Martin Luther called Paul’s letter to the Galatians his “Katie Von Bora,” the name of his dear wife. In God’s grace, Luther had a wonderful marriage; as a former monk, he had never expected to be married.¹ So Luther meant that this letter was as beloved to him, comforting to him, and surprising to him as his dear Katie.

Others have called Galatians the Magna Carta of Christian liberty. But as we read this epistle, we find it is definitely not a warm or affectionate letter. And yet it is full of comfort. It is a courageous letter of intervention—a letter of tough love—so that we would not fall back into spiritual slavery and would hold fast to the freedom that Christ has won for us in the gospel. We could say this letter is written to recovering Pharisees—that is, to all of us. We Christians should be honest enough to say, “My name is Tony. And I’m a recovering Pharisee. It’s been thirty-seven seconds since my last self-justifying thought.”

As Christians, we are prone to lapse from the grace of the gospel back into the slavery of self-justification, if not formally, then practically. We may not deny justification by faith alone with our lips. But we often live as if we were still trying to win God’s favor by the works of the law. Why is that? Because our flesh is not only lawless but also proudly self-righteous. Legalism preaches to our proud flesh. This is why we need Galatians. This letter is the God-given antidote to the poison of our self-righteous tendencies. It shows us how to live only and always by faith in Christ crucified. And it begins with this reality: The risen Christ sends his apostle to preach his gospel. And that means we should listen up. Because his apostle has a divine commission and mission.

In one sense, the opening words are standard fare, the format of a typical first-century epistle (or letter). But then again, it is anything but standard. You began a letter in the first century not with “Dear So-and-So” but first by identifying yourself: “Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, 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” (Gal 1:1–2).

Paul begins by identifying himself as an apostle. Already, this is no standard letter. This is not simply personal correspondence. Paul was once known as Saul of Tarsus, the Pharisee of Pharisees. His zeal for his Jewish religion was such that he persecuted the followers of this “false” Messiah named Jesus of Nazareth. But now he identifies himself as “Paul, an apostle.” How he became an apostle will be an important part of this letter. Paul will defend his Christ-given authority to preach the Christ-given gospel. And that means there is only one apostolic gospel.

Paul is a Greek name. It means “little.” There’s a tradition about Paul found in a second-century writing. It describes what might be an accurate memory of little Paul’s physical appearance: “A man of small stature, with a bald head and crooked legs, in a good state of body, with eyebrows meeting and a nose somewhat hooked, full of friendliness; for now he appeared like a man, and now he had the face of an angel.”² Paul was not much to look at apparently. But no doubt, little Paul’s friendliness was a grace-made disposition. He was previously an unholy terror to the church as Saul the Pharisee. But since his conversion, little Paul’s face looked like an angel when he would speak of his Savior, Jesus.

Paul is an apostle, which means someone who is sent on a particular task to represent the sender’s interests. He does not come with his own agenda. Yet Paul is more than that. He is not merely sent from men nor by a particular man to represent the interests of men. No, he is sent by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead. This is what makes him more than an ordinary apostle. He has been sent by the risen Christ, the one whom God raised from the dead! Jesus commissioned Paul with a divine, God-given mission and message, the gospel. The gospel is not of Paul but of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Notice that Paul does not hesitate to put Jesus Christ—that is, Jesus the Messiah—on an equal footing with God the Father. This is because Jesus is the God-man, the eternal Son of God sent in the flesh to save sinners. This risen Jesus appears to Saul—the church-persecuting Pharisee—while he is on the road to Damascus. Saul was on his way to arrest the followers of Jesus. And then the risen Jesus appeared with divine glory. He converted and commissioned Saul on the spot to be his apostle, especially to the Gentiles. Saul the Pharisee is transformed into Paul the apostle.

This means he is an agent of Christ’s word, specifically of gospel revelation. He is authorized by Christ and inspired by the Holy Spirit. To do what, exactly? To declare how Jesus is the Christ and the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament—all its prophetic promises and covenant expectations. The Old Testament as a whole is prophetic. And the New Testament as a whole is apostolic. And this means the whole Bible is centered on Jesus Christ and his gospel.

People get confused by the fact that the Bible is a big book with many words. There is a whole lotta law in the first five books of Moses. Some might say, “Let’s not get carried away with this Jesus thing. Do not forget about Moses. Let’s not get carried away with this gospel thing. What about the law of Moses?” And this is exactly the attitude and error Paul will confront in Galatians. The truth is that we do not know how to read the Bible if we fail to see how Jesus Christ and his gospel are the whole point of the whole book.

The Bible is not a handbook for moral self-justification. It is not a guidebook for statecraft and politics. Far less is it a self-help book for health and prosperity. The Bible is God’s word of life and salvation in Jesus Christ alone. Believing this gospel will indeed change you. It will change how you view this world and how you live in it. But you must be sure to heed Christ’s apostle, this little man named Paul, and this letter he writes to recovering Pharisees like us.

But Paul is no maverick. He does not have his own specialized ministry and message like so many do today. The gospel he preaches is the one and only gospel. So when he writes, he does so with “all the brothers who are with me” (Gal 1:2), meaning his colleagues in gospel ministry. Why is Paul already emphasizing his apostolic credentials? Why does he point out that he is writing with his brothers in gospel ministry? Because there are already false teachers troubling the churches of Galatia. And what is the first tactic of false teachers in the church? To undermine legitimate, Christ-established authority. They first try to poison the well against Paul to gain a following for themselves. These false teachers aim to undermine Paul’s apostolic credibility.

It is the same for every age. Luther once said, “Wherever Christ builds his church, the devil builds a chapel.” In fact, a false teacher is Satan’s minister. He infiltrates faithful churches. He subverts God-given authority. And he leads people away from Christ and Him crucified to his own man-made religion. It all begins with the serpent’s deceitful question, “Did God really say?”

Paul writes “to the churches of Galatia” (Gal 2:2). Galatia is a Roman region in Asia Minor where Paul and Barnabas have planted multiple churches. This happened on Paul’s first missionary journey after Paul was commissioned by the risen Jesus as the apostle to the Gentiles. Paul and Barnabas were sent out from the church of Antioch in Syria. This missionary journey is covered in Acts 13–14. The cities include Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.

Shortly after returning to the sending church of Antioch in Syria, Paul apparently got word that there was already trouble in these newly planted churches. Shortly after Paul and Barnabas left, these false teachers stepped in. This means the letter of Galatians would be among Paul’s earliest, written perhaps in AD 48. Shortly before, this legalistic error is addressed in Acts 15 with the Jerusalem Council. The issue is this: Will we require Gentiles to become Jews in order to be justified? In other words, Are Jesus’s cross and righteousness enough to save us, to justify sinners—by trusting only in him and not in ourselves or our works? We will examine the answer to this question in the next installment.

Notes

1. Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 26, Lectures on Galatians, 1535, chapters 1–4, (Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 232.
2. Alexander Roberts, ed., “The Acts of Paul and Thecla,” in Ante-Nicene Fathers, trans. Alexander Walker, vol. 8, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe (Buffalo: 1886).

©Tony Phelps. All Rights Reserved.

Part Two

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Post authored by:

• Tony Phelps

  

  Tony grew up in Rhode Island. He was educated at University of Rhode Island (BA) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He worked in the insurance industry for ten years. He planted a PCA church in Wakefield, RI where he served for eleven years. He has pastored Covenant Reformed Church (URCNA) in Colorado Springs (2015–18), and  Living Hope Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Allentown PA (2019–25). He is currently pastor of Christ Our Hope Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Charlestown, RI. Tony is married to Donna and together they have three children.

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