Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

gospel."
other."
man,'
several."
Lesson Helps for the Week of July 3, 1955
C. Y. P. U. TOPIC
For July 3, 1955
STUDTES IN THE EPISTLE TO THE
GALATIANS I.
(Magna Charts of Christian Liberty)
Galatians Chapters 1 and 2
Comments by Alvin W. Smith D.D.
Psalms:
103:5-8, page 247
40:9-12, page 103
Prayer
1. For the guidance and enlighten
ment of the Holy Spirit.
2. For all of our CYPU Summer
Camps.
3. For God's blessing
upon the preach
ing of the true gospel and the refuting
of error.
For Starting Acquaintance
From our knowledge of the Acts we
are already acquainted to some extent
with Paul, his conversion, his com
mission,
his journeys, his writings to
the churches and his prayers. For to
night and the two succeeding Sabbaths
we
are undertaking the reading and
studying of one of Paul's early letters
sent to his converts in order to establish
them in the true gospel. With great in
tensity of feeling and concern as a fa
ther and a tender nurse, Paul wrote to
the Galatians.
Value in This Study
"This is the epistle that was the in
spiration of Martin Luther in the Refor
mation of which he was the great lead
er. Its doctrine of Justification by Faith,
so clearly set forth and so explicitly
taught, led that mighty man out of the
mazes of Romanism into the clear light
of the
We all have been bene
fiting from the Reformation. But not
only do we owe so much to this epistle
because it inspired Luther four hundred
years ago, we owe just as much to it
for equipping us to meet the onslaught
of unbelief and counterfeit gospels right
now.
Galatians declares:
1. All men are condemned sinners.
2. Salvation is impossible by the
works of the law.
3. Christ alone can save.
4. By faith Abraham was saved.
5. Jew and Gentile distinctions are
done away.
(Christianity is a world religion, not
a Jewish sect). Purves in Davis Dic
tionary.
June 15, 1955
"The Galatians had some marked
Why Paul Wrote It
came powerful among the Galatians." 1. Who were the Judaizers Does the
"It was near the close of his residence characteristics. Fickleness was a strik
at Ephesus (Acts 18:21) and about ing feature in the character of the Ga
three years after his last visit in Galatia,
latian converts. No country embraced
that Paul was astounded to hear the Gospel so readily and cordially.
that the churches in Galatia were ac
tually in danger of turning their backs
(Stony ground hearers). They received
Paul with such gratitude and respect
upon him and the Gospel he had as if he were an angel of God (Gal. 4:
preached to them with so great appar
ent success.
"The tone of surprise of his letter suf
14, 15). But no church fell so quickly
from the faith. Soon converted they
soon relapsed into Judaism."
"It
ficiently proves that he was wholly un
was upon his second missionary
prepared for the bad news when it did journey that Paul in company with Silas
and
reach him and this apparently indicated
Timothy came into Galatia. A sud
den attack of his peculiar
that he had not heard from
malady, his
the Galatian
thorn in the
teachers for some time" (Warfield).
flesh, evidently compelled
Judaizing teachers had made their the apostle to remain longer than he
ap
had at first intended.
pearance among the Galatians.
Utilizing his en
They
forced stay, he were preached the gospel to
attempting to undermine the au
thority of the the Galatians, apostle and were who heard with readiness
teaching
his words and embraced the salvation
a very different gospel from the one he
through Christ. We have no means of
had taught."
"The reception of this information
telling how long the missionary band
remained in Galatia, but it is evident
was the occasion of this letter, and his
that phenomenal success attended their
object in writing it was to defend his labors."
own apostolic authority and to confute
"Some three years later (54 A. D.)
the erroneous teachings of the Judaiz
Paul revisited the churches in Galatia
ing teachers as well as to exhort the
of which there were
Gala
Galation Christians to constancy in the
tians was evidently written from
faith he had preached unto them.
Ephesus or Corinth. The time is not
He saw what principles were at stake
and how the whole future of Christian
decided upon. The outside limits are set
down as A. D. 54 and 58. For our pur
ity was likely to be compromised. Hence
pose, at present, the exact time is a
in this epistle there is an impress of
minor consideration.
severity and indignation which we find
in no (Kerr, Introduction to N.
Meeting Program
T. Study).
With the psalms and prayers, read
aloud the first two chapters. Note how
To Whom Addressed and When
in chapter 1:1-12 Paul pointedly es
"Unto the churches of Galatia." The tablished the fact that his gospel com
three principle cities were Ancyra mission was received directly from
(name of modern capital of Turkey), Christ. (Compare with his similar de
Tavium and Pessinus. The Galatians fense to the Corinthians. See 1 Cor. 1:1,
were descendants of the Gauls who in 9:1 and 2 Cor. 12:12).
vaded Greece and Asia Minor about In detail note the expressions 'not
three centuries before the Christian era. of men,'
'neither by v. 1, also in
For a time these fierce Northerners verses 11, 12. In contrast note "by Je
swept everything before them, but at sus Christ" v. 12. From 1:13-24 note
length, they were defeated in 238 B. C. the account of his own personal life and
by Antiochus Soter, King in Syria and the change wrought in him. How does
Attalus, King of Pergamos. After that this supplement what is told in the
disastrous defeat they were confined to Acts
a part of Phrygia, and they gave the
name Galatia to it.
In Chapter 2.
"The Galatia of Paul and Luke was
In connection with the reading of vs.
1-10 recall the significance of the Coun
not the Roman province of that name,
cil at Jerusalem (Acts 15). Explain the
but was the earlier kingdom of Galatia
which was only a part of it. The
rebuking of Peter at Antioch by Paul
coun
and the justification for
try of Galatia afforded great facilities
it, vs. 11-21.
Note the
for commercial purposes. The
setting forth of the true way
special
of
privileges granted to
salvation,
the Jews of Gala
2:16, 21 and Paul's own
tia attracted many of that testimony, vs. 19, 20.
nationality
to the province, and their influence be
Questions
377