Galatians 1:1-11, No Other Gospel

Paul begins Galatians with his salutation. It contains the three customary elements found at the beginning of an ancient letter, the announcement of the writer, the designation of the readers, and the salutation itself.

Paul expands his announcement of himself as the writer. He says I am not an apostle of man, but of Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead. Paul seems to include the brothers that are with him as a part of his writing team. The designation of the readers, to the churches of Galatia, and the salutation itself seem quite basic and straight forward.

Paul adds to his salutation an even longer description of the work of Jesus in verse 4. “who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father”. He concludes his salutation with his doxology, “To Him be glory forever and forever“.

It is here that Paul’s opening takes a much different turn than in many of his other letters. His openings are typically very positive. You can read examples of positive openings in Romans 1, I Corinthians 1, Ephesians 1, and Philippians 1 to name a few. He cuts to the heart of the matter very quickly. I am astonished that you are letting yourselves get pulled away from the gospel that you have heard and accepted. You are quickly deserting the one who has called you. You are turning to a different gospel.

Paul speaks of the severity of preaching another gospel. Presenting a hypothetical case he says, “If we or an angel would preach to you another gospel than the one we preached that one would be eternally condemned. The curse of God would be on the one preaching the other gospel. Paul practically repeats verse 8 in verse 9. I know what I am saying. I mean what I am saying.
Paul understands that he is not making friends with or gaining the approval of man. That is not his desire. His desire is the approval of God because he is a servant of Christ.

We live in a world today that presents many gospels. There is only one gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us accept the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and live by the Spirit.