Galatians 1:1-10

If you turn to Galatians, chapter 1.

Galatians 1 · chapter mention

I've been here 22 years.

And over the summer I worked out the books that I hadn't preached on in the Bible.

! And so we've got Galatians, 1, 2, 3 John,

and then the greatest hits of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Lamentations, Joshua, 1 and 2 Chronicles.

So you're in for a great few years, all right, coming up.

And I've shied away from Galatians.

Galatians, but I'm quite excited about preaching it.

And there's many things that I'd love you to know as a church family.

There's many things I want you to know.

Lots of things about the Bible and about the Christian life that I want you to know.

But I think what Galatians gives you is what you need to know.

And particularly as we start this morning, I need you to know this.

Many things I want you to know,

but what is the key message of the church we need you to know?

And that's Galatians, chapter 1, verses 1 to 5.

Galatians 1:1–5

Really, and we're going to look at the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's what I need you to know.

Galatians might be one of the earliest,

well, it might be the earliest of the New Testament letters.

It's a toss-up between Galatians and 1 Thessalonians.

But most people think it is Galatians.

It means it was written about 48 AD.

It's only 15 years, 1-5, 15 years after the death of the Lord Jesus.

It's not a lot of time.

These are the first words we read of the Apostle Paul.

Possibly the first words in the New Testament.

They're exciting words.

The first words written by New Testament believers.

And I think that's really important.

It's important because lots of the sceptics that are around today,

and the kind of default that people think is that the Christian faith kind of evolved.

Jesus was a nice guy.

He did lots of good things.

And then he's kind of evolved into what we believe about him today.

Those who were there at the time, they didn't really think that.

They admired him.

But it's evolved into this kind of more complex son of God kind of stuff.

The Christian faith, they would say, started really simply.

And unsupernaturally.

And gradually those doctrines kind of evolved.

But that just isn't the case.

The great truths which Christians believe, that we believe,

are there right from the beginning.

Just look at the first few verses of Galatians.

Verse 1, you have Jesus alongside the Father.

You've got the resurrection in the first verse.

God raised him from the dead, right from the off.

You've got verses 3 to 5.

The atoning death of Jesus Christ for our sins.

So it's all there, right from the very first words of the New Testament.

Now I want to pass quickly over verses 1 and 2,

where Paul states more clearly than anywhere else in the New Testament,

his kind of divine right of apostleship.

Verse 1, Paul, an apostle, a sent one,

not from men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father,

who raised him from the dead,

and all the brothers who are with me.

He emphasizes his apostleship there.

It's something we're going to come back to again and again in Galatians.

There are people in the church in Galatia who are trying to influence the church,

and they're very anti the apostle Paul.

And they're casting doubt on his apostleship.

So can you see, right from the very first words of verse 1,

Paul stresses, doesn't he, in very strong words,

I am an apostle of Jesus Christ.

I am an authoritative witness,

and I am an authoritative spokesman of Jesus Christ.

It's not from man.

It's not by man.

It's not something that I took upon myself.

It's not something I applied to.

It's not something anyone appointed him to,

or was conferred upon him.

It was the choice of God,

who raised Jesus from the dead.

And he's going to say much more about that in chapter 1 and chapter 2.

But I want to start with verses 3 to 5,

and we're going to do something slightly different in this series.

We're going to do memory verses, all right?

And so we have done you a little card.

And if you can get it,

it should have been in all your service sheets.

I want you to pin it on your fridge,

put it in your Bible,

stick it on the windscreen of your car if you want to.

But I want us to start,

in the words of Psalm 119,

hiding God's word in our hearts

that we might not sin against him.

And we get children of our church, don't we,

to learn the Bible,

but for some reason we think when we get to about 14 or 15

that we've outgrown it.

And so would you read with me,

Galatians 1, verses 3 to 5.

Galatians 1:3–5

Let's say it all together.

Grace to you,

and peace from God our Father,

and the Lord Jesus Christ,

who gave himself for our sins,

to deliver us from the present evil age,

according to the will of our God and Father,

to whom be the glory forever and ever.

Amen.

And so what we have in those verses

is really the earliest statement

in the New Testament

about the meaning of the death of the Lord Jesus.

And I want to give you six points,

yes, six points,

about the death of the Lord Jesus.

Before we do that, let's pray.

Amen.

And we thank you, Lord,

for this, the greatest of all subjects.

And I guess, Lord, that some of us,

when we hear about the message of the cross,

or that we're going to hear a sermon on the cross,

we switch off

because we think we've heard it all before.

