One Of The Wonders of Scripture is that even though it was written many centuries ago, it is not just history; its message is still topical and crucial to our salvation. That is partly because problems which troubled the early churches were handled in such a way that for us they are almost caricatures of the fundamentals of our faith.
Chapters 1 and 2 — The Serious Threat
It would appear that Jewish preachers had been at work among the newly formed churches in Galatia, perverting the gospel which Paul had preached, and in doing so had reduced his credibility. Their message was subtle; instead of criticizing the gospel it appeared to be adding an essential to it. They taught the Gentile converts that, to be saved, they must also keep the Law and be circumcised (cf. Acts 15:1,5,24).
Authority of Paul’s message
Paul’s approach to this problem was first to establish the authority of the gospel, which he had taught, then to show how destructive the new teaching was to that gospel.
The first stage was to show that he had not gone among them with his own gospel or with any attempt to establish his own name; he had not even received that which he had taught from the other apostles. He had been among them as an equal to the other apostles and had even found it necessary to reprove one of them for duplicity (Gal. 2:11).
The gospel which he taught was not of men, nor even from Jesus while the Lord was in the flesh (Gal.1:11,12). His message was direct from the risen Christ and from the One who had raised him from the dead! Thus in rejecting Paul, they were rejecting the One who had sent him! This was no matter of choosing between two differing human points of view; their rejection of Paul was in fact a rejection of God! Paul had preached the gospel which God had revealed in His son, and there could be no other gospel than that which they had received from Paul (Gal. 1:7).
Their sudden change of mind
Paul marvelled that they should be so soon turned from the essentials of their faith. Not only was their desertion occurring so soon after their conversion, but they were being very easily turned. Their new teachers were accomplishment their aim quickly.
In saying that they were so soon removed, Paul used a word which was in general use to describe deserters, turncoats, or those who had become apostate and, being in the present tense, spoke of them as being in the act of becoming apostate. They were deserting the one who had so willingly died for them; and he died for them not because they were deserving of his love, but to redeem them from their sins (Gal. 1:6).
Their defection went even further; they were turning their backs upon God who had given His son to redeem them from this present evil world. They had fallen prey to those who sought to “pervert” them. Once again Paul shows the serious nature of this movement by using a word which means to turn around, showing that their gospel was the exact opposite to that which Jesus had revealed. In fact, the error was so serious Paul said of their new teachers, “Let them be accursed.”
The warning to ourselves
The reader might pause at this point to consider the personal relevance of Paul’s words. Unless we constantly review and meditate upon the fundamentals of our faith, we shall be an easy prey to every wind of doctrine. Our failure to constantly examine our foundations will mean that we may not even recognize the loose exposition of those “which speak evil of those things which they know not” and whose “hard speeches” and “great swelling words” (Jude vv. 15,16) are eroding the fundamentals.
We must be aware of the serious nature of defecting from the real foundations of our faith, for as Paul so clearly states – there can only be one Gospel and its truth is essential for our salvation. We must also be sure that we do not mistake tradition for fundamentals since our faith might well be shaken when the traditions are questioned and we find ourselves unable to defend them from the Scriptures.
These points form the substance of Paul’s letter to the Galatian ecclesias. He clearly states the real essentials for salvation, scathingly denouncing the traditions which were destroying the gospel and the meaning of the sacrifice of Jesus.
The central issue
Paul concluded his clear statement of the seriousness of the issue by preparing the way for his detailed exposition of the problem – was salvation by the works of the Law or by faith?
Speaking as one of them to the Jewish element of the ecclesias, he reminded them that it was because the Law could not justify that they had espoused the faith of Jesus Christ. Therefore if belief in the Law was still necessary, Jesus must have died in vain! If they had given up the lesser for the greater how could they still insist on continued belief in the lesser? Such would only expose a weakness in their new faith and show the sacrifice of Jesus to be ineffectual. Furthermore, if belief in the Law was essential for salvation, they had made a dreadful mistake in rejecting it, and had thus made transgressors of themselves.
Such folly could not be considered, for they “by the Law were dead to the Law.” Firstly, because they had been unable to keep it and were therefore condemned by it, and secondly, even if they had been able to keep it, the Law could not have saved them for it was not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away their sins (Heb.10:4).
