Context of Galatians
Author:
Paul
Date:
Date:
About A.D. 56
Place of composition:
Place of composition:
Perhaps Ephesus or Corinth
Audience:
The “churches of Galatia,” perhaps southern Galatia, a Roman province containing the towns of Lystra, Iconium, and Derbe
Occasion or purpose:
To refute opponents who advocated circumcision and to demonstrate that Jew and Gentile are equally saved by faith in Jesus’ redemptive power
Themes of Galatians
Paul is arguing: “By ‘the works of the Law’ no one is justified.”
“The works of the Law” is the strictly Jewish portion of the Law (dress, haircut, diet, circumcision, etc.); so, in other words, identifying as a Jew is not what justifies you before God, as many in the Galatian church had been claiming.
Chapter 1
The Introduction to the letter contains a salutation which claims to be written by the Apostle Paul and the brothers and sisters with him. The letter is directed specifically to the churches in Galatia.
Paul’s claims:
He is an apostle sent not by humans, but by Christ and by God the Father
God raised Jesus from the dead
Paul’s greeting:
“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 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.”
The letter then quickly jumps into Paul’s denunciation of the Galatians.
Why is Paul in shock?
The Galatians have quickly abandoned the life lived in Christ. They have turned to a false gospel. They have been thrown into confusion by those perverting Christ’s Gospel.
Paul says all who preach false gospels be damned…
Even if an angel preaches it. Even if we apostles preach it.
Why is Paul not concerned with pleasing these people?
Because if he were still trying to please people, he would not be a servant of Christ.
Paul then gets personal and he provides a defense of his own Apostleship. The Gospel Paul preaches is not of human origin. He didn’t receive it from some guy. He wasn’t taught it. He received it by revelation from Christ Jesus.
Paul emphasizes that his ministry is independent of the Jerusalem Apostles and he demonstrates this by discussing his own conversion and his early years as a Christian. Paul was originally a Judaizer. He persecuted the church and tried to destroy it. He was advancing in Judaism well beyond his years. He was extremely zealous for the traditions of the fathers.
But God…
Set Paul apart from the time he was in his mother’s womb
Called Paul by grace
Was pleased to reveal his Son in Paul
Called Paul to preach Christ among the Gentiles
In Paul’s first response to his call, he did not consult any human being. He did not go up to Jerusalem to meet the first apostles. But he went into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.
Paul then demonstrates his independent ministry by discussing what happened during his first post-conversion visit to Jerusalem. Three years after Paul received Christ’s call he went up to Jerusalem to meet Cephas (Peter). He stayed with Cephas (Peter) for 15 days. He didn’t meet with the other apostles. He did meet with Jesus’ brother James. He then went to Syria and Cilicia. The churches didn’t really know much about Paul. But they did know that he used to persecute the church, but now supported it. So they praised God because of Paul.
He is an apostle sent not by humans, but by Christ and by God the Father
God raised Jesus from the dead
Paul’s greeting:
“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 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.”
The letter then quickly jumps into Paul’s denunciation of the Galatians.
Why is Paul in shock?
The Galatians have quickly abandoned the life lived in Christ. They have turned to a false gospel. They have been thrown into confusion by those perverting Christ’s Gospel.
Paul says all who preach false gospels be damned…
Even if an angel preaches it. Even if we apostles preach it.
Why is Paul not concerned with pleasing these people?
Because if he were still trying to please people, he would not be a servant of Christ.
Paul then gets personal and he provides a defense of his own Apostleship. The Gospel Paul preaches is not of human origin. He didn’t receive it from some guy. He wasn’t taught it. He received it by revelation from Christ Jesus.
Paul emphasizes that his ministry is independent of the Jerusalem Apostles and he demonstrates this by discussing his own conversion and his early years as a Christian. Paul was originally a Judaizer. He persecuted the church and tried to destroy it. He was advancing in Judaism well beyond his years. He was extremely zealous for the traditions of the fathers.
