Galatians Intro

Galatians
Author and Title
The first word of the letter to the Galatians is “Paul,” and there has been widespread agreement by
scholars down through the ages that Paul is indeed the author. The title in most Greek editions of the NT
is “To the Galatians,” and the main body of the letter mentions the addressees as “the churches of
Galatia” (1:2) and “foolish Galatians!” (3:1). The only debate is, which Galatians? (See Purpose, Occasion,
and Background.)
Date
Although the question of the date of Galatians is related to this question of “which Galatians,” some clues
can probably be found in the letter itself. The main indicator is the lack of reference to the Jerusalem
council (Acts 15). Although this is an argument from silence, many commentators have regarded this as a
“deafening silence.” It would have been enormously helpful to Paul's argument if he could have mentioned
the decision of the council that Gentiles should not be circumcised: this, after all, appears to be a major
point of contention between Paul and the false teachers influencing the Galatians. Since the council took
place in A.D. 48/49, and Paul evangelized South Galatia in A.D. 47/48, some time around A.D. 48 is a
plausible date for the composition of Galatians. However, determining dates in Paul's life is always
somewhat uncertain, and so one cannot place too much weight on the date in the interpretation of the
letter.
Theme
Christ's death has brought in the age of the new covenant (3:23–26; 4:4–5, 24), in which believers do not
have to become Jews or follow the outward ceremonies of the Mosaic law (2:3, 11–12, 14; 4:10). To
require these things is to deny the heart of the gospel, which is justification by faith alone, not by
obedience to the law (2:16; cf. 1:6–7). In this new age, Christians are to live in the guidance and power of
the Spirit (chs. 5–6).
Purpose, Occasion, and Background
A crisis has hit the church in Galatia. The church came into being as a result of God's Spirit at work in
Paul's proclamation of the gospel (3:1–5; 4:13–15). But within the short space of time since Paul left (1:6),
the church has been visited or infiltrated by false teachers whom Paul calls those “who trouble you” (1:7)
or “those who unsettle you” (5:12). These teachers have convinced the Galatians of a false gospel which
requires them to be circumcised. Paul sees that these pseudo-Christians merely want to win converts for
their own prestige: they want to win approval from the Jewish authorities by showing how effective they
are in converting Gentiles to a form of Judaism (6:12). Since the Jewish establishment approves of the fact
that they are making Gentiles Jewish, the false teachers have the best of both worlds: they have created a
sect of which they are the leaders, and they also escape any Jewish persecution. One further effect of this
on the Galatians appears to have been the division within their church, presumably over these issues of
circumcision and law that the false teachers have raised (5:15).
Although the Galatians appear to have come under the spell of these teachers and have become
convinced of their teaching (1:6), Paul does not regard the situation as hopeless (3:4). Nevertheless, Paul
is more critical of his audience here than in any other letter, and he chastises the Galatians for being
foolish (3:1) and provides numerous reasons why they should return to the truth.
The less important question, which makes little difference to how one interprets the letter, is, which
Galatians? There was a people group of Galatians who lived in the northern part of what is now Turkey,
but there was a Roman province called Galatia that extended into southern Turkey. The Galatians in the
letter are probably those in the Roman province, especially the southern part, because Paul did much less
in the way of missionary activity in the north, and he usually refers to places by their Roman imperial
names.

