Galatians: Gospel-Rooted Living

by Todd Wilson, R. Kent Hughes (Editor)

Overview

Paul's letter to the Galatians stands as a key book in the Bible, especially as it relates to the Old Testament Law and to the Christian's "freedom in Christ." Paul's emphasis on Jesus's substitutionary death, justification by faith, and the work of the Spirit makes the letter crucial for a complete understanding of the New Testament's teaching on salvation through faith in Christ. Combining scholarly depth with practical wisdom, pastor Todd Wilson has written a commentary based on years of ministry experience and biblical reflection, resulting in a resource that is exegetically engaged, theologically informed, and pastorally relevant. Paul's passionate exhortation for the Galatians to return and cling to the gospel that saved them remains relevant today, reminding modern readers of the importance of God's grace for all of life.

Part of the Preaching the Word series.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433522840
Publisher:	Crossway
Publication date:	07/31/2013
Series:	Preaching the Word Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	890,556
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Todd Wilson (PhD, Cambridge University) is the cofounder and president of the Center for Pastor Theologians, a ministry dedicated to resourcing pastor theologians. He is the author of several books, including The Pastor Theologian. Todd and his wife, Katie, have seven children.

Todd Wilson (PhD, Cambridge University) is the cofounder and president of the Center for Pastor Theologians, a ministry dedicated to resourcing pastor theologians. He is the author of several books, including The Pastor Theologian. Todd and his wife, Katie, have seven children.

R. Kent Hughes (DMin, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is senior pastor emeritus of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, and former professor of practical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hughes is also a founder of the Charles Simeon Trust, which conducts expository preaching conferences throughout North America and worldwide. He serves as the series editor for the Preaching the Word commentary series and is the author or coauthor of many books. He and his wife, Barbara, live in Spokane, Washington, and have four children and an ever-increasing number of grandchildren.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

Go Back to Grace

GALATIANS 1:1–5

I WOULD LIKE TO TELL you a story. It's about a young man who ruined his life. He left home, traveled abroad, and wasted his fortune on shallow pursuits and empty pleasures. Eventually he came to the end of his rope: he was out of money, out of food, out of help, and out of hope. This profligate is better known as the prodigal son in Jesus' famous parable.

There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, "Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me." And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. (Luke 15:11–16)

What do we do when we've made a mess of things? Where do we go when we've blown it badly? To what do we turn when we've embittered our child with harsh words, when we've betrayed our spouse with sheer stupidity, when we've alienated a colleague or a classmate with a series of me-first choices, when we've driven a wedge between friends or sown discord among congregants? Where do we go when we've been insensitive, thoughtless, or downright obnoxious? How do we respond when we've drifted away from the faith, compromised the gospel, or turned our back on God?

Grace to You in Galatia

Typically when we sin we like to hide — either our sin or ourselves or both. This is a natural response, hardwired into our genes. We get this instinct from our first parents, the progenitors of the human race, Adam and Eve. When they sinned, they hid (cf. Genesis 3:8–10). And humanity's been hiding ever since.

When Paul's young converts in Galatia first heard his letter of rebuke read aloud, they too, no doubt, wanted to run and hide. As far as Paul was concerned, they'd gone prodigal! They'd turned their faith inside out and upside down; that's what happens when we turn our back on grace and seek to be justified by the Law!

The Apostle Paul is flabbergasted by this dramatic turn of events, though he's not quite speechless. "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" (1:6). "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?" (3:1). "I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain" (4:11). "You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace" (5:4).

The Galatians find themselves in a serious situation; in fact, it couldn't be more serious. Paul knows it, and they now know it. Yet notice where this big-hearted apostle leads these wayward young converts. He doesn't take them out behind the shed for a good whipping or banish them to the doghouse for their retribution. Nor does he vent his frustration with them on Facebook or tweet their crime in one hundred and forty characters or less.

Instead the apostle who gave them birth takes them back to where it all began: grace. He takes them back to grace. In the middle of the letter's opening paragraph Paul says these easily glided-over but vitally precious words: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (1:3). Paul's saying, "You've made a mess of things, but all's not lost! Go back to where you began; go back to grace. And there you'll find just what you need — everything you need, the only thing you need. There you'll find grace."

Yet Paul knows the Galatians will have a tough time going back to grace because they've lost confidence in the gospel he preached.

Here's what happened. After Paul left Galatia, his converts came under the influence of certain individuals who discredited his apostleship, called into question the validity of his gospel, and insisted his converts were only half-baked and needed to go all the way and get circumcised, if they were going to shore up their status of children of God.

