1 Timothy 3

In 1 Timothy 3, Paul follows on his teaching prayer and the order of men and women in the church with the order of the church itself in the qualifications of overseers (elders) and deacons.

Paul opens the passage in a very interesting way, "It is a trustworthy statement." Paul uses this clause four times in the New Testament, all in the two letters to Timothy:

1 Timothy 1:15 - It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.

1 Timothy 3:1 - It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.

1 Timothy 4:8-10 - For bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. 10For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.

2 Timothy 2:11-12 - It is a trustworthy statement:

For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;
12If we endure, we will also reign with Him;
If we deny Him, He also will deny us;

In three instances, Paul is is talking about salvation, value of godliness, and life in Christ. But in the instance here, Paul is talking about the leadership of the church. As sure as our salvation is, the office of overseer in the church is a fine work. It may not seem like much, but put alongside the other statements where Paul uses the phrase "a trustworthy statement" that is staggering.

Further, we can infer that it is a good thing for a man to want to be an overseer for fine work is done in that office.

Perhaps it is inherent in our culture or we are too humble if that were possible, but it seems many are afraid to aspire to the office of overseer because of the high qualifications that are listed by Paul in v2-7:

• above reproach
• husband of one wife
• temperate
• prudent
• respectable
• hospitable
• able to teach
• not addicted to wine
• not pugnacious
• gentle
• peacable
• free from the love of money
• manages his own household well
• keeping his children under control with all dignity
• not a new convert
• good reputation with those outside the church

Whew!

I'm not going to get into each and every one of these, but will note a few.
Note that Paul says "able to teach" in v2, but he doesn't say " spiritually gifted in teaching." Nor does he say "preach"- Paul just says "teach," which includes things such as teaching Bible Studies, Sunday School, seminars and, of course, preaching. Hence, elders aren't required to be able to preach, but need to be able to teach.

Verse 4 says, "He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity." The NET Bible translates the end of verse 4 as, "keep his children in control without losing his dignity." So the elder must keep his children under control with all dignity. How many times have we seen parents in public completely lose their dignity while trying to keep their children under control?

I want to spend more time on Verses 6 and 7 which I think are very, very key to being an elder-

6and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.

7And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Paul says that an elder should not be a new convert, which seems reasonable enough, but the exact reason he gives is very telling of what the heart of an elder should be. The elder shouldn't become conceited (Webster defn: having or showing an excessively high opinion of oneself) or he will fall into the same condemnation as the devil.

Ezekiel 28:11-19, God speaks of Satan, referring to him as the king of Tyre. A beautiful angel who turned to violence and sin and was proud and corrupted his wisdom because of his beauty. Satan was cast down from the mountain of God and was consumed with fire. This is the condemnation uncurred by the devil. Also see, Isaiah 14:12-15 and Revelation 12, 20.

In 1 Timothy 3:7, Paul mentions the snare of the devil. Paul refers to snare of the devil also in 2 Timothy 2-

24The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,

25with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,

26and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

In both passages, Paul is warning against falling into the snare of the devil and both passages relate to those outside the church. In 1 Timothy 3:7, he says that elders must have a good reputation with those outside the church. In 2 Timothy 2, Paul's telling Timothy how to relate to those outside the church, "those who are in opposition." The snare of the devil isn't referring to what happened to the devil, rather the devil's trap is to ruin our reputation and relationship with those outside the church, thereby ruining our witness for Christ.

I will not spend time on 1 Timothy 3:8-13, but I did note a few things to think about-

1. Paul doesn't mention that Deacons need to be able to teach.
2. These men must first be tested to be beyond reproach (v10), but not mentioned for elders. Look at how beyond/above reproach is used differently regarding elders and deacons.
   
3. What is the meaning of v13? Why doesn't Paul say this about elders?

Finally, Paul tells Timothy why he's writing all this. In v15, "so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God." A key word here is "ought." In the Webster's there are a range of meanings for "ought"-

—used to express obligation <ought to pay our debts>, advisability <ought to take care of yourself>, natural expectation <ought to be here by now>, or logical consequence ought to be infinity>

In Greek, this is the word "dei" meaning "it is binding" or "it must." Hence this is much stronger than "advisable." This was Paul's definite expectation of how one would behave at church and "one" is referring to the elders and deacons of the church. Also, note that Paul doesn't say "If you have elders and/or deacons, then..." No. For Paul it was a foregone conclusion that the church would be lead by elders and deacons. In Titus, Paul's first task for Titus is to appoint elders not just in a church, but in every city (where a church was planted).

