Galatians Study Week 1.

Week one of Word of God Home Fellowship's study on Paul's letter to the Galatians.

Paul’s Letter to the Galatians

Introduction to the Greek Language

In 334 B.C., Alexander the Great set out to conquer the known world.  His goal was to spread the Greek culture and language to all the earth.  Alexander's army consisted of Greeks who all spoke different dialects of the Greek language, much like English today.  As the different Greek dialects merged, Koine or "common" Greek was born.  This was the language that Alexander spread throughout the world which he conquered.

After Alexander's campaigns, Koine Greek became the "common" trade language of the known world as well as the main language in such places as Alexandria, Egypt.  As a result, displaced Jews from Israel needed a Greek translation of their Scriptures.  Legion has it from the so-called Letter of Aristeas (Ἀριστέας) that Ptolemy Philadelphus summoned 72 Jewish scholars from Israel, six from each tribe, and asked them to translated the Torah (the first five books of the OT) into Greek for the great Alexandrian Library.  Each of the tribe representatives were placed in separate chambers and rendered their own translation of what we call the Old Testament.  At the end of the process (72 days), the twelve teams came together only to discover that each teams' translation was identical!  Thus, the Greek Old Testament was coined "Septuagint", Greek for  "seventy"; the short form of seventy-two.  That's the stuff that legions come from.  The reality is that we don't know how the translation came about, but there is no doubt that the name comes from the legion.

The Torah was rendered into Greek around 250 B.C. while the rest of the Old Testament was rendered over the next couple of centuries.  It was the primary source for all Greek speaking Jews and would soon be the primary source for early Christians.

After the Romans conquered the known world, the Greek language continued to be the official trade language throughout the empire.  Travel became quicker as the Romans built roads for their armies as well as for all of the trade that Rome built.  As the saying goes,  "all roads lead to Rome".  But the language on those trade roads was Greek.

Introduction to the Letter

Paul’s letter to the Galatians was originally written in Greek as Greek was not only Paul’s native language, but was also the native language of the Galatians.  It is possible that this letter is Paul’s first letter that he wrote as it was probably written from Antioch on the eve of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:1-30.  This would have been after Paul’s first missionary journey which covered the Province of Galatia (Acts 13-14).

The letter is addressing several things: 1. Paul’s defense of his Gospel before the Galatians as well as the “agitators”; 2. Paul’s defense of how he received his Gospel and his apostleship; 3. Paul’s dealing with “Justification/being pronounced righteous by faith instead of justification/being pronounced righteous through the law of Moses”; and finally, 4. how one should live by the Spirit.

The bulk of the letter deals with Paul’s defense of “Justification by faith in Jesus”, but we will explore the letter from many angles.

• What was Paul writing against.
• Who was Paul defending himself against.
• What did Paul’s opponents say about him?
• Pauline theology, especially on Christology and Pneumatology.
• Paul’s use of the Old Testament.
• Timeframe of the letter.

We will try to study this letter without any preconceived notions on theology.

Why?  We want Paul to speak.  We want to hear what Paul says of the Gospel.

This study is adapted to the NIV11 text, although I’ll be using some of my translation material through out the Study.  You was welcomed to use whichever translation you wish.  If you have questions relating to translation matters, please bring them forward so that all can benefit.

Chapter 1

Salutation

1:1 Paul, an emissary, not from mere humans, nor by a mere human, but by Jesus the Anointed and God the Father who raised him from the dead, 2 and all the brothers and sisters who are with me to the congregations of Galatia, 3 grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed, 4 who gave himself for our sins, that he might rescue us from the present evil age according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever, Amen. My Translation

1:1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—  2 and all the brothers and sisters with me, To the churches in Galatia: 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. NIV11

Comment

Paul’s salutation is typical in the Greco-Roman world of the 1st Century.  Letters would normally address three things: 1. Who the letter was written from; 2. Who the letter was written to; 3. a greeting.  Here, the person who wrote the letter is Paul.  Paul also represents others as well (and all the brothers and sisters who are with me).  Who Paul is writing to is also addressed (to the congregations of Galatia).  At last, the greeting which is Paul’s main centerpiece greeting (Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ).

