Galatians 5:2-15 Notes

Paul now turns to the practical implications of the arguments he has made in Gal. 1-4. In particular, he focuses on how the Galatians should treat each other. The introduction of the teaching of the Judaizers was destabilizing and led to division (2:11; see Acts 15:2).The unity of the church was threatened, which may explain why Paul says so much about love and warns so much about factionalism in these two chapters (5:6; 5:13-15; 5:20; 5:22—23; 5:26; 6:1-2). In some respects 5:2-15 is a bridge between the arguments Paul made and the applications he intended to make.

Notes on Galatians 4:21-5:1

Paul concludes the middle section of the letter with an allegory. Allegories are extended metaphors, and they were an accepted form of argumentation in the rhetoric of the first century. Paul’s allegory revolves around the stories of Sarah and Hagar, and their sons, Isaac and Ishmael.

It is interesting that the first century Jewish writer, Philo, made an argument based on a similar allegory with regard to education. He compared Hagar to the elementary subjects we must learn, and Sarah to the deeper knowledge of virtue (The Preliminary Studies, I-V).

It may very well be that Paul is responding to an allegorical argument made by the Judaizers, who may have concluded that since Ishmael and even foreigners had to be circumcised (Gen. 17:23-27), that Gentiles even in the era of the gospel had to be as well. 

Galatians 4:8-20 Notes

Having laid out his sweeping argument based on God’s plan of salvation in history, Paul now turns to a more personal, emotional appeal.

8 Formerly, when you did not know God, 

See Eph. 2:12. God was in covenant relationship with Israel but not the other nations, and in fact they had degenerated into pagan idolatry and were not in covenant relationship with God.

you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.

“Those that by nature are not gods” is Paul’s way of describing idol worship (see 1 Cor. 8:4-6). However, while Paul did not believe the pagan gods were real gods, he did believe there were real powers at work in idolatry – demons (1 Cor. 10:19-20).

Galatians 4:1-7 Notes

Having said that we are “heirs according to promise,” Paul now makes an argument on the status of sons before and after they receive their inheritance.

James Dunn points out in his commentary that this section restates many of the same points in 3:23-29:

Galatians 3:22-29

Let’s review Paul’s argument so far:

In the first two chapters Paul distanced himself from the Judaizers in Jerusalem while at the same time showing that his understanding of the gospel came directly from God and was in agreement with the teaching (though sometimes not the practice) of the other apostles (Gal. 1-2).

In chapters 3-4 Paul sets forth several doctrinal arguments to refute the contentions of the Judaizers:

-The experience of the Galatians was that they received salvation and the Spirit by faith in Christ, not through the Law (3:1-5).

-The Scriptures taught that Abraham was justified by faith, long before he was circumcised (3:6-9).

-In fact, Israel has historically failed to keep the Law, receiving the curse that Jesus had to die to remove (3:10-14).

-The Law came 430 years after the promise to Abraham, and does not change the fundamental nature of God’s promise to make of Abraham one family (“offspring”), not multiple families (“offsprings”), a family identified by being in Christ not by keeping the Law (3:15-20).

-The Law had an important purpose, to define sin and lead Israel to Jesus (3:21-22).

The argument in 3:23-4:7 hinges on sonship. Notice the following contrasts:

-The contrast between being a slave and son.

-The contrast in pronouns: “we” (Jews) and “you” (Gentiles).

-The contrasts in past and present tenses.

Galatians 3:15-22

While working through the middle chapters of Galatians, it is important to keep in mind that Paul is speaking in terms of God’s covenant purposes. This means:

-The issue here is not so much “how can I be saved?” but “what are God’s covenant plans for Israel and the Gentiles in Christ?”

-And of course the basis for any discussion of God’s covenant promises is the promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-13).

While Paul was dealing with a specific challenge here in Galatians, there are many similarities between Gal. 3-4 and Rom. 4.

-Both emphasize the fundamental basis of the promise to Abraham in terms of faith.

-Both argue that Abraham is the father of both Jews and Gentiles.

This section hinges on the timing and scope of God’s promise to Abraham.

Galatians 3:10-14 Notes

Commentators agree on two things regarding this passage: it is crucial to Paul’s argument, and it is very difficult! Part of the difficulty of this passage is that Paul has a tendency to speak in very concise, densely-structured phrases, and we are left wondering how to fill in the gaps. 

To a large extent, how this section is interpreted depends on what presuppositions we bring to the text. Since the time of Martin Luther, this passage has been interpreted in very individualistic terms to mean that no one can keep the Law perfectly, and therefore justification is by faith. However, I don’t think that is Paul’s point in this passage. Let me be clear - the Bible plainly teaches that we are saved by grace and through faith, not as a result of works (Ephesians 2:8-9). There is no amount of merit any sinner can accumulate to earn God’s favor.

But that is not what Galatians 3:10-14 is about, in my opinion. The typical Lutheran approach to the passage fails in two ways. First, the Mosaic covenant was not a system based on perfect lawkeeping. The Jews very well understood that God’s election was a matter of grace (Deut. 7:6-9). Further, the Law contained provisions for dealing with human imperfection in the form of the sacrificial system. Israelites were not required to be sinlessly perfect. They could make offerings for sins and be forgiven, as Leviticus 1-6 repeatedly states.