An Exposition of Galatians

OVERVIEW: After a curt opening greeting, Paul immediately expresses his displeasure that the Galatians have deserted God and His salvation plan, turning to a different gospel instead. The apostle stresses that there is only one gospel and it is the one that he has previously taught to them. He emphasizes that he did not receive nor learn this gospel from man; it was given him directly by the Lord Jesus Christ.
    To further underscore that point, he notes that before he started to preach the gospel, he had taken but a short trip to Jerusalem, where he saw only Peter and James but no other apostles.

Verse 1: Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)

    As he does with most of his letters, Paul starts this epistle by identifying himself as an apostle. But in the introduction here, he uses some language that is not found in the others. With the phrase "not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father," Paul wants to stress that he was not appointed by any human being. He has a definite call from God. He has come with the full authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.
    By establishing his credential right from the start, the apostle is preparing the Galatians for the instruction and admonition that he is about to give them.
    Indeed, Paul was an unusual apostle. He was not among the original twelve chosen by the Lord, of course. Nor did he fit the qualifications Peter set forth for picking the candidates among whom the Lord later chose a replacement for Judas.
    We read in Acts 1:21,22: "Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection." In other words, the candidate must have been in the company of the original apostles throughout Christ’s earthly ministry, and a witness of Christ’s resurrection.
    The word "apostle" comes from the Greek word apostolos, which means "one sent forth." Thus, the Bible in Acts 14:14 identifies Barnabas also as an apostle. He and Saul were especially picked and sent forth by God the Holy Spirit to do missionary work. We read in Acts 13:2,3: "As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, ‘Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.’ And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away."

    Special appointment. But even before that, Saul (whose name was later changed to Paul) has already been handpicked by the Lord Jesus Christ to be an apostle. He had been a zealous persecutor of Christians. But one day, when he was on the road to Damascus, "a light from heaven" shone round about him and Christ began talking to Him. After that encounter Paul was blinded for three days and then, having been ministered to by Ananias, he was converted.
    The dramatic conversion of Paul is described in Acts 9:3-18. Paul also speaks of it in Acts 22:6-21 and 26:12-

18. At that conversion, God specifically declared that "(Paul) is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear by name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel" (9:15). This special commissioning is what Paul wants to impress upon the Galatians.
    The last part of this verse, "and God the Father, who raised him from the dead," is significant on two counts. It shows that Paul’s apostleship came from God the Father as well as from Jesus Christ, and it calls attention to the central message of the gospel: the resurrection of Christ.

Verse 2: And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:

    This letter is not from Paul alone; it has the full backing of all the believers who are with him. This statement implies that the doctrine which he is about to reiterate in this letter is the same one that undergirds the entire Christian brotherhood.
    The salutation "unto the churches of Galatia" is unusually curt, when compared with the language Paul uses in his letters to the other churches.
    Paul addresses the Ephesians, for example, as "the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 1:1); he calls the Philippians, "all the saints in Jesus Christ which are at Philippi" (Phil. 1:1); and the Colossians, "the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse" (Col. 1:2). In this letter, the words "saints" and "the faithful" are conspicuously absent.
    Moreover, to the Philippians, Paul adds, "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you" (v. 3); and to the Colossians, "We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always with you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints" (vv. 3,4). He gives no compliments to the Galatians at all.
    The stern tone of the letter reflects his strong displeasure with the Galatians’ recent behavior. It sets the stage for the serious admonition that he is about to give them.

Verse 3: Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,

    Paul does desire, nevertheless, that the Galatians dwell in the grace and peace of God. The purpose of this letter of admonition is to bring these churches back into the right relationship with God.

    Grace. The word "grace" encompasses the entire atonement. It is that quality of God whereby He freely and unilaterally provided salvation to a group of sinners that He had chosen to save. The cost to God was enormous; it involved the death of His Son. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
    But God’s grace did not stop at letting His Son die on the cross for sinners and telling people to believe on Him. He has also been giving His elect the faith needed to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. We read in Ephesians 2:8: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God."
    That’s because had He not given us that faith, none of us would believe in Christ. By nature, we all rebel against God. Romans 3 states, "There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God" (vv. 10,11). Without God drawing us, we would never have repented and come to God.

