Got Life?
Galatians 1:1-5
Introduction:
Back in the 1980’s the rock group U2 put out an album called Joshua Tree. One of the songs on that album is confusing, but also a reality for many people. The title of that song is “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”
The song speaks of a person who is searching for something in life. The person searched Christianity, yet, he says I still haven’t found what I’m looking for. I believe that this song, or at least the chorus of the song, speaks for many people. They are looking for something, looking for life, but they haven’t found what they are looking for.
When Paul wrote his letter to the churches in Galatia, he wrote it to people who heard the gospel and accepted it; they were living their lives like they still hadn’t found what they were looking for. They were looking for life, when they already had the life that God wanted for them.
In this study we will focus on the great doctrinal truth of justification by faith as well as what happens to a life that is justified by faith. We will learn that God has a life for us, a life of freedom and victory. As we introduce ourselves to the opening five verses I want to pose a few questions to you. Do you have life? Have you found what you are looking for in life? Do you have the life that God has for you? Do you have the God life?
Allow me to point out three truths that you will see permeates the book of Galatians. These three truths point us to the life that God desires for each person. First we will notice that God has an exceptional plan for your life.
I. God has an exceptional plan for your life
In the first two verses we read, “Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead, and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia.”
Paul wrote this letter to the Galatian churches while he was in Corinth around 52 AD. He did so with a sense of urgency because the Galatian believers were beginning to follow a gospel that wasn’t really the gospel. They were beginning to act like they hadn’t found what they were looking for.
In these opening verses Paul outlines the entire subject of the letter. The letter breaks down into three sections. The first two chapters deal with Paul’s authority as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Chapters three and four deal with the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Chapters five and six deal with morality; how God’s people should live in light of their new life in Christ. Each of these three topics are dealt with in the first five verses either explicitly or implicitly. In verse one we see Paul arguing the authority of his apostleship. In doing so, we are reminded that the exceptional plan that God has for each life is a special plan.
a. It’s a special plan
Paul, with great confidence defends his apostleship, “Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead.” What Paul is addressing was the accusations of the false teachers who were perverting the gospel. They were devaluing Paul’s position as an apostle and the authority that comes with that position.
Maybe the false teachers were even saying that the church at Antioch laid their hands on Paul, but he wasn’t God’s apostle. Paul’s response is clear in this first verse. “Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man…” Paul’s apostleship does not find its origin in man, nor did it come through man. The calling that Paul is talking about is not when he was called to his first missionary journey in Acts 13, but his initial calling from the Lord Jesus Christ. That is why he makes such a strong contrast in the latter part of the verses, “but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead.” In the original language Paul uses a strong conjunction, “alla” to contrast the fact that he wasn’t called by man or through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father.
Paul speaks of this calling when he gives his testimony before Agrippa in Acts 26:14-17, “And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and witness not only to the things you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you.” Paul is testifying of his Damascus Road experience that is recorded in Acts chapter 9. Without a doubt, we see that Paul’s calling was not by man, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father.
Paul’s calling was an exclusive calling; that of an apostle. The Greek word “ apostollos,” which we translate apostle is a nautical word that was used to describe navy expeditions. In nautical use it means to “send away from” or “to send off on a long and difficult mission.”
The term “apostle” is used in both an exclusive and inclusive sense. Paul’s calling as an apostle was exclusive. Those who were called to be exclusive apostles were men who witnessed the life, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul’s exclusive call was different than the other twelve that were called to this exclusive office. For Paul’s encounter with the resurrected Christ came after his ascension, not before. But nevertheless, he still saw the resurrected Christ, and it was the resurrected Christ who called him.
Only a few were called to this exclusive office, but don’t think for a moment that God doesn’t have a plan for your life. When a person responds to the call to follow Jesus that person becomes an apostle in the inclusive sense. Each follower of Jesus Christ becomes an envoy or an ambassador for Jesus, and that is what God’s plan is for all, to become his witnesses here on earth.
