Devotional Questions:
Galatians 1:6-10
- Paul was “astonished” that the Galatians departed from the gospel of grace to embrace a “different gospel” brought by “some people” who were trying to “pervert the gospel.” What steps can I take to remain strongly anchored to the true gospel in the face of other voices that seek to confuse and pervert the gospel?
- Notice that the Judaizers—the people who were confusing the Galatians—considered themselves Christian. What are some ways that people within the church today “pervert the gospel of Christ” causing people to be “throw[n] into confusion?”
- In what ways am I tempted to pervert the gospel to suit my desires?
- Why would Apostle Paul feel so strongly against those who “pervert the gospel of Christ?”
Galatians 1:1-4, 10
- Reflect on Apostle Paul’s sense of identity and calling. What is the relationship between wanting the approval of men and being a “servant of Christ?”
- How can I seek more the approval of God, and not be mindful of the approval of man?
Galatians 1:13-20
- Reflect on the words “intensely,” “advancing,” and “extremely zealous.” Contrast Apostle Paul to people of our generation. What causes many people of our generation to be apathetic and passive? What can I do to fight this within myself?
- For Paul, it was very evident that he was not riding on the coattails of the other apostles’ faith and convictions. To what extent are my convictions regarding the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ my own? How can I strengthen my personal convictions?
Additional Questions:
Galatians 1:11
“In distinguishing the gospel from ‘something that man made up,’ Apostle Paul is suggesting that the message of the Judaizers (i.e., those who were preaching ‘a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all,’ v. 6-7) were ‘man-made’ and not the intent of God’s heart. Judaizers were Jewish Christians who believed, among other things, that a number of the ceremonial practices of the Old Testament were still binding on the New Testament church, especially circumcision. As Apostle Paul would explain in later chapters, the Judaizers misunderstood even the Old Testament, and missed God’s heart in turning a relationship with him into adherence to ceremonial rules.”[1]
- Why would anyone “make up” such an approach to God, in that it would seem to involve adding, rather than taking away, certain burdens to their religious life?
- What are some examples of similar man-made approaches to God among Christians today? What are some ways in which I could fall into a similar mindset?
Galatians 1:22
- It is remarkable that Paul, a man zealous and accomplished in Judaism and a persecutor of the Gospel, had turned into a preacher of the faith he once tried to destroy. The result was that people “praised God because of me.” In what ways does my personal testimony of conversion reveal a reversal, or turn-around of some sort, even if much less dramatic?
- In the words of one commentator, Paul’s transformation is an example of God’s “act of seizing us and empowering us for tasks we never could have imagined.”[2] For what task do you think God has seized you and empowered you?
[1] The NIV Study Bible, “Introduction to Galatians” (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002) 1819.
[2] Richard B. Hays, “The Letter to the Galatians,” The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. XI (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000) 220.
Commentary:
vv.6-7 “Paul is rebuking the Galatians for defection … from God’s grace. The ‘grace of Christ’ is closely linked with Christ’s death (2:20-21). ‘Grace,’ therefore, is not to be understood merely as God’s kindly disposition; rather, grace is embodied in God’s powerful and costly action for the salvation of the world through Christ’s self-giving on the cross.”[1]
“The Galatians have turned ‘to another gospel’ (cf. 2 Cor 11:14) […] they (Jewish Christians) were preaching a version of the gospel that invited Gentiles to be circumcised as a sign of their membership in the people of God.”[2]
vv.11-12 “Presumably, they (Jewish Christians) have told the Galatians something like this: ‘Paul was originally taught the gospel by the apostles in Jerusalem. But now he has deviated from the Jerusalem-authorized version of the gospel by preaching a watered-down gospel of merely human devising, a gospel that disregards the divinely given commandments of the Law.’ Paul indignantly declares that this is a complete misrepresentation of the true situation. The Law-free gospel for the Gentiles was given to him—against all his natural human training and inclination—by God.”[3]
vv.15-20 “[Paul] certainly did not think of his own message as ‘Paulinism.’ On the contrary, his ministry makes sense if and only if it really is true that his message was given him by the God who created the universe and chose to rescue fallen humanity through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is the singular, apocalyptic message that Paul was entrusted with at the time of his call, a message so clear and compelling that it required no corroboration from those who had been apostles before him.”[4]
vv.22-24 “Paul was transformed from persecutor to apostle, leaving the churches in Judea marveling and giving glory to God. Paul does not tell this story as a testimony of ‘what Jesus did for me,’ as though the important thing were how Paul’s sins were forgiven or his needs met. Rather, this passage is a testimony about how the apokalypsis [Greek for “revelation”] of Jesus Christ turned Paul’s world upside down and made him into an instrument of God’s reconciling grace, reaching out to those who had previously been ‘strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world’ (Eph 2:12 NRSV). […] We should dwell on God’s act of seizing us and empowering us for tasks we never could have imagined.”[5]
[1] Richard B. Hays, “The Letter to the Galatians,” The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. XI (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000) 204.
[2] Richard B. Hays, “The Letter to the Galatians,” The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. XI (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000) 205.
[3] Richard B. Hays, “The Letter to the Galatians,” The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. XI (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000) 210.
[4] Richard B. Hays, “The Letter to the Galatians,” The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. XI (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000) 218.
[5] Richard B. Hays, “The Letter to the Galatians,” The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. XI (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000) 220.