Five Things I Learned from Galatians 1: the one, true gospel.

The one, true gospel

We can learn a lot just by reading the Bible. Galatians 1 is written by Paul to the churches in the region of Galatia. In it Paul tells us we are all called and given a message to spread based on the one, true gospel.

One:  ​1 Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), 2  and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Galatians 1:1-2

First, Paul calls himself “an apostle”. He is not claiming a title or special privilege but is simply declaring who God made him to be. The word “apostle” simply means one who is sent. So, Paul is “ambassador of the Gospel”; he is a messenger of Jesus Christ who was sent to share the gospel with mankind. We all have the same mission-the same “grace and apostleship” as Paul, see Romans 1:5.

This call did not come from any person or earthly authority, but from God Himself. You can read about the call of Paul in Acts 9:1-19. What is important for us is that this call did not end with Paul. No, most of us are not called to travel and set up churches and so on, but we are all ambassadors of the Gospel. We all bring the words of Jesus and the Hope He brings to this world.

Two:  3  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4  who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5   to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen. Galatians 1:3-5

What is this grace and what does grace do? It is the power of God which He gives to us so that we may do His will. Paul is telling us that we are being rescued from the evil influence of the age we live in.  Paul was not only referring to the days he lived in, but the days we are in now. The grace we receive from God is enough for us to overcome the unrighteousness we see today. By grace we can accomplish the mission of sharing the gospel.

In the church today we are tempted to think that if we pray certain things and say just the right words then our prayers will be answered-giving us control. That is not true! It is all up to God.  The grace He sends us is sufficient to accomplish His will. 2 Cor 12:7-10.

Three:  6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; Galatians 1:6

After talking about the grace God gives us, Paul says cannot do anything without this grace. All that we do to try to control our lives and situation is futile. We have an inborn desire to want to take control by doing certain things to get God to react-this is called legalism. The true gospel declares that we are justified by faith in Christ alone, not by our efforts (see Galatians 2:16). Anything that adds to or twists this simple message of grace is "really no gospel at all."

Four:  12  For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; Galatians 1:12-13

This exactly describes what Paul had done, Acts 7:58-8:3. When Stephen was brutally stoned to death Paul, then called Saul, stood by in approval. In Acts 9:1, just before his conversion, Paul asked for and received the authority from the religious leaders of his day to continue to persecute the church.

God knew all this would happen. The plan He had for Paul was already in place, “when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb” Galatians 1:15. It is the same for us, we have been called long before we were born to live a life following and serving Jesus, Ephesians 1:4-5.

Five:  22  I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; 23  but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.” 24  And they were glorifying God because of me. Galatians 1:22-24

This radical turn-around in Paul’s life, from enemy of God to preacher of the gospel, is something we can all expect when we become true followers of Jesus. We leave our past lives behind to find a new life with Jesus. When people see this, it catches their attention, just like it did in the Galatian churches. It brings glory to God, who is the only one which can bring about such change.

This is not an in-depth study of Galatians 1. But even just reading it we can see  the one, true gospel that Paul preaches. We must hold onto and live this gospel, and if we do so God will be glorified in our lives. And that is good news!