The True Gospel is Reaffirmed to the Galatians Volume 1

Paul’s Introduction

Galatians 1:1-5 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. KJV

Paul uncharacteristically does not begin his letter to these Churches with tender affection as he has so commonly done in his other letters, but instead here he begins immediately with a defense of his Apostleship. Somewhat similar is Paul’s emotional writing that began his first and second letters to the Corinthian believers. It’s almost as if you can hear with your physical ears (being transported back in the very moment Paul sat down to begin the construction of this letter) the loud tone exuding from his heart or inner man almost to the point of frustration with these Churches having to defend his authenticity to them and the true Gospel. Paul declares himself an Apostle not through or from any man’s authority, but directly from our Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father. Paul is saying here that no human counsel of the first Apostles came together to vote him in as they did with Matthias (Acts 1:26).

Paul was appointed to his position by virtue of his personal encounter with the Resurrected Christ on the Damascus Road as Dr. Luke declared with these words documented from our Lord Jesus spoken of Paul, “And the Lord said to him, ‘Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.’ But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your Name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My Name’s sake’” (Acts 9:11-16).

Our Lord Jesus commissioned Paul to go both to the Jews and the Gentiles to turn them from the power of Satan to the Power of God, from darkness to Light as our Lord Jesus spoke in this manner of Himself when he said, “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.’” (John 8:12). Paul wanted these Churches in Galatia to know who his authority came from, unlike these Judiazers who were troubling the Galatian believers (Galatians 1:7 & Galatians 5:12) with the false doctrine that Paul is going to dispel, disperse, and dissipate in this letter. Some Biblical Scholars believe that this epistle was written around the autumn of A.D. 57 or perhaps A. D. 58 which is also understood by many when he penned the letter to the Romans. We find that the theology expressed in this letter to the Galatians with such strong emotion is also found in the letter to the Romans in a larger manner but also with more calm, for example Paul uses the distinction of the children of Abraham in the flesh to the spiritual children of Abraham through faith in Jesus Christ in both letters.

Despite the major concern and worry Paul had with these Churches concerning their being turned away from the true Gospel, Paul still bids them grace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ and the subsequent peace that always comes from  the reception of God’s grace. Some historical facts concerning the people of this region or part of the world according to the Expositor’s Bible Commentary are as follows, “Galatian is equivalent to Gaul, or Kelt. This people was a detached fragment of the great Western-European race, which forms the basis of our own Irish and West-British populations, as well as of the French nationality. They had conquered for themselves a home in the north of Asia Minor during the Gaulish invasion that poured over Southeastern Europe and into the Asiatic peninsula some three and a half centuries before. Here the Gallic intruders stubbornly held their ground; and only succumbed to the irresistible power of Rome. Defeated by the Consul Manlius in 189 B.C., the Galatians retained their autonomy, under the rule of native princes, until in the year 25 B.C., on the death of Amyntas, the country was made a province of the Empire. The people maintained their distinctive character and speech despite these changes. At the same time they readily acquired Greek culture, and were by no means barbarians; indeed they were noted for their intelligence. In religion they seem to have largely imbibed the Phrygian idolatry of the earlier inhabitants.”

Paul concludes his introduction with what will be the entire theme of this epistle and that is that our salvation is completely and only because of what Jesus Christ (God in Human Flesh) did on the Cross of Calvary by dying for man’s sin. Paul’s entire epistle is drawn from the fact of these two verses Galatians 1:4-5 as we will see him unfold this truth disputing and then destroying every argument of adding anything to it. Paul declares that it is Christ sacrifice that delivers every born again believer from the guilt, penalty, and the power of sin right now in this present world, age, or the Greek word aion which means system or course of the world that is opposed to the glory of God because it is under the control of the Evil One. It is also the period of time that all human beings alive now reside in and then at the death of every true believer we will be delivered from the presence of all sin and evil all and only through receiving grace and faith from Christ Jesus our Lord as Paul will describe it in the next Chapter with these words, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly” (Galatians 2:20-21). Therefore, all the Glory for man’s salvation and redemption belongs to God alone, as Paul wrote in this manner to the Colossians, “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).

