The Epistle to the Galatians
The Epistle to the Galatians
By Richard St.James
Bible 1611.Com / Old Paths Baptist Mission © 2025
Chapter one:
Verse one: “Paul, an apostle, (not of men,
neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the
Father, who raised him from the dead;)”
Paul, was one who was
born out of due time; a perfect time.
The man came by an appointment made by God for a
set purpose:
“And last of all he
was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time”
[1 Corinthians 15:8].
Paul was a Jew.
Acts 21:39: “But Paul
said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus,
a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city:
and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the
people.”
More than a Jew, he
was a Pharisee:
Acts 23:6: “But when
Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and
the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council,
Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of
a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead
I am called in question.”
There is something else
here: Prior to chapter thirteen, verse nine, of the
book of the Acts of the Apostles, Paul
was called Saul:
Acts 13:9: “Then Saul,
(who also is called Paul,) filled with the
Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,”
Verse
one again: “Paul, an apostle, (not of
men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God
the Father, who raised him from the dead;)”
Question: What is an
apostle?
The answer is in
the Scripture: See the Gospel according to John
20: 21:
“Then said Jesus to
them again, Peace be unto you: as my
Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”
An apostle is one
who is sent. An apostle
is one who is appointed. The
twelve disciples or followers of Jesus
Christ were sent to go into the world
even as God the Father sent the Son of God into
the world.
Hebrews 3:1-2:
“Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly
calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our
profession, Christ Jesus;
Who was faithful to
him that appointed him, as also Moses was
faithful in all his house.”
Again:
Galatians 1:1: “Paul, an apostle, (not of men,
neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the
Father, who raised him from the dead;)”
Now let us consider what
had happened in the book of the Acts of the
Apostles concerning the replacement of
Judas as an apostle.
Acts 1:21-26:
“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.
And they appointed
two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed
Justus, and Matthias.
And they prayed, and
said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all
men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
That he may take part
of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas
by transgression fell, that he might go to his own
place.
And they gave forth
their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he
was numbered with the eleven apostles.”
Question: Who
appointed Joseph and Matthias to be apostles?
Answer: It was men!
Though they [the
brethren] prayed to God, and gave forth
their lots, and through this process,
Matthias was chosen to be an apostle in the place
of Judas. This was not the same thing as
Jesus Christ directly appointing, and
sending forth, the original twelve
apostles.
Now pause, pray,
and meditate on this for a while.
It was the brethren,
who, after prayer, appointed and sent out
Matthias, and not God.
Rule: Two things that
are different are not the same!
Doctrine: An apostle
is sent, not of men, neither by man,
but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father.
Now, back to our verse, [verse one]: “Paul, an
apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus
Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from
the dead;)”
Acts 3:15: “And killed
the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the
dead; whereof we are witnesses.”
Jesus Christ rose from
the dead, and thus, HE conquered Death, and now
lives.
Notice: There were over
five hundred witnesses that attested to this
FACT in the First Epistle to the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 15:6:
“After that, he was seen of above five hundred
brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain
unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.”
Verse
two: “And all
the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of
Galatia:”
Some of the brethren
that we know that were with Paul at various times
included:
1.
Timotheus or Timothy [Romans 16:21]
2.
Lucius [Romans 16:21]
3.
Jason [Romans 16:21]
4.
Sosipater
[Romans 16:21]
5.
Tertius [Romans 16:22]
6.
Gaius [Romans 16:23]
7.
Quartus [Romans 16:23]
8.
Stephanas [1 Corinthians 16:24]
9.
Fortunatus [1 Corinthians 16:24]
10.
Achaicus [1 Corinthians 16:24]
11. Titus
[2 Corinthians 13:14]
12. Lucas
[2 Corinthians 13:14]
13.
Tychicus [Ephesians 6:21, Titus 3:12]
14.
Onesimus [Colossians 4:9]
15.
Aristarchus [Colossians 4:10]
16. Marcus
[Colossians 4:10]
17. Jesus
called Justus [Colossians 4:11]
18.
Epaphras [Colossians 4:12]
19. Luke
[Colossians 4:14]
20. Demas
[Colossians 4:14]
21.
Priscilla and Aquila [2 Timothy 4:19]
22. Erastus
[2 Timothy 4:20]
23.
Trophimus [2 Timothy 4:20]
24. Eubulus
[2 Timothy 4:21]
25. Pudens
[2 Timothy 4:21]
26. Linus
[2 Timothy 4:21]
27. Claudia
[2 Timothy 4:21]
28. Artemas
[Titus 3:12]
29.
Philemon [Philemon 1:25]
These brethren
were to Paul:
1.
As fellowlabourers,
2.
As fellowworkers,
3.
As fellowservants,
4.
As faithful ministers in the
Gospel of Christ:
5.
And sometimes even, as
fellowprisoners,
“And sent Timotheus,
our brother, and minister of God, and our
fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish
you, and to comfort you concerning your faith:”
[1 Thessalonians 3:2]
Notice: These brethren
in Jesus Christ were a help, a comfort, and a
blessing to Paul in the ministry of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. Note: This is
what we all should be, one toward another.
Verse
two, again: “And all the brethren which are with me,
unto the churches of Galatia:”
Notice here, this
epistle is addressed to churches [plural].