    Peace. Paul also desires peace for the Galatians. In the context of this letter, the peace he is referred to has to

do with the state of being at peace with God.
    One of the "mysteries" revealed in the New Testament is that there are two opposing spiritual kingdoms constantly warring against each other. They are the dominion of darkness, which is ruled by Satan, and the kingdom of God, which is headed by Christ. All unsaved people belong to the former; they are slaves of Satan. As such, they are at war with God.
    But when an individual becomes saved, this warfare is ended. This is well reflected in Isaiah 40:1,2: "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins." By redeeming them with His blood, Christ has reconciled believers to God. They are at peace with Him.
    Thus, when the apostle Paul says, "Grace and peace be to you," he effectively expresses his desire that the churches in Galatia might know the atonement in its fullest sense, and that each individual there might experience the salvation that comes only from the true gospel.

Verse 4: Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.

    Yes, Christ gave Himself for our sins. Because we are all sinners, the law demands that God condemns us on Judgment Day to spend eternity in hell. To satisfy God’s justice, Christ endured God’s wrath on the cross on our behalf. The suffering He underwent was equivalent to the sum total of the penalties of all believers, each of which was an eternity in hell.
    That’s perfect love. Jesus says, "greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). But Jesus is not just another man; He is God. To atone for our sins, He had to empty Himself of His glory to become a lowly man. That’s because only as a sinless human being could He become our sin substitute.

    Deliverance. Christ gave Himself so we might be delivered from this present evil world. We learn from Colossians 1:13 that when we become saved, "(God) hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." We are liberated from our enslavement to Satan and sin.
    Note that our salvation, which required the death of Christ, was the Father’s will. It served the Father’s purpose to send Christ to the cross as our Savior. Even before the foundation of the world, it was already the will of God the Father to save a remnant chosen by grace through the death of Christ. No one can frustrate that plan, because no one can set aside the will of God.
    Hence, Jesus says in John 6:37, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." On the other hand, Christ also stresses in verse 44, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."

    Bequest. In our everyday speech, we sometimes use the word "will" in connection with the "Last will and testament" of a person. That usage is also in view of the phrase "according to the will of God" here. The words "covenant" and "testament" are translated from the same Greek word, which is equivalent also to the word "will.") God explains that in the Book of Hebrews.
    Quoting from Jeremiah 31, God

alludes in Hebrews 8:10 to a covenant he has made: "For this is the covenant that I will make those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people."
    This covenant has to do with salvation by grace because right in that same context, verse 12 says, "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their inquiries will I remember no more."
    God talks about that new covenant again in Hebrews 10:9,10, "Then said he, ‘Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.’ He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Here, we can see that God indeed uses the word covenant in the sense of a will. It is contingent upon the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

    Confirmation. In fact, this truth is clearly spelled out in Hebrews 9:16,17: "For where a testament (or a will) is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator (the one who made the will). For a testament is of force after men are dead; otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth."
    In short, God prepared a will and named in it all those whom He had chosen to receive the inheritance in heaven. That will is of force only after the death of Christ. When did God write this will? Ephesians 1:4 states, "according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love." Who are the chosen? Those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Verse 5: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

    Once we realize that our salvation is entirely the work of God, we, too, cannot help but burst out with a doxology; we want to thank and praise God. To Him be all the glory. And we are grateful not just for a moment or two; we want to praise Him for ever and ever, because He has given us eternal life and we have come into an eternal inheritance.
    This doxology concludes with "Amen." The word is from the same Greek word that is translated in the King James Bible as "verily." It means truly or surely or absolutely so. In other words, it is truly the will and purpose of God that our salvation brings glory to God for ever and ever.
    May we never rob Christ of even one iota of His glory. May we never give ourselves or anyone else any credit for our salvation. All glory and honor and praise belong to God!

Verses 6,7: I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

    Now, Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, lets the Galatians know the purpose of the letter. He rebukes them for having turned away from the gospel of grace to a different gospel. He calls it "another gospel" because it resembles the true gospel. But he adds immediately afterwards that it, in fact, is not another gospel at all. There can be no other gospel; there is only one gospel that brings salvation.
    At this point of our text, God has not declared what this other gospel is. But as we go on into this letter, we will learn that the problem has to do with those who teach that while the grace of God is necessary, there is certain additional work that one has to do to be-

come saved. They have changed the gospel of grace into a gospel that acknowledges the grace of God, but also requires good words by the individuals.
    The apostle Paul describes those people as "some who trouble you," or some who agitate or confuse you, and who "want to pervert the gospel of Christ." Whenever someone thinks that one has to contribute something, however small, to one’s salvation, he is perverting the gospel of Christ; he is trying to rob God of some of His glory.

