Know: Describe how Paul defined the authenticity of his gospel call and teachings.
Feel: Empathize with the zealous passion and determination with which Paul defended the truth of the gospel and fought against erroneous teachings at Galatia.
Do: Determine to hold fast to the truths of the Scriptures and to strongly support their defense.
Learning Outline:
Know: Paul’s Defense
A How did Paul’s first paragraphs of Galatians set forth his position regarding his calling and authority to address and correct doctrinal teachings?
B How did Paul’s account of his personal history in the ministry bolster his claims to authority? How were these claims substantiated by others in church leadership?
Feel: Paul’s Passion
A What phrases early in Paul’s letter illustrate his strong feelings regarding wrong doctrine and its effects on church members? Why does Paul feel so strongly?
B How have doctrinal errors caused havoc in church history?
Do: The Call to Passionate Defense Today
A What are the unique doctrinal challenges facing the church today that call for a devout, determined, and daring defense on our part?
B What do we need to do to ensure that our championship of biblical truths works in cooperation with Christ and His body for the glory of the gospel?
Summary: Paul opens his letter to the Galatians with an authoritative and succinct reference to the supremacy of God’s gifts of grace and a determined denunciation of any contradictory doctrine.
Learning Cycle
STEP 1—Motivate
Key Concept for Spiritual Growth: The gospel preached by Paul is still the unshakable basis for the Christian faith today. Everything in our lives must be subject to its authority.
Just for Teachers: Emphasize the fact that as Paul defended his own authority to teach, he drew attention to the only true authority: Jesus Christ.
The Internet and other forms of modern technology have made it possible for the “tuned in” among us to gain access to an incredible amout of information. At the same time, this accessibility has made it more feasible than ever for us simply to “tune out” voices that we disagree with or that challenge us. As such, our view of the world is shaped by the authorities we choose to consider trustworthy.
The world in which Paul wrote Galatians was not so different. There were many people claiming to be authorities, with all sorts of plausible reasons that their opponents were not authorities at all. Paul’s opponents, advocating a gospel that was not a gospel, attacked Paul by undermining his claims to authority and by sowing confusion and suspicion within the church. Paul responded by basing his authority not on his own personal qualities but on the best grounds of all: his encounter with Jesus Christ and the message—the gospel—received.
Discuss With the Class: Paul placed all his trust and faith in the gospel that he had been called to preach and the One who had commissioned him to preach it. Where do you place your trust? In the final analysis, who or what is your authority?
STEP 2—Explore
Just for Teachers: In the early church, as today, the essence of the teaching was in a person—Jesus Christ, and His life and ministry. At that time the early church did not have the full collection of documents we know as the New Testament. But they did have living apostles, people who had known and walked with Jesus during His earthly existence. Necessarily, a significant amount of trust and authority attached itself to them. Emphasize the importance of Paul’s role as an apostle and the significance of efforts to question or minimize it.
Bible Commentary
I. “According to the Wisdom Given to Him . . .” (Review 2 Peter 3:15, 16 with your class.)
Most well-informed Bible students are aware that the earliest Christians knew no other Scriptures than the Old Testament and that the New Testament, as we know it, did not take shape until the second century at the earliest. Yet, 2 Peter refers to the letters of Paul as scriptures, or at least implies such status by equating them with “other scriptures.” Some scholars have, therefore, proposed a late date for 2 Peter, even denying Peter’s authorship. How could the author know, they ask, that the letters of Paul would be accorded the status of Scripture?
First, the early church very much recognized the presence of living inspiration in its midst. The apostles, including Paul, were not just charismatic, highly spiritual individuals who had some good ideas and snappy insights, as we might regard a given pastor or teacher today. Part of the esteem in which they were held was because they had known, walked with, and/or encountered the living Christ and been found worthy to represent Him to the world.
As such, what the apostles wrote or taught carried extra authority. Whether such writings or teachings were considered to be on the level with the Pentateuch or the prophets of the normative Old Testament canon is open to debate. But they were certainly regarded as containing plenty of authority.
This point brings us to the specific situation Paul addresses in Galatians. The major difference between Paul and his opponents was that Paul could and did claim to be an apostle, and his opponents could not and did not claim this status for themselves. One might guess that they might have made such a claim if they could have supported it, or even if the church members did not know enough to refute or question it. But clearly their (lack of) status was well known. All that was left for them to do was to say, “Hey, we may not be apostles, but Paul isn’t really that much of an apostle either.”
Consider This: How is the attitude shown toward Paul by his opponents seen in attempts to undermine the authority of the Scriptures today?
II. Paul’s Authority (Review Galatians 1:11–24 with your class.)
As we have seen, Paul’s opponents attacked him on the basis of his personal qualities and the soundness of his calling and teachings.
Superficially, their broadsides might have been appealing to people of the first-century, Greco-Roman milieu. Paul had never met Jesus in the flesh; even he admitted this. Thus, like it or not, he could not be viewed in the same way as, say, Peter.