There was more than just one church
located in Asia in a region known as Galatia.
This can be clearly seen in the book of the
Acts of the Apostles, chapter sixteen, verse
six:
“Now when they had
gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia,
and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the
word in Asia,” [Acts 16:6].
Turn to the First
Epistle of Corinthians, chapter sixteen, verse
one. We will see these orders were given to
multiple churches, all of which were in
Galatia. This epistle to the
Galatians was meant to be read by all the
churches of Galatia:
“Now concerning the
collection for the saints, as I have given order to
the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.”
[1 Corinthians 16:1]
Note: These churches
were assemblies of the believers in Jesus
Christ. To amplify this, an assembly
is a collection of believers in Jesus Christ
assembled for worship in a particular place,
which was at first in houses.
Houses? Yes, in houses!
See for this truth in the
Epistle to the Colossians, chapter four,
verse fifteen:
“Salute the brethren
which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the
church which is in his house.
[Colossians 4:15]
Notice: There are several
more references to the churches meeting in
houses in the New Testament:
Acts 2:46: “And they,
continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and
breaking bread from house to house, did eat their
meat with gladness and singleness of heart,”
Romans 16:5: “Likewise
greet the church that is in their house.
Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the
firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.”
1 Corinthians 16:19:
“The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and
Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the
church that is in their house.”
Verse three: “Grace be to you
and peace from God the Father, and from our
Lord Jesus Christ,”
Where did this grace
come from? Well, GRACE came by
Jesus Christ! We read of this in the
Gospel according to John, in chapter one, verses
sixteen, and seventeen:
“And of his fulness
have all we received, and grace for grace.
For the law was given
by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”
[John 1:16-17]
But how can this thing
be? Did not Noah find
grace? “But Noah found grace in the eyes of
the Lord.” [Genesis 6:8]
And did not Lot also find
grace? [Genesis 19:19]
What of Moses? [Exodus
33:12]
Yes, they all did find
grace, “but grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ.”
However, the
dispensation of this present age
is characterized in a very special way by GRACE.
You might say it is an explosion of grace!
We can see this very
plainly in the Epistle to the Romans, in
chapter five, verses, twenty and twenty-one.
Now see:
“Moreover, the law
entered, that the offence might abound. But where
sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
That as sin hath
reigned unto death, even so might grace reign
through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus
Christ our Lord.”
To repeat: Grace and
truth came by Jesus Christ!
An infallible
TRUTH needs now to be observed: The grip of
DEATH was broken forever when Jesus Christ
rose from the grave, and conquered
death!
The Mystery of Christ:
Question: What is a
mystery?
According to the
dictionary [Webster, 1828] a mystery is this:
“That which is beyond
human comprehension until it is explained. In this
sense, a mystery often conveys the idea of something
awfully sublime or very important; yea even
something that excites wonder.”
In the Epistle to the
Ephesians, chapter three, starting with verse
two, we have the present dispensation of
GRACE revealed to us:
“If ye have heard of
the dispensation of the grace of God which
is given me to you-ward:
How that by revelation
he made known unto me the
mystery; [as I wrote afore in few words,
Whereby, when ye read,
ye may understand my knowledge
in the mystery of Christ]
Which in other ages
was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is
now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by
the Spirit;
That the Gentiles
should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and
partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
Whereof I was made a
minister, according to the gift
of the grace of God given unto me by the
effectual working of his power.
Unto me, who am less
than the least of all saints, is this grace given,
that I should preach among the Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ;
And to make all men
see what is the fellowship of
the mystery, which from the beginning of the
world hath been hid in God, who created all things
by Jesus Christ:” [Ephesians 3:2-9]
Also, the Holy Ghost
said it this way through the Apostle Peter:
“Of which salvation
the prophets have inquired and searched diligently,
who prophesied of the grace that should come unto
you:
Searching what, or
what manner of time the spirit of Christ which was
in them did signify, when it testified beforehand
the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should
follow.
Unto whom it was
revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they
did minister the things, which are now reported unto
you by them that have preached the gospel unto you
with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which
things the angels desire to look into.”
[1 Peter 1:10-12]
This present age is the
dispensation of GRACE! It is the
designated, or the set time for all the GENTILES
to come to Jesus Christ, and this is all
according to the Scriptures. [Note: Read
for yourselves the Epistle to the Romans,
chapter eleven.]
Now, let us go back to
our verse, verse three:
“Grace
be to you and peace from God the Father,
and from our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Here is an important
observation to be made. There can never be
peace for any man without Jesus Christ.
In fact, every unsaved man is at war
with God.
MAN, is in fact, a
hater of God!
Doubt me? Well, see
for yourself what the Spirit of God says of
about this in the Epistle to the Romans,
chapter one, verse thirty: “Backbiters,
haters of God…”
We therefore conclude:
The only way a man can ever have peace with
God in this present age is to be justified
by faith in Jesus Christ:
Romans 5:1: “Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
Now, salvation only
comes to a person, a man, or a woman, or
a child, through only one way: FAITH
in JESUS CHRIST!
Justification by
Faith:
We need to note something
very important while we are here. This
salvation, which we enjoy, is peculiar
to only this present dispensation. This
is why we call this age, the Age of Grace.
Remember, my friend,
grace and truth came by Jesus Christ!
