Galatians #48

Galatians is Paul’s urgent, sometimes sharp defense of the gospel of grace, written against teachers insisting that Gentile believers must be circumcised and keep the Jewish law to be truly saved.

Read Galatians in the King James Version →

Author and Date

Paul names himself as the author (Galatians 1:1; 5:2), and Pauline authorship is virtually undisputed. The date depends on which Galatian churches he addressed. Under the “South Galatian” view, the letter was written c. AD 48-50 to churches he founded on his first journey (Acts 13-14). Under the “North Galatian” view, it was written c. AD 52-57 to churches in the ethnic region of Galatia. Scholars remain divided.

Background and Audience

The recipients were largely Gentile converts in the churches of Galatia. After Paul left, other teachers arrived insisting that believers be circumcised and observe the Mosaic law (Galatians 1:6-7; 5:2-3; 6:12-13). Paul responds with alarm, defending both his authority as an apostle and the message he preached.

Outline

• Chapter 1: Paul’s astonishment at another “gospel,” his call by Christ, and his early years as an apostle
• Chapter 2: His meeting with the Jerusalem leaders and his confrontation with Peter at Antioch
• Chapter 3: Justification by faith rather than the law, with Abraham as the model and the law’s temporary purpose
• Chapter 4: Believers as sons and heirs, Paul’s personal appeal, and the allegory of Hagar and Sarah
• Chapter 5: Freedom in Christ, the conflict between flesh and Spirit, and the fruit of the Spirit
• Chapter 6: Bearing one another’s burdens, sowing and reaping, and Paul’s closing summary

Key Themes

The central theme is justification by faith in Christ rather than by works of the law. Paul argues that Gentile believers are full heirs of the promise made to Abraham without becoming Jewish converts, and that the law was given for a period until Christ came. He also stresses freedom that does not become license, and a life led by the Spirit.

Key Verses

• Galatians 2:16 — A person is justified through faith in Christ, not by works of the law
• Galatians 2:20 — Paul describes being crucified with Christ, who now lives in him
• Galatians 3:28 — Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female are one in Christ
• Galatians 5:1 — Christ has set believers free, and they are urged to stand firm in that freedom
• Galatians 5:22-23 — The fruit of the Spirit, from love to self-control
• Galatians 6:2 — Believers fulfill the law of Christ by carrying each other’s burdens

How It Fits the Bible

Galatians may be Paul’s earliest letter (on the South Galatian view), and it anticipates the fuller argument of Romans. It interprets the Abraham story in Genesis as promise fulfilled through faith, and its account of the Jerusalem meetings can be compared with Acts.