🔥 Double Blessings for Preaching the True Gospel (Galatians 1)
Galatians 1:9 (NIV)
“As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!“
🎨 Highlight key: 🟩 = the load-bearing truth · 🟨 = the precious outcome · bold = key terms
There’s a curse in the first chapter of Galatians. Flip it over, and you find a double blessing for everyone who carries the true gospel. But first — let’s start with Job. 👇
A false gospel brings curse; the true gospel carries blessing — Galatians 1:9.
📖 Start Here: Job’s Double Portion
Job once carried wrong thoughts about God — he even accused him. But in the last chapter (Job 42), Job repents of what he had uttered with his mouth. And only then does God truly restore him.
Job 42:10 (NIV)
“After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.”
💭 Hold that word — double. Galatians 1 shows you the same God: a double curse for the false gospel, and a double blessing for the true one.
📜 Why Was Galatians Written?
Galatians was written because a different gospel can look spiritual yet pull people away from grace.
| ❌ The Problem | ✅ Why It Matters to You |
|---|---|
| False teachers slipped in with “another gospel.” | We hear all kinds of messages today — casually, on the go. |
| It looked spiritual but was different = wrong. | Something can look like the gospel and still be deadly. |
| It pulled believers away from grace. | We must learn to tell the true from the false. |
⚠️ Highlight: There is only one truth. And the gap between life and death is enormous.
Paul is so stirred by this one issue — believers following other preachers who spoke differently — that he writes with holy anger, even crying out, “O foolish Galatians!”
✉️ Sent by Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:1–2)
Galatians 1:1–2 (NIV)
“Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— and all the brothers and sisters with me,”
⚠️ Highlight: This isn’t Paul’s opinion — it’s a man sent by God. So lean in.
🕊️ Grace and Peace (Galatians 1:3)
This is not man’s opinion — Paul was sent by Christ; the true gospel begins with grace and peace.
Galatians 1:3 (NIV)
“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,”
| Word | What it means | Picture 🖼️ |
|---|---|---|
| Grace | Unearned favour | Noah found grace in God’s eyes — he didn’t earn it |
| Peace | Shalom — wholeness | Lacking nothing in everything |
⚠️ Highlight: No matter how far you’ve drifted or how big the problem — one drop of grace is enough. God protected Noah and his family alone and carried them safely through. He’ll protect you the same way and lead you all the way to maturity. 💧
🎯 The Will of God: Rescued From Every Evil (Galatians 1:4–5)
God’s will is to rescue you — Jesus gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age.
Galatians 1:4–5 (NIV)
“who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
Evil wears many faces — and God’s will is to rescue you from every one:
| This holds you captive… | …and God’s will is to… |
|---|---|
| Sickness 🤒 | Redeem |
| Disease | Rescue |
| Any bondage ⛓️ | Set free |
⚠️ Highlight: Wherever there is bondage, redemption is God’s will — and his plan for your life is to bring people out of bondage too.
❓ What Is the True Gospel? (Galatians 1:6–8)
The true gospel keeps you in the grace of Christ — fix your eyes on Jesus, not the problem.
Galatians 1:6–8 (NIV)
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!“
🚪 “Deserting” is the key word
⚠️ Highlight: Deserting means separated from Christ. They didn’t commit some great sin — they simply believed another gospel. That alone turned them away from Christ.
The closer you walk with Christ, the more you know there’s a solution to your problem — that deliverance is coming, that you’ll come out of the sickness. So drifting away costs you everything. (Paul spends the next chapters showing exactly what separates you from Christ and what makes you fall from grace.)
🌳 Two Trees: which fruit are you eating?
Here’s the trap: these false preachers don’t stand up and tell you to go and sin. They open the Bible and preach from it. So how do we tell the difference? Go back to the Garden of Eden — two trees:
| 🍎 Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil | 🌳 Tree of Life |
|---|---|
| Fruit = messages of “this is good, this is bad” | Fruit = knowing Jesus Christ |
| Gives you information, not power | Gives you life and power to overcome |
| Even the world can teach it | Only Christ can give it |
| Adam & Eve ate it → death | Jesus is life — eat this and you live |
⚠️ Highlight: The message you’re hearing right now is the fruit you’re eating. So ask yourself — which tree am I eating from?