These "Judaizers," as they're commonly called, were apparently quite effective in persuading the Galatians of the necessity of circumcision, if not the need to embrace the Jewish law as a whole. Of course, they "could have drawn on a powerful battery of arguments to commend the law to the Galatian Christians." In addition, they could have pointed to a number of advantages to circumcision in particular: sharing in the blessing of Abraham (3:6–18), securing their identity as the "sons of God" (3:23–4:7), even finding assistance in the battle against "the desires of the flesh" (5:16).

As a result, Paul's once enthusiastic converts were now ambivalent at best. They'd developed misgivings about whether Paul had told them the whole story and whether his gospel could get them to where they needed to go spiritually. Thus they were suffering from a bad case of buyer's remorse (cf. 4:15, 16), the upshot of which was to turn away from the one who called them in the grace of Christ and turn to a different gospel, the one the Judaizers preached (1:6, 7). So serious, in fact, was their crisis of faith, they were ready to submit to the knife and get circumcised, no small step for them to take given the widespread antipathy toward circumcision among pagans and the inherent undesirability and risks of the procedure for adult males living in the ancient Mediterranean world.

Paul's Message Is Legitimate

Some of us find ourselves in a similar situation to the Galatians. We embraced the gospel with great enthusiasm at first, but we've found that living the Christian life isn't what we expected. As a result, we too wrestle with a bit of buyer's remorse, wondering whether something more is needed to get us to where we want to go in life.

This is just where the Galatians were, which is why Paul's very first word to them is to insist that the message of grace still stands. But, notice, he speaks not about the message but the messenger: "Paul, an apostle — not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead" (v. 1).

Does he say this because he's insecure about his own credentials? No, but in order to reassert the legitimacy of his gospel! For if Paul himself isn't legitimate, that is, if he's not truly an apostle sent from God, then his gospel isn't legitimate either. It's that simple. This is why Paul insists on his God-given commission here, something he'll go on to do at greater length in this and the next chapter (cf. 1:11 — 2:10).

This is also why he appeals to the fact that he stands together with a band of fellow gospel workers as he writes to the Galatians — "and all the brothers who are with me" (v. 2). Paul is no lone ranger, a renegade working in isolation from the rest of the early church. The gospel he preaches and the gospel the Galatians first believed is the same gospel preached by Paul's cohorts and many others.

We see, then, Paul insisting that he's a real agent of grace. Indeed, this is the point of his apostleship: to extend grace to others on God's behalf! This is also the point of Galatians: Galatians exists for grace! That's why Paul writes this letter: he wants to see grace unleashed on a desperate situation.

More importantly, God wants to unleash grace. That's why the church needs not only Galatians but all of Paul's letters, each one of which begins and ends with grace. Indeed, this is why we have the Scriptures as a whole, both Old and New Testaments, because God desires to unleash his grace in our lives through his inspired Word, the Bible!

From Genesis to Revelation the Word of God is a treasure trove of grace. Golden coins of comfort, costly pearls of assurance, precious jewels of promise are all found in the pages of Scripture. In fact, everything that was written in the Bible was written for us, that "through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Romans 15:4).

Therefore, every time we make a mess of things, we must go back to grace by going back to the Word of God. When we blow it, we must not neglect Scripture. Instead of closing our Bible let's open it, read it, look to it, dwell in it! Again, when we sin our tendency is to neglect or even hide, because the Word of God is indeed "living and active ... discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). But nowhere else will we find the very thing we need when we make a mess of things. There alone, in God's Word, will we find a message of grace — the gospel. Part of what it means to go back to grace, then, is to go back to the Bible, where the message of grace can be found.

Jesus' Sacrifice Is Sufficient

For Paul it's not enough to reestablish the legitimacy of his gospel. Sure, it may be true, but is it adequate? He therefore needs to demonstrate the sufficiency of the gospel as well. Paul knows he must convince the Galatians that the grace of God, turned loose on the world through the death of Christ, is more than able to meet their spiritual needs.

After Paul left Galatia, the Galatians came under the influence of certain teachers who were promoting the Jewish law as an effective way to advance spiritually (cf. 3:3). In addition, we can assume the Galatians themselves had probably found the Jewish law appealing because of the promise it held out for spiritual help. No doubt they also found themselves frustrated and fatigued with the same thing we often find frustrating and fatiguing: the continuing presence of sin in our lives.

Do we realize we need to be rescued from the dominion of sin? Sin is a lordless power, a godless force. Sin is not merely a one-time thing, an event, an action, something that's over once you've done it. Instead sin has after effects; it lives on! And these aftereffects, in turn, affect us. Is there a way to break free from this sin that so easily entangles?

Paul's answer is a resounding yes! There is. But it's not the path of the Law; it's the cross of Christ. Deliverance from sin and from "the present evil age" comes only one way; indeed, grace itself comes only one way: through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age" (vv. 3, 4).