Verse 8: But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

    Anyone who preaches another gospel, even if he is an angel from heaven, is accursed. This is a dire warning. A teach of the gospel has a very awesome responsibility. Underscoring that point, God says in James 3:1, "My brethren, be not many masters (or teachers), knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation." The implication is that if a teacher persists in teaching a false gospel, he probably is not saved; he is still subject to judgment.
    Why is a gospel other than the gospel of grace so damnable? Galatians 5:2-4 explains, "Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace."

    Key principle. In the churches of Galatia, the work that was insisted upon had to do with circumcision. But the principle applies to any kind of work by an individual. And the principle is: If a person thinks that he has to do something, anything, to gain salvation, he has in fact obligated himself to observe the whole law of God; the death of Christ won’t benefit him at all.
    You see, there are only two paths to become right with God, and we have to choose one or the other. The first path is presented by the gospel of grace. We acknowledge that we, who are spiritually dead, are incapable of doing anything to help ourselves. We trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as our absolute sin substitute; and we recognize that it is His righteousness that has been imputed to us.
    Adding anything to God’s grace would immediately put one onto the second path. And that second path is to become right with God by following the law of God perfectly. The trouble is, the Bible declares, even our best works are tainted by sin and are looked upon by the Holy God as filthy rags. This second path leads only to a dead-end.

Verse 9: As we said before, so ay I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

    To preach any other gospel is such an abomination to God that he says "let him be accursed" once again in this verse. He wants to make sure that we get to the point.

    Works gospels. Unfortunately, many preachers are doing just that today. They are teaching another gospel, and you may very well have come under their hearing. Let me cite just three examples:
    (1) Some churches teach that though we are saved by grace, only our past sins have been covered by the blood of Christ. So, we can lose our salvation if we sin afterwards. Such teaching implies that we have to do good works to retain our salvation. Effectively, it is a gospel of grace plus works.

    The Bible teaches that "the Lord hath laid on him (Jesus, that is) the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:6). If we are saved, all our past, present and future sins have been atoned for. Nothing can cause us to lose our salvation.
    The Bible says, "Ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest (or down payment) of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory" (Eph. 1:13,14). The Holy Spirit who indwells us is our guarantee that we will receive our inheritance in the new heaven and new earth when Christ returns. Once we are truly saved, we are always saved.

    (2) Some preachers say that for one to be saved, one must be baptized in water. What they are advocating is really similar to what the false teachers in Galatia were insisting. They have merely substituted water baptism for circumcision.
    That water baptism does not save people is illustrated in the Bible by the salvation of Cornelius and his family, which is recorded in Acts 10. There, God shows us that they were saved before they were baptized in water. This corresponds to Romans 4:10, where the Bible teaches that Abraham was saved before he was circumcized.
    Yes, God commands us to be baptized in water, so we do it as an act of obedience. But he baptism that saves us is the one that can be performed only by God.
    Remember what John the Baptist said in Luke 3:16? He said, "I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worth to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." This is the only baptism that brings us salvation.
    Incidentally, there are those who teach that believers (all of whom have already been baptized by Christ with the Holy Spirit, as we have just seen) should seek as a means to receive special spiritual gifts. That is contrary to the Word of God.
    Ephesians 4:4-6 declares: "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." There is only one baptism; there is no such thing as a second baptism by the Holy Spirit or in the Holy Spirit.

    (3) Perhaps the most insidious grace-plus-works gospel that is being widely preached today is presented by those who claim that Christ went to the cross and paid for the sins of everyone in the whole world. To be saved, however, you must do your part and claim that salvation by accepting or receiving Christ. Well, if that’s the case, then you can boast that somehow you were smarter than the next person, who also heard the gospel but rejected it.
    That’s not what the Bible teaches. God declares unequivocally in Ephesians 2:8,9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Remember what Jesus says in John 6:44? "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him." So, had God not drawn you and given you the faith to trust Christ, you would never have accepted Him.
    No, if you have to do your part to attain salvation, then it is just another gospel of grace plus works. Following such a gospel would oblige you to follow the whole law of God; and Christ’s death would be of no value to you.

