Galatians 1

CHAPTER 1THEME: Salutationcool greeting; subject statedwarm declamation; Paul’s experience in ArabiaGalatians is God’s polemic against legalism of every and any description. The Mosaic Law is neither discredited, despised, nor disregarded. Its majesty, perfection, demands, fullness, and purpose are maintained. Yet these very qualities make it utterly impossible for man to come this route to God. Another way is opened for man to be justified before God, a way which entirely bypasses the Mosaic Law. The new route is by faith. Justification by faith is the theme, with the emphasis upon faith. Three epistles in the New Testament quote Hab_2:4, “The just shall live by his faith.” Rom_1:17 emphasizes the just. Heb_10:38 emphasizes shall live. Gal_3:11 emphasizes by faith. In Romans the emphasis is upon the fact that man apart form the Mosaic Law is justified before God by faith. In Galatians Paul is defending the gospel from those who would add law to justification by faith. Faith plus law was the thrust of Judaism. Faith plus nothing was the answer of Paul. The Judaizers questioned Paul’s authority as an apostle and his teaching that simple faith was adequate for salvation. Paul defends his apostleship and demonstrates the sufficiency of the gospel of grace to save.

Galatians 1:1

SALUTATIONCOOL GREETINGActually there is no parenthesis necessary in this verse. Paul is simply stating that he is an apostle. The word apostle is used in a twofold sense:

1. One of the Twelve (Act_1:21-26) (a) With Jesus during His three year ministry (v. Gal_1:21); (b) Witness of His postresurrection ministry (v. Gal_1:22); (c) Chosen by Christ (v. Gal_1:22; Act_9:15; Act_26:16-17).
2. One sent forth. This is the wider sense as used in Act_11:22. Paul, in my judgment, took the place of Judas. After the resurrection of Jesus, Matthias was chosen by the disciples to fill the place of Judas, but no information is given about Matthias except the account given in Act_1:15-26. Matthias is never mentioned again. If the Holy Spirit had chosen him, certainly somewhere along the way He would have set His seal upon this man. Paul, however, proved he was an apostle, and Matthias did not. The election of Matthias as an apostle was held before Pentecost, which was before the Holy Spirit came into the church.

For that reason I do not think that the Holy Spirit had anything to do with the selection of Matthias. There are also many elections in our churches today that are obviously not ordered by the Holy Spirit. I believe that Paul is the man whom the Spirit of God chose to take Judas’ place. In this verse Paul also says that he is not “of men.” The preposition apo conveys the meaning of “not from men,” that is, it is not legalistic. He is not an apostle by appointment or commission after having attended a school or having taken a prescribed course. Paul also declares that his apostleship is not “by man.” The preposition dia indicates that it was not through man, that is, not ritualistic by means of laying on of hands, as by a bishop or church court. Paul did not have the other apostles lay their hands on his head and say, “Hocus pocus, you are an apostle.” Paul was an apostle. How? He was an apostle by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead. Jesus laid His hand upon Paul, called him, and set him apart for the office (see Act_9:15-16). Now I am an ordained minister from men and through men. I was told that I had to finish seminary and obtain certain degrees before I could do ordained. I did that. That was from men. That was the legalistic side. Next I went before a church body that examined me. Their decision was that I should be an ordained minister. In the Second Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, I knelt, and a group of men put their hands on me and said, “You are now an ordained minister.” That is the kind of minister I am. Paul said, “I am not that kind of an apostle. Men had nothing to do with it. I am an apostle directly by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead.”

Galatians 1:2

You will notice that Paul’s greeting is cool, brief, formal, and terse. No one is personally mentioned. He is not writing just to one church. He is writing to several churches"churches of Galatia." The word church is used in two ways in the New Testament. One meaning of church includes the entire body of believers, of all different groups, who have trusted Christ as Savior. The other meaning of church refers to local assemblies, which is how Paul uses the word here. There were churches, or local assemblies, in many parts of Galatia. There was a church in Antioch of Pisidia, in Derbe, in Lystra, and in other places he had visited. Paul was writing to all the churches, to all of the local assemblies; hence the local churchnot the corporate body of believersis in view here.

