{"id":2558,"date":"2017-11-26T09:00:24","date_gmt":"2017-11-26T14:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theologyisforeveryone.com\/?p=2558"},"modified":"2022-10-14T19:15:54","modified_gmt":"2022-10-14T23:15:54","slug":"galatians-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theologyisforeveryone.com\/galatians-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Galatians 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post follows the Bible reading plan available at oaktreechurch.com\/soap<\/a>. You can read all my New Testament notes in my book New Testament: Chapter by Chapter<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/strong>
\nGalatians is possibly the earliest letter we have from Paul. 1<\/sup><\/a> Unlike most of his other letters, this was written to \u201cTHE CHURCHES OF GALATIA\u201d (Galatians 1:2) rather than to an individual congregation. Paul visited \u0628\u064a\u0646\u062c\u0648 \u0627\u0644\u0639\u0627\u0628<\/a> ” id=”return-note-2558-2″ href=”#note-2558-2″>2<\/sup><\/a> these churches during his first missionary tour (Acts 13-14), before returning to Antioch and subsequently defending God\u2019s work among the Gentiles at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15). The purpose of that council was to decide what Gentiles were required to do to fully participate in the Church. Specifically, the debate was over the circumcision of Gentiles. After much debate, the apostles and elders finally determined that only belief was necessary, as with the Jews, yet they encouraged the Gentiles to refrain from a few practices that would unnecessarily offend the Jews among them (Acts 15:19-21).<\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s letter to the Galatian believers is a treatise on justification by grace through faith alone, second only to Romans in its importance to our understanding of the doctrine of salvation. The entire letter is an explanation and defense of that doctrine because the Galatians were turning away from it due to a contingent of Jewish legalists who demanded that they accept circumcision as a part of salvation or spiritual maturity. \u0631\u0628\u062d \u0645\u062c\u0627\u0646\u064a<\/a> If this letter were written later in Paul\u2019s ministry (as some infer from Galatians 4:13 \u0644\u0639\u0628 \u0627\u0644\u0628\u0648\u0643\u0631<\/a> Even so, he easily could have been there more than once in the fourteen years of ministry (Galatians 2:1) preceding this letter.” id=”return-note-2558-3″ href=”#note-2558-3″>3<\/sup><\/a>), after the Jerusalem Council, it seems he would certainly have referred to that decision to shut down the claims of his detractors. Instead, Paul\u2019s entire argument was based on the doctrine of justification which came to him directly from Jesus and the Hebrew Scriptures.<\/p>\n

Chapter one<\/strong> does not follow the pattern of Paul\u2019s other letters, or those of the day, in that he did not offer a word\/prayer of thanksgiving after his greeting. Instead, he jumped immediately into the purpose of his letter \u2013 \u201cI AM ASTONISHED THAT YOU ARE SO QUICKLY DESERTING THE ONE WHO CALLED YOU BY THE GRACE OF CHRIST AND ARE FOLLOWING A DIFFERENT GOSPEL\u201d (Galatians 1:6). \u201cSo quickly\u201d seems to indicate that it had not been long since they had accepted the gospel that they were turning away from, though the Greek word can also mean \u201cso easily.\u201d Paul noted that they had deserted, not just the gospel, but the Savior himself, and began to follow \u201cA DIFFERENT GOSPEL,\u201d another message they had been given by those who would \u201cDISTORT THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST\u201d (Galatians 1:7). This brought Paul\u2019s fiercest condemnation \u2013 eternal hell for those who preach a heretical message of salvation (Galatians 1:8-9). Today, this includes many false gospels in religions like Mormonism, Jehovah\u2019s Witness, Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Islam, and so many others.<\/p>\n

It seems that Paul\u2019s accusers painted a picture of him as a \u201chit-and-run\u201d charlatan. As some of his other letters show (especially 2 Corinthians), they claimed that he did not genuinely care about his listeners, changed his message to gain favor with his audience, and was in it primarily for what he could get out of it. It seems they also continued to attack his authority as a genuine apostle (Galatians 1:1). His response was measured but firm.<\/p>\n

First, he stated that one cannot work to please both people and God (Galatians 1:10). Second, he insisted that his message was not fluid. In fact, it did not even come from a fluid source, from whom he could have received the wrong message. Instead, Paul\u2019s message came from Jesus himself (Galatians 1:2, 11-12). Third, his own story of dramatic life change proved that he broke close ties with his former colleagues and intentionally stayed away from the apostles in Jerusalem so he would not be swayed by anyone\u2019s doctrine except the Savior\u2019s (Galatians 1:13-24). When he finally did begin to meet with the other apostles, it was with only a few of them and only for a short time. Fourth, he declared that God had chosen him for this very specific ministry, that his previous life was utterly opposed to that calling, and that it required direct intervention by God to set him on the correct path. Thus, anything his opponents claimed could only make him more, not less, insistent on his message.<\/p>\n

\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. This is certainly debated, but it makes the most sense to me when all the available facts are considered. ↩<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. While it is possible that he founded them during this tour, it is also possible (and more likely) that he founded at least some of them during his tenure in \u201cSYRIA AND CILICIA\u201d (Galatians 1:21), years before Barnabas called him to Antioch (Acts 11:25-26). ↩<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. They see Paul\u2019s statement, \u201cI PREACHED THE GOSPEL TO YOU THE FIRST TIME\u201d (NASB), to mean that he had been there at least twice before writing this letter. Even so, he easily could have been there more than once in the fourteen years of ministry (Galatians 2:1) preceding this letter. ↩<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    This post follows the Bible reading plan available at oaktreechurch.com\/soap. You can read all my New Testament notes in my book New Testament: Chapter by Chapter. Introduction Galatians is possibly the earliest letter we have from Paul. 1 Unlike most of his other letters, this was written to \u201cTHE CHURCHES OF GALATIA\u201d (Galatians 1:2) rather […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[32,36,33],"class_list":["post-2558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-studies","tag-2corinthians","tag-acts","tag-galatians"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"gutentor_comment":0,"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"widget-thumbnail":false,"rpwe-thumbnail":false,"woocommerce_thumbnail":false,"woocommerce_single":false,"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Daniel Goepfrich","author_link":"https:\/\/www.theologyisforeveryone.com\/author\/dgoepfrich\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"This post follows the Bible reading plan available at oaktreechurch.com\/soap. You can read all my New Testament notes in my book New Testament: Chapter by Chapter. Introduction Galatians is possibly the earliest letter we have from Paul. 1 Unlike most of his other letters, this was written to \u201cTHE CHURCHES OF GALATIA\u201d (Galatians 1:2) rather…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologyisforeveryone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2558"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologyisforeveryone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologyisforeveryone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologyisforeveryone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologyisforeveryone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologyisforeveryone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2558\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologyisforeveryone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologyisforeveryone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologyisforeveryone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}