Give God the Glory

"Paul, an apostle -- not from men nor through men, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead -- and all the brothers 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 to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." Galatians 1:1-5

I did my study on Friday but was away from my computer so I wasn't able to blog about it. So, I'm going to attempt to do that today. I'm following a study by John MacArthur about Galatians at the moment. I've also been given some other resources (which I haven't yet had the moment to listen to) thanks to my dear friend, Troy.

So, let's transport ourselves back to Galatia in AD 48 or 49 when Judaizers were looking to undercut Paul's teaching of justification by faith alone. Instead, they were making believable arguments that the people needed to continue Jewish traditions and submit to Mosaic law before they could be saved. In other words, they were teaching that the people must do something other than repent and have faith in order to be saved. Paul, upon hearing of this, responded very quickly and strongly. This was so important because this false teaching is like one drop of poison in a barrel of water, which will ruin the entire barrel.

The first thing Paul does is defend his apostleship. Why? He wanted to make sure that the people understood that what he was teaching was from God himself. That he was not made an apostle by mere men but that he was selected by Jesus Christ. It established his authority. It established his authority on the subject over these false teachers.

Next, he briefly greets his audience and even in his greeting he summarizes his purpose for writing. "Grace to you" is how he starts. He is already reiterating salvation by faith through grace. And through grace there is "peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Right off the bat he is defending the gospel of justification by faith.

Not only that but he then tells again about what Jesus Christ did for his people and states that this is "according to the will of our God and Father." Why is this important? God's will was for Jesus Christ to pay the price for our sins and release us from our slavery to the law. God's will is for us to no longer be slaves to the Law!

Finally, Paul says of God "to whom be the glory for ever and ever, Amen." The teaching of justification by works or salvation by works gives us some claim to the merit of our own salvation. But Paul takes that away in this final statement. Salvation is not by works but by faith in Jesus Christ through grace. And therefore, God has the glory...not me or you. Give God the glory for when you give God the glory, it is rightfully placed. And, give God ALL of the glory! None of it is ours.