The Law had pointed the way to Jesus and it had shown how necessary he was to each believer. They had died to their former way of life in the waters of baptism and now their only life was by Christ who lived in them. Although they still had bodies of flesh they lived by the faith of the Son of God and it was an affront to the grace of God to still cling to the works of the Law. If the teaching was true that keeping the Law was essential to salvation, then Jesus had died in vain!
Chapter 3 – The Works of the Law or Faith in Christ
Paul had marvelled that the Galatian believers had been so easily shaken from their belief in Christ, and he now charges them with folly. Being without understanding, they had been easily bewitched by their new teachers. The gospel had been clearly and unmistakably set before them as if it had been written before their faces in very large letters. Jesus, who had been crucified to save them from their sins, had been clearly set before their faces, and they had allowed their eyes to be diverted from him.
Having shown the serious nature of their defection, Paul now proceeds to outline the problem and then to expose its treachery. His arguments are just as devastating to the Judaizers as was the Roman invasion to their center in A.D.70.
Was the Law necessary?
The problem was – did salvation come through Jesus Christ or was it necessary to first be covered by the Law?
His first thrust should in itself have been conclusive. The gifts of the spirit in evidence among them were a proof Jesus was ascended into the heavens and had been accepted by his Father. The gifts had not come by the Law, but as promised by the prophets and the Lord Jesus. They were a proof of his resurrection and therefore of the truth of his gospel.
Wasn’t it also true that they had endured much persecution from the Jews because they had espoused the teaching of Jesus? Was all that in vain? Didn’t they know that God who ministered spiritual blessings to them and who bore witness to the preaching of the apostles by signs and wonders did so because they had received and believed the gospel which had been preached unto them? The blessings of the Spirit had come by the hearing of faith and not through the Law!
Consider Abraham
Paul relentlessly continues his assault. The Jewish teachers might have been easily persuaded to turn from his teaching, but could they ignore the example of their father Abraham! Paul’s use of this example is brutal and devastating to the arguments of the Judaisers who based everything upon the Law and yet boasted in their father Abraham. Note the stages.
- The blessings which came through Abraham and in which they hoped to share did not come through the works of the Law but through his belief in God.
- Abraham’s righteousness was not earned under the Law, it was “accounted to him” because of his belief in God.
- Next came a very severe blow to their pride: relative to the promises, Abraham’s children were not those who came by natural descent but those who came by faith – those who had faith like Abraham!
- The things which they had jealously guarded and strictly appropriated to themselves were available to all nations through the gospel which had been preached to Abraham. It is therefore “they which be of faith” which are blessed with faithful Abraham.
- If they still wanted to cling to the Law, they must remember that none could keep it and therefore all were cursed by it! They would be placing themselves under the Law which sentenced them to death!
- Even the prophet Habakkuk had foretold this when he wrote, “The just shall live by faith,” and the Law was not of faith but was of works – for “the man that doeth them.”
- It was Jesus who redeemed man from the curse of the Law – how foolish then to allow themselves to be made subservient to the Law by the teaching of the Judaizers.
The evidence multiplied
One might think, enough said to halt the shift to Judaism, but so serious was this issue that Paul considered it necessary to continue his onslaught.
The Law even cursed Jesus, sinless though he was. How then could a sinner trust in the Law for his salvation? Let none think, however, that the Law was victorious over Jesus. He was fully aware of the Law and of the manner of death which he would die. He was in full control and having come to fulfil the Law in all its detail, he gave his life voluntarily to redeem believing Jews from its curse and to bring the Gentiles within the scope of the promises made to Abraham.
When Paul added “that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Gal.3:14), it is possible that he was referring to the Spirit gifts which were given to many in the first century, but this seems unlikely as that meaning is too restricted for the context. It is more likely we should take the words as meaning: that we might receive the promise which was made by the Spirit to Abraham (Acts 13:32,33).
Those promises included the pledge of a particular seed, the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom they would all be fulfilled. So the promise of Jesus was confirmed 430 years before the Law and was therefore quite separate from it. The covenant, having been made by God, is much more certain than any man made covenant and even such are considered firm when correctly drawn up; they cannot be disannulled or made of none effect by anything which follows. Unlike a human covenant however, which is drawn up by two or more parties, this is entirely “of one” (Gal.3 :20). It is of God, and being a promise is not negotiable nor can it be earned as would have been the case under the Law.
