Teaching Notes EPHESIANS 1

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Teaching Notes EPHESIANS 1

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EPHESIANS

The Unity of the Church 
Jews and Gentiles One in Christ 

Paul spent his life teaching Gentiles that they could be Chris- 
tians without becoming Jewish Proselytes. This was very displease
ing to Jews generally, for they thought of the Mosaic Law as 
binding upon all, and were bitterly prejudiced' against Uncir
cumcised Gentiles who presumed to call themselves disciples of 
the Jewish Messiah. 

While Paul taught Gentile Christians to stand like a rock for 
their Liberty in Christ, as he did in Galatians and Romans, yet 
did not want them to be Prejudiced against their Jewish 
the fellow-Christians, but to regard them as Brothers in Christ. 
Paul did not want to see Two Churches: A Jewish Church and 
a Gentile Church: but ONE CHURCH: Jews and Gentiles One in 
Christ. His gesture, in behalf of Unity, to Jewish elements in the 
Church, was the Great Offering of Money which he took from 
Gentile Churches, at the close of his Third Missionary Journey, 
to the Poor in the Mother-Church at Jerusalem. See Acts 21. 

His hope was that this demonstration of Christian Love might 
bring Jewish Christians to feel more kindly toward Gentiles. 
Paul's gesture, in behalf of Unity, to Gentile elements in the 
Church, was This Epistle, written to the leading center of his own 
Gentile Converts, exalting the ONENESS, UNIVERSALITY, and. 
UNSPEAKABLE GRANDEUR of the Body of Christ. 

To Paul, Christ was a Great Big Something, in Whom there is 
room, not only for people of different Races, Viewpoints and 
Prejudices, but He is One who has Power to solve all the prob
lems of mankind, and bring into unity and harmony with God 
all earthly Social and Family life, Eph. 5:22—6:29, and even 
the Myriads of Beings in ‚the Infinite Unseen Universe, 3:10. 

Ephesians is one of the four “Prison Letters”, written from Paul's 
Roman imprisonment, 61-63 AD, “the others being Philippians, 
 Colossians, Philemon”. Three of these were written at the same 
time, and carried by the same messengers, Eph. 6:21; Col 4:7-9; Pln 
10-12: Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon. 
There was another, not now extant, Col 4:16. 

Chapter 1. Spiritual Blessings 

“At Ephesus", Eph. 1, is not in some of the most ancient manu
scripts. It is thought that, probably, it was intended as a Circular 
Letter to the Asian Churches, Tychicus bearing a number of 
copies, with space for each city to insert its own name. This 
Would account for its lack of personal greetings. with which most 
of Paul’s Letters abound. 

Paul had spent three years in Ephesus, and had there many de- 
voted friends. But if this was a circular Letter to Ephesus and 
neighboring cities that would account for its "more formal tenor”. 

The Laodicean Letter, Col 4:16, possibly may have been one of 
the copies, [See, Lost Letter to the Laodiceans] [1]  God's Eternal 
Purpose, Eph. 3-14. A magnificent epitome to God’s 
plans: the redemption, adoption, forgiveness, and sealing of a 
people for God's own possession, determined from eternity, now 
being brought to pass through the effective exercise of God’s will. 

“Heavenly places", Eph. 3, is a key phrase of this book, 10,20; 2:6; 
3:10; 6:12. It means the unseen sphere above this world of sense, 
which is the Christian’s ultimate home, and with which we now, 
in a measure, have communication. 

Paul’s Prayer for Them, Eph. 16-23. That is the way Paul usually  
begins his Letters. Four such prayers are especially beautiful; This, 
and those in Eph. 3:14-19; Phil. 1:9-11; and Col 1:9-12. 
EPHESIANS

The Unity of the Church 
Jews and Gentiles One in Christ 

Paul spent his life teaching Gentiles that they could be Chris- 
tians without becoming Jewish Proselytes. This was very displease
ing to Jews generally, for they thought of the Mosaic Law as 
binding upon all, and were bitterly prejudiced' against Uncir
cumcised Gentiles who presumed to call themselves disciples of 
the Jewish Messiah. 

