initial impressions (dchang galatians 1 - 2)

Paul starts off this letter to the Galatians by saying that the gospel is being perverted. he says, interestingly enough, that "the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1: 11-12). this is an interesting statement - one begins to realize that what Paul is saying is that he is speaking and endorsing a gospel that is out of this world, that essentially no one has heard before. he says that not only is it from man, but that what he is saying comes from a revelation of Jesus Christ, and that he has not been taught it. rather, i think he is saying that he received it from God Himself.

and i think this is a huge component of true relationship with God. i think that, if all you have is what you have received from man - paychecks, possessions, approval - and what you have learned from man - Sunday school teachings, sermons, textbook "knowledge" - then you will know and have a great deal of things, but you will still not know God. so much of what we understand and know and base our lives on, and i know that this is extremely true in my case as well (still now), is what we have received from man. what we have been taught to know and, to a large extent, how we should live our lives. just as Paul begins to reveal this new Christianity that says salvation comes from faith and is not only for the Jews, but also the Gentiles, and goes on to make bold statements like "circumcision avails nothing" (circumcision was one of the bragging rights of Jews), i think we should also look away from the world.

i'm not saying that we should just try to come up with outrageous things that we think might be true. i'm saying that just as Paul was revealed the Word of God, a revelation of Jesus Christ, i think that we also should seek our own personal revelations of Jesus Christ. and this doesn't have to go against the church or our parents - it doesn't have to be as shocking a doctrinal conflict as that of Paul or even Martin Luther - but i think without hearing from God Himself, we will be lacking. without having God open our eyes to Himself, then our sight will be of the world.

As the first chapter continues, Paul slips in his personal testimony, how he was regarded very high socially in his nation and had used his power to persecute the church. he then says that God disrupted this lifestyle and set him aside with the purpose of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. it should be noted that Paul, who was a powerful Jew and probably believed very heavily that it was because of his circumcision and loyalty to the law that he was justified, was purposed by God to denounce the very things he believed in. Paul would end up preaching that circumcision and works do not mean salvation - rather, faith. he once had a monopoly on religion, but now he was preaching that God was the only One that mattered.

in chapter two, i think Paul gets in a fight with Peter. i'm not entirely sure, but it's verses 2:11-13. and paul, rebuking peter, says "a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ" (2:16). i think this is the central focus of Paul's letter to the Galatians - that God is pleased and imputes righteousness because of faith, not because of what someone does or how well they do it.

paul continues in verse 17 (to Peter), saying "But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not!" even though we ourselves can be in honest and active pursuit of God, we still find ourselves flat on our faces in sin. some turn from God simply because of the sin that is found in Christians or in the church. many realize that Christians are both jerks but sometimes very disconnected from reality, and if Christians can be that unrealistic or prideful, God is not given a shot because of the people representing Him. i think that paul is saying, though the people fail and fall short, this does not say or imply that God also falls short or that God approves of our falling short. just as the flesh cannot be justified by the law, i think this could also be used to say that no other flesh (no other person) will justify. God alone can justify man because He does not fall short.

chapter two ends with paul managing to put his heart into words - "i have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer i who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh i live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. i do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain" (20-21). i think this is hugely important, because what paul is literally saying is that Christ is in Him. he makes the bold statements that God "gave Himself for me," and that God provides grace because we cannot make ourselves right by any amount of work that we do. so grace is like God allowing us to be made with Him - God allowing us to be seen as righteous when we have fallen short.