Brief Exposition of Galatians and Ephesians, Exposition 1
A brief Exposition of the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians.
The ARGUMENT.
PAul, having planted several Churches in Galatia (Act. 16. 6. and 18. 23.) a region of Asia the lesse; and being now, as it seemeth, a prisoner at Rome, (chap. 6. 17.) some false Apostles had seduced these Churches from the sincere doctrine of the Gospel preached by Paul, chap. 1. 6. perswading them that the observation of the Levitical Ceremonies, now abolished, was necessary, chap. 6. 13. and that justification and salvation were partly from faith in Christ, and partly also from their own works, chap. 3. 2. and 4. 21. and that Paul was no lawful Apostle, no wayes to be compared with the other Apostles who had seen Christ in the flesh, (as may be gathered from chap. 2. 6, 9.) and therefore his doctrine was but false. Upon which occasion, the Apostle writeth unto them this Epistle: wherein his scope, is, to convince those Galatians of their Errors; to reduce them to the right way; to confirm them in the Truth, and to presse upon them the duties of an holy life, chap. 3, and 4, &c. which he laboureth to effectuate (after prefacing, to ver. 6. chap. 1.) First, by asserting the truth of the Gospel preached by him, and the Authority of his own Apostleship, to ver. 15. of chap. 2. Secondly, by vindicating the true doctrine of justification by faith, and of the temporary use and abrogation of the Levitical Law, and of the whole legal dispensation of the Covenant of Grace, to the end of chap. 4. Thirdly, by instructing them in the right use of Christian Liberty, having exhorted them to stand to it, and pointing out, and pressing upon them the exercise of several Christian Vertues, to ver. 11. of chap. 6. From whence he concludeth the Epistle, to the end of chap. 6.