Bible Study, Galatians:
Background and Overview
This is an angry and passionate letter to the churches of Galatia, and it gives us a look at the controversy
present in the early Christian church formation. The identity of Christians was up for grabs, and
everyone was fighting over it. Some thought of Christians as a new branch on the tree of Judaism, and
others understood them as a totally new community. The Gentile converts were bounced back and forth
being told by some to follow Jewish practices and the Law, and by others that they could maintain their
previous ways of life. Paul sees himself in this argument as a mother in the throes of labor until the
community is fully formed in the image of Christ.
There are major theological themes present that fight against “the Missionaries’” message. The
Missionaries are the Judaizers who have come and preached to the people that they must accept
circumcision and Jewish practices in order to be Christians.
1. Humans are set in right relationship to God not through their obedience to the Law but through
the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.
2. The Cross is a liberating event, not just an atoning sacrifice. It brought the old world and ways to
an end and ushered in a new creation.
3. Because of Christ’s death, the Spirit is given to all who are in Christ. The Spirit brings life,
transforms the community and confirms our status as children of God.
4. In the new community created by the Spirit, that which once separated people (like Jews and
Gentiles) has been annihilated.
5. Those who recognize the saving work of God in Christ live the power of the Spirit and experience
freedom.
We will look for these themes in this letter.
Galatians is 3 things in style. It is a true letter, not an essay, and it has typical Hellenistic letter
characteristics. It is also deliberative rhetoric, to be read in public, with the style and structure to
convince and influence its audience. Finally it is also a sermon, composed to be delivered in the context
of worship in the acknowledged presence of God. As a sermon, it is not an argument but an
announcement of the gospel.
History:
Where is Galatia? We really don’t know, is the answer. It traditionally covers a large area. Paul never
mentions which part of Galatia he is talking about and how many churches are present in the area.
According to the Luke timeline Paul could have been in the North in his 1st Journey, Acts 3-14, or in the
South on the 2nd journey, Acts 16:6. Most scholars place the writing of the letter between 49-56 AD.
Another question is the relationship between Galatians 2 and Acts 15, are they describing the same
meeting/event?
What we know about the Galatians is this, they are former pagans who were formed by Paul into Christ
followers and later preached to by “the Missionaries” who persuaded them to become more Jewish.
Paul is writing to them again speaking against the Missionaries writing. Their geography is inland, away
from many of the other churches and the area called Galatia is vastly different from one end to another.
Bible Study Galatians: Chapter 1
Salutation: Verses 1-5
I have heard it said, begin as you mean to go on, well Paul means to go on with authority! His opening
claim is strong and defining him as “apostle” one who is sent, sent from Jesus Christ and God the Father
himself. Otherwise, it is a standard Greco-Roman greeting. Many times Paul’s greetings foreshadow
Paul’s concerns in the letter, here we see this in the setting of the greeting and the implied opposition.
Apostles are not sent by humans, it is a divine commission. There are unnamed co-senders, all the
brothers with me. These are not just all the Christians family, but probably other missionary co-workers
who were not known to the Galatians. If they had been know, then their names would have lent
authority and they probably would have been named. Only in this letter, is the “Grace and Peace,”
expanded to include a summary of the gospel. These are not wasted words but a hint at 2 themes to be
unfolded; 1) Jesus Christ’s death was gracious and self-giving for our sake, and 2) this was a rescue
mission, not just a new human religious possibility. This salutation ends with a doxology, a reminder that
this is a worship document to be read in worship.
Rebuke and Curse: verses 6-10
There is no “thanksgiving” section following the greeting as there are in most letters. Instead there is an
abrupt strong rebuke, accusing them of abandoning God. They are not guilty of defection from Paul’s
movement but defection from grace which is linked to Christ’s death. Grace is not just a kindly
disposition, a mood or attitude, it is embodied in God’s costly action of salvation and self-giving in the
death of Jesus. Paul is clear they have been converted away from grace. These “missionaries” have
taught another gospel, one that they probably saw as a completion of what Paul taught. Paul calls this a
“so-called gospel” because it proclaims faith in Jesus, but turns toward the law and there is only one
gospel of grace. The use of the word “gospel” at the time was different from today. They did not have
the gospels, as we know them. The Roman imperial cult used the word to proclaim military victories and
to extol the emperor as god. The Christians may have used the term , gospel, “glad tidings” in contrast
to proclaim Jesus as Lord not Caesar. Paul may have also used it as a cognate of Hebrew which appears
in Isaiah 52:7, the message announced by a bearer of good news. To Paul God has begun to regin as Lord
not maintain the status quo of the law (the missionaries message). Finally Paul pronounces a curse on
the missionaries. These are open curses, not on specific individuals, delivered over for divine
destruction. Again God is the actor, it is up to God to deal with these people who teach false gospels.
There are two statements that accompany this curse, each uses a different “if” (ean, ei) in the Greek.
This makes one hypothetical and one present. Hypothetically even if Paul himself preached differently
he would be cursed, and presently those who are preaching a different gospel are cursed. This lends
power and authority to the curse in the ears of the hearer. Then even if an angel from heaven came and
told of a different gospel, don’t listen. Next Paul looks at the charges against him, that he is telling
people only what they want to hear. That he did not tell them about circumcision because it is painful
and they would not like it. The missionaries say that Paul is offering cheap grace and watered down
truth.
Thesis Statement: verses 11-12
Paul’s gospel is of divine origin, like his apostleship. He sets out to assert this as a response to the rival
missionaries. Paul sets himself up as an instrument of the gospels power instead of an agent
responsible for content. Paul did not receive this second hand, through a witness, but first hand through
a revelation of Jesus. This could equally mean that Christ himself revealed the message to Paul, or Jesus
was revealed in the message or both. This is also eschatological, a preview of the last days, an advance
copy of the glory to come.
Paul’s Call and Independence from Jerusalem: verses 13-24
Paul begins this defense by retelling his own story, it is told to emphasize a few facts, not to give the
whole story. This version is to give authority to the divine origin of Paul’s call, from God, and to show
that he is working independently from Jerusalem. However, Paul is also offering himself as a model of
how to live faithfully. Paul’s own story shows life in Christ is freedom from the Law. The word, “Judaism”
is only used in the New Testament here, and means a set of cultural practices, not beliefs or doctrines.
This has nothing to do with what they believe, but how they practice what they believe. Paul practiced
those cultural acts with zeal, this means not just piety but also violently. Where ever it happened Paul’s
practice of traditions was stopped by God. Paul is not interested in telling the dramatic story of the
Damascus Road, but focuses on What God did and said. The Galatians had not access to Luke’s narrative
anyway, so Paul uses OT language from Jeremiah and Isaiah. He again affirms his independence from
Jerusalem, he did not go to them to have this call confirmed, he had it from God, what else could he
need? Then he went on what could be describes as a vision/mission quest ending in Jerusalem but only
briefly with limited contact with the other apostles. He is interested to say that he did not receive
confirmation from Jerusalem but was approved for proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy. “The
gospel” and “the faith” here are synonyms in this way.