DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
What is an apostle? Why is it important for Paul to start his letter off by highlighting his apostleship?
We see in verse 2 that Paul is surrounded by other believers. Why do you think leadership is sometimes lonely? What can we do to make sure our leaders aren’t lonely?
Why is “grace” and “peace” so crucial to the Christian faith?
What is the significance of the fact that we were “delivered from the present evil age” by Jesus’ death on the cross?
SERMON MANUSCRIPT
A few years ago, my family and I had an incredible opportunity to go on a cruise with some of our extended family. It was a fantastic trip.
But! For someone terrified of heights, it was also a nerve-wracking trip.
I'm not sure if you know this or not, but cruise ships are tall.
Like, real tall. So, as a parent of two children who think they’re part monkey, I would have nightmares of my kids climbing over the side rail and jumping off.
Because of this fear, I would never let my kids get remotely close to the side of the boat. In fact, if I could read minds, I wouldn't have even let them think about the side of the boat.
Anytime one of them got close to the rails, I would raise my "dad voice" and shout, "Hey! Get back here now!"
Out of my deep love for my children, I would raise my voice in hopes of keeping them from danger. I would use strong language to communicate the seriousness of the threat they were heading toward. We go to great lengths to protect those that we love.
Here's what I think we will discover as we work our way through the book of Galatians: There is not a more significant danger presented to humanity than the danger that comes from rejecting or abandoning the gospel.
If faith in Jesus leads to life, then trusting in anything or anyone other than Jesus will lead to death. Therefore, the apostle Paul is like a distressed parent crying out to keep his kids from danger.
We will find Paul yelling at the church in Galatia, "Guys! The path you are walking down will lead to your demise! You are abandoning your only hope! Come back to safety! Come back and find refuge in the one who loves you!"
In this letter, you will find a tension of deep affection and deep anger. The church in Galatia had drifted from the gospel and began to pursue God's favor through their obedience to the law. They were exchanging freedom and joy that is found in Jesus with chains and bondage. And it disturbed Paul to see brothers and sisters that he loved so profoundly abandon the gospel and head for destruction.
The book of Galatians teaches us to prize and value that which is most valuable. The book of Galatians is calling the church back to trusting in God's gospel.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Now, let me quickly give you a bit of historical context to set the stage here.
Once upon a time, there was a man named Paul (Saul). Paul was a Jew, and Paul hated and persecuted the church. This man gave his life to destroying the church until Jesus revealed himself to Paul on the road to Damascus.
After Paul encountered Jesus and was called and commissioned by Jesus, he began to travel far and wide, taking the gospel to neighboring regions and planting churches in those regions. One of those regions was Galatia.
***Galatia is about where present-day Turkey would be.
After the churches were trained and equipped, Paul would leave these young churches and go to a new region. And as he was doing this, he would keep in contact with these churches via letters. And one of these letters is the letter we're about to study today.
Many commentators and historians believe this letter is likely Paul's earliest letter, dating it around AD 48 or 49, which tells me that it didn't take the church in Galatia long to drift from the gospel. And if it didn't take this church long to drift from the gospel, it probably doesn't take us long to drift from the gospel, either.
The current that seeks to push us away from the cross is swift. Therefore, we must cling to the cross daily.
So, in summary, the church in Galatia heard the gospel ("Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified"), and they believed and received the Holy Spirit. Yet, at some point, after Paul left, a set of teachers began to creep in and teach the churches in Galatia that Paul's gospel was a lawless gospel.
These false teachers began to essentially teach the church that to be included amongst God's people, they needed to observe the law and be circumcised. And this teaching began to fracture, divide, and tear down the church that God was building.
Therefore, in this letter, Paul boldly says to the church, "Don't abandon the gospel!"
The book of Galatians will teach us the truth that (1) we never outgrow our need for the gospel, and (2) to help the gospel is to hurt the gospel.
The gospel isn't something we need past tense. It's something that we desperately need every second of every day.
And the blood of Jesus is enough. You tread into dangerous waters when you begin to depend upon your obedience to God. You are in great danger if you start to believe that how you live benefits your standing with God.
If we were drowning in a pool, the Christian faith is not a ladder that we walk up to get to safety. The Christian faith is that God reaches into our chaos and plucks us out of the water onto dry land.
The Christian faith is one of hope, not because of something you have done, but because of something God has done on your behalf. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is your only hope for salvation. And this is what we celebrate as Christians.
GALATIANS 1:1-5
So, today we're going to look at the first five verses of chapter 1. Here in these five verses, you will find Paul's greeting to the church, and in this greeting, you will discover Paul masterfully introducing the message of this letter.
Let's dive in.
"1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me,
To the churches of Galatia:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen."
I will go out on a limb and say that many of you likely haven't written a letter in years. I will go out on another limb and say that some of you maybe haven't even written a letter.
So, let me educate you for a moment.
In the typical format of a letter in our day and age, you will find the recipient's name at the top, then the writer's name at the bottom.
