faith in Christ – and that’s because only Christ was capable of saving us.

So here in Galatians Paul is only affirming what God has already said. Those who were teaching, and those who were believing, a different ‘gospel’ were denying the total efficacy of Christ’s death on the cross, and to reject that is to reject the salvation that it offers. And as Paul says elsewhere, Their condemnation is just (Romans 3:8).

This matter is so important, and Paul cares so much about those he had led to Christ, that he urges them to reject the false gospel of the Judaizers and to return to the gospel by which they had been saved in the first place. Salvation is dependent on accepting the gospel. We cannot lose our salvation, but this passage shows that we can reject it by rejecting the gospel we once believed.

Paul’s teaching throughout Galatians reminds us of the urgency of both believing (and continuing to believe) and preaching the one true gospel of salvation through faith in Christ. We will return to this theme again and again, but as we do so perhaps we should ask ourselves how seriously we are taking our responsibility of sharing this truth with others.

Paul’s letter to the Galatians.    Talk 1. Why Galatians is important

Welcome to a new series of talks in which we will be studying Paul’s letter to the Galatians. In this talk we’ll be looking at the first five verses, but I’ll begin by giving you three reasons why Galatians is important.

1.      It has made a significant impact on the history of the church

It’s clear from what Paul writes in the letter that the young Christian Church was facing very real problems. Christianity had its beginnings in Judaism and the majority of the first Christians were Jewish. But as more and more Gentiles became Christians the question arose as to whether the Gentile Christians needed to obey all the laws of the Old Testament.

The most significant of these was the Jewish rite of circumcision, and some were insisting that Gentiles who became Christians needed to be circumcised if they were to be saved (Acts 15:1). The matter was so serious that the apostles convened a special meeting to discuss the matter, sometimes referred to as the council of Jerusalem, details of which are given us in Acts 15. It was probably around this time (AD49) that Paul wrote his letter to the churches in Galatia, where the problem was particularly acute. Humanly speaking, if the church had insisted on circumcision, Christianity would have made little impact on the Gentiles and almost certainly would never have grown to become the world’s largest religion as it is today.

And Galatians was again to become highly significant in church history several hundred years later, when, as a result of reading it, an Augustinian friar named Martin Luther (1483-1546) became convinced that Christians are saved through faith, and not as a result of their own efforts, which is the main theme of the letter.

2.      It’s the first thing Paul wrote explaining that salvation is by faith and not by works

In the first two chapters, speaking from his experience, Paul insists that his apostolic authority comes from none other than God himself (1:1), and that the gospel he preaches is the only true gospel (1:6-10), because he received it by revelation from Jesus (11-12), not as a result of human consultation (1:16). Only later, in response to a revelation, did he go up to Jerusalem and set before the church leaders there the gospel that he preached to the Gentiles (2:1-2) and Titus, who was a Gentile Christian accompanying Paul, was not compelled to be circumcised (2:3). In fact, James, Peter, and John had recognised the special ministry that God had given to Paul to preach the gospel to the Gentiles (2:7-9) and in 2:15-16 Paul reports how he had said to them:

We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

Having recounted his own experience in chapters 1 and 2, at the beginning of chapter 3 Paul appeals to the Galatians’ own experience of how the Holy Spirit works among them, not because they observe the law but because they believe (1-6). This is followed in the rest of chapter 3 and throughout chapter 4, by a theological explanation of why we are made right with God, not by our good works, but by our trusting in Jesus, something which Paul develops later in greater detail in his letter to the Romans. But that leads us to the third reason why Galatians is important:

3.      It’s of practical relevance to our daily lives

Paul’s teaching that justification is by faith and not by works is not just a theological theory. It’s of vital importance to our lives, and not only to our initial experience of salvation, but also to how we live our Christian lives from day to day. So in chapters 5 and 6 Paul offers a practical application of all he’s been saying in the first four chapters.

