Sermon Tone Analysis

*“The Gospel” Galatians 1:1-5*

Everton Community Church.

Sunday August 10th 2008.

For some time know, the world has been in anticipation of the current *Summer Olympic games* *in Beijing China*.

*One central issue* surrounding these games has been *the issue of freedom* and *human rights violations in **China*.

*Chinese Communist leaders* have been *heavily criticized* for their *crackdown on dissent* *in the weeks leading up to the **Beijing** Games.*

In *a speech delivered this week in **Bangkok*, *U.

S.** President Bush denounced* the *detention of political dissidents* and *religious activists*.

He said:

*Quote: "*America stands in firm opposition to *China**'s detention* of *political dissidents*, *human rights advocates* and *religious activists*.

We speak out for a *free press*, *freedom of assembly* and *labour rights*, not to antagonize China's leaders, but because trusting its people with greater freedom is the only way for *China** to develop its full potential*.*"*

(http:~/~/www.nationalpost.com~/news~/story.html?id=706940)

*The Chinese government* has maintained that *Bush* is not an authority on China *One way to deny the truthfulness of a message* is to *deny the authority* *of the one who gives it.*

*The Galatian church* had *received the true gospel of grace from Paul* and *had believed it* *until some false teachers came in* *after he was gone*.

They not only *attacked the validity of the message* but also *that of the messenger*.

Apparently the *Judaizers* had *convinced some of the Galatian church members* that *Paul* was *a self-appointed apostle *with *no divine commission*.

So *at the outset of the letter* *Paul dispensed with the usual personal greetings* and *immediately began to establish* the *genuineness of his apostolic authority*, which he *later* (1:11–2:21) *expands on in detail*.

*In this brief salutation* *Paul summarizes* *1)* *His authority* (his right to speak), *2)* *His message* (the truths he speaks), and *3)* *His motive* (his reason for speaking).

*In understanding these*, we understand *the power* and *freedom of life in Christ.*

 

1) The Authority (Galatians 1:1-2)

*Galatians 1:1-2**  * [1:1]*Paul*, *an apostle*--*not from men* *nor through man*, but through Jesus Christ and *God the Father, who raised him from the dead*-- [2]and *all the brothers who are with me*, To the *churches of Galatia*: (ESV)

 

I *want to cover a lot of ground* *very quickly* in this *first section on Authority* before we get to *the message*.

Nevertheless, *don’t pass over the content of the salutation lightly* as though it *contained merely formal niceties such as the “Dear Sir” or “Yours truly” of a modern letter*.

*The prescript of a Pauline letter* by itself *constitutes “an essential part of the letter’s content**.”

(* G. Ebeling, /The Truth of the Gospel: An Exposition of Galatians/ (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984), 8.)  *The salutation reveals* not only *the mood in which Galatians was written* but also *the passion and burden of Paul’s heart that prompted him to write it*.

*What is at stake* is *the content of the gospel *Paul proclaimed to the Galatians.

This too is restated with force in these opening verses as *Paul draws a theological line in the sand* *against the false teachers who have undermined the gospel* by *undermining his apostolic authority* (George, T. (2001, c1994).

/Vol.

30/: /Galatians/ (electronic ed.).

Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (76).

Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)

Following *the custom of his times*, the apostle *begins his letter* by *stating his name*, *Paul*.

He then *establishes his authority as an apostle*, 1) first on the basis of *his right to the title “apostle,”* 2) second on the basis of *the manner in which he was chosen* for that office, and 3) *third on the basis of his relationship to fellow believers.*

* While we can assert with great certainty that the content of this epistle owes its *structure to Paul*, *the actual mechanics of writing were,* *most likely, that of an amanuensis (secretary),* as evidenced by *the notation made as to what he personally wrote in the final words of the epistle*.

The majority of the epistle was likely generated through the process of *dictation.*.( Elwell, W. A. (1996, c1989).

/Evangelical Commentary on the Bible ./

(electronic ed.) (Ga 1:6).

Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)

*A)The Title Apostle** (**Galatians 1:1a* )

*Galatians 1:1**a  * [1:1]*Paul, an apostle—(*not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead)

 

*Saul *(*/Paul/* was probably his Roman surname) was *born into a Jewish family* from the tribe of Benjamin.

He was *raised as a strict Pharisee* (Philippians 3:5), grew up in Tarsus, and was *educated under a well-known teacher, Gamaliel* (Acts 22:3).(

Barton, B. B. (1994).

/Galatians/.

Life application Bible commentary (3).

Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House.)

* Given his *background,* *teaching *and *previous vocatio*n, he was *extremely well aware of the particular challenges* the *Galatians *were *facing from* the *Judaizers * who *advocated an adoption of Jewish ritual acts*.

An *apostle* (“*one who is sent with a commission*”) was *an envoy, ambassador, or messenge*r who was *chosen and trained* *by Jesus Christ* as *His special emissary* *for proclaiming His truth* *during the formative years of the church*.

*In its primary and technical usage,* the term applied *to the original twelve who were chosen at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry* (Mark 3:14; Luke 6:13) and were *set aside to lay the foundation of the early church* and to be the *channels of God’s completed revelation* (Acts 2:42; Eph.