While Paul taught Gentile Christians to stand like a rock for 
their Liberty in Christ, as he did in Galatians and Romans, yet 
did not want them to be Prejudiced against their Jewish 
the fellow-Christians, but to regard them as Brothers in Christ. 
Paul did not want to see Two Churches: A Jewish Church and 
a Gentile Church: but ONE CHURCH: Jews and Gentiles One in 
Christ. His gesture, in behalf of Unity, to Jewish elements in the 
Church, was the Great Offering of Money which he took from 
Gentile Churches, at the close of his Third Missionary Journey, 
to the Poor in the Mother-Church at Jerusalem. See Acts 21. 

His hope was that this demonstration of Christian Love might 
bring Jewish Christians to feel more kindly toward Gentiles. 
Paul's gesture, in behalf of Unity, to Gentile elements in the 
Church, was This Epistle, written to the leading center of his own 
Gentile Converts, exalting the ONENESS, UNIVERSALITY, and. 
UNSPEAKABLE GRANDEUR of the Body of Christ. 

To Paul, Christ was a Great Big Something, in Whom there is 
room, not only for people of different Races, Viewpoints and 
Prejudices, but He is One who has Power to solve all the prob
lems of mankind, and bring into unity and harmony with God 
all earthly Social and Family life, Eph. 5:22—6:29, and even 
the Myriads of Beings in ‚the Infinite Unseen Universe, 3:10. 

Ephesians is one of the four “Prison Letters”, written from Paul's 
Roman imprisonment, 61-63 AD, “the others being Philippians, 
 Colossians, Philemon”. Three of these were written at the same 
time, and carried by the same messengers, Eph. 6:21; Col 4:7-9; Pln 
10-12: Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon. 
There was another, not now extant, Col 4:16. 

Chapter 1. Spiritual Blessings 

“At Ephesus", Eph. 1, is not in some of the most ancient manu
scripts. It is thought that, probably, it was intended as a Circular 
Letter to the Asian Churches, Tychicus bearing a number of 
copies, with space for each city to insert its own name. This 
Would account for its lack of personal greetings. with which most 
of Paul’s Letters abound. 

Paul had spent three years in Ephesus, and had there many de- 
voted friends. But if this was a circular Letter to Ephesus and 
neighboring cities that would account for its "more formal tenor”. 

The Laodicean Letter, Col 4:16, possibly may have been one of 
the copies, [See, Lost Letter to the Laodiceans] [1]  God's Eternal 
Purpose, Eph. 3-14. A magnificent epitome to God’s 
plans: the redemption, adoption, forgiveness, and sealing of a 
people for God's own possession, determined from eternity, now 
being brought to pass through the effective exercise of God’s will. 

“Heavenly places", Eph. 3, is a key phrase of this book, 10,20; 2:6; 
3:10; 6:12. It means the unseen sphere above this world of sense, 
which is the Christian’s ultimate home, and with which we now, 
in a measure, have communication. 

Paul’s Prayer for Them, Eph. 16-23. That is the way Paul usually  
begins his Letters. Four such prayers are especially beautiful; This, 
and those in Eph. 3:14-19; Phil. 1:9-11; and Col 1:9-12. 

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Ephesians 1 New International Version (NIV)

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To God’s holy people in Ephesus,[a] the faithful in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he[b] predestined us for adoption to sonship[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

11 In him we were also chosen,[e] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Footnotes:

Ephesians 1:1 Some early manuscripts do not have in Ephesus.

Ephesians 1:5 Or sight in love. 5 He

Ephesians 1:5 The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a legal term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture.

Ephesians 1:9 Or us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And he

Ephesians 1:11 Or were made heirs

Ephesians 1:17 Or a spirit

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[1] The Lost Letter to the Church at Laodicea

The Epistle to the Laodiceans is a lost (although witnessed in Codex Fuldensis) letter of Paul the Apostle, the original existence of which is inferred from an instruction to the congregation in Colossae to send their letter to the believing community in Laodicea, and likewise obtain a copy of the letter "from Laodicea" (Greek: ἐκ Λαοδικείας, ek Laodikeas).[1]

And when this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read before the church at Laodicea, and that you yourselves read the letter which will be forwarded from there.

