Deconstructing Galatians
Written for Dr. James Prothro's New Testament Course, April 17, 2020
Introduction - Galatians 1:1 – 2:14:
Paul’s letter to the Galatians was written to Christians who had been converted from paganism by Paul. It addresses controversies which have arisen, include whether circumcision ought to be required to Gentiles converting to Christianity, and whether Peter had sinned by eating with Gentiles. The sections leading up to 2:15 cover Paul’s background, his authority to preach, and a warning against false teachings. We then come to the heart of the letter, Paul’s discussion of whether justification comes from faith or from works of Law.
Galatians 2:15-16:
Paul’s thesis, to use Vanhoye’s term,[1] is that we are justified by our faith in Jesus, rather than by works of the law, and that works of the law will not justify anyone. “Justified” is to be right with God. Paul holds that we are justified not by our own actions, but by the death of Christ on the cross. Our works will always fall short of justification; justification is attained through the sacrifice of Jesus.
Galatians 2:17-18:
Here, Paul applies his thesis to Peter’s conduct. This short section is easy to paraphrase, yet difficult to explain in a few words. Paul states that if we fall into sin in our own works as we seek to follow Christ, we cannot claim that Christ led us to sin. Peter believed that being justified in Christ freed him from the confines of the law, and thus he could eat with Gentiles without sin. Therefore, if Peter eating with Gentiles was sinful, the conclusion would be that Christ led Peter to sin, which is of course ridiculous. By giving in to his distractors, Peter then went against his own preaching, rebuilding a wall between Jewish converts and pagan converts to Christianity.
Galatians 2:19-21:
Paul here confesses that he has died to the law, and has been crucified with Christ, and includes the familiar phrase, “no longer I, but Christ who lives within me.” Paul ties together what he has already said. We are saved not be our works of the law, but by the crucifixion, for if we were saved by works of the law, then the crucifixion would have no meaning, and Christ would have died for nothing.
Galatians 3:1-5:
Galatians 3 continues the discourse on justification through faith. In the first section, Paul does not hold back in making his displeasure with the community known, opening the chapter with “O stupid Galatians!” He explains that they heard the gospel, know the crucified Christ, and received the Spirit. Why, then, do they want to, in essence, go backwards? We have moved from the law to Jesus, yet, in their lack of understanding of the crucifixion, they have been listening to those who preach that to be saved, they must follow the law. Paul asks if they received the Spirit through works of the law or faith; it is a rhetorical question, since they received the Spirit without knowing the law.
Galatians 3:6-14:
Paul turns to Scripture to support his argument, that Abraham was saved by faith, and the promise to Abraham that all nations would be saved was made to Abraham without further condition. As Vanhoye states, “it is those who have faith who are children of Abraham.”[2] It is neither circumcision nor works of the law which justifies us, but faith. In Galatians 3:8, Paul quotes Genesis 12:3, and expounds on it, stating that “So then, those who are men of faith are blessed with Abraham who had faith.”[3] As Vanhoye points out, Paul is here showing “that Scripture saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith,”[4]a clear example of how the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New Testament. Abraham was blessed because he believed in the word of God. The Galatians, by sharing in the faith of Abraham, share in that blessing. Paul states that those who depend on the law are under a curse. This is clarified by Vanhoye, who explains that the law itself specifies that those who fail in any aspect of it are under a curse.[5] Paul refers back to his argument in Galatians 2 regarding justification when he states that it is he who “through faith is righteous”[6] who are justified, “but the law does not rest on faith, for ‘He who does them shall live by them.’”[7] He returns to the theme of curse in Galatians 3:13-14, stating that Christ’s death on the cross “redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us - for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree,’ - that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” [8] This is a difficult passage to understand without commentary, although Vanhoye’s explains that is refers back to Deuteronomy, “a hanged man is accursed by God.”[9] Christ took this curse onto himself to save us from the curse of the law.[10] Paul concludes this section of his argument by reminding us that Abraham’s blessing was extended to the Gentiles through Christ, in order that we may obtain that blessing through faith.
Galatians 3:15, 17-18
Paul puts forth a legal argument in these verses, stating that an agreement cannot be annulled or amended once ratified. He points out that a law which came after the covenant did not annul the covenant, nor is the promise cancelled. Our justification through faith is a promise made by God to Abraham; if justification came from the law, it would no longer be a promise.
Galatians 3:16
In the midst of that legal argument, Paul inserts a second argument: the promise was not made to Abraham and his descendants, but to “Abraham and to his offspring.”[11] Vanhoye states “the biblical texts that speak of the promises made to Abraham always use the singular, while the offspring of other biblical characters are often referred to as ‘sons’ in the plural,”[12] explaining that the original Greek word, sperma, can be taken as either singular or plural.[13]
Galatians 3:19-20
Paul takes the position that the law was added after the Exodus, and is subordinate to the promise, and that, since it was “ordained by angels through an intermediary”[14] it was not given directly by God. Aquinas disagrees, stating quite definitively “[t]he Law was given by God through the angels.”[15] However, even if we follow Aquinas’ lead and thus disregard the implication of Paul’s argument here, Paul’s initial argument stands. The law is subordinate to the promise, as it was added afterwards, and in any event could not have been agreed upon by both of the original parties, as at least two hundred years separate the promise and the giving of the law.
Galatians 3:21-22
Paul concludes this part of his argument in a short summary. The law does not bring life, so justification cannot come from the law. The promise is given to those whose faith brings them to belief. We are justified through the life and resurrection of Christ.
Galatians 3:23-29
Paul here divides salvation history into two periods. He posits the period of the law as a period of preparation and discipline, a Lenten period in a sense, so that would be ready to receive justification by faith in Christ. Now, our Lenten period is over; we are (or should be) prepared and disciplined, and are ready to receive Christ in faith. “… you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” [16]
Galatian 4:1-7
Paul’s conclusion speaks of how we are children and heirs. He begins by pointing out that an heir who is not of age has no more rights than a slave, but is under the supervision of a guardian. He correlates this to how we were held slaves to the world before the coming of Christ. “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”[17] The Spirit is in intimate relation with both Father and Son. “Believers are thus brought into intimate relationship through the Spirit, in the divine Son, with God the Father himself.[18] Through this adoption that we receive by the Spirit, we pass from slavery into being a child of God, “and if a son then also an heir….”[19] Paul has settled the issue, and “communicates complete assurance to the Galatians”[20] that they need have no fear of not partaking of the promised inheritance
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. San Francisco, CA:
Ignatius Press, 2005.
Question 98. The Old Law. Accessed April 18, 2020.
Vanhoye, Albert Cardinal and Peter S. Williamson. Galatians. Catholic Commentary on Sacred
Scripture. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2019.
[1] Albert Cardinal Vanhoye and Peter S. Williamson. Galatians. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2019. p. 105
[2] Vanhoye p. 105
[3] Galatians 3:9
[4] Vanhoye p. 107
[5] Vanhoye p. 109
[6] Galatians 3:11
[7] Galatians 3:12
[8] Galatians 3:13-14
[9] Deuteronomy 21:23
[10] Vanhoye p. 112
[11] Galatians 3:16
[12] Vanhoye p.117
[13] The RSV does not give this singular translation in the various texts about the promise in Genesis, specifically 12:7, 15:18, and 22:17-18, so I cannot verify Vanhoye’s statement, but I am confident that he had access to a wider variety of versions and translations that I have.
[14] Gal 3:19
[15] ST 1I, Q98, A3
[16] Galatians 3:28-29
[17] Galatians 4:4-5
[18] Vanhoye 141
[19] Galatians 4:7
[20] Vanhoye 144
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