Seek First – Kingdom Focused Devotionals

“For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God?  Or am I striving to please men?  If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10).

                It may be possible that the Judaizers were accusing Paul of saying one thing in one setting and quite another in different circumstances.  They may be suggesting that when he was with Jews he preached the need of circumcision and law keeping and then among the Gentiles he paid them little attention.  To the Judaizers Paul was an ecclesiastical politician saying whatever it took to obtain the largest following. 

                Such a claim must have stung Paul since he hated inconsistency and compromise above all else.  We will see an example of that in Gal. 2:11 where Paul rebukes Peter for inconsistency when he visited the church at Antioch.  In truth, the strong language of this letter would hardly suggest that Paul was attempting to please men.  In truth, since the day of his calling Paul has desired only to please God as a bond-servant of Christ. 

                Have you ever noticed that the religious man is often praised but the Christian; the bond-servant of Christ is not?  A servant can only serve and please one master and Paul has chosen to please Christ alone.  Whose favor do you seek?  Are you striving to please men or God?

Prayer:  Father, help me to desire Your favor alone.  Amen.

“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!  As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Gal. 1:8-9).

                These two verses serve to demonstrate dramatically how concerned Paul is with the false teaching being encountered by the believers in Galatia.  No doubt some have been awed by the supposed credentials of those who may be claiming apostolic authority and an association with the mother church in Jerusalem.   Paul’s inclusion of Himself or an angelic messenger indicates the passion which Paul has for doctrinal integrity.  It is not that the messenger validates the message; it is the message which validates the messenger. 

                The depth of Paul’s concern is seen in the repetition of the word “accursed.”  This word means that the person stands under the wrath of God.  The Galatians should flee with all haste from anyone who stands under God’s curse. 

                The mention of the angelic messenger may point to the Jewish nature of this heresy.  It was common Jewish belief that the law had been given through angelic mediators.  These false teachers may have been asserting that their message had such angelic authority.  Paul is so concerned about the Galatians that he repeats his warning for fear they didn’t hear it the first time.  This time he reminds them that they had “received” Paul’s gospel and it had brought transformation in their lives.  Their very existence as Christians bears witness to the power of the gospel. 

Prayer: Father, may I never waver from the truth of the gospel.  Amen.

“Which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ” (Gal. 1:7).

                The next several verses will show us why Paul is so concerned to move to the heart of the matter so quickly in this letter.  Already he has declared that the gospel the Judaizers are preaching is a “different gospel” (6).  Now Paul declares that it is “not another” gospel.  Their message of legalism and works salvation is not good news at all. 

                Those who are attempting to entice those who have embraced the message of grace to return to a works legalism are throwing these believers into a state of mental confusion.  Paul refuses to connect the word “gospel,” which means “good news” with this distorted teaching which is disturbing the believers in Galatia. 

                Did you notice that Paul indicates that these men “want to distort the gospel?”  Paul may be asserting that these men, while they may confuse some, they will ultimately be unsuccessful in distorting the gospel.  The gospel is both powerful and eternally valid. 

                It is possible that we have become so familiar with the gospel, that we can forget its uniqueness and its power.  We lose our sense of awe at the incredible good news that a holy God desires to pardon sinners.  We must not only stand in awe of the gospel, we must boldly declare it. 

Prayer:  Father, help me today to boldly declare the good news.  Amen.

“I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel” (Gal. 1:6). 

                If you are a regular reader of the Pauline letters, you are aware that Paul normally moves from his opening greeting to a prayer for the local church and often a few notes of commendation.  He then gradually and sensitively introduces areas for concern and correction.  Such a progression was not only normal letter writing procedure, but also a matter of Eastern politeness. 

                Not in this letter.  Paul is much too concerned to spend time with such pleasantries.  He expresses his amazement that anyone could turn from “grace” to a “different gospel.”  The verb is in the present tense which suggests that the process of turning away is still an ongoing process.  Further, Paul is confounded with the rapidity with which they are deserting the gospel of grace.  It is not as if time has eroded their passion and their first love.  They are deserters.  They had quickly surrendered to the legalistic Judaizers; and that without a struggle. 

                The Galatians had not merely abandoned a theological position; they had abandoned a personal and loving God who had articulated His love by the grace of Christ.  Why would anyone abandon grace for the gospel of legalism?  Yet such a temptation remains in our day.

Prayer:  Father, thank You for demonstrating Your love in the grace of Christ.  Amen

“To whom be the glory forevermore.  Amen” (Gal. 1:5).

                It would be nature for a Jew to follow the mention of the divine name with a blessing.  A common Jewish blessing was “The Holy One—blessed be He.”  Paul now connects the name of Jesus with a blessing.  Just as the name Yahweh stirred Jews to praise and adoration, now the name Jesus has the same impact on followers of Christ. 

                There are some commentators who suggest that this should be translated as a glad affirmation—“His is the glory.”  This would make it comparable with the ending of the Lord’s Prayer.  In either case, we need to understand that “glory” is not empty praise, but is a reference to divine glory.  This is the glory seen in the burning bush of Old Testament times.  It is the glory of the very presence of God Himself. 

                The phrase translated “forevermore” is literally “ages of ages.”  He is the eternal God and for that reason only He can receive glory for ages of ages.  Do you daily give Him the glory He deserves? 

Prayer:  Father, let my life give You glory today.  Amen.

“Who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (Gal. 1:4). 

