In an effort to keep at least a semblance of normalcy, we will continue our Wednesday evening studies on the New Testament online while we wage war on this version of a coronavirus. If you have questions, you can use the comment section to ask them, or you can e-mail Pastor Tito directly. These lessons are adapted from the notes that Pastor Tito prepared to teach the New Testament Survey course at Western Reformed Seminary. These notes have been used through the years and the most current notes on that course revised and improved by Dr. John Battle can be accessed here. So far in our study, we have surveyed the four gospels, including a chronological survey of the life of Christ, the book of Acts, James and Jude, and the eschatological epistles (1 & 2 Thessalonians). That brings us to a total of nine books surveyed. We are left with 18 to go in our attempting to become better acquainted with the words of the New Covenant. Today we begin with what most scholars consider the "big guns" of Paul's epistles – Galatians, Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians. They are called the Soteriological Epistles from the Greek word soteria (salvation) because they develop the theological order of salvation, also known as the ordo salutis. These four epistles (Paul's longest epistles) emphasize the doctrines of regeneration, justification, adoption, sanctification, and glorification. Even theologically liberal scholars agree that these four epistles were written by the apostle Paul. Because of that, conservative scholars like J. Gresham Machen based their arguments for the Pauline authorship of the other epistles on them. In some ways, they use the liberals' own arguments to defeat them. We will start with Galatians simply because it was the first one of the four letters to be written, though they were all written during Paul's third missionary journey. Galatians, alongside Romans, were the two books that the Holy Spirit used to light a fire in Martin Luther's heart and enabled him to rediscover the Pauline theology of salvation by faith alone. You can read Luther's commentary on Galatians here. To Whom Was Galatians Originally Written? It is fairly easy to establish who the original audience was for the other three Soteriological Epistles, the identity of the original recipients of Galatians is somewhat disputed. All agree that it is addressed to churches in the Roman province of Galatia (Gal 1:2; 3:1), but the question is what part of the province. This is how Dr. John Battle from Western Reformed Seminary explains it: Originally the province included the north central portion of Asia Minor, where the original Gauls had come to live about 250 B.C. (Gaul is the old name for modern France). In 25 B.C. Amyntas, their last king, willed the territory to the Romans. Earlier scholars assumed these were the churches addressed. Later it was discovered that by the time of Paul the Romans had extended the borders of Galatia to include a large area to the south, including the cities Paul visited on his first missionary journey. This newer region came to be known as South Galatia, while the original part of the province is called North Galatia. So tom whom is Paul writing? We know that by the time Paul wrote Galatians he had visited two areas in Galatians twice (Gal 4:13) and had been at least two times to Jerusalem (Gal 1:18; 2:1). Here is an explanation of the two most popular theories ü Paul would have visited North Galatia on 2nd and 3rd missionary journeys (Acts 16:6; 18:23) Ø "Phrygia and Galatia" would be taken as separate areas Ø Cities of Galatia would include Pessinus, Ancyra, Tavium ü Use of "disciples" in Acts 18:23 instead of "churches" would strengthen argument ü Admits that Paul usually uses names of provinces (1 Cor 16:1; Gal 1:2; 2 Tim 4:10); but in Gal 3:1 it would offend them, whereas the insulting term is more appropriate for ethnic group in North • Newer theory, now held by most scholars • Paul would have visited this area on all three missionary journeys (Acts 13:14 – 14:24; 16:6; 18:23) ü "Phrygia and Galatia" would be taken as "Phrygian Galatia," that is, the part of Galatia that is in the ethnic region of Phrygia ü Would include Antioch-Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe • Arguments: ü Would make Luke's emphasis in Acts agree with Paul's emphasis in this epistle ü Judaizers would naturally go to the southern cities first ü Paul (and Luke) normally use provincial names, not ethnic names (Acts 2:10; 18:24; 19:29; 20:4; 2 Cor 6:11; 9:2, 4), why not in Gal 3:1? ü An advantage – if the background in Acts is known for these churches, it gives more meaning to Galatians When Was Galatians Written? It is also difficult to establish when exactly Galatians was written There three possible dates suggested by Bible-believing scholars: A.D. 48-49, A.D. 50, and A.D. 51-54. For reasons that are too technical for our purposes here, we will use the third date, A.D. 51-54, as the date when Galatians was written. Why Was Galatians Written? Jewish-Christian theological opponents of Paul ("Judaizers") said that it was necessary for Gentile Christians to be circumcised and keep the Jewish laws (Gal 1:6; 5:2-4; cf. Acts 15:1). They also undermined confidence in Paul's leadership, stating that he was less authoritative than the original apostles of Jesus. We could say that the summary verse for Galatians is 2:16. Gal 2:16 – …knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. What Is in Galatians? A brief outline: • Paul's independent apostleship (Gal 1-2) – Paul establishes that he became an apostle by the direct appointment of Christ. His apostleship and authority were not dependent on the other apostles. He was as much of an apostle as Peter or James. • Justification by faith alone (Gal 3 – 5:12) – This is a non-negotiable point for Paul. He is not willing to have a friendly discussion on whether sinners are justified by faith alone or not. He says that anyone who teaches anything else is to be accursed (anathema). Ø Allegory of Sarah and Hagar (Gal 4) • Practical exhortations (Gal 5:13 – ch. 6) – the fruit of the Spirit comes from the work of the Holy Spirit in us as a consequence of our walking in obedience to the Word of God. Interesting Things about Galatians • No beginning commendation – Paul wastes no time with pleasantries because the problem he was addressing was too important to wait. • Argument with Peter (Gal 2) – It doesn't matter who you are. If you are in a position of authority and are acting or teaching something different about justification than by faith alone, you need to be confronted. • Strong against heresy (Gal 1:8-9; 5:12) • Second most autobiographical epistle (after 2 Corinthians) • Wrote ending himself (Gal 6:11-18, "large letters")
• Paul's eye trouble (Gal 4:15; 6:11; cf. 2 Cor 12:7) – Perhaps eye trouble was his thorn in the flesh.
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