Thus Paul drives the Galatians back to this fundamental fact: Christ gave himself for our sins. For the death of Christ alone explains the presence of grace in our lives; and the death of Christ alone opens the wellspring of salvation: justification, sanctification, glorification.

O for a thousand tongues to sing My great Redeemer's praise,
So, then, when we sin, we don't need to hide from God. When we blow it really badly, we don't have to run away. When we're discouraged with where we are spiritually, we shouldn't flirt with other stuff but instead go back to the cross of Christ, return to the source of grace: the sacrificial self-giving of the Son for our sins.

"Amen" Is All It Takes

But how do we go back to grace? How do we get there? This is a pressing question for some of us because we've blown it big-time. We've all been there. Perhaps we have begun to doubt whether there's any hope for us, any solution. But we've heard that we can go back to grace, and we want toknow how.

"Amen" is all it takes!

This is where Paul leads the Galatians: to utter their "Amen" to all that God has done for them in Christ. Notice the truly remarkable way in which he closes this letter's salutation: "[Jesus] gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen" (1:4, 5).

This is not a typical way to address a letter, is it? But with this closure Paul ushers the Galatians into the very atmosphere of worship, and by rehearsing what God has done for them in Christ, he invites them to voice their agreement to this great salvation with the confession, "Amen."

You see, the way back to grace couldn't be simpler: we only have to say, "Amen." I'm quite tempted to say that it couldn't be any easier. But I don't want you to think uttering, "Amen" is easy. Because it's not!

In fact, saying "Amen" may be the hardest thing we've ever done. Saying "Amen" is not something we simply do with our head. "Amen" is not "Yep" or "Sure" or "Got it." "Amen" is something we say with our heart.

When we say, "Amen," we're more than observers; we've moved from being spectators to being participants. "Amen" is our way of entering into this divine drama, taking up our part, assuming our role in the story of grace called the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Until we do that, we're simply sitting in the audience, out of the action, away from the benefits of grace.

"Amen" is, then, the only entry point into the world of grace. There's no other way in. We can't find grace in any other way because grace is only given to those who have faith; and the voice of faith is expressed in the word "Amen."

A Letter for Prodigals

Galatians is often viewed as a letter for legalists, for those who seek to earn God's favor by their works. And in a sense that is what Galatians is about. But Galatians is also a letter for prodigals — for those who have made a mess of their own lives, who are on the verge of apostasy, almost ready to shipwreck their faith, on the brink of moral or spiritual disaster.

Galatians begins and ends by calling wayward believers back to grace; therefore, it's perfect for prodigals. Galatians never tires of saying to us: the message of grace still stands; the fountain of grace still flows; the way back to grace couldn't be easier — all it takes is a heartfelt "Amen," uttered in response to all that God has done for us in Christ.

This is the good news every prodigal needs to hear! This is the message every profligate son or wayward daughter needs to hear. This is the assurance every drifting church or disillusioned Christian needs to hear. This is the promise every wandering soul in our own prodigal world needs to hear!

But when [the prodigal son] came to himself, he said, "How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.'" And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son." But the father said to his servants, "Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found." And they began to celebrate. (Luke 15:17–24)

Resolved: Go Back to Grace

Understand, then, this all-important first lesson of Galatians, this first principle of gospel-rooted living: Go back to grace. As we strive to move forward in the Christian life, we must remember that we need to go back — again and again and again — to grace. We'll need to go back to grace in order to move forward in life.

I challenge us all to make the following not only a New Year's resolution but a perpetual resolution that we are determined to keep: Every time I blow it, I'll go back to grace. I won't ignore it, play dumb, hide, or try to pass the buck to my spouse or my boss or my mom or my dad or my neighbor or my genes or my personality or my upbringing or my financial situation! Instead I'll look my misstep in the face and then go back to grace — to the cross, that place where Jesus Christ has already taken the blame and condemnation and guilt upon himself.

There, at the foot of the cross, let us resolve to bow down in humble adoration and worship, ascribing glory and honor and praise to the One who gave himself for us "to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen" (1:4, 5).

