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Nazarene Commentary 2000©

21^st Century Paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures© –
21^st Century Version of the Christian Scriptures© [NCMM]

THE LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

CHAPTER ONE:
“THE GOSPEL IS NOT HUMAN”

[“Non-human News”]
Key Word: Gospel
Theme Verse: 11

Galatians 1:1-2 – An Apostle Not by Men

GA1:1 Paul – an apostle, not from a human source or appointed by men, 1 but rather by Jesus Christ and God 2 the Father, who raised him from among the dead –

1	Not from a human source: Among one of Paul’s major themes in Galatians.

2	Christ and God: As in his customary dual formula, Paul mentions only Christ and God and it is clear Christ is not God.

GA1:2 along with all the brothers who accompany me – to all the congregations in the region of Galatia 3 –

3	Galatia: Largely modern Turkey. [Acts 16:6; 18:23; 1 Corinthians 16:1; 2 Timothy 4:10; 1 Peter 1:1]

Review Questions

Galatians 1:3-5 – A Prayer for Deliverance

GA1:3 Unmerited charity and peaceful harmony from God the Father and our Master Jesus Christ, 4

4	God the Father and our Master Jesus: Again the dual formula where it is clear Jesus is not God.

GA1:4 the One who sacrificed himself for our sins in order to rescue us from this present wicked period of time 5 in harmony with the will of our God 6 and Father

5	For our sins: Or, TCN: rescue us from this resent wicked age. The first part of salvation is release from the evil social order of humanity.

6	Will of our God: As in most occurrences of THEOS in Paul it has the article and thus is “The God.”

GA1:5 to whom belongs glory throughout all future periods of time. Amen!

Review Questions

Galatians 1:6-9 – Why Another Gospel?

GA1:6 I am shocked how quickly you abandoned 7 the One who invited you in the unmerited charity of Christ and turned to a different gospel. 8

7	Abandon: Or, removed, steadily deserting, quickly tuning away, shifting your ground, moving away. That is, God. Paul will explain how they have deserted God.

8	Different gospel: Or, another. And thus a different Jesus. Compare 2 Corinthians 11:4.

GA1:7 Not that there is a different gospel, but there are those who are causing you trouble, 9 wanting to corrupt the Gospel of Christ.

9

Some who trouble you: Or, unsettling you, upsetting, harassing. These are the Judaizers mentioned at Acts 15:1, 2, 24. [Note the word “trouble.”] These were false teachers who wanted to force the Church into a Jewish mold which continued to observe Jewish festivals and circumcision. This “evil influence” continued throughout the history of the early Church and has persisted to this day.

GA1:8 However, even if we or a heavenly angel 10 should ever declare to you a contradictory Gospel 11 than the one we already preached to you – let them be damned! 12

10	An angel: Throughout the Gospel Age certain men and women have claimed angelic visitations or dreams which lead others contrary to Christ’s Gospel.

11	Contradictory gospel: Or, contrary.

12

Let him be damned: Or, accursed, cursed, damned, devoted to evil. [Leviticus 27:28, 29 LXX]. Paul does not allow for a freedom of doctrine in the Church which is contrary to those teachings of the Nazarene. Those who disagreed with the Gospel Paul presented to these Galatians, such a person is to be cursed. In Galatians 5:12 he says “emasculated.” [1 Corinthians 16:22]

GA1:9 As we have already told you, I say it again – if anyone preaches to you a gospel that contradicts the one you have accepted – let them be damned!

Review Questions

Galatians 1:10-12 – Gospel Is Not Human

GA1:10 Am I seeking to curry the favor of humans or God? Or, am I trying to please humans? If I still tried to please humans 13 I would not be Christ’s servant.

