Galatians – Part 1

Series – March 2022 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Galatians – Part 1

This month we are starting a Series on The Epistle To The Galatians . This is a book of supreme importance for every Christian who wants to walk in the light of the true grace of God. In this letter the apostle did not waver or give ifs and buts. Rather, he met the false teachers head on. The error at Galatia was so very serious that the apostle Paul picked up his pen and wrote with his own hands under the full guidance of the Holy Spirit of God. This is a relatively small book of six chapters, but it deals with a very important fundamental doctrine of the gospel and exposes one of the most serious errors.

Here the apostle Paul arose not so much to preach or to expound the truth of the gospel as to defend it, for there were many mischief-makers then even as there are now. At that time the mischief-makers were mainly of the Jews who professed conversion to Christianity yet were still very zealous for the law. They were men of the same kind as those mentioned in Acts 15:5, who were saying that it was needful to circumcise Christians and to command them to keep the law of Moses. However, the apostles gave no such command, neither did they support that idea for one moment.

The apostle told the Philippian saints to “beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision” (Phil. 3:2 KJV). “Concision” is also translated “mutilation” (NKJV). These preachers of the law were seeking to spread their false teaching wherever the gospel of the free grace of God was preached. Their aim was to undermine the gospel of Christ and to bring Christians under the bondage of the law. This was indeed a very serious attack on the work of Christ – the very foundation of Christianity. For this reason the apostle wrote with great urgency, that he might stop the spread of this serious leaven, representative of evil teaching, which was spreading among the Christians in Galatia. He wanted to stop it before it fermented the whole body of believers.

These proponents of the law thought the best way to discredit the gospel which Paul preached was first of all to discredit Paul himself. Therefore, they started to spread their lies against Paul, saying that he was not truly an apostle of Christ. So in the very first verse this great apostle started his defense by defending his own apostleship. “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead)” (Gal. 1:1 KJV).

No group, board or committee of men ordained Paul to be an apostle. Nor did he receive his apostleship by man, whether pope, bishop or some kind of leader – not even from the Twelve who were apostles before him. Instead, Paul was appointed as an apostle by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead. His apostleship was all of God. He said to the Corinthians, “Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ the Lord? Are not ye my work in the Lord?” (1 Cor. 9:1). Paul saw the risen Christ in glory; he was called, empowered and sent forth by Him with a message of grace to the Gentiles.

In Acts 26:16-18 we read: “But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”

The qualifications for one to be an apostle are clearly seen in Holy Scripture. In Acts 1:21-22, when there was a need to appoint an apostle to take the place of Judas, who fell by transgression, Peter told the brethren that they should choose a man of their company. He said there, “Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that He was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of His resurrection.”

One qualification therefore of an apostle is that he must have seen the Lord Jesus after His resurrection, and therefore have been an eyewitness of His resurrection. Another is that he must have been sent forth by the Lord Himself as a witness.

In addition, he had to show the signs of an apostle. The apostle Paul told the Corinthians when they also were listening to his critics concerning his apostleship, “In nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing. Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds” (2 Cor. 12:11-12).

While a missionary is a sent one, no one should confuse a missionary today with an “apostle” as used in Holy Scripture. Nobody can truly say that he is an apostle today in the primary sense of the word. The reason is that no one today has seen the Lord Jesus raised and glorified, nor does anyone now bear the signs of an apostle. Truly we may be sent forth by the Lord as missionaries, but we do not have apostolic authority.

Additionally, apostolic succession is not taught in the Word of God. The apostle Paul declared, “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30). So if anyone claims that he is an apostle today, then you know that he is but a grievous wolf, for those are the kind that the apostle said would succeed him or come after his departing.

As Paul wrote these lines he was not alone; he had the full fellowship and backing of “all the brethren” (Gal. 1:2) who were with him. Also, he was not writing to one single assembly but to many, as Galatia was a province with many assemblies. In this we are reminded that it is always good to have the fellowship of the brethren in whatever we are doing. Paul was not alone in his conviction concerning the truth he proclaimed.

The apostle then expressed greetings of grace and peace, which came “from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, 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: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (vv.3-5).

The purpose of Christ’s death was not only to deliver from death and hell but also from this present evil world, the age in which we now live. The Christian has three great enemies: the Devil, the flesh and this present evil world. When we speak of the world here we are not referring to the literal earth. Instead, the “world” refers to the world’s system, which is planned, organized and run by Satan and his cronies. This definition of “world” is what the Lord Jesus meant when He prayed to the Father in John 17: “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (vv.15-16). And in 1 John 5:4-5 the apostle John told us who it is that overcomes the world and how: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”

All this is made possible because God gave His Son, and the Lord Jesus gave Himself. To Him be glory for ever and ever. All glory, praise and honor be to Him. Man can take no credit for salvation, for it is absolutely, totally and altogether of the Lord.

Friends, I do trust that you can say from a true heart that Christ has delivered you from this present evil world. If you cannot say that, why not bow to the Lord Jesus Christ and by faith receive Him and His great salvation right now.

By Milton Jamieson

Look for Part 2 of this Series in the next issue!

Romans, Galatians and Hebrews are based upon one Old Testament text found in Habakkuk 2: “The just shall live by his faith” (v.4 KJV). In the Epistle to the Romans the emphasis is put upon the first two words. How shall men be just with God? The answer is, “The just shall live by faith.” But if one has been justified by faith how is he maintained in that place before God? The answer is given in the Epistle to the Galatians with the emphasis on the next two words, “The just shall live by faith.” And we may ask, “What is the power by which men are made just and by which they live?” The Epistle to the Hebrews answers that by putting the emphasis on the last two words of the same phrase, “The just shall live by faith.” So we see that these three letters really constitute a very remarkable trio. —Harry A. Ironside, Galatians And Ephesians, adapted