— Colossians 4:16 OEB

Several ancient texts purporting to be the missing "Epistle to the Laodiceans" have been known to have existed, most of which are now lost. These were generally considered, both at the time[when?] and by modern scholarship, to be attempts to supply a forged copy of a lost document.[2] The exception is a Latin Epistola ad Laodicenses ("Epistle to the Laodiceans"),[3] which is actually a short compilation of verses from other Pauline epistles, principally Philippians, and on which scholarly opinion is divided as to whether it is the lost Marcionite forgery or alternatively an orthodox replacement of the Marcionite text. In either case it is generally considered a "clumsy forgery" and an attempt to seek to fill the "gap" suggested by Colossians 4:16.[4]

Some ancient sources, such as Hippolytus, and some modern scholars consider that the epistle "from Laodicea" was never a lost epistle, but simply Paul re-using one of his other letters (the most common candidate is the contemporary Epistle to the Ephesians), just as he asks for the copying and forwarding of the Letter to Colossians to Laodicea.

The Colossians 4:16 mention

Paul, the earliest known Jewish Messianic author, wrote several letters (or epistles) in Greek to various churches. Paul apparently dictated all his epistles through a secretary (or amanuensis), but wrote the final few paragraphs of each letter by his own hand.[5][6] Many survived and are included in the New Testament, but others are known to have been lost. The Epistle to the Colossians states "After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea."[7] The last words can be interpreted as "letter written to the Laodiceans", but also "letter written from Laodicea". The New American Standard Bible (NASB) translates this verse in the latter manner, and translations in other languages such as the Dutch Statenvertaling translate it likewise: "When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my letter (that is coming) from Laodicea."[8][9] Those who read here "letter written to the Laodiceans" presume that, at the time that the Epistle to the Colossians was written, Paul also had written an epistle to the community of believers in Laodicea.   Wikipedia.

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New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Some content adapted from Halley, Henry H., Bible Handbook, Grayson Publishing, Minneapolis, MN.  © 1927 - 1959, 1964

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Hugh C. Wood, Atlanta, Georgia


END

Teaching Notes VIDEO TOUR OF HOLY LAND --- With Names of Locations

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Teaching Notes VIDEO TOUR OF HOLY LAND --- With Names of Locations

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Take a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

I did.

You won't regret it.

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New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Hugh C. Wood, Atlanta, Georgia

END

Teaching Notes GALATIANS 5 and 6

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Teaching Notes GALATIANS 5 and 6

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GALATIANS

Chapters 5, 6. Freedom in Christ

Paul could not understand how any human being

would deliberately choose to risk his

salvation on works rather than on the gracious mercy of

Christ.

Christ saves us.  It is paid for and without cost to us.

One need only accept the free offer of salvation.

We do not save ourselves. It is the difference between freedom

and slavery: But freedom in Christ  does not mean license  to 

continue  in  sin.

Paul never fails to lay special stress on that. Those who follow

fleshly lusts cannot be saved, Chapter 5:19-21. One of the “spiritual laws

of the natural world” is that a man shall “reap what he sows",

Chapter 6:7, inevitable in its working, whether the seed be wheat or tares.

“Large letters”, 6:11, evidence of the genuineness of his own hand

see note on his “thorn in the flesh” under II Cor 12. writing,

“Branded with the marks of Jesus”, Chapter 6:17. His enemies

claimed that Paul was not a genuine Apostle of Christ.

His battered, bruised, and scarred body was

 his testimony that he was genuine. See II Cor 4,6,11.

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Galatians 5 New International Version (NIV)

Freedom in Christ

5 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” 10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. 11 Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

Life by the Spirit

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Footnotes:

Galatians 5:13 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verses 16, 17, 19 and 24; and in 6:8.

Galatians 5:14 Lev. 19:18

Galatians 5:17 Or you do not do what

Galatians 6 New International Version (NIV)

Doing Good to All

6 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4 Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5 for each one should carry their own load. 6 Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.