The nice thing about God’s special plan is that regardless of what you do in life, you can be his ambassador. You can be a homemaker and still be an ambassador for Christ. You can be a doctor and still be an ambassador for Christ. You can be a school teacher and still be an ambassador for Christ. You can be a police officer and still be an ambassador for Christ. You can be a student and still be an ambassador for Christ.
When I pastured in Purcell, Oklahoma, one of my deacons owned a funeral home. Even so, he didn’t view his business as a business as much as he saw it as an avenue of ministry. He used his company as a means of being an “apostle” in an inclusive sense. He used his career as the avenue in which he was an ambassador for the King of kings.
It is one thing to be an ambassador for your country, but it a totally different thing to be an ambassador for the living God. God’s exceptional plan for your life is a special plan. It is also a shared plan.
b. It’s a shared plan
Notice the last part of verse one, “And all the brethren who are with me.” The great thing about God’s special plan is that we are not alone. When we begin to participate in God’s plan, we become a part of a larger plan, the kingdom of God. Those who become a part of God’s kingdom, which is God’s plan, become builders of that kingdom with the rest of God’s people. This truth is seen throughout Scripture.
When God called Abraham the Lord said to him, I will bless you so that you can in turn bless others. God was calling Abraham to be his ambassador or his apostle. When God redeemed Israel from the bondage of Egypt, he declared that he redeemed them so that Israel would become a “kingdom of priest” representing God here on earth. When Jesus called the twelve disciples he told them that they would be “fishers of men.” This meant that they were going to be God’s representatives here on earth. When Jesus told the disciples to wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit to be fulfilled, he said that they would “receive power and become witnesses for Jesus Christ.” Again, reminding them that they were his ambassadors here on earth.
We who have been called by Jesus share the plan with all of God’s people. In addition, we who have answered the call can be sure that God sends us out to represent him, and he empowers us to do so. God has an exceptional plan for our lives, but not every professing Christian is assisting in the plan. Some don’t out of disobedience, others don’t out of ignorance, and yet some don’t because they really haven’t found what they are looking for. The exceptional plan that God has for our lives has a starting point. That plan can only become a certainty in our lives when we experience the grace of God in Christ Jesus. It isn’t until we willingly accepted God’s amazing provision for our lives that this plan begins.
II. God has made an amazing provision for your life
Verse three we read, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins so that he might rescue us from our this present evil age, according to the will f our God and Father.” There are several observations concerning this amazing provision. First we notice the summary of God’s provision.
a. The Summary of God’s Provision
The plan that God has for us is summed up in two words: Grace and Peace. We often sing about God’s amazing grace and rightly so because God’s grace is the only hope we have.
The two words that Paul uses here, “ karis” and “irena” are common words that you would observe in letters of that day. However, when these words are used by Paul in his letters to churches they are filled with theological meaning and truth. For in those two words, Grace and peace, God’s wonderful plan for salvation is revealed. For it is by God’s grace, we are able to experience peace with God. Secondly, notice the source of God’s provision.
b. The source of God’s provision
,The source of God’s provision is stated in the prepositional phrase, “From God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” God’s provision of grace and peace finds its source in God. It is interesting to note that Paul mentions the plurality of the Godhead more than once in the few verses. In verse one God the Son and God the Father who called Paul to be an apostle. Here, it is God the Father and God the Son who provide grace and peace to those who will accept it.
Though God the Spirit is not mentioned in these verses, we know that He has a role in our salvation also. In Ephesians it is God the Spirit that we are sealed with when we believe. In 1 Peter it is the sanctifying work of the Spirit that leads to obeying the truth. Each member of the Trinity is involved with salvation.
Paul declares that the provision for our salvation is “according to the will of our God and Father. Salvation comes about through the will of God the Father. The third thing we notice is that salvation also comes through the work of God the Son. That is where we see the substance of God’s provision.
c. The Substance of God’s provision
Paul modifies the name of Jesus Christ with a relative clause. It is in this relative clause that we see the provision that Jesus Christ made for our salvation, “who gave himself for our sins.” Jesus Christ gave himself or sacrificed himself for our sins.
