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BIBLE
STUDY LESSON
For
the week beginning Sunday October 20, 2019
THERE’S ONLY ONE GOOD NEWS
Galatians 1:1-10
The importance of any messenger of GOD is never his or her own
status, but rather, it is the importance of the status of the ONE WHO sent
them. Here in verse 1 of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he claims the absolute
highest status of all when he says that he was sent by CHRIST and GOD the
FATHER. This set him apart from all those false apostles who were sent by men,
and who dogged him all along his missionary journeys.
Paul was astounded by
how soon those he had converted were falling away to a different type of
gospel, other than the one he originally preached to them when he first
established the church at Galatia on his first missionary trip there, a few
years earlier (v.6). The Church was now being influenced by false Jewish
teachers who claimed to be presenting the same Gospel that Paul preached, but
only, theirs was the complete message. This seemed to insinuate that Paul’s
message was somewhat lacking in the information that he presented, however,
Paul insisted that their message radically changed, and indeed, perverted the
message of GOD’s grace in the Gospel (v.7).
Paul reacted forcefully
to these distortions because he deemed it vital to do so. In verses 8 and 9 we
see the word “accursed” being used by Paul. It is from the Greek word “anathema”
(uh-NATH-uh-mah) which describes “an eternal damnation, or separation from GOD.
Here Paul is saying that if anyone, including himself, or even an angel from
Heaven, intentionally distorts the Gospel of CHRIST, that person will suffer
eternal damnation in the pits of Hell. True men of GOD seek only to please GOD,
they do not strive to “tickle the ears” of men.
PAUL’S MESSAGE COMES FROM
CHRIST
Galatians 1:11-24
Paul’s
letter to the Galatians, like his second letter to the Corinthians, eloquently
defends his divine authority as an apostle of CHRIST JESUS. It also gives us a
summarized version of the gist of his teachings, and, it contains vivid
statements of GOD’s “justification by faith”, as it erects on that foundation,
an excellent defense of “Christian liberties”, verses “Jewish legalism”.
Paul’s authority as an apostle was often called into question by the
false teachers who followed him around trying to change the new Christian
doctrine into the same old doctrine of Judaism which excluded CHRIST JESUS from
its teachings. Paul claimed that the gospel he preached was not based on man’s
point of view, but rather, it was divinely revealed to him by CHRIST HIMSELF.
He says that his message came by a direct revelation from JESUS CHRIST, and no
one else (v.12).
Here Paul is relating to us about his personal experiences, before and
after, that day on the road to Damascus, when he was converted by JESUS CHRIST (Acts
9:3-31). He now realized that GOD had granted him an “undeserved mercy” and
called him, even before he was born. GOD then revealed JESUS to him so that he
could preach HIS Gospel to the Gentiles of the world, all the remaining days of
his life (Galatians 1:15-16).
Paul says he did not rush to consult with any man regarding his divine
calling and these next few verses (16b-22) are very much like my own calling to
the teaching ministry 20 years ago. Even today I’m not known in many Christian
Churches, despite the massive amount of bible and Sunday school lesson
commentaries I’ve written during that time.
Here in verses 17-24, Paul tells of having
spent time in Arabia before returning to Damascus and remaining there for three
more years. He then finally went to Jerusalem, and there, was introduced to the
church leaders by Barnabas (Acts 9:27). He then visited with the Apostle Peter
and abided with him for fifteen days. The only other person he met with at that
time was James, the half-brother of JESUS.
Most of the people in the Church were still afraid of Paul, and didn’t
want to have anything to do with him because of his previous reputation of
persecuting Christians wherever he went. In fact, Paul ended up having to flee
Jerusalem after debating with some of the Greek-speaking Jews who sought to
kill him (Acts 9:29). He was rescued by some of the Christians who believed his
Damascus Road testimony. They took Paul to Caesarea, and from there, sent him
back to his hometown of Tarsus.
Paul did not return to Jerusalem until Barnabas went and got him
fourteen years later, and took him, first, to Antioch of Syria, and then, on to
Jerusalem to report on the success that they had had there in Syria, converting
Gentiles to Christianity (Acts 11:25-30). In fact, Antioch is where the term
“Christian” was first used to describe the followers of CHRIST (Acts 11:25). Up
until time they were widely known as “Adherents of the Way”, which meant that
they abided closely to the ways that JESUS had taught HIS disciples during HIS
three-year teaching and preaching ministry here on earth. Stay tuned.
A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander
