◄ Galatians 1:4 ►
who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
Study Bible
who gave Himself for our sins

Jesus willingly offered His life as the atoning sacrifice for human sin, bearing the judgment sinners deserved. His death fulfilled Isaiah’s portrait of the Servant wounded for the transgressions of others (Isaiah 53:5–6) and completed what the sacrifices of the old covenant could only foreshadow. By His once-for-all offering, Christ secured forgiveness and reconciliation with God (Hebrews 10:10–14). His self-giving was neither forced nor accidental, but flowed from His obedience to the Father and His love for those He came to save (John 10:18; Romans 5:8).

Tit 2:14 He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness…
1Ti 2:5-6 For there is one God, and there is one mediator…
1Pe 2:24 He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree…

to rescue us from the present evil age,

Christ’s salvation delivers believers not only from sin’s guilt but also from the dominion of a world order marked by rebellion against God. Scripture distinguishes the present age, corrupted by sin and ruled by spiritual darkness, from the age to come, when God’s kingdom will be openly established. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, believers already belong to the coming kingdom while living in a fallen world. They are called to resist its values, powers, and desires through the strength God provides (Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 1:13).

Col 1:13-14 He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness…
Act 26:18 open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness…
2Co 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,…

according to the will of our God and Father,

The cross stood at the center of God’s eternal purpose to redeem a people for Himself. The Father sent the Son in love, and the Son willingly carried out the Father’s saving will. From the promise that all nations would be blessed through Abraham’s offspring to the fulfillment found in Christ, God has directed salvation history toward redemption through His Son (Genesis 12:3; Galatians 3:14). Believers therefore rest in a salvation established by God’s purpose and sustained by His fatherly care.

Eph 1:5 He predestined us for adoption as His sons…
Eph 1:11 In Him we were also chosen as God’s own,…
Jas 1:18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus Christ
The central figure in this verse, who "gave Himself for our sins." His sacrificial act is the foundation of Christian salvation.

2. Paul the Apostle
The author of the letter to the Galatians, addressing the churches in Galatia to correct false teachings and affirm the true Gospel.

3. Galatia
A region in modern-day Turkey where the recipients of this letter resided. The churches here were struggling with false teachings about the necessity of following Jewish law for salvation.

4. God the Father
The one whose will is fulfilled through Jesus' sacrificial act, emphasizing the divine plan for salvation.

5. The Present Evil Age
Refers to the current world system, characterized by sin and opposition to God's will, from which believers are rescued.
Teaching Points
The Sacrificial Love of Christ
Jesus' self-giving act is central to the Christian faith. His sacrifice was voluntary and motivated by love, providing a model for selflessness in our lives.

Rescue from the Present Evil Age
Believers are called to live distinctively from the world, recognizing that they have been rescued from its influence and are now part of God's kingdom.

The Will of God
Understanding that Christ's sacrifice was according to God's will encourages trust in God's sovereign plan for our lives, even when circumstances are challenging.

The Nature of Sin and Redemption
Acknowledge the seriousness of sin and the necessity of redemption through Christ. This awareness should lead to gratitude and a desire to live in obedience to God.

Living in Light of the Gospel
The Gospel is not just a message to be believed but a reality to be lived out. Our lives should reflect the transformation that comes from being rescued by Christ.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding Jesus' sacrificial love in Galatians 1:4 impact your daily life and relationships?

2. In what ways can you live distinctively from the "present evil age" as a follower of Christ?

3. How does recognizing that Christ's sacrifice was according to God's will influence your trust in God's plan for your life?

4. What practical steps can you take to ensure that your life reflects the redemption you have received through Christ?

5. How can you share the message of being rescued from sin with others in your community?
Connections to Other Scriptures
John 3:16
This verse connects with Galatians 1:4 by emphasizing God's love and the giving of His Son for the salvation of the world.

Romans 5:8
Highlights the sacrificial love of Christ, who died for us while we were still sinners, aligning with the message of Jesus giving Himself for our sins.

1 John 5:19
Describes the world as being under the control of the evil one, similar to the "present evil age" mentioned in Galatians 1:4.

Ephesians 1:7
Speaks of redemption through Christ's blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of God's grace.

