Galatians Part 3: Reasons for writing (1:3-9)

II. Reasons for writing—1:3-9

A. Christ gave Himself for us—1:3-5

1:3—Grace to you—“Paul’s nearly standard formula of Christian blessing and greeting seems particularly appropriate at the start of this letter. Normally, Paul alters the traditional Greek greeting (chairein) to the important Christian word 'grace' (charis; GK 5921).This is always striking, but it is doubly striking here, inasmuch as it occurs in a letter to churches where the sufficiency of salvation by grace was being questioned and perhaps even denied.”¹

Our salvation is purely by grace. Paul uses the word “grace” more than any other New Testament writer. It refers to an undeserved act of kindness. In his use of charis, Paul gave immense theological significance to the fact that it refers to all that God has given us in Christ. In Paul’s mind we simply do not have the ability to repay God for what He has done for us.

“[T]he word χαρις contains the idea of kindness which bestows upon one what he has not deserved… χαρις is used of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases then in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues."²
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