Galatians

Is a person saved by faith alone, or by faith together with good works? Paul’s letter to the Galatians teaches that God saves people through faith alone. It also teaches that believers are free in Christ. We live by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our relationship with God does not depend on their own good works. It depends on what Jesus Christ has fully done.

Because of this, believers are truly free. But this freedom is not a reason to follow sinful desires. It is freedom to love and serve the Lord and other people.

Setting

Paul and Barnabas left Antioch in Syria for their first missionary journey. They crossed the northeast part of the Mediterranean Sea and traveled through Cyprus. Then they traveled across the Taurus Mountains in Pamphylia and entered the southern part of the Roman province of Galatia.

There they started churches in Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe (Acts 13:13–14:28). Many people believed the good news about Jesus. But others opposed the message and persecuted Paul and Barnabas.

Later, Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch in Syria. They told the believers what God had done. They also told them that God had "opened the door of faith to the Gentiles" (Acts 14:27).

Paul’s work in Galatia showed that God offered salvation to Gentiles as well as Jews. Peter’s experience with Cornelius and his household in Caesarea showed the same thing (see Acts 10:1–48). God saves both Jews and Gentiles through faith in Jesus Christ. Gentiles did not have to become Jews to become full members of God’s family. They only had to put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.

Even so, before the council in Jerusalem, the disagreement about Jews and Gentiles in the church became stronger (Acts 15:1–41). This council happened around AD 49 or 50.

Peter had served among Gentiles in Caesarea in a new and important way. When he returned to Jerusalem, some Jewish believers criticized him at once. They did not think he should eat with Gentiles who were not circumcised. Peter answered by telling them how the Spirit had worked among the Gentiles. For a time, this stopped their criticism (Acts 11:1–18).

Some Jewish Christians still believed that Gentiles should follow Jewish religious practices in order to be Christians. These people are often called Judaizers. Judaizers were teachers who said Gentile believers must obey the law of Moses, including circumcision (the sign of God’s covenant with Israel).

Some Judaizers went to Galatia. They claimed that Paul’s teaching about the good news was not complete. They also spoke against Paul’s authority as an apostle, a person sent by Christ to teach and lead the church. They said Paul had learned the good news from the “real” apostles in Jerusalem. They also claimed that Paul had changed the message and that the apostles had never approved his version of the gospel.

The Judaizers argued that Paul’s gospel was incomplete because it did not require Gentiles to keep the law of Moses. They claimed that the true gospel required Gentiles to be circumcised and to obey other parts of the law.

Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians mainly in response to this challenge from the Judaizers.

Summary

Paul first identifies himself and greets his audience (Galatians 1:1–5). Then he states his main point: the good news he preaches is the only true good news (1:6–7). He also says that he is a true apostle of Christ (1:1, 10). He warns that his opponents will face God’s judgment because they teach a false message (1:8–9). The rest of the letter explains these main points.

Paul first shows that he is a true apostle of Christ, preaching the true good news (1:11–2:21). To do this, Paul reminds the Galatians what kind of person he used to be (1:13–14). He tells them about his conversion, when he turned to Christ. He also tells them how God called him to serve (1:15–16a).

Paul received the good news through a direct revelation from Christ (1:11–12). A revelation is something God makes known. Paul did not receive this message from the other apostles in Jerusalem (1:16–24).

Even so, the other apostles accepted Paul as an apostle along with his message (2:1–10). They had nothing to add or change. Paul also showed that he was faithful to the good news when Peter and some others acted against it, even though they knew the good news was true (2:11–21).

Paul then argues that his teaching about the good news comes from Scripture and is true (3:1–5:12). The Galatians had received the Spirit by faith, not by obeying the law (3:1–5). So they would receive the same blessing that Abraham received. This blessing belongs to all who have faith in Christ (3:e6–9).

In contrast, people who try to be made right with God by keeping the law come under a curse (3:10–12). But Christ rescued us from that curse. He made God’s blessing available to all who have faith in him (3:13–14).

God’s promise to Abraham shows that God gives the promise by faith, not by the law (3:15–18). Christ fulfilled God’s demand for righteousness, which means being right with God. People do not fulfill this demand by keeping the law. Those who have faith in Christ receive God’s promise to Abraham.

The purpose of the law is not to make people right with God. It is also not to make them receive God’s promises. Instead, the law shows people their sin. It also points them to Christ and to faith in him (3:19–22). Now Christ has come. All who have faith in him are God’s children. They also receive his promises as heirs, which means they belong to God’s family and share in what he has promised (3:23–4:7).

Because of this, the Galatians should not return to trusting in the law. That would be like returning to slavery (4:8–11). So Paul personally asks them to think again about what they are doing (4:12–20).

