Week 2
No Other Good News/Gospel
6 I marvel that you are so quickly deserting from the one who called you in the grace of the Anointed to a different good news, 7 not that there is another good news, but there are certain ones who are stirring you up and are wanting to alter the good news of Anointed. 8 But even if we or a messenger of God from heaven should proclaim to you a good news other than the good news that was proclaimed to you, let him be accursed! 9 As we have stated before and now I say again, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel other than the one you received, let him be accursed!
10 For am I now persuading human beings or God? Or do I seek to please human beings? If I were still pleasing human beings, then I would not be a slave of the Anointed. My Translation
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!
10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. NIV11
Comment
6 I marvel that you are so quickly deserting from the one who called you in the grace of the Anointed to a different good news. My Translation
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— NIV11
Normally in Pauline letters, a thanksgiving to God follows the Salutation, but not here. Here, there appears only a curse reinforced by the same curse in this section of the letter.
Instead of Εὐχαριστοῦμεν τῷ θεῷ πάντοτε περὶ πάντων ὑμῶν “We give thanks to God always concerning all of you” (1 Thessalonians 1:2a), Paul starts out with Θαυμάζω ὅτι “I marvel that” or “I’m astonished that”. The use of Θαυμάζω ὅτι was almost always in a from of rebuke. That is the case here. There was nothing that Paul could commend the Galatians on. There was nothing that he could thank God for.
With the phrase οὕτως ταχέως (so quickly), Paul may be alluding to his first OT passage of the letter. In Exodus 32:8 LXX, we have παρέβησαν ταχὺ ἐκ τῆς ὁδοῦ “They have deviated quickly from the way” which was a catch phrase to mean “They have turn away from God”. In this section of Exodus, it is an idol (the golden calf) that the people of Israel had turned to while Moses was on the mountain. Since Paul will use this section in Exodus in his The Allegory of Hagar and Sarah (4:21-5:1), it is quite possible that he is alluding to Exodus here. It may escape the Galatians in the beginning, but after they go back and read the account in Exodus, they might just make the connection. The same phrase is used in Judges 2:17 and refers to Israel committing adultery with idols. Also, “‘the way’ was the earliest self-designation of those who believed in Jesus.” This is found throughout Acts (9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). (Longenecker, WBC, 14).
Amazingly enough, it is “the one who called you”, from whom the Galatians are ultimately “deserting”. This “one who called you” is God! Paul uses this phase many times in his letters to refer to God. During our “Holiness” Studies, we saw time and time again where Paul placed Judaism in the same boat as Paganism. In Paul’s mind, going to both Judaism and Paganism is “deserting the one who called you”. As this unfolds, the main thing in Paul’s mind is as the Galatians try to justify themselves by performing the law of Moses, they are slipping into the same idolatry that the Israelites fell into. This is an astonishing turn for people who were trying to live for God “in the appropriate way” as instructed by “the one’s who are stirring you up”, who Paul introduces in verse 7.
How did God call the Galatians? “In/by the grace of the Anointed/Christ”. It is by the “grace/favor” that the Galatians were called in the first place, not by the works of the law! The Christology here is the same as in verse 3. There, “grace and peace” came from God and Jesus, here, God has called the Galatians by Jesus’ grace on them. Not by the works of the law, but by grace! God’s favor! Paul will demonstrate this in verse 10.
“To a different Good News/Gospel”. Paul now states just how the Galatians are “deserting” God. They are doing so by obeying a Gospel that was not used to call them. In other words, the Galatians were not called by God while Paul was preaching about observing the Jewish law. The “Gospel” which is preached that one must observe the Law is a “different” Gospel.
7 not that there is another good news, but there are certain ones who are stirring you up and are wanting to alter the good news of Anointed. My Translation
7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. NIV11
There is a verse separation between “to a different Gospel” and “not that there is another Gospel”. I need to note here that “verse numbers” didn’t exist until centuries after the New Testament, and the OT for that matter, were penned. Chapter and verse divisions were added as an attempt to be able to look up passages quickly. This both helped and harmed. I’ve seen many people use verses out of context because of the division. Especially those who use the KJV where every verse is a paragraph!
Paul states that there is not “another Gospel/Good News”. There is only one Gospel and to change it is to pervert it. Therefore, this produces a different/ἕτερος (another of a different kind) and not another/ἄλλος (another of the same kind).
With that, Paul introduces who is doing this to the Galatians, even though the Galatians know who they are. Paul refers to them as τινές εἰσιν οἱ ταράσσοντες ὑμᾶς (certain ones who are stirring you up). It can also be translated as “certain ones who are troubling you”. The Greek verb ταράσσω means “to cause movement by shaking or stirring, shake together, stir up of water”. Paul uses it figuratively as “inner turmoil” among the Galatians’ congregations. We will call these “certain people” “the agitators”, which is an appropriate title. I should also note that Acts 15:1 also uses τινες (certain people) to describe “the agitators”.
