Hi Everyone!
As we know, YAHSHUA Jesus the Christ told His Apostles/Disciples what to do in Acts 1:8 which state, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and you shall be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and Samaria, and to the remotest part of the earth.” And that is exactly what Jesus’ Apostles/Disciples did. And they wrote to those regions first, which is why I preached on the General Epistles first.
Saul, renamed Paul, after having been converted on the Road to Damascus by the direct intervention of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in Acts Chapter 9, went on to preach with Barnabus to the Judaeans, but according to Acts 11:45 through 47, “And on the next Sabbath almost the whole city was assembled to hear the Word of God. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with zeal and contradicted what was spoken by Paul, contradicting and reviling. Whereupon Paul and Barnabas with great freedom of speech said, It is necessary that the Word of God should be first spoken to you. But since you reject It, and judge yourselves unworthy of this everlasting life, behold we turn to the Gentiles; for thus the Lord hath commanded us, ‘I have set thee for the light of nations, that thou mayst be for salvation to the remotest parts of the earth.’”
As a result, Paul and Barnabus started preaching to the Gentiles. Now, before we go any further, let’s quickly explore this word.
In the Latin, the term, “Gentile(s),” comes from the Latin word, “gentīlis,” which means:
- of or belonging to the same family or gēns: kinsman
- of or relating to a tribe or clan: clansman, tribesman
- of or belonging to the same people or nation
In the Greek, the term, “Gentile(s),” comes from the Greek word, “ethnos,” which is Strong’s Concordance Number G1484 and is used 164 times in the New Testament, and simply means, “nations.”
So, IF we combine the Latin definition of the word, “Gentiles,” with the Biblical definition, which means, “Nations,” THEN, Paul and the other writers of the Bible are talking to the nations of or belonging:
To the same family, as in kinsmen,
To the same tribe or clan, as in clansman or tribesman, and/or
To the same people of that nation.
As we know, the New Testament was written in Greek, and as such, there is no such term that can be translated as “Gentiles,” but there is one in the Greek that can be translated as “Nations,” and that is “ETHNOS.”
And these are the people to whom Paul and Barnabus turned their attention after having been rejected by the Jews. They obeyed the Words of Jesus Christ as according to Acts 1:8. NOW, they were going to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to the remotest parts of the (Roman) earth.
IF we included Acts 29, then Paul went on Four Missionary Journeys.
But before we get into his Epistles, what do we know about Paul?
The New Testament contains more information about Paul than any other Apostle. He wrote of himself in many of his fourteen Epistles. In addition, the Book of the Acts of the Apostles contains firsthand, detailed accounts of Paul’s conversion, his ministry and his travels.
This synopsis can be found in The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Volume 3, pages 683 to 684, which state that, “We are dependent on Acts alone for most of our knowledge of Paul’s career. That he was born in Tarsus, and was a citizen of Tarsus by birth; that he was named Saul; that he was educated in Jerusalem at the feet of Gamaliel according to Acts 22:3; that he was present at the stoning of Stephen and was a persecutor of the Jerusalem Church; that he made a persecuting trip to Damascus and was converted as he approached this city; that he subsequently engaged in three distinct missionary journeys; that he was arrested in Jerusalem, appealed to Caesar as the right of a Roman citizen, and was sent to Rome for trial – all this we know only from Acts. Paul himself never mentions any one of these items.”
Saul was a Roman citizen by birth and was well educated. Growing up in Tarsus, he must have been educated in the Roman schools and by the local rabbis as well. He also must have been extremely gifted, because he was selected to go to Jerusalem for advanced studies in Judaism. Saul was taught there by Gamaliel, a Pharisee, the most renowned Jewish teacher of his day. There is no indication of Saul’s age when he went to Gamaliel’s school. Since Paul does not mention that he was in Jerusalem or Judaea during Jesus Christ’s ministry, it can only be assumed that he returned to Tarsus before Jesus began preaching.
Saul, the zealous persecutor who ravaged the Church, was the last person that anyone, other than God, would have called to be the Apostle to the Gentiles. But after Saul’s dramatic conversion (Acts 9:1 through 18), Jesus Christ called him “a chosen vessel to Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: for I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake” (Acts 9:15 and 16). Interestingly, Jesus specifically chose Saul – a zealous Pharisee steeped in Judaism – to ensure that Judaism and its traditional works of Law would never supplant the Grace of God through faith in Christ. Indeed, God works in mysterious ways!
After being baptized by Ananias, Saul remained in Damascus for a short time, testifying that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 9:19 through 22). Later, he went into Arabia for three years, during which time Jesus Christ personally taught him. Therefore, the Gospel that Paul preached did not come from any of the other Apostles – it came directly from Jesus Christ according to Galatians 1:11 through 19.
Aside from the Crucifixion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Lord’s call and conversion of Saul – who became Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles/Nations – is perhaps the greatest act of grace recounted in the New Testament. Because Paul had received this most profound grace, he fully understood the grace of God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, in the same way that God used the Apostle John to teach and write more on the love of God than any other Apostle, He used the Apostle Paul to teach and write more about the magnificent grace of God than any other Apostle.
Paul’s Ministry and Apostleship:
Luke adds more details about Paul’s visit to Jerusalem after he returned from Arabia in 36 A.D. According to Acts 9:20 through 26, “And when Saul came to Jerusalem, he attempted to join himself to the Disciples; but all were afraid of him, not believing that was a Disciple. Then Barnabas took him and brought him to the Apostles [James and Peter], and related to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. And he was with them, coming in and going out in Jerusalem, and speaking boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then he spoke and disputed with the Greeks, but they attempted to kill him. And when the brethren learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus.”
Paul remained in Tarsus until 40 A.D. By that time, through the preaching of the Disciples, God had raised up a great number of Gentile believers in Antioch, the first converts to be called “Christians.” The Apostles sent Barnabas to minister to them, but there were so many Disciples that Barnabas went to Tarsus and found Paul and brought him to Antioch to help him minister to them (Acts 11:20 through 26).
Four years later, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Paul were ordained as Apostles – and soon afterwards were sent on their first evangelistic tour (Acts 13 1 through 4). During this first tour, Saul was renamed Paul (Acts 13:9).
The Nature of Paul’s Epistles:
During the next twenty years of the Apostle Paul’s ministry, he and his helpers traveled extensively. God used him to raise up numerous churches throughout Asia Minor, Galatia, Greece, Rome, Italy, Spain, and perhaps other countries not mentioned in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. Paul wrote Epistles to the churches to instruct them in the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and to address questions pertaining to Christian living. Fourteen of the New Testament Epistles were written by Paul. Nine were written to seven specific churches: Romans, First and Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and First and Second Thessalonians. Four are called “Pastoral Epistles” because they were written to ministers who had worked with Paul: First and Second Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. With regard to the Book of Hebrews, most scholars believe that Paul wrote The Epistle to the Hebrews, while others believe that Barnabus and/or Apollos wrote it. For all intents and purposes, we will include Hebrews as a Pauline Epistle.
Apparently, the only Epistle that Paul wrote with his own hand was that addressed to the Galatians according to Galatians 6:11. He usually dictated his Epistles to a scribe. Paul used Luke quite extensively, along with Silas, Timothy, and perhaps John Mark and others as scribes.
For this sermon series, we will go Epistle by Epistle as Paul wrote them in chronological order with regard to his Missionary Journeys. For example:
First Missionary Journey (45 to 47 A.D.):
No Epistles were written.
Second Missionary Journey (51 to 54 A.D.):
The First Epistle to the Thessalonians was written from Corinth.
The Second Epistle to the Thessalonians was written from Corinth.
Third Missionary Journey (54 to 58 A.D.):
The First Epistle to the Corinthians was written from Ephesus.
The Second Epistle to the Corinthians was written from Macedonia.
The Epistle to the Galatians was written from Greece.
The Epistle to the Romans was written from Corinth.
First Roman Imprisonment (61 to 63 A.D.):
The Following Epistles were written from a Roman Prison:
The Epistle to Philemon
The Epistle to the Colossians
The Epistle to the Ephesians
The Epistle to the Philippians
The Epistle to the Hebrews
Between the First and Second Imprisonments (63 to 67 A.D.):
The First Epistle to Timothy was written from Macedonia.
The Epistle to Titus was written from Ephesus.
Second Roman Imprisonment (68 A.D.):
The Second Epistle to Timothy was written from a Roman Prison.
This would be Paul’s last Epistle before being martyred by Emperor Nero.
According to II Corinthians 11:21 through 33, Paul, for preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God:
1. Was whipped five times with thirty-nine stripes (not forty – for he was a Roman citizen);
2. Beaten with rods three times;
3. Stoned once;
4. Shipwrecked three times;
5. Spent a whole night and day in the deep; as well as
6. Being in danger from rivers, robbers, fellow countrymen, the wilderness, at sea, and among false brethren, just to name a few, and then
7. He was ultimately martyred.
According to Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, the Apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome in 61 A.D. and while there, he wrote his prison Epistles to Philemon, the Colossians, the Ephesians, the Philippians, and the Hebrews. His imprisonment ended approximately three years later during the year that Rome burned, which was in May of 64 A.D. (Acts 28:30). During his brief freedom, according to the Sonnini Manuscript of Acts 29, Paul visited Britain, which was the remotest part of the Roman Empire/Earth. Paul also wrote his First Epistle to Timothy and his Epistle to Titus during this interval period.
At first, Emperor Nero was blamed for setting fire to Rome, so to direct the blame away from himself, Nero blamed the Christians. As a result, a fierce persecution broke out against them. During it, Paul was arrested and put back into prison in Rome, during which time he wrote his Second Epistle to Timothy, which would be his last Epistle.
Not long after, Paul was judge guilty of crimes against Emperor Nero and condemned to death. He was taken to the execution block and beheaded in 68 A.D. He worked out his salvation with fear and trembling and was rewarded with the Crown of Life.
Remember what Our Lord and Savior said in Matthew 7:13 and 14, “Enter in at the strait gate. Because the gate is wide and the way broad which leadeth to destruction, therefore many there are who go in through it: because the gate is strait and the way narrow, which leadeth to life, therefore there are few who find it.” Paul did, as did the other Apostles/Disciples. We can too!
Also remember what Jesus said in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that you may have peace in Me. In this world, you will have trouble (tribulation); but take courage: I have overcome the world.” Throughout The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which we will discuss next week, we are told over and over again to “overcome.” IF we do, we are rewarded by YAHSHUA Jesus the Christ personally! That is our challenge as Christians in this world today! We must separate ourselves if we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling and be overcomers, just like Our Lord and Savior commanded us to do!
Now, let’s begin to discuss in earnest the first five of Paul’s fourteen Epistles:
The First Epistle to the Thessalonians is divided into four major sections:
Paul’s Salutation as found in Chapter 1:1.
Paul’s Personal Relations with the Thessalonians as found in Chapter 1:2 through Chapter 3:13 with the following six subsections:
Paul’s Commendation of the Thessalonians
A Review of Paul’s Ministry, Message, and Conduct at Thessalonica
A Review of the Thessalonians’ Response to the Gospel
Paul’s Explanation of His Failure to Return to Thessalonica
The Mission of Timothy to Thessalonica
Paul’s Specific Prayer
Practical Exhortations as found in Chapter 4:1 through Chapter 5:22 with the following six subsections:
The Sanctification that Fulfills God’s Will
The Love that Thinks of Others
The Life that Speaks to Outsiders
The Hope that Comforts Believers
The Day of the Lord
Varied Exhortations to the Saints
Paul’s Final Greetings to the Thessalonians as found in Chapter 5:23 through 28.
There are many very important verses in this Epistle, but here are some important verses to remember from Paul’s First Epistle to the Thessalonians:
First Thessalonians 2:14 states, “For you, brethren, became imitators of the congregations of God which are in Judaea in Christ Jesus.”
First Thessalonians 2:15 through 17 states, “Because you suffered from your countrymen the same treatment as they did from the Jews (from those indeed who slew the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and persecuted us, and who please not God, and are in opposition to all men, hindering us from speaking to the nations that they may be saved; thus filling up the measure of their sins continually: but the wrath is at last coming upon them), therefore we brethren, being torn from you for a short time – in person, not in heart, did the more earnestly endeavor to see your face.”
First Thessalonians 3:11 through 13 states, “Now may He Himself, our God and Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you! And may the Lord cause you to increase and about in love for one another and for all men, (as we do for you) so as to establish your hearts unblameable in holiness, in the presence of our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ will all His Holy Ones.”
First Thessalonians 4:15 through 18 states, “For this we tell you by a word of the Lord that we the living who are left till the coming of the Lord shall not anticipate them who are laid to rest – that the Lord Himself, with an authoritative command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ shall be raised first; afterwards we who are left alive shall, together with them, be conveyed in clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so, we shall be forever with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.”
First Thessalonians 5:1 through 4 states, “Now, in respect to the times and the seasons, you, brethren, have no need of our writing to you; for you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord cometh as a thief at night. For whilst they are saying, there is peace and safety, sudden destruction is then upon them, like the pangs of a woman in travail, and they cannot escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that this day should break upon you at unawares as a thief.”
First Thessalonians 5:5 through 11 states, “You are all children of light and children of the day. We are not of night, nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as others do; but let us watch and be sober. For they who sleep, sleep at night; and they who get drunk are drunk at night. But as we are of the day, let us be sober, arming ourselves with the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet with the hope of salvation. Because God hath not stationed us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep we may live with Him; therefore comfort one another, and edify one another, as indeed you do.”
First Thessalonians 4:18 through 24 states, “Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things and adhere to what is good. Abstain from every appearance of evil. And may the God this peace Himself sanctify you entirely! And may the whole of you – the spirit and the soul, and the body, be preserved blameless to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calleth you is faithful, and will do this.”
The Second Epistle to the Thessalonians is divided into six main sections:
Paul’s Salutation as found in Chapter 1:1 and 2
Paul and the Thessalonians as found in Chapter 1:3 through 12 with the following three subsections:
Paul’s Debt of Thanks
The Righteous Judgment of God
Paul’s Prayer for the Saints
Concerning the Day of the Lord as found in Chapter 2:1 through 12 with the following two subsections:
An Appeal for Stability
The Man of Sin
Thanksgiving and Prayer as found in Chapter 2:13 through 17 with the following two subsections:
Paul’s Thanks that the Saints Would Escape Judgment
Paul’s Prayer that the Saints Would Be Comforted and Established
Practical Exhortations as found in Chapter 3:1 through 15 with the following two subsections:
For Mutual Prayer
For Dealing with the Insubordinate
Paul’s Blessing and Greeting as found in Chapter 3:16 through 18
There are many very important verses in this Epistle, but here are some important verses to remember from Paul’s Second Epistle to the Thessalonians:
Second Thessalonians 1:5 through 11 states, “Indeed by these afflictions which you endure there is a clear evidence of the righteous judgment of God that you are account worthy of the Kingdom of God for which you actually suffer; since it is just with God to retribute affliction to them who afflict you; and to you who are afflicted, rest with us at the manifestation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his mighty angels, executing, with flaming fire, vengeance on them who know not God, and on them who hearken not to the Glad Tidings of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall suffer punishment, an everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His Majesty, on the day when He shall come to be glorified by His Saints, and to be admired by all those who believe that He was entrusted with this testimony of ours to you:”
Second Thessalonians 2:1 through 6 states, “Now, with respect this Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the gathering of us together to Him, we beseech you, brethren, not to be hastily shaken from your purpose; nor alarmed by any spirit, or by any word, or by any letter as from us, as if the Day of the Christ was at hand. Let no one by any means deceive you that it is, until the apostasy hath first come, and the man of sin hath been revealed – that son of perdition who setteth himself against, and exalteth himself above, all that is called God, or an object of worship; so as to seat himself as God in the temple of God, pointing himself out that he is God. Do you not remember that while I was yet with you, I told you these things?
Second Thessalonians 2:7 through 10 states, “And you know what it is which now restraineth, to the end that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of this iniquity is now in operation, but there is one who yet restraineth. When he is out of the way, then will be revealed that Lawless one, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth. With the brightness of His Coming He will indeed put a stop to the operations of him, whose coming is according to the energy of Satan, with all the power, and signs, and wonders of falsehood, and with all the deceit of this unrighteousness among them who perish.”