Paul the evangelist closes the chapter talking about the church- "the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth" It is key that Paul refers to the church as the pillar and support of truth for in Chapter 4, Paul instructs Timothy guard against false teaching and teach the truth. In classic Paul fashion, all he's written culminates in Christ in the last verse-

By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:
He who was revealed in the flesh,
Was vindicated in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory.

The life of Christ in 6 lines! Remember Paul launches into the gospel at the end of chapter 1, and again at the beginning of chapter 2! He does it again here in chapter 3!

1 Timothy 2

In Chapter 1, Paul gave Timothy his charge as the pastor of the church at Ephesus: To produce love from a pure heart, good conscience and sincere faith. Chapter 1 is foundational- it states the goal of our ministry. In fact, this is one very simple way we could evaluate our ministries- are the believers in our flock becoming more and more loving people because their heart is pure, their consciences are good and their faith is sincere?

2:1 "First of all" - What is the 1st thing Paul talks about after the foundation of Chapter 1? PRAYER!

1First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,

2for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

Paul gives four different names to prayer:

1. Entreaties: An entreaty is an earnest or urgent request. (supplication)
   
2. Prayers: Communicating with a deity
   
3. Petitions: Formal message submitted to an authority
   
4. Thanksgivings

And in these modes of prayer, we are to pray "on behalf of all men" (v1) and "for kings and all who are in authority" (v2). In v2, we can infer that the early Christians were persecuted and Paul's instruction is to ask the Lord that the authorities would not persecute them. If Paul stopped here, we could conclude that he's the purpose of the prayers are so that Christian can have an easy life- "tranquil and quite" - to live out our faith.

Yes! God sees this as "good and acceptable"- but the purpose is not for our own comfort and easy living. Rather it is to the heart of God, "who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." It always keeps on coming back to God's redemptive plan- that none should be lost. So when our prayers is the beginning of our ministry; the beginning of our part in God' redemptive work.

How are we to pray for "all men" and "authorities?" We pray earnestly, making urgent requests. Do you have a loved one, or friend, or co-worker, or acquaintance that for whom you are praying for their salvation? Is it not easy to lose that sense of urgency? It is not uncommon to be praying for years before we see God changing one's heart to accept Jesus as Savior. So we should continue praying earnestly and urgently to the Lord.

We are to remember we are praying to God- who is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, infinitely wise, full of grace and mercy. Reading the O.T., we see that the Israelites had a complete reverence for God when they were faithful to Him. Consider that no unclean person could enter God's presence without facing certain death! Through Christ, we may approach the Father in prayer directly, but let us now lose our reverence for Him when we pray. We are in fact communicating with the supreme being of the universe!

We are to pray formally- petitions. Similar to having reverence, we are to pray formally. Or to formally pray. Sometimes, I rationalize that our all knowing God already knows my prayer before I even pray, so I merely need to think the request and that's a prayer to him. You may laugh, but perhaps you too have rationalizations for a weak prayer life! It is good to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), yet we sometimes take that to mean that we do not have to stop everything and spend time with the Father in prayer and Jesus did.

Finally, we are to give thanks in our prayers!

If we go back and read v3, 4, continuing on through v5-6:

3This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
5For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
6who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.

Verses 5-6 are a direct follow on from verses 3-4. God desires all me to be saved (v4)- for(v5) or "because"- and Paul again launches into the gospel message for the 2nd time in the first two chapters! There is one God and Christ is the one mediator between God and us and it is Christ who paid for our sins.

Verse 7, Paul re-emphasizes his own calling as a preacher and an apostle. Like in 1:1, Paul reiterates his being an apostle. Remember that some in the early church doubted Paul's apostleship. Finally, Paul is appointed as the teacher to the Gentiles "in faith and truth." A Jew appointed to be the teacher of the Gentiles, writing to a Gentile pastor, at a Gentile church in a predominantly Gentile city!

Verse 8- "Therefore"- here's the bottom line:

8Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, ifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.

Note that Paul says that he wants all the men in every place to pray. Not just the leader, or the mature Christians, but every man!

Lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension. This is a hard one to live up to. Notably, prayer meetings are usually not well attended. And in fact, prayer seems to often times get brushed to the side because there are so many things to take care of at church.

In summary of 1 Timothy 2:1-8, the first thing we must do in ministry, before anything else, is to pray. Our prayers are to be earnest and urgent, formal and in reverence to our God, and full of thanksgiving. Prayer is the first step of our evangelical disciple-making mission- whoever and wherever we are. But here, Paul instructs all men everywhere to pray in holiness and peace and unity with each other! Men, step up, kneel, and pray!

2:9 begins "Likewise, I want women..." So we see that the 1st part of this 1st step of ministry focused on the call for men to pray. Continuing on, still in the context of prayer, Paul instructs the women.
In verse 9, Paul instructs them to dress properly and modestly and discreetly. Rather, he encourages women to adorn themselves "by means of good works as is proper for women making a claim to godliness." Perhaps one's initial reaction is that Paul is a sexist! He's playing up the stereotype of women being concerned with vanity, some may say. Yet, we do see this being played out in modern societies where fashion and cosmetic vanity products are overwhelmingly targeted towards women. So the women today are not unlike the women of Paul's time, or the women at the Ephesian church.

Now, in 1 Timothy 2:11-15,

11A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness.
12But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.
13For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve.
14And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.
15But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.

I believe that Paul's whole point of this controversial passage is that of headship. The keyword here is "for" in v13, just as it was in v5. Why is Paul saying this? The question here is not primarily of women teaching, but of headship. Who is the head of the marriage? head of the house? head of the church? head of the man? head of Christ?

Paul cites the creation order- Adam was created first, and Eve to be a helper. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul writes about the same topic:

1Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
2Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.
3But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.
4Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head.
5But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved.
6For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head. 7For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
8For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man;
9for indeed man was not created for the woman's sake, but woman for the man's sake. 10Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.

Here, we clearly see the issue of headship. In 1 Corinthians 11:3- Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. Now, in 1 Corinthians 11:5, Paul presumes that women would be teaching(prophesying), but the woman having her head covered recognizes that the man is her "head." Prophesying is

Back in 1 Timothy 2:14, Paul points out that it was not Adam that was deceived, but the woman, Eve. Note that Paul is not putting Eve down because she was deceived! In Genesis 3:13, Eve herself said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." I ate is equivalent to, "I sinned." Paul said, "fell into transgression."

But Paul points out the "salvation" (presevered/saved) of women in v15 "through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint." The latter part of this verse must sound so familiar, for in Chapter 1 Paul charged Timothy that the goal of their teaching was love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
Here, Paul says virtually the same thing! Women are to continue growing in love, as instructed in Chapter 1, and raise their children likewise. The bottom line here is that Paul is instructing women to disciple their children with the same goal as Timothy- love.

In Chapter 3, Paul lays out the structure and qualifications of leadership of the church. In Chapter 2, he points out the most important thing. "First things first," so to speak, and that is prayer. Further, Paul is clearly defines the order of men and women in the church for he will next teach about the leaders of the church.

Psalm 1:2

A = But his delight is
B = in the law of the LORD, and
B' = on his law
A' = he meditates day and night.

Poetic symmetry :)

We meditate day and night on the thing(s) in which we find delight. I want this verse to be true of my life that I delight in "the law," God's Word, and meditate on it day and night.

1 Timothy 1

Before we look dive into 1 Timothy, let's look at the context of this pastoral epistle by Paul-

Acts 20:17-38-

Paul went to Ephesus and found some disciples there. He taught in the synagogue, but when some of the people developed hard hearts Paul took the disciples and formed the Ephesian church where he remained for two years. Paul proceeded to Macedonia and Greece, then returned to Miletus, about 30 miles south of Ephesus, on his way to Jerusalem. Paul thought that this was the final time he would be with the Ephesian elders, meeting Miletus.

Paul's final instructions to the elders in Ephesus:
v28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

29"I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;

30and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.

31"Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.

v35 "In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

After Paul's release from prison in Rome, he ended up returning to Ephesus and Timothy joined him there later. Paul then instructs Timothy to stay in Ephesus to continue as the pastor there.

Here we go!

v1:1 Paul, an apostle

of Christ Jesus

according to the commandment of God our Savior and

of Christ Jesus,

who is our hope

What is an apostle? "men who were commissioned by the Lord Himself and given the task of speaking authoritatively on doctrine and practice in the church."

