The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the GALATIANS
Author: Paul
Date: A.D. 55–56
Theme: Justification by Faith Alone
Key Words: Grace, Gospel, Faith, Justified, Promise, Liberty, Law
Destination. Galatians is the only letter Paul specifically addressed to a group of churches. Galatia was not a city, but a region of Asia Minor, which included many towns. Its name originated in the third century B.C. when a tribe of people from Gaul migrated to the area. In the first century A.D. the term “Galatia” was used geographically to denote the north-central region of Asia Minor, where the Gauls had settled, and politically to designate the Roman province in south-central Asia Minor. Paul sent this letter to churches in the province of Galatia, an area that included the towns of Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.
Date. The question of the date of Galatians hinges mainly on the correlation of 2:1–10 with Paul’s visits to Jerusalem recorded in Acts. Although chapter 2 may be identified with the famine visit of Acts 11:30, fewer difficulties are encountered by identifying it with the events of Acts 15. Paul probably wrote the letter about A.D. 55 or 56, when he was in Macedonia or Corinth on his third missionary journey.
Occasion and Purpose. Legalists in the church, called Judaizers, taught that certain Old Testament laws were still binding upon Christians. They reasoned that God’s promises extended only to Jews, and that Gentiles must be circumcised before they could fully experience salvation. The Judaizers did not deny that faith in Jesus was necessary, but insisted that it was inadequate. One must add to faith observance of the Law.
This doctrine was in direct contradiction to Paul’s insistence that salvation was by grace through faith, so the Judaizers sought to discredit his teachings by challenging his authority. They charged that he was a secondhand apostle, inferior to Peter and James. Furthermore, they argued, he was a compromiser who made the gospel more attractive to Gentiles by removing its valid legal demands.
Paul vehemently reacted to the evil propaganda of the Judaizers by asserting his apostolic authority and explaining the gospel of grace through faith.
Content. Galatians contains biographical, doctrinal, and practical divisions of two chapters each. In the first section (chs. 1 and 2), Paul defends his apostolic independence, not in a spirit of personal indignation, but to establish the divine origin of his gospel. In the doctrinal section (chs. 3 and 4), Paul presents a series of masterful arguments and illustrations to prove the inferiority of the Law to the gospel and to establish the true purpose of the Law. In the practical application of his doctrine (chs. 5 and 6), Paul exhorts the Galatians to use properly their Christian liberty and not to abuse it. Rather than giving license to sin, the gospel provides the enabling means to attain the righteousness that the Law demands.
Personal Application. The same perversion of the gospel that Paul combats in this letter keeps appearing in various forms. Legalism, which teaches that justification or sanctification depends upon a person’s own efforts, thus denying the sufficiency of the Cross, is the most persistent enemy of the gospel of grace. Circumcision and other requirements of the Mosaic Law may no longer be issues pertaining to salvation, but oftentimes the observance of certain rules, regulations, or religious rites is made coordinate with faith in Christ as the condition of Christian maturity. Galatians clearly declares the perils of legalism and establishes the essential truth of salvation by faith alone. This epistle was the battle cry of the Protestant Reformation and is the Magna Charta of spiritual liberty for all time.
Christ Revealed. Paul teaches that Jesus places those who have faith in Him (2:16; 3:26) in a position of liberty (2:4; 5:1), freeing them from bondage to legalism and to license. The apostle’s main emphasis is on the crucifixion of Christ as the basis for the believer’s deliverance from the curse of sin (1:4; 6:14), self (2:20; see 5:24), and Law (3:12; 4:5). Paul also describes a dynamic faith-union with Christ (2:20), visibly portrayed in baptism (3:27), which relates all believers to each other as brothers and sisters (3:28). Concerning the Person of Christ, Paul declares both His deity (1:1, 3, 16) and His humanity (3:16; 4:4). Jesus is the substance of the gospel (1:7), which He Himself revealed to Paul (1:12).
The Holy Spirit at Work. The Judaizers were as wrong about the means of sanctification as they were about the way of justification. A key passage is 3:2, 3, in which Paul asks the Galatians, who would readily admit that they had begun their Christian life by the Spirit, why they were seeking spiritual maturity by performing works of the Law. The intimation is that the same Spirit who regenerated them causes their new life to grow.
In 3:5 Paul asks a similar question concerning the Holy Spirit. The language he uses indicates an experience of the Spirit that extended beyond the Galatians’ initial reception. The verb “supplies” suggests a continual supplying in bountiful measure, while “works” indicates that God was continuing to perform miracles in their midst through Spirit-filled believers who had not slipped into legalism. The word “miracles” refers to the charismatic manifestations of the Spirit evidenced by outward signs, such as those described in 1 Corinthians 2–14. The phrase “the promise of the Spirit” in 3:14 was also used by Peter to explain the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:33).
These verses teach that we receive the Spirit by faith and that the Spirit continues to manifest Himself in power as we walk in faith.
In 5:16–25 Paul graphically describes a fierce and constant conflict between the flesh, our lower nature prone to sin, and the indwelling Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit, when we passively submit to His control and actively walk in Him, can enable us to die to the flesh (vv. 16, 17), deliver us from the tyranny of the Law (v. 18), and cause the fruit of holiness to grow in our lives (vv. 22, 23).
This section (5:16–25) is a part of Paul’s exhortation concerning the proper use of Christian liberty. Apart from the controlling, sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, liberty is certain to degenerate into license.