                Forgiveness and rescue!—what more could one desire?  Jesus voluntarily chose to sacrifice Himself for our sins.  The question scholars have raised is whether Paul is thinking about the sin offering offered on the cross for our sins or the continual self-giving throughout the life of Christ.  If the latter is in mind then the image of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 would be in mind.  It is likely that both are included since Paul follows “gave Himself for our sins” with “rescue us from this present evil age.”

                The division between the “present age” and the “age to come” was familiar to every Jew.  The present age is under the power of the evil one and can thus be referred to as “present evil age.”  The death of Christ has therefore transferred us from the sphere of Satan’s power to that of God.  This enables the Christian to enjoy the power of the age to come while living in the present age. 

                Paul makes it clear that the rescue of man by the sacrifice of the cross was “according to the will of our God and Father.”  There is no biblical suggestion for a loving Son and a harsh Father.  The sending of the Son and the sacrificial death of the Son reveals the infinite love of the Father for mankind.  The Son came to accomplish the will of the Father and thus to reveal the Father’s love. 

Prayer:  Thank You for forgiving my sin and for giving me the power to live victoriously in the present evil age.  Amen.

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 1:3).   

                The greeting “grace and peace” was thoroughly Jewish, but now has taken on a deeper theological meaning as applied by the New Testament church.  For Paul “grace” is nearly synonymous with Christ.  “Grace” no longer has the impersonal sense of a casual word of greeting but has taken on depth and personality in Christ.  John would declare that in Christ man saw the glory (presence) of God, full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:14).

                Peace would reflect the Jewish greeting contained in the word shalom.  The idea was a total sense of well-being that came from living in right relationship with God.  This concept too has become more personal.  Peace was the promised gift of Christ to His troubled disciples. 

                Notice the close theological association of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  The word “Lord” was the term used by translators of the Hebrew Bible to stand for the divine name.  The baptismal confession for early believers was “Jesus is Lord.”  They were not only bearing testimony to their willing surrender of their rights to Christ, but also to His identity as God.  Have you yet made the confession, “Jesus is Lord?”  Have you surrendered all rights to Him? 

Prayer:  I confess that You are Lord.  Use me as You desire.  Amen.

“And all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia” (Gal. 1:2).

                Every believer needs the fellowship of other Christians and the great Apostle was no different.  In this case, the names of those who are accompanying him are not given.  The word “brethren” has strong Old Testament roots but came to have an even richer meaning in the New Testament era.  When Jesus identified His early followers as His brothers, sisters, and mother, it underlined the family relationship of all who address God as Father through Jesus His only begotten Son. 

                The reference to “the brethren” may be intended to encourage the believers in Galatia by assuring them that they do not stand alone against the considerable pressure of the Judaizers.  As Christians, we are encouraged to know that we not only have the whole armor of God, we also stand with the whole army of God. 

                The letter is addressed to the “churches of Galatia.”  It is interesting to note that there were a number of “churches” that form part of the one great church, the bride of Christ.  These churches in Galatia formed a sort of early “association” of like-minded churches who encouraged one another as they stood firm in the gospel and labored to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.  We would do well to remember that we need the fellowship of others if we are to complete the task of the Great Commission. 

Prayer:  Father, thank You for the fellowship of the brethren.  Amen.

“Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead)” (Gal. 1:1).

                Paul, the sender of this letter is so well known to his readers, that a single word “Paul” is sufficient to introduce him to the recipients.  The beginning of this letter contains three elements found at the beginning of any ancient letter—identification of the sender, the designation of the recipients, and the opening salutation.  Notice that Paul immediately places the emphasis on his divine calling. 

                Paul underlines his apostolic authority because there is some tension between Paul and the churches of Galatia due to the work of some false teachers who were emphasizing Jewish legalism.  A part of their attack has been to undermine his apostolic authority.  Thus he begins with the negative assertion that he was not sent through the agency of man.  He claims that he was directly commissioned by the resurrected Christ with the affirmation of the Father. 

                The opponents of Paul are sometimes referred to as Judaizers since they insisted on certain Jewish legalisms.  The Judaizers had ignored the glorious transition that had occurred with the resurrection of Christ.  But Paul stood as an example of the resurrection power and his commissioning had come directly from the resurrected Lord. 

                In one sense everyone who has received Christ as savior is an apostle (sent or commissioned) and thus we are called to live out the power of the resurrection. 

Prayer:  Father, thank You for saving me and sending me.  Amen.

We have finished our devotional walk through Ephesians.  As I have frequently indicated it is one of my favorite New Testament letters.  I love the image of Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father pouring our blessing upon believers.  I thrill in the prayers of Paul for the church. 

                I am especially moved by Paul’s insistence that the church is designed and empowered to express God’s fullness in the world today as Christ did during His incarnation.  You may again wonder how is that possible.  In Ephesians 4 Paul answers that question.  He gifts men and women with spiritual abilities and then gives them to the church.  When each individual part plays, it enables the body to grow up into the fullness of Christ.  This leads me to ask about your personal involvement through your church?  If it is Christ’s body and His bride, then we need to love it as He loves it.  Just a thought!

                Next week we will begin our next devotional study.  We are going to be walking through the book of Galatians.  If you happen to be Southern Baptist, you will find that this is the January Bible study topic and it may give you a head start on this exciting book.  Thank you for following our “Seek First” devotionals.  Why not tell a friend about them and thus expand the reach of God’s Word. 

Prayer:  Lord, we love You and we love Your bride.  Amen.