Galatians was written to new believers who were being pressured and tempted to turn to the Mosaic Law. Paul comes with force in condemning such a turn, and he does so with the intent of anchoring his brand new converts in the Gospel, and not turning away from the One who called them to live in the grace of Jesus Christ. Since his opponents who were confusing his new Christians were attacking him and his status as an apostle, Paul also spends a lot of time in the letter proving his genuine apostleship.
The entire letter can be seen in the first five verses, the greeting. The greeting includes the core Gospel truths of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and it has Paul asserting himself as an apostle – an apostle by the same divine authority that raised Jesus from the dead.
We are covering 4 points today: 1) The Gospel’s Fellowship, 2) the Gospel’s Audience, 3) the Gospel’s Greeting, and 4) the Gospel’s Triune God.
THE GOSPEL’S FELLOWSHIP(2a)
Notice first of all the GOSPEL FELLOWSHIP in verse 2…
Paul writes most of his letters while with other Christians and includes them in his introductions. He includes Sosthenes in 1 Corinthians, Timothy in 2 Corinthians, Philippians and Colossians and so on.
Galatians is unique in that Paul included a more general crowd of Christians “and ALL the brothers and sisters with me.” If you were a Galatian listening to this letter be read you would have been affected realizing that Paul was somewhere with a whole bunch of other faithful Christians who were all thinking about you and the other new Christians in Galatia. Commentators believe he wrote from Antioch Syria – the very church that sent Paul in the first place on his first mission trip (Acts 13-14) that led to him going into Galatia with the Gospel. So you as one of those new Galatian believers would realize that all the people who supported and sent Paul so you could be saved were also greeting you! You would have felt the solidarity with them, and you would have felt as though you wanted to live up to the faith you shared with them. Which is exactly what Paul would want you to feel as he begins to unpack the rest of the letter. In other words, the accountability to the rest of the Church was to be felt in this greeting so that the Christians in Galatia were prepared to correct whatever was wrong in their churches.
APPLICATION: Solidarity brings needed accountability. Christians need the accountability that comes from having solidarity with other CHristians. We need to feel that we have each other to live up to. This is why attending church is the most important and foundational practice for you as a believer. Make it a priority to be at church. Men – lead your family to church.
THE GOSPEL’S AUDIENCE (2b)
Second we see the Gospel’s AUDIENCE, 2b says….”to the churches in Galatia.”
Paul wrote this letter after his first missionary trip where he went through southern Galatia and planted churches in Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. The believers in those cities were his intended audience. This is why Galatians is a circular letter – it was meant to be circulated to all the different churches Paul founded in those cities.
Every letter in the NT is ultimately a circular letter. No matter who the original recipients were – be it the Romans, the Ephesians, the Corinthians, the Thessalonians, or even individuals like Timothy or Philemon – all of these historical letters are ultimately universal. Why? Because they are scripture – God breathed writings through men who spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the immediate relevance of those letters was to those ancient audiences. But through their circumstances, and the ministry of the Apostles, these writings God intended for all the Church. And there is timeless relevance to each of us found in every word God has spoken.
- All Scripture is God-breathed… 2 Tim 3:16
- For everything that was written in the past… Romans 15:4
- Man does not live on bread alone but every word….Matthew 4:4
- Daniel read the Scriptures…. (Dan 9:2)
- Jesus always pointed to what was written (Mt 4:1-11, etc)
- The word of encouragement addressing you as sons…Heb 12:5-6
- Avoid loving money because…Hebrews 13:5-6
- Faith & deeds, James 2:20-26
- Humility (James 4:6
- The prophets searched the scriptures … 1 Peter 1:10-12
- Control your tongue…1 Pet 3:10-12
APPLICATION: See ALL of Scripture as timeless and therefore relevant to your life. NEVER treat it as outdated or faded. This is why the Bible says God’s word is “LIVING” and “ETERNAL.” These words are eternal, outlasting the heavens and the earth, enduring forever, and able to make you live forever. Whether you are scratching on a cave wall thousands of years ago or scrolling social media on your iphone, God’s word speaks. You have to see the miracle and amazement of that – that God’s words relate to every man everywhere at every time. This is because every man is created by God and made in His image. God knows us as His creation and therefore He knows exactly what needs to be said.
THE GOSPEL’S GREETING (3a)
Third we see the GOSPEL’S GREETING. Verse 3 says, “Grace & peace to you….” Paul says this in every single letter. So its important. Don’t overlook it as just a “nice” sounding greeting without meaning. Grace & Peace are especially Chrisian – they are especially ours as Christians – and they are especially and exclusively from our heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Grace & peace are beloved twins to us.
Grace is used in two ways in the whole NT: salvation and service to God. Grace is the basis of our salvation, meaning that without God’s grace there is no salvation. Grace is the opposite of merit. Grace means God graciously giving us His favor and choosing to set His love on us when He has every reason to condemn us to hell in His wrath. No man ever could earn God’s love and acceptance. Any man accepted by God is only accepted by His grace. Realizing this is THE power for transformation – freedom from sin, freedom from darkness, freedom from guilt, freedom from condemnation, freedom from selfishness. Seeing God’s grace and how undeserving you are of God’s love but HOW loved you are will utterly transform your life. Nothing produces godly gratitude like seeing God’s grace. Following the hard teachings that go against everything inside of us (our flesh) only happens as we see and live out from the realization of God’s grace towards us. Grace! It is grace and ONLY grace!
But grace is also used in the context of serving God. Paul says verse 15, “But when God called me by his grace…to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles…” In 1 Corinthians 15:10 he said, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them (apostles) – yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” Peter described this “serving” grace in 1 Peter 4:10, be “faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” He then goes on to say if you have this ability or that ability then employ it in service to God. He is not speaking of salvation grace, but serving grace.
APPLICATION: Have you tasted the salvation grace? Do not rely on your own merit to be right with God. Salvation is by God’s grace. Toss everything you have to offer God aside and with empty hands receive the gift of God’s grace today.
APPLICATION: Serve God with the grace given to you. All service to God should be done by the grace He provides. Not from the flesh. Not from worldly wisdom. Not from self-reliance. But from God and His grace.
But then notice the peace. “Grace and PEACE.” The Gospel greets us with grace and peace. Do you have real peace? There is no peace without Christ. None. Only the God who stilled the storm on the sea can still the storm in thee. There are different types of peace described to us in the bible:
- Peace with God. This is salvation. Colossians 1:20, “Through Christ God reconciled to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making PEACE through His blood, shed on the cross.” That is salvation – a man and God are now on peaceful terms. This is the doctrine of reconciliation: where your relationship has now changed from you being an enemy of God condemned by Him and a target of His righteous wrath, to now He is at peace with you, having forgiven you all your sins, and his entire way of relating to you is now based on peace. That peace is made through the blood of His Son, Jesus Chris. This is peace with God.
- Inner-peace. This is the peace you feel in your heart and spirit. Philippians 4:6-7….Later in Galatians 5 Paul would say that this peace is a fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives as we walk with and keep in step with Him, being led by the Holy Spirit in our lives.
- Relationship peace. This is the peace between people – the relationship harmony that God commands for believers with one another. “As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” Romans 12:18 commands. Ephesians 4:3 also commands us, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
APPLICATION: Are you missing peace in your life? If you are not saved it begins with making peace with God by receiving his forgiveness. If you are a Christian, are you missing peace because you’re not turning to your Lord for your peace? Follow the prescription in Philippians 4: Pray, pray, and pray to God with all that burden, and the peace of God will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
Finally, are you sinning by breaking up the peace between believers? Or are you a faithful steward of relationship peace among believers?
Paul wanted the believers to know grace and peace intimately, and for it to characterize their whole lives. EFC: let each of us be marked by God’s grace and God’s peace.