Rule: Where there is
truth, you will also, find grace.
Where you find grace,
you will also, find truth. These two
always go together. Why is this so? It is because
grace and truth are both found only in Jesus
Christ.
Do you need more proof?
Then, read the Gospel,
according to John, in chapter one, verse
fourteen:
“And the Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)
full of grace and truth.” [John
1:14]
Conclusion: Jesus Christ
is full of grace and truth!
Verse
four: “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:”
Question: What is sin?
You say, why do you ask me this question?
Well, for this reason; there are a lot of
people that are totally oblivious to what sin is.
There is mud in their eyes!
Now, we can begin to
clear out the mud by going to the BOOK.
The answer is in the BOOK. This BOOK is
the Authorized Bible of 1611, or any of its
editions.
Now, go to the First
Epistle of John, to chapter three, verse four,
and we will read the following:
“Whosoever committeth
sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the
transgression of the law.” [1 John
3:4]
Do you see it? It
is now as clear as the nose on your face:
Sin is the transgression of the law!
Now, do you have it?
Jesus Christ took our
place on Calvary’s cross, and with HIS BLOOD HE
paid for our sins.
Jesus Christ became
sin for us:
“For he hath made him
to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him.”
Jesus Christ became SIN
for us on the cross of Calvary nearly two thousand
years ago. [See the Gospel according to
Matthew, chapter twenty-seven, verse forty-six, to
see this:
“And about the ninth
hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli,
Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my
God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
[Matthew 27:46]
Now hear this! God,
the Father, forsook the SON of God!
Never ever has this
happened before, and it will never happen again!
God, The Father, could not look upon God, The Son,
because of the transformation of HIS Son, Jesus
Christ, into SIN … for us.
In those long hours on
the cross, and before his death, Jesus Christ was
transformed into sin [made sin] WHO
knew no sin.
Again, verse four:
“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:”
This is, no doubt, a
sin-cursed world. Look around you, my
friend. This is an evil world. There
is every imaginable thing happening all around us
[and to us], which promotes all this suffering,
death, havoc, and ruin in all the lives of the
inhabitants of this earth. Even all the
creatures of the earth suffer because of our sin:
Romans 8:22: “For we
know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth
in pain together until now.”
Indeed, our
transgression of God’s law has brought us all to
a such miserable and low estate. Judgment
is upon us for all of this, and is mounting ever
upward to a momentous crescendo in the very
near-future. The time for our judgment is now
here:
Ecclesiastes 8:6:
“Because to every purpose there is time and
judgment, therefore the misery of man is
great upon him.”
But the LORD has a divine
escape plan, which is for our deliverance.
This deliverance is found by the sinner in
Jesus Christ. Fasten on to this truth, my friend,
in Psalm, seventy-one, verse two:
“Deliver me in thy
righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine
ear unto me, and save me.”
[Psalm 71:2]
Jesus Christ saves!
1 Timothy 1:15: “This
is a faithful saying, and worthy of all
acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”
I am with Paul!!!
What about you? Have you ever
received the promise of the deliverance
from this present evil world? Now, this
deliverance is promised to us through
receiving Jesus Christ:
John 1:12-13: “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:
Which were born, not
of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God.”
Be of good cheer,
my friend. Being born of God assures
us, the believer in Jesus Christ, that all
in the end is going to be well with our
soul:
Now, here is the
promise made to all of us, which
promise is in the Gospel according to John:
John 16:33: “These
things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might
have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation:
but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
This promise is
made to all of us according to the will of God
and our Father. Amen!
Verse
five: “To whom be glory for ever and ever.
Amen.”
We find here the ultimate
purpose of the creation: To bring glory,
and honor, and praise to God:
Philippians 2:11: “And
that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.”
There should be found
here at least three things, and all to be
focused, and directed to the LORD God,
even to Jesus Christ, the SON of God:
1.
Praise
2.
Honor
3.
Glory
The Trial of your Faith:
1 Peter 1:7: “That the
trial of your faith, being much more precious than
of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with
fire, might be found unto praise and honour and
glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”
Exodus 34:14: “For
thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose
name is Jealous, is a jealous God:”
Rule: All of man’s
worship is to be directed towards God,
and never ever directed towards one’s self, or
towards other men. And why?
Because God’s NAME is
JEALOUS!
Verse
six: “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from
him that called you into the grace of Christ unto
another gospel:”
Notice, in this verse,
the word gospel. This word
appears ninety-eight times in the
Authorized Version of the Bible, and all the
instances of this word are found in the
New Testament.
The following is a list
of the instances of where this word gospel is
found in the Bible:
|
Matthew 4:23,
9:35, 24:14, Mark 1:14-15 |
“the gospel
of the kingdom” |
|
Romans 2:16,
16:25, 2 Timothy 2:8 |
“my gospel” |
|
2 Corinthians
4:3, 1 Thessalonians 1:5, 2 Thessalonians
2:14, |
“our gospel” |
|
Acts 14:7, 21,
15:7, 16:10, Romans 1:15, 10:16, 11:28,
15:20, 1 Corinthians 1:17, 4:15, 9:14, 16,
17, 18, 23, 15:1, 2 Corinthians 8:18, 10:16,
Galatians 1:11, 2:5, 14, 3:8, 4:13,
Ephesians 1:13, 3:6, 6:19, Philippians 1:5,
7, 12, 17, 2:22, 4:3, 15, Colossians 1:5,
23, 1 Thessalonians 2:4, 2 Timothy 1:8, 10,
Philemon 1:13, Hebrews 4:2, 1 Peter
1:12, 25, 4:6 |
“the gospel” |
|
Galatians 2:2 |
“that gospel” |
|
Romans 1:1,
15:16, 2 Corinthians 11:7, 1 Thessalonians
2:2, 8, 9, 1 Peter 4:17 |
“the gospel of
God” |
|
Romans 1:16,
15:19, 29, 1 Corinthians 9:12, 2 Corinthians
9:13, 10:14, Galatians 1:7, Philippians
1:27, 1 Thessalonians 3:2 |
“the gospel of
Christ” |
|
2 Thessalonians
1:8 |
“the gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ” |
|
2 Corinthians
2:12 |
“Christ's gospel” |
|
Romans 1:9 |
“the gospel of
his Son” |
|
Romans 10:15,
Ephesians 6:15 |
“the gospel of
peace” |
|
Acts 20:24 |
“the gospel of
the grace of God” |
|
2 Corinthians 4:4 |
“the glorious
gospel of Christ” |
|
1 Timothy 1:11 |
“the glorious
gospel of the blessed God” |
|
Galatians 2:7 |
“the gospel of
the uncircumcision” |
|
Galatians 2:7 |
“the gospel
of the circumcision” |
|
Revelation 14:6 |
“the
everlasting gospel” |
Notice: The first
instances of the word gospel in the New
Testament proclaim:
The Gospel of the
Kingdom
|
Matthew 4:23,
9:35, 24:14, Mark 1:14-15 |
“the
gospel of the kingdom” |
We learn that Jesus
Christ exclusively preached the gospel of
the kingdom, as it is recorded for us, by the
Spirit of God in the Gospel according to Matthew:
Matthew 4:23: “And
Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their
synagogues, and preaching
the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all
manner of sickness and all manner of disease among
the people.”
Matthew 9:35: “And
Jesus went about all the cities and villages,
teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the
gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness
and every disease among the people.”
Matthew 24:14: “And
this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all
the world for a witness unto all nations; and then
shall the end come.”
This is the
bottom-line: Jesus Christ
consistently preached:
The Gospel of the Kingdom:
See this for yourself in
Matthew 11:5, 24:14, 26:13, Mark 1:1, 1:14, 1:15,
8:35, 10:29, 13:10, 14:9, 16:15, Luke 4:18, 7:22,
9:6, 20:1.
Next, it is important for
us to see that Jesus Christ preached this
Gospel of the Kingdom to only the lost sheep
of the house of Israel.
Here is the command
that HE made while HE was here on this earth
the first time in the Gospel according to
Matthew:
Matthew 10:6: “But go
rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Now, take note of this,
in the Gospel, according to Matthew:
This gospel was only to be preached
to the nation of Israel:
Matthew 15:24: “But he
answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost
sheep of the house of Israel.”
There is found in this
verse of the word of God an amazing
truth, which the casual reader of the
Book of God will miss. Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, was sent by God, the
Father, expressly to the nation of
Israel.
Question: What do we
have here? Well, what we have here
is this. The Gospel of the Kingdom was
intended to be preached only to the
people of Israel, and not to the Gentiles.
This now invites
another question: Could the nation of Israel
have entered into the KINGDOM of HEAVEN during
the first advent of Jesus Christ?
Well, yes, on
condition. If Israel had received
their Messiah as their KING.
However, the Scripture does tell us what did
happen during those forty-two months of
the First Advent. The whole thing was
tragic. Both, the Kingdom, and the
King, were rejected by Israel.
But wait! God has a
plan, this in spite of men!
The Plan: The Kingdom
of Heaven and the Kingdom of God:
In a nutshell,
God in the near future is going to set up a
literal, physical, Jewish KINGDOM on this earth.
More than any other subject in the Bible, this
subject of the KINGDOM keeps coming up.
Note: The subject of
the Kingdom in the Bible far out weighs the
number of the references made to Heaven, or Hell, or
even to that which is made of the first coming of
Jesus Christ.
Next: The Bible shows
that this KINGDOM is manifested to man in two
distinct forms.
Now, here is a
basic truth for us to grasp: Every reference
found in the Bible of a Kingdom of God is to
that of a kingdom, which is of a
spiritual, and of a moral nature. And
every reference in the Bible to a Kingdom of
Heaven, is to that of a kingdom, which is
primarily physical, and of a literal
nature.
Note: A careful
and a believing Bible study will take you by
the logic of faith to this very same
understanding. And this understanding
only comes by the Holy Spirit:
John 16:13: “Howbeit
when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide
you into all truth: for he shall not speak of
himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that
shall he speak: and he will shew you things to
come.”
Fact: The Holy
Spirit is the teacher of all TRUTH!
Now, let us move on.
The references in the Bible that point
to the Kingdom of Heaven, which is a
future millennial kingdom, number over five
hundred instances. This future
PHYSICAL and LITERAL KINGDOM will be certainly
established at the end of the Times of the
Gentiles exactly, as it has been defined in the
book of Daniel. But there is something
else here for us to see. This kingdom
will also be shown to be a POLITICAL KINGDOM!