1:1 Paul, an emissary (apostle), not from mere humans, nor by a mere human, but by Jesus the Anointed and God the Father who raised him from the dead

1:1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— NIV11

Παῦλος ἀπόστολος (Paulos, apostolos) in Greek.  Paulos was Paul’s Roman surname.  His Jewish name was Σαῦλος  (Saulos) or Saul.  This is first known to us from Acts 13:9: Σαῦλος δέ, ὁ καὶ Παῦλος (Now Saul, who is also Paul).

An ἀπόστολος (apostle) means “one who is sent”.  Its cognate verb is ἀποστέλλω (apostello) which means “to send out”.  Typically, one who is commissioned to represent their master comes with the same authority as his/her master who send him/her.  Our English word “emissary” would be a good translation for “apostle”.  Most of the time in the New Testament, an Apostle is used for those who were personally commissioned by Jesus himself.  That would include the eleven (less Judas) and of course, Paul.

“Sent not from men nor by a man” is a fitting translation based upon what we just learned about an Apostle (one who is sent).  Paul’s words are telling.  He wants to establish right away that his apostleship didn’t derive from people (that is, human beings are not the ones who send him), nor did it derive through a person (that is, Paul’s Good News/Gospel was not mediated to him by a person who received it from God).  In Greek, ἄνθρωπος (anthropos) is the main generic word for mankind.  We get anthropology (the study of humans) from this word.  The way in which Paul uses it here, places some inferiority on the word, especially once we find out who he places ἄνθρωπος in opposition with (Also see BDAG, Definition 2, P. 81).  Thus a really good translation in Paul’s context would be “mere humans” which is implied in Paul’s use.

As the letter progresses, there will be no doubt that Paul has inserted this “non-standard” part of his salutation to establish firmly who sent him.  We can also presume that Paul’s opponents,
“the ones who are stirring you up” or “the agitators” as he calls them in 1:7, are the ones who have told the Galatians that Paul received his apostleship from the apostles (the twelve) in Jerusalem.  The former phrase “not from mere humans” is generic, but the latter phrase “nor by a mere human” could be standing in the place of a real person.  Based upon how the letter plays out, that person could be non other than James, Jesus’ brother.  More on that later.

“But by Jesus Christ (the Anointed) and God the Father who raised him from the dead”.  In Greek, when a preposition has compound objects, the preposition governs both objects.  In this case, it is both “through/by” Jesus and God the Father that Paul has received his apostleship.  Since he was sent by Jesus and God the Father, and not by human beings, Paul has just stood up to his opponents who have said that Paul’s “sending” derived from the Apostles in Jerusalem and that the Gospel that he preached was also not from the Apostles in Jerusalem.

Paul defines Jesus with the use of the word Χριστός (Christos).  The word means “the anointed” or “the anointed one”.  This is how Paul singles out this Jesus from all other Jesus’s as the name “Jesus” was a common name throughout Israel at the time.  Through out Paul’s letters, he refers to Jesus as “the Anointed” and sometimes as “the Anointed Jesus” (Christ Jesus).

Paul also defines God the Father as “who raised him (Jesus) from the dead.  It is the resurrection of Jesus which everything hinges on in the Christian belief.

The Christology of the passage is significant as it places Jesus in the same position as God the Father in commissioning Paul in his apostleship.  In Paul’s mind, Jesus was not just a “mere human being”, but the Anointed of God who is now the risen and exalted κύριος (Kurios/Lord).

Finally, note the position of “Jesus” and “God”.  Jesus is at the front.  In Greek, word position is important as one would stress importance by placing a word or phrase first.  Here, Paul places Jesus first probably because of his encounter with him on his way to Damascus.  It was the exalted Lord that Paul encountered on that road.  It was that exalted Lord who commissioned Paul as an Apostle and sent him out to proclaim the Good News of Jesus.

2 and all the brothers and sisters who are with me to the congregations of Galatia.  My Translation

2 and all the brothers and sisters with me, To the churches in Galatia: NIV11

Paul acknowledges the ones who are with him at the time that he writes the letter.  The acknowledges as ἀδελφοὶ (brothers), which is the standard address in the New Testament.  But, there would have been “sisters” there as well.  Thus, the translation “brothers and sisters”.