My own Personal Note: Paul begins this epistle differently because it was of utmost importance to him (for the true spiritual well-being of these Galatians) that he refute with extreme prejiduce the notion that was being taught by these Judiazers that led the Galatians to endeavor to go away from “walking in the Spirit” to operating “in the flesh” and performing rituals of the flesh (i.e. circumcision) to make themselves pleasing to God.

“We have received the Spirit of God, that we may know the things freely given us of God: sentences like these show us very clearly how the Apostle’s doctrine formed itself in his mind. His apprehension of Christ, above all of the cross, was the focus, the creative and governing centre, of all his thoughts concerning God and man, time and eternity.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary

“Extreme diseases call for extreme remedies. The case with which our good Physician had to deal was a desperate one. The world was sick at heart; its moral nature rotten to the core. Human life was shattered to its foundation. If it was to be saved, if the race was to escape perdition, the fabric must be reconstructed upon another basis, on the ground of a new righteousness, outside ourselves and yet akin to us, near enough to take hold of us and grow into us, which should draw to itself the broken elements of human life, and as a vital organic force refashion them, ‘creating men anew in Christ Jesus’-a righteousness availing before God, and in its depth and width sufficient to bear a world’s weight.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary

“In pity and in sorrow was that gift bestowed; in deep humility and sorrow must it be accepted. It is a very humbling thing to ‘receive the atonement,’ to be made righteous on such terms as these. A man who has done well can with satisfaction accept the help given him to do better. But to know that one has done very ill, to stand in the sight of God and truth condemned, marked with the disgrace that the crucifixion of the Son of God has branded on our human nature, with every stain of sin in ourselves revealed in the light of His sacrifice, is a sore abasement. When one has been compelled to cry out, ‘Lord, save; or I perish!’ he has not much left to plume himself upon. There was Saul himself, a perfect moralist, ‘blameless in the righteousness of the law.’ Yet he must confess, ‘How to perform that which is good I find not. In me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. Wretch that I am, who shall deliver me?’ Was not this mortifying to the proud young Pharisee, the man of strict conscience and high-souled moral endeavour? It was like death. And whoever has with sincerity made the same attempt to attain in the strength of his will to a true virtue, has tasted of this bitterness.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary

“This, however, is what many cannot understand. The proud heart says, ‘No; I will not stoop to that. I have my faults, my defects and errors, not a few. But as for what you call sin, as for guilt and inborn depravity, I am not going to tax myself with anything of the kind. Leave me a little self-respect.’ So with the whole herd of the self-complacent, half-religious Laodiceans. Once a week they confess themselves ‘miserable sinners,’ but their sins against God never yet cost them one half hour of misery. And Paul’s ‘gospel is hid to them.’ If they read this Epistle, they cannot tell what it is all about; why Paul makes so much ado, why these, thunderings of judgment, these cries of indignation, these beseechings and protestings and redoubled arguments, -all because a parcel of foolish Galatians wanted to play at being Jews! They are inclined to think with Festus, that this good Paul was a little beside himself. Alas! to such men, content with the world’s good opinion and their own, the death of Christ is made of none effect. Its moral grandeur, its infinite pathos, is lost upon them. They pay it a conventional respect, but as for believing in it, as for making it their own, and dying with Christ to live in Him-they have no idea what it means. That, they will tell you, is ‘mysticism,’ and they are practical men of the world. They have never gone out of themselves, never discovered their moral insufficiency. These are they of whom Jesus said, ‘The publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.’ It is our human independence, our moral self-conceit, that robs us of the Divine bounty. How should God give His righteousness to men so well furnished with their own? ‘Blessed’ then ‘are the poor in spirit’; blessed are the broken in heart-poor enough, broken enough, bankrupt enough to stoop to a Saviour ‘who gave Himself for our sins.’” Expositor’s Bible Commentary

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…