🍫 The world can teach “good” — but only Christ gives power
Even children’s songs teach lovely things: sharing is caring, be kind, be united. The world is full of good advice. But knowing good from evil has never once helped anyone overcome evil.
⚠️ Highlight: Only Jesus gives you the strength to overcome evil. When you focus on his love, you receive the energy to win.
☠️ Look at the effects
What happened the moment Adam and Eve ate the wrong fruit? They were separated from God — and everything came rushing in.
| 🌱 Eden before sin | ☠️ After eating the wrong fruit |
|---|---|
| No death | Death |
| No pain | Pain |
| No sorrow | Sorrow + sickness |
This is a life-and-death situation. And notice — we usually drift without even realising what we should have known. That’s exactly what happened in Eden.
🐍 Don’t name the problem — look at Jesus
💭 Picture this: In the wilderness, snakes bit the Israelites. Shouting “snake! snake! it hurts!” changed nothing — but when they looked up to God’s provision, the venom lost its power. The “snake” is sin, sickness, pain, poverty. Naming your problem won’t heal it. Look at Jesus, and the evil loses its grip.
That’s why “evidently… trying to pervert the gospel” matters: it looks like the gospel, but it isn’t the true one.
⚠️ A Double Curse (Galatians 1:9)
Galatians 1:9 (NIV)
“As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!“
A curse this strong — said twice — is rare in all of Scripture. And it’s aimed squarely at preachers. Even an angel from heaven isn’t exempt. 😮
⚠️ Highlight: As we read in James, those who teach must be very careful — they’re judged more strictly. If you’re going to preach, you must know whether you’re preaching the true truth or not.
📝 Note for you: Questions bubbling up? Write them down. As we work through the whole of Galatians, it will all become clear — and it will be worth it.
🔄 Flip It Over: A Double Blessing
Four blessings for carrying the true gospel: double honour, everlasting reward, first to receive, and living by the gospel.
If there’s a double curse for the false gospel… there’s a double blessing for the true one. And we’re all called as kings and priests to carry it.
| ❌ A Different Gospel | ✅ The True Gospel | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Pulls you away from Christ | Keeps you in the grace of Christ |
| The result | A double curse (Gal 1:9) | A double blessing |
| Who it touches | Anyone who preaches it — even an angel | Everyone who faithfully shares it |
1️⃣ Double Blessings 💰
1 Timothy 5:17 (KJV)
“Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.”
Isaiah 61:6–7 (NIV)
“And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.”
| Instead of… 😔 | God gives… 🎉 |
|---|---|
| Shame | A double portion |
| Disgrace | Joy + everlasting joy |
(Just like Job — repentance and faithfulness, then double.)
2️⃣ Everlasting Blessing ✨
Daniel 12:3 (NIV)
“Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”
🌟 Lead people to righteousness → shine like the stars, for ever and ever. A reward time can’t touch.
3️⃣ First to Receive 🌾
2 Timothy 2:6 (NIV)
“The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.”
🚜 You sowed → you’re first in line to receive.
4️⃣ Live by the Gospel 🍞
1 Corinthians 9:11 (NIV)
“If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?”
1 Corinthians 9:14 (NIV)
“In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.”
Galatians 6:6 (NIV)
“Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.”
⚠️ Highlight: This isn’t an afterthought — it’s a command from the Lord himself.
🎯 The Takeaway
Two trees. Two roads. Two outcomes. The gospel you carry decides which one you walk.
| # | Blessing | Promise | Verse |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1️⃣ | Double blessings | Double honour + double portion | 1 Tim 5:17 · Isa 61:6–7 |
| 2️⃣ | Everlasting | Shine like the stars forever | Dan 12:3 |
| 3️⃣ | First to receive | The farmer eats first | 2 Tim 2:6 |
| 4️⃣ | Live by the gospel | Preachers are provided for | 1 Cor 9:11,14 · Gal 6:6 |
✅ Eat from the Tree of Life. Hold the truth tightly. Look at Jesus, not the problem. Share the true gospel faithfully — and the God who gave himself to rescue you will pour out blessing, just as he gave Job double. 💛
🎧 Based on a Friday Bible Study on Galatians 1. Share it with someone who needs it today. 💛