Christ has set us free from the law of the Old Testament and we’re not to let ourselves get tangled up in it again (5:1). We’re free from it, but we’re not to use our freedom as an excuse for wrong-doing. The important thing is to serve one another in love (5:13) because love fulfils all the requirements of the law (5:14). In fact, the whole law can be summarised in the commandment, Love your neighbour as yourself. We can do this if we live by the Spirit, and if we live by the Spirit we are not under the law (16-18).

In verses 19-21 Paul lists what he calls the works of the flesh – the kind of things the Spirit will not prompt us to do – and in verses 22-23 he tells us of those things which will be evident in our lives if we follow the leading of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. He calls these the fruit of the Spirit.

Finally, in chapter 6, we fulfil the law of Christ (2) (the law of love)

·        by gently restoring those who have sinned (1)

·        by carrying each other’s burdens (2)

·        by carrying our own burdens (4)

·        by pleasing the Spirit (8)

·        by doing good to all (10).

Of course there is far more in Galatians than the brief summary I have given so far, and we’ll be looking at each chapter in more detail in future talks. But I hope I’ve said enough to persuade you that Galatians is well worth studying, because, as we have seen:

It has made a significant impact on the history of the church

It’s the first thing Paul wrote explaining that salvation is by faith and not by works

It’s of practical relevance to our daily lives.

But now, let’s make a start by reading the first six verses of chapter 1.

1. Paul, an apostle – sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead  2. and all the brothers with me,     To the churches in Galatia:  3. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4. who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5. to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 6. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel..

Paul, an apostle

Paul begins his letter with his name, which was the custom at the time (unlike our custom of leaving our name until the end of a letter). He then immediately reminds the Galatians of his apostolic calling. (For a detailed study of apostles in the New Testament, please see Body Builders – Gifts to make God’s people grow, Chapter Two). The word apostolos in Greek literally means someone who is sent, but usually carried the idea of someone who had been given special authority to speak on behalf of someone else, rather like an ambassador. The more important the person he was representing, the more important the ambassador himself, and Paul knew that he was representing the highest authority of all.

sent not from men nor by man

Acts records how, before his conversion, Paul had already been an ambassador – an ambassador sent by man to persecute the church (Acts 9:1-2, 22:4-5, 26:9-12).

but by Jesus Christ and God the Father

But now he is God’s ambassador. He needs to remind the Galatians of this, because they had so quickly moved away from the truth of the gospel he had preached to them and in doing so had deserted him (v6).

who raised him from the dead

It was the risen Christ who had appeared to Paul on the Damascus Road and given him his apostolic authority.

v.2 and all the brothers with me

We don’t know who these brothers were as Paul does not name them and we can’t be sure of the exact timing of the letter. However, despite the apostolic authority he had been given, Paul was not a loner. Whatever our gifting, we all need the fellowship, encouragement and support of fellow Christians. Perhaps Paul’s reason for mentioning them here is to stress that, although the Galatians were deserting him, there were still those who were loyal to him and the message he preached.

To the churches in Galatia

There has been some debate as to who these churches were. Those who are interested should consult the commentaries. But what’s important is that they were churches that Paul had planted and had originally received gladly his message of salvation through faith in Christ and not by observance of the law.

v.3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ

Paul often sent this greeting at the beginning of his letters, but this was no mere formality. It’s a measure of the stature of the man that he could speak grace and peace over those who were rejecting his message.

v.4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father

the present evil age

Since the coming of Jesus the Christian message has transformed society wherever it has been accepted, yet who can doubt, as we look at the world around us today, that we are still living in the present evil age of which Paul speaks in this verse? Yet there is hope in this verse, because it’s the present age that is evil. The Bible is very clear that things will be different in the age to come!

who gave himself for our sins to rescue us

We have all played our part in contributing to the evil of this present age. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But Jesus came to rescue us. He did this by giving himself for our sins. He did this by dying on the cross and taking on himself the punishment our sins deserved. In doing so he has rescued us from the penalty of sin, he continues to rescue us from the power of sin, and one day, in the age to come, he will rescue us from the presence of sin.

according to the will of our God and Father

And he did this according to the will of God. God wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). But, as Paul tells us throughout Galatians, a vital aspect of the truth is that salvation is through faith and not by works. How grateful we should be for that! Our good works could never save us, but by his death on the cross Jesus has made salvation available to all who will believe. No wonder Paul could say in verse 5:

to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Next time, we’ll pick up where we left off, beginning with verse 6.

