Galatians 1 Commentary
Do all need a dramatic encounter with our LORD Jesus Christ to preach? Is the gospel less credible when the massager has a less dramatic conversion himself? Or when I hear the gospel from a human, is the truth of the gospel not as valuable?
What is Paul doing, displaying his profile? What exactly is happening here? Aren’t those who read Jesus’ instructions from the scriptures credible enough to preach? Should it always be done by those with flashy encounters with Jesus?
Shouldn’t the value of the gospel be the gospel itself instead of the value or profile of the massager? Chapter 1 sounds like a job interview and Paul must submit his profile for a high-paying post. It has a bad feel to it.
There are clues within this chapter to help us resolve our discomforts. Apostles occupy a special place in the church. They are 12 in number for a purpose. They represent the 12 tribes of Israel. Matthew 19 verse 28. But where do we come in as Gentiles? Paul comes into the picture. He is specially chosen by Jesus to represent the Gentiles. Acts 9 verses 15 and 16.
Jesus first went to His own (with twelve soldiers for the twelve tribes). Then to the Gentiles (with one soldier called Paul).
So Paul’s calling is special and Galatians 1 underlines this fact.
Regardless of Paul’s awesome calling, other apostles with their most special calling, or angels, none is permitted to alter the gospel. Verse 8.
Galatians 1 underlines the significance and the simplicity of the gospel. Don’t complicate it. “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15 verses 2 to 4.
Intelligence simplifies while foolishness complicates.
The guess is that some men started to preach a complex way to Heaven. As we shall see, it involved observance of rituals such as circumcision. They started to make it impossible – actually disregarding the Christ who alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. You understand why Paul is ruthless in this letter!
The last verse gives us the right picture of the relationship between Paul and the Jerusalem apostles. It was always great, loving, and respectful. They respected God’s grace in Paul’s life as an Apostle to the Gentiles. They never quarreled about it. The Book of Acts details how Paul often reported back to HQ on his ministry work among the Gentiles.
This letter is written to flatten satan’s agents who diminished the ministry of Paul. They did so by inciting a thought that he wasn’t called…only the Jerusalem apostles were called. We shouldn’t, therefore, think of animosity among the apostles against the work of Paul. It never existed. Paul was all loving and caring as can be seen from his constant appeals for others to help the Jerusalem churches.
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