Jack W. Hayford, Spirit Filled Life Study Bible,
Author: Paul
Date: A.D. 55–56
Theme: Justification by Faith Alone
Key Words: Grace, Gospel, Faith, Justified, Promise, Liberty, Law
Destination. Galatians is the only letter Paul specifically addressed to a group of churches. Galatia was not a city, but a region of Asia Minor, which included many towns. Its name originated in the third century B.C. when a tribe of people from Gaul migrated to the area. In the first century A.D. the term “Galatia” was used geographically to denote the north-central region of Asia Minor, where the Gauls had settled, and politically to designate the Roman province in south-central Asia Minor. Paul sent this letter to churches in the province of Galatia, an area that included the towns of Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.
Date. The question of the date of Galatians hinges mainly on the correlation of 2:1–10 with Paul’s visits to Jerusalem recorded in Acts. Although chapter 2 may be identified with the famine visit of Acts 11:30, fewer difficulties are encountered by identifying it with the events of Acts 15. Paul probably wrote the letter about A.D. 55 or 56, when he was in Macedonia or Corinth on his third missionary journey.
Occasion and Purpose. Legalists in the church, called Judaizers, taught that certain Old Testament laws were still binding upon Christians. They reasoned that God’s promises extended only to Jews, and that Gentiles must be circumcised before they could fully experience salvation. The Judaizers did not deny that faith in Jesus was necessary, but insisted that it was inadequate. One must add to faith observance of the Law.
This doctrine was in direct contradiction to Paul’s insistence that salvation was by grace through faith, so the Judaizers sought to discredit his teachings by challenging his authority. They charged that he was a secondhand apostle, inferior to Peter and James. Furthermore, they argued, he was a compromiser who made the gospel more attractive to Gentiles by removing its valid legal demands.
Paul vehemently reacted to the evil propaganda of the Judaizers by asserting his apostolic authority and explaining the gospel of grace through faith.
Content. Galatians contains biographical, doctrinal, and practical divisions of two chapters each. In the first section (chs. 1 and 2), Paul defends his apostolic independence, not in a spirit of personal indignation, but to establish the divine origin of his gospel. In the doctrinal section (chs. 3 and 4), Paul presents a series of masterful arguments and illustrations to prove the inferiority of the Law to the gospel and to establish the true purpose of the Law. In the practical application of his doctrine (chs. 5 and 6), Paul exhorts the Galatians to use properly their Christian liberty and not to abuse it. Rather than giving license to sin, the gospel provides the enabling means to attain the righteousness that the Law demands.
Personal Application. The same perversion of the gospel that Paul combats in this letter keeps appearing in various forms. Legalism, which teaches that justification or sanctification depends upon a person’s own efforts, thus denying the sufficiency of the Cross, is the most persistent enemy of the gospel of grace. Circumcision and other requirements of the Mosaic Law may no longer be issues pertaining to salvation, but oftentimes the observance of certain rules, regulations, or religious rites is made coordinate with faith in Christ as the condition of Christian maturity. Galatians clearly declares the perils of legalism and establishes the essential truth of salvation by faith alone. This epistle was the battle cry of the Protestant Reformation and is the Magna Charta of spiritual liberty for all time.
Christ Revealed. Paul teaches that Jesus places those who have faith in Him (2:16; 3:26) in a position of liberty (2:4; 5:1), freeing them from bondage to legalism and to license. The apostle’s main emphasis is on the crucifixion of Christ as the basis for the believer’s deliverance from the curse of sin (1:4; 6:14), self (2:20; see 5:24), and Law (3:12; 4:5). Paul also describes a dynamic faith-union with Christ (2:20), visibly portrayed in baptism (3:27), which relates all believers to each other as brothers and sisters (3:28). Concerning the Person of Christ, Paul declares both His deity (1:1, 3, 16) and His humanity (3:16; 4:4). Jesus is the substance of the gospel (1:7), which He Himself revealed to Paul (1:12).
The Holy Spirit at Work. The Judaizers were as wrong about the means of sanctification as they were about the way of justification. A key passage is 3:2, 3, in which Paul asks the Galatians, who would readily admit that they had begun their Christian life by the Spirit, why they were seeking spiritual maturity by performing works of the Law. The intimation is that the same Spirit who regenerated them causes their new life to grow.
In 3:5 Paul asks a similar question concerning the Holy Spirit. The language he uses indicates an experience of the Spirit that extended beyond the Galatians’ initial reception. The verb “supplies” suggests a continual supplying in bountiful measure, while “works” indicates that God was continuing to perform miracles in their midst through Spirit-filled believers who had not slipped into legalism. The word “miracles” refers to the charismatic manifestations of the Spirit evidenced by outward signs, such as those described in 1 Corinthians 2–14. The phrase “the promise of the Spirit” in 3:14 was also used by Peter to explain the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:33).
These verses teach that we receive the Spirit by faith and that the Spirit continues to manifest Himself in power as we walk in faith.
In 5:16–25 Paul graphically describes a fierce and constant conflict between the flesh, our lower nature prone to sin, and the indwelling Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit, when we passively submit to His control and actively walk in Him, can enable us to die to the flesh (vv. 16, 17), deliver us from the tyranny of the Law (v. 18), and cause the fruit of holiness to grow in our lives (vv. 22, 23).
This section (5:16–25) is a part of Paul’s exhortation concerning the proper use of Christian liberty. Apart from the controlling, sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, liberty is certain to degenerate into license.
Jack W. Hayford, Spirit Filled Life Study Bible,
