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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
The Book of Galatians
John A. Hubbard, D. D.
T HIS month we present a brief survey of a book which from both the doctrinal and prac portance. We refer to the Epistle to the Galatians. Concerning the writer of the epistle, Dr. Charles R. Erdman has this to say: “Every paragraph is stamped with the personality of the great apostle. In him a beautiful mind, a tender heárt, an indomitable will, were united with the deepest spiritual insight; and this unusual combination of qualities in the author has given to the- espistle its striking and characteristic fea tures.” As to the place and date of the writ ing of Galatians not all Bible stu dents agree. We believe it wafe prob ably written at Corinth about 60 A.D. near the end of P a u l’s third mis sionary journey. The Occasion and Purpose To know something of the occasion and purpose of this epistle is essential to a proper understanding of it. Paul had preached the Gospel of Grace in Galatia. Whether this was on his first or second missionary journey in no wise affects the teachings of the book. Paul had been very warmly welcomed (Gal. 4:14, 15). Many had believed, churches had been established and were doing well; some time later Judaizers entered these churches and hindered the people (5:7). They per verted the Gospel (1:7), and turned the Galatians eside from the truth (1:6). When he heard of this situation, Paul, led by the Spirit of God, wrote this letter to the churches. • His purpose, of course, was to refute the false teaching of the Judaizers, which was twofold. First, they insisted that, in order to be saved, people must observe the Mosaic law, with its rites
and ceremonies, in. addition to be lieving upon Jesus Christ. In other words, theirs was the error of trying to mix Law and Grace. In the second place, they taught that saved ones are made perfect, or sanctified by the law, that is, by their own efforts, in stead of by depending wholly upon the Holy Spirit. Broad Outline Broadly speaking, the epistle may be divided into three parts of two * chapters each: 1. Chs. 1 and 2—Paul’s defense of his apostleship and teaching. 2. Chs. 3 and 4—Justification by faith alone, apart from the works of the law. 3. Chs. 5 and 6—Sanctification by the Holy Spirit, apart from the works of the flesh, or self-effort. At this point, with this broad out line in view, the student is ur'ged to read the epistle through several times at one sitting. We trust the following suggestions, which are necessarily brief, will help the student to a better understanding of this great book. In connection with the first division (chs. 1 and 2), Paul felt it necessary at the very b e g i n n i n g to let the Galatians understand that both his apostleship and teaching were divine ly a u t h o r i t a t i v e . No doubt, the Judaizers first tried to discredit Paul’s authority, thereby making it easier for them to question his teaching. In the salutation (1:1-5), there is no word of thanksgiving for the Galatian be lievers as was customary in most of the Pauline letters. In the very first verse, the apostle lets them know that man had nothing to do with his a p o s t o l i c appointment. Man was neither the source, nor the agent; Paul received his commission from Jesus Christ and God the Father.
Chapter 1, verses 6 to 2:21, may be taken as a unit, dealing with Paul’s defense of his teaching. The Gospel which he preached was not taught to him by man, it came to him by revelation of Jesus Christ—its source was not human but divine (1:11 to 2:10). This Gospel preached by Paul is the only Gospel. He who preaches a different (not “ another” ) gospel is under the anathema, or the curse, of God (1:6-9). With regard to this pas sage, Dr. James Denney states: “I cannot agree with those who dis parage this, or affect to forgive it, as the unhappy beginning of religious intolerance. Neither the Old Testa ment nor the New Testament has any conception of a religion without this intolerance. The first commandment is ‘Thou shalt have no other gods be fore me’, and that is the foundation of the true religion. As there is only one God, so there can be only one Gospel . . . If the evangelist has not something to preach of which he can say, ‘If any man makes it his job to subvert this, let him be anathema, he has no Gospel at all’.” Paul’s rebuke of Peter at Antioch (2:11-21) shows that they were in harmony as to doctrinal belief. Incidentally, this also indicates that Peter was not superior to Paul as an apostle. Paul here quotes from his words to Peter when he withstood him at Antioch to show the Galatians that, whatever the legalists may have pre tended, Peter and he were in perfect doctrinal accord. Paul appealed to the common belief of Peter and himself as a rebuke to Peter’s inconsistent prac tice (Scofield note on 2:15). Turning now to the second broad division (chs. 3 and 4), we will look briefly at some of the arguments used to show that justification is solely by faith apart from the Works of the law (2:15-21 forms a fine introduction
tical standpoints is of g r e a t im
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