◄ Galatians 1 Devotional Commentary ►

Galatians 1:1

Paul had a unique ministry to the Gentiles. He was the only apostle that was called by the risen, ascended, and glorified Lord Jesus and by God the Father. Paul was given the profound mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations. He was the man chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you the hope of glory.

He was not appointed during Christ's earthly ministry, read more...

Galatians 1:2

The books of Romans and Galatians are complementary. The former is a comprehensive discourse on the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith, rooted in the gospel of the grace of God. It was sent to the Church in Rome and teaches salvation is by grace alone through faith in Christ, which has set us free from slavery to sin through the fleshly works of the Law. 

The epistle to the Galatians was sent to all the believers in read more...

Galatians 1:4

Paul was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for he knew that it is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. Paul received revelation of the gospel of grace directly from God, not from the twelve apostles or from any other eye-witnesses of Christ's earthly life.

But just as it is today, there were those in Paul's time who questioned his authority because he did not receive the gospel he taught from Christ's apostles. read more...

Galatians 1:6

Paul does not pull his punches when he challenges the Galatian believers on their readiness to depart from the unchangeable truth of God's Word to a false gospel. He marvels at the rapidity with which they turned from the glorious gospel of God's grace: "By faith alone in Christ's finished work at Calvary," to a different gospel which was not an optional alternative, but a totally false gospel. This was a departure from the truth which was leading read more...

Galatians 1:7

Paul taught the Galatian believers that salvation is from the Lord and that it is received as a free gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. He taught them that salvation was only through the blood of the Lord Jesus shed at Calvary, and His glorious Resurrection from the dead. Paul clearly taught that salvation was a gift of God for all who would believe in His name.

Paul had also taught that salvation was to glorify God, read more...

Galatians 1:8

How important it is to be immersed in the Word of God and to search out the glorious truths that are contained within its pages. There are, however, serious consequences of perverting the truth of the gospel of Christ (Who died for our sins, was buried for three days, and rose from the dead) with a false, legalistic gospel, and in this verse, Paul is fiercely criticising and condemning those who do not teach the truth.

When the read more...

Galatians 1:9

It was pretty obvious that the false teaching that was infiltrating the church at Galatia, was a particularly serious error. Unlike Paul's other letters to different churches which give various commendations, there are no introductory greetings which commend these believers, but an almost immediate verbal assault on their erroneous practice. Paul marvelled that they had so quickly turned away from the true gospel of God (which he, himself, had taught them) to a read more...

Galatians 1:10

The Galatian Christians were being targeted by legalistic Jews who were not only spreading a fabricated gospel, a distorted doctrine, and a false Christ to Christians, but were deliberately seeking to discredit Paul and the unique ministry and mission to which he had been commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself.

To put it bluntly, the spirit of antichrist had infected this church... and doctrines of demons had been read more...

Galatians 1:11

After a short and pithy introduction to his Galatian epistle, Paul jumps right into his serious concern about the Galatian believers' hasty departure from the simple gospel of grace to another teaching... that perverts the truth.

So distressed was the apostle with this doctrinal error, that he wrote to them that if any man preached any other gospel than the one he, himself had delivered, "let him be read more...

Galatians 1:12

Galatians is an epistle that effectively, eloquently, and authoritatively defends Paul's apostolic credentials, for the doctrine he teaches in all his epistles was not received in any way, shape, or form from any human source, nor by the teachings of any other man.

Paul had been present at Stephen's defence of the gospel and, no doubt, had heard certain teachings from Peter, John, James, and other early Church leaders. He had read more...

Galatians 1:15

The apostleship of Paul was truly unique. Every other apostle, including Matthias (who was the person that the eleven disciples chose to replace Judas), were men who had been with Jesus from the very start of His ministry.

With the exception of Paul, all the apostles were with Jesus from the very beginning when John was baptising in the wilderness, until the day that Christ ascended into heaven. And all were witness to His read more...

Galatians 1:16

Paul was a chosen apostle of God. However, he was often required to defend His apostolic calling in those early days of the Church, because... in the opinion of many, his credentials did not fit in with their perceived expectations of what an apostle should be. This was especially the case in Galatia where many legalists and Judaisers found it very difficult to accept that a change in God's management had taken place.

Before the read more...

Galatians 1:17

The apostle Paul had a ministry that was distinct from the other disciples who accompanied the Lord Jesus from the beginning of His earthly ministry. In various of his Epistles, he made it very clear that he was given his gospel by special revelation, directly from the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Although his message does not conflict with the teaching of the other apostles, Paul was independent of them in many respects... and was the read more...

Galatians 1:18

Paul's authority was challenged by Judaisers in Galatia, who distorted the truth of the gospel by persuading believers to add works of the law to the gospel of grace, and so he presented a series of arguments in defence of his message, ministry, apostleship, and doctrine.

One by one, Paul listed the evidences supporting his apostolic authority and detailing events following his conversion on the road to Damascus, when he was read more...

Galatians 1:24

Galatians is one of the most important denunciations of legalism in Scripture and is a well-structured polemic against Judaism. It denounces justification by works of the law, insists that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone, and like the epistles to the Romans and Hebrews, it quotes the singular, most noteworthy verse from Habakkuk that prompted the great 16th century reformation: "The just shall live by faith."

read more...