Dr David Petts preaching at Brixham Community Church, 19th March 2023.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 15:13

The Death of Jesus

28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”

29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.

30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

IT IS FINISHED

What was?

His earthly life – v. 30 With that he bowed his head and gave up his spirit

But far, far more than that!  It was the end of much, much more.

The old covenant that God had made with his people, the Jews

Hebrews 8:7-13

7 … if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.

8 But God found fault with the people and said (in Jeremiah 31:31-34): “The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.

10 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

11 No longer will a man teach his neighbour, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.

12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete…

The OT is a revelation of the old covenant that God made with his people, but the OT itself promised that the day would come when God would make a new and better covenant with them.

We are not living under the old covenant that God made with the Jewish people, but under the new covenant which is sealed with the blood of Jesus.

When Jesus died on the cross he declared, IT IS FINISHED (John 19:30). The word ‘finished’ here means ‘accomplished’ or ‘completed’.

Jesus had completed the work his Father had given him to do. His death on the cross provided atonement for our sins and was the fulfilment of all OT law. His finished work on the cross is the basis for the new covenant which extends beyond the Jews to the Gentiles as well…

The barrier between Jew and Gentile

Ephesians 2:14

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one, and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility

The barrier between God and man

Matthew 27 :51

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom

The written code that was against us

Colossians 2 :13-14

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

The tyranny of the principalities and powers

Colossians 2 :15

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

The power and fear of death

Hebrews 2 :14-15

…he too shared in (our) humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

‘Tis finished! The Messiah dies, cut off for sins, but not his own.

Accomplished is the sacrifice, the great redeeming work is done.

‘Tis finished! All the debt is paid. Justice divine is satisfied,

The grand and full atonement made. God for a guilty world has died.

The veil is rent in Christ alone. The living way the heaven is seen.

The middle wall is broken down and all mankind may enter in.

The types and figures are fulfilled. Exacted is the legal pain.

The precious promises are sealed. The spotless Lamb of God is slain.

The reign of sin and death is o’er, and all may live from sin set free.

Satan has lost his mortal power. ‘Tis swallowed up in victory!

Saved from the legal curse I am. My Saviour hangs on yonder tree.

See there the meek expiring Lamb. ‘Tis finished, he expires for me.

Accepted in the well-beloved and clothed in righteousness divine,

I see the bar to heaven removed, and all thy merits, Lord, are mine.

Death, hell, and sin are now subdued; all grace is now to sinners given.

And lo, I plead the atoning blood, and in thy right I claim thy heaven.

Charles Wesley

When you come together

Talk 12   Putting it all into practice

As we now turn to suggesting how we can put Paul’s teaching into practice, it will be important first to consider exactly who is responsible for doing so.  And, as we look again at 1 Corinthians 14:26, it becomes immediately apparent that the verse is addressed to everyone in the church:

What then shall we say brothers and sisters? When you come together, everyone has…

So everyone has a responsibility in this matter. But that raises the important question of the role of church leaders. What exactly is their responsibility? In my book, Body Builders, I have discussed the role of church leaders in some detail [1]. There we noted that their responsibilities include shepherding the flock, instructing them in the truths of God’s word, and managing and directing the affairs of the church (1 Timothy 3:5, 5:17).

Applying these principles to 1 Corinthians 14:26, this clearly implies that, apart from any other duties they may have, church leaders have a special responsibility in ensuring that what Paul teaches is put into practice whenever Christians come together to worship the Lord. If church members are to fulfil their responsibility to participate in the meetings as Paul teaches in 14:26, church leaders will need to encourage them to do so. The purpose of this talk is to offer some guidance as to how they might do this.