2:20), They were also *given power* to *perform healings* and to *cast out demons* as *verifying signs of their divine authority* (Acts 2:43; 2 Cor.

12:12; Heb.

2:3–4).

It should be noted that, *shortly before Pentecost*, *Judas* was *replaced by Matthias* (Acts 1:26).

*In a wider sense*, the term apostle *is also used of men like Barnabas* (Acts 14:14), *Silas *and *Timothy *(1 Thess.

1:1; 2:6), *and other outstanding leaders* (Rom.

16:7).

Such men are *more specifically called messengers* (/apostoloi/) *of the churches* (see 2 Cor.

8:23; Phil.

2:25), whereas *the Twelve and Paul* were *“apostles* of Jesus Christ.”

*Neither group* was perpetuated.

*Except for Judas *(for obvious reasons), there is *no New Testament record of an apostle in either the primary or secondary group* *being replaced after he died*.

Because *Paul was not among the original twelve*, he *needed to defend his apostleship in ways that they did not.*

Because *one of the qualifications* *was witnessing the risen Christ* (Acts 1:22), *Paul witnessed the resurrected Christ* *in a unique way As he was traveling to **Damascus* (*Acts 9:3–5*).

*Through the godly Anamas of Damascus*, *the Lord declared this former enemy of the gospel to* be “*a chosen instrument of Mine*.(Further

personal appearances of the Lord to Paul are recorded in Acts 18:9; 22:17–21; 23:11; and 2 Corinthians 12:1–4 (cf.1

Cor.

9:1).

B) The Manner in Which He Was *Chosen** *(Galatians 1:1b)

*Galatians 1:1b** *[1:1](Paul, an apostle--)*not from men* *nor through man*, but *through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead*-- (ESV)

 

Because *false teachers* were *accusing Paul* of being a spurious, *self-appointed apostle* who had *no authority to teach and to rule the churches*, *Paul emphatically stated* that *his was *“not by human *appointment* or human *commission*”.

He was *not (sent) from men*.

He had *not appointed himself* and had *not even been divinely appointed* *through the agency of men** as he says nor through man*.

*No human means of any sort* *was involved in his apostolic commissioning.*

*No human source, no human ceremony, no laying on of hands by any group* in Jerusalem, Antioch, or anywhere else was *involved in his call to apostleship*, though *the elders at Antioch* were *a part of the sending process* of his *special mission* *tour to evangelize* (Acts 13:1–3).

“not by human appointment or human commission”

 

*Paul’s original call to apostleship* was *directly* *through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead*.

*Jesus called Paul* and *set him apart* *before he had contact with any of the other apostles*.

After *several years of divine preparation* (see Gal.

1:17–18), *he was sent out* to *begin his work among the Gentiles* *directly by the Holy Spirit,* whose divine appointment was *acknowledged by the leaders of the church at Antioch* (Acts 13:2–3).

*Paul’s authority* was *not man-given or self-given* but *God-given*, and *his right to instruct the Galatians* was *grounded in that divine prerogative.*

* Paul certainly had a vastly superior commissioning to any of the *false-teaching, self-appointed Judaizers* who were *confusing the Galatians* and *trying to set themselves above his authority.*

Very early in Galatians we see the mention of *the resurrection*, *without which the gospel would be powerless*.

*The God* who *appointed Paul an apostle* was *God the Father, who raised* *His Son* *from the dead*.

* Apparently, *the Galatians* were *not wholly satisfied with the Savior’s work,* because *they were trying to improve on it* *by adding their own efforts at law-keeping.*

(MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995).

/Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments/ (Ga 1:1).

Nashville: Thomas Nelson.)

The *apostle’s frequent mention* of *God* and *Father* *in relation to* *Jesus Christ* *throughout the New Testament* marks an emphasis that should not be missed.

*The intent* is *not for us to understand God as /our/ Father* (although that truth is mentioned in 1:4) but *the Father* *in relation to the role He has in the Trinity*, particularly *His relation to the Son*.

The intent is to *emphasize the significance of the relationship between the first and second members of the Trinity as to essential nature*.

The title is to express *equality of deity* between the two, a Father and Son who *share the same nature* (cf.

Matt.

11:27; John 5:17–18, 22; 10:29–33; 14:9; 17:1–5; Rom.

15:6; 2 Cor.

1:3; Eph.

1:3; 1 Pet.

1:3; 2 John 3).

It asserts that *Jesus Christ* is the One who is of the *nature of God* and that the true God is the One who is *the Father* of *Jesus Christ*.

In summary, *Paul says that he is an apostle,* *not /of/ man* (“of has reference *to source*), *neither /by/ man* (“by” has reference *to /agency/*), but *by Jesus Christ and God the Father* (“by” again refers to */agency/.*

*Jesus Christ and God the Father* were not only *the /source/* but also *the /agency/ of Paul’s apostleship*).(

Gingrich, R. E. (2005).

/The Book of Galatians/ (8).

Memphis, TN.: Riverside Printing.)