Second Thessalonians 2:11 and 12 states, “Because they did not embrace the love of the truth that they might be saved; for this cause therefore, God will send them the energy of delusion, that they may believe this falsehood; that all may be condemned who have not believed the truth but have taken pleasure in unrighteousness.”
The First Epistle to the Corinthians is divided into five main sections:
Paul’s Introduction as found in Chapter 1:1 through 9 with two subsections:
Paul’s Salutation
Thanksgiving
Disorders in the Church as found in Chapter 1:10 through Chapter 6:20 with the following four subsections:
Divisions among Believers
Immorality among Believers
Lawsuits among Believers
Moral Laxness among Believers
Apostolic Answers to Church Questions as stated in Chapters 7 through 14 with the following five subsections:
Concerning Marriage and Celibacy
Concerning Eating Meats Offered to Idols
Concerning Women’s Head-Coverings
Concerning the Lord’s Supper
Concerning the Gifts of the Spirit and Their Use in the Church
Paul’s Answer to Deniers of the Resurrection as found in Chapter 15 with the following three subsections:
The Certainty of the Resurrection
Consideration of Objections to the Resurrection
Concluding Appeal in Light of the Resurrection
Paul’s Final Counsel as stated in Chapter 16 with the following three subsections:
Concerning the Collection
Concerning His Personal Plans
Paul’s Closing Exhortations and Greetings
There are many very important verses in this Epistle, but here are some important verses to remember from Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians:
First Corinthians 2:10 through 16 states, “For this Spirit searcheth all things, even the depths of God. For who of mankind knoweth the things of a man, but only the Spirit of the man which is in him? So, no one knoweth the things of God, but the Spirit of God only. Now we have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit, which is from God, that we may know the things which God hath freely granted to us, which things we indeed speak, not in set words of human wisdom, but in the dictated Words of a Holy Spirit, explaining spiritual things by spiritual words. Now an animal man receiveth not those dictates of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot know them, because they are to be spiritually examined; but the spiritual man examineth all things and is himself examined by no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Who can instruct him? As for us, we have the mind of Christ.”
First Corinthians 3:16 and 17 states, “Do you not know that you are a Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If anyone corrupt the Temple of God, him God will destroy; for the Temple of God is Holy.”
First Corinthians 6:19 and 20 states, “Do you not know that your body is a Temple of a Holy Spirit in you, which you have from God? Indeed, you are not your own; for you have been bought with a price. There glorify God with your body and with your spirit which are His.”
First Corinthians 10:13 and 14 states, “No trial hath come upon you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful and will not suffer you to be tried above your strength but will with the trial make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”
First Corinthians 15:51 through 57 states, “Behold I tell you a secret: We shall not all be composed to rest; but we shall all be changed in a moment – in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for it will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruptibility; and this mortal must put on immortality. Now when this corruptible shall have put on incorruptibility; and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then will be brought to pass the word which is written, Death is completely swallowed up. O death where is thy sting? Where thy victory, O grave? Sin is indeed the sting of death; and the Law is the strength of sin: but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The Second Epistle to the Corinthians is divided into three main sections:
Paul’s Exposition of the Ministry as found in Chapters 1 through 7 with the following thirteen subsections:
Paul’s Salutation
The Ministry of Comfort in Suffering
The Explanation of Paul’s Change of Plans
Paul’s Credentials for the Ministry
The Old and New Covenants Contrasted
Paul’s Obligation to Preach a Clear Gospel
An Earthen Vessel with a Heavenly Destiny
Living in the Light of Jesus Christ’s Judgment Seat
Paul’s Good Conscience in the Ministry
Paul’s Appeal for Openness and Affection
Paul’s Appeal for Scriptural Separation
Paul’s Joy at the Good News from Corinth
Paul’s Exhortation to Complete the Collection for the Jerusalem Saints as found in Chapters 8 and 9 with the following six subsections:
