Tuesday July 4
Paul’s Gospel
In addition to defending his apostleship, what else does Paul emphasize in his opening greeting to the Galatians? Compare Gal. 1:3-5 with Eph. 1:2, Phil. 1:2, and Col. 1:2.
One of the unique features of Paul’s letters is the way he links the words grace and peace in the greetings. The combination of these two words is a modification of the most characteristic greetings in the Greek and Jewish world. Where a Greek author would write “Greetings” (chairein), Paul writes “Grace,” a similar-sounding word in Greek (charis). To this Paul adds the typical Jewish greeting of “Peace.”
The combination of these two words is not a mere pleasantry. On the contrary, the words basically describe his gospel message. (In fact, Paul uses these two words more than any other author in the New Testament.) The grace and peace are not from Paul but from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
What aspects of the gospel does Paul include in Galatians 1:1-6?
1:1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)
1:2 And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:
1:3 Grace [be] to you and peace from God the Father, and [from] our Lord Jesus Christ,
1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
1:5 To whom [be] glory for ever and ever. Amen.
1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Although Paul has little space in his opening greeting to develop the nature of the gospel, he masterfully describes the essence of the gospel in only a few short verses. What is the central truth upon which the gospel resides? According to Paul, it is not our conformity to the law — the point that Paul’s opponents were trumpeting. On the contrary, the gospel rests fully on what Christ accomplished for us through His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. Christ’s death and resurrection did something that we never could do for ourselves. They broke the power of sin and death, freeing His followers from the power of evil, which holds so many in fear and bondage.
Yes, and no. Yes, grace received into the heart does indeed set us from from the bondage of sin. But, what does this mean? It means we do not sin. That means we are conformed to the image of Christ. What is the image, character, of Christ? It is living in harmony with the law. So, while Paul is not saying "law", he certainly is saying that the grace of God transforms the character and brings peace that passes understanding. If we are not changed, then what Christ did on the cross is of no avail, and the peace promised if we will accept God's grace does not come. He is talking to a church that has accepted "another gospel" just as the Seventh-day Adventist Church has allowed multiple gospels to be preached from her pulpits and published on her presses.
We must not ignore this when studying the Book of Galatians. While Paul was addressing Phariseeism, which still is in the church, we today have to contend with a much more pervasive heresy that one is saved when he sins a known sin. The "Evangelicals" will use the writings of Paul to excuse sin. They will not acknowledge grace when received into the heart transforms the character.
As Paul reflects on the wonderful news of the grace and peace that God created for us in Christ, he falls into a spontaneous doxology, which appears in verse 5.
In about as many words as Paul used in Galatians 1:1-5, write down your understanding of what the gospel is all about. Bring your words to class on Sabbath.
Then compare what is said in Sabbath School to the real gospel message. How many got it right and gave grace the power to transform a sinner into a saint? How many did not include the power of grace to change the life? How many left out the symbol of baptism that reveals when one comes up from being "buried" under water, he is a new creature in Christ Jesus? How many explained what grace is?
John and Judas are representatives of those who profess to be Christ’s followers. Both these disciples had the same opportunities to study and follow the divine Pattern. Both were closely associated with Jesus and were privileged to listen to His teaching. Each possessed serious defects of character; and each had access to the divine grace that transforms character. But while one in humility was learning of Jesus, the other revealed that he was not a doer of the word, but a hearer only. One, daily dying to self and overcoming sin, was sanctified through the truth; the other, resisting the transforming power of grace and indulging selfish desires, was brought into bondage to Satan.
Such transformation of character as is seen in the life of John is ever the result of communion with Christ. There may be marked defects in the character of an individual, yet when he becomes a true disciple of Christ, the power of divine grace transforms and sanctifies him. Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, he is changed from glory to glory, until he is like Him whom he adores.
John was a teacher of holiness, and in his letters to the church he laid down unerring rules for the conduct of Christians. “Every man that hath this hope in him,” he wrote, “purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” 1 John 3:3; 2:6. He taught that the Christian must be pure in heart and life. Never should he be satisfied with an empty profession. As God is holy in His sphere, so fallen man, through faith in Christ, is to be holy in his sphere. Acts of the Apostles, pg 559.