A famous example of this would be Alfalfa writing to the love of his life:
Dear Darla,
I hate your stinking guts. You make me vomit. You're scum between my toes.
Love,
Alfalfa
Recipient -> Body -> Author
So, although we might not write many letters, we're familiar with how they are structured.
Well, ancient letters were structured differently. You would typically find both the writer and the reader's name in ancient letters in the introduction. In the introduction portion of the letter, the writer would first identify himself, clarify who he's writing to, and then extend a greeting to the reader.
A tangible example of this format would be in Acts 23:26, which says, "Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency the governor Felix, greetings."
So, because of this format, we can safely conclude that Paul is writing to the churches in Galatia. There's really not any disagreement here.
But, these introductions were typically brief and concise in ancient times, as you can see by our example in Acts 23. Yet, if you look in your Bible to Galatians 1, Paul's introduction is neither brief nor concise.
So, Paul's long-winded introduction has to be purposeful. He must be communicating to us something important. Which begs the question: what is it that he's trying to convey here?
Well, if you'll notice, Paul is amplifying both the first and third portion of this greeting. He expounds on (1) who he is and (2) the greeting he's extending to his readers.
So, that's what we're going to spend most of our time looking at today, the first and third portion of this greeting.
PAUL AN APOSTLE
Let's first look at how Paul identifies himself in verses 1-2. Here we see Paul refer to himself as "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 with me…."
The first obvious question we need to ask in order to understand what Paul is saying here is, "What is an apostle?"
Well, in a general sense, the word "apostle" means "one who is sent." An apostle is a special messenger with a special title taking a specific message to a specific people.
So, Paul is saying that the one who sent him is God. The message he is bringing to the church is God's message. This is not man's message. This is God's message.
Now, the word apostle is a word that we see used pretty often throughout the NT. We specifically see Jesus refer to his 12 disciples in this way.
Where Jesus had many disciples who followed him, he chose twelve men and named them "apostles" and sent them out to preach.
We see this in Luke 6:13 and Mark 3:14.
"[13] And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles…" — Luke 6:13
"[14] And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach…" — Mark 3:14
The 12 disciples were referred to as apostles. These were men who personally walked with Jesus, who were personally called by Jesus, who were personally taught by Jesus, and who were personally sent out by Jesus to preach the message Jesus had taught them.
Due to Judas' betrayal, we see Mathias become one of the 12 apostles in Acts 1, and in Acts 2:42, we see the early church devote themselves "to the apostles teaching…."
So, this small group of men was given the authority to teach God's people God's message. And the church had begun to devote themselves to their teaching.
These would be what I would call [A]postles. In this context, the title "apostle" was a specific title given to a few to distinguish them as God's appointed messenger. And here Paul is saying that he's a part of that unique group. He was not commissioned and sent by man. He is a [A]postle who was taught, commissioned, and sent by the one who possesses power over life and death.
Paul wants the church to know that the message he is proclaiming is God's message. The message of the cross is not man-made. It is God-breathed.
Paul is not beating his chest so that the church will ask for his autograph later. He's beating his chest so that the church will stop abandoning the message that he proclaimed to them.
Paul is an apostle, he's heralding God's truth, and we see in verse 2 that he is not alone.
PAUL IN COMMUNITY
At the start of verse 2, he says, "…and all the brothers who are with me…."
We don't have time to camp out here, but I want you to think about that for a moment. Paul, an apostle of God, is walking through life with other believers. He is surrounded by brothers who love Jesus.
There's a temptation to think that leaders don't need community. But, that wasn't the case for Paul. Leadership should never be lonely.
If the apostle Paul is surrounded by brothers, immersed in community, how much more should we?
You, like the apostle Paul, need to be surrounded by Godly men and women who love you and who are committed to preserving the truth of the gospel with you.
Church, don't overlook your leaders. Check on your leaders. Pray for your leaders. Walk with your leaders. Leadership should never be lonely.
Well, at the end of verse 2, we see that Paul addresses the churches of Galatia, and in verse 3, he extends to these churches grace and peace.
But, he doesn't just extend to them a superficial grace and peace. He extends to the church a divine grace and peace.
Look at verses 3-5.
"3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen."
These three verses are rich with truths that are foundational to the Christian faith. And these three verses set the stage for the rest of the letter.
GRACE & PEACE
It is God's grace and peace that we all desperately need. Yet, it is God's grace and peace that these churches had lost sight of.
It is God's grace and peace that are the pillars that hold up the church. They are what breathes life into our bones.
If you were to remove grace and peace from the Christian faith, you no longer have good news. If you take away grace and peace, the church comes crashing down.
If you want to understand God and his message to you today, then you have to start with grace and peace.
So, what is grace? What is peace?
Grace is God giving you a good gift that you do not deserve. Where you deserve wrath and condemnation and shame because of your sin, God (through Jesus) extends kindness and forgiveness and mercy. Where you deserve to be cast out and ostracized because you rejected him, God (through Jesus) extends peace and reconciliation.
Peace is harmony, tranquility, the state of well-being, and unity. The Christian message is a message of peace.