Fact: Israel's KING
will govern all the nations of this earth for
one thousand years! [See for all of this in
Psalms 47, 48:1-8.]
There is something
else: This literal, physical, political, millennial,
Kingdom of Heaven, will be established by God
HIMSELF, and Jesus Christ, the Son of God, will
reign over all the nations of the earth! Amen!
And friend, this DAY is coming soon! Amen, Amen!
Now, open up your
King James Bible to the Epistle to the
Philippians, chapter two, verses nine, through
eleven:
“Wherefore God also
hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which
is above every name:
That at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth;
And that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.”
[Philippians 2:9-11]
The Scripture,
in Philippians, chapter two, is not a reference
to the age we live in now, but is rather
pointing to a future age, to the
Millennium, or an one-thousand-year age,
which will be a Sabbath of REST for the earth, after
having six thousand years of ruination by
mankind.
In the present age,
which is the age of the church, the KINGDOM is
present in the Kingdom of God form, which
form is always SPIRITUAL and moral in its
constitution.
Note: The kingdom
that Jesus refers to [in John 18:36] is not the
same kingdom that his disciples were thinking of
[in Acts 1:6]. A distinction is to be
made here. One is a spiritual and moral
kingdom, and the other kingdom is a
physical and political kingdom.
This Gospel of the
Kingdom was consistently preached by Jesus
Christ, HIMSELF, and by all the apostles of Jesus
Christ right up to the time of the martydom
of Stephen, which is recorded in the book of the
Acts of the Apostles, in chapter seven.
When Stephen cried out with a loud voice, God
heard from Heaven above:
Acts 7:60: “And he
kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay
not this sin to their charge. And when he had said
this, he fell asleep.”
After this final
rejection of the Gospel of the Kingdom
was made by Israel [which occurs by the time we get
to the book of the Acts of the Apostles, in
chapter eight], something changed. Now,
here is the subtle change to be
acknowledged.
Acts 8:25: “And
they, when they had testified and preached the word
of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the
gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.”
No longer was the
gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven preached, but
rather in its place was to be preached the Gospel
of the Kingdom of God in the name of Jesus
Christ:
Acts 8:12: “But
when they believed Philip preaching the things
concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus
Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.”
The Gospel of the
Kingdom of Heaven was put aside, or paused.
Now, let us go back to our verse in the Epistle to the Galatians [verse six]:
“I
marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that
called you into the grace of Christ unto another
gospel:”
Once a person responds
to the call of the grace of Christ, through
faith, he is said to be born of God, or
saved. Once saved, he needs then
to walk by grace, and to remain in
grace.
There will now be two
possibilities for such a person:
1.
To remain with
the Apostle Paul’s gospel of the grace of
Christ, or:
2.
To remove
himself, or herself, from the Apostle Paul’s
gospel of the grace of Christ.
Now let me now attempt to
explain. There are so many other voices
present out there in this old world using all their
allurements and siren calls, that will
bewitch with subtle persuasion, the
unaware soul.
Now, these other
voices serve as captivating agents to
deceive these persons into taking a
different path than what the grace of
Christ would have taken them.
To say it another way:
There are other voices with other
[or different] messages that will tend to woo
a believer in Jesus Christ away from walking
in the grace of the LORD Jesus Christ.
Watch out for those other voices!
The intention is
to draw you away from the grace that
saved you, in order, to get you to follow
another gospel.
Verse
seven: “Which is not another; but there be some
that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of
Christ.”
So, this other gospel
is not another gospel, as we shall see.
Warning: There are those
in this world who will pervert, [and have
perverted] the gospel of Jesus Christ!
The believer in Jesus Christ is in constant
peril, due to this spiritual wickedness in high
places.
In this world, there is
the Devil [and all the cohorts of the Devil], who is
lurking around with various designs in an
attempt to ensnare the Christian to a
certain destruction. Christan be sober, be
vigilant:
“Be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking
whom he may devour:” [1 Peter 5:8].
Here is the reality,
all in real time. The believer
in Jesus Christ is in a war, a spiritual
war, from the very moment that he is born of
the Spirit [or saved].
We can read of the verity
of this truth by reading in the Epistle to the
Ephesians, chapter six, verse twelve, and
thirteen:
“For we wrestle not
against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high
places.
Wherefore take unto
you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand.” [Ephesians 6:12-13]
Verse
eight: “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.”
The Other Gospel
This other gospel
was the gospel first preached in Jerusalem,
and in Judea, and Samaria, from the day of
Pentecost, seen in the book of the Acts of
the Apostles, chapter two, verses thirty-six
through forty-one:
“Therefore let all the
house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made
that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord
and Christ.
Now when they heard
this, they were pricked in their heart, and said
unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men
and brethren, what shall we do?
Then Peter said unto
them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,
and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For the promise is
unto you, and to your children, and to all that are
afar off, even as many as the Lord our God
shall call.
And with many other
words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save
yourselves from this untoward generation.
Then they that gladly
received his word were baptized: and the same day
there were added unto them about three
thousand souls.”
