Rescued from this Evil Age
Paul anchored all that God has done in the past Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which inaugurated the messianic age – Galatians 1:1-5.
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul claims his apostleship is from the same God who raised Jesus from the dead after he died to “deliver us from this evil age.” This anticipates his response to certain Jewish believers who were operating in Galatia as if the old era is still in effect.
In the first two chapters, Paul details how he received his gospel for the Gentiles by revelation, which was confirmed by the leaders of the Jerusalem church, and how during an earlier controversy at Antioch “false brethren slinked in to spy out our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus” - (Galatians 2:4-5).
FALSE TEACHERS
In Antioch, men from Jerusalem disrupted the church, claiming it was improper for Jewish Christians to have table fellowship with uncircumcised Gentiles. But a church divided along ethnic lines was the inevitable result of this practice.
- (Galatians 1:1-5) - “Paul, an apostle, not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father who raised him from among the dead, and all the brethren with me; to the assemblies of Galatia; Grace to you and peace from God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory unto the ages of ages: Amen!”
Customarily, Paul began his letters with salutations and gracious words of thanksgiving, but in Galatians, his words are noteworthy for their brevity and lack of praise and thanksgiving. Instead, he launches into a stinging rebuke, indicating the depth of his concern and the level of his agitation (“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in grace”).
He defines his apostleship by first using a double negative in the Greek sentence (“neither from men nor through man”) followed by a positive affirmation (“but through Jesus Christ”). In this way, he introduces a key issue that he will address in later paragraphs - his divine appointment to the apostolic office - (Galatians 1:10–2:10).
His Jewish opponents did not dispute his office but claimed his apostleship was received from human authorities, presumably, the church leadership in Jerusalem.
Paul denies that his commission is dependent on any human authority, whether the mother church in Jerusalem or the church at Antioch. Instead, he affirms that he received it directly from Jesus - (1 Corinthians 9:1, Acts 9:4-6, 22:7, 26:16).
PAUL’S COMMISSION
And from its beginning, his ministry has focused on proclaiming the gospel to the Gentiles without requiring them to conform to the regulations of the Torah - (Acts 9:15, 13:46-48, 22:21, Ephesians 3:1-8).
Unlike his opponents, Paul received his commission from the risen Jesus. He also links his gospel to the “Father…who raised Jesus from the dead.” The fatherhood of God plays an important role in this letter since he stresses that believers have become children of God by “adoption” - (Galatians 3:7, 3:26, 4:2-7, 4:22-31).
The resurrection of Jesus was an apocalyptic event that signaled the commencement of the messianic age. In his death and resurrection, the “powers and principalities” that enslaved humanity have been defeated decisively.
The resurrection marked the inauguration of an entirely new era and the final stage in the redemptive plan of God. And since then, nothing can ever be the same again - (1 Corinthians 2:5-8, Ephesians 1:17-23, Colossians 2:15, 1 Peter 3:22).
Paul writes from this perspective when he exhorts the Galatians not to subject themselves again to the “elementary spirits of this world.” They will do so if they submit to circumcision and place themselves under the calendrical rituals of the Torah. With the coming of the Son, the jurisdiction of the old order has reached its end - (Galatians 4:3-11).
HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION
By reminding his audience that the God who commissioned him is the same one who raised Jesus from the dead, Paul prepares his readers for the description of how he received his gospel by direct revelation from Jesus - (Galatians 1:11-16).
And Jesus is the one who “gave himself on account of our sins.” His death was necessary “on account of” the sins of humanity that had alienated men from God - (Matthew 20:28, 26:28, Romans 4:25, 8:32).
The same idea is implicit in two declarations by Paul - (Galatians 2:20, 3:13):
- “The life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself on account of (huper) me.”
- “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse on account of (huper) us.”
The death of Christ was “according to the will of our God and Father.” This emphasizes the magnitude of what God did. If the Galatians place themselves under the Law, they risk the loss of God’s “grace and peace.” To return to what preceded Jesus is regression and tantamount to rejecting the redemptive purpose and grace of God.
CHANGE IN ERA
By means of Christ’s death, God “rescued us from the present evil age.” In Jesus, the expected messianic age has commenced, and in the middle of the present age. His death has inaugurated the age of fulfillment - (Romans 12:2, Colossians 1:12-13).
In the Hebrew Bible, history is divided into two ages - the present evil age and the age to come. In Paul’s Christ-enlightened view, the Mosaic law belongs to the “present age.” It is part of the old order that began to pass away with the resurrection of Jesus - (Galatians 2:19, 4:3-9, 5:5, 1 Corinthians 7:31).
By emphasizing his death and resurrection, Paul highlights the all-sufficiency of Christ’s death for the forgiveness of sins and the deliverance of believers from this “present evil age.” In him, God has acted decisively and thus impacted human history, indeed, the entire creation.