In the Epistle to the Ephesians we look at the church as a corporate body of believersthe invisible church. But the invisible body is to make itself visible today in a corporate body. Believers should be identified with a local body of believers.

Galatians 1:3

This is Paul’s formal greeting that he uses in most of his epistles. The word grace (charis) in this verse was the gentile form of greeting in that day, while peace (shalom) was the religious greeting of the Jews. Now the grace of God must be experienced before the peace that is from God the Father can be experienced.

Galatians 1:4

This is another marvelous verseI can’t rise to the level of it; I will simply say some things about it. Jesus Christ “gave himself for our sins.” There is nothing that we can add to the value of His sacrifice. Nothing! He gave Himself. What do you have to give, friend? Anything? Can you add anything to His sacrifice? He gave Himself. How wonderful and glorious that is! I am speechless when I read a verse like this. He gave Himself! When you give yourself, you have given everythingwho you are, what you have, your time, your talenteverything. He gave Himself. He couldn’t give any more. Paul just couldn’t wait to say it. Having mentioned Him, he says, “Who gave himself for our sins.” This is the germ of Paul’s subject. Paul calls Him, “our Lord Jesus Christ.” He is my Savior. Can you say, “The Lord is my Shepherd?” It is one thing to say He is a Shepherd; it is another thing to make it possessive. The Lord is my Shepherd. The Lord is my Savior. Can you say that He is yours? Paul goes on to say, “that he might deliver us form this present evil world.” Notice that the Lord delivers us from this present evil age. There is, therefore, a present value of the gospel which proves its power and genuineness. The gospel can deliver you. I have received letters from thousands of folks who have turned to Christ and have been delivered. They have been delivered from drugs, from alcohol, and from sex sins. Christ alone can deliver in cases like that. This proves the genuineness of the gospel. Christ gave Himself for our sins. He took your place and my place on that cross. He died for us and rose from the dead “that he might deliver us from this present evil world.” All we have seen so far does not exhaust the richness of this verse. Notice that His deliverance is “according to the will of God and our Father.” He can deliver usand it will not be according to law. But it must be according to the will of God, my friend. The will of God is that, after He has saved us, we are not to live in sin. How wonderful this is! He can deliver us. He wants to deliver us. He will deliver us, and He will do it according to the will of God. It is God’s will that you be delivered. This verse still is not exhausted. Christ gave Himself that He might deliver us according to the will of God. God can deliver us, but it will not be according to the Law. It must be according to the will of God, my friend. The will of God is that when He saves you, you are not to live in sin. He can deliver us and He wants to deliver us. It is His will that you be delivered. My friend, this is a verse that makes you feel like throwing your hat in the air, does it not?

Galatians 1:5

This is a moment wherein Paul stops to render praise to God. I am convinced that we should praise God more than we do. Let us get right down to the nitty-gritty, right down where the rubber meets the road. Did you praise the Lord’s name this morning when you got up? Did you thank Him for a new day? You say, “It was raining?” But did you thank Him for it? Did you praise His name that He brought you to a new day? I had to have a bout with cancer before I came to the place where I thank Him as I should. Now the first thing I do every morningwhether the sun is shining or it’s pouring down rainis to say, “Lord, thank you for bringing me to a new day.” How wonderful He is! We need to praise Him more. I want glory to go to the name of my God and my Savior. I don’t want to stand on the sidelines and compromise by endorsing these contemporary dramatic productions and songs that are belittling the Lord Jesus Christ. I am speaking out against them, because He is God manifest in the flesh. He gave Himself for me. I want to praise His name! “To whom be glory for ever and ever.” “For ever and ever” begins right now and is going on right into eternity. This concludes Paul’s salutation. Although it contains some glorious truths, I think you will have to admit that it is a cool, impersonal greeting from the apostle Paul.