Good Examples of Generous Giving
Good advice to Complete the Collection
Three Good Principles for Generous Giving
Three Good Brethren to Prepare the Collection
An Appeal to the Corinthians to Justify Paul’s Boasting of Them
The Good Rewards of Generous Giving
Paul’s Vindication of His Apostleship as found in Chapters 10 through 13 with the following eleven subsections:
Paul’s Reply to His Accusers
Paul’s Principle to Break new Ground for Jesus Christ
Paul’s Supreme Goal: The Commendation of the Lord
Paul’s Assertion of His Apostleship
Paul’s Sufferings for Jesus Christ Support His Apostleship
Paul’s Revelations Support His Apostleship
Paul’s Signs Support His Apostleship
Paul’s Pending Visit to Corinth
Paul’s Apostleship Supported by the Corinthians Themselves
Paul’s Desire to Do the Corinthians Good
Paul’s Gracious Trinitarian Farewell
There are many very important verses in this Epistle, but here are some important verses to remember from Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians:
Second Corinthians 5:6 through 10 states, “Therefore we are always undaunted, (as we know that while we are dwelling in this body we are sojourning abroad from the Lord; For we walk by faith and not by sight😉 and go on undaunted (as we think it better for us to be abroad from the body and at home with the Lord😉 and therefore make it the height of our ambition, whether staying or going, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of the Christ, that everyone may receive according to what he hath done in this bodily state, whether good or evil.”
Second Corinthians 5:17 states, “So that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things are passed away, behold! All those things are made new.”
Second Corinthians 6:14 through 18 states, “Form no associations with unbelievers; for what fellowship is there between righteousness and unrighteousness? What communion hath light with darkness? What concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement hath the Temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the Living God. As God hath said, “Because I will dwell among them and walk about among them, and will be their God, and they shall be My People; therefore come out from among them and separate yourselves, saith the Lord, and touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you, and be to you a Father, and you shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
Paul is directly quoting Leviticus 26:12 and Jeremiah 31:33.
Second Corinthians 10:3 through 6 states, “For walking in flesh, not after the flesh, we are carrying on a war (the weapons of our warfare being indeed not carnal but mighty through God for the demolition of fortifications) demolishing surmises and every mount raised against the knowledge of God, and bringing every sentiment captive to the obedience of the Christ; and being in a state of readiness to punish every act of disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”
Second Corinthians 10:14 and 15 state, “For such as they are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into Apostles of Christ. Nor is this to be wondered at; for Satan himself putteth on the appearance of an angel of light: No wonder, then, if his ministers transform themselves to appear like ministers of righteousness. But their end will be according to their works.”
Second Corinthians 12:7 through 10 states, “But I forbear, lest any should ascribe to me beyond what He seeth me, or heareth of me. Indeed, that I might not be too much elated by the astonishing greatness of these revelations, there was given me a thorn for the flesh, A MESSENGER OF SATAN to buffet me, that I might not be too much elated. For this I besought the Lord thrice, THAT IT MIGHT DEPART FROM ME. Whereupon He said to me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is perfected in weakness. Therefore, I will with the greatest pleasure, rather boast of my weaknesses, that the power of the Christ may shelter me. I feel therefore a complacency in weaknesses, in reproaches, in difficulties, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ; for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
For centuries, scholars have debated over just what was Paul’s PHYSICAL ailment. However, Charles Thomson in his English translation of the Greek New Testament in 1808 stated that it was A MESSENGER OF SATAN TO BUFFET HIM, and that he prayed three times to the LORD that IT might depart from him. But Jesus told Paul that His Grace was sufficient for him. So, on top of all of the other physical things that Paul suffered for preaching The Gospel of The Kingdom of God, he was being mentally and/or spiritually challenged by a Messenger of Satan.