Also, Paul’s Judaizing opponents spoke for tradition. Respect for tradition was one thing that Jews, Romans, and Greeks agreed upon. Contrary to the modern belief in progress, people of that time believed that the (literal) Golden Age had been in the past and that things had been going downhill ever since. As such, things that could claim to have been passed down from an immemorial past were superior to things that had just come on the scene recently. Many Greeks and Romans scorned Jewish tradition as odd, disagreeable, or antithetical to common sense. But nearly as many looked on it with a sort of awe, as a revelation from an age when their own ancestors had just emerged from barbarism. Some of them even believed Hellenistic Jews, such as Philo of Alexandria, who claimed (among other things) that Plato got all his ideas from Moses. In short, innovation was not valued. And Paul was seen, rightly or wrongly, as an innovator.
Paul’s response? His opponents were absolutely right. He had not received his doctrines from personal contact with the historical Jesus during His earthly ministry. He had received them from the risen, heavenly Jesus who now resided at the right hand of the Father in heaven. This revelation was so obviously powerful and authentic that even those who had walked with Jesus during His earthly ministry were compelled to acknowledge it and indeed “glorified God” because of it (vs. 24).
As for a background in Jewish traditions of scriptural interpretation and religious practice, Paul did have that, even more than his detractors did. And this knowledge had done him little good! It had set him on the wrong path, one that led him to the persecution of the very Jewish Christians who now claimed he was insufficiently rooted in Judaism. In fact, to become the apostle he was, he had to jettison many of the trappings that would have made him more credible in the eyes of his detractors.
Consider This: In his ministry Paul could not depend on many of the things that others could use to assure themselves of their own worth and self-sufficiency. Upon what do you base your assurance of your calling and the presence of God’s grace in your life?
STEP 3—Apply
Just for Teachers: Use the following questions to challenge your students to base their lives on the authority of the same Jesus Christ upon whom Paul depended for his authority to teach and preach.
Thought Questions:
Paul’s opponents based their teachings on what was essentially an appeal to tradition. What is the place of tradition in the life of the church and one’s own spiritual life?
Paul’s apostleship was probably, at first, difficult for the “pillars” of the church in Jerusalem to accept. But we are told that eventually they praised God for it. And even Paul’s detractors in Galatia did not frontally attack Paul’s claims. What was it about Paul’s ministry that clearly showed its authenticity when opponents seemingly could have easily said he was imagining things?
Application Questions:
How can our lives prove to skeptics the reality of God?
Paul talks about a true gospel and false “other gospels.” Sometimes the difference is quite subtle. How can we know that we are guided by the true gospel, even when the false gospels sound plausible?
STEP 4—Create
Just for Teachers: Galatians goes to the heart of why we believe what we believe, which is a question of authority. Emphasize that in the Christian life there is only one final authority: Jesus Christ and the gospel He lived and preached. We are drawn to it because of the way it manifests itself in our lives and experience, just as Paul’s claims to authority manifested themselves in his effective ministry and radically changed life. The following activity will challenge your students to evaluate the authorities they accept and to make God and His Word first in their lives.
Activity: Ask your students how they know what they know. Why do they believe in the existence ofAntarctica, for example? How many have been there? Perhaps they know someone who has been there, but how do they know that person is trustworthy? After your students pile up evidences for the trustworthiness of the authorities they accept, compare them to the Scriptures.
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Key Texts: Galatians 1:10
The Student Will:
Learning Outline:
Know: Paul’s Defense
Feel: Paul’s Passion
Do: The Call to Passionate Defense Today
Summary: Paul opens his letter to the Galatians with an authoritative and succinct reference to the supremacy of God’s gifts of grace and a determined denunciation of any contradictory doctrine.
Learning Cycle
STEP 1—Motivate
Key Concept for Spiritual Growth: The gospel preached by Paul is still the unshakable basis for the Christian faith today. Everything in our lives must be subject to its authority.
Just for Teachers: Emphasize the fact that as Paul defended his own authority to teach, he drew attention to the only true authority: Jesus Christ.
The Internet and other forms of modern technology have made it possible for the “tuned in” among us to gain access to an incredible amout of information. At the same time, this accessibility has made it more feasible than ever for us simply to “tune out” voices that we disagree with or that challenge us. As such, our view of the world is shaped by the authorities we choose to consider trustworthy.
The world in which Paul wrote Galatians was not so different. There were many people claiming to be authorities, with all sorts of plausible reasons that their opponents were not authorities at all. Paul’s opponents, advocating a gospel that was not a gospel, attacked Paul by undermining his claims to authority and by sowing confusion and suspicion within the church. Paul responded by basing his authority not on his own personal qualities but on the best grounds of all: his encounter with Jesus Christ and the message—the gospel—received.
Discuss With the Class: Paul placed all his trust and faith in the gospel that he had been called to preach and the One who had commissioned him to preach it. Where do you place your trust? In the final analysis, who or what is your authority?
