GALATIANS # 19
1/10/11
No other Gospel
Paul’s Gospel defended
Chapter 1: 6 – 24
1: 6 – 10 A

In order to make a coherent study of Paul’s opening rebuke/defense it is necessary for us to take on a few more verses than usual; we have to look at 18 verses as a unit for it to all come together properly…we might wind up having to do this in two studies…

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.

(6) I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—(7) not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. (8) But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. (9) As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (10) For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Paul Called by God (11) For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. (12) For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (13) For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. (14) And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. (15) But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, (16) was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; (17) nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. (18) Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. (19) But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. (20) (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) (21) Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. (22) And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. (23) They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” (24) And they glorified God because of me.

1: 6 - 10
In nearly all of his letters Paul includes a blessing after the salutation (1Cor 1: 4 – 9; Rom 1: 8 – 15 etc), but here he abruptly, turns from the doxology in v.6 to a severe rebuke in vv.8 - 10 and then a defense of his authority and message in vv 11 - 20! This drastic reversal, with its abrupt, harsh, statement is nearly without-precedent in NT writings and certainly not “normal” for the Greco/Roman style of writing he follows. Rather than an Apostolic blessing, an Apostolic curse!

Acts 13 - 14, describes the success of Paul and Barnabas’s mission to the southern Galatians. They had established, and left a network of solid churches with good elders in place, leading these young Christians in their worship. This rejection of Paul and his teaching hurt his feelings but even more importantly it alarmed him that they were abandoning God and turning away to “another gospel” which is not a Gospel. This was not only attacking Paul but was a sudden reversal of everything that the Holy Spirit had set in motion, an undoing of all that had been accomplished!

Who were these Judaizers and what was so dangerously enticing and erroneous about their “another gospel”?
The scriptures don’t provide a clear identification of them, however, from the evidence that is provided we can deduce that they are Jewish Christians at least claiming to be agents of, and endorsed by, the Jerusalem church. As we have discussed in previous lessons, the Jerusalem church remained strongly influenced by their adherence to the Mosaic Law; for some it was nearly impossible to make the transition from “Law” to “Grace”. Fundamental to the maturing of Judaism such that these temple worshiping Jews could apprehend the full meaning of the “good news” was an understanding of the two natures of the God/man Jesus Christ: Who is He?

It’s easy for us, from our vantage point provided by the completed scriptures and two thousand years of study, to be overly critical of the “Judaizers”. However, if we step back and look at the big picture we well might come to a different conclusion. The Apostles were all workmen from the lowest levels of society; when Jesus came to them He was one of them…maybe even a little lower than some of them…He was just a man and as described in Isaiah, He had no “form”, or “majesty”, or “beauty” that we should admire Him. He was just a normal, run of the mill, average man – nothing special about Him: He was fully human, a man just like them, tried in every way, just like them.

They spent three years living with this man, becoming closely acquainted with Him, eating with Him, being cold tired and hungry with Him: He fully revealed His humanity to them; they knew Him as a man and only very dimly or not at all as God…at Christ’s transfiguration, Peter “confessed” His Deity, was greatly praised by Jesus, and then, within minutes Peter receives a frighteningly harsh rebuke from Christ, demonstrating that Peter didn’t comprehend what he had just confessed! The Apostles only dimly perceived Christ’s Deity (with the possible exception of John) to them He was a wonderful prophet and teacher, with almost magical powers to raise the dead calm storms etc. but His being God had not yet soaked in – for some it never did.
For Him to be able to pay our sin debt He had to be fully human and fully God– for us to realize this, His humanity must be revealed to us –it is not strange that they did not understand the magnitude of what He had accomplished on the cross – it had not yet been fully revealed – we humans can only receive God’s revelation of Himself a piece at a time – they were not weak or evil - they were the ones to whom His humanity had been fully revealed, During His incarnation His Deity was also revealed but not nearly so clearly and emphatically as His humanity.

Paul did not know, probably never even saw, the historical Jesus; on the Damascus road he met the Christ described in the book of Revelations; Christ/God, one of the aspects of the Triune God. When he saw Him, Paul was blinded and fell to his face just as John (the most beloved!) describes happening to himself in Rev.

This revelation had to be just as clear, just as distinct, just as unique as His Revelation of his humanity had been; as we discussed in previous lessons there was no person more suited to receive this revelation than Saul of Tarsis.

it was inevitable that there would be some disagreement and resistance to Paul’s announcement that God had paid the price with His blood and no further sacrifices were necessary or of any effect, Jesus had fulfilled the Mosaic Law. These Judaizers, including the Apostles to some extent, didn’t fully comprehend the fact that Jesus was God and His grace is the only way we can be saved; there is nothing we can or must do to add to or accomplish our salvation

Significantly, Paul did not develop an abstract or metaphysical doctrine of God apart from his self-revelation in Jesus Christ. In commenting on this verse, Luther remarked that Paul always associated Jesus Christ with the Father in order to teach us true Christian theology that “does not begin at the top, as all other religions do, but in the utmost depths.… Therefore you must put away all speculations … and run directly to the manger and the mother’s womb, embrace this infant and virgin’s child in your arms, and look at him—born, being nursed, growing up, going about in human society, teaching, dying, rising again, ascending above all the heavens, and having authority over all things. In this way you can shake off all terrors and errors, as the sun dispels the clouds. (Libronix Digital Library System)”


Paul’s Gospel brought Jesus humanity and Deity in to full view in a manner that we can all comprehend.


DISCUSSION
1. Why doesn’t Paul bless the Galatians?
2. Why is Paul so distraught?
3. Who were these people who were undoing Paul’s work?
4. Why were they attacking Paul’s teaching?
5. What was the troublemakers perception of Christ?
6. What was Paul’s view of Christ?
7. How did he come by it?
8. What are the “two natures of Christ”?
9. Why is this important?
10. What is your perception of Christ?