Galatians 1:1–5 (ESV)
Greeting
1 Paul,
an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me,
To the churches
of Galatia:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present
evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
This is the greeting
for this letter and it addresses the churches of Galatia. Paul usually has to state his apostleship because he came in after the death, resurrection, and the ascension. People doubted his credintials, but he was picked by Jesus when Paul (Saul)
was on the road to Damascas. The Lutheran Study Bible states: “Paul’s greeting anticipates the Letter’s central argument. According to His Father’s will, Christ has graciously given Himself for our sins and delivered us from this
present evil age; therefore, works of the Law are not necessary for salvation. Teachings that compromise this core truth rob God of His due glory and rob us of true peace, for God brings true peace to our hearts through the forgiveness of sins.”
I pray: Heavenly Father, by the power of Your Son’s resurrection,
set our hearts free and forever at rest. Amen.
Edward A. Engelbrecht, The
Lutheran Study Bible (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2009), 2002.