Year 2, Day 137: Galatians 1

Having finished Job, we now shift back to the New Testament for a short while.  Today we get to transition into the book of Galatians.  I have to claim a special affinity for this book of the Bible.  Galatians is the first book of the Bible that I completely translated on my own. {Meaning that I did it for my own study, not part of a seminary class} I chose this book because while Romans is probably Paul’s greatest theological treatise, it is Galatians that was the kindling for the Protestant reformation.  Since my spiritual roots rest deeply in a protestant perspective on faith, Galatians seemed to be the place to start.

Apostle

Paul makes it very clear about the tone of this letter as he pens his first two words.  Literally it reads “Paul, apostle” (Παῦλος ἀπόστολος).  The word apostle is a word that in modern Christianity we have forgotten its meaning because we treat it as a title.  It is not a title!  It is a job description.  Literally, our Christian Bibles would be better off reading: “Paul, one who is sent on a special commission.”  That is what the first two words of Paul’s letter really mean.

Then we get to the next descriptive phrase.  Paul is one who is sent on a special commission, but Paul makes it very clear that he is sent on this commission neither “from men” nor “through a man.”  Notice the person of each of the words for “man.”  The first is plural – men, while the second is singular – man.  Paul is saying that it is neither a council that has sent him nor is he out doing the bidding of some personal financier.  Thus, Paul is claiming no ties to the Jerusalem Council – although as we see in Acts he doesn’t mind doing ministry with them and coming to seek common ground, either – nor to any particular disciple of Jesus Christ.  Paul is quite clear about making sure his loyalties are stated up front.

The reason that this point is so important is because of what comes next.  Paul says that he is sent through Jesus Christ and through God the Father who raised Jesus out of the dead.  Paul is making a very bold claim at this point.  He does not do the bidding of some council.  Nor does he do the bidding of any particular person.  He does the bidding of Jesus Christ and God the Father.  Period.  His allegiances are clear.

Upfront with Paul

This is one of the things that I really admire about Paul.  Paul is upfront and tells people that he comes to present the commission that Jesus Christ has asked him to present.  Anyone that agrees with following Jesus Christ is welcome to partner with him.  But anyone that feels the need to add or subtract from the commission that Jesus Christ has given can … well … “emasculate themselves.”  Don’t believe me?  Flip ahead and read Galatians 5:12!  Paul is bold that he gets his marching orders from God – Father and Son as mentioned here – and God’s Word.  Nobody else has any sway over Paul unless they are clearly speaking upon authority demonstrated through God or God’s Word.

It may seem odd that I have spent so much time elucidating Paul’s credentials here, but I think it is important that we understand how and where Paul places his value of authority – especially in today’s culture.  Authority is important to the Christian walk.  Unlike the rest of the world, we do not have the ability to do whatever we want.  As Christians we do not have the ability to pursue whatever seems to be “right in our own eyes.”  We have the responsibility for coming to God and asking what God would have us follow.  We have the responsibility for submitting to God and God alone.  Defining authority is as important today as it was for Paul when he lived.

No Other Gospel

This leads us right into the next section – which in many Bibles is given the section title: “No Other Gospel.”  These words are also all about authority.

Paul is astonished that the people in Galatia – a collection of churches, probably the ones he founded with Barnabas on his first missionary journey – are not only turning away from the Gospel that he taught them, but they are also doing it so very quickly!  Remember that Paul would know the gospel that they had been taught because it was Paul who was there with Barnabas teaching them!  Also note the special emphasis that Paul places upon the fact that they are turning away from the Gospel of grace and into a non-grace gospel.  The Galatian people are being taught that their salvation rests upon more than the grace of God.  What’s worse is that they believe it!

This is a delicate issue, but it is the reason that when I started translating the New Testament I started with Galatians.  This is the reason that this book is so important to the Protestant reformation.  Here we see Paul lift up the banner that salvation is solely based upon grace.  Grace alone.  Christ alone.  There is no other way to the Father but through Christ and the grace that He has brought to us through the cross.

What makes this difficult is that we want to squeeze works into the picture.  We know that “works-righteousness” is wrong, but we still want “proof.”  And this is what I love about the work of the Protestant Reformers.  Most – although certainly not all – taught that works were the response of grace, not the condition that had to be met before grace would be given out.  This is what Paul will continue to teach throughout this letter.  Works are important, but only as a response to grace.  Salvation is based upon grace alone.  Salvation is based solely upon Jesus and His death upon the cross.  There is no other way to eternal life but through the cross.  We cannot earn it, we can only receive it.

I love to watch peoples’ faces whenever I am asked the question, “When were you saved?”  My standard answer is, “Two thousand years ago when Jesus died upon the cross.”  I usually follow it up with the comment, “If you want to know when Jesus’ death became of ultimate importance to me, I can answer that question, too.”  But I hope my point is clear.  I was saved when Jesus died.  Had Jesus never died, no amount of my own faith would even matter.  I believe as a response to Jesus’ death.

I could write and write on Galatians, and I haven’t even gotten to Paul’s own history.  But I will leave that for your own reading.  It is fairly straightforward, and in the end it is better to talk about personal authority and justification through grace and to leave out the history of Paul.  I’m sure Paul would want it that way, anyway.

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