I’ve recently started reading Galatians and I’ve been struck with its persuasive power.
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. (NIV)
Divine Authority
Paul begins by contrasting human authority with God’s authority. He does this through the concept of being sent. The word “apostle” refers to the special group of disciples Jesus called, but in a broader sense, it simply means “sent one” or “emissary.” Paul is not sent from a special group of people or from one person in particular; he is sent by Jesus Christ and God the Father. And God the Father is closely linked to Jesus Christ because he raised Jesus from the dead.
Although Paul downplays the importance of human authority throughout the letter, he does acknowledge others. “And all the brothers and sisters with me” shows that Paul is not alone. He is in close proximity to other believers while composing the letter. (Technically, Paul did not mention “sisters,” but his use of “brothers” shows that it is not limited to one gender so many translations have “brothers and sisters” to make this clear.)
Paul’s Audience
The letter is addressed to “the churches in Galatia.” The Greek word for “churches” simply means “assemblies” so it is not necessarily a religious term. At this time, believers met in homes not special buildings. And things were not nearly as professionally organized as they are today in Western churches.
Regarding the meaning of Galatia, E. P. Sanders says:
The root meaning of the word Galatia is not in question. Ancient Greek and Latin authors used Galatia (Greek) or Galatae (Latin) to refer to a group of people who were designated as Keltoi (Greek), Celtae (Latin), and Galli (Latin). “Gallia” (a place where Galli lived) morphed into “Gaul,” and the ancient Celts are frequently referred to as “Gauls.” All these words refer to the large group of people today called “Celts,” who at one time dominated much of continental Europe and the outlying islands. (726)
In sum, “The Greek word Galatai (3:1) normally refers to Celts, Gauls, Galatians—all the same thing” (Oakes, 645).
However, Peter Oakes argues that in the first century the Celts were a minority ethnic group in Roman provinces so it would be strange if Paul was addressing one particular group. Instead Paul’s addressees are probably more broadly the “inhabitants of the province of Galatia” (659).
Since the boundaries of Galatia expanded there are two theories regarding the precise destination of Paul’s letter—South Galatia or North Galatia. In either case, scholars agree that Paul’s audience lived in Asia Minor or modern-day Turkey. We also know that they were not one specific small group of believers, because Paul uses the plural “churches” or “assemblies.”
The structure of these opening verses corresponds with other ancient letters. Rather than ending with the name of the author as we do, ancient letters started with the author’s name then proceeded to the addressee: “Paul . . . to the churches of Galatia.”
Divine Greeting
Paul extends “grace and peace” to his audience from “God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” He is authorized to extend divine blessings because he was sent by these divine Persons.
In verse 1, Paul gives a relative clause for God the Father—“who raised him from the dead.” Likewise in verse 4, he elaborates on Jesus Christ—“who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age.” Christ giving himself for the sins of the people is a reference to his crucifixion. Jesus rescues us by giving himself for us. The background to this concept of sacrificial giving is probably the Day of Atonement. Leviticus 16:9 says, “Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering.” The goat’s death serves as a sin offering for the people. Notice also the pronouns “our” and “us.” Paul puts himself in the same position as his audience: “who gave himself for our sins to rescue us.”
Then Paul adds an interesting phrase: “from the present evil age.” Several decades earlier, the Pax Romana or Roman peace had begun so Roman officials would have disagreed with Paul calling the present age “evil.” Nevertheless, Paul asserts that the death of Christ saves us from our sin-problem with God and from “the present evil age.”
In the third reference to God as “Father,” Paul states that Christ giving himself was in line with God the Father’s will. He then offers praise to the God who sent Jesus to rescue us: “to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
Reflection
First, note the close connection between God and Jesus in these verses:
- God raised Jesus from the dead,
- grace and peace come from God and Jesus, and
- Jesus gave himself for our sins according to the will of God our Father
So the grace and peace extended to the Galatians comes from the one who gave himself for Paul and his audience and from the one who willed that such a sacrifice should take place. There is no division between God and Jesus.
Second, looking over these verses brings this question to mind: How do we know we should trust Paul? I mean if a guy wrote to you and said, “I’ve been sent by God the Father and Jesus Christ,” would you trust him? Why or why not?
In this case, Paul had previously met his audience in person so he was not a complete stranger to them. They had even taken care of Paul as he will mention later in the letter. But the question still remains: How do we know we can trust Paul? Was he really sent by God the Father and Jesus Christ?
After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. My latest book focuses on Paul’s work as a tentmaker and what it means for today.