Introduction to Galatians

Authorship: Paul

• Autographic subscription (6:11)
• Co-Senders: “All the brothers who are with me”

Date: AD 48-49

Galatians was likely written either right after or right before the Jerusalem Council.

1. Some argue it was before the Jerusalem Council
   1. Their main argument is that Paul makes no mention of the Jerusalem decree in the letter, which would have been another crucial argument would surely have used to persuade the Galatians not to submit to circumcision.
   2. Many who hold this also argue that Gal 2:1-10 coincides with the famine relief visit: Acts 11:27-30: “Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). 29 So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 30 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.”
2. But on other hand Galatians being written after also has a major point going for it.
   1. Namely, Gal 2:1-10 sounds a lot like Acts 15.
   2. Much more than Acts 11:27-30.
   3. Paul saw no need to repeat the Jerusalem decree, since it had already been delivered.
   4. There is more at stake than circumcision—the gospel itself, justification by works of law vs. faith in Christ.

Place of writing: Unknown

Addressees:

The churches of Galatia (south Asia Minor) that Paul and Barnabas had planted on first missionary journey (Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe) (see Acts 13-14).

1. Arguments for North Galatia theory (older view)
   1. “O foolish Galatians” (3:1) = the Gauls, an ethnic Celtic people, who had migrated from central Europe in 3rd cent. BC and settled in the northern part of Asia Minor.
   2. Requires dating letter a decade later, which would place it around the same time as Romans (AD 57).
2. Arguments for the South Galatia theory (majority view today)
   1. “O foolish Galatians” (3:1) = all those living in the Roman province of Galatia, regardless of ethnicity.
      1. Not limited to ethnic Celtic peoples (Gauls).
      2. Cp. countries today that have significant ethnic diversity: “Malaysians,” “Americans.”
   2. “Galatia” (1:2) = only word available to cover all the cities of the first missionary journey.
   3. Acts mentions no churches founded in north Galatia.

Outline of Galatians

1. 1:1-5: Letter Opening
2. 1:6–6:10: Letter Body
   1. 1:6-10: There is no other gospel!
   2. 1:11–2:21: The authority of Paul’s gospel
   3. 3:1–4:7: Paul’s argument against justification by works of law
   4. 4:8–5:12: The Galatians at the cross-roads: Don’t submit to circumcision!
   5. 5:13–6:10: Communal life in the Spirit
3. 6:11-18: Letter Closing

Purpose

After Paul had established the churches in Galatia (Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe), some agitators came in and tried to persuade the Galatians to another gospel. The agitators were Jewish Christians who taught necessity of circumcision and law-keeping for ultimate salvation. Paul writes Galatians to dissuade them from getting circumcised and to remain faithful to the true gospel.

1. Who were the Judaizers?
   1. Jewish Christians from Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-2)
   2. Paul refers to them as “the circumcision party” (Gal 2:12)
   3. In Acts they are Jewish Christians who are “zealous for the law” (Acts 21:20)
   4. To judaize = “to live like a Jew” (Gal 2:14)
   5. Circumcision is the key. The Judaizers believed:
      1. The Gentiles coming to faith in Jesus was a good first step.
      2. But they are still outsiders.
      3. Circumcision is what separates one from the unclean Gentiles.
      4. It is the key boundary marker that makes one a true member of the people of God, the offspring of Abraham who will inherit the promises.
   6. For the Judaizers circumcision was a symbol of taking on the yoke of the Torah, that is, the obligation to keep all of the Mosaic laws.
   7. Judaizers probably taught: “You have done well in believing Jesus is the Messiah. That is a good start, but that is not sufficient. To complete your membership in the people of God, you must be circumcised and take on the yoke of the Torah.”
   8. The Judaizers also claim they have the authority of the mother church of Jerusalem.
   9. “The gospel Paul preached to you was incomplete. Paul was not one of the original disciples anyway.”
2. The Galatian Christians were being persuaded.
   1. 1:6: “I am astonished that you are so quickly … turning to a different gospel!”
   2. 3:1: “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?”
   3. 4:10: They were already observing Jewish holy days (“days and months and seasons and years”).
   4. 5:2-4: In serious danger of falling away from Christ.
3. Summation of Paul’s response
   1. Gal 5:1: “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
   2. Free from what? Christ has set us free from “the Law” (nomos).
   3. Gal 3:23-25: “Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian/disciplinarian/custodian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.”
   4. This word (nomos) is one that we have to carefully define.
      1. Not from the moral will of God summarized in 10 commandments.
      2. But from the Law of Moses which
         1. Offers life to the obedient (Gal 3:12 / Lev 18:5)
         2. Threatens a curse to the disobedient (Gal 3:10 / Deut 27:26)
      3. That is, nomos = “The Mosaic Law as a Covenant.”
4. As part of his argument persuading the Galatians not to allow themselves to be enslaved to the Judaizers and their view of the law, Paul defends his apostolic authority
   1. Paul is not an apostle by human authority, but by the authority of the risen Christ.
      1. His apostleship is “not from men” (Gal 1:1)—not a man-made message
      2. Paul repeats this crucial point in Gal 1:11-12
      3. Not even from God through human agency (as we ministers after the apostolic age)
      4. But from God through the risen Christ
   2. Paul does not defend his apostolic authority out of pride but to demonstrate the divine authority of the gospel.
      1. Christ himself is the author of the gospel, though it is preached through instruments like Paul.
      2. And in Christ’s gospel, he proclaims what he has done to save us and thus our liberty from the Law.
      3. The gospel (and its liberating truths) is not of human origin.
      4. Imagine Judaizers saying, “What Paul taught you about grace and justification by faith alone, and not needing to be circumcised, is what people would naturally want to hear. It is a man-centered and man-made doctrine. But God gave his Law to Israel at Sinai through Moses, and that is the true teaching from heaven. Sure, it goes against our desires and it is a heavy yoke, but that is what God has revealed. This easy teaching about being able to go to heaven by faith alone without the Law, that is a man-made teaching that is soothing and comforting because it is so easy, but it is false.”

Key Contributions of Galatians

1. The deity of Christ
   • Gal 1:1: “Paul, an apostle—not through man but through Jesus Christ.”
   • This implies that Christ is not a mere man.
   • This is not a contested point—everyone in the early church, even the Judaizers, affirmed deity of Christ.
2. Why justification is not by “works of law” (3:7-14)
   • See Carson & Moo (pp. 375-85) on “The New Perspective on Paul”
   • Debate over the phrase “works of law” (6x: Gal 2:16; 3:2, 5, 10; Rom 3:20, 28)
   • Boundary markers – circumcision, Sabbath, food laws
   • Maccabean revolt in response to Hellenization of Jews
   • Deeds required by the law – focus on moral law
   • Paul’s use of “works” (without “of law” qualifier) = any human works (Rom 4:2, 6; Eph 2:9)
   • “Works” = doing good (Rom 2:13; 4:4; 9:11)
   • Paul’s argument in Gal 3:10-12
3. The purpose of the law in redemptive history (3:15-25)
   • The law and the promise are distinct.
   • The coming of the law does not annul the promise.
   • The law was given to turn sins into transgressions so that the Seed might fulfill it.
4. The doctrine of adoption (4:1-7)
5. The fruits of the Spirit (5:22-23)
6. The law of Christ (6:2): “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
7. Israel redefined around Christ
   1. 3:7-9: “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’ 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”
   2. 3:27-29: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”
   3. 6:14-16: “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.”