13	Pleasing humans: The greatest weakness of most men.

GA1:11 Because I want you to realize, brothers, that the Gospel I preached was not a human gospel. 14

14	Not a human gospel: Or, no human invention, not a human affair.

GA1:12 That is because I never received it from a human source, nor was I taught it by other humans. Rather, this Gospel came to me by means of the revelation of Jesus Christ. 15

15

It came through a revelation of Jesus Christ: The Greek is APOCALYPSIS [Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance #602, unveiling, uncovering]. See Revelation 1:1. Paul’s Gospel is not the product of a mankind institution, but a spiritual revelation. See the notes on Galatians 2:2. [Romans 16:25; Ephesians 3:3] It is likely this happened in part during his period in the Arabian desert. [Galatians 1:17, 18]

Review Questions

Galatians 1:13-17 – No Human Conference

GA1:13 You have already heard of my past life in Judaism 16 – how I violently persecuted the Church of God 17 and tried to destroy it.

16	My former life in Judaism: Paul comes from a perfect Jewish background. [Philippians 3:5, 6]

17	I persecuted the Church of God: Compare Acts 8:3; 9:1; 22:4; 26:11; 1 Timothy 1:13.

GA1:14 I was making much more progress among the Jews than anyone of my own age, that is how I was so earnestly zealous for the traditions of my forefathers. GA1:15 However, the One who separated me from my mother’s womb 18 – and then invited me by means of His unmerited charity –

18

Mother’s womb: Or, KJV: separated me from my mother’s womb. The Greek is APHOME [Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance #873, to mark off from others by boundaries, to limit, to separate] Born a Jew into a Jewish world, it is possible Paul means, like Jeremiah and John the Baptist, God knew ahead of time how He would use this man. [Jeremiah 1:5]

GA1:16 was pleased to make His Son visible 19 to me so that I might proclaim him among all the non-Jews, I did not seek out a human conference of flesh and blood. 20

19

Visible: The Greek for “revealed” is APOCALYPTO [Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance #601, to uncover, lay open what has been veiled or covered up] It was “The God” who revealed the Son to Paul. Paul does not understand the Son to be God. This included making the Son “visible” to Paul. [1 Corinthians 9:1]

20

Human conference: Or, talk over [PME], consulting [TCN]. Paul was not ordained or appointed by some apostolic, or governing body. He has called by Christ himself. He did not, thereafter, meet with some human conference to get their approval or appointed. He did not go to Jerusalem to inform them of his celestial ordination. We can suspect what their response would have been.

GA1:17 I did not ascend to Jerusalem to meet with those who were apostles before me. Rather, I left for Arabia 21 and then later I again return to Damascus.

21	Arabia: The world’s largest peninsula, dominated largely by austere deserts such as Rub’al-Khali. It is a place of little water and wildlife, but an abundant atmosphere for serious meditation. We can expect that this is what Paul did.

Review Questions

Galatians 1:18-20 – First Contact

GA1:18 It was only then after three years that I ascended to Jerusalem to visit Cephas 22 and so I stayed with him for fifteen days.

22	Visit Cephas: Thus, he spent almost three years in the austere desert of Arabia. Paul always refers to Peter by his Aramaic name, and only twice as Peter. [Galatians 2:7, 8]

GA1:19 However, I did not see any of the other apostles except for the Master’s brother James. 23

23

James: By his use twice of “other apostles” he suggests he was also such. James was not an apostle, but the brother of Jesus who later became a disciple after the Lord’s appearance to him. He became something of a presiding elder in Jerusalem. [Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18] Josephus writes of James around the year 62 AD: “… convened the judges of the Sanhedrin and brought before them a man named James, the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ, and certain others. He accused them of having transgressed the law and delivered them up to be stoned.” [Jewish Antiquities, XX, 200 (ix, 1)]

GA1:20 I am not lying when I write you this in the sight of The God!

Review Questions

Galatians 1:21-24 – Unknown to Churches

GA1:21 Afterward I left for the slopes of Syria 24 and Cilicia. 25

24	Syria: North of Israel [Palestine] with its capitol at Antioch becomes a home base for Paul.

25	Cilicia: Another region in the same general area.

GA1:22 Even then I remained unknown by sight to the congregations of Christ in Judea. GA1:23 They only heard the rumors, 26 “He used to persecute us but now he is preaching the very faith he once tried to destroy!”

26	Rumors: Rumors spread fast.

GA1:24 And they all glorified The God because of me.

Summary of Chapter One