Another gospel: which is not another

Paul confronts the issues raised by the false teaching head-on at the start of his letter. His apostleship was a divine appointment. Its source was in the risen Lord Jesus and God the Father. They had bestowed it on him directly. No human agent had been involved, neither Ananias nor any of the Twelve. On the Damascus road Paul had witnessed the resurrection glory of Christ. The exalted Lord had commissioned and sent him as his representative, Acts 26. 15-18. The apostles were invested with the full authority of Christ Himself, John 13. 20. They had a unique foundational role. We have no apostles today. Their authority is enshrined in the writings of the New Testament. We cannot dismiss apostolic teaching as just good advice or merely an expression of personal opinion. Rather, we must recognize it as the commandments of the Lord, 1 Cor. 14. 37.

Paul also emphasizes that Christ’s death was a divine achievement. Galatians is the only Epistle where he includes a reference to the cross in the opening paragraph. The false teaching threatened the unique value of the saving work of Calvary. There, Christ gave Himself for our sins so that they might be forgiven, and rescued us from the domination and doom of the present evil age. In carrying out this great deliverance, the Lord Jesus fulfilled God’s will and brought His Father infinite glory. To add to His work on the cross is to detract from that glory.

The apostle stresses that the gospel of Christ is a divine announcement. He had received it from God, not from men, by revelation not instruction. The message being presented to the Galatians was a different gospel. It was no gospel at all. It could not bring salvation. There is only one gospel. The gospel of Christ is the only saving message just as He is the only Saviour. The teaching which was swaying the readers had fundamentally changed the gospel from the inside out by adding human merit. Solemnly, Paul affirms that to preach it or any substitute gospel is to incur God’s eternal judgement. What matters is the truth of the message, not the prestige of the messenger. Because the gospel of God’s grace is exclusively His good news we must take every opportunity to proclaim it boldly to all.