Galatians 1:6

SUBJECT STATEDWARM DECLAMATIONPaul now states his subject. He goes from cold to hot. In fact, he is hot under the collar. Why? Because there are those who are mutilating the gospel. Paul would give his life for the gospel. There are two aspects of the gospel, and it can be used in two senses: (1) the facts of the gospel, and (2) the interpretation of the facts. The facts of the gospel are the death, burial, and bodily resurrection of Christ. Paul said to the Corinthians, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received [Paul didn’t originate the gospel; he received it], how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1Co_15:3-4). These are the historical facts of the gospel which cannot be changed. You have never preached the gospel unless you have stated these facts. The second aspect of the gospel is the interpretation of the facts. They are to be received by faith plus nothing. Now the subject of Paul’s letter to the Galatian believers concerns the interpretation of the facts of the gospel. The Judaizers had followed Paul into the Galatian country. They did not challenge the facts of the gospel. After all, five hundred people at once saw the Lord Jesus after His resurrection. When you have that many people around as witnesses, you don’t run around denying the facts of the gospel. The heresy they were promoting concerned the interpretation of those facts.

They were very sly and subtle and said something like this, “Did Brother Paul come here among you?” The folk would say, “Yes, he came and preached the gospel and we accepted it. We are converted. We know Christ as our Savior, and we are in the body of believers.” The Judaizers would respond, “Oh, that’s wonderful. Brother Paul is accurate as far as he goes, but he doesn’t go far enough. Did he tell you that you should keep the Mosaic Law? Oh, he didn’t?

Well, he should have told you that. Yes, you are to trust Christ, but you must also follow the Mosaic Law or you won’t be saved.” This is one of the oldest heresies known, and it is still with us today. It is adding something to the gospel of grace; it is doing something rather than simply believing something. It is faith plus something rather than faith plus nothing. Every cult and “ism” has something for you to do in order to be saved. It is interesting that Paul said to the Philippian jailer, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved …” (Act_16:31). Simon Peter said to the Sanhedrin, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Act_4:12). Christ told the apostles to preach the gospel of salvation by grace. They were not to do anything to gain their salvation, but they were to trust what Christ already had done for them. The gospel shuts out all works. Now Paul is writing to the Galatian believers and saying, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel”

Galatians 1:7

The word pervert is the Greek word metastrephai. It is a strong word, used by Dr. Luke in speaking of the sun turned to darkness (see Act_2:20), and by James, speaking of laughter turned to mourning (see Jas_4:9). To attempt to change the gospel has the effect of making it the very opposite of what it really is. This is important to see.

Galatians 1:8

This verse is as strong as anything could possibly be. Paul says that if an angel dared to declare any other message than the gospel, he would be dismissed with a strong invective. If an angel should appear to me right now and say, “You are right as far as you go, but you also have to do something to be saved”; or if an angel should appear to you as you read this and say, “McGee is correct as far as he goes, but you have to do something else,” both you and I should say, “Get out of here; I’m not listening to you although you are an angel from heaven.” My friend, in our day we hear many speakers who are trying to give us another “gospel.” They may look like angels to youafter all, Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light, and his ministers are transformed as the ministers of righteousness (see 2Co_11:14-15). Now hear Paul

Galatians 1:9

In strong language Paul says, “If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed,” which literally means let him be damned. Friend, I cannot make that statement any stronger. The gospel shuts out all works. Rom_4:5 says, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” I find a great many folk who think they have to become good enough to be saved. The other day a man said to me, “McGee, I want to become a Christian. I am going to try to be a little better, and if I improve, I am going to become a Christian.” I said to him, “If you improve, you will never become a Christian. The only class that God is saving is the ungodly. The Lord Jesus said He didn’t come to call the righteous; He came to call sinners.

The reason He said that was because there is none righteous, no, not one. Even the righteousness of man is as filthy rags in God’s sight. Law condemns us, and it must make us speechless before grace can save us.” Rom_3:19 tells us that, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” The real difficulty is not that people should be “good enough” to be saved, but that they are not “bad enough” to be saved. Humanity refuses to recognize its lost condition before God. This is the human predicament. The Judaizers did not deny the facts of the gospelthat Jesus died and rose again. What they denied was that this was adequate. They insisted that you have to keep the Law plus trusting Christ. Paul is saying that whoever tries to mingle law and gracelet him be damned! Why? Because they pervert the gospel. They do not deny the fact of the gospel, but they misinterpret those facts. They pervert the gospel.

