Galatians is an amazing book that teaches us about the dangers of falling away from the teaching of the apostles. This is especially easy to do when those with competing motives enter the arena as teachers or leaders. It is as true in the time of the early church as it is today.
But before we get into Galatians, let’s look at the history that surrounds the book. First, Galatians was written by Paul between 48 and 58 AD. The letter is written to the churches of Galatia, not to a single church. This has spurned some debate in the timeline of when Galatians was written, hence the broad dates. There are two theories of when the book was written:
Theory One: The Northern Galatian Theory. In this theory, the letter was written to the northern churches in Galatia. Galatia, being a region rather than a distinct country (modern day Turkey), was divided in a northern and southern designation. This theory would put Paul visiting this region during his second missionary journey. The problem with this theory is that it isn’t recorded in Acts. If true, Galatians would have been written between 53 and 57 AD.
Theory Two: The Southern Galatian Theory. This theory contends that Galatians was written to the southern churches of the Galatian region. These churches are much more well-known in the New Testament (Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe). These churches were founded by Paul during his first missionary journey. Some believe that Paul wrote this letter in 48 after his first missionary journey. Others believe it was written between 51and 53.
Regardless of when Galatians was written, the truth and wisdom contained in the book far surpasses the actual year it was penned. The depth is something that we can carry into our life to learn and grow with. Paul deepens our understanding of who Christ is, the fallacy of false teaching and the very essence of what the Christian life looks like.
History
Galatia was founded by Celtic people around the third century BC. These people are referred to as the Gauls. Galatians was a name given to them by the Greeks around the time of Alexander the Great. It comprised the three main tribes of the Gauls who settled in the area. In 25 BC, the Galatian king Amyntas died, giving the Roman Emperor Augustus to incorporate Galatia into a Roman province.
During the time that Galatians was written, the Roman empire held power over the region. Augustus (29 BC- 14 AD) the first Roman emperor, of course had his hand in bring Galatia under Roman rule. During Christ’s life on earth, he would have been under the rule of both Augustus and Tiberius. At the end of Tiberius’ rule (14-37 AD) Paul most likely was converted to Christianity (approximately 35 AD). Caligula was the next Roman Emperor (37-41 AD) and then Claudius (41-54 AD). The bulk of Paul’s missionary journeys would take place during the rule of Claudius and the next ruler, Nero (54-68 AD). In 64, a Roman fire would be blamed on Christians, and it would begin the Roman persecution of Christians.
But weren’t Christians persecuted before 64 AD? They were, but not by Rome. They were persecuted by the Jews. And of the Jewish Sanhedrin, Paul was among the most zealous, and certainly the most famous, of the Jewish Pharisees who persecuted the early church.
When Rome brought a province under their control (much like they did in Galatia), they took a page from the playbook of the Persian Empire. They conquered an area, made sure people knew they were now under Roman rule, so if they stepped out of line they would deal with Roman Law. But they also honored the gods of the land by allowing the people in those provinces to keep living the way they always had. They had to pay their taxes to Rome (hence the dreaded Jewish tax collectors), but were allowed to keep their power structures in place, as long as they did not interfere with Rome’s power structure. Roman Governors (like Pontius Pilate) lived in palatial mansions on the coast, seldom journeying to the inland unless there was a desperate reason.
In Jerusalem, the power structure was the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was made of up two distinct bodies: the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Sadducees were mostly the business leaders in the community. The Pharisees were the religious leaders. When Christianity began to gain ground in Jerusalem, this local power structure was threatened, mainly because the Sanhedrin saw the miracles done in Christ’s name and couldn’t refute them. The Jewish people began to flock to Jesus. This caused the Sanhedrin to take drastic measures against Christ and the teachers of Christianity. Imprisonment was one deterrent, but as the movement grew (and Christ was eventually crucified), the Sanhedrin had a problem on their hands: the movement was not squelched. In fact, it grew larger than any of them expected. Now there were many teachers and followers. They were a threat to the Pharisitcial power system that the Jews had built over centuries.