And we pray, Lord,

that we wouldn't do that this morning.

We ask that the death of the Lord Jesus,

the cross of our Savior,

would come to us with a new power,

with a new freshness.

We ask that your Holy Spirit

would bless his word

and focus us on Jesus

and what he's done for us.

And we pray that we would be sent away today

with glad hearts.

Bring us to Jesus, we ask,

in his name.

Amen.

Six points.

Number one,

Jesus' death was voluntary.

Jesus' death was voluntary.

Verse 4, can you see it?

Jesus,

Christ who gave himself.

Jesus gave himself for our sins.

Jesus chose to die for us.

Jesus wasn't betrayed and arrested

and put on trial

and condemned

and ill-treated

and tortured

and crucified

against his will.

His death on the cross

was not something he resisted.

And then he was finally overcome

by his enemies.

Jesus wasn't dragged

to crucifixion

against his will.

Jesus didn't go suddenly

on that road to Calvary,

kind of sullenly accepting

the inevitable.

No,

this is what Jesus

wanted to do.

This is what the Lord Jesus

chose to do.

He gave himself.

At the good shepherd,

gave himself

for his sheep.

John 10,

he says,

no one takes my life

from me.

I lay it down myself.

Jesus gave himself.

He chose to do

what he did.

That's very clear,

isn't it?

I mean,

if you take Mark's gospel,

do you remember Mark's gospel?

Chapters 1 to 8.

Jesus reveals to his disciples

who he is,

his identity.

He is the Christ.

He is the one

who has absolute authority.

He has authority

in his teaching.

He has authority

over demons,

over disease.

He has authority

over nature.

He has authority

over disability.

He has authority

even over death.

And then he gets

to the halfway point

in Mark's gospel

and he tells

his astonished disciples

that this one

who has authority

over absolutely everything

is going to Jerusalem.

And when he gets there,

he will be rejected

and he will suffer

and he will be killed.

And we're told that

Jesus sets his face

towards Jerusalem.

That he knowingly

drinks the cup

that his father

had given him to drink.

He willingly drinks it.

When he's

about to be arrested,

you remember

the soldiers

approach him

and Jesus forbids

his disciples

to resist.

He says,

put your swords away,

boys.

He says,

don't you realise

that I could call

to my father in heaven

and twelve legions

of angels

would come and rescue me

if I wanted them to.

They would get me

out of this.

Put your swords away.

Jesus chose

to die.

He gave himself.

So the question is,

isn't it,

why did he do that?

Why did he

voluntarily

choose to give himself?

And the answer is love.

Love is the reason

why he did that.

Love was why he did it.

If you just look at

Galatians chapter 2

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

and verse 20,

flick over the page,

these remarkable verse,

halfway through the verse

he says this,

Paul,

and the life I now

live in the flesh.

I live by faith

in the Son of God

who loved me

and gave himself

for me.

It's what every

Christian can say,

isn't it?

The Son of God

loved me

and gave himself

for me.

So the death of Jesus

was voluntary.

Secondly,

the death of Jesus,

Jesus' death,

was an act of obedience.

Can you see that

in verse 4?

He gave himself

for all our sins

and to deliver us

from this present evil age

according to the will

of our God

and Father.

And Jesus gave himself

willingly,

he gave himself

because it was

what his father

had planned.

And it was what

his father had wanted.

you can go to those passages

in Mark's gospel

where he will talk

about how he will

go to Jerusalem

to die

and do you remember

how Jesus

says it in Mark's gospel

if you read it?

He says,

it must happen.

It must happen.

It says,

the Son of Man,

which is the way

he refers to himself,

the Son of Man

must go to Jerusalem.

He must suffer.

So why must he?

Because it is

his father's will.

And because the scriptures,

God's word,

must be fulfilled.

The scriptures foretold it.

The father wills it.

It's what the father

wanted him to do.

And that is why

the Lord Jesus

gives himself to this.

That is why he was doing it.

So you go to John's gospel

and you read

over and over

and over again

where Jesus says

he'd come to do

his father's will.

He'd come to please

his father.

He'd come to do

the work

that he'd been given

to do by his father.

He was doing

the will of God.

It was his father's will.

That he lay down

his life.

That he give his life.

And so you go

to the Garden

of Gethsemane again.

And where Jesus prays

and it's the night

before his crucifixion

and he prays

and sweat as it were

like great drops

of blood falls from him.

And he prayed

didn't he?

If it is possible

let this cup pass from me.

