Galatians lesson #17

GALATIANS # 17
11/08/10
Chapter 1: 1 – 3

greeting

Okay!

Yielding to popular demand, I will shift to the ESV for awhile:

(I still like KJV best!!!)

Title : The Holy Bible, English Standard Version

Edition : Second
Copyright : Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. Electronic Edition STEP Files Copyright © 2004, QuickVerse, a division of FindEx.com, Inc.

Galatians 1:1-5 ( ESV )
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.

(h,mm, I guess it is a little easier to read…)

One aspect of Greek civilization was the development of writing to an art form (this was further refined and polished by the Romans); the Hellenization of the Mideast brought these sophisticated writing techniques and skills to all educated people, even isolationist leaning cultures such as the Jews.

(Beginning at Sinai, the Law and all its ramifications had caused the Jewish people to be completely incompatible with the surrounding cultures, just as Moses had declared:
Exodus 33:16 ( ESV )
For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”
This establishing of “boundary markers” preserved the Jewish religion and people; this characteristic has kept the Jewish religion/people intact to this very day, unlike all of those in existence at the time of the implementation of the Mosaic Law.)

Though having very sophisticated writing forms of their own (see James study for a brief discussion of some Hebraic writing techniques), they adopted this writing style, particularly for public writing, or writings intended for predominantly gentile readers; the highly educated Paul utilized these Greek techniques, writing very skillfully to his audience:
(2) Structure and Form
In recent years New Testament scholars have devoted much attention to the structure and form of the Pauline Letters, analyzing their literary features and comparing them with other letters that have survived from the Hellenistic world.70 By the time of Paul, letter writing in the Roman Empire had developed into a fine art among the professional clientele of the educated elite. The publication of 931 letters by the great Roman statesman Cicero (d. 43 B.C.) set a high standard for others who desired to use the letter form for political, philosophical, or moral exhortation as well as for communicating matters of a more personal nature.71 Those who wished to perfect the art of letter writing had available various handbooks and manuals of style to guide them in this process. One of these, by Proclus, “lists forty-one epistolary types including letters of friendship, introduction, blame, reproach, consultation, criticism, censure, praise, interrogation, accusation, apology, and gratitude.”72 The questions scholars have been keen to study are exactly how Paul’s letters fit into this pattern of literary constructs. Generally Paul’s epistles do seem to follow the normal pattern of the Hellenistic letter, the basic form of which consists of five major sections:
1. Opening (sender, addressee, greeting)
2. Thanksgiving or Blessing (often with prayer of intercession, well wishes, or personal greetings)
3. The Burden of the Letter (including citation of classical sources and arguments)
4. Parenesis (ethical instruction, exhortation)
5. Closing (mention of personal plans, mutual friends, benediction)
A quick look at the text of Galatians will show that it fits this pattern rather neatly with one exception: there is no thanksgiving or blessing. Otherwise, using this structure, we could outline Galatians thus:
1. Opening 1:1–5
2. Body 1:6–4:31
3. Parenesis 5:1–6:10
4. Closing 6:11–18 (George)

Demonstrating his grasp of the nuances of this art, Paul structures his letter in accordance with the sophisticated dictates in play at that time.

ESV Ch. 1: 1: Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead —
Paul launches his diatribe against the Judaizers with the opening phrase of verse one. He takes an unusual tack from the normal structure of a greeting; not just stating his position in society, but going much farther, declaring himself to be an Apostle – in the same sense as those chosen by Jesus to accompany Him in His ministry!

Apostle:

G652
ἀπόστολος
apostolos
ap-os'-tol-os

From G649; a delegate; specifically an ambassador of the Gospel; officially a commissioner of Christ (“apostle”), (with miraculous powers):—apostle, messenger, he that is sent.

Following this with the statement that his authority is not from this world; that the origin of the gospel with which he has been entrusted and which he “preached”, is “not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father”. With these statements, Paul declares his independence from all church leaders, even those in Jerusalem – he declares that he received the Gospel directly from God, just as Moses had received the Law straight from God; Jesus personally revealed the gospel to him – none of it is doctrine learned from, or received from, any man!

