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Lesson #1GAL1:1-5

GALATIANS 1:1-5
'Paul's Salutation'

Lesson One
A Verse by Verse Study
By Pastor Greg Hooker

    This series of lessons is designed to take us through an in-depth study of the book of Galatians and give us a better understanding of Paul's epistle to the believers in Galatia. You will learn at your own pace, and in your own time. If you have any questions or comments, please let Pastor Greg know through the online forum at the end of this page.

    Following successful completion of this course, a 'Certificate of Achievement' will be mailed to you via email, so be sure to provide accurate mailing information.
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    BEFORE WE GET STARTED

    At the bottom of this page is a Question & Answer Forum. Scroll down to this forum for a message from Pastor Greg and tell us a little about yourself - your name, what you hope to get from this study, your salvation experience, where you go to church, where you live, etc. Make studying God's Word exciting and fun through sharing thoughts with others.

    LESSON INSTRUCTIONS

    After reading the 'PRAYER' and 'INTRODUCTION', proceed to read the 'COMMENTARY' section first, moving to the 'SCRIPTURE TEXT' on the left. Then proceed to the 'LET'S DISCOVER' section, answering all the questions in the 'Comment' boxes.

    WARNING: Be sure you do not leave, or 'refresh' this page until you 'Submit' the work you have completed or you will loose it. You can come back later, finish the remainder of your lesson and 'Submit' the rest.

     Oh, and one last thing ... enjoy the riches of God's Word and let His Spirit speak volumes to your heart.

    NOTE: Unless noted otherwise, all Scripture is from the KJV, however; you are welcome to use whatever version you may have.
    PRAYER

    Dear Heavenly Father, help us to glean some of the riches from your Word as we study the Epistle to the Galatians as recorded by the Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Open our hearts and minds to receive your Truth that we may grow in our Christian walk and testimony. Help us to lay aside the preconceived notions that may have been past down to us through generations of half-truths and heresies. We seek Truth and only the Truth. In Jesus name, Amen.
    INTRODUCTION TO GALATIANS

    PRAYERFULLY READ GALATIANS CHAPTER ONE

    IT’S AUTHOR:

    The Epistle to the Galatia churches (mainly made up of Gentiles, but infected with Judiazers) was written by the Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We know this because of:

    • The style in which the epistle is consistent with the other writings of Paul (everyone writes in a specific manner, or style).
    • The way in which the epistle itself alludes to Paul in the first person (Galatians 1:1; 1:13-24; 2:1-14)
    • The testimony of the early Church writings, or historical records.

    WRITTEN TO:

    • The letter, or epistle was written around 60 A.D. to the churches at Galatia in the district of Asia Minor (Galatians 1:2; see map below).
    • The name “Galatia” is derived from the word Gaul, and was given because the area had been conquered by the Gauls, who, having subdued the country, settled in it. (ref. Barnes Notes)
    • The Galatians, like the inhabitants of the surrounding country, were pagans, and their religion was of a gross and debasing kind. They are said to have worshiped “the mother of the gods,” under the name of Agdistis. (ref. Barnes Notes)
    • The Gauls [Galatians] are mentioned by ancient historians as a tall, valiant people and went nearly naked. Their arms wore only a sword and buckler. The ferocious manner of their attacks, it is said, was irresistible, and hence, they became a formidable foe, and were usually victorious in their campaigns. (ref. Barnes Notes)

    PURPOSE OF THE LETTER:

    • To validate the Apostleship of Paul; to let the believers know that he had full authority given to him from the Risen Christ.
    • To combat the false teachings of the Judiazers who were mixing the works of the Mosaic law with the grace of Jesus Christ, and in doing so, destroying the very essence of Christianity.
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    Asia Minor
    FOOD FOR THOUGHT
    Is there anyone taking this course that lives in or near Galatia? If you do, let us know in the forum.
    LET'S DISCOVER

    From the introduction above, re-type each of the following questions and answer them in the 'Comment' box below. HINT: You can re-size the 'Comment' Box by grabbing the lower right corner.

