Here Comes Trouble

 Hello everyone.

In my last post I looked primary at a verse and a half, Galatains 1:6-7a.  You may remember how Paul talks about some teachers who had come in among the Galatians, teaching a different gospel, one involving circumcision and the keeping of the Law.  Paul declares that this hybrid gospel was actually not a gospel at all. Today's post focuses primarily on the other half of the verse.  The rest of Galatians 1:7 says, " It appears that there are some people who are stirring up trouble for you and trying to pervert the gospel of Christ." Today we want to take a look at this question: Who are these people that are presenting a different gospel?  

David deSilva says that scholarship is almost universal in agreement that there were rival teachers who followed in Paul’s tracks trying to bring these Gentile converts into conformity with the Torah and circumcision, in an attempt to keep this new Christian sect firmly entrenched in Judaism.  (deSilva, 435.) Undoubtedly after Paul moved on from there, these young disciples had questions, and these rival teachers had answers that sounded good. 

John Stott points out that Paul uses the word  ταράσσοντες (tarassontes) to describe these teachers.  This word is a form of the word ταράσσω (tarasso) which means to "trouble" or "agitate."  The churches in Galatia had been thrown into turmoil by these false teachers. Paul also uses the word μεταστρέψαι (metastrepsai) which means to distort or pervert, to describe what these teachers are trying to do to the Gospel of Christ. Stott states ” the two chief characteristics of these false teachers is that they were troubling the church and changing the gospel.” (Stott, 23.) 

Their message was likely one filled with Old Testament scripture, something they knew well.  Thomas Schreiner points out that it likely referred back to Genesis 17 and the covenant God made with Abraham.  There, “circumcision is linked to Abraham becoming the father of many nations.”  So if these Gentiles wanted to be children of Abraham, they had to receive this sign of God’s “everlasting” covenant.  (Schreiner, 50.) The logic would have been that if God made an "everlasting" covenant, then we are still bound by it. Paul will bring Abraham into the conversation in his rebuttal.  

Here is something for you to think about. I recently read something in David Benner’s book, Surrender to Love that seems to tie in well here. Benner says, “He (God) offers us something we could never deserve - forgiveness of our sins and the embrace of His love.  What makes grace amazing is that it and it alone can make us free from our fears and make us truly whole and free.  Surrender to God’s love offers the possibility of freedom from guilt, freedom from effort to earn God’s approval.”  ( Benner, 47.) 

What a great description of God's grace.  This is a beautiful message.   Why would anybody want to exchange that message for a lesser one? But these teachers had taken God's message of grace and perverted it into a message of law-keeping.  Paul spends the bulk of the rest of this letter fighting the message being taught by these agitators. 

     Thomas Schriener, Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Galatians, Zondervan Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2010. 

      John R.W. Stott, The Message of Galatians, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1968. 
      David A. deSilva, An Introduction to the New Testament, IVP Academic, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2018. 

      David Benner, Surrender to Love, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2015. 

Only One Gospel

Greetings everyone, 

I am continuing my look at Galatians today, as I seek to understand God's grace more fully.  We will only look at about a verse and a half today,  but they are packed with meaning.  Here is my translation of Galatinas 1:6-7a: 

6 I am astonished that you are so quick to depart from the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ, for a different gospel, 7 one which is really not a gospel at all. 

Every commentary that I read on this passage points out that Paul deviates from his normal pattern, and doesn't talk about how thankful he is for them. For me, I don't want to make too much of this absence of thanksgiving.  Since this is likely Paul’s first letter, he hasn’t really established a pattern yet.  However, it is important to note that after his initial greeting, he jumps right into some pretty strong language about the direction that they are heading in following certain teachings.  A little later on, the word he uses to describe that direction is ἀνάθεμα (anathema) - accursed.  So, this situation was incredibly important.  Salvation was at stake.  

In verse 6, Paul uses the word Θαυμάζω (thaumazo) to start this warning.  “I am amazed.” or "I am astonished." The Greek-English Lexicon defines Θαυμάζω like this: “to be extraordinarily impressed or disturbed by something, wonder, marvel, be astonished, (the context determines whether it is in a good or bed sense.)"   Clearly, this astonishment is in a negative sense.  Paul is completely baffled by their behavior.  Why would anyone choose this other gospel over the gospel of grace? 

