Galatians – Page 5 – Be Still…

Galatians 2:1-10 – Unity in Diversity

Do you find it hard to trust a bully? Maybe you’re holding on to a memory from childhood of someone who mistreated you, called you names, etc. Then, years later you see them at the mall, and they seem friendly and welcoming. People can change, yet we hold our old memories close before trust will come.

You can imagine how Paul felt going before the apostles of Jesus. They would surely recognize him as the bully to Christians. But God had intervened. Paul was no longer against Christ, but for Christ, now on a mission from Jesus himself to reach the Gentiles. His job was not to convert Gentiles to Judaism, but to introduce them to salvation through Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:11-24 – How is God Using You?

Read Galatians 1:11-24

Paul goes out of his way to make sure his readers understand where is coming from. He starts out this section showing his deep connection to them by saying, “Dear brothers and sisters.” Clearly, he wants to them to trust him. He is also clear that his message isn’t something he just made up out of thin air or on a whim. The Good News isn’t some gossip he heard down at the coffee shop. He “received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.” Take a moment to let that sink in.

If we had known nothing about Paul before reading this letter to the Galatians, these verses today give us a glimpse into the life Paul had led up until this moment. Just in case his audience didn’t know him well, he also wanted to boost their trust factor in hearing a bit of his back story. We often do this in our coaching business when we are addressing a familiar audience, just in case there are any new folks listening in that may not know who we are.

Galatians 1:6-10 – Are You A People Pleaser?

Read Galatians 1:6-10

Paul doesn’t waste any time in dancing around the pressing issue here, does he? He comes right out and tells them he’s “shocked” at their behavior and how they have turned so quickly away from God. What does he mean they are following “a different way that pretends to be the Good News?”

Imagine the dynamic of what is happening here. You have Jews and non-Jews (Gentiles) all believing in Jesus. They have all heard the same gospel from Paul and were sold out, on fire for Christ. Then they were left on their own. Because of the traditional division between Jews and Gentiles, there were bound to be issues in the young Christian church. As I understand it, the Jews believed that Gentiles needed to follow Jewish traditions to be “true” Christ followers. After all, Jesus was a Jew.

Galatians 1:1-5 – The Greeting

Read Galatians 1:1-5

As we walk through the book of Galatians, we will be focusing on the freedom we have as followers of Christ. When Paul wrote this to his first audience, he was trying to establish that salvation through Christ is for all, both Jew and Gentile. As you can imagine, the early church really struggled with the dynamic between Jews and non-Jews, feelings of entitlement and worthiness.

Even as this book begins, we see how Paul is using this letter to truly focus on reinforcing the authenticity of the gospel. You might think that all of Paul’s letters start the same way. But there are subtle differences in each, and we should not rush past it. There are some gems of beauty here.