Paul is never disrespectful of the Jerusalem church and the “pillars” who guide it, however, since the Gospel had been revealed to Him directly from Christ, he is also never, in even the slightest way, subservient to them – or anyone else. Luke describes Paul’s conversion; the astonishing event which was the basis of his apostleship and receipt of the gospel:

Title : The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
Edition : Second
Copyright : Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. Electronic Edition STEP Files Copyright © 2004, QuickVerse, a division of FindEx.com, Inc.

Acts 9:1-22 ( ESV )
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”
But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

Paul’s declaration that he received his Apostleship directly from God is like the Old Testament prophets: he has declared himself to be their equivalent! Or as the folks at the New American Commentary put it:
1:1b Paul was called “by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead.” Paul decisively qualified his calling in a negative way: it is neither from men, that is, from a human source, nor by men, that is, mediated through any particular person whether Peter, James, Ananias, or whomever. Now follows a strong adversative, “but” (alla), and a positive ascription of the true source of his life and mission. It would be a serious error to pass over these words lightly as though they were “a kind of pious window dressing intended to furnish evidence of orthodoxy.”8 The entire message of Galatians is contained in these words. True, they are words that belong to the confessional and kerygmatic tradition of earliest Christianity; they are part of the heart of that message that Paul claimed to have “received” and then “passed on” to his converts (1 Cor 15:3). These words were not invented by Paul but rather already were there in the praise and proclamation of the first believers. Still, Paul pressed this confession into service in Galatians at this particular point in order to establish a firm foundation about everything he would say about faith and works, law and gospel, freedom and bondage, circumcision and the cross. (Libronix Digital Library System)

So, what is Paul preaching that is so controversial?

We don’t have a complete record of his early sermons; however, here is a typical statement from one delivered a little later:
Title : The Holy Bible, King James Version Edition : Third
Copyright : Electronic Edition STEP Files Copyright © 1998, Parsons Technology, Inc.

Acts 13:38-39 ( KJV ) (KJV does a better job on this one)
Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Justify…..
G1342 v
Δίκαιος
dikaios
dik'-ah-yos
From G1349; equitable (in character or act); by implication innocent, holy (absolutely or relatively):—just, meet, right (-eous).

The “troublemakers” had attempted to persuade the Galatians that Paul did not have the approval of the church leadership and his teaching was inaccurate at best, or, at worst, blasphemous. A lot was at stake here – with this statement Paul declares his and his gospel’s authority and credibility, if Paul’s gospel of “Grace” is undermined, then what’s left?
If we are not saved by Grace alone, then:
• We must first keep the Mosaic Law and then be Christians.
• Jesus death was not enough – he wasn’t able to complete our salvation.
• In addition to Jesus efforts, we humans must perform the rest of the work.
Christ’s salvation of mankind would then have been unnecessary – we humans could/can do it on our own; in this verse Paul identifies Jesus Christ together with God the Father, clearly distinguishing Him from ordinary men.

Ch 1:2 …and all the brothers who are with me,…
.
Unlike most of his other letters, Paul doesn’t identify his companions here, naming no one by name. This has caused some intense discussion among biblical scholars as the identification could pin point when it was written and could shed some light on whether Paul and Barnabas had completely fallen out with one another. If the letter was written after the Jerusalem council,(“Northern Galatian”) then the split must have been horrendous: Barnabas and Paul split up and go their separate ways shortly after this controversy; Scripture do not record Paul ever returning to Antioch; no more is written about Peter for several years; etc. all leaving the question of the depth of the split unanswered. Or… another possibility (“Southern Galatian”), maybe all the conflict and tension arising from the question of how Christianity interfaces with Judaism coming to a head with the confrontation with Peter, along with Paul’s letter to the Galatians, precipitated the Jerusalem Council with which it was resolved, at least among the leaders. The situation would still have been explosive in this case, the Jerusalem Council hadn’t yet met, and tempers were flaring, with everyone defensive and on edge, in which case, Paul is deliberately vague to avoid forcing the issue with anyone. (these are more of the reasons I am a “southern Galatianer”)