Matthew 6:10
The Lord's Prayer includes a petition for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, reflecting the fulfillment of God's will in Christ's sacrifice.
Sermons
IntroductionR. Finlayson Galatians 1:1-5
The Gospel of Self-SacrificeR.M. Edgar Galatians 1:1-5
Christ's Sacrifice for Our DeliveranceW.F. Adeney Galatians 1:3, 4
An Evil WorldJ. Jowett, M. A.Galatians 1:4-5
Ascription of Praise to GodLuther.Galatians 1:4-5
Christ Delivering Believers from This Present Evil WorldT. D. Woolsey.Galatians 1:4-5
Christ Gave Himself Up for UsR. Brewin.Galatians 1:4-5
Christ's Giving Himself to DeathJ. P. Lange, D. D.Galatians 1:4-5
Jesus Giving Himself for Our SinsJ. H. Norton.Galatians 1:4-5
Jesus Himself the Redemptive GiftA. B. Jack.Galatians 1:4-5
Love's DelightThe EvangelistGalatians 1:4-5
Our Father's Redemptive PurposesR. Tuck, B. A.Galatians 1:4-5
Particular Application of Christ's MeritsLuther.Galatians 1:4-5
Paul's GospelPaul of Tarsus.Galatians 1:4-5
Praise Will Go on for EverW. M. Punshon.Galatians 1:4-5
Redemption by the Life of ChristH. W. Beecher.Galatians 1:4-5
Redemption by the Substitutionary Death of ChristW. H. M. H. Aitken.Galatians 1:4-5
Redemption Through Christ Rests Upon the Will of GodJ. P. Lange, D. D.Galatians 1:4-5
The Appropriation of Christ's MeritsJ. P. Lange, D. D.Galatians 1:4-5
The AtonementJ. P. Lange, D. D.Galatians 1:4-5
The Christian's SurrenderStarke.Galatians 1:4-5
The Christian's Treatment of This WorldJ. P. Lange, D. D.Galatians 1:4-5
The Duty of Ascribing Glory to GodJames Fergusson.Galatians 1:4-5
The Grand in ChristianityD. Thomas, D. D.Galatians 1:4-5
The Honour Which is Due to God for the Redemption in ChristJ. P. Lange, D. D., J. P. Lange, D. D.Galatians 1:4-5
The Power of the CrossEmilius Bayley, B. D.Galatians 1:4-5
The Praise of GodJ. Lyth.Galatians 1:4-5
The Present Evil WorldCanon Liddon.Galatians 1:4-5
The Sacrifice of Christ IsJ. Lyth.Galatians 1:4-5
What Shall We Do Then for ChristDr. Guthrie., J. Lyth.Galatians 1:4-5
Who Gave HimselfA. B. Jack.Galatians 1:4-5
People
Cephas, Galatians, James, Paul, Peter
Places
Cilicia, Damascus, Galatia, Jerusalem, Judea, Syria
Topics
Accordance, Age, Deliver, Evil, Father-, Free, Order, Present, Purpose, Rescue, Sins, Suffer, Wicked
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Galatians 1:4

     2321   Christ, as redeemer
     2324   Christ, as Saviour
     2414   cross, centrality
     4027   world, fallen
     4030   world, behaviour in
     4127   Satan, defeat of
     5204   age
     6027   sin, remedy for
     6617   atonement, in NT
     6634   deliverance
     6648   expiation
     8211   commitment, to world
     8435   giving, of oneself

Galatians 1:1-5

     5328   greeting

Galatians 1:2-5

     8638   benedictions

Galatians 1:3-4

     1115   God, purpose of
     6511   salvation

Galatians 1:3-5

     1194   glory, divine and human
     8634   amen

Library
Our Manifesto
TO ME it is a pitiful sight to see Paul defending himself as an apostle; and doing this, not against the gainsaying world, but against cold-hearted members of the church. They said that he was not truly an apostle, for he had not seen the Lord; and they uttered a great many other things derogatory to him. To maintain his claim to the apostleship, he was driven to commence his epistles with "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ," though his work was a self-evident proof of his call. If, after God has …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

Answer to Mr. W's Fifth Objection.
5. The consideration that none of these raised persons did or could, after the return to their bodies, tell any tales of their separate existence; otherwise the Evangelists had not been silent in this main point, &c. p. 32. None of these persons, Mr. W. says, told any tales of their separate existence. So I suppose with him. As for the two first: How should they? being only, as Mr. W. says, an insignificant boy and girl, of twelve years of age, or thereabouts. Or if they did, the Evangelists were …
Nathaniel Lardner—A Vindication of Three of Our Blessed Saviour's Miracles

