Introduction to the Book of Galatians
Historical background
From Wuest’s Word Studies we get this: “In 278-277 BC a people known as the Gauls left their home in southern Europe and settled in northern Asia Minor. After 232 BC, their state became known as Galatia. King Amyntas (35-25BC), the last independent ruler of Galatia, bequeathed his kingdom to Rome, and Galatia became a Roman province in 25 BC. During the first century, the term Galatia was used in two different senses: geographically, it referred to the territory in the northern part of the central plateau of Asia Minor where the Gauls lived; and politically, it was used to designate the Roman province of Galatia as it varied in extent. There was a wide difference between North and South Galatia in respect to language, occupation, nationality, and social organization. The northern section was still mainly populated by the Gauls, and was pastoral, with comparatively little commerce and few roads. But in South Galatia the situation was radically different. This section was full of flourishing cities, and was enriched by the constant flow of commerce across it. This was the natural result of its geographical position and political history. In ancient times it was the highway along which Asiatic monarchs kept up their communications with the western coast of Asia Minor. When Greek monarchs ruled in Syria and Asia Minor, the highway between their capitals, Syrian Antioch and Ephesus, passed through Southern Galatia, and was the principal channel through planted colonies of Jews and Greeks along the extent of this highway. The Caesars inherited the policy of the Greek monarchs, and planted fresh colonies along this road in order to secure the important route to the east for their legions and their commerce…As to the location of the Galatian churches, some have held that these churches were situated in that section of Asia Minor designated on the map as Galatia, in which are situated the cities of Pessinus, Ancyra, and Tavium. This is known as the North Galatian theory. Others hold that these churches were located in the cities of Pisidian Antioch (not the city of Antioch in Syria), Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. This is the South Galatian theory…William M. Ramsey…a student of the Book of Acts, demonstrated that the Roman province of Galatia included at the time of the founding of the Galatian churches, not only the territory of Galatia, but also the country immediately to the south of it in which were situated the cities of Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. [Wuest’s Word Studies From the Greek New Testament, Vol. 1, pp.11-12] It is thought by Dr. Thiessen that the Galatian letter was written primarily to the churches of Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. Luke tells a lot about the founding churches in South Galatia in Acts 13:14 through Acts 14:23. It is in this region of South Galatia where there were a good many Jews, and no doubt some Jewish Christians, unlike North Galatia. Paul’s practice of evangelism was to evangelize in every Jewish synagogue he came across as he traveled the roads in Asia Minor. South Galatia would have had synagogues within these cities mentioned, and thus would have been targets of Paul’s powerful evangelism. So my guess and that of most Bible scholars is that the Galatian churches Paul founded were in this South Galatia region, not the North Galatia region which was fairly isolated. Just before the time of Christ, right after the victory of Judas Maccabee over the Greek-Syrian despot Antiochus Epiphanes, Jewish synagogues had been established in all the cities along the trade routes through Asia Minor, and Gentiles were attracted to them (through strong Jewish evangelism) due to their higher and nobler concepts of the One God, over their previous polytheistic belief in a bunch of licentious Greek gods. These folks were what the Jews called “God-fearers.” According the Oskar Skarsaune who wrote In the Shadow of the Temple, these “God-fearers” kept the Sabbath and Holy Days and worshipped with the Jews in their synagogues, but hadn’t made the full step into Judaism through circumcision. These along with a decent number of Jews were the ones being drawn away by Paul as he went from synagogue to synagogue along the trade route roads of southern Asia Minor. My estimate is that the “God-fearers” made up about 10 percent of the synagogues in Asia Minor, and in the South Galatia synagogues in Asia Minor. Via his powerful evangelism Paul would succeed in drawing off large numbers of Jews away from their synagogues into belief in Jesus as the Messiah as well as drawing away most of the “God-fearers” who were the Gentile converts the Jews in these synagogues had won over to Judaism and belief in the one God of Israel, Yahweh. These synagogues would be in this area of highly traveled trade routes across southern Asia Minor (see /early-church-history-introduction/).