Galatians 1:10

The word persuade means “to make a friend of.” The Scofield Reference Bible translates it “seek the favor of.” In 1Th_2:4 and 1Th_4:1 it is “please God” in contrast to self or others. The preaching of the gospel is not pleasing to lost man. No man can please both God and man. If you preach the gospel of grace today, you may get into trouble because it is the gospel of the grace of God that the sinner hates. Many unsaved church members do not want to hear the message of grace. They want to hear a message that appeals to the flesh. The gospel of grace puts us in the dust and makes us beggars before God. By nature man responds to legalism. He thinks he doesn’t need a Savior. All he needs is a helper. Oh, my friend, we are sinking for the third time! We need somebody to save us. Those who preach law are popular.

Not long ago I listened to a local Southern California preacher on television. From a technical and professional standpoint he has one of the finest programs. In his message he talked about Jesus coming into the world. He spoke of Christ’s death and resurrection. But he failed to mention that the people to whom he was speaking were sinners and needed a Savior. He neglected to inform his audience that Jesus died for them and they needed to trust Him to be saved.

Rather, he talked about commitment. He invited folk to commit their lives to Christ. Let us be honest, friend. Christ does not want your old life and He does not want mine. We have nothing to commit to Him. He wants to do something through us today.

Oh, if only we could learn that! God is not even asking you to live the Christian life. In fact, you cannot live it. God is asking that He might live the Christian life through you. The Epistle to the Galatians teaches this. But first of all we must come to Christ as sinners and be saved. Our churches are filled today with people who are not saved. Do you know why? They have never come to Christ and received Him as Savior. They feel like they have something to commit to Him. You have nothing to commit to Him, my friend. He wants to commit something to you. He is the One who died, and He is on the giving end. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom_6:23). It is just as simple as that. Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior? This is the important thing. Man’s conscience witnesses to the law, and legal conviction will lead to works. Man tries to compensate for the fact that he is not doing enough. He tries to balance his good works against his sins and have enough on the plus side to be saved. The apostle Paul, you recall, tried to do this. And he had a whole lot on the plus side. But one day he came to Christ. Then he said, “What was gain for me became loss, and what was loss became gain” (see Php_3:7-8). The Holy Spirit witnesses to grace today. This is gospel conviction that leads to faith. Actually the law denies the fall of manthis was the position of Cain. Grace acknowledges the fall of man, as Abel did when he brought his offering to God. We come now to a new section that deals with the apostle Paul personallyhis experience in Arabia, his experience with the apostles in Jerusalem, and his experience in Antioch with Peter. This will take us through the first half of chapter 2.

Galatians 1:11

PERSONALPAUL’S EXPERIENCE IN ARABIAPaul is stating once again, as he did in verse Gal_1:1, that he is a God-appointed apostle. When he says, “I certify you,” he means, “I remind you.” “After man” should be “according to man.” Paul did not get the gospel he preached from man. The Judaizers not only questioned Paul’s message, they also questioned his apostleship. He was not one of the original Twelve, but a Johnny-come-lately. They cast a shadow upon the validity of Paul’s authority as an apostle. Paul is going to take up this matter with them and show that his apostleship rests upon the fact that he was called directly by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:12

Paul did not receive his apostleship by going to school. Neither did he receive it by being ordained or by hands being laid on his head. Paul’s apostleship and gospel came directly by a revelation (apokalupsis) of Jesus Christ. The Book of Revelation, sometimes called the Apocalypse, is from the same word. The gospel is a revelation as much as is the Book of Revelation. The gospel was unveiled to the apostle Paul. He did not become an apostle through Peter, James, or John. He was an apostle by the direct call of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:13

Paul says, “For ye have heard of my conversation,” that is, you have heard of my manner of life. Paul now calls the religion in which he was brought up the “Jews’ religion.” Paul was saved, not in Judaism, but from Judaism. Now notice this tremendous statement:

