Galatians 1:1-5 THIS IS SERIOUS Paul had been ill on his first missionary journey, and perhaps that was the reason he had stayed in Galatia for quite some time. During that time the Gospel was preached in Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium and souls had been saved. New assemblies of Christians had been gathered together in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The theme of the preaching was focused on "Christ and Him crucified." Paul was looked at then as a messenger from heaven. Those who were saved poured out their affection on him. Lois and Eunice had come to faith in Christ then, and after, Timothy, Eunice's son also became a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Her husband apparently was not saved, at least at that time. The Gospel in that area which we call Turkey today, was liberating as salvation by grace alone was preached. But something had happened since the beginning that dropped like a cloud over the whole work.
It may have been the temperament of the people who liked novelty and change and were easily influenced, but for some reason, after Paul and those with him moved on to other places taking the Gospel; the Galatian believers fell for the teaching of legalists who moved in on the work. They taught that law-keeping was necessary as an addition to the work of grace Christ did for us when He gave Himself for our sins on the cross. So, Paul wrote this letter to be circulated among those assemblies. He began with a cool introduction, different from those of other epistles, that immediately goes to the crux of the problem he was going to address. They had been led astray by false teachers who preached another Gospel. His abrupt greeting emphasized the seriousness of the problem and the seriousness with which he took it. To cast a reflection of inadequacy on the sacrifice the Lord Jesus Christ made on the cross is an insult to the grace of God of the worst kind.
Under the great stress of writing to correct a fundamental wrong, Paul does not give the usual thanksgiving for the saints and their faith or their faithfulness to God. He doesn't indicate to them he is praying for them. He immediately begins to define his authority as an apostle. This had been challenged by those Judaizers who came behind him and questioned his apostleship as they inserted themselves into the work in Galatia. Their point seems to have been that Paul was not one of "the twelve." Immediately Paul declares his apostleship to be on par with other apostles in the foundation of the church, by stating the fact that it was Jesus Christ and God the Father who had designated him an apostle, not men. This is the highest possible authority. Men often seek a place among God's people who have personal ambition and perceive themselves to be leaders the people must follow. When such men seek to assert themselves and usurp authority in an assembly, take time to review their past. How has God used them in His work? What credibility do they have in spiritual things? What do they have as proof of their leadership qualifications? Where are their spiritual children or those whose lives have been affected for good by their mentoring? There is an ordination of God today that is obvious. The Holy Spirit raises up "faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." Their faithfulness is what precedes their teaching, not the other way around.
A person's character does not come as a result of what they do, but of who they are. If someone comes among us and seems to have a lot of answers to every problem, be careful. Those we know by reputation of living among us or are known by those whose advice we have learned to trust, have a credibility outside of themselves. The skill gained by education is an asset to their knowledge perhaps, but not to their character. The way they use their training is what we watch to see if God has raised them up, or if they are seeking to exalt themselves or have other people follow them. Humility is still an important character trait for those who lead, but are not "lords over God's people."
Paul's authority came from Divine Persons, the highest Source, and those with him were "brethren." They were united with him in fellowship and were working with him in labors in the Gospel. They were not like those who had come into Galatia and taken advantage of the Celtic nature of the Gauls who lived there, who had a curious desire to learn new things rather than a careful concern about things they heard. All Christians are brethren it is true. But there are also false brethren. They have another agenda, another motive behind their actions. Some want to exalt themselves. They want to be leaders for the satisfaction they get from being able to control other people. There are people who want financial support and prey on the generosity of gracious Christians who are willing to support the work of God with their finances. There are also those who are sincere in their beliefs and teaching but are sincerely wrong. They are attracted to teaching that has "do's and don'ts" as laws. They want laws to go by so they do not have to study the scriptures themselves. They want page and paragraph numbers and brief concise statements on which to base their living. They do not want to take the time nor use the prayerful and intellectual effort required to compare scripture with scripture and get the picture of truth God intends us to see. To them, the Bible is only a book of guidelines, not the living words of the Living God to us. And then there are those who are motivated by Satan to destroy the work of God. Deceit, doubts, division, and undermining of those who brought the Gospel are used to bring down a work of God that has made inroads into Satan's territory.
Paul's address of grace and peace indicates that his message is not so much to the local churches but to the individuals who make up these "called out" groups of believers. The serious issue he is going to deal with is not the maintaining of assemblies in the way God intended, but the more fundamental one: "How is a person saved?" At the beginning of his letter, he identified his authority which came from Jesus Christ and God the Father. Now he identified the source of grace and peace as "God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ." These things do not come from Paul. Certainly, they do not come from those who came among them sowing confusion and preaching "another Gospel." To both the Gentiles (grace - Charis, is a Greek greeting) and to the Jews (peace - Shalom, is a Jewish greeting) who gathered in the assemblies in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, there is one common gathering center - God Himself, in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are not like other gathered groups when we gather to Him alone. It isn't up to us what we do or preach, or teach. Everything we do is under divine authority. As individual believers, our common interest is in, and our allegiance to, the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what brings us together in local fellowship groups, not the other way around.
The fundamental truth that brings us together, and keeps us together, is the personal experience of the forgiveness of our sins by the death of Christ alone. "He gave Himself for our sins." That, and nothing else is the original common bond of all believers. Paul made the point of the whole epistle in that phrase. It is the Lord Jesus Christ alone who provided the full payment for our sins. All that was required, He supplied when He gave Himself. Any kind of addition to that redeeming work is an insult to divine sovereignty. God forbid that the sin-polluted works of men be added in any way to such a full and complete redemptive price that He paid. Such a thing would contaminate that which is absolute in its perfection.
In that opening statement, there is given one of the reasons why this great gift has been given. It is that individuals might be delivered from "this present evil world," the system of world control under satanic domination. If the enemy of God can get the people of God to blend in with the world, he will effectively stop the work of building the church. It starts with one or two individuals who are away from God in their souls and spirit. The study of the scripture has lost its appeal. Prayer life has taken on a repetitive form, and the gathering of saints together in worship and fellowship has become boring. They come to "get" not "give" and will begin to complain that "there is no love here. I am not comfortable here." That discontent begins to spread to others, and the attraction to be more like the religious world becomes very appealing. "Look at all the people who go there!" Music, movies, drama, and other forms of entertainment take the place of Gospel preaching, scriptural teaching, and holy worship. The Gospel message is watered down until there is no facing the problem of sin and its eternal consequences. Repentance toward God is hardly mentioned and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is reduced to a formula of words as people are told to "give your heart to Jesus."
It is God's will that there be people saved, and so the Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself for our sins. It is God's will that there be a people for His name gathered out from this present evil world. To bring this about there have been local testimonies raised up to which saved people who want to follow the Lord are gathered. The common attraction is the Person of Christ as the gathering center; the Word of God as the source of instruction; the Holy Spirit as the One who presides over the activities and actions of the group. He is the Divine Instructor, the Teacher. God-given gifts are able to be used by individuals under the control of the Holy Spirit. Individuals become part of a local body of saints and enjoy the fellowship of those who are of like mind.
All of this has one goal in view - the glory of God. This was in jeopardy in the assemblies of Galatia. The same is true in assemblies today. The appeal is being made that we should be like the religious world around us. To keep that from happening the appeal goes to individual believers to go back and review what God has done for us right from the beginning of His work of grace in us. When we see what we have been given by God’s grace, and the character and work of brothers and sisters who have gone before us, then we should stop and realize what we have, and what we should do with what we have been given.