Being fully persuaded in your own mind

Now that we’ve almost finished this series, the time has come for you to make up your mind. I encourage you to read again chapters 12-14 of 1 Corinthians and especially consider what implications 14:26 might have for your church. In Romans 14:5, Paul wrote:

Let everyone be fully persuaded in their own mind.

Although written in a different context, this principle is of vital importance in every area of our Christian living. We must take care that we are not tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching (Ephesians 4:14).

This is particularly relevant in situations where the implementation of a 14:26 style of worship could be controversial. Change often makes people feel uncomfortable, and some of them will probably tell you so. But, if you are fully persuaded in your own mind that this is what God says, you will be able to bear criticism patiently and in time, hopefully, to persuade them of the truth. That’s why it’s especially important to pray for guidance.

Praying for guidance

In making these suggestions on how we might lead our church into a more biblical way of doing things, I am well aware that every situation is different. Apart from the obvious denominational differences in styles of worship and leadership, there are sometimes very different ways of doing things in churches of the same denomination. That’s why, I have placed prayer for guidance high on our list of priorities.

Once we have grasped the truth of God’s word on the matter, we need to pray for guidance on how and when we should introduce these things. When seeking to introduce any form of change where there has been a well-established tradition, I have personally always felt it wise to take things slowly and only introduce the change after teaching clearly why the change is both biblical and necessary. But that’s something for the leaders of each local church prayerfully to decide together. Which leads us to our next point.

Consulting your fellow leaders

As I’ve just mentioned, I realise that different churches have different forms of leadership. Although I am fully persuaded that team leadership should be the aim of every local church, it’s not my intention to argue the point here, as I have already done so at some length in Body Builders. However, I would suggest that, even in churches where there is only one leader, it would be wise for that leader to consult with key people in the church before seeking to implement any major changes in the style of worship.

On the other hand, where there is already an established pastoral team, it’s important that each pastor or elder is committed to the principle of 14:26 meetings and that the team agrees on how it should be applied in their local situation. Decisions need to be made not only on how and when to introduce it, but also on how to interpret and apply Paul’s teaching, particularly where there is legitimate room for different ways of understanding what he is saying.

I have listed below some of the issues it would be wise to consider. I have already expressed my own opinion on these matters, but it’s for each leadership team to make their own decision. The sort of things I’m referring to are:

a) With regard to speaking in tongues when unbelievers come in, should there be:

            No tongues at all?

            Tongues only if interpreted?

            Everybody speaking in tongues?

b) With regard to the gift of interpretation of tongues:

            Should this sound like praise or prophecy?

            What does Someone must  interpret mean (v. 27)?

            Should a fourth utterance in tongues be interpreted?

            Should private tongues be interpreted?

c) With regard to the gift of prophecy:

            How many? 2 or 3?

            How do you judge it? Who should judge it?

            How do you apply v.30? 

And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop.

Once you have decided these issues you will need to teach them. But there may be other areas where teaching will be needed too.

Teaching the people

I have discovered from years of experience that you get what you teach for. Jesus said, You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:32). God’s people are released into freedom when they know the truths of God’s word. Few will be saved if we do not preach the gospel. Few will be healed if we do not preach about healing. And the same applies to the baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit which are essential if our meetings are to follow the biblical pattern of 1 Corinthians 14:26.

It is vital that when people become Christians they are encouraged to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit as soon as possible after their conversion (Acts 2:38). This gives them an early introduction into the charismatic  dimension of life in the Spirit. And, of course, they must be taught to keep on being filled with the Spirit on a daily basis (Ephesians 5:18, 2 Timothy  1:6).

And once people have been filled with the Spirit, it’s important that they receive teaching on spiritual gifts. It’s important that we give clear guidelines for the use of the gifts (as Paul did in 1 Corinthians 12-14). This way the people feel the security of knowing how and when they may be appropriately exercised. That’s why we need to have decided in advance what our policy will be with regard to the issues we just mentioned.