Nevertheless

not my will

but yours be done.

And then he rises

to meet those soldiers

that we just talked about.

He rises to meet Judas

who've come to arrest him.

And he says

these words.

Shall I not

drink the cup

that the father

has given me?

The apostle Paul

in Philippians

says that

the Lord Jesus

was obedient.

Obedient

even to death

on a cross.

And so can you see

these first two points

that Paul is making

in Galatians 1, 3 to 5

that Jesus

gave himself

and his death

was an act

of obedience

to the father.

These first points

tell you

don't they

that the father

and the son

are in perfect harmony.

They are in perfect harmony

when it comes

to the death of Jesus.

We must never imply

that the son

volunteered

to do something

against the father's will.

Or that the father

required the son

to do something

against his will.

The father

and the son

were completely

at one.

Jesus gave himself

in love and obedience

in love for us

and in love

for his father

and in desire

to do his father's will.

Number three

Jesus' death

was for our sin.

Jesus' death

was voluntary.

Jesus' death

was an act

of obedience.

Number three

Jesus' death

was for our sin.

Look at verse four.

He gave himself

for our sins.

And why was this

giving of himself

and this act

of loving obedience

necessary?

Well, Paul says

it's necessary

that Jesus died

for our sins.

Our moral failure.

Our rebellion.

Our disobedience

towards God.

It was our sin,

my sin

that made it

necessary for Jesus

to do this.

Jesus was

without sin.

So Jesus' death

was not on account

of his own sins

but on account

of our sins,

his people's sins.

And again,

that's what the New Testament

says right the way

through, isn't it?

In 1 Corinthians 15

and verse three,

the Apostle Paul says,

these are the really

key things

about my ministry.

Here are the most

important things

about the gospel.

Here are the things

that I need you to know.

Christ died

for our sins.

He was buried

on the third day

and he was raised again.

Christ died

for our sins.

The Apostle Peter

in 1 Peter 3

1 Peter 3:18

verse 18

said this,

Christ also suffered

once for sins,

the righteous

for the unrighteous

that he might bring us

to God.

And of course,

this builds,

doesn't it,

on the whole teaching

of the Old Testament.

So you read

the Old Testament

and you will see there

that there are

Old Testament sacrifices

for sins.

There are differences,

aren't there?

Different kinds

of sacrifices.

But there are

animal sacrifices.

sacrifices.

What's the difference

between an animal

sacrifice

and the Lord Jesus

sacrifice?

What have we learned

already?

We've learned,

don't we,

that animals

don't give themselves.

We've learned that

the Lord Jesus

gave himself.

The animal never

gave himself.

The animal is taken

kicking and screaming

or blindly.

They didn't give

themselves.

They were dragged

kicking and screaming

to the place of sacrifice.

But the Lord Jesus

gave himself

to be a sacrifice

for sin.

You go to Isaiah

and that most famous

foreshadowing

of the cross of Christ

in Isaiah 53,

the servant of the Lord

who gives himself

for Israel's sin,

who is wounded

for our transgressions,

who is bruised

for our iniquities.

The punishment

that brings us peace

was laid upon him.

And by his wounds,

we are healed.

And so in the Bible,

death is associated

with sin.

Death is not natural.

There's no such thing

as a natural death.

Death has come into

our world as sin.

Now you know that,

isn't it?

How do you know that?

Because when someone

that you love dies,

it feels like an intruder.

It feels so wrong.

The wages of sin,

the Bible tells us,

is death.

And so Jesus' death,

like all deaths,

is associated with sin.

But in his case,

the sins are ours.

Not his.

And that means

that Jesus acted

as our substitute

and our representative.

Jesus died instead of us.

He was our substitute.

And he also died

on our behalf.

He was our representative.

Let me try and illustrate it.

Let's imagine

that IPC Ealing

have a football team.

All right?

And I'm one of the star players,

quite naturally.

And yet I'm getting old

and I get injured often.

And so I ask Andrew Cuey

to be my substitute

and to be my representative.

And because Andrew

goes to play

for the IPC football team,

I don't have to.

I can sit at home

while he plays the game.

He's also my representative.

He speaks on my behalf.

He speaks in my name.

When he scores,

we score.

And if his team wins,

we win.

And it's not just

Andrew that wins,

it's IPC Ealing

that wins.

His victory is ours.

So in and through Andrew,

the whole church plays

and wins.

Jesus is our substitute

and our representative.

He died instead of us.

And because he died,

we don't have to

if we trust him.

