Light ~ Acts 14:21-28; Galatians 1-3:23
HighLights ~ Paul and Barnabas report to their “sending church” in Syrian Antioch; Paul follows up by mail with churches they visited in the southern region of Galatia.
InSights ~ Today we begin a 2-day focus on Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia. The editors of the One Year Chronological Bible have chosen to date the letter at its earliest possible point in the historical timeline: around AD 49. They share the assumption that Paul and Barnabas regarded Derbe and Iconium and Lystra as part of Galatia, and some maps depict them this way. Even Pisidian Antioch borders on Galatia.
There are others who think the epistle was written later, after the Second Missionary Journey, during which Paul may have visited churches to the north, in “Galatia proper”, though these visits are not found in Acts. Their reasoning is based on the idea that there was not enough time for the issues Paul addresses in Galatians to have happened so soon after Paul’s return to Syrian Antioch.
This latter point resonates with me. Nonetheless… the letter glows with fresh meaning for me when it is read here, following an intense period of missionary activity. So, whether it was written after the First or the Second Missionary Journey, reading it in the middle of Acts gives us a context that highlights the fact that it was written for real churches — new churches — and real believers with real-life situations influencing them: factors of politics, religion, and ethnicity as they were brought to bear by partisan forces both supporting and opposing the spread of Christianity.
Before some brief comments on today’s Galatian readings, let’s not forget the brief opening portion from Acts 14. How exciting it must have been for the Antioch church to hear about the experiences of Paul and Barnabas and how the church was growing! Of course, we have the same kind of reports today at our own church. Mission representatives from each supported outreach organization come at least once a year to tell the Extend team what God is doing in and through their ministry. Short term “Go-Teams” make presentations to the congregation after their trips, telling anyone who attends about what they saw in the mission field.
We are told that Paul and Barnabas then stayed in Antioch for a long time — perhaps long enough to receive disquieting news about bad teaching among the young churches they had started or strengthened. If it was not yet practical to travel back to Galatia, a letter might be the most immediate way to follow-up with the elders and other believers they had left behind just a few months before…
Galatians – For today’s first half of the letter, I notice these main themes:
- Setting the tone: Authority and Gospel summary – In the opening, Paul immediately claims and justifies his authority as an authentic apostle of the Gospel, which he briefly summarizes. The content of the Gospel is crucial for the correctives he will be addressing, and of course his pedigree as a legitimate mouthpiece for God, over against the false teachers who are “meddling with his flock”, is also significant. He covers these things in the very first 5 verses, then elaborates in what follows.
- Why turn away from the Truth for a different, questionable message? Paul pulls no punches: “I am shocked that you’ve turned away so quickly…”, “This ‘new’ message (about the centrality of the Law, we will later learn) is not good news at all…”, “You are being fooled by liars.” And then he calls God’s curse upon these false teachers. (1:6-9)
- Trusting the Law vs. Trusting God – Starting at 2:17, Paul digs into his main theme for the letter. Reminding his readers that the patriarch of all nations, Abraham, was justified because of his faith — long before the Law even existed — Paul builds his case for the “new covenant” that is really not new at all, for it is based on God’s eternal promises. His arguments may be summed up in today’s last verse: Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed (3:23).
There is also an informative biographical section in the middle of these themes. From 1:11 to 2:16, there are clues about Paul’s timeline and his relationship with Peter, along with one episode about Peter’s waffling attitude toward the Gentiles which Paul uses to lead into his discussion of the Law. We learn that Paul received his teaching “by direct revelation from Jesus Christ” (1:12), and we catch glimpses of when this may have happened: he went away to Arabia for 3 years… was it here that Jesus personally tutored him? We learn, too, that he spent a couple of weeks with Peter, early on, and also met the Lord’s brother James, leader of the Jerusalem church.
He came to them again, some 14 years later (with the famine gift from Antioch, I think). The language 2:9-10 sounds rather like the Jerusalem Council, by the way, which would mean this letter was written AFTER AD 49.
What a great letter. I look forward to reading the second half tomorrow, to see how Paul completes his treatise on Law vs. Faith… and freedom in Christ.
ReSight ~ I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:12 NLT)
PrayerWrite ~ God, thank You for the Law, which helps define sinful and healthy living. And thank you as well that our Master is Jesus, not the Law.
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