We must encourage people to exercise the gifts and lovingly correct them where necessary. The gifts are not infallible, and because we are human, people will make mistakes. But if these are corrected lovingly and sensitively, the whole congregation will feel secure under a firm but caring leadership, and those who are beginning in the gifts can learn to excel so that the church might be built up (1 Corinthians 14:12).

Finally, we need to remember that the best way to teach is by setting an example. We need not only to tell people what they should do, but, equally importantly, to show them how to do it. Some of the fastest growing churches  in the world are churches where the leadership  sets the example in the use of spiritual gifts . However, it’s important that leaders do not give the impression that they are the only ones that God can use in the exercise of these gifts.

Making space

And if we really want to encourage people to participate in our meetings, we must make space for them to do so. We have already acknowledged that it will be difficult to put into practice the principles taught in1 Corinthians 14:26 in a large gathering, but there is no good reason why space could not be made available for people to participate for at least a part of the meeting.

Another way to make such participation possible would be to ask the congregation to break into groups of say seven to ten people and encourage them to share together for perhaps twenty minutes or so. I once did this after teaching for six Sunday mornings on 1 Corinthians 12-14. I encouraged everyone to say at least something that might be a blessing to others, even if it was just a favourite verse of Scripture or the verse of a hymn. And I was pleased to hear afterwards how grateful the people were to have been given the opportunity to do so.

You might also consider arranging some special ‘14:26 meetings’ either on a Sunday or during the week. This could be a useful way of gradually introducing a congregation who have been unused to it to this style of worship. If you decide to do this it would be wise to tell people in advance what you’re going to do and to come prepared to participate.

And of course, an obvious setting for this kind of meeting would be in home groups. However, before attempting to do so, home group leaders might well need training and teaching the principles we have already discussed.

Creating a suitable environment

Finally, it’s vital that we provide the right environment for the gifts  to flourish. If as leaders we seek to create an atmosphere of love (rather than criticism) in the church, people will not be afraid to move forward in faith . In the right kind of spiritual atmosphere spiritual gifts  flow naturally and easily. It is not difficult to have the faith  to prophesy in a fellowship where believers love  each other and want to edify one another and where the leaders will sympathetically encourage us and, if necessary, lovingly correct us as we seek to move forward in faith.

Conclusion

My purpose in this series has been to show that we should take seriously Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 14:26 and encourage a greater measure of Spirit-led congregational participation in our meetings. We have acknowledged that the things that Paul wrote are the commandments of the Lord (14:37), not just for the Christians in first century Corinth, but for us today.

In order to put 1 Corinthians 14:26 in context, and to understand more fully what Paul is saying in this verse, we have examined chapters 12-14 in some detail and have seen that there’s a supernatural dimension to the worship of the church expressed in the manifestation of supernatural gifts given by the Holy Spirit (12:1-11) and that these all spring from our being baptised in the Spirit (12:13), which is an experience promised by Jesus and described by Luke in the Book of Acts.

We saw that Paul’s teaching that the church is the body of Christ, that every member of the body is different, and that everybody is needed (12:12-30), undergirds his recommendation in 14:26 that everyone should have opportunity to contribute to the meeting.

Furthermore, his teaching that everything we do must be motivated by love (13:1-13) and that, as an expression of that love, we must always seek to put other people first (14:1-25), impinges directly on how the principles taught in 14:26 should be applied in practice. This will mean, among other things, using correctly the spiritual gifts God has given us by taking responsibility for our actions (14:26-40).

In this connection, we examined carefully Paul’s teaching on tongues, interpretation, and prophecy in chapter 14, as these are the subjects he concentrates on in that chapter and are specifically mentioned in 14:26. We sought to clarify the meaning of verses that are open to differences of interpretation and to suggest how they might be applied in practice, acknowledging that in everything we must submit to the authority of scripture (14:37).

Finally, in this talk we have offered some guidelines as to how all these things might be put into practice. Church leaders have a special responsibility in this, and, as I have said more than once already, it is not my intention to tell leaders what they should do – that is their responsibility under God. But it is my sincere prayer that what I have said may be of some help in bringing our meetings closer to God’s revealed will for what should happen when we come together.