Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—and all the brothers who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia:

Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for our sins
to deliver us from the present evil age,
according to the will of our God and Father,
to whom be the glory forever and ever.
Amen.

Galatians 1:1-5 ESV

When preparing for a new series through a book of the Bible, I always give a great deal of thought to what I am titling the series because I want the title to act as a concise snapshot of what the main theme of the book is. Paul’s epistle to the Galatians proved surprisingly difficult in this matter, since nailing down the overall theme can be a challenge. Of course, there is no shortage of ideas. If Galatians is primarily a polemic against legalism, then we could call the series “Not by Works of the Law,” “Captive Under the Law,” or even “The Curse of the Law.” But if Galatians is foremost a defense of justification by faith alone, then we could call it “Justified by Faith” or simply “Through Faith Alone.” But maybe Paul’s broader goal is to defend the true gospel, which would make the title “No Other Gospel” quite fitting.

Yet the most pervasive theme from the first verse to the last is Jesus Christ. Indeed, it is in the person of Christ that each of the other prominent themes of Galatians are rooted. We are set free from the curse of the law only through Christ becoming a curse in our place. The beauty of our being justified in God’s sight through faith alone is made possible only in Christ. And this good news is rightly called the gospel of Christ. Indeed, the great concern of Paul throughout this letter, which explains his intense and often harsh tone, is that the Galatians were in danger of being severed from Christ (5:4). thus, I propose a simple title for capturing the heartbeat of Paul’s letter to the Galatians: “Christ Alone.”

FROM PAUL TO THE GALATIANS // VERSES 1-2

As is typically the case with ancient letters, this one begins by identifying the author: Paul. This is, of course, the Apostle Paul, who was formerly called Saul and who actively persecuted the church until Christ called him to Himself. Although we do not know for certain when this letter was written, most scholars argue that it is the earliest of Paul’s letters, likely penned before the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. R. C. Sproul remarks that his mentor John Gerstner described Paul’s personality and character with an acrostic of his name:

P stood for “polluted” because Paul understood that he was the chief of sinners, and the A referred to his “office” as an Apostle. But the most striking significance to me was that Dr. Gerstner said the U in Paul’s name stood for “uncompromising” and the L stood for “loving.” (Galatians, 2)

It is here in Galatians that we find those final two characteristics meeting together. Paul’s deep love for the Galatians leads him to an uncompromising stance on the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul then immediately refers to himself as an apostle. Although the word apostle simply means one who is sent, he uses it here to refer to an ecclesiastical office that belonged only to those who received a direct revelation of Jesus Christ. Since it is probable that Paul’s authority as an apostle was being called into question by the influencers, he follows his claim to apostleship with the statement: “not from men nor through man but through Jesus Christ…”

By saying “not from men,” Paul is emphasizing that the source of his apostleship did not come from any human authority but directly from God. “Nor through man” is to say that there was no intermediary. Christ Himself set Paul apart to be an apostle. Again, this is what distinguished the apostles from ministers today. The only authoritative offices, elders and deacons, are both appointed and affirmed by the church and can also be removed from office by the church.

Paul’s apostolic authority came instead “through Jesus Christ and God the Father.” Obviously, it was Jesus Himself who appeared to Paul, but just as Jesus said that whoever has seen Him has seen the Father, the apostle rightly understood his call through Christ to also be a call from the Father. Furthermore, in answer to those who would deny the divinity of Christ, notice the intimate union in Paul’s mind between Christ and the Father, as well as the distance he places between Christ and ordinary men. Of course, we joyfully affirm that Jesus became truly man, but crucially, He was not merely a man. He is the God-man, truly human but also truly divine.

“who raised him from the dead” John Brown gives a wonderful answer for why Paul included this phrase:

This was a truth ever present to the apostle’s mind in its pre-eminent importance; and consequently he was always ready to give it utterance. It is not unlikely that, in mentioning it here, he meant to suggest the idea,–that as an apostle called by the Savior raised from the dead by the power of the Father, he was certainly not inferior to those who had been called by him in his suffering state. For it does not seem to have been one of the circumstances of which the false teachers in different churches availed themselves, in endeavouring to lessen Paul’s authority, that he had not, like the other apostles, been the companion of Jesus Christ while on earth. (Galatians, 22)

Although verse 1 is more than enough to establish the authority of Paul as an apostle of the risen Christ, he also adds “and all the brothers with me.” This probably refers to those ministering alongside Paul, although it could also be the general believers of which city Paul was writing from. Either way, since this is only letter where Paul cites another group of believers as giving their explicit affirmation of Paul’s words, we can assume that Paul was doing so very intentionally. Indeed, this seems to be simply one more authentication of Paul’s authority. Perhaps the implication to the Galatians is: if the testimony of the Father and the about me is not sufficient, then just know that all the brothers who are with me agree with everything I am about to write. In other words, “Paul is no lone ranger, a renegade working in isolation from the rest of the early church. The gospel he preaches and the gospel the Galatians first believed is the same gospel preached by Paul’s cohorts and many others” (Wilson, Galatians, 21-22).

