Paul's Letter to the Galatians
On his first missionary journey (Acts 13-14), Paul preached the gospel of forgiveness and justification in southern Galatia. He started in the synagogues preaching to the Jews and to interested Gentiles. Many Jews and Gentiles believed the gospel. But some Jews opposed Paul and argued vehemently against him. At one point they stoned Paul, and he was left him for dead. Paul survived and continued to preach. He and Barnabus also appointed elders (pastors) in each of the churches that had formed.
The Jewish persecution of the gospel was fierce, and these young churches were very vulnerable. Sometime after they were established, Jewish men, who claimed to be Christians, went to the churches Paul had started and preached a different gospel. According to their teaching, a Gentile had to become a Jew first before he could become a Christian. This message pleased the Jews who were persecuting the gospel. Apparently they didn’t mind if Gentiles or Jews considered Jesus just another rabbi as long as they held to the “good works make righteous” teaching of Judaism at that time.
This gospel de-emphasized, or perhaps even replaced, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus and the forgiveness this accomplished, with a corrupted view of the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses, as Paul explained in this letter, was given specifically to Israel temporarily, until a prophet greater than Moses (Deuteronomy 18.18) would come. This prophet would fulfill the promises given to Abraham and other prophets of the Old Testament that God had chosen Israel to bring salvation to all nations (Gentiles). Even the Jews had lost sight of the emphasis the Law of Moses had on righteousness through forgiveness based on the temple sacrifices. The temple, as the later prophets argued, had become corrupted and was eventually destroyed. Instead of looking for righteousness based on God’s forgiveness, they tried to establish their own righteousness by the “sacrifices” of their own good works.
This, Paul argued, cannot be done. Sinful man can never please God no matter how hard he tries. He must have the forgiveness of sins. This, now that the temple was either corrupted or destroyed, was only given in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of David, and the long promised Messiah (Christ).
Simple Outline
1-2 Paul responds to the false gospel of the Judaizers and their attack on his apostleship.
3-4 Paul teaches the true doctrine of justification by faith.
5-6 Paul teaches the new life of faith Christians live by the power of the Spirit.
Chapter Notes
01) Paul stresses his apostleship and the work of Christ to die for our sins. He condemns any other gospel than the one he taught and will again teach in this letter. He stresses that he is an apostle by direct revelation from God, and he spent three years in Arabia and Damascus before consulting with Peter. We don’t know exactly how much time he spent in Arabia or Damascus. We do know that he debated the Jews in Damascus and confounded them (Acts 9.22).
02) Paul explained that when he went to Jerusalem to consult with the other apostles, he did so only to confirm the gospel which had been revealed to him. Titus, a Greek, was not required to be circumcised. James, Cephas (Peter), and John recognized Paul was called to bring the gospel to the Gentiles and they were called to bring the gospel to the circumcised. They only wanted Paul to remember the poor (something he always emphasized in his ministry). At some point Peter came to Antioch, either before or after the meeting in Jerusalem. Here he capitulated to pressure from some Jews to be separated from the Gentiles. Nothing is said about James approving this. Paul called them hypocrites, because they taught that Christians were one, but by their actions they showed that they believed there was a difference. Paul then stressed that we (Jews and Gentiles) are justified by faith, not by keeping the law. The power to keep the law is not in our own nature (as Jews) but in Christ, who died for us.
03) Paul pointed out that he had emphasized the crucifixion of Christ (which brought forgiveness). This, not circumcision or any other work, forgives sin. Faith in the crucified Christ brought persecution from the Jews. The Judaizers were teaching a gospel that did not emphasize the crucifixion and therefore was more compatible to the Jews. The Spirit has always come by faith in God’s promises, as was the case with Abraham. Good works are important, but they do not save. They are the outcome of faith in God’s promises. God’s promises save. The command to do good works is a curse to anyone without faith in God’s forgiveness because we can’t do them perfectly. Jesus’ crucifixion was a curse as Deuteronomy 21.23 teaches. But it wasn’t a curse for Jesus’ sins, but for all people so that Gentiles could receive the blessing that God had promised them in Abraham. Paul knew the Hebrew word for “seed” could be singular or plural. Here he uses that to show that God’s promises come through Christ. Also, since the promise to Abraham came before the Law of Moses, it could not be overridden by the Law of Moses. The purpose of the law was to show us our sin and our need for forgiveness (justification). Only Jesus brings forgiveness (justification). All who believe in this are the sons of Abraham.
04) Before Jesus came to redeem us, all believers had the status of children under guardians - a kind of slavery. His redemption gave us adoption and full status as sons. The Galatians had been idolators. Paul warned that if they turned back to guardianship status prior to Christ (Judaism), this would be a return to idolatry. Paul preached the Gospel to them while he was sick. He wanted them to be drawn to Christ. The Judaizers wanted the draw the Galatians to themselves.
Paul compared the covenants of Abraham and Moses to the sons born to Hagar and to Sarah. Hagar was Sarah’s servant, and Abraham had a son with her thinking this would fulfill God’s promise of a son to Sarah. This was a human arrangement that might have been acceptable to the world. God allowed it, but it wasn’t His ultimate promise. Ishmael was temporarily the “son” of Sarah. But when Isaac was born, his temporary sonship ended. The analogy isn’t perfect. God gave both the covenants of Abraham and Moses, while He did not tell Abraham to have a son with Hagar. But the outcomes fit. The Covenant of Moses was to be succeeded by the “Greater Prophet” (Deuteronomy 18.18). This is the Messiah and the “seed” of Abraham, the Son of Abraham, who brought salvation to all people. With His coming, the temporary status of the Covenant of Moses was ended. Paul also compares Ishmael’s persecution of Isaac to the Jewish persecution of Christians.
05) In these last two chapters Paul explains how we live by the faith that justifies us. Circumcision was a work of faith in God’s promises. These promises were fulfilled in the Messiah. Since the Messiah has come, we can’t go back to the old work of faith (circumcision) thinking it somehow is necessary for salvation.
We still have works of faith to do - especially to love our neighbors. Faith focuses on this, not on circumcision, the old sign of faith. The Judaizers must have been misusing Paul’s teaching and turning the Galatians against each other.
Faith in Christ also gives us the power of the Spirit to suppress the sinful desires of the flesh. This doesn’t mean we stop sinning, but it does mean these desires do not dominate us. We do not continue living in these desires. On the other hand, the Spirit generates new desires that are pleasing to God and fruitful to others. These desires lead to humility and peace rather than conceit and provocation.
06) When we live by faith in Christ, our sins don’t control us. But when we are caught in temptation, we can be restored through repentance and forgiveness. All Christians should work together to help restore each other in repentance and forgiveness.
We should support those who teach us God’s word, and, in general, we should support the people and works that are led by the Spirit. Giving our time, talents, and treasures to the people and things of God will bring a harvest of blessings.
Paul again shows the personal sacrifices he is making. The large letters of this part of the letter show that he was battling illness. On the other hand, the push to get the Galatians circumcised was really all about pleasing the Jews in order to avoid persecution. Paul taught, as Jesus did, that following Christ brings persecution. In faith, Paul is united to Christ, and the persecution only shows that he is no longer of the world.
Those who believe this and live it have peace and mercy. These are the true Israel of God. Paul won’t let the accusations of the Judaizers trouble him. They are nothing compared to the sufferings he has endured with Jesus.
The last sentence shows Paul’s confidence that the Galatians will avoid the errors this letter has painfully pointed out, and instead, they will return to the gospel of forgiveness in Christ by faith in Christ.