Douglas Moo explains it like this, “Paul is genuinely surprised and chagrined that his converts in Galatia are so quickly being tempted to exchange the true gospel that he preached to them for a substitute and false gospel.”  (Moo, 76.) 

Paul was undoubtedly amazed that they would turn from the gospel of grace at all, but here he also uses the Greek word ταχέως (tacheōs), which means 'quickly.'  It is not clear whether Paul means so quickly after their conversion, or that thay are so easily swayed by the arrival of the false teachers, with a quick departure after that. Personally, I think that it is likely that Paul is referring to the fact that the false teachers were so quickly able to pull them away from the gospel of grace to their own false gospel.  

Thomas Schreiner draws a comparison to the ancient Israelites who craft for themselves a golden calf.  In Ex. 32:8, God says, “They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf.” Schreiner describes the situation this way, “The Galatians seem to be repeating the error of the wilderness generation by departing from the Lord shortly after being delivered.” (Schriener, 85.) Sadly, the brothers and sisters at Galatia had not developed deep enough convictions about grace to hold them in place when these false teachers arrived, so when the false teachers made their fine-sounding argument, the Galatians bought into it. 

Their departure from the true gospel is described in shocking terms.  John Stott points out that Paul uses the Greek word μετατίθεσθε (metatithesthe) , a form of the word μετατίθημι (metatithēme).  Stott points out that it is a military term that means to ‘transfer one’s allegiance.’ This is what Paul is accusing the Galatians of; switching sides, of being turncoats. (Stott, 21.)

So, the charge being brought against the Galatians is that they are abandoning Jesus, who called them by his grace and are embracing a different gospel. They were departing from God’s way.  Someone had convinced them that the grace of Christ was not the true way, but that a different gospel was.  (There is something to learn about God here.  It is easy to get caught up in legalistic religion, but God is not legalistic. Instead, He is gracious. His call is not to religious legalism, but to live in His grace.)

Χάρις (Charis) or Grace is the key word here.  It is central to the message of Galatians. (And the message of Christ, in general.)  Someone had come in among the Galatians and taught them a different gospel, one that required certain works in order to be right with God.  Paul is going to reprimand them severely for giving in to this line of thinking.  Paul’s argument was that in Christ, we are saved by grace, rather than in our ability to keep the law.  Our response to that grace is to be faith, not works.   

In verse 6, Paul refers to the legalism that the Galatians have adopted as “a different gospel.”  Paul certainly makes the point here that this other gospel is only called a gospel because someone perverted the gospel of Christ and called this new thing ‘gospel.’ The gospel of grace is not only a superior gospel, it is the only gospel. 

In verse 7, he corrects his previous statement, telling them that this “different gospel” is actually not a gospel at all.  There is only one gospel, and that is the gospel of grace.  Anything else is a pretender. It's not the gospel of discipleship, or the gospel of baptism or even the gospel of the church.  I don't want to take away from the importance of discipleship, baptism or the church, but those things are not the Gospel.  The only Gospel is the Gospel of Grace. 

David deSilva says that this ‘alternative gospel’ is ‘no-gospel-at-all’ and that a big chuck of the book of Galatians “may be read as a demonstration of the shortcomings of the rival teaching.” (deSilva, Galatians, 7) 

The Greek word which we translate into ‘Gospel’ is εὐαγγέλιον (euangelion).  According the Greek-English Lexicon, this Greek word means “God’s good news to humans.”  His grace and His Gospel are exactly that.  

     Douglas Moo, Galatians, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2013.
      Thomas Schriener, Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Galatians, Zondervan Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2010. 
      John R.W. Stott, The Message of Galatians, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1968. 
      David A. deSilva, Galatians: A Handbook on the Greek Text, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, 2014. 

Paul's Introduction

Greetings everyone.  