The Epistle to the Galatians is divided into three main sections:
From a Personal Perspective: Paul Defends His Authority as found in Chapters 1 and 2 with the following three subsections:
Paul’s Purpose in Writing
Paul’s Defense of His Message and Ministry
Paul Rebukes Peter
From a Doctrinal Perspective: Paul Defends Justification by Faith as found in Chapter 3:1 through Chapter 5:1 with the following five subsections:
The Great Truth of the Gospel
The Law Versus the Promise
The Purpose of the Law
Children and Sons
Bondage or Freedom
From a Practical Perspective: Paul Defends Christian Freedom in the Spirit as found in Chapter 5:2 through Chapter 6:18 with the following four subsections:
The Peril of Legalism
Power for Holiness
Practical Exhortations
Paul’s Conclusion
There are many very important verses in this Epistle, but here are some important verses to remember from Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians:
Galatians 2:19 and 20 states, “As for me, I by Law died to Law, that I may live to God. I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live – not I myself anymore, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in flesh, I live by that belief which I have in the Son of God, who loved me and delivered up Himself for me.”
Galatians 3:7 through 10 states, “As Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness, know therefore, that they who are believers are children of Abraham. The Scripture indeed, foreseeing that God would justify the nations for belief, predicted to Abraham the Glad Tidings (Gospel) [in these words,] ‘By thee all the nations shall be blessed.’ So that they who are believers are blessed with the believing Abraham.”
Paul is quoting Genesis 12:3; 18:18; and 22:18.
Galatians 3:11 through 14 states, “For as many as are of works of Law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who will not persevere in all that are written in the Book of the Law to do them.’ And that none is justified by Law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘the just shall live because of belief.’ Now the Law is not because of faith, but ‘The man who doth these things shall live by them.’ From this curse of the Law Christ hath redeemed us, being made a curse for us; (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is suspended on a cross,’) that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the nations by Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit by means of this belief.”
Paul is quoting from Deuteronomy 27:26 and Habakkuk 2:4, where it states, “The just shall live by faith in Me (YAHWEH).”
Galatians 3:24 and 25 states, “So that the Law was our tutor to guide us to Christ, that we might be justified for belief. But this belief being come, we are no longer under a tutor; for you are all children of God by means of this belief in Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 3:29 states, “And if you are Christ’s, you are then the seed of Abraham and heirs according to promise.”
Galatians 4:4 through 7 states, “So we also when minor were in bondage, under the elements of the world; but when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman; born under Law that He might redeem those under Law – that we may receive the adoption of children. And because you are children, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father. So that thou art no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son; then an heir of God through Christ.”
Galatians 4:17 states, “Am I then become your enemy, because I tell you truth?”
Galatians 4:22 through 31 tells us that the promise comes through Isaac, who was the son of the spirit through Sarah, not Ishmael, who was the son of the flesh through Hagar.
Galatians 4:16 through 25 states, “This then I say, walk by the Spirit and by no means fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the inclinations of the flesh are contrary to the Spirit; and the inclinations of the Spirit are contrary to the flesh; they are opposed to one another; so that you do not, what you wish; but if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under Law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest – they are these – adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, fascinations, enmities, strifes, emulations, animosities, contentions, factions, sects, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and the like, of which I forewarn you, as I have indeed before declared that they who practice such things shall NOT inherit the Kingdom of God: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, temperance – against such things there is no Law. Now they who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. IF we live by Spirit, let us walk by Spirit. Let us NOT be vain glorious, provoking one another, envying one another.”
Galatians 6:6 states, “For everyone shall bear his own burden.”
Galatians 6:7 through 10 states, “Be not deceived. God is not to be imposed on; for whatever a man soweth, that he shall reap. Because he who soweth for his flesh shall from flesh reap corruption; but he who soweth for the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap life everlasting; therefore, let us not be weary in well doing, for in due time we shall reap without being tired. As we therefore have an opportunity, let us do good to all, but more especially to them who are of the household of faith.”
Paul’s whole Epistle to the Galatians should be retained in our memories so that we might not sin against God!
Remember what YAHSHUA Jesus the Christ told us in John 16:33 – “These things I have spoken to you, that you may have peace in Me. In this world, you will have trouble/tribulation; but take courage: I have overcome the world.” Paul suffered a lot on behalf of YAHSHUA Jesus the Christ and The Gospel of The Kingdom of God.
We should not expect to be treated any differently. We, too, should expect the same trouble/tribulation in our lives IF we are preaching the same Gospel as that of YAHSHUA Jesus the Christ and Paul, as well as all of the other Apostles/Disciples and Martyrs throughout our Christian History…
YAHWEH Bless!
Justin