What makes Galatians special?
GALATIANS is a very personal
letter that provides help in understanding Paul's character and his
strong beliefs. The letter also gives some clues that shed light on
Paul's early life. Most of all, GALATIANS provides an inside view of a
major controversy faced by the early Christian church. This controversy
and Paul's response to it had a great effect on the way God's message
about Jesus Christ was preached. Paul taught that God's message is that
people become God's children by faith in Jesus Christ (3:26), not by
following the Law of Moses. Further, Christ sets God's children free
from the Law (5:1), and the Holy Spirit guides them (5:16) and helps
them to be loving, kind, and good (5:22,23).
Why was Galatians written?
Paul
wrote this letter to the Galatians because he wanted them to know that
he was a true apostle of Jesus Christ, and that the message he had
given them about Jesus was the only true one (1:6-9). On an earlier
visit Paul had brought the Galatians God's message, the good news about
Christ (1:7,8). In this letter he expresses his anger because he has
learned that some people were telling the Galatian churches that they
must obey the Law of Moses in order to be God's children. These false
teachers claimed that they were following the rules which were being
observed by the leaders of the Christian church in Jerusalem, including
Jesus' own brother, James (1:19). But Paul tells the Galatians that the
Jerusalem apostles accept him as an apostle, and that they agree with
him that Gentiles (non-Jews) can be part of the new people of God
without having to follow the Law of Moses and the traditions of the
Jewish people.
What's the story behind the scene?
Galatia
was an area in northern central Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Many of
the people who lived there were descended from a group of people called
Gauls or Celts who settled in the region well before 200 B.C. At the
time of Paul, the Romans ruled this region, which the Roman Emperor
Augustus named Galatia in 25 B.C. It is not clear exactly where or when
Paul wrote GALATIANS.
How is Galatians constructed?
GALATIANS
is a letter, or "epistle," that begins with a brief greeting (1:1-4)
and ends with a short blessing (6:18). Primarily, Paul uses the letter
to present his case against the false teachers that are causing trouble
for the Galatian believers and to defend himself and his message about
Christ. Notice these things in the following outline:
Paul defends his apostleship and his message (1,2)
Some
in the Galatian churches were denying that God had chosen Paul to be a
messenger of the good news about Jesus Christ. In these chapters, Paul
defends himself, saying that his message has come directly from Jesus
Christ (1:12), and that God has chosen him to announce the message
about Jesus to the Gentiles (1:15,16).
Faith in Christ is the way to become God's children (3,4)
Paul
knows the Law of Moses, and he uses this understanding to argue that
following the Law of Moses doesn't bring a person closer to God. What
makes you a child of God is having faith in Jesus Christ. All who have
this faith are children of Abraham, who was the father of the Jewish
people and the first one to receive God's promises.
Christ gives freedom, and the Spirit guides (5:1-6:10)
Paul
reminds the Galatians that Christ sets them free from the Law of Moses.
Those who have faith in Christ are guided by the Holy Spirit who helps
them live as children of God (5:22-26) and not to be controlled by evil
desires (5:19-21).
Final Warnings (6:11-18)
Paul
concludes with some more strong words about the people who are trying
to insist that the male Gentile Christians in Galatia be circumcised.
He reminds the Galatians once more that the most important thing for a
Christian is to die to sin and to be made a new person by faith in
Christ.
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