Reason for the Law
At this point, Paul anticipates the question: “If all this is true, what then was the point of the Law?” In answering the question, he continues his attack upon the false teaching of the Judaizers. The Law was not given to bring salvation, it was added because of transgression! Its purpose was to prove man to be guilty before God (Rom.3: 19) and to show him the need for a redeemer. To use Paul’s own illustration, it was to act as a schoolmaster’ to bring its adherents to Christ.
The seed of Abraham
The concluding verses of chapter three prepare us for the allegory of Hagar and Sarah. Since these verses are so often misquoted, we do well to pay attention to what Paul is actually saying.
- In baptism we put on Christ. That is, we (Jews) are lifted from beneath the curse of the Law and, along with the Gentiles, are now counted to be “in Christ.”
- In this new relationship, personal status is exchanged for anonymity in Christ. It matters not whether we are Jew or Gentile, whether we are a free man or a slave, or even whether we are a man or a woman – we are all one in Christ Jesus.
- Because we are now one in Christ Jesus, we come under the description of “Abraham’s seed” and are therefore heirs to the promises which were made to Abraham’s “seed which is Christ.”
Baptism does not make the candidate one with Abraham and therefore a Jew, but one with Christ and therefore the ‘seed’ of Abraham. Nationality is of no importance. This distinction is amplified in the allegory which follows.
Chapter 4 – The Bond maid and the Free woman
Turning to the Gentile converts, Paul expresses his sorrow that they should be putting themselves once more into bondage to the “elements of the world” from which they had been delivered. Before they had known God, they had willingly given service “unto them which by nature are no gods,” and they had denied that willing service to the true God. After knowing God who had made them free, they desired to be again in bondage to them who are without divine authority! If they desire to be under the Law, Paul counsels, they must listen to what the Law has to say!
Abraham had two sons: Ishmael, who was born “after the flesh,” that is by normal natural means, and Isaac, who was born by God’s miraculous intervention. It is the special circumstances surrounding these two children which are skillfully woven into a very powerful allegory. Just as Ishmael, who was the son of the bond maid, was cast off and disinherited leaving Isaac to be sole heir, so natural Israel born in bondage to the Law is cast off in favour of “they which are of faith” (Gal. 3:7; 4:28).
As there was no future for natural Israel under the Law, what hope then could it give to Gentiles? Paul has already shown that “as many as are under the works of the law are under the curse,” so if they really desired to come under the bondage of the Law, they must know that they would be cutting themselves off from the promises and be placing themselves under its curse. They would in fact be sacrificing everything — “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise” (v. 28), “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father” (v. 6).
The truth of Paul’s words was also seen in the persecution of Isaac by Ishmael: “even so it is now” The interference of the Judaizers in the Gentile ecclesia was only an extension of the behavior of the son of the bond maid.
Chapters 5 and 6 – The Flesh and the Spirit
The reader may have been asking himself why the Scriptures devote so much space to this particular controversy when it does not present a problem to the modern Christian. He may also feel that there is something artificial about the shift in emphasis in this chapter. Paul seems to be diverting attention from the conflict between the Law and faith to the more universal conflict between the flesh and the spirit. A careful consideration of this chapter, however, shows the relevance of the former and the reason for the latter.
Had man not been encumbered with the basic problem of his human nature, he would have been able to live up to the standard demanded by the Law. In fact, the Law would not have been introduced had it not been for the weakness of the flesh — “the Law was added because of transgression.” It was added to make man aware of his inability to live up to God’s standards and thus show his need for a savior. The conflict between the Law and faith was therefore only part of the greater problem of the battle between the flesh and the spirit; to return to the Law was, in fact, to cease to walk after the spirit and to walk instead after the flesh.
Life in Christ
Having disposed of the teaching of the Judaizers, Paul comes to the real meat of his message – their life in Christ. Had they really understood this, they would not have wanted to return to the Law. They had a battle to fight against their own human nature and this could only be won in Christ! They must stand fast in “the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” To yield to circumcision would be to lose all the benefits of the sacrifice of Jesus and to stand alone in an unequal battle against the flesh.
There was no comparison between the Law and life in Christ. The Law required that a man should seek to justify himself; Christ offered justification by faith. The Law required that a man by his works should earn any benefits that it had to offer; Christ offered complete victory – freely, by grace! The Law only offered length of days; Christ offers the Divine nature!