Paul addresses the ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις (the congregations/assemblies) of Galatia.  These cities would have been to ones spoken of in Acts 13:14 - 14:25 (Note Map handout).  Paul would have dictated this letter to a scribe, except for the part in 6:11 where he writes in his own hand.  The letter would have either been copied by the first congregation that it went to in order for the copies to reach the other congregations, or this original letter was passed from congregation to congregation which each congregation making a copy for itself.  This is how these letters were preserved in the early years and come down to us today.

3 grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed, My Translation  

3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, NIV11

Paul’s standard salutation.  Xάρις (Grace) is God’s grace or favor upon the congregation while εἰρήνη (peace) is both “peace” with God and “peace” with the Galatians fellow christians.  This “grace and peace” comes from both God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  As discussed in verse 1, the Greek preposition governs both the objects here.  Therefore, “grace and peace” comes from both God the Father and the Lord Jesus, thus the Christology of Jesus is very high as it places Jesus on the same plain of existence with God.  In this case, Paul switches the positions of God and Jesus.  The primary “mover and shaker” in all of this is God himself.  He is the one who raised Jesus from the dead and exalted him above everyone and everything (Philippians 2:9).  Paul uses “grace and peace” in reference to both God and Jesus.  In 1:6, we have “the Anointed’s grace”.  In 1:15 and 2:21, we have “God’s grace”.  In Philippians 4:7, we have “the peace of God” and in Colossians 3:15, we have “the peace of Christ”.  

4 who gave himself for our sins, that he might rescue us from the present evil age according to the will of our God and Father. My Translation

  

4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, NIV11

Jesus’ sacrifice provided for both forgiveness of sins as well as rescuing from God’s wrath.  The interesting thing about the passage is Paul’s eschatology of “now/not yet”.  The Galatians are living under God’s grace NOW; living under God’s Kingdom NOW; have forgiveness of sins NOW, but Jesus has NOT YET returned.  The rescuing from the “present evil age” is NOW, and also NOT YET.  The kingdom is NOW and also NOT YET.

So, what is the “present evil age”?  Well, to be frank and superficial, it is the age before the age that is to come when Jesus returns.  The Pharisees called the age to come as “the Messianic Age”.  Therefore, the “present evil age” is the sinful age started by Adam.  It represents mankind’s wickedness and opposition to God.  “Age” can also have the same force as “world” as Paul uses both words in his letters.  “The Present Age” is how things are outside of God’s People.  It represents the things that God’s people don’t represent.  It represents the things that don’t reflect God.

If we look at Paul’s context of letter of Galatians, then the “present evil age” could be both Judaism and Paganism, or blends of both as it pertains to Christians standing strong in the “true” faith.  This is especially true for Judaism and its effects of the agitators’ “gospel”.

God’s will pertains to two things: 1. Jesus giving himself to redeem those under the law and sin and 2. God’s people are to be rescued from this “present evil age”.  As we go forward, it will become apparent that God’s will is NOT for the Galatians to be trying to perform the Jewish Law!

5 to whom be the glory forever, Amen. My Translation 

5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. NIV11

Paul ends his salutation with a doxology (a praise to God).  God is the one whom deserves glory forever.  But not just any “glory”, but the glory that only God could have.  Thus the use of the Greek article (ἡ δόξα/THE glory).  The Greek term εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων (into the ages of ages) is the standard way of saying “forever”.  Paul adds “amen” or “so let it be” to the end of the doxology.

Conclusion

So, what was Paul’s ultimate motive for his salutation?  1. It was to show the divine origins of his apostleship.  2. It was to show that Paul’s gospel came from Jesus, and not from mere humans.  3. Christ gave himself for the Galatians (and ours) sins so that he could rescue the Galatians (and us) from the current evil age.  4. All of this was the will of God.  What is not part of the forgiveness of sins or the rescue from the evil age is the Jewish law!  Neither is the Jewish law part of God’s will for the Galatians!