And he's also our representative.

Jesus acted

as the head of the church.

And so what he did

on our behalf,

what he did,

the church did.

Not because we've actually

done anything,

but because Jesus,

the head of the church,

has done it.

Jesus obeyed

the law of God perfectly.

Jesus died on the cross.

He took the penalty

for our sin.

Jesus suffered

what we should have suffered.

And because he did it

as head of the church,

God regards us

as having done it.

So Jesus' death

was for our sin.

That's the third point.

Number four,

Jesus' death rescues us.

Can you see that verse four?

Who gave himself

for our sins

to deliver us,

to rescue us

from the present evil age.

The word rescue here

is different.

It's unusual

in the context.

It's not usually

said of

what Jesus

has done for us.

This word rescue,

it's used

in the book of Acts

that we studied

last year.

So it's used,

for example,

about Peter

being rescued

from prison

by an angel.

Peter being

delivered,

rescued

from prison

by an angel.

It's used

of the apostle Paul

when he was rescued

from the Jewish lynch mob

by the Romans.

It's used

of Stephen's speech

in Acts

of God

rescuing Israel

from the clutches

of Egypt.

And so Paul says here

that Jesus' death

rescues us.

The implication is

the situation we were in

was disastrous

and hopeless.

We're facing misery,

we're facing disaster,

we're facing death

unless someone

comes and intervenes

and pulls us out.

But

and it is Jesus

who intervenes

and it is by his death

he rescues.

And it is the only thing

that rescues.

Jesus' death

is the only thing

that can rescue you

from your sins.

And so that tells you,

doesn't it,

that self-salvation,

trying to rescue yourself,

is utterly impossible.

And you should give up

the attempt this morning.

Jesus gave himself

for our sins

in order to rescue us.

But what is it,

according to our verse,

that Jesus' death

rescues us from?

What is it that Jesus' death

delivers us from?

Can you see it?

The present evil age.

Could be,

another way of putting it,

is the present age of evil.

Or the present age

of the evil one.

2 Corinthians 4

calls the devil

the god of this age.

The Jewish people

divided history

into two ages.

At this age

and the age

to come.

So I've got an illustration here.

And so

there are two ages.

All right?

There is

this age

and there is the age

to come.

All right?

I don't know why.

I couldn't find one

that didn't rattle.

All right?

Okay?

So there's this age

and the age to come.

So the Jewish people

believed we lived

in this age

and then in the future

there was

the age to come.

This age

is dominated

by evil,

isn't it?

This age

is dominated

by sin

and it is

Satan's age.

Dominated by sin

and death

and judgment.

This age

was inaugurated

when Adam fell

in Genesis 3.

And so how do we

get into this age?

Let me tell you

how we get into this age.

We're born into it.

Every single one of us.

We're born into it.

But Jesus' death

rescues us

from the age of judgment

and death

and sin

and we're told,

aren't we,

that it delivers us

from this present

evil age.

That Jesus,

our substitute

and representative,

he accepted

God's judgment.

He entered

into this evil age.

And because he did,

he is now

raised from the dead

and the new age

of the kingdom

of God,

the Lord Jesus,

has come.

And so when you

became a Christian,

you move from being

in this present

evil age

into the age to come.

But here's the truth.

The Jews thought

that these ages

were completely separate.

But what the New Testament

teaches,

and it's really important

for you and I to grasp,

is that Jesus

entered into this

present evil age

and we live now

in the overlap.

So we live in that

bit in the middle.

Don't put it all over that.

We live in the middle bit.

One day,

gloriously,

the age to come

will be fully

and perfectly free,

won't it?

But we now live

in the overlap

of the ages.

The Jews didn't think

it was going to be like that.

And Jesus says,

no, no, no.

I have died

and I have risen.

So the cross comes

right in the middle here

and inaugurates

the age to come.

We live in the overlap.

And so as Christians,

we have two locations,

don't we?

We live in this

present evil age,

but we also live

in the age to come.

And we are living for

and looking for

this age to come.

Jesus rescues us

by his death

from this present evil age.

And so Andrew,

if he is my substitute,

do you remember that?

And not mine,

but I am in the first division.

And we as a church

are in the first division

because Andrew,

our substitute

and our representative,

has scored the goals for us.

He's got us out

of the second division

and into the first division.

Jesus Christ,

by his death

and by his resurrection,

has got us out

of the present evil age.

And one day

that evil age

will pass away.

And all there will be

will be the age to come.