I finished blogging through the Gospel of Luke back in October.  In my studies, I am now pursuing a deeper understanding of God's grace through a study of the book of Galatians, and after that Romans.  So, today I will start sharing throughts from what I learning through my study of Galatians.  Here is my translation of Paul's introduction in his letter to the Galatians: 

1 Paul, an apostle, who has not been sent from men or by a man, but rather by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead, 2 and all of the brothers and sisters with me, to the churches in Galatia:
3  Grace and peace to you, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 the one who gave himself for our sins, to set us free from the evil of this current age, according to the desire of our God and Father.  5 To Him belongs the glory forever and ever, Amen. 

Paul has some serious issues to address in his letter to the churches in Galatia.  As we will see later in verse 7, some men have come in and are perverting the gospel that Paul had taught them, and Paul's letter is written in an effort to correct this false teaching.  Paul had taught them the gospel of grace, but these others were teaching something of a hybrid gospel that combines faith in Christ with obedience to the Old Law. I think that there is much that we can learn from this epistle, as Paul fights for grace and against legalism. 

In his commentary on Galatians, Douglas Moo tells us that Paul consistently begins his letters with the same pattern:  1) Paul identifies himself.  2) Paul identifies who he is writing to. 3)  He offers grace and peace to them.  4) A statement of thanksgiving for them.  (Moo, 65.)  In his letter to the Galatians the thanksgiving part is absent.  We can only speculate as to the absence of the usual thanksgiving here, but it is possible that because of the seriousness of the subject matter, he skips it and dives right into the issue at hand.  

In verse 1, we can see how Paul introduces himself. He identifies himself as an apostle of Jesus, and clarifies this further by stating that he was not sent by men, but that his calling to apostleship came directly from Jesus, and God the Father. So Paul establishes his authority to say what he is about to say right up front.  

He also establishes the power behind him. He makes the point that his apostleship did not come from human origins, but directly from God.  Paul next references how God raised Jesus from the dead, a miracle of epic proportions, and a declaration of God’s sovereign power. So, the all-powerful God that raised Jesus from death, is the same God that called Paul to apostleship.  That is a pretty high authority to be speaking from. Paul also mentions that the letter comes from all of the brothers and sisters that are with him, although no names are mentioned specifically. 

Paul’s identification of the recipient is short and sweet, simply saying ‘to the churches in Galatia.’  As previously mentioned, there is no expression of gratitude like you see in most of Paul’s letters.  

Paul may have been upset with the churches in Galatia, but he still offers them  Χάρις καὶ εἰρήνη - (Charis kai eirenai) or grace and peace.  No matter what anger Paul may feel toward the Galatian churches, that does not stop him from offering them grace, or peace.  

The problem, as we will soon see in future posts, is that the Galatian churches have turned away from the Gospel of grace to a different gospel.  So, it is important that Paul offers them grace up front.  Moo says, "'Grace' is a fundamental aspect of the NT revelation and of the gospel that Paul defends in Galatians; indeed Paul can use 'grace' to sum up the Christian message. (e.g. Rom. 5:2)” (Moo, 71.) So, while the offer of grace is standard in Paul’s letters, here it takes an important significance, as a plea for the Galatian churches to return to the true gospel of God’s grace. 

Paul goes on to define this grace in verse 4, stating “the one (Jesus) who gave himself for our sins, to set us free from the evil of this current age, according to the desire of our God and Father.” According to Moo, Paul again anticipates his message here, talking about Jesus' purpose in giving himself for our sins.  It was to set us free.  God’s desire for us is that we be set free, not bound up all over again.  (Moo, 71.)  Paul’s fight in the book of Galatians is against legalism, and legalism works against any kind of feeling of freedom.  

Moo tells us more. “Central to Paul’s attempt to woo the Galatians back to the true gospel is his insistence throughout the letter that the cross of Christ is the decisive and uniquely sufficient means to rescue sinners from death.” (Moo, 71.) Moo’s quote here is incredibly important for us to understand.  No amount of work that I may do is sufficient for my sins to be forgiven and to earn grace and freedom in Christ.  Only his death on my behalf can do that.  

To finish his introduction, and before starting his rebuke, Paul ends it by declaring glory to Jesus forever and ever.

     Douglas Moo, Galatians, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2013.