Though 1 Timothy was a personal letter to Paul's "true child in the faith" (v1:2), Paul knew that his letters would be distributed among the churches. Therefore he identifies the his authority from Christ Himself, for one issue in the 1st century church was a debate of whether to consider Paul an apostle since he was not among the original 12 disciples.

Therefore, we are to likewise heed Paul's instructions as authoritative and from God. Paul identifies Timothy as his "true child in the faith." Perhaps this was also a "vote of confidence" or "stamp of approval" for Timothy in the Ephesian church as he was young (v4:12).


v1:3 Timothy's purpose in Ephesus:
so that you may

instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines,

4nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies

which give rise to mere speculation
rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. (NIV: God's work)

v1:5 The goal of Paul and Timothy's instruction is love from:

1. pure heart
2. good conscience
3. sincere faith

Some people wanted to be teachers of the Law, even though they didn't understand what they were saying! (v1:7) Implied that they were not using the Law lawfully. (v1:8) Law is for the anything that is contrary to sound teaching (v9, 10) according to the gospel, with which Paul's been entrusted. (v11).

Note also that Paul and Timothy's instruction is not just for the sake of correcting heresy, but it is to be out of love and to produce love!

Paul has been entrusted with the gospel, hence he is instructing Timothy to teach men not to teach strange doctrines.

Paul continues in the v12-17 to explain how he was entrusted with the gospel:
v12 Begins w/ thanksgiving to Christ Jesus our Lord who strengthened me, because He considered him faithful, hence put him into service.
God strengthens those who are faithful and will put them into service.

v13 "even though I was formerly"-

• a blasphemer
• persecutor
• violent aggressor

Yet shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief.

v14 "and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus."

Paul did things in ignorance (unbelief) but was granted mercy- he didn't receive the punishment that he deserved. Rather he received grace, faith and love from God.

v15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.
Interestingly, Paul is writing Timothy to teach men not to teach unsound doctrine and in this first chapter, sound teaching is found right here in v15- a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance- that Jesus came into the world to save sinners! We just gotta stick to the truth!

Paul also identifies himself as the preeminent sinner in v15. But because he is the worst of all sinners, Christ demonstrated "perfect patience" to grant Paul mercy. When Paul was known as Saul, the Pharisee persecuting the Christians, I bet many Christians may have thought, "Why does God not act?" Have you ever heard that question posed? It's usually on the topic of pain and suffering. Why doesn't God step in and stop killers, rapists, etc.? Here Paul gives the reason he was granted mercy- because of Christ's "perfect patience."

What is perfect patience? It may be hard to accept and understand sometimes, but God had a purpose in allowing the Christians to be killed by Saul. Now "Paul," he says that it was so that it may be example for "those who would believe in Him for eternal life." Seeing the persecution of the church by Saul, God could have stopped him in a myriad of ways. But God was patient and merciful and called Saul, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"

Acts 1:5-And he(Saul)said, "Who are You, Lord?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, 6but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do."

"But" expresses God's mercy on Saul. Mercy in that God could have taken Saul down right then and there.
"And" expresses God's grace on Saul. Grace in that God gave Saul an opportunity to turn around from being the foremost of sinners to an apostle of Christ!

Back to 1 Timothy 1:16, Paul is saying that if he, the worst of the worst of sinners can be reformed by God, then no one is ever totally lost in this life. God has given each of us a time here on Earth to call him Savior and Lord, when that time is up and we've not put our full faith in Him, then we are totally lost to damnation.

Fittingly, Paul breaks into praise, v1:17- 17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

The chapter ends with Paul's commission again to Timothy-

18This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight,

19keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.

20Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.

v18-19, Paul commissions Timothy again fight the good fight = keeping faith and good conscience
Very similar to v5, love from:

1. pure heart
• no ulterior motives or agenda
  
2. good conscience
• doing what you know you should
  
3. sincere faith
• not a hypocrite
  

In this first chapter, Paul instructed Timothy what to do and how to do it.
What: He was to each men not to teach unsound doctrine. In other words, Timothy was to teach men how to teach sound doctrine, hence preventing them from teaching strange doctrines.
How: Out of love- with a pure heart, clean conscience, and a sincere faith.

Iron Man (Two Thumbs Up! Chick Flick!)