Peter’s Gospel
of the Circumcision:
|
“the gospel
of the circumcision” |
This gospel was
operative, till Israel, as a nation, rejected
Jesus Christ at the martyrdom of Stephen as
documented in the book of the Acts of the
Apostles, chapter seven:
Acts 7:59-60: “And
they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and
saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
And he kneeled down,
and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin
to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell
asleep.”
The gospel of the
circumcision was now, paused by the
Spirit of God.
The Great Pivot Point
or Transition:
We will need to fly by
the instruments! And what are these
instruments? Well, the instruments we
need to fly by are the words of God. We
need the very words of God to show forth a
light unto our steps to our path in life:
“Thy word is a
lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
[Psalm 119:105]
We need, brethren,
to stay with the true gospel that the Apostle
Paul preached. And here, enshrined
throughout the last two thousand years, we have this
very clear statement by the Holy Ghost to us
in the Epistle to the Ephesians:
Ephesians 2:8: “For by
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God:”
Now, if anyone preaches a
different gospel than what Paul preached, he
is accursed.”
Verse
nine: “As we said before, so say I now again, If
any man preach any other gospel unto you than
that ye have received, let him be accursed.”
For the last two thousand
years, a man is saved by grace through faith
in Jesus Christ. There it is, as clear as it
can be:
Acts 16:31: “And they
said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt be saved, and thy house.”
Warning:
We are to reject all the other gospels
preached by men, or even, by angels, or we will be
in great trouble with God. I can think
of nothing worse that can happen to a man than to
be accursed by God.
Verse
ten: “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.”
Men-pleasers
are nothing more than hirelings. They
think more of themselves than they do for the sheep.
A pastor who is listening to the Spirit of God will
lay down his life for the sheep in similitude
to the good Shepherd [who is shown in the Gospel
of John], Jesus Christ:
“I am the good
shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the
sheep.
But he that is an
hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep
are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the
sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and
scattereth the sheep.
The hireling fleeth,
because he is an hireling, and careth not for the
sheep.” [John 10:11-13]
The Apostle Paul was a
true servant of Jesus Christ. He was no
hireling!
Verse
eleven: “But I certify you, brethren, that the
gospel which was preached of me is not after man.”
Paul is saying here that
the true, and legitimate gospel
is what he was preaching to them.
Paul’s gospel, which was preached to the
Galatians, was indeed from God. He
did not get it from man!
Verse
twelve: “For I neither received it of man,
neither was I taught it, but by the
revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Paul is saying
that he did not get schooled by men, this
gospel. The Sanhedrin did not teach him,
this gospel. And the Sadducees
certainly had no influence on Paul.
Neither did the Pharisees add anything to Paul’s
knowledge of this gospel. And one more
thing: Paul did not ever darken the door of a
Bible college to receive the knowledge of
this gospel.
It was Jesus Christ
[HIMSELF] who revealed, or made known to Paul
the mystery of this gospel:
A Mystery is
therefore:
1. A secret, and
is wholly unknown to all others, and is kept
concealed beforehand, and has, heretofore, never
been revealed to man.
2. That which is beyond
human comprehension until it is explained.
Romans 16:25: “Now to
him that is of power to stablish you according to my
gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according
to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept
secret since the world began,”
Again, Paul’s gospel was
given directly to him by no less than the SON
of GOD, Jesus Christ in Arabia.
Peter did not teach Paul
this gospel.
James did not teach Paul
this gospel.
John did not teach Paul
this gospel.
Neither did any of the
other apostles in Jerusalem teach Paul this
gospel.
This is why Paul
called it, my gospel!
|
Romans 2:16,
16:25, 2 Timothy 2:8 |
“my gospel” |
Verse thirteen:
“For ye have heard of my conversation in time
past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure
I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:”
Remember this about the
Apostle Paul, he was:
“Circumcised the
eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the
tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as
touching the law, a Pharisee;”
[Philippians 3:5]
Paul was a Pharisee
filled to the eyeballs with religion. He
was steeped in it!
Now mind you, RELIGION
KILLS!
Paul was the man who
persecuted and wasted the church of God. Now,
take stock of this: Religion is a bane!
Now, I have a question
for you. Just what is the church of God?
Well, for one thing, it
is not a man-made building.
And for another thing, it
is not a man-made denomination.
But rather, the church
of God is the body of Christ!
Scripture for this? Here we are:
Colossians 1:18, 24:
“And he is the head of the body, the church: who is
the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in
all things he might have the preeminence.”
“Who now rejoice in my
sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind
of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his
body's sake, which is the church:”
The Mystery Unfolds:
When Paul persecuted
the church of God, he was persecuting a
Person, WHO is the Head of the church
of God, WHO is none other, but Jesus
Christ.
Paul persecuted
Jesus Christ? How?
Well, we can hear by
faith Jesus’s voice, through the words of
the book of the Acts of the Apostles:
Acts 9:4: “And he fell
to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him,
Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?”
The ONE Paul once
persecuted is now the ONE he loves. The
ONE who he once hated is now IN the
body of Jesus Christ. Are we not all
like Paul? The Christian is IN JESUS
CHRIST though all hated God in times past.
Think on that for a while. After all, this is
figurative of a marriage, as shown in
the Epistle to the Ephesians:
Ephesians 5:30-32: “For we
are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his
bones.
