Living In Light of Our Salvation - Part 2

Galatians 1:2-5

What is the Gospel?

Audio

(47:55)

"...and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: 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 this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to Whom be the glory forevermore. Amen."

I.                    “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…”

1.       Consider his audience:

a.       These are not the Thessalonians, whom Paul has nothing but praise and reminders for. These are not the Corinthians, with whom Paul could find some compliment as to their faith. These are those receive no commendations, no compliments, and only rebuke after rebuke.

·         One would be tempted to say these are not Christians.

b.      Paul refers to God as “our Father,” indicating that there were some in their midst who were saved.

·         But the individual nature of these “saved” ones is never mentioned. And as a result, we are forced to conclude that someone making these errors is not suddenly disqualified from being a Christian.

2.       Grace and peace from God!

a.       What is it?

·         Grace – Unmerited favor. Being treated as the Lord Jesus Christ, because we are now sons of God.

·         Peace – The automatic result from the knowledge of the Truth of the Gospel, in that we are now innocent before God, regardless of our previous actions.

b.      From who?

·         God the Father – The God over all creation- the One to Whom all submit, and from Whom all things come. This is the One we see the Son (Jesus Christ) submit to.

·         The Lord Jesus Christ – This is the one through Whom the Gospel was accomplished. The “perfect” and “spotless” Lamb of God, who was not only the Sacrifice for the sins of men, but also will be the Judge of all men.

3.       A quick note:

a.       Paul begins his intro with the very thing they had so quickly deserted for “another gospel,” that being the Good News of Jesus Christ.

·         He was not bringing this up for the sake of doing it to remind them that he was a Christian, but rather because they had utterly neglected and abandoned this Gospel for a lie.

b.      He does not begin with simply “Grace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

·         He explains what “grace and peace” really are!

4.       The Gospel

a.       The “Who”

·         The Lord Jesus Christ – The Righteous One, and the One who gave the Law, only to later keep the Law itself. This is the One who committed no sin, nor was there any guilt found in Him.

·         Col. 1:15-18

b.      The “action”

·         “…gave Himself…” – That is, the sacrifice of God for the sins of His “called out ones.”

·         Col. 1:20

c.       The “cause”

·         Our sins – The transgressions against God, which deserved solely death.

·         Col. 1:21

d.      The “objective”

·         “…so that He might rescue us…” – Pull out those who did not know they needed saving.

·         Col. 1:13-14

e.      The “adversary”

·         This Present Evil Age – The sin which is active now, not the sin at the time.

·         Col. 1:21

f.        The “Authority”

·         From God the Father – The One to Whom we owed the debt

·         Col. 1:19-20

g.       The “end result”

·         God’s glory – That God would receive the praise and glory for His mercy, and that for eternity.

·         Col. 1:22-23

h.      Our response

·         “Let it be so!” – We should not shrug at it, nor miss it as it comes by, but be in awe of it every time we are graced with the opportunity to hear it.

·         Col. 1:24-29

5.       Who this is about!

a.       There is something consistent in the Bible, and must be seen throughout the reading and study of Galatians, and that is the One to Whom Paul points back to always: God.

b.      Eph. 1