Galatians 1:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

NIV: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

NASB: to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.

CSB: To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

NLT: All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.

KJV: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

NKJV: to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

In a collection of simple phrases, Paul has begun his letter to the Christians in Galatia with the facts of "the gospel," the good news about Jesus.

Jesus gave His life to pay for our sins. He did it so that we can be delivered from the world system built on human sinfulness. He also did it in obedience to God's will. Jesus' willingness to die on the cross fulfilled God's plan, and Jesus' God-given purpose (Galatians 1:4). After this, God the Father raised Christ from the dead (Galatians 1:1).

Paul concludes this compact gospel message in this verse with the declaration that God will receive the glory forever and ever. This fits with what Jesus said in John 17:1, "Glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you." The ultimate result of Jesus' death on the cross, His resurrection from the dead, and our salvation through faith in Him is that God will be glorified forever.

The word "glory" shows up repeatedly in the New Testament. It involves the idea that what is truly significant will be shown to be so and given the appropriate amount of recognition, attention, and praise. It will be seen for the worth it truly carries and appreciated for it. In that sense, God's act of grace through "the gospel" will result in His glory being revealed and praised for eternity.

Galatians 1:1–5 begins Paul's letter to the Christians in Galatia with a brief greeting. Paul immediately defends the fact that he has been made an apostle of Jesus Christ by the same God that raised Christ from the dead. He is not a ''man- made'' apostle, as his accusers are saying. His authority is genuine. Next, Paul gives a quick, beautiful explanation of the trustworthy gospel that he preaches: Jesus gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from this age of evil according to God's will.

Paul begins his letter to the Galatian churches abruptly, compared to his other writings. He has heard they are deserting the gospel which he preached and they believed: the good news that Jesus died to fully pay for all our sins on the cross. The Judaizers taught that these Gentiles must also follow the law of Moses to be saved and openly questioned Paul's authority. Paul makes the case that he has been made an apostle by Christ, who appeared to him and revealed the truth to him apart from the other apostles.

Galatians 1 begins one of the most-loved books about God's grace in all of Scripture. This and the following chapter detail Paul's biography, as he makes the case that he has been made an apostle by Christ and therefore his message is trustworthy. Chapters 3 and 4 go into depth about exactly what the gospel of God's grace is and why it is true. In chapters 5 and 6, Paul teaches about how Christians should live in the world as people who have received the grace of God through faith in Christ.

Galatians is sometimes called “a short Romans” for its similar themes of justification and sanctification through faith. A group of Christians known as “Judaizers” were preaching a gospel of legalism, rather than grace. Paul’s main purpose in writing the letter to the Galatians was to reiterate the true nature of the gospel: we are justified (made righteous) and sanctified (made more Christlike) through our faith in Jesus Christ alone. This letter was probably written shortly before the church elders in Jerusalem issued their official refutation of the Judaizers, commonly called the Jerusalem Council.