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GALATIANS

CHAPTERS

Galatians 1:1-4

“Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through human agency, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead),and all the brothers who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia:

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,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, to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.”


Raised Him from the dead: Paul is affirming that he is an apostle called by God, not by man. This especially has relevance because of the extreme change which occurred within Paul. He was once a murderer of Jewish Christians but is now spreading the Gospel. This power which called Paul is the very same power that raised Christ from the dead. Paul, therefore, ties his calling from God to the miracle of the resurrection and the very nature of God.

Grace to you and peace: Paul begins his letter with a message of affirmation, not from humanity, but from God. God has grace and peace towards His children. This means that God has prepared a way to make us likable: The finished work of Christ. Because of Jesus’ accomplishment, Christians are completely forgiven and righteous to the core. Consequently, we are no longer enemies of God. We live in a perpetual state of grace and peace. 

Will of our God: Often the will of God is seen as an ambiguous idea. But it has a very clear meaning in this context. According to Paul, the will of God is that humans believe in Jesus and be rescued from the present evil age. 

Glory forevermore: The Gospel comes from God’s glory. This means that it is based on His accomplishments through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Because the Gospel is founded entirely on Christ, we are saved by grace through faith in this finished work. We can bring nothing of value to the table. We can only believe.

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GALATIANS

CHAPTERS