It is understood in Christian tradition and theology that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead lies at the heart of Christian practice and theology. The gospel texts are read in Christian tradition as epiphanies while the following texts like Galatians reveal the workings and mechanisms of the early church. This paper explores the history and message of the book of Galatians, paying particular attention to its authorship, its underlying message and its influence in the growth of the early Christian Church and the Christian movement of today.
As Young observes, Jesus did not teach Christianity because Christianity is about Jesus. Thus the earliest Christian teachings are in the epistles of Paul. In Paul’s epistles, focus changes from the life and teachings of Jesus Christ to how Christians should live in their faith. In the book of Galatians we see Paul advancing the idea of radical trust in God which later becomes the basis of Christian behavior.
According to Boice of all the New Testament books attributed to Paul very few have been so unquestioningly accepted as genuinely written by Paul as the Book of Galatians. The letter starts with mentioning Paul as the author. Longman argues that the theology, argument of the letter, the use of the scripture, the passion with which the letter was written, the diction selected and the style all point to Paul as the writer. Paul’s authorship of Galatians has had little debates since the issue is settled in the first verses of Galatians. The book is also argued to be among the Marcionite and Muratorian Pauline canons. With the nineteenth century enlightenment and the emergence of logical criticism of the bible emerged a new group of critics who doubted Paul’s authorship based on what they termed the letter’s inconsistencies, “obscurities, logical fallacies and historical improbabilities”. It is noted that this denial of Paul’s authorship is not accepted by contemporary critics who believe that there is enough evidence to claim Paul as the author of Galatians. In Galatians 1.1 and 5.2 we get enough textual evidence to claim Paul as the author.
With the authorship question settled another critical question is raised on the date and place of writing of the epistle of Galatians. Longman observes that the date and place where Galatians was written is less known than the authorship. Most scholars date Galatians with the Paul and Barnabas’s first missionary journey which is depicted in Acts 13 and 14 and the Jerusalem Council. The Jerusalem Council is believed to have occurred around AD 48 and 49. It is argued that in reference to the Jerusalem Council, Galatians must have been written before the Council since Paul would have used the council to address some of the Church’s concerns he addressed in Galatians. This is considered the most satisfactory position that scholars have taken on the dating of the epistle of Galatians.
Throughout the history of the early Christian Church the view that dominated the recipient of the letter to the Galatians was that Paul wrote to Northern Galatia. In the eighteenth century historians began to question the North Galatia theory. Longman discusses the North Galatia hypothesis in relation the argument by J.B. Lightfoot who argued that Paul could not have written to South Galatia since the book of Acts does not mention Galatian churches after Paul and Barnabas’ missionary work. This position is further illustrated by noting that Paul used popular ethic and geographic language when he referred to people or regions. He did not use official Roman descriptions or names of regions. The North Galatia hypothesis advanced by Lightfoot was challenged by those who believed that what was recorded in Acts were irreconcilable with Paul’s chronology. They argued that historical and archeological data pointed to South Galatia, to the political regions of Galatia in Asia minor as the places the letter was written to. Longman cites Ramsay’s investigation that concluded that the Phyrigian origin of the territories of the Roman Empire was forgotten and the region was now known as Galatia. This argument is further advanced by Burton who acknowledged that Paul’s use of terminology in his writing was more political than ethnic.
It is apparent that Paul couldn’t have written to these two disparate places at the same time. The understanding is that if the recipients of the letter were in South Galatia they could be the various churches Paul and Barnabas had formed as evidenced by their mission in Acts 13 and 14. There territories were Antioch, Pisidian and Iconium and the Lycaonian cities. Evidence on the North South Galatian debate is not conclusive. Modern interpretation tends to favor the South Galatian hypothesis.
Longman has observed that the text of Galatians is filled with intense, emotionally charged language. This language proves that the writer was distressed and agitated. Scholars have often suggested rhetorical approaches to understanding Paul’s writing and message. They ask the reader to pay attention to the various ways Paul used to express his message and also the nature of the content he passed along. Paul’s letter had a formula in the way they were presented. They always began with greetings and then take the reader to the message.
