Context of Galatians
Author:
Paul
Date:
About A.D. 56
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
Structure of Galatians
I. Introduction (1:1-10)
A. Salutation (1:1-5)
B. Denunciation (1:6-10)
II. Personal: Defense of Paul’s Apostleship (1:11–2:21)
A. Received by Revelation (1:11-12)
B. Independent of Jerusalem Apostles (1:13–2:21)
III. Doctrinal: Defense of Justification by Faith (3:1–4:31)
A. Vindication of Justification by Faith (3:1-18)
B. Purpose of the Law (3:19–4:7)
C. Appeal Concerning Justification by Faith (4:8-31)
IV. Practical: Defense of Christian Liberty (5:1–6:10)
A. Liberty Vs. Law (5:1-12)
B. Liberty Vs. License (5:13-26)
C. Liberty to Love (6:1-10)
V. Conclusion (6:11-18)
A. Authentication of the Epistle (6:11)
B. Condemnation of the Judaizers (6:12-16)
C. Benediction (6:18)
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.
I. Introduction (1:1-10)
A. Salutation (1:1-5)
Claims to be written by the Apostle Paul and the brothers and sisters with him
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
Letter is directed specifically to the churches in Galatia
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.”
B. Denunciation (1:6-10)
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
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
II. Personal: Defense of Paul’s Apostleship (1:11–2:21)
A. Received by Revelation (1:11-12)
The Gospel Paul preaches…
Is not of human origin
He didn’t receive if from some guy
He wasn’t taught it
He received it by revelation from Christ Jesus
B. Independent of Jerusalem Apostles (1:13–2:21)
1. Demonstrated by Paul’s Conversion and Early Years as a Christian (1:13-17)
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
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
He went into Arabia
He later returned to Damascus
2. Demonstrated by Paul’s First Post-Conversion Visit to Jerusalem (1:18-24)
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
3. Confirmed by the Jerusalem Apostles (2:1-10)
a. The Treatment of Titus (2:1-5)
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”
The issue of circumcision
A group of false believers had infiltrated the church in order to force the Gentiles into the rite of circumcision
Titus, who was Greek, was not compelled by them
Paul and his companions did not give in for a moment
Why?
To preserve a pure Gospel to the Galatians
b. The Approval of Paul (2:6-10)
Those who were held in high esteem…
They don’t matter to Paul
God doesn’t favor them over anyone else
They added nothing to Paul’s message
They recognized that Paul’s mission to Gentiles was as legitimate as Peter’s mission to Jews
The three pillars of the church:
They are James (Jesus’ brother), Peter, and John
They extended the hand of fellowship to Paul 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
4. Illustrated by Paul’s Rebuke of Peter (2:11-21)
a. Peter’s Hypocrisy (2:11-13)
Paul 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.
b. Paul’s Rebuke (2:14)
I 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?”
c. The Principle Involved (2:15-21)
We Jews know that…
A person is not justified by the works of the law
A person is justified by faith in Jesus Christ
Does Christ promote sin because we find ourselves living among sinful Gentiles?
Absolutely not!
“If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker!”
Death in law: Life in Christ
“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!”
III. Doctrinal: Defense of Justification by Faith (3:1–4:31)
A. Vindication of Justification by Faith (3:1-18)
1. The Experience of the Galatians (3:1-5)
Paul declares the Galatians…
Are fools
Must be bewitched
They had been made fully aware of Christ’s crucifixion
Paul interrogates the Galatians:
Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?
Are you so foolish to begin by means of the Spirit, but finish by means of the flesh?
Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain?
Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?
2. The Example of Abraham (3:6-14)
a. The Faith of Abraham (3:6-9)
Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Those who have faith are children of Abraham.
Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
Those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
b. The Curse of the Law (3:10-12)
All who rely on the works of the law are under a curse
As it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
No one who relies on the law is justified before God
Because “the righteous will live by faith.”
The law is not based on faith
On the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”
c. The Curse on Christ (3:13)
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us
For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”
d. The Blessing of Abraham (3:14)
Christ redeemed us in order that
The blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus
By faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
3. The Permanence of the Promise (3:15-18)
a. The Promise Given to Abraham’s Seed, Christ (3:15-16)
An example from everyday life:
No one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established
God’s promise was to Abraham’s seed, meaning one person, not many
Who is this one person?
Christ
b. The Law’s Irrelevance for the Promise (3:17-18)
The law that came 430 years after the Abrahamic covenant does not change that covenant
The inheritance does not come through following the law, it comes strictly through the promise God graciously made to Abraham
B. Purpose of the Law (3:19–4:7)
1. Its Temporary Nature (3:19-25)
Why was the law given at all?
It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.
The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator, even though a mediator usually implies more than one party, and God is only one.
Does this mean that the law is opposed to the promises of God?
Absolutely not!
For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.
Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin
Why?
So that what was promised (being given through faith in Jesus Christ) might be given to those who believe.
Before the coming of this faith…
We were held in custody under the law
We were locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed.
The law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.
Now that this faith has come…
We are no longer under a guardian.
2. Its Inferior Status (3:26–4:7)
a. Equality in the Body of Christ (3:26-29)
In Christ Jesus...