For this cause shall a man
leave his father and mother, and shall be joined
unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
This is a great mystery: but
I speak concerning Christ and the church.”
The believers in
Jesus Christ are ONE with the SON.
See the relationship,
that we all have with the triune God in
the Gospel of John:
John 17:22: “And the
glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that
they may be one, even as we are one:”
Hint! As Gentiles,
Paul’s gospel is our gospel!
|
2 Corinthians
4:3, 1 Thessalonians 1:5, 2 Thessalonians
2:14, |
“our gospel” |
Verse
fourteen: “And profited in the Jews' religion
above many my equals in mine own nation, being more
exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my
fathers.”
One being zealous
of tradition will take one to HELL, but
for the GRACE of God. There has
never been one person more qualified than Paul
in all of Jewry to exposit the Jewish
Oracles of God, yet Paul was blind!
I once was blind!
Verse
fifteen: “But when it pleased God, who separated
me from my mother's womb, and called me by
his grace,”
In this commentary,
we have now travelled full circle back to
grace. We begin with grace; we end with
grace. Recall now what was said earlier in
this commentary about grace [in verse three]:
“And of his fulness
have all we received, and grace for grace.
Paul received grace
for a purpose in due time.
But now I see!
Verse
sixteen: “To reveal his Son in me, that I might
preach him among the heathen; immediately I
conferred not with flesh and blood:”
God made known to
Paul something that was previously hidden to
all of mankind. We will go next to
the Epistle to Colossians:
Colossians 1:26-27: “Even
the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from
generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
To whom God would make
known what is the riches of the glory of this
mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you,
the hope of glory:”
Christ in you!
This mystery, made
known to Paul, was first preached to the
Gentiles, and not to Israel as a nation.
Although, the Jews, as individuals, will also
be the benefactors of this revelation:
Romans 2:11: “For
there is no respect of persons with God.”
Church Age Doctrine:
Both, Jew and Gentile,
were to be placed into one body,
henceforth:
Ephesians 2:14: “For
he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath
broken down the middle wall of partition between
us;”
Notice, in the last part
of our verse: “immediately I conferred not with
flesh and blood:”
Paul was not discipled
by the brethren in Jerusalem.
Remember: He was
schooled by no man! Read on, in our
next verse, to see this.
Verse
seventeen: “Neither went I up to Jerusalem to
them which were apostles before me; but I went into
Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.”
Now, Paul went to
Arabia far, far away from Israel. And
why? Well, for a reason. The
Spirit of the LORD isolated Paul, so that all
the following mystery’s heretofore, unknown
concerning the church of God would be made
known to Paul, which revelation enabled
him in the ministry, as the Apostle to the
Gentiles.
The Mysteries of God were
exclusively revealed to the Apostle Paul,
as a steward in Arabia:
“Let a man so account of us,
as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the
mysteries of God.” [1 Corinthians 4:1]
Here are five
mysteries:
- The mystery of
the present blindness of Israel,
which is seen in the Epistle to the Romans,
chapter eleven, verse twenty-five. For:
“I would not,
brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this
mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own
conceits; that blindness in part is happened to
Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come
in.”
- The mystery of
iniquity.
The mystery of
iniquity is found in the Second
Epistle to the Thessalonians, chapter two, verse
seven, and in the book of the Revelation of Jesus
Christ, chapter seventeen, verse five, through
seven:
“For the mystery of
iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth
will let, until he be taken out of the way.”
- The mystery of
Christ.
The mystery of Christ
is seen in the following Pauline epistles:
Romans 16:25, 1 Corinthians 2:7, Ephesians 1:9, 3:3,
4,9, 5:32, Colossians 2:2, 4:3, 1 Timothy 3:9, and
Revelation 10:7.
- The mystery of
the translation of the church.
This reference to the
rapture is found in the First Epistle to the
Corinthians, chapter fifteen, verse fifty-one:
“Behold, I shew you a
mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed,”
This event is
prophesied in the First Epistle to the
Thessalonians:
1 Thessalonians 4:15-17:
“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord,
that we which are alive and remain unto the
coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are
asleep.
For the Lord himself shall
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the
dead in Christ shall rise first.
Then we which are alive
and remain shall be caught up together with them
in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so
shall we ever be with the Lord.”
- The mystery of
Christ in you.
The mystery of Christ
is, located in the Epistle to the Colossians,
chapter one, verses twenty-six, and twenty-seven:
“Even the
mystery which hath been hid from ages and from
generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
To whom God would make known what is the
riches of the glory of this mystery among the
Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of
glory:”
These five mysteries
were revealed first, and exclusively,
to the Apostle Paul. They are the key
mysteries to enable one to have the proper
understanding of the true nature of salvation in
Jesus Christ throughout the church age.
We shall be saved,
even as they:
All the other apostles
in Jerusalem received these
truths from the Apostle Paul, as seen in the
book of the Acts of the Apostles, in chapter
fifteen, verses seven, through eleven:
“And when there had
been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto
them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a
good while ago God made choice among us, that the
Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the
gospel, and believe.
And God, which knoweth
the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy
Ghost, even as he did unto us;
And put no difference
between us and them, purifying their hearts by
faith.
Now therefore why
tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the
disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were
able to bear?