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Timeline

Key Themes
1. In his sin-bearing death, Christ is a substitute for all Christians, whom he brings into a new
1:4; 2:20;
realm of freedom and life.
3:13
2. This gospel of Christ is for humanity, but there is no sense in which it has its origin in humanity:
1:1, 11–12,
it comes only from God. Paul is himself an illustration of this: his conversion to Christ and his
15–20
apostleship were not through human consultation but through the direct revelation of Christ.
3. The gospel is appropriated not by works of law but by faith, which is the route to justification.
2:16
4. To require circumcision and other Mosaic ceremonies such as dietary laws and Jewish holidays 2:12–14,
as a supplement to faith is to fall back from the realm of grace, faith, and freedom, and to come
16; 3:10;
under the whole law and its curse, since comprehensive observance of the law is impossible.
4:10; 5:3
5. OT Scripture itself testifies to the truth of justification by faith, both in the life of Abraham and in
Gen. 15:6;
the prophecy of Habakkuk.
Hab. 2:4
6. The Christian life has its source in the believer having died with Christ to sin, and thereby
5:24; 6:14
having renounced the flesh.
7. The Spirit is the source of power and guidance in the Christian life, and the work of the Spirit
5:6, 16, 18,
produces love and faith.
25
8. The Christian life consists not in pleasing people but in pleasing Christ our master and being
1:10; 6:12,
willing to suffer persecution for the sake of his cross.
14
History of Salvation Summary
Through Jesus Christ, salvation and justification come to both Jew and Gentile, fulfilling the promise to
Abraham of blessing to the nations (3:8; Gen. 12:3). (For an explanation of the “History of Salvation,” see
the Overview of the Bible.)
Literary Features
Like the rest of the Pauline letters, Galatians follows the conventions of letter writing in NT times. There is
a salutation, a body, a paraenesis (set of moral exhortations), greetings, and a benediction. There is no
initial thanksgiving, however, which indicates Paul's agitation and alarm over the theological situation in
Galatia. Paul gets right to the point, which is that the Galatians are in danger of turning to a different
gospel, thereby risking the everlasting ruin of their souls. The main argument of the epistle is advanced by
the use of autobiography, example, allegory, satiric rebuke, and exhortation.
The doctrinal thrust of Galatians gives it a strong internal unity. In one way or another, everything in the
epistle is related to Paul's defense of justification by faith alone. The letter is also unified by the apostle's
intensity of tone, which comes through as strongly here as it does in any of his writings—especially in his

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intolerance of false doctrine and his indignation with people who promote it. Stylistically, Galatians finds
literary coherence in its thematic contrasts: the true gospel vs. a false gospel, faith vs. works, law vs.
grace, liberty vs. legalism, sonship vs. slavery, and the fruit of the Spirit vs. the desires of the flesh.
Ancient Galatia
“Galatia” was originally a Celtic region in north central Asia Minor (modern Turkey). It became a client
kingdom of Rome under Pompey (mid-1st century B.C.). With the death of the client king Amyntas (d. 25
B.C.) an expanded Galatia came under a Roman governor. In Paul's day the province of Galatia included
parts of Pontus and Paphlagonia to the east and north and encompassed portions of Phrygia, Pisidia,
Isauria, Lycaonia, and Cilicia to the south. Thus many of the cities of Paul's first missionary journey (Acts
13–14) were considered part of the province of Galatia (or at least near its sphere of influence). Starting
with territorial alterations under the emperor Vespasian (end of the 1st century A.D.), the province changed
shape; thus the other ethnic territories were gradually drawn off, back to their earlier affiliations, and the
province of Galatia returned to its more ethnically defined northern boundaries. Some contend that these
subsequent reductions to the province of Galatia influenced the later church fathers to assume that Paul
wrote his epistle to residents of northern Galatia. Archaeological evidence indicates a combination of
Hellenistic, Celtic, and Roman influences in the province of Paul's time.
The Setting of Galatians
(c. A.D. 48)
Paul's letter to the Galatians was likely written to the churches he had established during his first
missionary journey (Acts 13:1–14:28). He probably wrote the letter from his home church in Antioch in
Syria, sometime before the Jerusalem council (Acts 15:1–31).

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Outline
It is difficult to divide Galatians into neat sections, since Paul returns to the same themes on numerous
occasions and often moves gradually into different topics rather than breaking off sharply to address a
new theme. The following can serve as a rough guide.
I. Opening (1:1–9)
A. Greeting (1:1–5)
B. Initial rebuke (1:6–9)
II. Indirect Appeal: Paul's Career with the Gospel (1:10–2:21)
A. Paul's defense of himself and the gospel (1:10–24)
B. Paul's gospel recognized by the Jerusalem apostles (2:1–10)
C. Paul's opposition to Peter, to preserve the truth of the gospel (2:11–21)
III. Direct Appeals to the Galatians (3:1–5:12)
A. The Galatians' experience of conversion (3:1–5)
B. The gospel in the OT (1): Abraham (3:6–9)
C. The gospel in the OT (2): Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Habakkuk (3:10–14)

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D. An illustration from human law (3:15–18)
E. Passing from slavery to sonship (3:19–4:7)
F. Passing from idolatry to the true God (4:8–11)
G. Appeal to the Galatians' knowledge of Paul (4:12–20)
H. The gospel in the OT (3): Abraham's sons (4:21–31)
I. Judgment for those who turn from the gospel (5:1–12)
IV. Life in the Spirit and Love (5:13–6:10)
A. The law of love (5:13–15)
B. The desires of the flesh vs. the fruit of the Spirit (5:16–26)
C. A Christian life of concrete love (6:1–10)
V. Final Warning (6:11–18)
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