Galatians Chapter One Study (Continued)

PAGE #1 of Galatians 1 Study

Luke 10:20: “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”   FIRST QUESTION: WHY THIS VERSE?

Answer: All Christians have their names written in Heaven in the Lamb's book of life. We cannot be lost again but we can be nullified in our growth in grace by wrong teaching. The Letter to the Galatians defends free grace as the only way to true growth in Christ as it answers the question; "what do I do now that I am saved forever?"

The Galatians were saved and already possessors of eternal life as are all Christians (those who trust Christ's sacrifice to make them righteous in God's sight). John 5:24 (NIV) “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life."

 Paul's concern for the Galatian believers and all of us, is not loss of salvation but that they would not continue growing in Christ as a result of being tied up in the Law. 

Think for a minute of the Apostle Paul in Galatians as a skilled verbal swordsman. He parries the enemy’s thrusts (offensive moves) and then thrusts the Sword of the spirit into the opponent’s vulnerable areas. The object is to set free the enemy’s prisoners to enjoy and walk in grace once more. We see only Paul’s side of the battle so we must picture what the enemy is saying by Paul’s response.

Galatians 1 (NIV)

1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— ² and all the brothers and sisters with me,

Why does Paul begin by speaking of his Divine calling to be an Apostle?

Why does he mention others with him?

To the churches in Galatia:

What’s unique about this address?

³ Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

What was the eternal status of the wavering Galatian Christians before God?

^{Answer: saved forever through grace
4} who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age.

I thought Christ died to keep us out of Hell and take us to Heaven? Why has Paul changed the focus from eternal benefits to temporal ones?

Answer: Knowing Christ through grace leads to fellowship with Him which is the only antidote to sin in the world and in the believer

according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵ to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Read the first part of this verse again…what is the will of the Father?

Answer: His will is that we would overcome sin here and now to His glory, yet such victory is not automatic for the Christian, only possible as we listen to God 

⁶ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— ⁷ which is really no gospel at all.

What is the source of Paul’s amazement?

Answer: they are abandoning the freedom of the Gospel so quickly... AND...embracing gladly the chains of the Law!

Are the Galatian Christians deserting Paul or God? Did God call them or Paul?

Answer: Certainly it is God calling, but He uses men to preach the Gospel so they are also abandoning Paul who first told them of God's salvation.
Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.

Who is the source of spiritual confusion here? How is this confusion coming about?

⁸ But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!

Would you listen to an angel from Heaven preaching a different Gospel than Paul’s? Do some listen to preachers (never mind angels from Heaven) preaching a different Gospel? What is the Gospel?


⁹ As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

What Gospel had they accepted? Was the “different” Gospel totally different from Paul’s?

¹⁰ Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people?
What do you think the Judaizers accused Paul of being, given this rhetorical question of his?

If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Does this mean Christians should go out of their way to offend people?

¹¹ I want you to know, brothers and sisters that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. ¹² I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

Having defended his apostleship, Paul now defends his ……? Is the way Paul received his Gospel different than how we received it?

PAGE #3.

¹³ For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. ¹⁴ I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. ¹⁵ But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased ¹⁶ to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. ¹⁷ I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.

Should new Christians follow Paul’s example here of just getting alone with God after salvation to learn only from Him?

¹⁸ Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. ¹⁹ I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.

What relationship does vs. 18-20 have with the preceding ones regarding how Paul received his message?

²¹ Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. ²² I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. ²³ They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” ²⁴ And they praised God because of me.

Does Paul’s remarkable conversion prove his message is from God or does it merely underscore the power of the Gospel he preached?