    • What are the two main reasons for the letter?
    • Who is the author of Galatians?
    • Who was it written to and give the reference verse.
    • About what date was it written?
    • From what is the word "Galatia" derived from?
    • According to historians, describe what the Galatia people were like.
    • Where was Galatia located?
    COMMENTARY

    Galatians 1:1     “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)”

    "Paul an apostle …”

    From the very onset of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he seeks to validate, or prove his apostleship. He wants the congregation to know that he is sent from God with a God-sent message.

    “… not of men, neither by man …”

    Paul goes on to say that his message was not received of man or commissioned by any group of people. In our modern-day vernacular, we could say that Paul did not receive his message from the Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Catholics, Pentecostals, etc.

    The word ‘apostle’ literally means ‘sent’, or 'sent with a message'. Paul was not ‘sent’ by anyone, but Jesus Christ met him on the Damascus Road personally. So Paul wants the Galatians to understand the importance of His divine calling and message – a message sent directly from God, through Christ, to the churches.

    “… but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father …”

    Jesus Christ Himself did three things for Paul, He:

    1. Called him to the ministry.
    2. Commissioned him to carry the Gospel Message.
    3. Sent him to the Gentiles to deliver the message.

    Thus Paul was engaged by Christ Himself to go out and preach the Gospel of Grace through Jesus Christ. Moreover, Paul tells the Galatians that God Himself, the one who raised up the Redeemer, elected to choose him as the Apostle to the Gentiles as Peter was elected the Apostle to the Jews. Paul could not receive a higher authority than receiving it from Almighty God Himself. Thus his message was to be taken serious and deemed of utmost importance.

    “… who raised him from the dead.”

    Once again, Paul is enforcing his argument that his calling was not of man, but of God. Some of the Galatians may have put forth the argument that Jesus was just a man, void of any divinity, and thereby had no authority to call Paul; so Paul goes a step further and explains to them that God the Father; the God of Jacob, Isaac and Abraham; the God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead, sent him to deliver His message.
    SCRIPTURE TEXT

    Galatians 1:1     “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)”
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    Paul Preaching to the Gentiles
    LET'S DISCOVER

    Read the verse on the left and answer the questions below using the commentary above. Then 're-type' the questions in the 'Comment' box, along with your answers and any thoughts on how this applies to you.

    • In the opening statement of Galatians 1:1, what did Paul want the Galatians to know?
    • Who did Paul receive his apostleship from?
    • What does the word 'apostle mean'?
    • Name the three things Jesus Christ did for Paul.
    COMMENTARY

    Galatians 1:2-3     “And all the brothers which are with me, to the churches of Galatia: grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,”

    “And all the brothers which are with me, …”

    So often in our present-day churches, we see Pastors forgetting to recognize those serving under them for all the hard work they do. Sadly, many Pastors feel threatened by those serving under them in the church, even to the extent of jealousy. The Apostle Paul, however, always acknowledged those who followed and were co-laborers in the Lord’s ministry with him. Here in the epistle to the Galatians, Paul was careful to recognize those who were helping him. This lent even more support and credibility to Paul’s message as coming directly from God. Those traveling with Paul were like strong pillars supporting Paul’s message and ministry to the Gentiles.

    “…Unto the churches”

    We don’t know for certain how many churches were in the area of Galatia, but we do know there were Ancyria, Tavia, and Pessinus. Keep in mind, most of the early churches met in homes. They did not have the elaborate church buildings that are so prevalent today. So Paul does not direct his epistle to just one church, but to a number of churches in the expanse of Galatia; for it seemed that all the churches were experiencing the false teachings of the Judaizers (we will explore those teachings later in our study).

