THE APOSTLE OF THE RECONCILIATION

`NOT OF MEN, NEITHER BY MAN'.- This expression needs careful examination. The word `of' is a translation of

the preposition apo, meaning `away from'; and the word `by', of the preposition dia, meaning `through'. Further,

there is a reason for the change from `men' to `man'. Humanly speaking, no writer is less likely to multiply words

without meaning than Paul; his manner makes some passages in his writings liable to obscurity from their

conciseness rather than from their prolixity. The false teachers at Galatia, as may be gathered from the epistle itself

(for the most part of the circumcision and Pharisees), circulated reports which undermined the authority of Paul.

They could say, with a certain colouring of truth, that Paul had never seen the Lord Jesus as had the twelve. They

said that he had not received his commission from the Lord personally, and that what position he did hold was given

by others; his doctrine also was at so many points at variance with that of the apostles. The Galatians would be wise

if they would see in this the proof that he had merely invented much of his novel doctrine himself, and was after all

a self-styled apostle, and not to be mentioned in the same breath with the `Pillars at Jerusalem'. Unhesitatingly and

unequivocally the apostle exposes the complete falsity of these rumours; his apostleship was not a commission

received from men, neither was its origin through man (that is, flesh and blood) at all, `but by Jesus Christ and God

the Father'.

`BUT BY JESUS CHRIST'.- This took place on the road to Damascus, as recorded in Acts 9.

`AND GOD THE FATHER'.- This is further explained in Galatians 1:15,16. Following this statement, we have the

added clause:

`WHO RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD'.- However the Lord may have qualified His apostles by the outpouring of

holy spirit after resurrection, He did not appoint them by this means: they were appointed beforehand in the days of

His flesh. Paul, however, was commissioned by the risen One, as he declares in Romans 1:4,5. The clause `Who

raised Him out (ek) from the dead', is balanced by the words `Who gave Himself for our sins, in order that He might

deliver us out of (ek) this present evil world', and the structure of the opening verses hinges on these passages, as

may be seen by the following:

a The Father, Who raised Him from (ek) the dead.

B 1:1-5.

b Grace and peace from God the Father.

a The Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself ... to deliver from (ek) this present evil world.

b Will of the Father ... glory.

`WHO GAVE HIMSELF'.- In what capacity will Paul introduce the Lord to these Galatians? He brings prominently

before them the central fact, that Christ has come and settled once for all the question which agitated them in their

weakness. `The Son of God Who loved me, and gave Himself for me' is Paul's personal answer to those who were

going back to bondage. `O foolish Galatians!' he exclaims as he points out the folly of their retrograde move,

`before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you'.

`THAT HE MIGHT DELIVER US'.- Exaireo means `to take out as an eye'; first occurrence, Matthew 5:29. The

emphasis on the word out is very strong, exaireo ... ek.

`FROM THIS PRESENT EVIL AGE'.- Present - This word often refers to an age (Rom. 8:38; Heb. 9:9; 2 Thess. 2:2,

`at hand'; 2 Tim. 3:1, `shall come'). Evil age - the word translated `world' is aion. What is the special connection

with the theme of the epistle? The apostle, even apart from inspiration, would hardly have introduced this unusual

topic unless it bore upon his subsequent argument. The word aion, meaning `age', carries with it not only the idea of

a period of time, but also the principles which were in force during that time. 2 Timothy 4:10 speaks of `this present

world', the original being ton nun aiona, `the now age'; Ephesians 2:2 speaks of `the course of this world', the

original being ton aiona tou kosmou toutou, `the age of this world'. `This age' is often spoken of in contrast with

`the age to come'.

It must be remembered that Paul's personal answer to all attempts to lead him or others back to the bondage of

the Law was that he had been crucified with Christ. The Law, which from one aspect he said was `holy, just, and

good', from another he saw was `weak through the flesh' (Rom. 8:3). It was even to be blamed (Heb. 8:8), and in the

epistle to the Galatians he does not hesitate to use such terms as `weak and beggarly elements' (4:9). When we

remember that `evil' (poneros) sometimes means `defective', and not morally evil (cf. Matt. 6:23, `if thine eye be

evil'), and further, that God Himself declares `I gave them statutes, which were not good' (Ezek. 20:25), while other

Scriptures speak of them as a yoke and a bondage, deliverance from which was only possible through the offering of