Galatians 1:6
6 I marvel [thaumazo] that [hoti] ye are [metatithemi] so [houto] soon [tacheos] removed [metatithemi] from [apo] him that called [kaleo] you [humas] into [en] the grace [charis] of
Christ [Christos] unto [eis] another [heteros] gospel: [euaggelion] KJV-Interlinear
6 I am amazed that you are so
quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different
gospel; NASB
Marvel, ‘thaumazo,’ is typically used in the form
of wonder or admiration, but here it is used in dramatic disappointment, Paul being
so surprised that such a promising group of people, in so many different
churches within this region, all collectively fell off their spiritual direction
in such a short space of time.
The time frame is not mentioned, but is here
implied that it was short, at least in Pauls mind.
The Galatians had heard the gospel, and had
believed, so much so that not just one or two churches were formed, but several
churches in the area of Galatia, were formed.
And then, almost as though one simply turns around
and everything has changed with seemingly no effort or delay or thought.
And so Paul is amazed, flabbergasted, shaking his
head in this unbelievably fast change.
Him that called you, is a reference to God the
Father, Gal 1:15; Rom 8:30; 9:24,25; 1 Cor 1:9; 7:15,17; 1 Thess 2:12; 2 Thess
2:14; 2 Tim 1:9).
This departure from truth, is stated here very
clearly, as one of a separation from God Himself.
People do not simply choose between one philosophy
or trend of thought for another, they actively choose for Gods truth, or they
choose against it. The world is not a
cafeteria where God has given you many choices, and then off you go in life to
see how you do.
Quite the contrary, God gives every person a single
choice, namely truth or lies. And you
either choose for God, by doing His will, or you choose against God, by
choosing your own invented interpretation of life.
And Gods will is very easy to learn.
He mandates you to believe in Christ to be saved.
He mandates you to confess your sins in order to
reside in fellowship (Gods sanctuary).
He mandates you to study daily by instruction (your
daily spiritual meal).
He mandates you to learn from that daily study (to
develop understanding).
He mandates you to use what you learn, in your
daily life (to further develop your understanding and to become spiritually
productive).
He mandates you to repeat this process so that you
will develop wisdom.
All of this in turn develops your spiritual muscle,
develops your faith, develops within you a natural desire to support and
contribute to that which sustains your spiritual development.
These things, learning, understanding, application,
production, wisdom, faith, support, all lead to the completion of your life,
from within the scope of this life in this world.
The final components of your, self completion, come
in the afterlife when you receive your eternal reward, and then possess it in
the next universe.
These things the Galatians knew.
But what so often occurs, is that people get away from
their daily studies, and begin to listen to offhand teachings and that is the beginning
of their spiritual downfall. They begin
to believe that they can do things themselves.
They begin to believe that they do not need God, but can look into
themselves for what they need in order to be acceptable to God. They begin to believe that they can earn Gods
respect, and that is one of the biggest lies of evil of all time.
The biggest enemy of the spiritual life is the lack
of a consistent daily study. And this
leads to the false impression that what you are doing, is correct, when it is
not.
If you do not pursue your study daily every day,
and every day of your life, then you are not in Gods will, and probably have
already been swallowed up by spiritual failure, but just have not figured that
out.
But, anyone and everyone who is still alive and
breathing in this world, always has the opportunity to get their spiritual act
together, by beginning or resuming their daily studies.
You cannot know what you do not learn.
You
cannot learn if you are not taught.
You
cannot be taught if you do not engage in a daily study.
And daily means the intake of spiritual food for
the soul, as symbolized by your need for daily meals of physical foods. The principle is the same.
Eat once a month or once a year and how good will
your health be?