Paul was raised in the framework of Judaism and excelled in it. He became a powerful teacher and a zealous defender of it. He was feared in Israel. He routinely rounded up Christians and fed them into the Jewish power system that either would imprison or destroy them. But on the road to Damascus, as relaying in Acts 9, the risen Christ meets him on the road, as he is on a mission persecute more. There, Christ converts him to one of the most powerful apostles for the early church. After his conversion and for the next 30 years, Paul’s mission is to spread the word of Christianity to the known world.
Martin Luther wrote this: “When I was a young man I thought Paul was making too much of his call. I did not understand his purpose. I did not then realize the importance of the ministry… We exalt our calling, not to gain glory among men, or money, or satisfaction, or favor, but because people need to be assured that the words we speak are the words of God. This is no sinful pride. It is holy pride.”
Why is this history important? Because as we get into the book of Galatians, we must understand the world in which Paul lived and worked. The fledgling Christian church is like a baby giraffe trying to stand on wobbly legs. It is weak, susceptible and young. Paul’s practice of planting churches and appointing leaders is important and necessary, but there is a problem built into it: if the people are young in the faith, and the leaders also young and growing, what happens when their growth is challenged? Can a Christian stand strong in the face of the overwhelming odds of absolute authority?
This problem of authority, both on a macro and micro level, ties into what this book is all about. In times of hopelessness, do we abandon our faith for something immediate? Do we fall back into past rituals, concerns or attitudes that hamper us more than grow us?
Paul is about to write to a church body that has fallen away. In that, we’ll learn about what has happened to the collection of churches in Galatia and why it is important to us today. And further, Paul will remind us of what it means to be a Christian and why it is important to stay strong in the faith.
1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers and sisters with me, Paul is writing from his apostolic authority. This means that he is sent by God, with a message to those whom he travels to. He is an appointed representative of God with an official status. He wants the Galatians to understand this, because his teaching will divide the desires of men and the desire of God. To the churches in Galatia: 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. If we look at the letter addressed to the Thessalonians, we’ll notice that it is addressed to a specific church. Here, it is addressed to a collection of churches, most likely in the southern region of Galatia.
This is a standard greeting from Paul, but it does have some interesting items in it. First, Grace is greeting that would be understood mainly by the Greek culture. Peace would be understood as a greeting to the Jewish culture. But you’ll also notice that both together compose the New testament message: grace from God the father and peace to you and others.
Grace is also important in Paul’s writings. In his complete collection of writings, the concept of grace is is used over 100 times. Among the other New testament authors, grace is used 55 times.
Also, Paul greets the Galatians with the very idea of Christ’s mission: He was sent by the loving father as a sacrificial lamb for our sins, so that we could have a justified path toward God. This is important because the next five verses get to the heart of why he has written this letter.
No Other Gospel
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.
Paul is astonished that the Galatians are turning away so quickly. “So quickly” is an important phrase. It implies that Paul isn’t so much astonished that the have turned away, but more so that it had been very fast. And why are they turning away? They are turning to a different gospel.
This could have been the work of a few outfits that were circulating at the time of Paul’s writing: 1.The Judaizers: This was a group of pseudo-Christians who claimed that Christianity was the real and right way, but it wasn’t complete. In order to truly be saved, the Christian would also need to keep the laws of the Old Testament. 2. The Gnostics: This was a group who looked Christian but when a magnifying glass was put up to their beliefs, it turned out they had a very non-Christian set of values. The Gnostics believed that the body was corrupt and the spirit was pure. So whatever was done in the body had no bearing on the spirit. So a person could live a corrupt and sinful life and still be saved. They also believed that they held the key to spiritual secrets that could only be obtained through special ceremonies.
This is just a small overview of both of these movements. Both were prevalent in the days of Paul and the apostles. In fact, John writes about the Gnostics in 1 John in the form “many antichrists” (1 John 2:18-19).
Both of these movements were designed to separate the weak members of the Christian church, to confuse them in different ways. The Judaizers were calling Christians back to the adherence of Mosaic Laws, the very laws they had escaped from through the blood of Christ. This is mainly seen in scripture as a call back to circumcision. This movement confused Christians into believing that their new faith was deficient and they must return to the former faith to be complete. The Judaizers preached a gospel of legalism.
