“Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil world, according to the will of our God and Father..." (Gal. 1:4) It was important that the Galatians completely realized that if they fully embraced the doctrine of the Judaizers, they were spurning all that Christ had done to redeem them. One needs to understand the significance of Christ's death as the center in redemption. Let us look at this verse (Gal. 1:4), and see what Christ has done for us.
(1) He gave Himself for our sins. "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many..." (Mk. 10:45). "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all..." (Rom. 8:32) When sin entered, the need for Christ followed. "Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned…" (Rom. 5:12) "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God…" (Rom. 3:23) "For the wages of sin is death…" (Rom. 6:23) But Christ gave Himself for our sins to restore man with God. The saddest event in the history of mankind was the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet, for a lost world, it was the happiest event, for out of His death came hope of eternal life. "Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory…” (2 Tim. 2:10)
(2) That He might deliver us from this present evil world. This present evil world is a world of sin; Satan is its god, and its people are spiritually blind and dead (2 Cor. 4:4). Christ and the gospel are a rescue from a state of bondage (Rom. 6:20). There is no deliverance from the evils in this world until we are delivered from our sins. Sin is the cause of the evil of the world. This is why Christ gave Himself. "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins..." (Eph. 1:7) Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, to deliver from this evil world (1 Jn. 2:2). If Christ is rejected, there is no deliverance from this present evil world.
(3) All of this was according to the will of our God and our Father. All that Jesus has done was in complete harmony with the will of God. This was the purpose and plan of God (Eph. 1:9-10; 3:11). God's greatness becomes very clear when one begins to consider the marvelous plan God had to redeem sinful men. The scheme of redemption truly proves that God is great! Only an infinite mind could conceive such a great salvation.