Galatians "Might Deliver Us"
The greetings/introductions to each of the New Testament books reveal who Jesus is, His leaders are, and whp the church is individually-collective, and this blog series is intended to help us understand how that allows God's people to receive revelation into a deeper relational existence than they had prior to knowing this amazing map of our journey that He has given to us.
The letter to the Galatians greeting is, “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, 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: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
Paul states that his apostleship is not by man. This “not by man” phrase includes himself; because he is a man. This allows God’s people's realization that their relationship with God by being a Christian and their position in the Body of Christ is not determined by their own choosing or ability, but by God drawing to Him and placing them where He knows they fit.
Paul continues with, “but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;” This informs God’s people that Jesus Christ did not raise Himself, but it was God who did it. Jesus said in other places that He did not do anything that He did not see the Father do and did not say anything that He did not hear the Father say. Jesus knew what was set before Him and walked through it in faith. This same state of knowing and faith is what He gave to His people and this amazing, abundant life is available for all who shall believe
Paul then creates the culture of community with, “And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia” Until this point, the greetings only included, at most, Paul and one other person writing to the recipients, and now it is Paul and all the brethren. Paul is making it clear that we must live this life’s journey connected to others to accomplish what God has set in front of us individually-collective.
Paul now writes, “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world,” This allows God’s people to realize He gave His life and no one took it from Him, and why He did it. He did it to deliver His people from this present evil world. This presents a picture of something that is able to be received by His people that has already been accomplished and must be envisioned before it can be received.
Paul now introduces another phrase into the greetings of the Bible, “according to the will of God and our Father...“ This differentiation between God and our Father is divisively-unifying who God is as the Being. Before Jesus came and revealed to His people that God is our Father, the religious leaders wanted to kill Him for blasphemy for saying the God was His Father. This is an amazing transformation in the depth of the relation that can exist. When people know who their Father is in its truest way, it releases them from the connection to the Earthly one who has certainly not lived up to their perception of perfection in some way during their life. Having Father God as a person’s relational Father and not just a foreign God changes everything in that person’s ability to receive the gifts that He possesses.
With this revelation of the relation, it is an automatic to respond to God and our Father with Paul’s last statement, “To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
God has this incredible map for His people, and He shares it with them as He knows they can receive it. Continue following the series and find out how amazing the journey can be.
Tomorrow’s blog is Ephesians which states, “to the faithful in Christ Jesus:”