And we will be part of it

if we belong

to the Lord Jesus Christ.

And if we trust

in what he has done for us

when he died on the cross,

that is good, good news.

Number five,

Jesus brings grace and peace.

Can you see that?

Verse three, chapter one.

Grace to you

and peace

from God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ.

And this work

of the Lord Jesus

brings you

into a life

of grace

and peace.

Nearly all

of Paul's letters

begin

grace and peace

to you

from God the Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ.

At that age to come,

the age to come,

do you remember it?

The age to come

is an age

of grace

and peace.

And we enjoy it now,

right now,

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace and peace

is how Christians live

in this present evil age.

That is our Christian experience.

So,

understand this,

grace,

God's undeserved kindness

leads to peace.

Peace

comes from

grace.

And peace

can only come

from grace.

God's grace,

receiving God's undeserved kindness,

is the only way

to receive God's peace.

The only way

that you will

ever receive peace

is by relying

on the grace of God.

As long as you look

to yourself,

even if you're looking

to yourself

for 1%

of your salvation,

if you look to yourself,

you will never have peace.

grace.

Because you will

never ever be sure

that you've done enough.

The Christian message

is this,

that the peace of God

is by God's grace

100%.

Grace,

grace,

grace.

We stand in grace

and it is that grace

that is the basis

of our peace.

Grace and peace

from God the Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace is totally undeserved

and it comes only

through Jesus,

through what he did

on the cross.

And Christians

never move beyond this.

So we never move

beyond the grace of God.

We never move

beyond the grace

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There's nothing to move to,

there's nothing beyond it.

We are always celebrating

the grace of God

in Jesus Christ.

Christ.

And so this morning,

if you've lost

your peace

and you've lost

your assurance,

let me tell you this,

it is almost certain

that you've moved away

from the grace of God

to a certain degree.

If you've lost

your peace

this morning,

it is almost certain

that you have moved

away from the grace

of God

and the cross

of Jesus Christ.

Number six,

the result

of Jesus' death.

is that God

is glorified forever.

Look at verse five.

To whom be the glory

forever and ever.

Amen.

And the purpose

of the good news of God

is not

just our personal salvation.

It's not just

our salvation.

The purpose of the gospel,

the good news of God,

the glory of God.

The purpose of the gospel

is to display

God's character

of all that God is

so that God's character

and his holiness

and his mercy

and his grace

and his love

will be known

and praised

throughout all the world

and all eternity.

and that is why God

sent his son,

the Lord Jesus Christ

to die on the cross.

It was not just for us

but for him.

He wanted to make himself

known.

He wanted to demonstrate

his glory.

That is what Jesus wanted.

So do you remember

he prayed,

glorify your name,

Father.

This is what it's all about.

Glorify the Father

because of the cross.

Because of the cross,

the Father will be glorified

forever and ever

and Jesus was entirely

centred

on the glory of the Father.

And for us to be

Jesus centred,

which people talk

an awful lot about,

will mean that we are

Father centred

because Jesus recognised

that the work of the cross

was that the Father

might be glorified

forever and ever.

That is

the Apostle Paul's message.

The Apostle Paul's gospel

centres on Jesus Christ

and him crucified.

It focuses on the person

of Jesus Christ

and his work.

It focuses on a message

of rescue,

pointing

to the now

and the not yet.

and it is

the best news

and it is

the only answer

for your guilt

and mine.

And it is why

this church exists

to preach

Jesus Christ

and him crucified.

And it is

the main thing

and we have to fight

to keep it

the main thing.

Because verse 6,

he drops the bomb.

And he says

to the church

in Galatia,

he says this,

I am astonished.

I am astonished

that you are

so quickly

deserting,

abandoning

him who called you

in the grace

of Christ

and turning

to a different gospel.

And so

we as a church

never abandon

the gospel.

Never abandon

the message

of Jesus Christ

crucified.

And can you see

how quickly it happens?

Look what it says.

I am astonished

that you are

so quickly,

quickly

deserting,

quickly abandoning.

May we never

abandon

the message

of Jesus Christ

and him crucified.

May we delight in it.

May we rejoice

to take this message

to others

because it's

changed our lives.

Let's change

our eternity.

Would you read

with me again

verses 3 to 5

of Galatians 1?

Let's read it together.

Grace to you

and peace

from God

our Father

and the Lord

Jesus Christ

who gave

himself

for our sins

to deliver us

from the present

evil age

according

to the will

of our God

and Father

to whom

be the glory

forever and ever.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Amen.

Let's pray.