Galatians | 1:11-24

Apr 14

About this series:

Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia is a heartfelt defence of the gospel of God's grace; a fervent appeal to keep the gospel front-and-centre and to not allow anything to detract from it.

In this letter Paul sounds exasperated at some points - for example, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel - which is really no gospel at all” (1:6) and, “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” (3:1), which The Message renders as, “You crazy Galatians! Did someone put a spell on you? Have you taken leave of your senses? Something crazy has happened, for it’s obvious that you no longer have the crucified Jesus in clear focus in your lives.”

Paul’s frustration and anger stem from a passionate concern that the churches he planted return to a full confidence that it is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone that a person is justified by God and is included in God’s family. Nothing else is required. The message he preached to the Galatians, and which they had believed, is not so much a departure from their Jewish heritage, as the fulfilment of it. Thus, in this letter we have a window into life in early Christianity and especially some of the challenges the churches faced from false teachers as the church grew from its Jewish roots.

So in this series we’re going to get a big view of what the life, death and resurrection of Jesus has achieved for mankind. And some very practical help on how we can stay true to Jesus, trusting him alone to put us in a right relationship with God, to keep us in that right relationship and to qualify us for membership among God’s people. ‘The central message of Galatians is that the freeness of God’s grace and love is not only the gateway but also the pathway of the Christian life’ (Dane Ortlund).

About this talk:

‘As in verse 1 he asserted the divine origin of his apostolic commission, so now he asserts the divine origin of his apostolic gospel. Neither his mission nor his message was derived from man; both came to him direct from God and Jesus Christ’ (John Stott). So here in this section Paul is seeking to explain his apostolic credentials to those who may be doubting him because of the impact the Judaizers (including “certain men [who] came from James,” 2:12) are having on the Galatian churches.

Paul’s assertions that “the gospel I preached is not of human origin” (v 11) and that “my immediate response was not to consult anyone” (v 16) are not to be read as arrogance but as a defence against his opponents who claim his message can be dismissed because he must have invented it or got it from someone else. This gospel is such a controversial departure from many of the ways of Judaism that he and his message are being criticised widely by those who have come to the Galatian churches after he had moved on. Obviously in the end Paul goes to Jerusalem (1:18 and 2:1) and is endorsed by the other apostles, but it is not even they from whom he received the gospel.

Paul’s story is well known to us, but is completely remarkable nonetheless. He had a shining set of Jewish credentials: “circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless” (Philippians 3:5-6). And here he describes his passion for God’s honour and for the historic Jewish faith, vs 13-14. The only other times the New Testament uses the word translated here as“ destroy” (v 13) are also in regard to Paul - in 1:23 and Acts 9:21 - and makes clear how fiercely he was opposed to Jesus and his followers (see also Acts 8:3;9:1-2;22:3-5;26:9-11). His purpose had been no less than to literally destroy this new movement.

Paul’s opposition to Jesus gives some insight to the discontinuity that existed between the Jewish faith and the growing Jesus movement. We often stress the Bible’s continuity from Old Testament to New Testament, and rightly so - it is one developing story in which the New can only really be understood as we see it building on the Old. But just as there is continuity, there is dramatic discontinuity in terms of the five key marks of second temple Judaism.

We’ve probably all heard contemporary stories of people who were completely changed from violent opposition to Christianity to an encounter with Jesus that led them instead to follow him. It may be helpful to recount one of those stories here, but also to encourage people about their own turnarounds and how God can turn around anyone he chooses.

In contrast to Paul’s former initiative and activity described in vs 13-14, we then have the initiative and activity of God: setting Paul apart, calling him by grace and revealing his Son to him - all for the purpose “that I might preach him among the Gentiles,” which thereafter became Paul’s ambition in life - “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation” (Romans 15:20).

The events recorded in vs 17-21 correspond with those in Acts 9. After spending time in Damascus, we read that, “After many days had gone by” Paul left Damascus and, “came to Jerusalem.” Here we discover those “many days” were in fact three years (v 18). It is not until 14 years after his conversion that Paul spent amore extended time in Jerusalem (2:1). Vs 18-19 refer to Acts 9:26-28 and v 21, “Then I went to Syria and Cilicia” refers to Acts 9:30.