Paul’s message is understood in light with the purpose to which Galatians was written. Paul had received messages that there was people stirring trouble in church by confusing the message. These people argued that Gentiles had to follow Jewish laws for them to be saved. These laws included circumcision and honoring special Jewish days like the Sabbath (Galatians 4:10 and 5.2). Paul vehemently disagreed with these teachings and thought they were a perverse way of building the church (1.7). Beside the Jewish teachings, people were also against Paul and these people are believed to be Judaizers who couldn’t fathom a prosperous Christian Church without the Jewish laws and practices. Longman notes that having realized the power and gravity of Judaizers’ teachings, Paul had to revert to extensive rhetorical mechanisms to make sure that his message is well received and that the influence of the Judaizers is neutralized.
Paul wrote Galatians because conservative legalizers had come to Galatia from Jerusalem purporting to be agents of James, Jesus’ brother. Their message was that Paul was the one perverting the gospel not them. Their message was that all Gentiles should observe Jewish laws and only through that could they be saved. Judaizers believed that it was not enough for one to just accept Jesus as the savior; they also had to abide by the Jewish laws as created by Moses. Paul knew that if the teachings of the legalists had prevailed the whole Christian church and its teachings would be in jeopardy (Galatians 5: 2-4). His teaching was always that salvation had nothing to do with the laws of Moses. Saving the churches of Galatia was part of his mission. He wanted the Church to know that his mission was divine and not that commanded by any human being and that his teachings came from God rather than any ancient texts. He also wanted to stamp his authority. This brings us to the underlying themes in the book of Galatians.
In Galatians, a number of key issues and themes can be extrapolated. The first major theme is that of apostolic authority. The question of authority is central to Galatians. There were two camps that were fighting for the future of the church. The first camp was that of Jewish Christian teachers who as mentioned earlier wanted gentiles to follow the law of Moses as a way to Salvation. The other camp is that of Paul who made it clear that the Jewish laws had little to do with Salvation. In Galatians 1 and 2 Paul stamps out his authority by revealing that his authority came from God. He notes that “but even if we or an angel from heaven teach any other gospel to you than we have preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatian 1:8). In the world of today, the debate on authority has been settled in terms of Christian life. Even though Christians follow state laws they no longer have to debate the law and faith issue like Paul had to deal with it. The challenges today pertains to congruence between new laws that allow social issues outlawed in the bible and how a Christian should respond.
Besides authority, Paul also taught salvation in Jesus Christ. Knight observes that Paul lays out two major aspects of salvation in Christ which are the cross of Christ since Jesus gave himself so that mankind can be free. The second aspect of Paul’s teaching is justification by faith which has dominated most of theological exchanges on the book of Galatians. He argued that it was faith rather than law that got man saved and this faith united believers to Jesus Christ. The teachings of justification by faith have made it possible for the Church to expand and grow into billions of followers. Galatians is argued to be relevant to the 20th and 21st century Christian faith. Knight notes that one of the central issues to Galatians is authority and believers must on the theological foundations of their decision making. The book of Galatians aids in in that quest for authority and foundations.
The book of Galatians addresses some of the thorny issues concerning Christian life. Its teachings have affected how I see my relationship with my spiritual side. I believe that justification by faith is one of the most important and powerful part of Christian life and the book offers that constant reminder. Paul makes the point clear that justification is by grace through faith not any other means. A close reading of the book of Galatians grounds one in solid foundations and understanding of Paul’s Christian teaching and it means to be a Christian and how that salvation is attained.
Bibliography
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Longman, Tremper. Romans-Galatians. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2008.
Knight, George. Exploring Galatians and Ephesians. Maryland: Review and Herald Publishing
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Matera, Frank. J. Galatians. Collegeville, Minn: Liturgical Press, 1992.
Young, Francis and Margaret M. Mitchell. The Cambridge History of Christianity: Origins to
Constantine. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
