pilgrim.not.wanderer

Here’s my rough and ready commentary on Galatians.  I was thinking about it on the bus ride home today. 

(Scroll down to the bottom if you want to cut to the chase and read my answer to the question.) 

(1:6-9) Paul introduces the major problem: the Galatians are “turning to a different gospel — which is really no gospel at all.”

(1:10-24) Paul informs the Galatians that the gospel he preached to them came by “a revelation from Jesus Christ”, not from humans.  Not even from the apostles in Jerusalem.  This is the first hint at the form which the “different gospel” took.  

(2:1-10) Paul describes a trip he took to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus.  He’s careful to note that Titus was not compelled to be circumcised.  Though this issue did arise because of some trouble makers.  Paul says that to give into this would have been to compromise the truth of the gospel.  This is another obvious hint at the nature of the problem.

(2:11-19) Paul recounts a confrontation with Peter.  Peter was being hypocritical.  Peter ate with and generally lived like gentiles, except when certain Jews came around.  Then he refused to fellowship with them.  Paul says this amounted to “not acting in line with the truth of the gospel”.  The reason for this is that “a person is not justified by observing the law but by faith in Jesus Christ” and “by observing the law no one will be justified”.  And “if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”  The two options here are “the law” and “Christ”.  The law doesn’t do it, but Christ does.  If the law did do it, Christ’s death was pointless.  Peter was acting as if the law did do something with respect to justificaiton/righteousness.  It simply doesn’t do it.

(3:1-6)  Paul returns to directly addressing the Galatians.  They are doing the same thing as Peter.  He asks them why after beginning with Christ–by believing what they heard–they now want to finnish by human effort.  The two options here are “observing the law” and “believing what you heard”.  

(3:7-9)  Here we find out that the big question is “who are the children of Abraham?”  Paul’s answer is that it is “those who have faith”.  All who “rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”

(3:10-14) In direct contrast to this, all who “rely on observing the law are under a curse”.  Why are they cursed?  Because anyone who doesn’t “continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law” is cursed.  So Paul says that “Clearly no one is justified before God by the law”.  Why?  Again, because no one continues to do everything commanded by it!  

Christ redeemed us from that curse by becoming a curse for us.  He redeemed us so we can get the Abrahamic blessing.

(3:15-22) The Abrahamic promise came before the introduction of the law.  The Abrahamic inheritance comes by the promise, not by the law.  God did not do away with the promise when he later introduced the law.  If the inheritance did depend on the law then it would no longer to depend on the promise.  The two options here are “law” or “promise”.  One or the other.  And if by promise then by grace.   The function of the law is to lock everything up under sin.

(3:23-4:7)  The law was a kind of temporary supervisor.  But now that Christ has come we are no longer under its supervision.  It is now out of date.

(4:8-20)  To go back to the law now is to return to slavery.  Ridiculous!

(4:21-31)  There are two covenants and two mountains.  On the one hand there is mount Zion–the heavenly Jerusalem–and a covenant of promise.  On the other hand there is mount Sinai–the earthly Jerusalem–and a covenant of works.  Those who belong to Sinai are slaves and are cursed!  We belong to Zion and are children of promise!

So the surface problem is Jew/Gentile relations.  But the real problem is that the Galatians were trying to get something from the law in addition to what they had already received from Christ.  Admittedly, the problem wasn’t that they were trying to earn their justification through the law.  Not exactly.  Still, Paul’s point is that they’ll have to earn their justification if they do go to the law for it.  The law (the covenant at Sinai) is a covenant of works–it says do this and then you’ll live.   The gospel (the Abrahamic covenant) is a covenant of promise–it is received by faith, by hearing and believing.  

So Galatians does teach the basic Lutheran Law/Gospel or Law/Promise distinction.   So it seems to me.