You are all children of God through faith
All of you were baptized into Christ
You have clothed yourselves with Christ
There is neither Jew nor Gentile
There is neither slave nor free
There is no male and female
You are all one in Christ Jesus
You are Abraham’s seed
You are heirs according to the promise
b. Slaves Vs. Sons (4:1-7)
Paul’s point about being an heir:
If an heir is underage, he is no different than a slave
Likewise, when we were underage we were slaves to the spiritual forces of the world
But at the right time, God sent his son, a human born under the law, to redeem everyone else under the law and to make them children of God
If you are a child of God, then the Spirit of Jesus is in you
The Spirit of Jesus calls God “Daddy”
And if God is also your daddy, then you are no longer a slave, but an heir of God
C. Appeal Concerning Justification by Faith (4:8-31)
1. Paul’s Concern for the Galatians (4:8-20)
a. Because of their Return to Bondage (4:8-11)
When you didn’t know God you were slaves to things that are not gods
But now that you know God – or rather are known by God – why are you turning back?
The Galatians are observing special holidays and seasons that are contrary to the life of Christ, and Paul is worried that he has wasted his time on these people
b. Because of their Loss of Joy (4:12-20)
Paul tells them that they should become like him since he had become like them
He remembers that…
Previously they did him no wrong
He first preached the Gospel to them because he was ill
His illness was a trial to them
But they did not treat him with scorn or contempt
They treated him like an angel
They treated him like Christ himself
They would have been willing to tear out their own eyes and give them to him
But now…
They no longer bless him
They have become enemies of Paul because of the truth he spoke to them
The Judaizers…
Want to win the Galatians over
Do not have the benefit of the Galatians in mind
Want to alienate the Galatians from the Apostles
Want to win the zeal of the Galatians
Zeal…
Is a fine thing if the cause is good
Should be present at all times, and not just when Paul is around
Paul sees the Galatians as his children
He is in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in them
He wishes he could be with them
He wishes he could change his tone with them
They perplex him
2. An Appeal from Allegory (4:21-31)
Since you want to live under the law, do you even know what the law says?
It is written that Abraham had two sons
One by the slave woman
The other by the free woman
His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh
But his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.
These things are being taken figuratively:
The women = two covenants
Hagar = The Sinai Covenant which bears children who are slaves
Hagar = the present city of Jerusalem, because Jerusalem’s children are slaves to the law
Sarah = the heavenly Jerusalem, who is our free mother
Isaac = you who are children of the promise
Ishmael persecuted Isaac = those born according to the flesh persecute those born by the power of the Spirit
But what does Scripture say?
“Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.
IV. Practical: Defense of Christian Liberty (5:1–6:10)
A. Liberty Vs. Law (5:1-12)
1. The Law Enslaves the Believer (5:1-2)
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free
Don’t let yourselves become slaves again
Christ means nothing to you if you choose the way of circumcision
2. The Law Obligates the Believer (5:3)
Every man who lets himself be circumcised is obligated to obey the whole law
3. The Law Alienates Christ (5:4-6)
If you try to be justified by the law…
You have been alienated from Christ
You have fallen away from grace
Through the Spirit…
We eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope
In Christ Jesus…
Circumcision has no value
Uncircumcision has no value
Faith expressing itself through love is the only thing that counts
4. The Law Hinders Growth (5:7-10)
You were running a good race, but someone cut you off
Whoever persuaded you was not the one who first called you
You should understand that…
“A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”
The one throwing you into confusion will have to pay the penalty
5. The Law Removes the Offense of the Cross (5:11-12)
If I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?
In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.
As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
B. Liberty Vs. License (5:13-26)
1. The Fruit of License (5:13-21)
You were called to be free
Your freedom…
Shouldn’t be used for fleshly indulgence
Should be used to serve one another humbly in love
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.
They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The acts of the flesh are obvious:
Sexual immorality
Impurity
Debauchery
Idolatry
Witchcraft
Hatred
Discord
Jealousy
Fits of rage
Selfish ambition
Dissensions
Factions
Envy
Drunkenness
Orgies
Other such things
I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
2. The Fruit of the Spirit (5:22-26)
But the fruit of the Spirit is…
Love
Joy
Peace
Forbearance
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-control
Against such things there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus…
Have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Since we live by the Spirit…
Let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
C. Liberty to Love (6:1-10)
1. Responsibility toward the Weak and Sinful (6:1-5)
If you catch someone sinning…
You who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently
You should watch yourselves, or you might also be tempted
You should carry each other’s burdens, and then you will fulfill the law of Christ
If you think you’re someone special, you’re not
Test your own actions and see if they’re worth being proud of, and don’t compare yourself to others
2. Responsibility toward the Leaders (6:6-9)
The one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.
A man reaps what he sows.
Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction
Whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
3. Responsibility toward All People (6:10)
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
V. Conclusion (6:11-18)
A. Authentication of the Epistle (6:11)
“See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!”
B. Condemnation of the Judaizers (6:12-16)
1. The Motives of the Judaizers (6:12-13)
They want you to be circumcised so that they may impress others by means of the flesh
The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.
Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh.
2. The Motives of Paul (6:14-17)
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.
Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God.
From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
C. Benediction (6:18)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.
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