Galatians 1:1-5 Podcast
Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers and sisters with me, to the churches in Galatia:
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Galatians 1:1-5)
The Apostle Paul begins this letter to the churches in the province of Galatia with the idea that he is careful to be defined by God. This is very important for us to note on the outset, because as it has been said, "The secret of the Lord is with those who have been broken by his cross and healed by his Spirit."
In v.1 Paul refers to himself an "apostle - sent not from men nor by a man." Apostle means "one who is sent." You will remember that in Acts 9 the resurrected Christ, appeared to Paul on the Damascus road and sent him to teach others the Gospel. This means that when we read Galatians, we are hearing Christ. An apostle speaks with authority the message of the one who sent him.
In v.3 we see a pattern the Apostle Paul follows every time he couples grace and peace throughout his writings: Grace must come before peace because we do not have peace with or know the peace of God without grace.
In v.3–5 is presented the gospel. Christ died to bear the penalty of our sin, extending to us the offer of God's love and grace and peace. At the cross of Christ, God threw more than just a life preserver to us. He gave Himself to the bludgeoning of sin. He allowed sin to do to Him the ultimate, and yet He conquered sin and death, so that we would know that we have eternal life.
The age is evil because sin has such a grip on our lives. In fact, in 2 Corinthians 4:4 Paul says, "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ."
The believer in Christ is no longer enslaved to the fear and guilt and anger and pessimism and selfishness and greed and pride of the present evil age. It is from this that He rescued us.
The experience of deliverance from the present evil age enables us to bear witness with our lives that we belong to God and His kingdom. This begins with a changed heart and a changed mind. Deliverance means a change of heart so that we as Paul said in Romans 12:2, choose "not be conformed to this age but be transformed by the renewal of our mind." Deliverance from the present evil age means freedom to think like God.
Jesus Christ died to free us from a mindset that leads to destruction; and He rose again from the dead to give us the ability to trust Him and to give Him glory with and through our lives.
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