The Gnostics were a little different. They believed the foundation of Christianity was valid, but not complete. Only they had the proper knowledge to complete the faith. It was similar to Christianity and at the same time did not believe in the resurrection. The Gnostics preached a gospel of confusion.
In both instances, these two groups took the elemental ideas of Christianity and then added, or subtracted something from it. The Judaizers subtracted the full blood sacrifice of Christ and added the Mosaic law. The Gnostics subtracted the risen Christ and added secret rituals.
As Paul points out, whomever came to this region and preached a different gospel added three things into the church: no gospel at all, confusion and perversion.
No gospel at all: This speaks to the illegitimacy of this new gospel. If you remember Paul’s greeting, he makes it known that he was brought by God. Acts chapter 9 on speaks of Paul’s story of conversion, apostolic acceptance, and furthering of the Christian church. This mission is no doubt dictated by God and Paul is a willing servant, eager to launch into the oppressive world of Roman rule, of desperate Pharisees, of trouble around each and every corner to proclaim the word of God. Paul’s gospel is orchestrated by God. An illegitimate gospel is devised by man. In both the Judaizer and Gnostic movements, one can see how obvious the hand of man is in it. For the Judaizers, it is seen in their desire to plug back into the Mosaic system. For the Gnostics, it is the invented concepts they add onto Christianity. Both negate the truth of scripture.
Confusion: Confusion is found in both of these movements. In Christianity, you will notice that the simplicity is in the concept itself. It is difficult to live it out, but the truth that Jesus died for our sins and to put our faith in Him, the son, who is part of the father, wipes out our sins and creates relationship, is a straightforward way to understand God’s heart. It doesn’t require any ritual that is invented by man. It doesn’t as for anything but faith and trust. There is no confusion in that. But both movements desired to sow confusion into the believer in order to strip them of the truth.
Perversion: Any false teacher will pervert the word of God in order to bring pride to himself, wealth or doubt to the person they are trying to steer from the truth. In both movements, the word was perverted in different ways. The Judaizers said that the word of God wasn’t sufficient without the Law of Moses. Jesus’ sacrifice wasn’t powerful enough to eradicate sin; you needed to keep the law as well. The perversion of the body and spirit in Gnosticism is obvious. If the body has no connection to the spirit, then life is meaningless. We all go to Heaven, despite what we do, think, or how we act.
Do any of these practices sound like religions of today? Do we see confusion, perversion or a gospel that has a different message than what Jesus, Paul and the apostles intended? If so, we must understand that the spirit of the antichrist is alive and well in our time, just as it was in the time of Paul, John and any of the New Testament writers.
Another question to ponder is why anyone would knowingly pervert the gospel. The answer, unfortunately, is rather easy from a foundational level.
The gospel is offensive to to our human nature. Our nature is one of selfishness. It is always easier to walk away from a problem instead of meeting it head on. It is easier to do nothing than something. And it is especially easy to bend God’s will to our own nature rather than bend our nature to God’s will. The gospel is a mirror. It shows us our brokenness and gives us the answer to it as well. But it comes at a price.
Our pride is offended by the gospel. The gospel teaches us about the dependency we must have on God. This dependency is complete. It is about bringing every shard of brokenness before God and sacrificing it to Him, trusting him with our life, trusting Him with it all. Complete trust obliterates pride. But our humanness demands pride, and when we see how God abhors it in the gospel story, we are forced to see it in ourselves. We don’t want to be dependent. Therefore, one of the reasons one would actively oppose scripture, and perhaps bend it to his own will, is because he may value pride over dependency.
The gospel is also offensive to our wisdom. We want to believe we are in charge of our destiny, that we come up with the plan, that we are the wise ones in this story. But our wisdom is very small compared to that of what God offers. We pretend we are the one’s designing the wise moves of our life, but the gospel tells us that God is really in charge. Our foolishness becomes apparent when we put it up against the bible and its teaching.