    Receiving Christ. But doesn’t John 1:12 say, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name…"? Yes, but that’s not the whole statement. Look at the second part of the sentence in verse 13: "…Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." It says here flatly that the spiritual birth of the children of God is not of the will of man.
    You see, John 1:12 is not talking about any free-will believe or acceptance of Christ. John 3:27 explains, "A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven." A believer receives Christ, therefore, only when he is given Christ from God.
    The idea that Christ paid for the sins of every human being, moreover, is at odds with God’s justice. It was to satisfy God’s justice that Christ died for those He came to save. By the same token, had He died for everyone, then God could not send anyone to hell on Judgment Day. Otherwise, it would mean punishing the unbelievers twice.
    So be very careful not to teach any such false gospels. Twice I Galatians 1, God says, "let him be accursed." He is warning strongly against any modification of the only true gospel. If you teach a gospel that somehow denies Christ of His full glory, you’d better find out whether you yourself are saved. God says, "Let him be accursed."
    And if you have been misled by "another" gospel into believing that you are saved, then thank God that today is still the day of salvation. Repent now, and do it right away. Do give our gracious God all the credit for your salvation.

Verse 10: For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

    The word "persuade" is not a good translation; it does not fit the context. We never try to persuade God. The Greek word pitho can also be translated "obey," as it is in Romans 2:8, which reads, "But unto them that they are contentious, and do not obey (pitho) the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath." It should be translated this way also in this verse.
    Here, Paul was asking the rhetorical question, "For do I now obey men, or God?", or "Am I now a servant of men or of God?" He then goes on to declare that if he tried to please men, then he should not be the servant of Christ.
    The question Paul raised here is one every teacher of the Word must face. Is it our goal to obey God or is it our goal to obey and please men? Are we going to preach what our congregation wants to hear? Or are we going to proclaim what God commands us to say, even if it hurts?

    Half a gospel. Even in fundamental churches today, many preachers have opted for the latter. Because people don’t like to hear that they are sinners who are destined to go to hell, these ministers have substituted for the gospel of grace with a gospel of love. To be sure, our God is love and loving. We read in I John 4:7,8, for instance: "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."
    But that’s only half the message of the Bible. God is also holy; His justice demands judgment for the unsaved. Hebrews 12:29 emphatically states, "For our God is a consuming fire." And Romans 1:18 declares, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of

men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness."
    To be a faithful servant and witness of Christ, it is absolutely essential that we bring the whole message of the gospel. We must warn that there indeed is hell and damnation coming, and then make known the wonderful escape that the Lord Jesus Christ provides. Only then will people know what Christ has saved them from. And only then will a person come to the Lord with a broken and contrite heart.

    Watchman. Time and over again, the Lord tells His disciples to be watchful. What does He mean?
    To find the answer, let’s read Ezekiel 3:17-19:
    "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him no warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his in iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul."
    That doesn’t apply to the New Testament period, some argue, it had to do with Israel only. But listen to what the apostle Paul says to the elders at Ephesus, who are Gentiles, "Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God" (Acts 20:26, 27). Make no mistake, we must declare the whole counsel of God.

Verse 11: But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.

    To certify means to declare. Paul wants to impress upon the Galatians again that the gospel that he preached had not been given him by man. This is the hallmark of the true gospel. It is not after man. It comes from the Word of God, because only the Word of God is the divine word. We are not to trust anything else—no matter how popular a given doctrine may be, or how well-known a given pastor is.
    Even if our church or denomination has a heritage of being faithful to the Bible, what our church fathers have handed down is still not the ultimate authority. We must ascertain that it is fully supported by Scripture.

Verse 12: For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

    Paul received a great amount of divine truth directly from the Lord Jesus Christ—through visions and personal revelations as well as through careful study of the Bible of his day, which was our Old Testament.
    Today, every one of us also receives truth directly from God. But is no longer comes through visions or dreams or any other form of personal revelation; that possibility ended when the Bible was completed. We receive it entirely through the written word of God.
    In this connection, God tells us in II Timothy 3:16, 17: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
    The righteousness to which that passage refers, of course, is the righteousness from God (Romans 1:17); it is the gospel of grace.

Verse 13: For ye have heard of my conversa-

tion in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it.