“The agitators” are “wanting/wishing/desiring” to “pervert/alter/change” the Gospel that Paul preached to the Galatians which he received from God. This is how Paul sees them. The ones who were actually preaching the “different Gospel” would have never thought of themselves in such a way. This is the way it is with all people who are perverting the Gospel. 1st, they don’t know that they are perverting the Gospel and 2nd, they are just trying to portray what they think is the true “Gospel”. But regardless of the motive, the actuality is the same, the Gospel is being perverted!
The “Gospel/Good News” that the agitators are perverting is the one “from Christ/the Anointed” (subjective genitive in Greek) and “about Christ/the Anointed” (objective genitive in Greek). Paul will go into detail about this, but the contrast here is that the Law didn’t bring on redemption, Jesus did. Therefore, justification can’t come from the Jewish Law, only in believing/putting faith in Jesus can justification come. By adding the works of the law, the agitators are “perverting” the Gospel about Jesus.
8 But even if we or a messenger of God from heaven should proclaim to you a good news other than the good news that was proclaimed to you, let him be accursed! My Translation
8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! NIV11
Paul’s “rebuke” instead of a “thanksgiving to God” takes an unexpected path. Paul now pronounces a curse on anyone who may preach a Gospel different from the one that he preached to them. So drastic is his charge, he even includes himself as well as “messengers of God (ἄγγελος in Greek, transliterated as “angel”. It’s root meaning is that of a “messenger”). What are we to make of Paul’s use of ἄγγελος? Paul is probably being ironic or a little sarcastic. It is probably directed to the agitators who claimed to have the authority of the Jerusalem Church behind them. Regardless, Paul’s main interest is in the true Gospel itself. The Gospel can’t be perverted either my him nor the agitators.
But if someone should pervert the Gospel, then ἀνάθεμα ἔστω (Let him be accursed/cursed). For those who attended the “Spiritual Things” study, you will remember ἀνάθεμα as it was used in 1 Corinthians 12:3 (Ἀνάθεμα Ἰησοῦς/Jesus is cursed). Paul’s use of this word is along the grounds of “something to be destroyed by God”. In this way, Paul would be referring to God’s wrath that is to come down upon the unbelievers when Jesus comes.
9 As we have stated before and now I say again, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel other than the one you received, let him be accursed! My Translation
9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! NIV11
If once wasn’t enough, Paul now restates the curse. This time, Paul makes sure that the Galatians understand that it is he that is pronouncing the curse. Paul also moves from “we” and “an angel” to “anyone” who preaches a different Gospel.
10 For am I now persuading human beings or God? Or do I seek to please human beings? If I were still pleasing human beings, then I would not be a slave of the Anointed. My Translation
10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. NIV11
Paul means that he is seeking the approval of God in his “persuading” (as it is in Greek), not the approval of mere human beings. Paul is making it clear. The only one he is worried about “persuading” or “pleasing” is God! Later in this letter (5:11), we find Paul defending himself from the agitators’ proclamation that Paul himself actually taught circumcision. If Paul were teaching circumcision to others, but not to the Galatians, then Paul would just be trying “to please people” by doing so. At least that is what Paul thinks. In other words, if Paul was actually teaching the works of the law to other congregations, but not to the Galatians, then Paul would be providing a “shortcut” by omitting the Jewish law, and thus “trying to please” the Galatians or “trying to win the Galatians with flattery. This is quite possible the agitators’ proclamation that Paul is defending here.
Paul’s last sentence of this verse is “If I were still pleasing human beings, then I would not be a slave of the Anointed”. Many translations translate δοῦλος as “servant”, but it’s actually meaning is that of a slave. A slave must please his master. The master is the one who owns the slave. Therefore, the one who Paul must please is Jesus/Christ. One can’t look past the high Christology of this verse! At the beginning of the verse, Paul talks about “persuading” God. He now states that since he is Christ’s slave, it is Christ whom he must please! It is Christ whom he must persuade! If Paul tries to please anyone else, then he can’t be Christ’s slave. Since Paul is proclaiming the true Gospel that he received from Christ, then he must proclaim that Gospel in order to please his master. If he does not preach the true Gospel, then Paul can’t “belong” to Christ and he will be among those who are “cursed” under God’s wrath.
Conclusion
Paul’s tone is “hot” to say the least. He can’t believe that his converts have moved away from the Gospel that was preached to them. More than that, he is infuriated by the people who have caused this division among his congregations. Paul’s pronouncement of a curse, not once, but twice, should be enough to show the Galatians just how upset Paul was. But Paul didn’t stop there. He very quickly starts his defense. Paul is Christ’s slave. It is his master whom he has to please, not people, regardless of who those people my be.
On a final note. I’ve seem many people used the above passage to promote “certain church beliefs” or “certain denominational beliefs”. I think that is propaganda. As we go forward in this letter, we will discover “the Gospel” in which Paul preached. Those who should be accursed, are promoting that the Jewish law should be observed. Paul’s words are and should be confined to the present letter and nothing else.
No comments:
Post a Comment