The gospel offends our knowledge.We want to believe that we know all and see all. That we understand human history and all of its trappings. We want to believe that we know the correct moves in any given situation. Unfortunately, this also bangs up against our human nature when we look at the gospel. There is a much wider story that is somewhat incomprehensible to us all. Again, we must depend on God in this. Any of these issues are forms of pride that keep us out of submission to God and in a state of defiance.
Pride is the foundation of why anyone would openly defy scripture and create a narrative of their own. The deep need to be recognized, to be knowledgable, wise and admired gets in the way of the truth. We find ways to create a “truth” that applauds our own life rather than bends to the will of God. In this defiance we continue to build a barrier against God and His laws so we can justify our own.
8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!
Paul makes an interesting point: can an angel send a message from God to man? And can an angel send a corrupt message? The point is this: God’s word was given to man through the holy scripture. It has been handed down through the centuries in order to help and show people who God is and what He values. It tells us how to get back in alignment with Him.
The only way to know what God values is to be in deep study with His word. Like a mirror, the gospel holds up blemishes for your to see. But it also holds the wonderful message that there is a way back to God, through Jesus! It isn’t about keeping a legalistic list of rituals or about attaining secret knowledge. It is about communing with God the way He desires you to.
Paul wrote this 2000 years ago in obvious recognition of the false doctrines that were circulating. But do they still circulate today? Are the Judaizers or the Gnostics still around? Have any contemporary religions been handed gospels down from angels?
The Church of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) were supposedly handed a gospel from the angel Moroni, who was a resurrected man who lived in ancient America. Islam was created by Mohammed, allegedly as he gained knowledge and wisdom from the angel Gabriel. Both are large world-wide religions that claim to both respect and at the same time malign the scripture. Both are highly-legalized faiths, creating equal dependency on the word of God and the works done to legitimize themselves before God.
Why is this so wrong? Why can’t we live in the space of both a legalized version of faith and also believe in faith that has wiped away the old laws? Because the dependency on God, the self-sacrifice of our sins and trading them for pure faith in God is not compatible with a works-based religion. They are mutually-exclusive. You can’t believe in the complete atoning power of Christ’s sacrifice and still believe you must do certain man-made duties or rituals in order to find God’s favor. Grace is the free gift that leads us to salvation, and that is only found through the sacrifice of Christ. We cannot do anything to earn our place. We simply have to believe with our entire heart and soul and follow with deep and sincere desire.
In this, the false gospel must be rejected. It is not compatible, therefore it is not from God but from man’s desire to shine the light of knowledge and wisdom upon himself. Paul emphasizes the curse that will be brought upon those who spread a false gospel. This is a grievous sin, because the spreading of false gospel leads unknown masses away from the truth. 10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Paul’s aim is clear: he wants to please God, not man. Therefore, oftentimes Paul had to bring messages of peace and hope but also of correction and sin. Paul was not seeking the acclaim that would bring him fame or notoriety, but was eager to spread God’s message as deep and wide and as far as he could. This was for the sake of the message and nothing else.
Paul Called by God
11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
Paul first preached the message of the risen Christ to Galatia on his first missionary journey (or second, if the Northern Galatian Theory is to be believed). This was years before the letter was written. By the time this letter was written, Paul had been a Christian evangelist for a good fifteen years. The Galatians would have heard his message a decade or so before. Paul’s aim was to remind them of what they have lost in the decade of slippage. They have forgotten that the man who stablished their churches was not a man who made up a story, or religion, and simply reiterated it. He received the knowledge directly from his experience on the road to Damascus (Acts 9).
13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.
This is a synopsis of Paul’s story, found in Acts and his own writings. He was raised as a Pharisee, set apart from the people as a religious leader. He grew in notoriety and was known all over Israel as the guy Christian’s feared. But on his way to Damascus, the risen Christ intercepted him and sent him on a new mission: to preach the gospel to the Gentiles.
18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.
After 3 years in Arabia, Paul returned to Jerusalem and visited the apostles. There he met Cephas (Peter) and James the Just. He did this as a way to present himself to the living apostles as an apostle to the Gentiles.
21 Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me.
Paul then began his missionary efforts by heading north. He had gained a notoriety in persecution the Christians, but now people were confused. He was not persecuting Christians but the greatest advocate for them! Only God could create such a dynamic.