TPT The Book of Galatians (eBook)

LESSON 1

The Writer, the Readers, the Problem

(Galatians1:1–10)

“Stop!”

“Don’t take another step!”

“Look out!”

Reading those words, you can immediately think of situations where they might apply. Situations with genuine imminent danger, maybe even life-threatening circumstances. Situations that demand sharp, maybe even harsh, confrontation, certainly not nuance or politeness. A mother calling out to her young children as they run toward a busy street. A police officer waving down a car due to a serious road hazard ahead. A scout leader guiding his troop along a flooded riverbank. A driver-training instructor who sees danger before the student does.

Or maybe these could be the words of an apostle, firing off a sternly worded warning to new churches full of new Christians. That’s Paul’s letter to the Galatians.

As we embark on a study of Galatians, we must note the urgency of its message. When Paul penned it, there was no time for pleasantries or comfort. The fledgling churches of Galatia were facing a spiritual emergency, and the outcome would be eternal. Paul wrote to confront, to warn, and to correct these new Christians who were naively embracing false teaching that threatened to corrupt the pure message of Jesus’ good news. These dangerous ideas were already swaying the members of the new church, so it appeared to Paul that the infant Christian movement in Galatia was being smothered in its cradle.

Through our study of Galatians, we will learn what this false teaching was, why it was so deadly, and how Christians must remain vigilant against it today. In doing so, we will also see clearly the pure, uncorrupted good news for everyone. We will relish its declaration of radical grace for both personal salvation and practical, godly living.

Who Wrote This Letter?

•Who penned the letter to the Galatians, and how did he describe himself (Galatians 1:1)?

•Where are Paul’s intended readers? How does he describe them (v. 2)?

•In his initial greeting, he blesses his readers, hoping they will experience what two spiritual realities?

In the New Testament, only a small subset of the Christian community received the title of apostle. In the broadest sense, it means anyone who is sent out with a message. In the narrower, more common biblical sense, it refers to the hand-picked men whom Jesus himself sent out to disciple the nations. As we will see, Paul believed he was this type of apostle. Here, Paul made it clear what he meant when he told us who was doing his sending.

•Paul insists that his apostleship is from Jesus himself and not merely from another well-respected Christian. Why do you think this is important to establish from the start? What difference might it make to Paul’s readers?

There was no one better to write this passionate defense of the true gospel than the apostle Paul. Because of his religious background, he once promoted some of the same anti-gospel ideas. As a devout Jew, he was a life-long student of the Old Testament (Acts 22:3). He had been a member of the Pharisees, an especially disciplined order of Jews who championed strict adherence to the law of Moses (Philippians 3:5–6).

When some Jews began to preach the good news about Jesus rising from the dead and God’s free gift of salvation through him, the pre-converted Paul was furious. He was convinced that this new teaching was heresy and had to be stamped out. He persecuted these Jesus followers wherever he could find them, raiding their homes and meetings to drag them off for punishment (Acts 8:3; 22:4–5). There was no greater enemy of Jesus’ message than Paul.

Then Jesus met him. That’s right! The resurrected Jesus personally confronted Paul while he was on his way to persecute some more Christians in Damascus (22:6–13). From that moment on, the man who had been the unrivaled scourge of Christians became one of their chief spokesmen (9:20–22). More than that, his conversion included a calling to take the pure good news of Jesus to non-Jews too (22:14–16). Non-Jews like the Galatians.

Who Received This Letter?

Paul wrote many letters to believers to whom he had preached the good news. Sometimes he sent his letters to individuals like Titus and Philemon. Sometimes his letters went to believers in specific cities like Thessalonica or Corinth. This letter to the Galatians was for all the Christians living in the region, no matter to which local group of believers they belonged.

•Compare Galatians 1:2 to 1:13. Why do you think Paul wrote about the churches and the church? Which is bigger, the church or the churches? What is the difference?

   THE BACKSTORY

Galatia was a province of Rome that encompassed much of what we think of today as the Central Anatoly Peninsula of Turkey. Ankara, Turkey’s modern capital, was an important city even then. It was the provincial capital located in northern Galatia. While Paul may have traveled that far north during his ministry, the named towns and villages of Galatia where he preached the gospel and strengthened the churches were all in its extreme south.

When Was Galatians Written?

Galatians is the first of the shorter letters in the New Testament (placed after the long ones to the Romans and Corinthians). It was almost certainly the first to be written chronologically, probably during the long period of time that Paul stayed in Antioch after his return from his first ministry tour of Galatia (Acts 14:26–28), likely sometime between AD 47 and 49.

A handful of biblical scholars think Paul may have written the letter to the Galatians later in his ministry, perhaps after his second missionary journey, but the vast majority opt for a much earlier date.2 Among the reasons are these:

1.Paul encountered the Galatians on his first missionary journey before he ministered in the other cities that would receive his other epistles.

2.His “how quickly” comment in Galatians 1:6 indicates that he is addressing a crisis that cropped up shortly after his initial work in Galatia.

3.The issue at stake throughout the letter is the Judaizing of gentile believers (more about this shortly). This issue raged for a relatively short period of time at the beginning of gentile outreach until the apostles and other leaders in Jerusalem gave a definitive answer to the conflict at the Jerusalem Council around AD 50 (see Acts 15).

4.The letter to the Galatians never mentions that momentous council. If it had already taken place, Paul could have appealed to the decision made there. After all, all the key, well-respected authorities in the church met to consider the primary issue that Paul wrote this letter to confront. And they concluded exactly what he taught in the letter. Especially when he details his biography in Galatians 2:1–10, it defies reason that he would not even mention the council’s authoritative and Spirit-led decision. While this is an argument from silence—arguments that are not typically strong ones—failure to bring up the supporting decision of the Jerusalem council, assuming it had already occurred, is odd at best and incredulous at worst. It makes more sense to conclude that Paul didn’t mention the council because it had not yet occurred. This would then place the writing of Galatians most likely in the mid to late forties.

Setting the Scene

•Paul opened this letter by focusing the readers’ attention on Jesus (Galatians 1:1–5). Jesus is Paul’s sender. Jesus is distinct from ordinary men, raised from the dead, the grace- and peace-giver, the Lord, given for our sins, and our rescuer. How do these descriptions resonate with you? Which ones stand out to you?

•Jesus’ sacrifice for sin rescued us from the present evil age and system (v. 4). What is it about this era of history and the present system that makes them evil?

•What among today’s evils distresses or grieves you?

•Do you think the false teaching that Paul will confront is included in that evil?

Why Did Paul Write to the Galatians?

Wasting no time, Paul gets right to his point. In every other letter, he includes at this point some commendation or word of encouragement for his...