F. F. Bruce explores it a little bit:
In the initial salutation of several of his letters Paul associates with himself by name one or more of his companions who are with him at the time of writing (cf. 1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 1 Thes. 1:1; 2 Thes. 1:1; Phm. 1). Here he mentions no one by name, but associates himself,all the brothers who are with me’. Our conclusions about the probable identity of those brothers will depend on our view of the provenance and date of the letter. If it was sent from Syrian Antioch, not long after Paul and Barnabas returned from their evangelization of the cities of South Galatia (cf. Acts 14:26ff.), we should think of the leaders of the Antiochene church, including pre-eminently Barnabas (cf. Acts 13:1). In that case it might be asked why Barnabas is not singled out by name, since he was Paul’s senior colleague in the evangelization of South Galatia. R J. Bauckham (‘Barnabas in Galatians’, JSNT, Issue 2 [1979], 65) suggests that Paul’s generalizing phrase ‘covers his embarrassment in not being able to ask his partner to endorse the letter’ after the painful incident narrated below in 2:11-13. On the other hand, Paul may wish to indicate to the Galatians that he is expressing no merely individual viewpoint, but one shared by his colleagues. The phrase οἱ σὺν ἐμοὶ ἀδελφοὶ occurs in the final greetings of Phil. 4:21, where the reference (less general than πάντες οἱ ἅγιοι in the following verse) seems to be his missionary associates.
ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τῆς Γαλατίας. The addressees are specified with the utmost brevity. ‘The churches of Galatia’ are mentioned again in 1 Cor. 16:1. It has been argued above (pp. 5–18) that the churches addressed here are those of South Galatia, whose founding by Paul and Barnabas is recorded in Acts 13:14–14:23.
It was evidently a circular letter, designed to be taken by a messenger to one of the Galatian churches, then to the next on his itinerary, and so on until each church had heard its contents. If some of the churches wished to make and retain a copy, that could no doubt be done. But Paul apparently did not send several copies, one for each church; his words in 6:11 imply that each church would see the one copy that he sent and take note of he ‘large letters’ that characterized his own handwriting. (Bruce, the epistle to the Galatians, a commentary on the greek text)

Ch. 1:3
With verse three, Paul introduces a new greeting device; the normal Greek word used here was “rejoice”, the normal Jewish was “peace”. Here, with his combining “Grace” and “peace” he has decisively expressed a statement having uniquely Christian force and meaning which he then uses in nearly all his subsequent letters. This coupling of these two words in this way brings the concept into sharp focus; “peace” that is inherent in God’s “grace”, a concept expressed uniquely by Paul.
The Judaizers belief and teaching, that a Christian must adhere to the law, was a perversion of the Gospel, completely contrary to the gospel that Paul preached. In his preaching to the Galatians we can presume he had taught the message of Grace and thus his blessing of Peace and Grace is very appropriate to his letters, for instance, from a little later in his ministry:
Title : The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
Edition : Second
Copyright : Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. Electronic Edition STEP Files Copyright © 2004, QuickVerse, a division of FindEx.com, Inc.
Romans Ch 3: 21 - 31
The Righteousness of God Through Faith
21But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 27Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30since God is one. He will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.



DISCUSSION
1. What is unusual about verse 1?
2. Why doesn’t Paul identify his companions?
3. What was preaching that disturbed some of his fellow Christians?
4. Was it unanimously embraced?
5. How did this differ from what the Jerusalem church was teaching?
6. How was it resolved?
7. What phrase does Paul use that’s usage was probably widespread in the early church?*
8. How does this reflect on the Deity of Christ?
9. What is the pertinence of “northern” or “southern” Galatia?
10. How does all this impact the modern church