We're usually in the City on the weekends, in from the 'burbs, and stay at my parent's house. Sometimes when the kiddies are in bed, we take off for a late night date while my parent's are at home with the kids.

When "Iron Man" opened, I kinda really wanted to see it, but I wasn't dieing dieing to see it ASAP like "Superman Returns" or "Batman Begins." For those two, we didn't get to the theaters till long after they already moved them to smaller theater screens so my long suffering wife and I saw them on the IMAX screen at the Metreon. I figured, "Hey, if they're moved to small screens, might as well go see these mega blockbusters on the biggest screen available... IMAX baby!" Remember Superman was in IMAX 3-D BTW. And Batman fight scenes were pretty close up by the director's intention... so my wife got a little nauseous in that one.

Anyways, it had been a while since we went out on a late nighter. And my parents were leaving for a cruise to Alaska in a few days, so it was going to be a couple weeks until we'd have the convenience of free babysitting for a date.

But my wife always gives me, "Why can't we ever go to see a romantic movie?" To which I say, "We'd go if there were ever any good ones."

Anyways, I think I'm a loving husband... Sooooo... I was ready to take her to see "Made of Honor" which opened the same weekend as "Iron Man" Really!

Now, don't get me wrong. My wife is awesome. When I gleefully showed her the trailer for "Spider-Man" she sweetly, genuinely, immediately said to me, "I'd love to take you to see Spider-Man." She went to see "Spider-Man 3" with me while we were on vacation in Honolulu. Yeah- she's awesome.

Anyways... we're hustling the kids off to bed and she's browsing the newspaper to see what movies are out and I point out the review for "Made of Honor" in the SF Chronicle. I 100% would have taken her to see it if she still wanted to go. She flipped to the front of the Datebook section and saw the "Iron Man" review.

With the kids off to bed, she reluctantly said, "OK, Let's go." Whenever she's reluctant to go see one of my superhero/action movies my retort is, "Have I ever taken you to a bad movie?" Well, I think the only one would be "The Matrix Reloaded" in IMAX... the Burly Brawl made her a little nauseous.

As the movie came out over a month ago, you already know: Chicks dig Iron Man! So many of our lady friends rave about it. G loved it. Sure, she was tense through out the whole thing, but it was thrilling. She loved the story, the humor, RDJ, Gwyneth (hot!), and the Suit, of course.

I never read the "Iron Man" comic books so I went in pretty "clean." I thoroughly enjoyed it and walked out of the theater in awe thinking to myself that that was probably one of the best superhero movies ever.

So "Iron Man" is two thumbs up from us. And yes, it really is a chick flick.

It will be interesting to see how "The Dark Knight" compares with "Iron Man."

Galatians 1

Paul opens the letter to the Galatians by identifying himself to be 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." (1:1)

What is an apostle? "men who were commissioned by the Lord Himself and given the task of speaking authoritatively on doctrine and practice in the church." Therefore he establishes that his authority is from Christ Himself, for one issue in the 1st century church was a debate of whether to consider Paul an apostle since he was not among the original 12 disciples. We are to heed Paul's instructions as authoritative and from God.

Paul intended this letter to be distributed "to the churches (plural) of Galatia." (1:2)

Verse 1:3, sounds like a standard salutation:

3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

4who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of ^(J)our God and Father,

5to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.

Paul immediately launches into the gospel and reduces it down to just two verses- 1:4, 5

After the greeting, Paul launches directly into the central issue with the Galatians, they are "so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel." (1:6) "A different gospel" is an oxymoron as Paul explains in 1:7 that it is "really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and what to distort the gospel of Christ."

There is a sad irony in these first few verses of Galatians. Paul opens the letter by briefly procaiming the gospel in 1:3-5, which is the true gospel. Yet, in Chapter 1, the word "gospel" appears five times all within the first 11 verses:

1. 1:6 "a different gospel"
2. 1:7 "distort the gospel of Christ"
3. 1:8 "a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you"
4. 1:9 "gospel contrary to what you received"
5. 1:11 "gospel which was preached by me is not according to man"

In the first four appearances of the word "gospel" it is in the context of being contrary or perverted to the true gospel (1:3-5). Further, Paul clearly points out that the false gospel is from man (1:7, 9) as opposed to being from God and says twice in successive verses that any man who preaches a gospel that is contrary to what he has preached should be accursed! This is really important when we see something repeated two times like this.

