Paul - The Man, His Message & Motives

Galatians 1:1-5

Introduction: Paul had brought the Gospel to the province of Galatia as God's sent-one, but now these people who had received him and his message so well in the not so distant past, have not only began to change the message, but seem to have charged the messenger with being man-sent and having suspect credentials. In these first few verses Paul defends his apostleship and his gospel as being God given and authentic. He guarantees that he is sent by God to preach the Gospel of His grace.

Notice first ...

1. THE GREETING. (vs 1-2)
A. The Identity Of This Man.
1) His Human Identity. "Paul"
2) His Heavenly Identity. "an apostle"
B. The Inspiration Of This Man. "by Jesus Christ"
C. The Intimates Of This Man. "the brethren ... the churches"

2. THE GRACE. (vs 3)
A. The Direction Of This Grace. "to you"
B. The Demonstration Of This Grace. "peace"
C. The Derivation Of This Grace. "from God"

3. THE GIFT. (vs 4) "our Lord Jesus Christ"
A. The Cost Of This Gift. "Himself" [John 10:17, 18; Titus 2:14]
B. The Cause For This Gift. "our sins"
C. The Consequences Of This Gift. "deliver us" [John 17:14]
1) The deliverance of man from this present evil world.
2) The divine purpose of God. "according to the will of God and our Father" 4. THE GLORY. (vs 5)
A. The Duty Of This Glory. Those affected by the grace and the gift -
give glory!
B. The Duration Of This Glory. "forever and ever" The discharge of
this duty to give glory can never be fully discharged. It cannot be
done in a day, a year or a lifetime. Forever!

Conclusion: So begins this letter of Paul to the Galatian churches.
There is a lesson for all of us in this. The authenticity of the man is as important as his message.