Impassioned Letter: Galatians (Session 1: Paul and the Gospel)

Each one of us come to understand the gospel through different ways. Some of us know about Jesus and God through parents, Sunday school activities, 4-spiritual-laws pamphlet, mission school's programs, friends etc. Even with different exposure to the gospel, we usually assumed that we have the 'real' gospel, but of that we cannot take for granted. We should not just assume that the gospel(s) that came to us is(are) the same as the gospel taught in the New Testament. Thus is our aim to study into Paul's conception of the 'gospel' with special focus on his letter to the Galatians.

*Map is from: http://scriptures.lds.org/biblemaps/13
*A more detailed map: http://www.bible-history.com/maps/pauls_journeys.html

The Origin of Paul's Gospel

Paul received the gospel directly from revelation by God himself. He did not hear or copy his understanding of the gospel from any one else beside Jesus Christ. It is a first hand infomation.

Gal 1.12: For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

Gal 1.15-17: But when he who had set me apart before I was born and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus

The Content of Paul's Gospel

The gospel that Paul proclaimed is about Jesus Christ. It is about this individual whose life symbolize and bring upon the climax of the covenant between the Israelites with God from ancient to then, 1st century era. Paul saw Jesus' life, death, and resurrection as the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Israel's Scripture (Old Testament). Jesus' presence then marks that moment in history which is the central focus of all culminating events in the past. And thus He is the promised Messiah who is also the Lord of the world. Those who believe in the power of His death and resurrection are being put to the right, justified somehow in someway.

Gal 4.4-5: But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

1 Cor 15.3-5: For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Gal 2.15-16: We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. (There is dispute concerning the term '...justified by faith in Christ...' Some says it means 'justified by Christ's faifulness' while others say it is 'justified by faith in Christ'. No matter what the contention is, the main thing that is we have to believed IN Christ in order to be justified.)

N.T Wright summarize it well:
"When Paul refers to ‘the gospel’, he is not referring to a system of salvation, though of course the gospel implies and contains this, nor even to the good news that there now is a way of salvation open to all, but rather to the proclamation that the crucified Jesus of Nazareth has been raised from the dead and thereby demonstrated to be both Israel’s Messiah and the world’s true Lord. ‘The gospel’ is not ‘you can be saved, and here’s how’; the gospel, for Paul, is ‘Jesus Christ is Lord’."

The Character of Paul's Gospel

1) Exclusivity of the gospel
Gal 1.6-9: I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

2) Some sort of freedom being promised by the gospel
Gal 2.4: Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery

3) An ethnicless and all-saving gospel
Gal 3.8-9: And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith

Gal 3.13-14: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

The Gospel, Us, and the World

The gospel of the Christian people is meant for more than just a novelty that makes readers feel good. It is meant to be our hands and legs. The question is how do we proclaim 'Jesus is Lord' in our economic, social, and political world?

Economic world: People of God can and must continually examines the economy system practiced by the countries and companies. Free-trade, Socialism, Fair-trade, or others? Which trade is more promising to promote better lives to all without marginalizing people group? Any labor exploitation? Copyright infringment? How about the income gap between the rich and the poor?

Social world: People of God is not silent. We strive to make the voice of our God heard over against injustice, corruption, environmental issues, crime rates, prostitution, gamblings, divorce rate, standard of education and social welfare. Should meritocracy be practiced at the cost of rising elitism? How to promote nationwide loving, caring and integrated community?

Political world: People of God's first allegiance is to God, then only the government. Every government is under God's authority. Whenever a policy is being mandated, it first has to be discerned according to God's biblical authority. Jesus is Lord, PAP is not; Jesus is Lord, George Bush is not; Jesus is Lord, PM Lee is not; Jesus is Lord!

Conclusion

Christians, as the people of God, is the channel through which God's kingdom come. The gospel that is bestowed unto us is the power of God to bring freedom, society integration, hope, and redemption. Ultimately God, through the gospel, has redeemed and continually transforming the world. We are not asked to stop when difficulties arise. Instead we are to pray for grace and strength to move us to make God's kingdom here on earth, as it is in heaven. This lorship of Jesus Christ was propagated by Paul through his life then. This same gospel of Jesus' death and resurrection are now to be the hands and legs and brains and mouths of His redeemed people to shine in the current economic, social, and political world. If Jesus Christ is not the Lord of all, He is not lord at all.


*Reference:
James Dunn (ed), Cambridge Companion to St. Paul
Jerome Murphy-O Connor, Paul: His Story
N.T Wright, Who Was Jesus?
N.T Wright, New Perspective On Paul, 10th Edinburgh Dogmatics Conference: 25–28 August 2003
N.T Wright, Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians