Paul Greets Galatia | Galatians 1:2

Me:

Some things are better with others.

Seesaws, sports events, haircuts, etc.

Transition: Christianity is also better with others.

We:

Too often we treat Christianity as a private affair.

“Don’t talk about politics and religion.”

We get Christianity backwards: we’re shallow at church and private at home. When we come to church, we tend to talk about others, but when we’re with others, we fail to talk about Christ. We’re shallow at church and private at home.

Big Idea: Salvation isn’t meant to be shallow and private, it’s meant to be deep and public. Salvation should be shared with others and shared with each other.

God:

Context: “Opening the envelope.” Gal. 1:1-5 is a “Salutation” and offers the purpose, tone, and details of the letter.

I. “And all the brothers who are with me.”

Based on the previous verse, one might think that Paul is claiming that he is working as a “self-employed” apostle, an “independent contractor.”

We can tend to function as “independent contractor Christians.” We like to think that “all we need is us and Jesus.” But that’s not true!

Paul makes it clear in Gal. 1:2 that even though he has not been sent by men, that does not mean he is not working in close fellowship with others.

Many Christians think that all they need to connect with Jesus is the Bible. They may say that they don’t have a need to be at church or with other Christians. Paul proves that wrong in the way he writes this letter!

Neglecting your spiritual brothers is neglecting your Heavenly Father.

By including “brothers” in his letter, Paul is making clear that his purpose is more than just informing the Galatians, he is also there to encourage them and show them that they’re part of something bigger than just themselves.

The Galatians are now part of a *family* and have brothers!

Do we really see the people sitting next to us as our “family?” Family shares with each other… family is there when we have medical emergencies… families pray for each other for days/months/years. Families EAT together.

These “brothers” are probably other ministry leaders working with Paul in Syrian Antioch, maybe even Barnabas. In Phil. 4:21 Paul uses the same label to describe fellow ministers, not just general believers.

Paul is probably being non-specific (unlike his other letters) by not naming these fellow-ministers. There will also be a good reason later in the letter why Paul will not want to mention anyone by name!

Transition: Its verses like this that we tend to skip over, but by “reading the envelope” we can better understand the letter! By including “brothers” who are with Paul, he subtly infers that the Gospel is a collaboration between Christians, however, in the next phrase, he’s show that salvation is not just mean to be shared with others, it’s also meant to be shared “to” others.

II. To the Churches in Galatia

Isn’t it amazing that, after Christ died on the Cross, God decided to instruct Christians, not with textbooks, speeches, or sermons, but with personal letters?

Unlike Paul’s later letters, he doesn’t call these churches “churches of God” he just calls them “churches” or assemblies. As we dig deeper into the rest of the letter, it becomes obvious that Paul is not sure that all the people in these “assemblies” are actually of God. *Authentic*

What’s unique here is that if Paul just said “the Church” of Galatian, he’d be referring generally to all believers in the region. Or, if he just said, “the church in [this city]” he’d be referring to one particular church. But here he does neither. He’s referring to specific churches, but not just one. Paul’s referring to specific churches across a region called Galatia.

The importance is that we need to recognize this as a personal letter. Paul is not just journaling his thoughts, he’s writing to people that he knows with an actual desire for them to do something about it. That’s what letters do. Whether it’s a letter, email, or text message, when we include info in a message, it’s not just for the sake of stating the information, it’s sent for the sake of the recipient doing something about it.

Because Galatians is written as a personal letter, we must know the Galatians personally. To do that, we must understand Paul’s First Missionary Journey in Acts 13-14.

Show map of Galatia and explain Celtic migration to area.

Show slide of Acts 13:1-2 .

Show slide of First Missionary Journey, explain date, and explain travel from Antioch to Cyprus to Perga.

Walk Through Slides outlining missionary journey.

When we read Galatians 2000 years later we skim over verses like Gal. 1:2, but when understanding the verse in context of Paul’s life we recognize that there is literally blood, sweat, and tears, behind this single sentence.

Transition: Paul was a man who shared the Gospel with others and shared it to others. Acts 13-14 proves that as does Galatians 1:2. But the question isn’t whether or not Paul understands the Gospel in this way. The question is whether or not you do.

You:

Do you follow a faith that is shallow and private? Or do you follow a faith that is deep and public?

When you attend church, challenge yourself to share a prayer request or a praise that isn’t about your neighbors or your relatives, but is about you.

When you come to church on Sundays, commit to sit in a different spot every week so you can better get to know your church family.

Take time to pray for your church family.

Talk to your neighbors about Christ.

Talk to your family about Christ.

Talk to the ladies at Super 1 about Christ, and challenge them to come to church with you.

We:

We are in a special season at this church.

We are getting newcomers, and many of you are becoming members.

Challenge to come to membership meeting after church.

The world is full of shallow and private churches, we have a chance to be a deep and public church.