Slow Walk thru Galatians April 20

General Faith
1

Let’s go through the book of Galatians. I’ll begin at the beginning and post a few verses each day. You can share your insight into the days’ passage or what it may remind you of. No debate or disagreement. Whatever you share is fine. If you come into this post late, please don’t go back to previous passages but stick with the verses of today. This worked well on another forum and was a great way to become familiar with Scripture.

Introduction:

Paul visited Galatia on all three of his missionary journeys. Iconium, Derbe, Lystra, Pisidian Antioch are all located in Galatia which would now be modern Turkey. The time of writing was after his first missionary journey around 49 to 52 A.D. depending on who you ask. Some place it a few years earlier and some a few years later.

Somehow, after they received the gospel. the message became perverted. Certain people came into the region and insisted that works, along with Christ were necessary for salvation. This teaching was known as Judaizing or legalistic error. Paul’s letter was to correct these Galatians since many were adopting this teaching.

image
image640×409 103 KB

Today’s passage: Galatians 1:1-5

“Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead and all the brothers and sisters with me,

To the churches in Galatia:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

We’ll see what Paul has to say to this church, but he begins by affirming two things. The first is that his mission is God ordained. He’s not a man spouting his own ideas. He’s an apostle appointed by the Father and by the Son. The second is that Jesus gave Himself for their sins and it was the Father’s will that He do so. They’ve been rescued by Christ’s death and it’s the Father who raised Him from the dead. Whatever else they may believe, hold these things to be true as you read the letter.

Paul is not alone. He has many brothers and sisters with him. In a sense this letter is coming from the church of Jesus and it’s not just a letter from Paul. They have something to say to these Galatians and its important enough for Paul to interrupt his journey and write to this church.

Now you…

1 Like
2

Thanks for this! I haven’t read Galatians in awhile. Looking forward to following along and contributing here and there.

1 Like
3

This thread has potential.

“The commentary is written so that anyone with an average education can clearly understand it. However, the insights and applications are such that theological students and pastors and teachers will profit from Dr. Utley’s research.”

David O. Dykes, Pastor, Green Acres Baptist Church, Tyler, Texas

“I have known Bob Utley for nearly 20 years. I have experienced him to be a person of genuine integrity with a deep passion to “rightly divide the word of truth’” His biblical commentary seems to me to be authentic, true to the context, and helpful to both scholars, educators, and pastors who seek to lift up what the word of God says rather than what we want it to say. I will use my copy with joy because of my deep respect for Bob Utley.”

Hardy Clemons, PhD., Senior Pastor, First Baptist, Greenville, South Carolina.

“Dr. Bob Utley approaches the New Testament with the warmth of a pastor and the diligence of a scholar.”

“The commentary gives helpful outlines of each book, valuable in-depth exegetical notes on each verse, and profitable word studies on each key word or phrase in the book. It is the kind of resource that a studious pastor and concerned Bible teacher will turn to again and again. It is obvious that the author’s goal has been to provide the reader a tool that will lead them to an in-depth understanding of the Word of God.”

Dr. D. L. Lowrie, Pastor First Baptist Church, Lubbock, Texas

“Though the commentary is sufficiently technical to attract more advanced Bible students, it is written in easily understandable language that the untrained layperson can appreciate.”

“Cross references are extensive and will be extremely helpful for the person who wants to do additional comparative study of a verse.”

F.B. Huey, Jr., Professor of Old Testament Emeritus, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

“A concise, but extremely helpful introductory article explains Utley’s hermeneutical perspective. Blending the spirit disciplines of prayer and openness to God with a rigorous grammatical, historical, and contextual approach to exegesis, Utley provides the student with an excellent exegetical model. This article alone is a valuable tool to introduce Bible students, to the principles, techniques, and tools of good exegesis.”

“ Dr. Utley’s work surely will benefit pastors, college students and seminarians. But in many ways, this volume provides Sunday school teachers and lay people of all backgrounds the opportunity to learn a solid method of biblical interpretation while gleaning insight from one who has practiced good exegesis for many years.”

Thomas V. Brisco, Associate Dean for Special Masters Degrees, Associate Professor of Biblical Backgrounds and Archeology,
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

J.

1 Like
4

Thank you for this, especially breaking it down and explaining.
I will defintely stay tuned and attempt to come up with responses :grin:

1 Like