    Before he was saved, Paul (Saul) zealously persecuted the church. He was present when the Jewish people stoned Stephen to death. We read in Acts 8:1-3: "And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison."
    His murderous actions were further described in Acts 9:1,2: "And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way (that is, Christians), whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem."
    You see, Paul was convinced that he knew Biblical truths, so convinced that he was ready to risk his life to persecute those who did not follow his belief and accept his ways. This is true with many who are preaching works gospels today. Those who hold to these gospels are convinced that what they believe is Biblical. This is the blindness of sin. But, as we have seen earlier, any gospel that involves works in the slightest degree—including the "free-will" decision to accept Christ—is a gospel that will lead to eternal damnation.

Verse 14: And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

    Paul profited or grew in the Jews’ religion more than many of his contemporaries. He meant well when he persecuted the church. He confesses in Acts 22:3-4: "I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
    Unfortunately, his zeal was based on "the traditions of my fathers." We have this same problem today. Many ministers, rather than abiding in the Word of God, are zealously following the traditions of their church fathers.

    Sabbath. Some insist, for example, that Christians should observe the seventh day Sabbath because their church founder claimed to have received a vision in which a halo hovered above the Fourth Commandment. The truth is, the New Testament makes it clear that the Sabbath Day, along with the other ceremonial feast days, was pointing to Christ. Since the cross, therefore, we no longer perform those symbolic rituals. Instead, we worship God corporately on the first day of the week.
    Any gospel that views human traditions with the same authority as the Word of God is a false gospel. Colossians 2:8 admonishes, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." The wisdom of men leads to destruction.
    Currently, many seminaries actually have teachers who believe in evolution and who doubt the virgin birth

and the bodily resurrection of Christ. The doctrines they teach all come from the minds of men. No matter how sincere those teachers are, what they teach can never bring salvation.
    Paul knew afterwards that even though God had given national Israel a gospel of grace, its unbelief turned it into a gospel of works. Thus he wrote in Romans 9:31,32: "But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at the stumbling stone."
    Confronted by Christ, Paul finally saw the truth and made a dramatic turnaround. If you have been teaching something based on the traditions of man, are you willing to change and submit to the Word of God?

Verse 15: But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,

    This verse reveals that God had elected to save Paul even before he was born. This is true with every believer.
    Ephesians 1:3-5 sets this forth: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will."
    Jeremiah is another example of God’s elective program; he was saved in his mother’s womb. He wrote in Jeremiah 1:4,5: "Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."

    Two births. In this verse, God is also setting up through Paul an analogy about the two births of a believer. The language spoke of one birth, the physical birth, the moment Paul was separated from his mother’s womb. But the apostle also alluded to his spiritual birth; he talked about being called through His grace. That is the second birth. Remember Jesus told Nicodemus that unless you are born again you shall not see the kingdom of heaven (John 3:3)? To be saved, we must have a new spiritual birth.
    Note that when we were born, we had nothing to do with our first birth. We didn’t ask to be born; we didn’t accept our parents. It was entirely an action of God. He worked through our mother and father to bring the baby forth. God determines our sex, our skin color, our talents, our everything.
    The same holds true regarding our second birth. We had nothing to do with it. We couldn’t because, the Bible says, we were dead in our trespasses (Eph. 2:1). God calls u by His grace, not by any works that we have done.

Verse 16: To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

    The first truth we find here is that God revealed His Son to Paul when Paul was called. God reveals Himself to everyone whom He saves. No one can through his own wisdom see or understand God. When Peter confessed, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" in Matthew 16:16, Jesus answered in verse 17, "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." The Father had revealed this truth to Peter.

    To the Gentiles. Secondly, Paul

was commissioned very specifically to minister the gospel to the Gentile world. In Acts 9:15-16, we read, "But the Lord said unto him (Anaias), Go thy way: for he (Paul) is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake." Yes, Paul had a very distinct and special mandate.
    The fact is, this mandate has also been given to every believer. Look at I Peter 2:9,10: "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar (or special) people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy."
    Actually, the word Gentiles means nations. All believers are to proclaim the gospel to the nations of the world. We should have the same attitude as the one Paul declared in Romans 1:16,17: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written. The just shall live by faith."
    Finally, Paul did not learn his theology from men. As we’ve stressed many times already, even as Paul did many times in this letter, the only place to learn about the true gospel is from the Word of God.

Verse 17: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.

