As stated in the previous blog, the Judaizers maintained that belief in Jesus Christ is not enough for our salvation. They insisted that faith in Jesus could only be the first step a sinner must take in the process of justification and salvation. Also, presently, some Christians maintain that the death of Jesus Christ on the cross at Golgotha is only one of the several things that had to occur in the history of salvation. However, Paul maintained that such claims are the work of Satan in the Church. The salvation of humankind from guilt and the eternal punishment for sin has not been accomplished throughout history, and it is not a process. God accomplished it in one day, on the cross at Golgotha.
Apostle Paul was so opposed to such teaching that he did not address the believers in Galatia in his customary way. He refers to them only as the “churches in Galatia,” not the “churches of God in Galatia,” as he usually did. Galatians 1:1. Because of their apostasy, the churches in Galatia did not deserve the honor of being addressed as “the churches of God.” Paul proceeds to inform the Galatians that the basis for his teaching and preaching is the Good News for all, which he received from God through revelation. Hebrews 1:11.
“Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this evil age according to the will of our God and Father.” (Galatians 1:3,4, NET). The message here is that God because he loved the world, his enemies, has (past tense), through the body of Jesus Christ, on the cross at Golgotha, removed our sin from us; he justified us, sanctified us, and made us holy in his eyes. God has established peace between him and his enemy, the sinful humankind, and made us his children with full inheritance rights. God accomplished the salvation of humankind in one day, not in history. He accomplished everything needed for the salvation of sinful humankind on the cross at Golgotha through the body of Jesus Christ. Only God, through Jesus Christ, while in the body here on earth, could accomplish our justification and restoration to him as his children.
We, the utterly helpless sinners, could not contribute anything to what God has already done for us. Our justification and salvation that God accomplished on the cross at Golgotha are final, perfect, and forever. There is no possibility of an addition to it, neither here on the earth nor in heaven. For Paul, this realization was so overwhelming that he found himself short on words to express it; thus, he resorts to doxology by abruptly concluding the above message by exclaiming, “to whom be glory forever and ever! Amen.” (Galatians 1: 5, NET)
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