In Galatians 1:6-9, Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia addressing a serious problem. These churches had been deceived and taught a false gospel. In chapter three verses one through three, Paul spelled out the problem, the Galatians had started believing they needed works combined with faith to receive salvation. He made it very clear, the Galatians had no other gospel by which they were to believe.
The word “gospel” comes from the Greek word, εὐαγγέλιον. The simplest meaning of the word is “good news”. Out of all the words in our Bible, “gospel” may be the most significant. It is our means for being in right standing with God. Paul spoke very strongly about the gospel he preached to Galatians. So much so, many preachers, theologians, and Bible students made an assumption about the word “gospel”.
Because Paul said there was no other gospel in Galatians, many believe the word “gospel” always refers to our salvation. This created the doctrine that our gospel, of salvation by grace through faith alone, has always been offered since the beginning of the world. While this sounds nice and makes everything simple, it leads to bias and inconsistencies within the Bible.
Our gospel is the offer of reconciliation with God through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. It would be impossible to present our gospel without these key facts. Consider Matthew 9:35, in which Jesus was preaching the “gospel of the kingdom.” According to many, this gospel was the exact same gospel that we have today. Therefore, Jesus must have been preaching that he would die, be buried, and rise again…right?
If that is the case, why was Peter and the rest of the disciples completely shocked when Jesus told them he was going to die in Matthew 16:21-22? Clearly Peter and the others did not know anything about this. Therefore, the gospel of the kingdom must not have been about Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection. So what was the gospel of the kingdom?
Luke 4:16-21 sheds light on this matter. Jesus was quoting Isaiah 61:1, which spoke of the prophetic and promised kingdom that would come to Israel. Therefore, this gospel was not the same gospel Paul preached, which was based upon Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Our gospel message is “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Compare this to Jesus's message, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” If they were both preaching the same gospel, why would their message be different?
If there have been a number of gospels preached, why did Paul say there was no other in Galatians? Consider the rest of Paul’s words in Galatians 1:10-12. The gospel Paul preached was not taught to him by men. Paul knew there were those who believed Jesus was the promised Messiah. He killed them for it. It would appear that Paul received a new revelation, perhaps the revelation he mentioned in Ephesians 3? Furthermore, Paul mentioned a distinct difference between his ministry and Peter’s in Galatians 2:7. From Galatians, we know this church was not made up of Jews. Therefore, the kingdom gospel was not applicable to them. The only saving gospel for them and us was and is the Gospel of Christ!