But we believe that
through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall
be saved, even as they.” [Acts 15:
7-11]
The Unity of the
Brethren:
Thus, we have [after the
book of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter
fifteen] Paul’s gospel being preached by all
the other apostles, and lastly, by all the
faithful preachers down through the years [for
the last two thousand years] right into the 21st
century.
“Behold, how good and
how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell
together in unity!” [Psalm 133: 1]
So, we have here,
The Unity of the
Faith:
Ephesians 4:13: “Till
we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man,
unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of
Christ.”
Verse
eighteen: “Then after three years I went up to
Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen
days.”
After Paul received, these revelations in Arabia, he had three whole years, when he was isolated from all the other apostles of the church of God in Jerusalem, and from their doctrine.
Paul was
separated unto the gospel of God.
Observation: We might say
the Hoy Spirit prevented a cross-pollination
in doctrine between the apostles of the
church at Jerusalem, and the Apostle Paul
for a very great reason.
Now, here is the
reason. It was meant by the Spirit of God for
Paul to be the means of bringing the
gospel of peace to the ends of the earth,
including all the nations, who are of the
Gentiles.
|
Romans 10:15,
Ephesians 6:15 |
“the gospel of peace” |
Mark 16:15: “And he
said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach
the gospel to every creature.”
Verse nineteen:
“But other of the apostles saw I none, save
James the
Lord's brother.”
Where was John?
Where was James Zebedee? Only Peter, and
James, the Lord's brother, met with Paul.
Please remember this. Emphasis: Paul was
separated unto the gospel of peace.
Verse
twenty: “Now the things which I write unto you,
behold, before God, I lie not.”
Now, Paul could not have
been any plainer! What Paul was
preaching to be the truth to all the
churches of Galatia was certified by the Holy
Ghost.
Romans 9:1: “I say the
truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also
bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,”
2 Corinthians 11:31:
“The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which
is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.”
The summation, for
all of this, is this: The Apostle Paul was not
inferior in any way to the original apostles
in Jerusalem. For Paul declared, in the
Epistle of Second Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 11:5:
“For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very
chiefest apostles.”
Verse
twenty-one: “Afterwards I came into the regions
of Syria and Cilicia;”
To review: Paul was called by God. This is, as shown in t
he Epistle to the
Romans:
Romans 1:1: “Paul, a
servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an
apostle, separated unto the
gospel of God,”
Therefore, Paul
was put into the ministry by Jesus Christ,
after having been first enabled by the
Holy Ghost.
Next: This glorious
gospel of the blessed God was now committed
to the Apostle Paul by God HIMSELF:
1 Timothy 1:11-13:
“According to the glorious gospel of the blessed
God, which was committed to my trust.
And I thank Christ
Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he
counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
Who was before a
blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I
obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly
in unbelief.”
|
2 Thessalonians
1:8 |
“the gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ” |
|
2 Corinthians
2:12 |
“Christ's gospel” |
|
Romans 1:9 |
“the gospel of
his Son” |
|
Acts 20:24 |
“the gospel of
the grace of God” |
|
2 Corinthians 4:4 |
“the glorious
gospel of Christ” |
|
1 Timothy 1:11 |
“the glorious
gospel of the blessed God” |
Question: What had
happened to Paul? Well, there are
five things:
1.
Paul had obtained mercy,
2.
Paul was called,
3.
Paul was then enabled,
4.
Paul received a commission, called
“the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
5.
Paul was put into ministry.
Verse
twenty-two: “And was unknown by face unto the
churches of Judaea which were in Christ:”
Review: When God
separated Paul unto the Gospel of God, he
separated him from:
Peter, and James, and
John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew,
and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon
Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
Here is the bottom
line: The Apostle Paul was
separated, and because he was separated,
he was left unknown by face unto the churches of
Judaea which were in Christ.
We might say, that Paul
was made to be an odd duck among all the
other apostles…to the glory of God!
Verse
twenty-three: “But they had heard only, That he
which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the
faith which once he destroyed.”
Here, in this verse, we
are made to understand that Paul [who was earlier
called Saul] was feared by all the believers
in Jesus Christ everywhere, i.e., Jerusalem, Judea,
and wherever the Christians were scattered
abroad. This is shown in the book of the
Acts of the Apostles:
Acts 8:3: “As for
Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into
every house, and haling men and women committed
them to prison.”
We might say,
everyone in Jerusalem, and outbound, were confounded
when they heard that this man was now preaching:
Jesus Christ. This was to the absolute
amazement of everyone all around, and the thing
turned to the glory of God.
Verse twenty-four:
“And they glorified God in me.”
This, my brethren, is
ultimately what all our testimonies should produce …
glory to God.
Next - Galatians Chapter Two
Friend
If you
know the Bible Is True,
And you
never received
Jesus
Christ as your personal Lord and Savior...
And you
want to come to Him for Salvation now ... Then:
1. Admit
... To God that you are a Sinner...
Deserving Hell Fire...
2. Believe ... that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God...
Who died on the Cross for
You! ...
3. Repent! ... Ask
Him to Forgive You of Your Sin...
4. Receive Him... By
Asking Him to come into Your Heart...
And You
Will Receive the Gift of Eternal Life!
Born of God! You
Are in The Narrow Way ... To HEAVEN!