The Epistles of St. Paul
WHEN we pass from primitive Christian preaching to the epistles of St. Paul, we are embarrassed not by the scantiness but by the abundance of our materials. It is not possible to argue that the death of Christ has less than a central, or rather than the central and fundamental place, in the apostle's gospel. But before proceeding to investigate more closely the significance he assigns to it, there are some preliminary considerations to which it is necessary to attend. Attempts have often been made, …
James Denney—The Death of Christ

Institutions of Jesus.
That Jesus was never entirely absorbed in his apocalyptic ideas is proved, moreover, by the fact that at the very time he was most preoccupied with them, he laid with rare forethought the foundation of a church destined to endure. It is scarcely possible to doubt that he himself chose from among his disciples those who were pre-eminently called the "apostles," or the "twelve," since on the day after his death we find them forming a distinct body, and filling up by election the vacancies that had …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

Fourth Conversation
The manner of going to God. * Hearty renunciation. * Prayer and praise prevent discouragement. * Sanctification in common business. * Prayer and the presence of God. * The whole substance of religion. * Self-estimation * Further personal experience. He discoursed with me very frequently, and with great openness of heart, concerning his manner of going to GOD, whereof some part is related already. He told me, that all consists in one hearty renunciation of everything which we are sensible does not …
Brother Lawrence—The Practice of the Presence of God

Exposition of St. Paul's Words, Gal. I. 8.
Exposition of St. Paul's Words, Gal. i. 8. [21.] When therefore certain of this sort wandering about provinces and cities, and carrying with them their venal errors, had found their way to Galatia, and when the Galatians, on hearing them, nauseating the truth, and vomiting up the manna of Apostolic and Catholic doctrine, were delighted with the garbage of heretical novelty, the apostle putting in exercise the authority of his office, delivered his sentence with the utmost severity, "Though we," he …
Vincent of Lérins—The COMMONITORY OF Vincent of Lérins

A Reasonable Service
TEXT: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."--Romans 12:1. There is perhaps no chapter in the New Testament, certainly none in this epistle, with which we are more familiar than this one which is introduced by the text; and yet, however familiar we may be with the statements, if we read them carefully and study them honestly they must always come to us not only in the …
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas Iscariot

The Praise of Men.
"They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God."--John xii. 43. This is spoken of the chief rulers of the Jews, who, though they believed in Christ's Divine mission, were afraid to confess Him, lest they should incur temporal loss and shame from the Pharisees. The censure passed by St. John on these persons is too often applicable to Christians at the present day; perhaps, indeed, there is no one among us who has not at some time or other fallen under it. We love the good opinion …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

Sudden Conversions.
"By the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain."--1 Cor. xv. 10. We can hardly conceive that grace, such as that given to the great Apostle who speaks in the text, would have been given in vain; that is, we should not expect that it would have been given, had it been foreseen and designed by the Almighty Giver that it would have been in vain. By which I do not mean, of course, to deny that God's gifts are oftentimes abused and wasted by man, which …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

So Great Blindness, Moreover, Hath Occupied Men's Minds...
43. So great blindness, moreover, hath occupied men's minds, that to them it is too little if we pronounce some lies not to be sins; but they must needs pronounce it to be sin in some things if we refuse to lie: and to such a pass have they been brought by defending lying, that even that first kind which is of all the most abominably wicked they pronounce to have been used by the Apostle Paul. For in the Epistle to the Galatians, written as it was, like the rest, for doctrine of religion and piety, …
St. Augustine—On Lying

Travelling in Palestine --Roads, Inns, Hospitality, Custom-House Officers, Taxation, Publicans
It was the very busiest road in Palestine, on which the publican Levi Matthew sat at the receipt of "custom," when our Lord called him to the fellowship of the Gospel, and he then made that great feast to which he invited his fellow-publicans, that they also might see and hear Him in Whom he had found life and peace (Luke 5:29). For, it was the only truly international road of all those which passed through Palestine; indeed, it formed one of the great highways of the world's commerce. At the time …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