    This verse tells us that after Paul had been given his special commission, instead of consulting the apostles in Jerusalem, he went immediately to Arabia to sort things out.
    As a zealous Pharisee, he had known the Old Testament well. Now, while he was there, he must have gone over the Scriptures, examining them against what he had been taught by his teachers. And as he did so, he no doubt found many places where the Jewish leaders had changed or strayed from the word of God. And surely, he began to realize that he had blindly accepted those wrong teachings as truth.
    That’s why in his epistles, Paul again and again quotes from the Old Testament, the Bible of his time, to show how passages there were pointing to Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah, passages that had altogether been misinterpreted by the Jewish teachers.
    We, too, should make an effort to see if all that we’ve been taught in our church is, in fact, the word of God. Because many churches and even well-known seminaries have strayed far from the truth, we must remember that the Bible is the ultimate authority for every doctrine in Christianity.
    After his stay in Arabia, Paul returned to Damascus to preach the gospel. Damascus, of course, is the city where he became saved.
    This trip to and from Arabia is not mentioned in Acts 9, where Paul’s conversion is recorded. After he had become saved, verse 18 tells us, he regained his sight and was baptized. Verse 19 reads, "And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus." Based on what we read in Galatians 1:17, the trip to Arabia was evidently made after Paul had received meat, but before he spent certain days at Damascus.

Verses 18,19: Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I non, save James the Lord’s brother.

    Paul is reiterating in these verses that he was not taught by flesh and blood, but by the revelation of Christ. This is not boasting. Paul is establishing his credentials. The instructions he is giving to the Galatians must carry the authority of an apostle hand-picked by the Lord Jesus.
    Like verse 17, the historical statement here does not correspond chronologically with anything that is recorded in the book of Acts. We must conclude, therefore, that God records some events in Paul’s life in Galatians and some others in Acts and elsewhere.
    But putting all the information together, we know that some time after three years Paul visited Jerusalem. There, he had a private audience with the apostle Peter. He also saw James, the Lord’s brother.
    These two were witnesses of the fact that the apostle Paul had indeed become saved. During that short visit, which lasted only 15 days, he saw no other apostles.

Verse 20: Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.

    In this verse, the apostle Paul was effectively taking an oath before God. He wanted to emphasize that what he was telling the Galatians was the absolute truth, and to underscore the seriousness of the charge that he was going to make. The Galatians had stumbled and had begun to follow a false gospel of grace plus works. It was an exceedingly serious matter.

Verses 21,22: Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia; And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ:

    Before he was saved, Paul had been a notorious persecutor of the church. He did not hesitate to publicly bring Christians to their death. After his salvation, however, he was for many ears virtually unknown in the church. This contrast reflects a dramatic change in Paul’s character.
    One reason why the converted Paul kept a low profile was probably because he knew his limitations. He realized that he must first become adequately equipped before he could serve the Lord effectively and faithfully. So, he spent time in Arabia to meditate on the word of God before he began to preach the gospel in Damascus. Only after he was thoroughly prepared did he go to Syria and Cilicia. That’s why the Christians in those regions hardly knew anything about him.
    This teaches us that before we start to teach others about the Word of god, we’d better do our homework first. True, the Bible tells us that once God pours out His Spirit on all flesh, all who believe shall prophesy (Acts 2:17). To prophesy is to declare the word of God. Indeed, we are all commanded to witness to others. But that does not mean that every believer is immediately qualified to be a Bible teacher, a preacher or the head of a congregation.
    When we serve the Lord, moreover, we should not go around sounding the trumpets, boasting what wonderful missionaries we are, or how many souls we have brought to the throne of grace. We are not to seek any credit or compliments. Instead, we do is quietly, unknown to the rest of the congregation. We do it humbly and patiently simply because we desire to faithfully carry out the task that God has assigned to us.

Verses 23,24: But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now

preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in me.

    Paul had violently persecuted the church and the believers in Syria and Cilicia and had heard about it. But God performed a miracle in Saul’s life, changing him into an apostle preaching the gospel of Christ, especially to Gentiles. Upon learning the fact that this former enemy of God was preaching the faith, the churches in Syria and Cilicia rejoiced and glorified God.
    And so, too, we rejoice when we learn that someone who used to rebel against God has turned into an effective ambassador of Christ. But realizing that all of this came to pass only because of the grace of God, we glorify God. No one else can take any credit for it. Not even the one who ministered to the unsaved person, the one who prayed for him, or the one who witnessed to him. Yes, God worked through our ministrations; but only He can open a person’s spiritual eyes.