March 1 - Galatians 1:1-5

March 1 – Galatians 1:1-5

Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—and all the brothers and sisters with me,

To the churches in Galatia:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Paul, is a Greek word that means ‘little.’  He was from the tribe of Benjamin, who was the youngest and smallest of the twelve tribes of Israel.  He would have been proud of his name – Saul.  The first king of Israel was also a Saul of the tribe of Benjamin. 

Paul was his Greek name and would have been accepted by both Greeks and Romans throughout the region.  His identification at the beginning of this letter is that of an apostle.  He was sent out by God. 

An apostle is a messenger.  Look at that word again.  Sometimes we ignore the parts of these words that relate to our own time.  Do you see the word ‘post’ in there?  Yes, Gus Vardalos from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” would agree with me.  Words all lead back to Greek.  (well, most of the good ones, anyway.)  Our ‘post’al service is a messenger service.  Like the apostles … they deliver messages and news. 

However, Paul declares that his authority comes from Jesus Christ and God the father.  No man has given him authority … God gave it to him.

The church in Galatia may not have known all of the people that were working with Paul, but they knew and loved those that Paul knew and loved.  The greetings come from Paul and from those who work with him and believe in the things that he is about to write.

Before he begins dealing with these churches in Galatia, he reminds them that it is the Lord Jesus Christ who has done the work to save them from sins.  This sacrifice is great and not to be taken lightly.  As we move through this letter, Paul has some harsh things to say, but he begins with the Lord’s peace. 

So we will as well.  Grace and peace to you all from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.