And all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen
And all the brethren who are with me
We do not know who or how many “brethren” were with Paul when he wrote this letter. I assume it could have been part or all of the church at Syrian Antioch, which is the probable place where Paul wrote this letter on the eve of the Jerusalem Council.
Paul did not work by himself, but followed the way Jesus worked with His disciples. Paul and his companions went out as a group or with no less than two together. He chose to associate himself with others who were workers in the ministry of the gospel. It is not emphasized; nevertheless, we note that Paul’s support group is called “brothers.”
Christians are brothers as the children of the heavenly Father, a status to which they are called and of which they are assured through Jesus Christ. They are not children of the Father by nature but by grace, not by birth but by virtue of rebirth as belonging to one and the same Lord, they are made each other’s equals. None of them is Lord over the others, not even the apostle (Timothy George, New American Commentary, Galatians, [Nashville, TN, B&H Publishing Group, 1994], p. 82,83).
A brother or sister in Christ is a son or daughter of God. It makes no difference whether one is Jew or Greek, slave or free, man or woman. Unlike our rapidly changing culture here in the U.S, which seeks to marginalize and separate one race from another, we are all Christians and as such, brothers and sisters “in Christ.” We might add here that the highly charged political rhetoric which seeks to pit one group against another and enforces “political correctness” is contrary to the gospel of Christ. As we so often hear, and correctly so, the ground is level at the foot of the cross.
To the churches of Galatia
The word “church” is used in two ways in the New Testament. Sometimes “church” refers to all born-again believers called “The Church of God” or often nowadays, “the universal church.” Usually, however, “church” refers to baptized believers in a given locale who meet together to hear the gospel, celebrate communion, and practice “one-another” ministry as they reach out to others in their community.
As I stated before, I believe the churches of Galatia include the churches Paul and Barnabas planted on their first missionary tour, namely, Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch. Many of the members had come from the Gentile “God worshipers” who met with the Jews in their Synagogues, as referenced in Acts 13 and 14. Others were pagans attracted to the gospel by the powerful preaching of Paul and had witnessed the many “signs and wonders” that accompanied his ministry. The churches were young, and that is perhaps one reason they were so open to following false teachers.
The warning to the Galatian churches represented in this letter is also a warning to us. Today false teachers abound, and legalism is rampant in that it encroaches into our minds from our sinful, human nature. We want to feel our obedience has earned us God’s special favor.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
Galatians begins and ends with grace. Paul’s closing thought is,
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen (Gal. 6:18).
Each of Paul’s letters begins with a reference to “grace and peace.” Paul recognized that the Galatians were in danger of nullifying the grace of God. They were, in essence, fighting with God in that they were seeking righteousness by obedience to the law, thereby nullifying the message of the cross. Paul prays that they may recover the grace they almost lost, and he prays for peace. Peace with God, which flows into the peace of God. Grace and peace make a good summary of the Christian gospel.
Grace is God’s unmerited goodwill freely given and decisively effective in the saving work of Jesus Christ. Peace… on the other hand, denotes a state of wholeness and freedom that the grace of God brings (George, p. 85).
The double blessing of grace and peace come from one source: “From God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Just as in verse one, a single preposition (ἀπὸ “from”) links together God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, showing us the equality and unity of these two divine Persons.
Who gave Himself for our sins
Sometimes I want to figure out just how God works. Thus far, I have not been able to do so. Luther warns us not to speculate about God separate from the revelation in Christ. Instead, we are to look only to Jesus Christ, and there we can understand all that we are supposed to know about God. It is there we find a God who is a friend of sinners and eats with them. It is in Christ’s presence we hear the words, “Your sins are forgiven, rise and walk.” It is Christ who is the Savior of the world. It is Christ who had compassion on the multitudes. It is Christ who can both fill our boats with fish and still the storms of life. It is Christ who invites children to come and be blessed. We who are older and others who have the lost loved ones prematurely in death, treasure the words of Christ,
I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die (Jn. 11:25-26).
Those of us in ministry hear Christ’s words to Peter and Andrew, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” I am learning, oh so slowly, that I cannot save anyone. All I can do is to point them to Jesus Christ, who died for their sins as well as the sins of the whole world.
If we place the writing of Galatians before the Jerusalem Council (AD 49-50), then Galatians was probably written about AD 48 or 49 and would be the first of Paul’s letters. If so, Galatians may be the first New Testament book to be written. Galatians contains the earliest written statement in the New Testament about the significance of Christ’s death. It was several years later that Paul penned 1 Corinthians, (probably AD 54-55), where he clearly articulated the true, saving gospel.
Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also (1 Cor. 15:1-8).
So that He might rescue us from this present evil age
What a promise this is! The atoning death of Jesus was not just something that God permitted, but was exactly what the Father had willed. We are not to settle down and live in conformity to this evil age. We have the promise that God will rescue us out of the ever-increasing wickedness of this world system. It seems that the morality of today’s popular culture is falling into wickedness faster and faster, as referenced with each news broadcast.
Christ’s death delivered us from the power of sin, but not yet from its presence. He has promised to keep us from the evil one and in due time, transfer us into another and better world.
The Christian now lives in profound tension between the No Longer and the Not Yet. The coming of Christ has drastically relativized, though not completely obliterated, former distinctions of race, class, and gender. It also has placed in a totally new perspective, such former requirements as circumcision, food laws, and feast days. Christ has rescued us from this present evil age through justifying us by faith and pouring out his Spirit in our lives. This is an accomplished fact, and we must not be drawn back into “a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1) [ See Leon Morris, Galatians, (Downers Grove, IL, IVP Academic, 1996) p. 37,38].
According to the will of our God and Father
All the blessings that have accrued from the death and resurrection of Christ are ours based upon the will of our God and Father. Too often, some of us have grown up with two concepts of God. We pictured the Father as exacting, distant, and judgmental. Jesus, however, we visualized as kind, compassionate, and accepting of sinners. Paul, as does John (see Jn. 3:15–18), tells us, however, that these distinctions are invalid. There is no difference in the love and the will of the Father from the love and the will of Christ. The writer of Hebrews clarifies this wonderful truth: Jesus explains the Father. If we want to understand God the Father, we just look at Jesus.
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Heb. 1:1-3).
To whom be the glory forevermore. Amen
Paul has just outlined the many blessings that flow from the death and resurrection of Christ. Contemplating the wonders of the gospel is much more than an intellectual pursuit. Rather, as these truths are planted in the fertile soil of our minds and spirits, they take root and grow into a psalm of praise, a doxology to the one and only God manifest in three Persons.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all (2 Cor. 13:14).
Assignment
- Paul speaks of the time we will be rescued from the present evil age. As measured by the moral principles of the Bible, list what you consider to be the three main evils of our present age?
- List three things you might do which would keep you from being drawn into the evils of this age.
Question for Discussion
- On a scale of 1-5, what is your current level of peace?
- If your answer to No. 1 above is below 4, if you are comfortable, share your concerns with the group and have them pray for you.
- Do you ever live with a sense of God’s disapproval?
- Do you consider grace as something that makes up the difference between our obedience and God’s requirements?
- Do you feel more confident before God if you have been faithful in your prayer, giving, and witnessing?
- What is your favorite song of praise?
- Have you tried to witness to a brother or sister who did not correctly understand the gospel? How did it go?
- Would you like to go with someone else to learn how better to share the gospel? Ask your pastor or another church leader to guide you.
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