Galatians was written by Paul to counter the efforts of a group of supposed Jewish believers who had come from Jerusalem, following in Paul’s steps, going to the new churches he had establish. Satan was working through these Judaizers, who had a false concept of true old Testament Judaism, where salvation came by faith, as shown by Abraham. They taught a false concept of Judaism, which was based on salvation earned by works of obedience to the Law. Paul taught salvation by faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and righteousness which comes by faith in that, which the faith of Abraham had foreshadowed.
Analysis of Galatians
Galatians 1-2: The Judaizers were trying to undermine, and if possible, to destroy the work of Paul. This the Judaizers tried to do by two methods. First, they endeavored to depreciate Paul’s position and set up the Twelve Apostles as the real interpreters of Christ in order that they might thereby discredit his authority as a teacher of grace. They argued that Paul was not one of the original Twelve, he had not listened to Christ’s voice, he had not seen His face, he had not attended on Christ’s ministry, and he had not been sent out like them at His express command. Furthermore, they said that he had not received the gospel by direct teaching from the Twelve. The second method they used was to substitute a salvation-by-works system for the doctrine of pure grace [i.e. the receiving of the Holy Spirit and salvation by faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ] which Paul preached. Paul therefore found it necessary to defend his apostolic authority, which he does in the first two chapters.
Galatians 3-4: [Paul] shows that salvation was by grace before the Mosaic law was given, and that the coming of the latter did not supersede nor affect the economy of grace in the least, and this he does in chapters three and four.
Galatians 5-6: Then, because the teachings of the Judaizers were working havoc in the lives of the Galatian Christians, he found it necessary to introduce some corrective measures emphasizing the ministry of the Holy Spirit to the Christian, which he does in chapters five and six. Thus the epistle can be summed up in three words and divided into three sections Personal (1, 2), Doctrinal (3-4), Practical (5-6).” [Wuest’s Greek New Testament, Vol. 1, p.22]
Personal
I. The salutation…In his salutation, Paul expands his official title into a statement of his direct commission from God, thus meeting the attack of his opponents against his apostolic authority…(1:1-5).
II. The Galatian Christians are rebuked and the Judaizers denounced (1:6-10).
III. Paul asserts that the gospel he preaches came to him, not from man but directly from God (1:11-2:21).
1. It was a special revelation given to Paul directly from God (1:11,12).
2. Paul’s previous education could not have been responsible for his teaching of grace [salvation and the receiving of the Holy Spirit by faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ], for it was directly opposed to the latter (1:13, 14).
3. Paul could not have learnt the gospel from the Twelve Apostles at Jerusalem, for he kept aloof from them for some time after his conversion (1:15-17).
4. When he did go up to Jerusalem, he only saw Peter and James, only remained fifteen days, and returned without being recognized by the mass of believers (1:18-24).
5. When Paul did go back to Jerusalem after some years, he was most careful to maintain his independence of the apostles there. His fellowship with them was on terms of equality. He was not indebted to them for anything (2:1-10).
6. But Paul’s independence of the Twelve is not only seen in his activities at Jerusalem, but in his act of rebuking Peter at Antioch when the latter was yielding to pressure from the legalizers, and was adding law to grace, and in that way denying the fundamental gospel (2:11-21).
Doctrinal
Paul defends his doctrine of justification by faith alone without works against the Judaizers who taught that the works of an individual gave him acceptance with God (chapters 3 and 4).
I. The Galatian Christians received the Holy Spirit in answer to their faith in Christ, not through obedience to law (3:1-5).
II. Abraham was justified by faith, not works. Therefore the true children of Abraham are justified in the same way (3:6-9).
III. The Judaizers taught that the law was a means of justification. Paul shows that the law is a law of condemnation, and that it is the Lord Jesus who rescues us from its condemnation through the blood of His Cross (3:15-18). [Obedience is now a fruit of the Spirit, not a requirement. Cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:6-13.]
