Transcript Sir, We Would See Jesus” The Life of Christ, Part 2

Galatians
The Gospel and the Law
Lesson 1
Introduction to Galatians
Galatians 1:1-5
Pages 1-5
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“TO THE CHURCHES OF GALATIA”
Galatians 1:2
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Paul does not name the churches – only the
region in which they were located
The churches probably represented the
churches he established on his first
missionary journey in Southern Galatia
– If so, they would be Antioch [Pisidia], Lystra,
Derbe, and Iconium (Acts 13, 14)
– If not, we do not know the cities to which this
letter was written
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“TO THE CHURCHES OF GALATIA”
Galatians 1:2
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Paul calls them “Galatians” in 3:1
The Galatian churches has come into being
as a result of Paul’s missionary labors
From 4:13, he preached to them the first
time and, in 4:14, they had received him
But, things have changed…
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DATE OF GALATIANS
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The date and location from which Paul
wrote this letter is unknown
Some theories exists:
– A. D. 49, maybe from Antioch
– A. D. 57, during his third missionary journey,
maybe from Ephesus, Macedonia, or Corinth
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Paul wrote Galatians with his own hand
(Gal. 6:11)
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PURPOSE OF GALATIANS
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These churches had departed from Paul’s
original teachings
He needed to restore them to their original
faith and commitment to the gospel of
Christ
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PURPOSE OF GALATIANS
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They had once been devoted to Paul
(4:14,15) -- but now he had become their
enemy (4:16)
They had once accepted Paul’s apostleship
(4:14) -- but now they regarded him as
dependent on human sources for his
teaching (1:11,12)
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PURPOSE OF GALATIANS
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They had embraced his teaching of
justification by faith (1:9; 3:26,27; 3:2,3) -but now they depended too heavily on
fleshly ordinances (1:6; 3:3)
They had “made progress” in the gospel
(5:7a) -- but now they were hindered from
obeying the truth (5:7b; 5:4)
They had committed to the gospel without
the Law of Moses (3:1) -- but now they were
trying to be justified by that Law (5:2,4)
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MAJOR THEMES IN GALATIANS
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Paul’s defense of his apostleship
– He showed that his gospel was not dependent
on the other apostles; they supported his
preaching but had not instructed him in what to
preach
– His gospel had a heavenly origin; he had
received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ
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MAJOR THEMES IN GALATIANS
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Paul’s defense of his gospel of justification
by faith without works of the Law
– This was not a new gospel -- it had been
preached to Abraham (3:18)
– The Law was intended to be temporary, a
“tutor” (3:25)
– Their salvation was involved in the resolution of
their doubts about the gospel (5:2)
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THE BOOK OF GALATIANS
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Paul faced two formidable tasks as he opens
this letter to the Galatian churches:
(1) He must rescue the faith of confused minds
from the impending peril of spiritual destruction.
(2) He must restore the confidence of these
struggling Christians in his apostleship and in
the authority of his teaching as an apostle.
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Paul’s Greeting
Galatians 1:1
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Sometimes Paul calls himself “a servant of
Jesus Christ,” sometimes an “apostle of
Jesus Christ,” and sometimes simply “Paul”
Here he calls himself “Paul, an apostle”
– He adds “not of men, neither by man”
– But, by [the authority of] Jesus Christ and God
– He repeats this point in 1:12
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It was important that they recognized that
his apostleship and authority did not come
from the other apostles
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Paul’s First Concern
Galatians 1:1
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Paul essentially spends the first two
chapters setting forth the nature of his
apostleship
His opponents [Judaizing teachers] were
convincing people that Paul was not
authorized to speak on behalf of Jesus since
he was not one of the original apostles
– He tells them that he is an independent apostle,
on a par with the other apostles, and
– He was not taught the gospel but gained his
knowledge by inspiration from Christ himself
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Paul’s First Concern
Galatians 1:1
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Who were the Judaizing teachers?
Those who conformed to the doctrines and
rites of the Jews
Especially, those who:
– Insisted on Gentiles being circumcised (2:12;
5:6; 6:15)
– Insisted on keeping days, months, and, times
and years (4:10)
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Paul’s Greeting
Galatians 1:2
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“And all the brethren which are with me”
– We do not know the names of the brethren who
were with Paul as he wrote this letter
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Paul’s Greeting
Galatians 1:3-5
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Paul added greetings from God the Father
and from the Lord Jesus Christ
He reminds them that it was Jesus who:
– Gave himself for our sins
– Delivered us from this present evil world
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All this was “according to the will of God and
our Father”
– “To whom be glory for ever and ever, and Amen”
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And the Next Lesson…
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There is no other gospel
Paul’s ministry of the true gospel
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