Galatians 1:15

The phrase “but when it pleased God,” in verse Gal_1:15, means that Paul was called according to the will of God. The word heathen in verse Gal_1:16 refers to Gentiles. Paul conferred not with flesh and bloodhe didn’t get it from any man. Paul received the gospel directly from Jesus Christ. Many years ago a so-called modernist, who taught old heresy, wrote a book about Paul. He also gave lectures, which I heard. He gave the apostle Paul credit for being a great brain. (I personally believe Paul had the greatest mind of any man who has ever lived. Many scholars, who are better acquainted with Paul than I am also make this statement.) He pointed out that Paul was a brilliant student of the Mosaic system of Judaism and was a brilliant student of Greek philosophy, and then declared that Paul combined the two and came up with Christianity. Now Paul says here in Galatians that he didn’t get the gospel that way. He received the gospel by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:18

I suppose that this verse is the same record that is given in Act_9:26-29 which says, “And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem. And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him.” When all of this is added up, it means that Paul spent less than three years in the desert. It is interesting how God has trained His men. He trained Moses in the desert. He put Abraham in a rather unique place to train him, and Elijah had that same type of experience. It has been God’s method to put His man out on the desert to train him. David was trained outdoors in the caves of the earth while he was running away from King Saul. Remember that he cried out to God that he was hunted like a partridgeit was open season on him all the time. The Lord used the same method with Paul. God sent him into the desert for less than three years. Then he went to Jerusalem, saw Peter, and stayed with him for fifteen days.

Galatians 1:19

Paul had no contact with the apostles except Peter and James, the Lord’s brother. That is all the contact he had with them, and he received nothing from them, as we shall see.

Galatians 1:20

The modernist or liberal to whom I referred said that Paul got his gospel by making an homogenized stew out of Greek philosophy and the Mosaic system. Paul says here that he didn’t get the gospel from anyone else. Paul also says he does not lie. Someone is lying. I am too polite to call that modernist a liar, but in effect Paul does.

Galatians 1:21

The believers in Jerusalem were rather reluctant to accept the apostle Paul. Without the help of Barnabas, Paul would probably have waited a long time before the church in Jerusalem would have received him. These men were hesitant to receive Paul because he had persecuted the church, but they knew what it was to be converted. They knew what it was to have an absolutely earth-shaking experience that would transform a man. Yet they could not believe that Saul of Tarsus could be converted. It seemed not only improbable but impossible. In verses Gal_1:21-24 Paul outlines his first years after his conversion. I don’t think, friend, that they were the happiest years of his life. Apparently he tells us something about the failure in his own personal life in the seventh chapter of Romans. There were three periods in the life of the apostle Paul. Notice briefly the first two periods.

1. Paul was a proud Pharisee. He had a marvelous mind and was an expert in the Mosaic Law. As many of his biographers have said, the world would have heard of Paul even if he had not been an apostle and even if he had not been converted. I don’t think there is any question about that. He was an outstanding man. But he was a proud young Pharisee who thought he knew it all. He hated Christ. He hated the church and attempted to eliminate it. He was ruthless in his persecution of the church.
2. The second period began on the Damascus road when he was knocked down into the dust. This brilliant Pharisee found out that he did not know Jesus Christ, whom to know is life. He had thought Jesus was dead. And he asked, “Who art thou, Lord?” Jesus replied, “I am Jesus whom you persecute. When you persecute My church, you persecute Me” (see Act_9:5).

When Paul became acquainted with his Lord, he immediately asked, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” After Paul met Christ, he spent some time in Arabia. During those first years he attempted to minister and found that what he wanted to do he could not do. Finally he cried out, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom_7:24). It was not an unsaved man who said that; it was Paul the apostle in the first stages of his conversion. 3. Then came that glorious period when he walked in the Spirit. That was the time he could live for God. That is the place where many of us need to be today. There are so many unhappy Christians. They are saved, I think, but as Dwight L. Moody put it in his quaint way, “Some people have just enough religion to make them miserable.” I wish we had more information on Paul’s experience with the apostles in Jerusalem. I am sure a question has already come to your mind. If Paul received the gospel apart from the other apostleswho were with the Lord for three years and saw the resurrected Christis Paul preaching the same gospel? This is an important matter at this point because if Paul is not preaching the same gospel, something is radically wrong. In the next chapter we shall see that the apostles in Jerusalem approved Paul’s gospel and that it was the same Good News.