When you look throughout the Bible, you will see that this peace is multifaceted. It is trifold. You will find the Bible talk about peace with God, peace with one another, and internal peace.
So, because of Jesus' death, we most importantly have peace with God.
Once we have peace with God, we then have peace with God's bride, his church. Peace with God leads to relational peace with God's church. Biblical community is a byproduct of having peace with God through faith in Jesus.
And once we have peace with God, we have peace within (inner peace). Amid the storms of life, we find inner rest and tranquility through a reconciled relationship with God.
God's peace leads to peace with our neighbor and peace within ourselves.
But, peace with God doesn't start with us. It begins with God. It is peace “from God!"
Man cannot manufacture true peace. Genuine peace can only be received as a gift from God. Peace is not manufactured from the bottom to the top. Like a river, peace is only able to flow downward. Your experience of peace is a result of grace, not your efforts.
As we see in verse 3, the one who gives us grace and peace is the one who gave himself for our sins. Peace with God can only be obtained through the sacrificial death of Jesus.
The cross teaches us that God is full of grace. He delights in giving good gifts to the undeserving.
So, are you weighed down with guilt and shame today because of your sin?
If so, please know that the gracious King of Kings has his hands extended to you today, offering you peace.
CHRIST OUR RESCUER
Paul then goes on to say that Jesus gave himself for our sins to "deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father…."
The word deliver here is a strong word used to convey a type of rescue from danger. This is the Greek word "exaireō," which is used eight different times in the NT.
This is the same word used in Matthew 5:29 and Matthew 18:9 to communicate the tearing out or plucking out of one's eye. "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out (reach in and pluck it out) and throw it away."
This is the same word used in Acts 7:10 and 7:34 to describe the rescue of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. God saw the affliction of his people in Egypt and came down and acted on their behalf by rescuing them.
This is the same word used in Acts 12:11 to describe the rescue of Peter from both prison and the hand of Herod the King. So, Peter was asleep between two guards, bound with two chains, while guards were watching the doors, and an angel of the Lord came and rescued/delivered him from prison.
This is the same word used to describe the rescue of Paul from an angry mob that was about to lynch him in Acts 23:27. Paul is about to get lynched, and Claudius Lysias intervened on his behalf, leading him to safety.
Why is that important?
That's important because, in each of these instances, you (1) someone or something taken out or removed from something, and (2) you see someone in grave danger unable to save themselves and someone else intervening on their behalf.
To rescue someone is to remove them (pluck them) from pending danger. It's you frolicking in a pool, unable to make it to safety, and someone reaches down and pulls you out.
Church, this is the centerpiece of the gospel. The gospel is a message of rescue.
Let me be blunt and maybe a little rude for a moment. You are awful. You are far worse of a person than you could ever imagine.
You choose to be selfish when you should be selfless. You hold on to bitterness when you should forgive. You would rather fantasize about the beauty of someone else's spouse than your own.
When God says turn left, you turn right. You are a sinner, trapped in an evil age.
And because of your sin, you find yourself in a place of desperation and hopelessness. Yet, God (being rich in mercy) intervenes on your behalf and extends to you grace and peace.
What kind of lifeguard would see someone drowning and throw them a book on how to swim? A good lifeguard would act on behalf of the hopeless by entering into the chaos of the pool and rescue the drowning.
That’s what Jesus did for us!
Sometimes, I fear that some of us think God wants us to read the law and figure out how to live righteously while drowning in sin. But, we must understand, that's not the message of the Bible. God didn't throw us the law from heaven and say, "Good luck! Do what the law says, and you'll be fine!"
No, God wants us to know that he knew we were going to sin, and he had a plan of redemption from the beginning. The giving up of Jesus on the cross for our rescue was according to God's will. And if it was a part of God's will, then that tells us that the cross was a moment of power, not weakness.
The cross did not catch God by surprise. It was a part of his predetermined plan. God planned to use the death of His Son as the means to which he would take us out of the kingdom of darkness and put us in the kingdom of light. God planned to dive deep down into the water, giving himself up on the cross, and pulled you out of death.
All of humanity is drowning in despair. Like Israel in Egypt, we are enslaved to this world. Like Peter in prison, we are bound by the chains of sin. Like Paul surrounded by the mob, death is creeping in.
But, God, being rich in grace, had a plan to rescue us. And that plan was to crush his Son on our behalf. The Christian hope does not rest on the shoulders of you and me. The Christian hope rests on the shoulders of God.
The scandal and beauty of the gospel is God pursued sinners! The scandal and beauty of the gospel is that God pursued you!
And the only proper response is worship!
If I saved you from drowning, the only thing you could do at that moment is, "Thank you!"
J.I. Packer once wrote, "Any theology that does not lead to song is, at a fundamental level, a flawed theology." So, if you understand the theology of the gospel, then you can't help but worship!
"The one who gave himself for our sins deserves the glory forever and ever." There is not a day that goes by that Jesus is not worthy of glory! So, may we be a people that joyfully give him the glory every day of our lives!