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Galatians"
by .
Copyright © 2013 Todd A. Wilson.
Excerpted by permission of Good News Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations of Journals and Book Series 11

A Word to Those Who Preach the Word 13

Preface 15

1 Go Back to Grace (1:1-5) 19

2 Apostolic Astonishment! (1:6-9) 27

3 People-Pleaser or Servant of Christ? (1:10) 35

4 You Are Your Best Argument (1:11-24) 43

5 Seeing Grace (2:1-10) 51

6 Remember the Poor (2:10) 59

7 Staying in Step with the Truth of the Gospel (2:11-14) 67

8 The Truth of the Gospel (2:15, 16) 75

9 Cruciformity: The Shape of Gospel-Rooted Living (2:17-21) 83

10 There's Only One Way to Finish (3:1-5) 91

11 Abraham's Blessing (3:6-9) 99

12 Clearing the Way for God's Blessing (3:10-14) 107

13 Why Then the Law? (3:15-22) 115

14 Heirs According to Promise (3:23-29) 125

15 Adoption as Sons (4:1-7) 133

16 Turning Back Isn't the Way Forward (4:8-11) 141

17 Imitation Is the Solution, Part 1 (4:12) 149

18 Imitation Is the Solution, Part 2 (4:12-20) 157

19 Children of the Free Woman (4:21-31) 163

20 What Ultimately Counts? (5:1-6) 171

21 Free to Run (5:7-12) 179

22 Through Love Serve One Another (5:13-15) 187

23 The Sufficiency of the Spirit (5:16-26) 197

24 Burden Bearing, Part 1: Spiritual Restoration (6:1-5) 205

25 Burden Bearing, Part 2: Pay Your Pastor (6:6-10) 215

26 Boast Only in the Cross (6:11-18) 223

Notes 229

Scripture Index 259

General Index 265

Index of Sermon Illustrations 271

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Todd Wilson’s exposition of Galatians admirably meets the goals of the Preaching the Word series. Wilson knows all the issues in this letter and treats them with remarkable fairness, always making clear just what the text is communicating to God's people today.”
—Douglas J. Moo, Kenneth T. Wessner Professor of New Testament, Wheaton College; Chair, Committee on Bible Translation (NIV); author, The Epistle to the Romans and An Introduction to the New Testament

“Todd Wilson has written a deeply pastoral and theologically competent commentary on Galatians that is an exemplary effort at Biblical exposition. There are some doozy passages in Galatians, especially on the Law, and Wilson provides a plain explanation and then shows readers how these texts relate to modern Christian living. A wonderful synergy of homiletical energy and honest exegesis.”
—Michael F. Bird, Academic Dean and Lecturer in New Testament, Ridley College, Melbourne

“Todd Wilson’s exposition of Galatians is both Biblically grounded and theologically rich. But it doesn’t stop there. Wilson powerfully and astutely applies the message of Galatians to contemporary life. Galatians isn’t left on the shelf; the Word addresses us as those who are tempted to walk according to the flesh, and we are reminded of what it means to be led by the Holy Spirit.”
—Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“A wonderful combination of clarity, insight, and passion. This commentary captures the great big-picture message of Galatians without avoiding any of the difficult details, whether the curse of the Law or remembering the poor. Anyone reading or preaching on Galatians will benefit from this book.”
—Simon Gathercole, Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, University of Cambridge  

“Every pastor knows the need for really great resources that unlock the text in meaningful ways. Todd Wilson’s exposition of Galatians does just that. His perspective on this important letter is grounded in outstanding exegesis and seminal preaching ideas. Don’t preach Galatians without this commentary!”
—Joseph M. Stowell, President, Cornerstone University; author, The Upside of Down and Redefining Leadership

“Surprisingly little has changed in our thought processes since Paul wrote to the Galatians two millennia ago. We humans love to add one thing or another to the simple gospel message just in case Jesus isn’t enough. Todd’s commentary is full of fresh insights for our generation and a timely reminder that God really does want us to embrace the freedom that was won for us by the finished work of his Son, Jesus.”
—Phil Tuttle, President, Walk Thru the Bible

“Todd Wilson has written an excellent commentary for those preaching and teaching the book of Galatians. He combines sound, insightful Biblical exposition of Galatians with warm, relevant personal application. As a deeply committed Christian who is both a gifted pastor and scholar, Todd provides a perspective on the book of Galatians that the church desperately needs: we must continue to go back to the gospel and to God’s grace if we are going to move forward in the Christian life. I highly recommend this commentary!”
—Jim Samra, Senior Pastor, Calvary Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan; author, The Gift of Church and God Told Me

“Galatians: Gospel-Rooted Living is a powerful reminder of how important it is for Christians to cling to the most fundamental aspect of the Christian endeavor: the relationship with our Lord and Savior that can only come by grace, through faith. This book is a scholarly work written in a conversational style that makes it easy for readers to identify with and to value the book of Galatians.”
—Gene Getz, President, Center for Church Renewal

“Galatians lives! Reading this commentary seems like sharing in deep conversation with Todd Wilson. His acute questions and insights give many ‘aha’ moments. Wearing scholarship lightly, yet always intensely informed, he opens up this essential epistle to make a vital impact on us today.”
—Michael Quicke, CW Koller Professor of Preaching, Northern Seminary, Lombard, Illinois