Paul then poses the rhetorical question which may seem a little oddly placed. He says in 1:10-

10For 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.

Paul was talking about the true gospel being from God versus the false gospel from man. Suddenly Paul is talking about seeking favor from God or men. Imagine that Paul is the messenger carrying the gospel. In modern times, perhaps this is a spokeperson, or in Washington D.C. this would be the White House Press Secretary who conveys the Administration's message to the press. The messenger's job is to deliver the message, but who is the judge of whether that message is delivered accurately and well? Who is the messenger trying to please? The sender makes all the difference- is the gospel of God or of man? Paul of course is preaching the true gospel which is from God, hence he is seeking the favor of God and not of man.

This is a very important point for all of us to heed, for we all carry the gospel message wherever we go. And I hope you are praying for oppourtunities to preach the gospel wherever you are. We must remember that we are seeking to please God as we carry forth His message, and not men. "Men" could our parents, our pastor, our Christian friends, our manager at work- it could be anyone other than God! The gospel is not of man, but of God, so let us please the true Sender.

In 1:11 does Paul finally refer to the true gospel is "not according to man," "received it from man," "nor taught it" and then proceeds to explain that it is from God (1:12). Note how Paul talks about the gospel. We(man) do not give the gospel, nor teach it, but others received the gospel by revelation by Jesus Christ Himself!

Following, Paul recounts-

1. His life before Christ as a persecutor of Christians (1:13-14).
• "My former manner of life" 1:13
  
• Note the "I" pronoun.
  
2. How he became a Christian by God's calling through grace and by the revelation of Christ (1:15-16)
• Subject is God, not "I" - God is the active participant in a person's salvation.
  
• Pronoun is now "me"
  
3. His life after becoming a Christian: preaching the faith (1:16b-23)
• "I" pronoun again.
• Parenthetical statement ("Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying") likening to 1:1.
  
4. What it means to be a Christian (1:23-24)

• "They" pronoun
• Others would glorify God because of you!
  

In short, Paul is giving his testimony!

Note that Paul says that he was called to the Lord "through His grace." (1:15) Grace is receiving things you do not deserve. Grace is central to the salvation of Christ. "Not by works so that no one can boast." Notice that when Paul talks about his personal salvation story, the focus is not what he did to be saved, rather the focus is on what God did. In verses 1:15-16, God is the subject and the verb clauses are "set (me apart)", "called (me)", "was pleased to reveal." God is setting us apart (another way to say being made holy), calling us to Him through His grace and not by our works, and revealing His Son in us so that we might do what God's called us to do. For Paul that would be to preach Him among the Gentiles. Paul could have phrased it differently, but he says "to preach Him." (1:16) Very interesting. This kinda of recalls John 1, where the Word refers to Jesus. So Paul is to preach Jesus, the Word!

In 1:16-24, Paul recounts his early days as a Christian and makes a point to say that he was nor influenced by man-

1:16 "I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood"
1:17 "nor did I got to Jerusalem to whose who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus(Acts 9:2?)"
1:18 "The three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days.
1:19 "But I did not see any other of the apostles except James..."
1:21 "Then I went into the regions of Syria(Acts 15:23, 41) and Cilicia(Acts 6:9?)"
1:22 "I was still unknown by sight tot he churches of Judea which were in Christ"

Paul seems to be saying that he spent very little time with other Christians in his early days and even when he did they were apostles(Cephas) or an early church leader (James). This isn't revisionist history by Paul either. Looking back in the book of Acts, after Saul's conversion in Acts 9, Luke writes very little about Saul. Is whisked away from Jerusalem for the Hellenistic Jews there were seeking to kill him. We don't hear anything of him until Acts 11, when Barnabas brings him back from Tarsus to help with the church in Antioch.

I belive Paul is making a point of this "gospel of God vs. Man" thing because this establishes the foundation for the rest of this letter. And so he must establish that he is sent from God as an apostle and not sent by man.

Remember the innocuous salutation at the beginning of the chapter? In 1:3-

3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
4who 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,
5to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.

Paul is in fact greeting the Galatians with the whole point of his letter. The thesis is to live by the true gospel of Jesus Christ, a gospel of grace, liberty and freedom, which is from God, as opposed to living a gospel from man which is of the flesh, bondage and the Law.