But God…
Set Paul apart from the time he was in his mother’s womb
Called Paul by grace
Was pleased to reveal his Son in Paul
Called Paul to preach Christ among the Gentiles
In Paul’s first response to his call, he did not consult any human being. He did not go up to Jerusalem to meet the first apostles. But he went into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.
Paul then demonstrates his independent ministry by discussing what happened during his first post-conversion visit to Jerusalem. Three years after Paul received Christ’s call he went up to Jerusalem to meet Cephas (Peter). He stayed with Cephas (Peter) for 15 days. He didn’t meet with the other apostles. He did meet with Jesus’ brother James. He then went to Syria and Cilicia. The churches didn’t really know much about Paul. But they did know that he used to persecute the church, but now supported it. So they praised God because of Paul.
Chapter 2
Paul was confirmed by the Jerusalem Apostles, but then he talks about how they treated his disciple Titus. Fourteen years later Paul went back to Jerusalem with Barnabas. He took Titus with him. He went in response to a revelation. He met privately with the church leaders. He presented to them the gospel that he had preached to the Gentiles. He did this to make sure he was not “running his race in vain”
But then there arose an issue of circumcision. A group of false believers had infiltrated the church in order to force the Gentiles into the rite of circumcision. Paul says that Titus, who was Greek, was not compelled by them, and that Paul and his companions did not give in for a moment.
Why?
To preserve a pure Gospel to the Galatians.
Paul says that those folks who were held in high esteem don’t matter to him because God doesn’t favor them over anyone else and they added nothing to Paul’s message. They recognized that Paul’s mission to Gentiles was as legitimate as Peter’s mission to Jews.
Paul then lists the “three pillars” of the church: They are James (Jesus’ brother), Peter, and John. He says that they extended the hand of fellowship to him and Barnabas when they saw their grace. They agreed that Paul and Barnabas should go to the uncircumcised Gentiles, and they themselves to the circumcised Jews. All they asked was that Paul and Barnabas continued to remember the poor, which was what Paul wanted in the first place.
Paul then demonstrates the independence of his ministry by illustrating his own rebuke of Peter hypocrisy. Paul says that he opposed Cephas (Peter) when he came to Antioch.
Why?
Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. Paul said to Cephas (Peter) in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?”
Paul says that "we Jews" know that…
A person is not justified by the works of the law
A person is justified by faith in Jesus Christ
And Paul asks, “Does Christ promote sin because we find ourselves living among sinful Gentiles? …Absolutely not!”
And he adds: “If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker!”
Paul contrasts death in law versus fife in Christ, saying:
“For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.”
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
“The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
But then there arose an issue of circumcision. A group of false believers had infiltrated the church in order to force the Gentiles into the rite of circumcision. Paul says that Titus, who was Greek, was not compelled by them, and that Paul and his companions did not give in for a moment.
Why?
To preserve a pure Gospel to the Galatians.
Paul says that those folks who were held in high esteem don’t matter to him because God doesn’t favor them over anyone else and they added nothing to Paul’s message. They recognized that Paul’s mission to Gentiles was as legitimate as Peter’s mission to Jews.
Paul then lists the “three pillars” of the church: They are James (Jesus’ brother), Peter, and John. He says that they extended the hand of fellowship to him and Barnabas when they saw their grace. They agreed that Paul and Barnabas should go to the uncircumcised Gentiles, and they themselves to the circumcised Jews. All they asked was that Paul and Barnabas continued to remember the poor, which was what Paul wanted in the first place.
Paul then demonstrates the independence of his ministry by illustrating his own rebuke of Peter hypocrisy. Paul says that he opposed Cephas (Peter) when he came to Antioch.
Why?
Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. Paul said to Cephas (Peter) in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?”
Paul says that "we Jews" know that…
A person is not justified by the works of the law
A person is justified by faith in Jesus Christ
And Paul asks, “Does Christ promote sin because we find ourselves living among sinful Gentiles? …Absolutely not!”
And he adds: “If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker!”
Paul contrasts death in law versus fife in Christ, saying:
“For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.”
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
“The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
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