“to the churches of Galatia” Here we learn the recipients of this letter. Unlike most of Paul’s epistles, this one was not directed to a particular city but to a region. There are two possibilities about which Galatians Paul was writing to. If he was speaking of Galatia in an ethnic sense, then he would have been writing to the Celtic people in northern part of the providence of Galatia. If he was speaking of Galatia in a geographic or political sense, then it is likely that he was addressing area of Antioch, Lystra, Derbe, and Iconium, which are cities where he preached the gospel in Acts 13-14. The absence of personal names often seems to indicate familiarity in Paul’s writings, so I would assume the latter to be the more likely option.

Regarding the word churches, DeSilva gives us this caution:

The translation “congregations” is preferred here to “churches” given the connotations of the latter in English as established places for worship. The Greek ἐκκλεσία refers to an assembly of people without reference to a building or place, which is more in keeping with early Christian identity and practice. (3)

GRACE & GLORY | VERSES 3-5

As is the custom for most of Paul’s letters, he then moves into a benediction over his audience: “Grace to you and peace…” Because this is the standard greeting for Paul, we can easily overlook how profound and significant those words are, for they reveal the great values of the Christian faith. Indeed, because greetings in general become so commonplace, we tend to forget that they actually mean something. In English, we say hello, which has only been used for around 150 years, and it is a variant of the older greeting ‘hail’ meaning health. The Romans greeted one another with health as well, while the Greeks told one another to rejoice. But both parted with a pronouncement of strength. In English, we part by saying goodbye, which is a contracted form of saying God be with ye. In Hebrew, of course, you said (and still say) peace for both greeting and parting. These greetings, though largely automatic, are embedded with cultural values.

John Brown notes that even while Paul follows the general style of his day for writing a letter,

Yet the apostle contrives to give, even to the inscription of his letter, a decidedly Christian character; and shows us that, though we should not make an ostentatious display of our Christianity, yet, if we are truly religious, our religion will give a colour to the whole of our conduct: even what may seem most remote from direct religious employment will be tinged by it. The manner in which the apostle manages the inscription of this and his other letters, is a fine illustration of his own injunction, “Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” He shows his Christianity even in the mode of addressing his letters. (Galatians, 16-17)

We should consider well this pattern of Paul that was continued by Christians in the early church. Although Christians did not deny or scorn their earthly citizenship (instead, they actively prayed for the wellbeing of their rulers), they maintained that they were most importantly citizens of God’s kingdom. Thus, all Christians were marked by a distinctively Christian culture that transcended their earthly cultures. Of course, earthly cultures are entirely unimportant, since they will apparently not pass away, for in Revelation 7:9-10 John sees this vision:

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

Even though God will be glorified through being worshiped by people of every language and every nation, there is a common Christian culture that undergirds each of our particular cultures. It is fine for Christian to say hello, hola, halito, salve, χαιρε, or shalom, but heart of the Christian now greets with Paul: grace to you and peace.  

It is also important to note that both grace and peace are essential the remainder of this letter, as Thielman notes:

Each key term in this greeting, however, will play an important role later in the letter. “Grace” refers to God’s generous, costly gift of redemption from sin through the death of his Son, the “Lord Jesus Christ” (2:21; cf. 3:13; 4:4-5; 6:14). His Son’s redeeming death was the means God used to become the “Father” of believers, and they are all now his adoptive children (4:5). God gives “peace” to believers in the sense that God’s powerful Spirit enables them to live in peace with one another (5:22; 6:16). Paul wants the Christians in Galatia to experience all of these blessings, but as he will quickly say, they are in danger of deserting God’s gracious invitation to experience them (1:6).

Indeed, this raises an important point that we must consider. As we will experience next week, Paul does not mince his words while writing to the Galatians. Calvin notes that “it may surprise us that Paul is so harsh with the Galatians, as we shall see shortly, given that there is no question of them openly rejecting God, forsaking the gospel, blaspheming against our Lord Jesus Christ, or flagrantly setting up an idol” (Sermons, 4)!

But even though the Galatians still believed in Jesus and still considered themselves Christians, they were being taught that adhering to the old covenant law was necessary for salvation. Particularly, they were being told that circumcision was required for every Gentile Christian. In this letter, Paul relentlessly attacks that idea as a false gospel that was causing them to set aside the only true gospel. They are in eternal danger, but if they insist on cutting themselves off from Christ, then they will do so in spite of Paul’s impassioned pleas.

