Galatians 1:1-3 - On Final Authority

These Wednesday night studies are not sermons, per se. They are informal, small-group studies where we take the time to dissect the text and try to explain it piece by piece while not losing sight of how it fits into the whole. This is the second lesson from the book of Galatians and there is much to absorb and apply. While we kind of sort of cover three or four verses in this study, we have by no means exhausted it and will be returning to it in the next lesson. But here we get a good start.

Paul is in the midst of a great controversy. In fact, it is the first controversy that the early church faced and it is happening within twenty years of the crucifixion of Christ. This letter that Paul writes to the churches of Galatia is addressing that controversy. There is a group of people whom Paul names enemies of the gospel who have come preaching "another" gospel which Paul says is no gospel at all. Knowing that their message contradicts Paul's message they have attacked Paul personally and made the claim that Paul is no real apostle. They attack his authority to speak on these matters and claim for themselves that authority. So Paul begins his letter by defending his apostleship and his authority and he does so from the opening verse. Paul has come out swinging.

But there is much more to be gleaned from this than just understanding the matter at hand. There are implications that we discuss in the lesson--implications about authority and truth and how God speaks and has spoken. There are also implications about who Christ is in relation to his nature and the nature of the Trinity. These are not tedious details but vitally important concepts that address our day to day lives as Christians and modern-day controversies within the Church. Here is an excerpt which will serve to illustrate that:

"There is another pernicious view circulating in some Christian circles today which we can and should address here as well. That is the view that what the apostles wrote was good for them, but not to be considered authoritative for us. God speaks to us also, only in different ways. This teaching robs the Bible of its authority and renders the office of apostle irrelevant."

There is nothing new under the sun and Satan's attacks on God's truth and the gospel are present in every age. Let us endeavor to be zealous for these truths and the gospel so that the same truths that Paul preached and defended will be preached in our day and in the generations to come.

Below is a link to this Bible study. I hope you will take the time to listen and to ponder these things and may God bless you as you seek his face.


Click here:  Galatians 1:1-3 - On Final Authority



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