V. If the law was never given as a means whereby a sinner might be saved, why was it given, and for what purpose? (3:19-4:7).
1. It [the Law] was given to show man that sin is not a mere following of evil impulses, but a direct violation of the laws of God [i.e. the law’s real purpose, far from being evil, is a spiritual mirror, showing where sin lies in believer and unbeliever alike. In the end, the Law of God, whether NT law of Christ, or OT Mosaic Law of God, show all have fallen under the condemnation of the Law of God—all are found guilty before a righteous God. Man’s feeble attempts to keep the law are insufficient to “earn him salvation.” Mirrors have no power to clean up dirt off a dirty individual. It takes something else. The Law of God, whichever version, is merely a spiritual mirror. Romans 7:7, “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”]
2. It was given in order that, by showing the sinner that sin was an actual transgression of God’s laws, he might see the necessity of faith in a substitutionary sacrifice for sin, and thus be led to put his trust in the Christ of prophecy who would in the future die for him (3:24-29).
3. It was given because the sinner was like a child in the minority, and could therefore only be dealt with in a moral elementary way (4:1-7). [i.e. before the coming of Jesus, making the general outpouring of the Holy Spirit available, the Mosaic Law of God helped keep evil in check for God’s nation of Israel. It was a “tutor”, and kept society functioning. In this function, it was a civil law over a nation, as well as a religious law over God’s nation of Israel.]
VI. Yet the Galatians are determined to return to their former position as minors and slaves under the law. (4:8-11).
VII. Paul appeals in a touching way to the Galatians to maintain their freedom from the law. He reminds them of their enthusiastic reception of him and the gospel which he preached. He tells them of his longing to be with them now in order that he might speak to them personally (4:12-20).
VIII. The history of Hagar and Sarah illustrates the present status of law and grace. As the son of the bondwoman gave place to the son of the freewoman, so law has given place to grace [i.e. salvation and the Holy Spirit made available by faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ] (4:21-31).
Practical
I. Paul exhorts the Galatians to hold fast to the freedom from law which the Lord Jesus procured for them by the blood of His Cross, and not become entangled in a legalistic system (5:1-12).
II. They have been liberated from the law by the blood of Christ. But they are not to think this freedom gives them the liberty to sin. The reason why they have been liberated from such an elementary method of controlling the conduct of an individual, is that they might be free to live their lives on a new principle, under the control of the Holy Spirit (5:13-26). [They’re not under the law, they’re now flying on a higher level than the law spiritually.]
1. He warns them not to use their freedom from the law as a pretext for sinning, thus turning liberty into license, and he exhorts them instead, to govern their lives by the motivating impulse of divine love (5:13-15). [i.e. the Law for a believer still has a great purpose, that of being a spiritual mirror so that a believer may examine himself, to see “whether he be in the faith or not” cf. II Corinthians 13:5.]
2. The subjugation of the saint to the personal control of the indwelling Holy Spirit is the secret of victory over sin and of the living of a life in which divine love is the motivating impulse (5:16-26).
a. The Holy Spirit will suppress the activities of the evil nature as the saint trusts Him to do so and cooperates with Him in His work of sanctification [important to note that sanctification is a work of the Holy Spirit in our lives] (5:15-26).
b. The Holy Spirit will produce His own fruit in the life of the saint as the latter trusts Him to do that and cooperates with Him in His work of sanctification (5:22-26).
III. The Galatian saints who have not been enticed away from grace by the wiles of the Judaizers and who therefore are still living Spirit-controlled lives, are exhorted to restore their brethren who have been led astray (6:1-5)
IV. The Galatian saints who have deserted grace for law are exhorted to put themselves under the ministry of the teachers who led them into grace, and are warned that if they do not, thy will reap a harvest of corruption. (6:6-10).
V. Paul’s final warning against the Judaizers, and his closing words (6:11-18). [Wuest’s Word Studies, Vol. 1, pp. 24-27.]