STEP 2—Explore
Just for Teachers: In the early church, as today, the essence of the teaching was in a person—Jesus Christ, and His life and ministry. At that time the early church did not have the full collection of documents we know as the New Testament. But they did have living apostles, people who had known and walked with Jesus during His earthly existence. Necessarily, a significant amount of trust and authority attached itself to them. Emphasize the importance of Paul’s role as an apostle and the significance of efforts to question or minimize it.
Bible Commentary
I. “According to the Wisdom Given to Him . . .” (Review 2 Peter 3:15, 16 with your class.)
Most well-informed Bible students are aware that the earliest Christians knew no other Scriptures than the Old Testament and that the New Testament, as we know it, did not take shape until the second century at the earliest. Yet, 2 Peter refers to the letters of Paul as scriptures, or at least implies such status by equating them with “other scriptures.” Some scholars have, therefore, proposed a late date for 2 Peter, even denying Peter’s authorship. How could the author know, they ask, that the letters of Paul would be accorded the status of Scripture?
First, the early church very much recognized the presence of living inspiration in its midst. The apostles, including Paul, were not just charismatic, highly spiritual individuals who had some good ideas and snappy insights, as we might regard a given pastor or teacher today. Part of the esteem in which they were held was because they had known, walked with, and/or encountered the living Christ and been found worthy to represent Him to the world.
As such, what the apostles wrote or taught carried extra authority. Whether such writings or teachings were considered to be on the level with the Pentateuch or the prophets of the normative Old Testament canon is open to debate. But they were certainly regarded as containing plenty of authority.
This point brings us to the specific situation Paul addresses in Galatians. The major difference between Paul and his opponents was that Paul could and did claim to be an apostle, and his opponents could not and did not claim this status for themselves. One might guess that they might have made such a claim if they could have supported it, or even if the church members did not know enough to refute or question it. But clearly their (lack of) status was well known. All that was left for them to do was to say, “Hey, we may not be apostles, but Paul isn’t really that much of an apostle either.”
Consider This: How is the attitude shown toward Paul by his opponents seen in attempts to undermine the authority of the Scriptures today?
II. Paul’s Authority (Review Galatians 1:11–24 with your class.)
As we have seen, Paul’s opponents attacked him on the basis of his personal qualities and the soundness of his calling and teachings.
Superficially, their broadsides might have been appealing to people of the first-century, Greco-Roman milieu. Paul had never met Jesus in the flesh; even he admitted this. Thus, like it or not, he could not be viewed in the same way as, say, Peter.
Also, Paul’s Judaizing opponents spoke for tradition. Respect for tradition was one thing that Jews, Romans, and Greeks agreed upon. Contrary to the modern belief in progress, people of that time believed that the (literal) Golden Age had been in the past and that things had been going downhill ever since. As such, things that could claim to have been passed down from an immemorial past were superior to things that had just come on the scene recently. Many Greeks and Romans scorned Jewish tradition as odd, disagreeable, or antithetical to common sense. But nearly as many looked on it with a sort of awe, as a revelation from an age when their own ancestors had just emerged from barbarism. Some of them even believed Hellenistic Jews, such as Philo of Alexandria, who claimed (among other things) that Plato got all his ideas from Moses. In short, innovation was not valued. And Paul was seen, rightly or wrongly, as an innovator.
Paul’s response? His opponents were absolutely right. He had not received his doctrines from personal contact with the historical Jesus during His earthly ministry. He had received them from the risen, heavenly Jesus who now resided at the right hand of the Father in heaven. This revelation was so obviously powerful and authentic that even those who had walked with Jesus during His earthly ministry were compelled to acknowledge it and indeed “glorified God” because of it (vs. 24).
As for a background in Jewish traditions of scriptural interpretation and religious practice, Paul did have that, even more than his detractors did. And this knowledge had done him little good! It had set him on the wrong path, one that led him to the persecution of the very Jewish Christians who now claimed he was insufficiently rooted in Judaism. In fact, to become the apostle he was, he had to jettison many of the trappings that would have made him more credible in the eyes of his detractors.
Consider This: In his ministry Paul could not depend on many of the things that others could use to assure themselves of their own worth and self-sufficiency. Upon what do you base your assurance of your calling and the presence of God’s grace in your life?
STEP 3—Apply
Just for Teachers: Use the following questions to challenge your students to base their lives on the authority of the same Jesus Christ upon whom Paul depended for his authority to teach and preach.
Thought Questions:
Application Questions:
STEP 4—Create
Just for Teachers: Galatians goes to the heart of why we believe what we believe, which is a question of authority. Emphasize that in the Christian life there is only one final authority: Jesus Christ and the gospel He lived and preached. We are drawn to it because of the way it manifests itself in our lives and experience, just as Paul’s claims to authority manifested themselves in his effective ministry and radically changed life. The following activity will challenge your students to evaluate the authorities they accept and to make God and His Word first in their lives.
Activity: Ask your students how they know what they know. Why do they believe in the existence ofAntarctica, for example? How many have been there? Perhaps they know someone who has been there, but how do they know that person is trustworthy? After your students pile up evidences for the trustworthiness of the authorities they accept, compare them to the Scriptures.