    “Grace be to you and peace …”

    This is the customary greeting used by the Apostle Paul when he wrote to the various churches. It is simply a petition, prayer, or salutation that God would provide them “grace” (God’s unmerited favor upon man), and “peace” (peace that is made through the sacrificial suffering of the Savior on the cross). Many times we use similar words like 'God bless you', etc.

    “… from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,”

    Paul quickly points out that grace and peace have only one source – through God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son, both are one in providing them. Christ said, "I and the Father are one." We would do well to remember this lesson; that all good graces and true and lasting peace comes only through God the Father and His Son.
    SCRIPTURE TEXT

    Galatians 1:2-3 “And all the brothers which are with me, to the churches of Galatia: grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,”
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    Churches of Galatia in Asia Minor
    LET'S DISCOVER

    Read the verse on the left and answer the questions below. Then 're-type' the questions in the 'Comment' box, along with your answers and any thoughts on how this applies to you.

    • What gave more credibility and support to Paul's message as having come from God?
    • How can we apply Paul's willingness to recognize those who helped him in the ministry, to our pastor's and leaders today?
    • Paul wrote his letter to many churches in Galatia because all of them were experiencing what?
    • Explain "grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ".
    COMMENTARY

    Galatians 1:4-5 “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.”

    “Who gave himself for our sins, …”

    Paul now comes to the very root of the matter; the very core of his letter and the foundational doctrine he wants to address for the Galatians – the doctrine of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the sins of the world. This is the cardinal doctrine of the Christian Church, its foundation and cornerstone - without it there would be no Church. Every church, regardless of denomination, should have this truth as paramount in their creed - that Jesus Christ offered up Himself for the sins of mankind. To neglect this primary doctrine in the local church, negates that church from being Christian.

    The Galatia believers had allowed the doctrines, rituals and ceremonies of the Judiazers to slither like a cunning serpent into the newly-found Church and inject it's lethal poison. The new believers had allowed themselves to become led into believing that circumcision and the Jewish rituals of the law were necessary for salvation – that grace and grace alone was not sufficient. Even in our present day, over 2000 years later, the Church still allows the works of man to infiltrate the pure Gospel of God's grace - e.g. communion, baptism, feet washing, and good deeds. While all of these things are good and have their rightful place in the New Testament Church, they are not 'essential' to salvation and justification before God. Whenever we allow anything to mix with the pure and undefiled Gospel of salvation solely on the basis of faith, we are allowing the poison of the Judiazers to be injected into our faith.

    Therefore, Paul starts his letter by enforcing to the Galatia believers that Christ “gave himself for our sins" to deliver us from the law and our inability to keep it. The words “who gave” signifies a 'gift' given by the grace of God to undeserving sinners – a gift that must be accepted solely and simply by reaching out and accepting it with the arms of faith and faith alone (John 3:16; John 4:10; Romans 4:25; 2 Corinthians 9:15; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 5:25; Titus 2:14). To attempt to receive anything from God after having performed some kind of good works to secure it, negates it from being a 'gift'. Gifts are given with no expectation of receiving anything in return. In fact, what can we possible give God in exchange for salvation? The Bible says that "all our righteousness's are as filthy rags" (Isiah 64:6).

    Notice three things about Jesus Christ coming to earth:

    1. His coming was voluntary. No one in Heaven or earth ‘made’ Jesus Christ die for the sins of the world. He was not coerced by man, angels, or even the Father. The entire work of redemption was entirely voluntary on the behalf of the Son. Both Jesus Christ and His Father knew what had to be done to redeem man and were in full agreement; thus the Son turned to His Father and said, 'I will go'. He loved us in spite of our sinful condition, thus showing ultimate humility, going to the accused cross for mankind.
    2. His coming was completely through His great compassion for sinners. He came with no lack of certainty what would happen to Him, but fully knowing that He would suffer unimaginable suffering. He knew exactly what it would take to redeem fallen man; the sorrows, the agony; the pain; the suffering, and yet He drank of the bitter cup of man’s sins out of love, "Greater love hath no man than this, that he wold lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).
    3. Were it not for His compassion for sinners, man would have perished forever. There was no way we could have merited the forgiveness of a Holy God apart from the sacrifice of the Holy God Himself. In light of that, think of how much we owe Jesus Christ; and how much we owe our very lives as a living sacrifice to serve Him! Christ took our place of His own will and compassion, becoming an eternal sacrifice for our sins.

