Galatians: Intro

Paul’s letter to the Galatians has long been considered and still is one of the richest writings of the New Testament for theology, for study, and for preaching. It was written somewhere between 52 & 57 A.D.

Not only does it contain an extended autobiography that covers almost seventeen years in Paul’s life, it also offers one of the most important statements of Paul’s teaching of justification by faith apart from works in the older Mosaic Law.

His letter has had an impact on the life and thought of the Christian church far beyond its modest length. It completes it’s teaching in less than 150 verses (compared to more than 1,000 in Acts, nearly 870 in John, and over 300 in Hebrews).

The influence of the letter on Martin Luther is well known. He summarized his feelings for this epistle and the treasure he found there in just 44 words:

“He is just. He is my defense. He has died for me. He has made His righteousness my righteousness and my sin His sin. If He has made my sin to be His sin, then I do not have it and I am free.” (1515)

The letter makes perhaps the strongest statement of the NT of the equality of all believers, including men & women, in 3:28.

The Galatians were Celts & Gauls who had immigrated into central Asia Minor around 285 B.C. and the area became a Roman province from 25 B.C.

The Galatians had warmly received Paul and revered him almost as an angel of God (4:14) and were ready to make great sacrifices to tend to his needs. They accepted his gospel preaching with enthusiasm. Later after Paul left they became subject to the agitators who insisted they must add circumcision to the gospel for true salvation. Paul was displeased and wrote the letter to show his feelings to refute such heresy against the gospel of Jesus.  

THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL         

(1:11 – 2:21)

Paul shows that the truth of the Gospel (freed from the Law) was not of human origin, since he received it through the revelation of Jesus Christ (1:11-12) when God revealed the Son to him (1:13-17). The Jerusalem church did not commission Paul (1:18-20) but those in Judea did glorify God because the former persecutor now preached the faith he once opposed (1:21-24). 

In 2:15 & 16 Paul finally gave his own description of this truth:

“We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ…for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified”.

THE LAW IN LIGHT OF THE PROMISE  

(3:1 – 5:12)

Paul shows his Galatian converts that they are already Abraham’s descendants, apart from circumcision, because they have been baptized in Abraham’s ultimate descendant, Jesus, the one destined to inherit the promise (3:16 & 26-29).

Abraham was not chosen because he believed. He believed because he was chosen and received the promise of God, justified apart from the law.

Galatians believed the message of faith and received the Spirit.

In terms of Paul’s treatment of the Law:

3:17

The law was given 430 years after the promise God made to Abraham and cannot change the condition of the promise, which is faith.

3:19  

The law was only added to deal with transgressions and its role was temporary until Abraham’s descendant, Christ, should appear.

3:21  

The law was never intended to give life, that is righteousness.

3:23

The law put those under it in protective custody.

3:24

The law functioned as a disciplinarian until Christ, so its protective role was temporary.

Remember Paul was himself an ardent zealot of the law before conversion.

THE MORAL LIFE OF THE JUSTIFIED (5:13 – 6:10)

Paul said that those who are no longer under the law are led by the Spirit which produces its fruit in their lives (5:22) so that their faith expresses itself in love (5:6). So that even though the believer is no longer under the law, he fulfills the law through the love commandment (5:14). 

This vision is perhaps the most optimistic statement of all that Paul made toward the unity of all believers in Jesus Christ.

Paul’s central argument in his letter:

He establishes the doctrine of faith, grace, forgiveness of sins, or Christian righteousness, so that we may have a perfect knowledge of the difference between Christian righteousness and all other righteousness.

There is the righteousness of the law, based upon the 10 commandments, teaching brought by Moses. This doctrine remains in our hearts, but only through the understanding of faith, whereby we are justified (reconciled) to God though faith in His only begotten One, Jesus Christ. In this last & best righteousness, we render nothing to God, but only receive, and have another working within us guiding us toward His service.

For the Galatians to submit to circumcision is to turn ones back to the freedom given in Christ in favor of a rite which no longer has relevance and can only lead back to the slavery of the law. (1:6-9, 3:1, 4:8-11, 5:6, 6:15)

Paul will later express again in Romans 2:29 his position on the original matter of circumcision:

“But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men but of God.” Paul, a highly trained Pharisee, knew that Moses himself had taught in Deut 30:6 that God circumcises the heart, and not the flesh.

In Galatians we are given the strongest clue in the entire NT as to the matter of the thorn in Paul’s side, a physical affliction sent from Satan to buffet him. Chapter 4, verse 15, shows Paul expressing his belief that the Galatians would have plucked out their own eyes and given them to him if possible, allowing a clue that the thorn was weakness of eyesight.