The Early History of Particular Churches.
A.D. 67-A.D. 500 Section 1. The Church of England. [Sidenote: St. Paul's visit to England.] The CHURCH OF ENGLAND is believed, with good reason, to owe its foundation to the Apostle St. Paul, who probably came to this country after his first imprisonment at Rome. The writings of Tertullian, and others in the second and third centuries speak of Christianity as having spread as far as the islands of Britain, and a British king named Lucius is known to have embraced the Faith about the middle of …
John Henry Blunt—A Key to the Knowledge of Church History

It is Also Written, "But I Say unto You...
28. It is also written, "But I say unto you, Swear not at all." But the Apostle himself has used oaths in his Epistles. [2342] And so he shows how that is to be taken which is said, "I say unto you, Swear not at all:" that is, lest by swearing one come to a facility in swearing, from facility to a custom, and so from a custom there be a downfall into perjury. And therefore he is not found to have sworn except in writing, where there is more wary forethought, and no precipitate tongue withal. And …
St. Augustine—On Lying

Easter Monday
Text: Acts 10, 34-43. 34 And Peter opened his mouth, and said: Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35 but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to him. 36 The word which he sent unto the children of Israel, preaching good tidings of peace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all)--37 that saying ye yourselves know, which was published throughout all Judaea, beginning from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; 38 even Jesus of Nazareth, …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
Text: Colossians 3, 12-17. 12 Put on therefore, as God's elect, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering; 13 forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have a complaint against any; even as the Lord forgave you, so also do ye: 14 and above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to the which also ye were called in one body; and be ye thankful. 16 Let the Word …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

Extracts No. vii.
[In this number the objector gives the whole ground of his objections, and the reasons for his doubts: which he states as follows, viz. "1. Mankind, in all ages of the world, have been, and still are prone to superstition. "2. It cannot be denied, but that a part of mankind at least, have believed, and still are believing in miracles and revelation, which are spurious. "3. The facts on which religion is predicated are unlike every thing of which we have any positive knowledge." Under the first …
Hosea Ballou—A Series of Letters In Defence of Divine Revelation

Chrysostom Evades Election to a Bishopric, and Writes his Work on the Priesthood.
About this time several bishoprics were vacant in Syria, and frequent depositions took place with the changing fortunes of orthodoxy and Arianism, and the interference of the court. The attention of the clergy and the people turned to Chrysostom and his friend Basil as suitable candidates for the episcopal office, although they had not the canonical age of thirty. Chrysostom shrunk from the responsibilities and avoided an election by a pious fraud. He apparently assented to an agreement with Basil …
St. Chrysostom—On the Priesthood

The Apostle's Position and Circumstances
PHILIPPIANS i. 12-20 Disloyal "brethren"--Interest of the paragraph--The victory of patience--The Praetorian sentinel--Separatism, and how it was met--St Paul's secret--His "earnest expectation"--"Christ magnified"--"In my body" St Paul has spoken his affectionate greeting to the Philippians, and has opened to them the warm depths of his friendship with them in the Lord. What he feels towards them "in the heart of Christ Jesus," what he prays for them in regard of the growth and fruit of their …
Handley C. G. Moule—Philippian Studies

Epistle Xlv. To Theoctista, Patrician .
To Theoctista, Patrician [153] . Gregory to Theoctista, &c. We ought to give great thanks to Almighty God, that our most pious and most benignant Emperors have near them kinsfolk of their race, whose life and conversation is such as to give us all great joy. Hence too we should continually pray for these our lords, that their life, with that of all who belong to them, may by the protection of heavenly grace be preserved through long and tranquil times. I have to inform you, however, that I have …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Jesus' First Residence at Capernaum.
^D John II. 12. ^d 12 After this he went down to Capernaum [The site of Capernaum is generally conceded to be marked by the ruins now called Tel-Hum. Jesus is said to have gone "down" because Cana is among the hills, and Capernaum was by the Lake of Galilee, about six hundred feet below sea level], he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples [There is much dispute as to what the New Testament writers mean by the phrase the "brethren of the Lord." This phrase, found in any other than a …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Indeed in all Spiritual Delights, which Unmarried Women Enjoy...
27. Indeed in all spiritual delights, which unmarried women enjoy, their holy conversation ought also to be with caution; lest haply, though their life be not evil through haughtiness, their report be evil through negligence. Nor are they to be listened to, whether they be holy men or women, when (upon occasion of their neglect in some matter being blamed, through which it comes to pass that they fall into evil suspicion, from which they know that their life is far removed) they say that it is enough …
St. Augustine—On the Good of Widowhood.

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