Category Archives: Galatians

Galatians Bible Study, Pt. 11: The Medium and the Message

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Class #11:  St. Paul defends both his apostolic office and the gospel message which he had preached to the Galatians.  The message of the gospel is that man is saved by grace through faith alone apart from works.  The ultimate proof that salvation is apart from any merit or worthiness in man is the Scriptural teaching of God’s eternal foreknowledge and election.  (See Handout on Election.)

Similarly, even before his birth, St. Paul was predestined by God to serve as the Apostle to the Gentiles.  God’s eternal foreknowledge and election had determined “to reveal His Son” in St. Paul apart from any merit or worthiness in him.  When Galatians 1:15 says, “it pleased God,” those words show that it is the graciousness of God which is the cause of St. Paul conversion and his appointed mission to preach Jesus among the Gentiles.

God was not pleased with the faithless sacrifices of the Israelites(Ps 40:6-8), nor was He pleased with the unbelieving rabble(1 Cor 10:5).  However, the heavenly Father was well-pleased with the sacrifice of His Son (Mt 3:17, 17:5).  Furthermore, “God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe” (1 Cor 1:21).

Handout: Formula of Concord Ep XI

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Galatians Bible Study, Pt. 10

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Class #10:  The false judaizing prophets, who were troubling the Galatians, had denied St. Paul’s apostolic call and perverted the Gospel. St. Paul’s response was to defend his call and to intricately connect it with the true Gospel message. St. Paul was called immediately by Jesus (not by or through men) and the Gospel of salvation by grace through faith apart from works came “through the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

The Galatians are “brothers” in the faith, because they had received the the true Gospel taught by St. Paul.

Handout: Galatians Bible Study Handout-for-11-13-2016

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Galatians Bible Study, Pt. 9

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Class #9:  The work of a faithful pastor over many years can be ruined by a heretic so quickly.  Though we should rightly be concerned about falling into the gross outward sins(Jude 4) of immorality, there is a sneakier way in which we can fall away from the true Gospel.  In Galatians, the Judaizers are wanting the people to trust in Jesus AND the morality of their works righteousness(Acts 15:1ff).  When even one law requirement is added to the free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus, the Gospel is perverted and ceases to be the true Gospel.

The Holy Scriptures, which teach salvation by the Gospel apart from Law, are the norm by which the church and her teachers are judged.  St. Paul’s varying approach with regard to Timothy (Acts 16:1-3) and Titus (Galatians 2:3), makes it clear that circumcision is not necessary for salvation.  If St. Paul would give in to the Judaizer’s legalistic demands, he would be guilty of removing the offense of the cross (Galatians 5:1).

Handout: Galatians Bible Study Handout-for-11-6-2016

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Galatians Bible Study, Pt. 8

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Class #8:  St. Paul makes a distinction between the Galatians and the false teachers.  In attempting to restore (6:1) the people of the congregations, he is gentle even while he reveals their error.  However, when St. Paul speaks about the false teachers(1:9, 5:10, 5:12), he is rough and even condemning of those who are troubling the consciences of the Galatians.

Their error is two-pronged.  They have turned away from God Himself and the true Gospel, which is the good news about the forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus Christ.

Handout: Galatians Bible Study Handout for 10-31-2016

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Galatians Bible Study, Pt. 7

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Class #7 :  The beginning(1:1-5) of St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians is a preview of his entire epistle.  He brings up his apostolic call, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Gospel message promising the blessings of the atonement, and the Father’s will that we believe the Gospel message.

Overheads: Galatians Overheads Class 7

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Galatians Bible Study, Pt. 6

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Class #6 :  The beginning of a letter includes the writer, the recipient, and words of greeting.  In Galatians, St. Paul gives a lengthy defense of his apostolic call, a bare bones description of the recipients, and an extended greeting/blessing.  In this class, we learn about (1) the resurrection as short hand for the gospel, (2) the importance of keeping the Father with the Son, and (3) how the Christian faith can be summed up with the words “grace and peace.”

Overheads: Galatians Overheads for Class 6

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Galatians Bible Study, Pt. 5 (Excursus on Divine Call)

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Class #5 :  The divine call (see podcast parts 3 and 4) places a man into the office of the ministry.  The Lutheran Confessions refer to the office of the ministry in Augsburg Confession, Article 5.  Article 5 is not a generic functional view of the Gospel and the sacraments, but a concrete reference to the Pastoral Office.  Later on article 14 clearly teaches that only those with a regular call should publicly exercise the duties of the office of the ministry.

Those who license men (lay ministers or licensed lay deacons) to perform the duties of the office have a different theology from the Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.  Just as St. Paul magnifies his office, so today’s pastors and people need the assurance that God has called a man into the office of the ministry and intends to use him to create and strengthen faith in Jesus Christ.

Overheads: Galatians Overheads for class 5
Includes web address for video(1:13 to 6:15) I showed to the class.
Augsburg Confession Quotes

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Galatians Bible Study, Pt. 4 (Excursus on Divine Call)

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Class #4:  A call is not determined to be divine because of some inner emotional experience or heartfelt desire of the person.  The call is divine because it comes from God–either directly (immediately from God as it did in the case of prophets and apostles, including St. Paul), or indirectly (mediately from God, by means of the congregation, Acts 20:28, to whom God has given the command to place a man into the pastoral office, 2 Tim. 2:2).  For New Testament churches, the divine call (1) comes from the congregation (2) for Word and Sacrament and (3) is not time limited (not licensed).

In Galatians 1:1, St. Paul explains that he did not have a non-divine call (humanly determined), nor did he have a divine call which was mediately given through a congregation, as do today’s pastors.  St. Paul was an apostle through an immediate divine call from God!

Handout:  Galatians Overheads class 3

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Galatians Bible Study, Pt. 3 (Excursus on Divine Call)

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Class #3:  In Galatians 1:1, St. Paul is holding up his divine apostolic call, saying, “Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father…).”  In order to better understand the reason that St. Paul would magnify his call, we are taking an excursus through the Scriptural doctrine of the Divine Call, this week and next week.  All Christians (as members of the priesthood of believers) have a general call to proclaim the Gospel (Rom 10:9) and speak the Word of God in their vocation(Col 3:16).  Nevertheless, in order to perform the public ministry of Word and Sacrament in the church, a divine call into the Office of the ministry is required(Rom 10:15, Heb 5:4).  In this lesson, we begin to define and illustrate the divine call into the Office of the Ministry.

Handout: Galatians Overheads class 3

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Galatians Bible Study, Pt. 2

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Class #2:  St. Paul’s greeting to the Galatians begins with (1) an abrupt defense of his divine apostolic call, followed by (2) a bare bones reference to the recipients, and (3) an extended blessing.  The origin of St. Paul’s apostleship is not from (apo) men, meaning that the source of his call is human and not divine.  Furthermore, St. Paul’s apostleship is not a mediate divine call by means (dia) of a Christian congregation, but is an immediate divine call directly from God (Acts 9).  St. Paul was called by (dia) the risen Christ and the source of his Gospel is God Himself.

Handout:  Galatians Bible Study class 1  and Galatians Overhead Class 2

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