To God Be the Glory Galatians 1:5 - Equipped for Battle

After reading and studying such a wonderful introduction to the book of Galatians, we might wonder how Paul the apostle could add any measure of greatness to his words. Yet, in chapter one and verse five Paul sums up the entirety of his opening remarks by writing:

To whom [be] glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Paul first established who he was and from where his authority came. He then acknowledged the brethren who ministered with him, and set forth the basis of his sharing in the form of a blessing – grace and peace. Next he shared God the Father's will in what Jesus did as He gave His life for our sins that He might deliver us from this present evil world, and now Paul states, “To whom be glory.” Let it be known that the responsibility and credit for all these things is God the Father and Our Lord Jesus Christ. God, and God alone, deserves the glory for who Paul was, the authority he had, the basis for which he shared, and the giving of Jesus Christ for our redemption. No other entity deserves the splendor, magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, and praise for what God the Father has done.

Paul adds, “for ever and ever.” In other words this credit and glory is forever, eternal and without end. There will be no substitutionary force or cause that shall take preeminence over what God has done. No other being will replace what the Lord God has done not only for Paul, but also for us, and as though the determination of all of time is not enough, Paul ends his introduction with “Amen” which mean, “so be it” or “let it be so.”

Although this is a very short verse in the Bible, it is packed with the essence of what must be known in every believer in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. All credit and glory for our existence and salvation is to God and God alone. We would not be if God would not have decided we would be. We would not have had the freedom to choose to come to or fall away from Him, if God would not have given us choice. We would have no resource for our sins being wiped away if God had not decided to send His Son Jesus Christ to this world to die for them, and we would not have ever come to Him if we were not drawn by the Holy Spirit of God to do so. Oh indeed Paul, “to whom be glory for ever and ever, Amen” is to be our anthem as it was his because of this great and mighty God. May we all live with the consciousness that God should and must receive the credit, glory and praise for all the great things He has done!

Next time we will see Paul begin his apostolic authority with the churches in Galatia, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow...there is more...

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