Yet for all of Paul’s hard words, Galatians is fundamentally a letter of grace. It is a bitter and often painful grace, but it is grace, nonetheless. Even though the Galatians are in very real danger of committing apostasy, from the very beginning the apostle is declaring that the well of God’s grace has not run dry. This is why the apostle extends his usual greeting into giving the Galatians a brief reminder of what exactly the gospel of Jesus Christ is.

First, he calls our attention the source of grace and peace: God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Again, notice how the Father and the Son are linked together for the apostle. F. F. Bruce writes that “God and Christ are completely at one in the bestowal of salvation: the grace which lies behind this salvation is indiscriminately called ‘the grace of God’ (2:21) and ‘the grace of Christ’ (1:6), and the peace which this salvation produces is indiscriminately called ‘the peace of God’ (Phil. 4:7) and ‘the peace of Christ’ (Col. 3:15).” Indeed, the essential confession of the New Testament that Jesus Christ is Lord is itself a declaration of deity.

Second, he gives us the means by which we have received this grace and peace, namely, through Christ’s giving himself for our sins. As we briefly mentioned above, the grace of God is a gift that He has freely given to us, and Jesus’ giving of Himself is that gift. Of course, He gave Himself for our sins upon the cross, where He died as our substitute. Through our sins, we justly deserved eternal death from the hand of God, but Christ willingly paid that debt for us. That is what it means that Christ gave Himself for our sins.

Third, Christ has also delivered us from the present evil age. The word for deliver, εξαιρεω, is not one that Paul commonly uses, but in Acts 7:33-34, Stephen quotes the Septuagint where Yahweh tells Moses in Exodus 3:8 that He has come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians. Indeed, we should hear echoes of the exodus in this wording. Just as the LORD delivered Israel from the sword of Pharaoh and from the land of Egypt, so has He delivered us from the shackles of our sin and from the present evil age, which is the world in which we live.

Although God create the world good, the rebellion of Adam resulted in the creation itself being cursed. And so it is to this day. This present world is under the dominion of sin, which is why worldliness is antithetical to godliness. “The course of this world” follows “the prince of the power of the air,” that is, Satan rather than God. Although we have not been taken entirely from the present age, we have been delivered from it. The curse has been broken and is being broken. Indeed, Romans 12:2 commands us: “Do not be conformed to this world [or age], but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Fourth, although Christ was the willing agent of our redemption, it was all according to the will of our God and Father. While we rightly testify that Christ’s death upon the cross saved us from the righteous wrath of God, we should not think of God as blindingly angry with us until Jesus steps forward to offer Himself instead. His righteousness and goodness do demand satisfaction for our treasonous sins against His throne; however, He is also full of mercy, grace, and abounds in steadfast love. The Son did not force the hand of the Father into giving us salvation; rather, “the whole scheme originated in the will of the one God; and the mediatorial economy is nothing more than the means adopted by infinite wisdom to execute the purpose of infinite mercy, in consistency with the claims of infinite justice” (Brown, 33).

Finally, the apostle concludes his opening words to the letter with a doxology, that is, an ascription of glory to God alone. Such doxologies are nothing strange to Paul, for his meditation on the wonderful works of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ often lead him to burst into praise. Romans is the best example of this. Chapters 1-11 give is New Testament’s most systematic explanation of our redemption in Christ, and the apostle makes three doxologies.

Some have seen viewed this doxology as being out of place, especially given the tone of the letter. However, I believe it fits perfectly with Paul’s over theme that our salvation is in and through Christ alone. Indeed, review the brief overview of the gospel that Paul just gave in verses 3-4, and notice that it is all the work of Christ in accordance with the will of the Father. Jonathan Edward’s words still hold true: “You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.” It is for our sin that Christ gave Himself upon the cross to redeem, and it is our sin that makes the present age evil. It is Christ alone who ransoms and rescues us, and He alone is worthy to have every knee bow before Him and every tongue confess that He is Lord. And in His exaltation, as He did in His humiliation, Christ glorifies the Father, and Paul walks in step with His Lord.

And how could we do otherwise? Moses quickly humbled himself before Yahweh and worshiped after seeing God’s glory pass by and hearing His name and attributes. But in the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have a far more glorious display of God’s goodness. His mercy, grace, long-suffering, steadfast love, faithfulness, forgiveness, and justice are all seen most clearly and most fully as Christ hung from the cross.

That is why we set the atoning death and triumphant resurrection of our Lord before us each week through the bread and cup before us. In the bread, we see by faith the body of Christ that was broken and crushed under the righteous wrath of God, paying the debt that we ourselves owed. In the cup, we see by faith the blood of Christ that cleanses us of all our sin. So, by eating and drinking now we joyfully proclaim that our salvation is not by any of our works but only through Jesus our Lord.