7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Not Circumcision but the New Creation

11 See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!

12 Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. 14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which[a] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. 16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to[b] the Israel of God.

17 From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

Footnotes:

Galatians 6:14 Or whom

Galatians 6:16 Or rule and to

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New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Some content adapted from Halley, Henry H., Bible Handbook, Grayson Publishing, Minneapolis, MN.  © 1927 - 1959, 1964

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Hugh C. Wood, Atlanta, Georgia

END

Teaching Notes GALATIANS 1, 2, 3 and 4

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Teaching Notes GALATIANS 1, 2, 3 and 4


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GALATIANS

Chapter 1. Paul's Gospel Direct from God

They said to Paul, “We knew Jesus.  We are real apostles.  You

Never met him.  You are an imposter”.

To discredit in the eyes of the Galatians the Judaizers, it

Seems they were saying that Paul was not an original Apostle, and that

be derived his teaching from the Twelve Apostles – not Jesus.

This may supply the reason Paul was so stunned by the light from

Heaven near Damascus, and the instant realization that his

whole life had been wrong. 

It may be that Paul went to Arabia for three (3) years

To get his head together before going out spread the Word.

It was in Arabia that some of his revelations came to him.

Chapter 2. Paul's Relation to the Other Apostles

The Visit to Jerusalem, Chapter 1-10. Paul waited three years after his

conversion before he returned to Jerusalem, where he had laid

waste the Church. Was there only 15 days, talking things over

with Peter, 18. Compare the account in Acts 9:26-30. Then after 14

years he went again to Jerusalem. This must have been the visit

recorded in Acts 11:27-30, which was in 44 AD.  For the context,

along with the implication of “again” in Chapter 1, appears to mean his

second visit to Jerusalem after his conversion.

Paul took Titus, one of his Gentile converts, along as a test case,

in the moot question of Gentile circumcision.

He stood his ground, and won the complete endorsement

of the other Apostles, 9.

Peter’s False Pretenses at Antioch, 11-21. It is not stated when this

visit took place. Probably it was soon after Paul’s return to

Antioch from the visit referred to in 1, and before Paul set out

on his First Missionary Journey.

The chronology would be something like this:

Peter received the first Gentile convert without

circumcision, Cornelius, Acts 10, probably about 40 AD, which

action was approved by the other Apostles, Acts 11. Then, about

42 AD the Gentile church at Antioch came into being, with the

approval of Barnabas as emissary from Jerusalem. Acts 11:22-24.

Then, 44 AD, this trip of Paul, With Titus, to Jerusalem, at which

Peter joined in the endorsement of Paul’s reception of Gentiles

without circumcision. Then, soon thereafter, about 44 or 45 AD,

this trip of Peter’s to Antioch, at which he separated himself from

the uncircumcised Gentiles, and drew the scathing rebuke from

Paul, 11. But five “or six years later, at the Jerusalem Council, 50

AD, Peter was the first to speak out in favor of Paul’s work,

Acts 15:7-11.

What does the inability to decide between different opinions on

the part of Peter. and this disagreement over so fundamental

a teaching between the two leading Apostles, mean?

In this particular incident either Peter or

Paul was wrong. How can we know which it Was? If either of

them was mistaken in one thing, how do we know but what they

may have been mistaken in other things? Does not the doctrine

that the Apostles were Inspired of God break down under this

incident? Not at all; for the simple fact that God did not reveal

the full complete truth about his Kingdom to the Apostles all at

once, Jesus had told them that he still had many things to teach

them that they could not then bear, John 16:12. Jesus dealt very pa-

tiently with human prejudice, allowing them to hold to their old

notions of the Messianic Kingdom, till, as need arose, he led them.

step by step, into the newer phases of the Kingdom.

He did not bother them with the Gentile problem till the problem arose.

Then, after the Gospel had been fully proclaimed among the Jews

over their homeland, God, by direct and special

revelation, undertook to instruct Peter on the Gentile matter,

Acts 10, which was probably about ten years after the

Pentecost of the Church. It took a few years for the

Apostles to get readjusted to the new teaching. Paul came out of

the old notion more readily than Peter did. The Galatian inci-

dent happened after Paul had come all the way out, and while

Peter was on the way out. But Peter came all the way out before

any of the New Testament books were written, and there is not an iota of

difference between the teachings of Paul and Peter in the New Testament.