Let’s flesh this out a little. It was God the Father’s plan to send his Son to die for our sins. This act on the part of the Son was by no means one done against his will. The tense of the participle “gave” is aorist active, which means that the action of Jesus giving his life was a voluntary action. Jesus Christ, by the will of God the Father, voluntarily gave himself for our sins.
The fact that he gave himself for our sins reminds us that we can do nothing to save ourselves. It reminds us that apart from God, we are dead in our sins, alienated and enemies of God. Nevertheless, God showed us undeserved favor, or grace, by sending his Son to die for our sins. That is grace.
This voluntary act of sacrifice is not primarily an act of love. It is true that God so loved the world that he sent his son, but love was not the primary basis for the sacrifice. The primary purpose of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was for our sins. That is why he died. Christ died so that we can be forgiven of our sins and have peace with God. Thus, both grace and peace are from God.
The only way that this provision can be applied to our lives is through faith. We must believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and on the third day rose to life. When we trust Jesus as the payment for our sins it results in real life.
Notice what happens in the last part of verse four when we trust in Jesus, “So that he might rescue us from this present evil age…” Jesus died so that we could be rescued, and that is exactly what happens when we trust in Jesus, we are rescued.
The phrase “from this preset evil age” is rich in meaning. In one sense it speaks of how trusting in Christ delivers us from the penalty of sin and the power of death. We are transferred from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of light. We are delivered from the present age into the age to come. Furthermore, though we don’t fully enjoy the age to come this side of heaven, we do experience a taste of it now.
Through Christ we can participate in the age to come now. For when we trust in Christ, we are rescued and delivered from a life that was once enslaved and dominated by sin. We are rescued from a life that only knows how to live in defiance to Christ. When we give our lives to Christ, we have a new life, a life that pursues righteousness and holiness, a life that is truly free.
When we willingly accept God’s amazing provision for our life, Jesus Christ, as our Lord and Savior, we get life, a life rescued from the present evil age, a life ready to live for God. When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, that’s when God’s exceptional plan for our lives begins. Life begins at the cross of Christ! Do you have that life today? Do you have Christ? When you willingly accept God’s provision for your life and begin to fulfill this plan for your life, you will find that God has a consuming purpose for your life.
III. God has a consuming purpose for your life
When you reflect upon the amazing provision of grace and peace from God the Father and God the Son in the previous verses, those who have accepted that provision should be consumed with what Paul’s consumed with in verse five, “to whom be the glory forevermore, amen.” Paul ends his first paragraph with worship, praise, and glory directed to God the Father for his wonderful plan of salvation brought about in Christ.
One can’t help but give glory to the one who provided life! As John Calvin put it, “So glorious is his redemption that it should ravish us with wonder.” So glorious is the life that God provides in Christ that it should consume us with God’s glory. That is, it should consume us with the sole purpose of giving God all the glory in everything that we do. Why? Because we got life! Why? Because we found what we were looking for in Jesus.
Back in August of 2006, Fox News reported on 3 Mexican fishermen who were rescued after spending nine months at sea. They started out from Mexico’s western coast to fish and nine months later they were 5,500 miles away from home near the Marshall Islands. For nine months they floated around aimlessly wondering if they would ever get their lives back.
Some of you are floating around aimlessly through life wonder if you will ever find what you are looking for. Today is your day to be rescued. Today is your day to get life. All you have to do is come to Jesus Christ.
For those who have life in Christ, live it to the fullest fulfilling God’s plan being consumed by God’s purpose.
Got Life?
Galatians 1:1-5
I. God has an ____________ _____________ for your life
“Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead, and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia.”
--Galatians 1:1-2
a. It’s a ____________ ______________
b. It’s a ____________ ______________
II. God has made an ____________ ___________ for your life
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins so that he might rescue us from our this present evil age, according to the will f our God and Father.”
--Galatians 1:3-4
a. The ____________ of God’s ____________
b. The ____________ of God’s ____________
c. The ____________ of God’s ____________
III. God has a ____________ _______________ for your life
“to whom be the glory forevermore, amen.”
--Galatians 1:5
“So glorious is his redemption that is should ravish us with wonder.”
--John Calvin