The motivating principle of life in Christ is love. It begins with God who is love and who expressed His love by giving His son to redeem man from sin and death, and it continues in His Son, who for love of his bride freely gave himself. It must now be practiced by all who would follow him; but it is quite clear that this will not come naturally to human nature, love is a fruit of the Spirit. Love was commanded under the Law, but men failed to display it because it could not be achieved by mere human effort. Paul’s counsel is to crucify the flesh, to walk after the Spirit, and to bear its fruits.
Thinking of others
Another major difference between the Law and the Spirit is that the Law produced men who were selfish and self seeking; men who were proud of their individual achievements even though they fell short of the divine standard. The Spirit teaches men to be part of the Bride of Christ, members of one body with a responsibility for all. Among such there can be no envy or strife, only the desire motivated by love to seek each other’s welfare.
The Judaizers’ critical attitude, which had been generated by a superficial understanding of the Law, was to have no place in the lives of the ‘children of promise.’ Even where one had been caught in the act of transgression, a constructive, helpful attitude was to be displayed. The restoration of the sinner was to be sought. Paul’s comment, “lest thou also be tempted” was a salutary reminder of the teaching of Jesus (Matt. 18:31-35), that sins which have been forgiven can be reinstated where the attitude of the sinner toward others does not express his appreciation of that forgiveness. The man who considered himself to be superior could only be regarded as being subject to hallucinations and fanciful dreams.
A conscious effort was also to be made to help each other carry the burdens of life, but at the same time each must realise that he will be personally accountable in the day of judgement. They were not to take the services of their teachers for granted but as they had received from them spiritual things they were to communicate to them of their material things. Paul realised that those who are seriously occupied in teaching others are giving of the time which might otherwise have been devoted to their own sustenance: nevertheless he made it quite clear when writing to the Corinthians that he had chosen to provide for his own needs. While the supporting of teachers is a Scriptural principle, it is nevertheless one which the teachers need to consider carefully for themselves. To allow the principle to be carried as far as a full time paid ministry can have very serious consequences on the quality of the teachers.
The flesh vs. the spirit
The argument which began as a denunciation of Judaism has now been shown to be but a part of the constant battle which every man has with the flesh. Yielding to the flesh will result in corruption whilst sowing to the Spirit will blossom into everlasting life. All pandering to the flesh must be resisted, even to the point of weariness, while every opportunity to do good must be seized. Such efforts must not be restricted to the household, but must be the natural way of life at all times and amongst all people. It is with thankfulness we recall that before we were members of the household of faith, Jesus loved us: “while we were yet sinners Jesus died for us.”
Chapter 6:11-18 — Paul’s Salutation
Paul wrote the closing sentences of this epistle in his own hand, as was his custom (II Thess. 3:17), and he stated his conclusions boldly. He had already reminded them that the gospel had been clearly set before them, and he had used a figure of speech suggesting it had been set before their faces in large letters. He now states that his conclusions are set before them boldly, in large letters. As well as being proof of authorship, this salutation was also a solemn statement of the purpose of the epistle – the problem was not really about circumcision, it was about the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Were they to give in to the pandering of the flesh or to hold fast to their belief in the cross of Jesus?
Although the Judaizers were unable to keep the Law themselves, they were set upon making converts of the Galatian brethren and sisters. Their glory was in making converts and thus avoiding persecution for the cross of Christ. By contrast their original teacher, Paul, gloried only in the cross of Christ.
To be in Christ was everything to Paul; it mattered not whether you were circumcised or not, whether you were bond or free, male or female or whatever your nationality was; in him you were freed from the yoke of the Law and more particularly from the bondage of sin and death. You were then a new creature and, provided you stood fast “in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free” as a member of the “household of God,” peace would be yours by His mercy.
Paul’s final claim to sincerity was that he bore in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus. This may have been some affliction related to his conversion or more likely the marks of his continual suffering for Christ. He had persecuted `the way’ in the days of his ignorance, but none had suffered for Christ as he had done subsequently! Surely those marks spoke more eloquently to his testimony than anything to which the Judaizers could claim for themselves.
Paul concludes gathering his readers together as brethren in Christ to receive of him the essential blessing — “Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One