Message Four

Paul’s Gospel

Scripture Reading: Gal. 1:6-12, 15-16, 23; 2:2, 4-5, 7, 14, 16; 3:8, 14

1. The purpose of the book of Galatians is to cause its recipients to know that the gospel preached by the apostle Paul was not from man’s teaching but from God’s revelation—1:11-12:
   1. Paul desired to rescue the churches in Galatia, which had been distracted by Judaism with its law, and to bring them back to the grace of the gospel—vv. 6-12; 5:4.
   2. The law dealt with man in the old creation, whereas the gospel makes man a new creation in resurrection—1:1, 6-12; 2:20; 6:15.
2. The gospel is the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament—Mark 1:1, 14:
   1. The gospel is the fulfillment of the promises, prophecies, and types and is also the removal of the law; this is a full definition of the gospel—Gen. 3:15, 21.
   2. The gospel preached to Abraham was the unveiling of God’s heart; the promise God gave to Abraham was the gospel—12:3; 22:17-18; Gal. 3:6-14.
   3. Christ, the unique One, is the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament; this means that the fulfillment of the promises, prophecies, and types and the removal of the law are a living person, Jesus Christ—Matt. 17:2-8; Rom. 10:4.
   4. The gospel is the fulfillment of the great promise concerning the seed of the woman for the destruction of the serpent and of the great promise concerning the seed of Abraham for bringing in the blessing of the Spirit, who is the consummation of the Triune God as eternal life to be our blessing—Gen. 3:15; 22:17-18; Heb. 2:14; John 3:14; Gal. 3:14.
3. Galatians affords us a complete revelation of the truth, the reality, of the gospel, not in detail but in certain basic principles—2:5, 14:
   1. The first aspect of the truth of the gospel is that fallen man cannot be justified out of works of law—v. 16a.
   2. Under God’s New Testament economy, we are not to keep the law; rather, we are justified out of faith in Christ—v. 16b:
      1. Through believing we are joined to Christ and become one with Him—John 3:15.
      2. Faith in Christ denotes an organic union with Him through believing; the term in Christ refers to this organic union—Gal. 2:17; 3:14, 28; 5:6.
      3. Justification is not merely a matter of position; it is also an organic matter, a matter in life.
      4. It is by means of our organic union with Christ that God can reckon Christ as our righteousness; only in this way can we be justified by God—1 Cor. 1:30.
   3. In God’s New Testament economy, we have life and live by faith—Gal. 3:11.
   4. We are dead to the law, we are alive to God, and we have Christ living in us—2:19-20.
   5. In Christ we are a new creation—6:15.
4. Paul’s gospel is the unique gospel, the complete gospel—1:7; Col. 1:25:
   1. Paul’s gospel includes all the aspects of the gospel in the four Gospels:
      1. In Matthew the goal of the gospel of the kingdom is to bring people into God to make them citizens of the kingdom of the heavens—28:19; 24:14; Rom. 14:17; Gal. 5:21.
      2. In Mark the preaching of the gospel is to bring part of the old creation into the new creation—16:15-16; Rom. 8:20-21; Gal. 6:15.
      3. In Luke we have the gospel of forgiveness to bring redeemed people back to the God-ordained blessing—24:46-48; 1:77-79; 2:30-32; Eph. 1:3, 7; Gal. 3:14.
      4. In John we have the eternal life that we may bear fruit for the building up of the Body of Christ, which is Christ’s increase—20:31; 15:16; Rom. 8:10, 6, 11; 12:4-5; Gal. 3:28; 4:19; 6:10, 16.
   2. Paul’s gospel is the center of the New Testament revelation—Rom. 1:1, 9:
      1. Paul’s gospel is a revelation of the Triune God processed to become the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit—1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17; Gal. 3:2, 5, 14.
      2. Paul’s gospel is centered on the Triune God being our life in order to be one with us and to make us one with Him, that we may be the Body of Christ to express Christ in a corporate way—Rom. 8:11; 12:4-5; Eph. 1:22-23.
5. Christ, a living person, is the focus of Paul’s gospel; hence, the book of Galatians is emphatically Christ-centered—1:15-16:
   1. Christ was crucified to redeem us out of the curse of the law and rescue us out of the evil religious course of the world—3:1, 13; 1:4, 15-16.
   2. Christ was resurrected from the dead that He might live in us—v. 1; 2:20.
   3. We were baptized into Christ, being identified with Him, and we have put on Christ, clothing ourselves with Him; thus, we are in Christ and have become of Him—3:27-29; 5:24.
   4. Christ has been revealed in us, He is now living in us, and He will be formed in us—1:16; 2:20; 4:19.
   5. To Christ the law has conducted us, and in Christ we are all sons of God—3:24, 26.
   6. In Christ we inherit God’s promised blessing and enjoy the all-inclusive Spirit—v. 14.
   7. In Christ we all are one—v. 28.
   8. We should not be deprived of all profit from Christ and thus be separated, severed, from Him—5:4.
   9. We need Christ to supply us with grace in our spirit that we may live Him—6:18.
   10. God’s desire is that His chosen people receive His Son into them; this is the gospel—1:15-16; 2:20; 4:19.
6. The focal point of Paul’s gospel is God Himself in His Trinity becoming the processed all-inclusive Spirit to be life and everything to us for our enjoyment so that He and we may be one to express Him for eternity—vv. 4, 6; 3:13-14, 26-28; 6:15.