Introduction to Galatians

Introduction to Galatians          

There is no question as to the author of this small book in the New Testament. Paul reveals this in the very first verse of chapter 1.

So who was Paul?
So we don't get confused, Paul was his Latin name, which he used after his conversion to Jesus; Saul was his Hebrew name, that he used before his conversion. He was born in Tarsus of  Jewish parents. His father was a Pharisee and a Roman citizen, which made  Paul was a Roman citizen by birth.

Since Paul's parents were Pharisees, they were fervent in Jewish nationalism and very strict in obedience to the Law of Moses. Though Paul from infancy could speak Greek, and had a working knowledge of Latin, his family at home spoke Aramaic, which was the language of Judea, and a derivative of Hebrew. By age 13, Paul had mastered Jewish history, the poetry of the psalms, and the majestic literature of the prophets. He had an ear for accuracy and  a swift brain like a photographic mind.
[Resource: John Pollock, The Apostle: A Life of Paul]

Paul was educated under the Rabbi Gamaliel. What credentials. Who better to write 13 books of the New Testament? Who better to send out as His (Jesus' ) missionary to share the gospel with the Jews and Gentiles and to establish churches? It was all in God's plan.

Saul, before his meeting Jesus,  was a successful lawyer in the courts of Jerusalem, and most likely part of the larger audience who heard Stephen's defense.
(Stephen, a deacon, stood for Christ and was stoned to death by the Jews, of which Paul witnessed
(Acts 6-8).
As Saul, he was one of the chief persecutors of the early church. He help to kill and  imprisoned followers of Jesus Christ before his conversion on the road to Damascus. In fact, Paul's purpose for his journey to Damascus was to bring those Christians bound to Jerusalem.
We read of Saul's conversion in Acts 9. Saul was blinded as a result of meeting Jesus. Later, Ananias was sent to restore Paul's sight.

Galatians was written while Paul was at Antioch. It was the first of 13 letters to be written to the churches he helped establish.


Who were the Galatians?

According to Liberty Bible Commentary: 

The Galatians were Christians in the churches in the territory of Galatia. Galatia is the name that was given  to the territory in North Central Asia Minor, where the invading Gauls settled in the third century before Christ. The territory became property of Rome in 25 B.C. The Romans incorporated this northern section into a larger division of the land which they made a province and called it Galatia. Politically, Galatia was the Roman province which included Isauria, Lycaonia, and parts of Phrygia and Pisidia. Geographically, it was the center of Celtic tribes and included Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia. The question is did Paul write to the ethnic Galatia of the north or the geographical Galatia of the south? Paul and Barnabas evangelized the southern section of the Roman Galatia during their first missionary journey (Acts 13:14-14:26).


The commentaries which I read agree with me, in that this book was written to the southern Galatian region. It makes sense, since Paul established churches there and he wrote this letter to refute the Judaizers, who were legalists persuading many to turn away from Christianity to Judiasm.
 

When was Galatians written?

According to Shepherd's Notes:

The sequence of events in  Galatians were: Paul's first missionary journey, writing of Galatians, visit to the Jerusalem council, then Paul's second missionary journey. 

So we can see that Paul wrote this letter before he wrote the letters to the Corinthians and Thessalonians or the other churches. Our New Testament is not organized in chronological order of events. Don't be confused by it. I don't know why it is that way. The date Galatians was written was approximately 48-49 A.D.


Why was Galatians written?
The message of Galatians can be summed up in one key verse: "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery" (5:1). [Shepherd's Notes]

Paul sets forth grace as opposed to law, faith as opposed to works, and spirit as opposed to flesh," states Falwell in Liberty Bible Commentary.

Warren Wiersbe, in his book, Be Free, informs us, "Liberty in Christ is the dominant theme of Galatians."

Lawrence O. Richards in Illustrated Bible Handbook, tells us: "Galatians explores righteousness and the problem of how a people not under law can experience personal holiness. We have exchanged law for a personal relationship with God, and it is that relationship which provides freedom and true goodness."

"Justification by faith is the central theme of Galatians," says John MacArthur in his book, The MacArthur Bible Handbook.

Are you ready to find out how to "be free?" Join me tomorrow and we will delve in.

*New readers can find the explanation of the headings "Let it glow, grow, and go" on the following post.