    “…that he might deliver us …”

    The word “deliver” is a word that means ‘to pluck out, to tear out; to take out from a number; to select and rescue’. In other words, Jesus Christ came to ‘rescue and deliver’ us from this present evil world and the penalty of sin we had inherited though Adam. It does not mean to separate us from this world through death, or remove us to another place, but to separate us unto God as a peculiar people, a holy Church, a bride without spot or wrinkle, and make us one of His children.

    “… from this present evil world …”

    Christ came to deliver or rescue sinners from an evil and perverse world system; from temptations and trials; from adversity and pain; from false doctrines and teachings; from corruption and evil desires; from the pleasures of sin and shame; from false religions and the pursuit of earthly treasures that moth and rust corrupts. Moreover, Christ came to rescue us from unbelievers and pagans; from those who oppose God and practice ungodliness; from the influence of evil men and their fleshly desires, and from the wiles and schemes of Satan.

    Thus, through our Redeemer delivering us, He has set us aside as a unique community of believers not governed by any set of rules and regulations of the law, but through the grace of Jesus Christ. We obey Him and His teachings - not on the basis of duty or a law - but on the basis of our love for Him, because He first loved us. We have been “seated in the heavenlies, in Christ Jesus our Lord.” One day we shall receive complete redemption from the very presence of this world’s evil ways.

    “…according to the will of God and our Father:”

    Not by the will or wisdom of man, but in accordance with the perfect will of God. It was the Father's plan and purpose that the Lord Jesus should thus give of Himself; and His performance of it was in accordance with His will, and was well pleasing in His sight. The whole plan originated in the divine purpose, and has been executed in accordance with His divine will. Therefore, it is good and worthy of universal acceptation.

    "To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

    Paul makes it clear that all glory and praise should be directed to Jesus Christ and God the Father, and that grace is not to be mixed with the pagan and ritualistic rules and regulations of the law. The law brings death, but grace delivers from death and its penalty. “Amen”, or so be it.
    SCRIPTURE TEXT

    Galatians 1:4-5 “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.”
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    "Who gave Himself for our sins"
    LET'S DISCOVER

    Read the verse on the left and answer the questions below. Then 're-type' the questions in the 'Comment' box, along with your answers and any thoughts on how this applies to you.


    • What is the foundational doctrine that Paul wants the churches at Galatia to understand?
    • Explain what the churches had allowed to come into their teachings that was so dangerous.
    • How can we relate that to our modern-day churches?
    • What did Paul enforce in his letter to the churches concerning Jesus Christ?
    • What does the two words "who gave" signify?
    • In your own words explain what a gift is and is not.
    • List the three things about Christ coming to earth as listed above.
    • Define the word "deliver".
    • What are some of the things that Christ came to "deliver" and "rescue" us from?
    • Whose will was it for Jesus to die for the sins of man?
    This concludes Paul's Salutation To The Galatians 1:1-5
    HOW CAN WE IMPROVE?

    In order to improve the Bible learning experience for others, we covet your input. If it's not too much trouble, list some way in which we can improve our lessons. Also, let us know of misspellings, grammatical mistakes, etc., so we can correct them. This will help us greatly to make our lessons more enjoyable for the next students. Thanks!
    BEFORE SUBMITTING

    • Make sure you have typed your name, address, email address, etc. in the fields at the top of the page.
    • Review and edit your answers if necessary (BEFORE SUBMITTING).

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