Chapters 3 and 4. Human Bondage Under the Law

These Gentile Galatians had swallowed the Judaizers’ message

so completely that they had instituted Jewish Festival Days and

Ceremonies for the Gentiles, Chapter 4:8-11.  They were trying

to combine the Gospel with Mosaic Law.

But Paul tells them that the two systems do not

combine. Did the Judaizers work any miracles among them, as

he had done? Chapter 3:5. Did not that mean anything to them?

Abraham figures largely in these two chapters,

because the Jewish message which they had accepted

was based largely on the promise to

Abraham. They were misinterpreting the promise,

as was shown plainly in the Abraham narrative itself,

Chapter 4:21-31. Their early love for Paul was in

sad contrast with their present coolness, Chapter 4:12-20. 

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Galatians 1 New International Version (NIV)

1 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— 2 and all the brothers and sisters[a] with me,

To the churches in Galatia:

3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

No Other Gospel
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Paul Called by God
11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.

18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas[b] and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.

21 Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me.

Footnotes:
Galatians 1:2 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in verse 11; and in 3:15; 4:12, 28, 31; 5:11, 13; 6:1, 18.
Galatians 1:18 That is, Peter

Galatians 2 New International Version (NIV)
Paul Accepted by the Apostles
2 Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4 This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

6 As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message. 7 On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised,[a] just as Peter had been to the circumcised.[b] 8 For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9 James, Cephas[c] and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.

Paul Opposes Cephas
11 When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

15 “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in[d] Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

17 “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.

19 “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”[e]

Footnotes:
Galatians 2:7 That is, Gentiles
Galatians 2:7 That is, Jews; also in verses 8 and 9
Galatians 2:9 That is, Peter; also in verses 11 and 14
Galatians 2:16 Or but through the faithfulness of … justified on the basis of the faithfulness of
Galatians 2:21 Some interpreters end the quotation after verse 14.

Galatians 3 New International Version (NIV)
Faith or Works of the Law
3 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?[a] 4 Have you experienced[b] so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[c]

7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”[d] 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”[e] 11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”[f] 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”[g] 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”[h] 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

The Law and the Promise
15 Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,”[i] meaning one person, who is Christ. 17 What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.

19 Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.

21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

Children of God
23 Before the coming of this faith,[j] we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Footnotes:
Galatians 3:3 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit.
Galatians 3:4 Or suffered
Galatians 3:6 Gen. 15:6
Galatians 3:8 Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18
Galatians 3:10 Deut. 27:26
Galatians 3:11 Hab. 2:4
Galatians 3:12 Lev. 18:5
Galatians 3:13 Deut. 21:23
Galatians 3:16 Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 24:7
Galatians 3:23 Or through the faithfulness of Jesus … 23 Before faith came

Galatians 4 New International Version (NIV)
4 What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2 The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces[a] of the world. 4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.[b] 6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,[c] Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

Paul’s Concern for the Galatians
8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces[d]? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10 You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11 I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.

12 I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong. 13 As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you, 14 and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. 15 Where, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?

17 Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them. 18 It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you. 19 My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, 20 how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!

Hagar and Sarah
21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23 His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.

24 These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written:

“Be glad, barren woman,
    you who never bore a child;
shout for joy and cry aloud,
    you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
    than of her who has a husband.”[e]

28 Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 At that time the son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. 30 But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”[f] 31 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

Footnotes:
Galatians 4:3 Or under the basic principles
Galatians 4:5 The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a legal term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture.
Galatians 4:6 Aramaic for Father
Galatians 4:9 Or principles
Galatians 4:27 Isaiah 54:1
Galatians 4:30 Gen. 21:10


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The Order of Paul's Letters

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New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Some content adapted from Halley, Henry H., Bible Handbook, Grayson Publishing, Minneapolis, MN.  © 1927 - 1959, 1964

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Hugh C. Wood, Atlanta, Georgia


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