Paul then compares Hagar and Sarah with the old and new covenants. He shows that Christ brings freedom, not slavery (4:21–31). God's people must live in freedom (5:1). They must not depend on obeying the law for salvation (5:2–4). Instead, they must live by faith (5:5–6). A message that says people are saved through the law does not come from God (5:7–12).

Finally, Paul shows the Galatians that Christian freedom does not mean freedom to sin. Some people might claim this. Instead, Christian freedom is the only way to overcome sin. It is also the way to live in Christ’s love and experience the Spirit’s power (5:13–6:10). Freedom gives believers the chance to love others, not to sin against them (5:13–15). The only way to overcome sin is to live by the power of the Holy Spirit (5:16–18).

Human effort cannot overcome sin. Human tendency to sin leads to acts of sin (5:19–21). In contrast, life in the power of the Holy Spirit produces good fruit, which means good character and actions that please God (5:22–23). Paul then gives several examples of how the Spirit leads God’s children in daily life (5:24–6:10).

Paul ends his letter with a note written in his own handwriting (6:11–18). He again points to the cross of Christ. He repeats his main message and asks God to give mercy and peace to those who follow this teaching.

Paul also states again that he has authority as an apostle. He closes with a blessing. He asks that “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ” be with the people who receive his letter.

Author

Christians have always recognized Galatians as a true letter from Paul. It agrees well with the account of Paul’s mission in Acts and with Paul’s other letters. It also shows Paul’s real conflict with Jewish Christians who said Gentiles must obey the Jewish law to have full Christian faith.

Galatians has a message like the message of Romans. But Galatians was written earlier. It helps us see the early stage of this serious and personal conflict. In this letter, we can feel Paul’s deep care for the church.

Recipients

Some biblical scholars believe Paul wrote to an ethnic group called the Galatians. They lived in north-central Asia Minor and were related to the Gauls and Celts.

Other scholars believe Paul wrote to groups of churches in the Roman province of Galatia. This province was much larger than ethnic Galatia. Its southern area included several cities Paul visited on his first missionary journey. These cities were Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.

Paul does not seem to have spent much time in ethnic Galatia in the north. Acts may refer to this area in two places (Acts 16:6; 18:23). But Acts gives a clear record of Paul’s long and repeated missionary work in the southern part of the Roman province of Galatia (Acts 13:13–14:25; 16:1–5). Because of this, the evidence suggests that Paul most likely wrote this letter to the Galatians he had shared the good news with during his first missionary journey.

Date

Paul wrote Galatians at one of two possible times. He may have written it shortly before the council in Jerusalem (Acts 15:1–29). This council happened in AD 49 or 50. Or Paul may have written it sometime after the council, perhaps during his third missionary journey. That journey took place around AD 53–57.

Traditionally, scholars understood Galatians 2:1–10 as Paul’s description of the council in Jerusalem. But a close reading shows major differences between Galatians 2 and Acts 15:1–41. Paul says he had made two visits to Jerusalem (see 2:1). But the council in Acts 15:1–41 would have been his third visit. It would be hard to explain why Paul would leave out his second visit (Acts 11:30; 12:25). That visit matters because Paul is arguing that he had little contact with the apostles in Jerusalem.

Also, if Paul wrote Galatians after the council, we would expect him to mention the council’s decision. That decision speaks directly to the issue in Galatians. In fact, after the council, Paul gladly shared its decision with the churches he visited (Acts 16:4).

For these reasons, it is difficult to believe that Galatians 2:1–10 describes Acts 15:1–41. It is also difficult to believe that Paul wrote Galatians after the council in Jerusalem.

In contrast, Galatians 2:1–10 is easier to connect with the visits in Acts 11:30 and 12:25. This would suggest that Paul wrote Galatians shortly before the council in Jerusalem. He may have written it around AD 48 or 49. At that time, the disagreement about circumcision was becoming stronger in the church. Some Jewish Christians said Gentile believers also had to be circumcised (see Acts 15:1–2).

Meaning and Message

The problem in Galatia was common in the first-century church. It is still a problem in the church today. Are people truly saved by what Jesus Christ did on the cross? Or must people do something more to be saved?

Paul's letter to the Galatians teaches that the gospel is complete. God offers salvation to all people through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. People are not saved by obeying the law.

Galatians also teaches that God’s people are one. There is no division between Jews and Gentiles, or between other groups of people. We all come to God in the same way. We receive new life through faith in Christ.

Galatians also teaches that believers have freedom in Christ. We do not fulfill Christ’s law by human effort. We fulfill it by living in faith and love through the Holy Spirit.

Finally, Galatians teaches that we need God’s grace. Grace is God’s kind gift that we do not earn. God’s grace rescues us from the curse of sin. It gives us new life and the promised Holy Spirit. It also makes us God’s children and gives us power to obey Christ’s law of love.