Lesson #1 May 29, 2002
Galatians
Magna
Carta of Christian Liberty
A defense of the freedom we have in Christ
Introduction:
1. Recipients:
Churches in Southern Galatia
2. Date of
writing: 49 AD [believe it to be his first]
3.
Occasion and purpose of writing:
what prompted Paul to write
a. There
was a sudden change in their attitude toward truth 1:6-9
b. To
counter false teaching. 1:9
c. Turning
to the Law for maturity 3:3; 4:10; 5:2-4
d. There
was conflict and strife in the Churches.
5:15
4. Theme:
Magna Carta of Christian Liberty
5. Tone:
very harsh, a strong polemic [basically chewing them out]
6.
Importance of the Book:
a.
protected early churches from degenerating into just another Jewish
sect, seems to be the thrust of the Judaizers.
b. Makes
an emphatic statement of salvation by grace through faith apart from works
which is extremely relevant today.
c. During
the reformation Galatians along with Romans was instrumental in exposing the
fallacies of Catholicism's system of works for salvation.
7. OUTLINE
Salutation:
1:1-5
The
Occasion: Defection from Christian Liberty, 1:6-9
Rest
breaks down into three major sections.
I.
Paul's Defense of His Right to Preach Christian Liberty, 1:10-2:21
Deals
with a real challenge to his authority as an apostle.
Very
personal section actually.
II. Justification by Faith as the Basis of
Christian Liberty, 3:1-4:31
Very
strong doctrinal section.
Refutes
the arguments of the false teachers, the Judaizers.
III. Christian Liberty in Practice, 5:1-6:10
Challenge
to exploit the freedom we have in Christ.
Also
deals with the consequences of legalism.
Chapters
5 and 6 spell out the practical outworking of the gospel of God’s grace, which
enables the saint to live a godly life in a fallen world.
Conclusion:
Final Counsel Concerning Judaizers, 6:11-18
The
Epistle to the Galatians, the first of Paul's letters, centers the attention of
the reader on two dominant themes:
(1) the
justification of the believer by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ apart from
legal works, and
(2) the
ministry of the Holy Spirit as the indwelling energizer of the spiritual life
in Christ. [Sanctification]
Salutation: 1:1-5
The
situation in the Galatian churches is different, agitators had challenged the
author's right to the title of apostle - his right then to speak
authoritatively.
-
apostle avpo,stoloj from apostellw means
‘one who is sent forth” and carries the thought of an official, authoritative
sending with the necessary credentials to carry out a mission.
What are the qualifications of an
apostle. How do we know if one is or
isn't? Paul in 2 Cor. fights against
false apostles who claimed to be super apostles.
#1
Must have seen Jesus. 1 Cor. 9:1; 15:8-9
#2
Must be directly commissioned by Jesus.
Acts 9:15-16
#3 One commissioned as an apostle has the
authority of Christ. 1 Cor 14:37
Paul
goes out of his way to ensure that the Galatians were clear on the fact that
his commission came not through or by means of man.
Observations: 1:1
1. Paul abruptly begins this epistle by establishing his office and
authority and the source of his appointment.
2. He goes to great lengths to make it very clear that he was not
appointed to office by a group of men (an official body, leaders of the Church at Jerusalem or
Antioch) or by a man. [Peter, James, Ananias]
3. His bold claim is that his authority, that is his apostleship,
was of heavenly origin.
4. The impression given here is that Paul's authority had been
undermined with the Galatian believers.
Therefore the attempt was to make him an inferior apostle.
5. The
apostle of the New Testament was
very similar to the prophet of the Old Testament. A prophet functioned as God's spokesman or mouthpiece, so that if
one rejected a prophet, the spokesman for God, he rejected God Himself. Zech. 1:2-4
6. The
great doctrinal issues could not be addressed, no problem
can be solved, however, until the issue of authority is settled. This is especially true in teaching the Word
of God. [True in any teaching
situation.]
7. It is
because of the absolute and
uncompromising gospel which he proclaimed.
Paul teaches that the only alternative to faith in the gospel which he
preaches is eternal judgement.
v2. and all the brethren who are with me,
Church
(ekklhsia) is a very important word.
It
means "called-out ones" and in the New Testament context refers to
individuals called out from a doomed and dying world by the grace of God.