Galatians

In the book of Galatians, Paul did not try to prove that he was always right. But he did insist that the gospel is always right. This is a powerful letter. And it was important in the lives of two famous men. This book affected their spiritual experiences very much. One was Martin Luther (1483-1546). He led what we know as the Reformation. This was in the 16th century. Then there was John Wesley (1703-1791). He led a great work of God in the 18th century.

The Apostle and his Authority (Chapters 1-2)

There was trouble in the churches that were in the region of Galatia. Some Jews insisted on a certain ceremony. They said that it was a necessary part of salvation. Each man must have circumcision. This was a Jewish law. But many Gentiles were becoming Christians. [Note: Gentiles are people who are not Jews]. And the main subject of this letter is: ‘by faith alone’.

There were people who opposed Paul. They said that he was not an apostle. So he began with this subject. He told them who made him an apostle. Paul told them that ‘It was Jesus Christ and God the Father’ (1:1). He called these legal rules ‘a different gospel’ (1:6). This group of Jews were confusing people. He said ‘They want to change the gospel of Christ’ (1:7). Paul declared that his authority was from Jesus Christ. ‘No man taught me the gospel. Jesus Christ gave it to me’ (1:11, 12).

Paul gave a brief account of his own experience of Christ. Paul had been proud of his religion. He was sure that he was right. So he tried to destroy believers (1:13). He felt that he and his religion were superior (1:14). Then God called him. He showed Paul his great grace (1:15-16). And God gave him a special job to do (1:16). God told Paul to tell the good news about Jesus to the Gentiles (non-Jews). God was his teacher. He showed Paul the nature of the gospel and its contents (1:16-17).

Paul had a special experience. It was in the desert of Arabia. He learned much about the message that he should preach. Only two people spoke to him about Christian beliefs. They were Peter (1:18) and James. James was the brother of Jesus (1:19). They would tell him about Christ's life and teaching. Years later, he visited the church in Jerusalem. Then he was willing to check his beliefs with other people. He did not think that he was always right. And he did not just copy someone. He thought carefully about it first.

Paul reminded the people who read his letter about a church event. It happened in Jerusalem city. He brought Titus, who was now a Christian, with him. Titus was not a Jew. He came from Greece. But the church leaders did not say that he must have circumcision (2:3). Trouble came with some ‘false brothers’. They said that it was necessary to obey Jewish law (2:4). The true leaders of the church were Peter, James and John (2:9). And they approved of Paul's message. They agreed that God was sending him to the Gentiles.

Next, we read about a quarrel. It was between Paul and Peter. (Read Acts 15:39. This tells us about another quarrel. It was between Paul and Barnabas. So, even then, Christian leaders did not always agree!) Paul blamed Peter about his wrong attitude. Peter let some people persuade him not to eat with Gentiles (2:11-14).

Paul knew that this was a very important matter. These Jews were saying that Gentiles must have circumcision. If they did not, they were not Christians. But this would mean that people obtained salvation ‘by doing good works’. They said that people must obey laws to become a Christian. This would mean that people did not obtain salvation by grace alone. And they did not obtain it by faith (2:15-21). It would also mean that the cross was unnecessary.

The Law and its Function (Chapters 3-4)

Those who opposed Paul would ask a question. They would ask ‘Then what is the present value of the law’? And these two chapters gave the answer. Paul gave a great explanation of faith. He showed that it is of primary importance. He declared that faith is superior to the Law.

[Note: The Law was what Jews called the Books that Moses wrote. These books contain the laws that God gave to Moses. They are the first five books of our Bible.]

Paul asked his readers to think about:

Their own experience (3:1-5). They did not become Christians by obeying the Law. So they should not now deny the message of grace and faith.

The Scriptures − God's word (3:6-29). God did not accept Abraham because he obeyed the Law. It was because of his faith. The Law came 430 years after the covenant (3:17). Paul also used Habakkuk's words (3:11. The words are from Habakkuk 2:4). Notice that it is not faith itself that saves us. (That would still be by doing good works. It would be what we do in the act of believing.) Ralph Martin is a Christian writer. He said that faith is a human attitude that is ready to receive. It takes what God offers because of his grace.

Paul declared another great truth in Ephesians (2:8-9). God even gives people the desire to reach out to him. Men and women cannot obey God's Law (3:10-11). Each one knows that he or she deserves punishment. And they know that they will receive it. But Christ took that punishment for us (3:13). Now everybody, Jews and Gentiles, may believe (3:14).

Paul is saying that the Law would be enough if people could obey it. However, that is impossible (3:21-22). Someone has said that it is like a train ticket. A soldier who is a prisoner of war has one. He would use it if he could. But he must escape first!

The law was our ‘paidagogus’ (3:24). This is a Greek word. It was the name for a slave who cared for his master's boy. He would take the boy to school. He would watch his behaviour. He would even punish him if he did wrong. And, in the same way, the Law criticises us. It punishes us for things that we do wrong. But it cannot make us into a child of God. Christ does that (3:26-29).

There is more about being God's child in chapter 4. Some people were living like slaves. They were slaves to ideas about the future. They believed that the stars affected human affairs. So they were slaves to fear too. These same ideas are very strong in our world today.

Paul used the story of Hagar. We can read this story in Genesis 16 and 17. The son of Hagar was born in the ‘normal human way’. The son of Sarah was born ‘because of the promise’. Paul uses them as an example. The two women represent 2 covenants (4:24). Those who belong to Christ are the ‘children of promise’.

The Spirit and his Work (Chapters 5-6)

These chapters have some important truths. We learn about the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.

The Spirit promises that God will accept us (5:5). We do not work so that God will accept us; we wait. God will accept us on the Day of Judgement when it comes. He will see us as holy people. And the Spirit gives the certainty of this. We might wonder what it means to be holy or to be ‘right with God’. And Paul makes his meaning very clear. It is not just a good internal feeling. It is not when we tell ourselves that we have done well. It is a desire to express our faith by our actions. We want to love each other and to serve each other (5:6, 13-14).

The Spirit produces struggles (5:16-17). Believers must choose. We must choose to be either what we want or what the Spirit wants. The Christian life involves believers in a war. Some things are completely against the Christian life and faith. And each one of us must oppose these things. But we can only do this when we have the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit gives freedom (5:18-21). When the Holy Spirit leads us, there is liberty. The believer is not a slave to the Law.

The Spirit creates holy people (5:22-23) These verses speak about ‘the harvest of the Spirit’. The ‘harvest’ is the good things in the character of Christ. This is what it means to be like Christ.

The Spirit affects behaviour (5:25). The Holy Spirit leads us (5:18). This is something that he does. But we follow the Spirit (5:25). And this is something that we must do. But both words speak about present continuous action. The word ‘follow’ (5:25) means ‘to walk in line with’.

The Spirit prepares us for future eternal life (6:7-10).

But a man might think only about the things of this world. He does not think about that future life. He lives to satisfy himself now (6:8a). But the man who is full of the Holy Spirit is not like this. His values are completely different. He lives to please the Spirit (6:8b). And this is not easy.

The ‘family of believers’ (6:10) may have hard times. But their faith is in Christ's death on the cross for them. Perhaps they will suffer because of this. There may be persecution. But the believer knows something important. It is this. The cross is not just an event of history. It is a vital personal experience (6:14, 17). Christ died for us and we die with him. (Read 2:20; 6:14.)

[Note: The Christian has eternal life now. This section is about eternal life that comes after death.]