Getting Started With Galatians and Ephesians
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
We’re excited to begin this journey through the books of Galatians and Ephesians with you! You may have gotten this journal because living in the Word daily is difficult for you. Or, maybe this discipline comes naturally, but you simply want to take a different approach in your study of scripture. Regardless of where you may fall in this aspect of your walk with God, our prayer is that you will see scripture in an entirely new way in the next few weeks.
The goal of this journal is simple: we want it to be a tool for you. Each weekday, there will be a short reading out of the books of Galatians or Ephesians. We recommend that you start your time with prayer, then slowly read through that day’s passage. You may even want to read it multiple times; something new could stand out with each read! Write down what stands out to you in the lines. After completing the reading, finish out with that day’s reflection questions and pray about what you took away from your time in the Word.
Weekends look a little different in this journal. On Saturdays, you will find a short devotional and guided prayer that covers a takeaway from what you read that week. On Sundays, we encourage you to use the blank notes page to take sermon notes at church.
We hope your time in the books of Galatians and Ephesians is reflective, fruitful, and eye-opening!
BIO OF PAUL
Saul was born in Tarsus, in the Roman province of Cilicia (in modern-day Turkey), around 5 AD. He was a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin and a Pharisee, trained as a tentmaker. Saul spent much of his early life persecuting Christians, but had a radical conversion when the resurrected Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus (see Acts 9). From that point on, he dedicated his life to spreading the Gospel, beginning in Antioch with his mentor, Barnabas, then continuing further into the regions of the Eastern Mediterranean, Asia Minor, and parts of Europe. Here, he helped establish Christian communities and wrote letters of encouragement and correction to them. Known as the Epistles, these letters account for over twenty percent of the New Testament.
Later in the Book of Acts, Luke wrote that Saul was also known as Paul (see Acts 13). He also exclusively referred to himself as “Paul” in his letters to the church. So why the change? Perhaps the name “Paul” was more familiar to the people in the Greco-Roman world that he was reaching with the Gospel than his given Jewish name, “Saul.” Throughout his missionary journeys, Paul experienced numerous challenges, including persecution, imprisonment, and opposition from both Jewish and Gentile communities. In fact, many of his letters were written while he was in prison.
The early church fathers concur that Paul, faithful to the end, was executed as a martyr for Christ during the reign of Emperor Nero.
OVERVIEW
All of Paul’s letters were written within the last twelve years of his life, as though he began to realize that evangelizing the world was going to take much longer than his lifetime. And so, he began reflecting on the needs of the Church in each region, writing first to the Thessalonians. He next wrote Galatians to the Church in the province of Galatia, where someone was trying to convince the believers that they needed to live under the law again. But Paul would have nothing of it!
The man who was once Saul, the prosecutor, was now Paul, the persecuted. The crucifier under the law became the crucified, a man who lived by faith in the Son of God. Of all men saved by grace, Paul had the authority to defend freedom from bondage to the law by living a righteous life that is only found by faith, not works.
KEY PASSAGES
Galatians 2:20 – I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
