GALATIANS

In this message, we begin a new verse by verse, expository series in Paul's epistle to the churches of Galatia.  The emphasis in this first message centers around liberty in Christ as a result of the gospel of grace, and is contrasted with the yoke of bondage which is found in the works of the law.  The urgency and firmness of spirit wherewith we maintain a stand for the pureness of grace in the gospel is a key theme.  The general concepts covered by the epistle are highlighted in outline form as we endeavor to preface the beginning of our study through this short, yet mighty epistle of our Apostle Paul. 

In this message,  we take a look at some of the unique features of the epistle to the Galatians, and begin taking note of the authorship and audience to whom it is addressed.  Having the fundamental understanding of context in which it is written and by whom, along with the intended goals for the audience is key in approach the text itself.  For this reason, Lesson #2 begins to cover a number of the preliminary insights that we can extract about our subject matter and endeavors to better prepare us to handle the material properly as we move ahead.

In this message, we highlight the personal nature of the ministry of the Apostle Paul among the Galatians.  Unlike some other churches to whom Paul wrote, the churches of Galatia had seen Paul's face in the flesh and were the personal benefactors of his ministry efforts in their midst.  The Galatians knew Paul; they were familiar with his infirmities in the flesh, his persecutions for the gospel's sake and his deep, spiritual love toward them.  This has profound implications upon the contents of the letter itself, so this study is devoted to establishing the Acts timeline of Paul's ministry with special focus upon his early ministry with Barnabas.  Having a working knowledge of Paul's ministry in Acts lays the foundation for being able to come to sensible conclusions regarding the audience and timing of the epistle's writing.

In this message, we review and extend our studies of Paul's early Acts ministry up to and through his first journey, the Jerusalem Council and the early stages of his second journey.  The purpose of this is to establish the context of Paul's ministry movements and to come to a scriptural view on the audience to which his epistle to the Galatians is addressed.  We discuss some of the questionable matters associated with this, explain what commentaries and theology books squabble over, and do a verse comparison to arrival at a scripturally informed opinion.  This allows for us to place Galatians on the Acts timeline and establish a view on when it was written.

In this message, we begin to consider the material set before us in the text of Galatians 1.  No sooner than we pass three words into the text, we are greeted with a parenthetical statement from the Holy Spirit that affirms the divine origin of Paul's apostleship.  Why is this necessary?  Precisely because Paul's apostleship is one that needs further explanation in view of God's time past dealings with Israel and a fully filled ensemble of apostles that Christ already had in the world.  The legitimacy of Paul's apostleship, and therefore his authority to speak on behalf of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ needs substantiation.  For this reason, the Holy Spirit gives us Paul, an apostle with a a parenthesis.  We explore the concept of "an apostle" and set ourselves up for an understanding of the importance of the parenthesis that belongs to Paul as such.

In this message, we continue our consideration of Gal. 1:1 and the special apostleship of Paul.  The goal of the message is to show the importance of understanding the origin and authority that the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father vested in Paul's apostleship.  This was not an act of men, but a direct intervention of God in the timeline of prophecy to make known the hidden wisdom of His will in Christ crucified.  We especially emphasize the grace and peace that is to us today through Paul's gospel and how this factors into all the council of God in relation to time past.  Finally, we end be recognizing that all glory for abounding grace belong exclusively to God for ever and ever. Amen.

In this message, we consider the real reason that Paul had to include the parenthesis in verse 1.  While it is a teachable point concerning the divine origin of his apostleship, Paul is not writing to people who were ignorant of it.  The Galatians were personal beneficiaries of his ministry labors among them.  They knew Paul.  The legitimacy of his apostleship had been evident in their midst and should have been maintained by them with steadfast confidence.  It is because they had been moved away from this truth that he must parenthesize His apostolic claim.  Understanding the introduction of this epistle in this light helps us to see the magnification of the gospel in all it's glory, and by contrast the complete stupidity of the Galatians in forsaking the glorious gospel of Christ for another which was wholly inferior; yea, no gospel at all.  This message delves into these topics and develops the understanding as we prepare to get into the meat of the epistle.

In this message, we focus our attention of what it means to be delivered from this present evil world by looking at some cross-references that help us to think about what Paul has in view with this expression.  We explore the evil that is a part of this present world with its ungodliness and worldly lusts along with the course that serves the will of the Evil One.  Along with this also we see that idolatry and religious wisdom is part of this evil world, and it is this competing wisdom that teaches men to glory in the flesh rather than the grace of God.  All of this has bearing upon the larger subject of Galatians and Part 1 of this section is geared toward appreciating these fundamentals.

In this message, we continue our consideration of what we have been delivered from in relation to this present evil world.  While the previous message focused on the evil in this present world, the aim of this follow-up is to focus on the contrast of the world's mind with that of the Father and to which we have been called by grace.  Through a variety of passage comparisons, we observe many themes arising in Paul's writing around the topics of the mind, the Spirit, the world and the flesh.  All of this comes to bear in view of the correction of Galatians and proper thinking regarding our newness in Christ is key to understanding the exasperation of Paul toward the Galatians move away from grace.