Galatians: The Christian Standard Commentary

Timothy George

• Publisher: Holman Reference
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781535946414
• eBook ISBN: 9781087724300
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

Galatians is part of The Christian Standard Commentary (CSC) series. This commentary series focuses on the theological and exegetical concerns of each biblical book, while paying careful attention to balancing rigorous scholarship with practical application.

This series helps the reader understand each biblical book's theology, its place in the broader narrative of Scripture, and its importance for the church today. Drawing on the wisdom and skills of dozens of evangelical authors, the CSC is a tool for enhancing and supporting the life of the church.

OUTLINE OF GALATIANS

1 History: No Other Gospel (1:1–2:21)

1.1 The Apostolic Salutation (1:1–5)

1.2 The Apostolic Curse (1:6–10)

1.3 The Apostolic Vocation (1:11–24)

1.4 The Apostolic Message—Confirmation and Contradiction (2:1–21)

2 Theology: Justification by Faith (3:1–4:31)

2.1 The Argument from Conversion (3:1–5)

2.2 The Case of Abraham (3:6–9)

2.3 Christ and the Curse (3:10–14)

2.4 The Law and the Promise (3:15–25)

2.5 Sons and Servants (3:26–4:11)

2.6 Paul’s Personal Appeal (4:12–20)

2.7 The Analogy of Hagar and Sarah (4:21–31)

3 Ethics: Life in the Spirit (5:1–6:18)

3.1 Freedom in Christ (5:1–12)

3.2 Flesh and Spirit (5:13–26)

3.3 Freedom in Service to Others (6:1–10)

3.4 The Apostolic Seal (6:11–17)

3.5 Benediction (6:18)

SECTION OUTLINE

1 History: No Other Gospel (1:1–2:21)

1.1 The Apostolic Salutation (1:1–5)

1.1.1 The Sender (1:1–2a)

1.1.2 The Churches (1:2b)

1.1.3 The Greeting (1:3–5)

1.2 The Apostolic Curse (1:6–10)

1.2.1 The Crisis in Galatia (1:6–7)

1.2.2 The Counterfeit Gospel: Anathema! (1:8–9)

1.2.3 The Motive for Ministry (1:10)

Excursus 2: The Nature of Heresy

1.3 The Apostolic Vocation (1:11–24)

1.3.1 Called from Above (1:11–12)

1.3.2 Paul’s Life before Christ (1:13–14)

1.3.3 Conversion and Calling (1:15–17)

1.3.4 The First Visit to Jerusalem (1:18–24)

1.4 The Apostolic Message—Confirmation and Challenge (2:1–21)

1.4.1 The Second Visit to Jerusalem (2:1–10)

1.4.1.1 The Occasion of the Visit (2:1–2)

1.4.1.2 Titus and the False Brothers (2:3–5)

1.4.1.3 Paul and the Pillars (2:6–9)

1.4.1.4 Concern for the Poor (2:10)

1.4.2 The Incident at Antioch (2:11–21)

1.4.2.1 The Problem: Table Fellowship (2:11–13)

1.4.2.2 The Protest: Two Apostles Collide (2:14)

Excursus 3: Luther and Calvin on Peter and Paul

1.4.2.3 The Principle: Justification by Faith (2:15–21)

Excursus 4: Beyond Boundary Markers

1 History: No Other Gospel (1:1–2:21)

1.1 The Apostolic Salutation (1:1–5)

1 Paul, an apostle—not from men or by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead—2 and all the brothers who are with me:

To the churches of Galatia.

3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. 5 To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Letters in the first century, whether Jewish or Greek, usually began with a salutation that included three parts: the name of the sender, that of the recipient, and a formula of greeting, usually just the word chairein, a word that literally meant “rejoice” but that had come to represent a standard greeting, such as “welcome” or “hello.” Paul followed this same format in all of his letters, usually with the addition of a word of blessing or prayer of thanksgiving for the one(s) to whom he was writing. However, Paul by no means followed the same formulaic salutation in all of his letters. For example, rather than merely repeating the everyday word for “greetings,” he forged a distinctively Christian expression, “Grace and peace.” In addition, he also adapted his salutations to the unique circumstances and conditions of his writing to a particular person or place.

The salutation in Galatians is significant for both the added information it contains and the important feature it lacks. In v. 1 Paul provided an important clarification concerning his apostolic vocation; in v. 4 he included a decisive elaboration on the salvific work of Jesus Christ. From the outset, then, we are confronted with the two major themes that will dominate Paul’s letter to the Galatians: the vindication of his own apostolic authority in the context of salvation history and the divine initiative God has taken to redeem lost men and women through Jesus Christ and him alone. The salutation in Galatians also is remarkable because it does not contain the traditional prayer of thanksgiving with which Paul routinely opened his other letters (cf. Rom 1:8–15; 1 Cor 1:4–9; Phil 3:11; 1 Thess 1:2–3). Just where we would expect to find such a word of blessing and affirmation, Paul lashed out with his statement of astonishment concerning the apostasy of the Galatians, “I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away” (1:6). In this way we are prepared for the tremendous emotional intensity of the letter that follows.

Some commentators have passed over the content of the salutation lightly as though it contained merely formal niceties such as the “Dear Sir” or “Yours truly” of a modern letter. However, this is to ignore the fact that the prescript of a Pauline letter by itself constitutes “an essential part of the letter’s content.”118 The salutation reveals not only the mood in which Galatians was written but also the passion and burden of Paul’s heart that prompted him to write it. What is at stake is the content of the gospel Paul proclaimed to the Galatians. This too is restated with force in these opening verses as Paul draws a theological line in the sand against the false teachers who have undermined the gospel by undermining his apostolic authority.

1.1.1 The Sender (1:1–2a)

His Name

1:1a We know from fifteen references in Acts 7–13 that Paul also was called Saul. Saulos was the Hellenized form of the Jewish name Šaʾul. This was the form of his name the risen Jesus used when addressing Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 26:14). Saul is first called Paul in Acts 13:9 when in the course of the first missionary journey he proclaimed the gospel to the Roman governor of Cyprus, a man named Sergius Paulus. Some scholars have equated this change of names with a major shift in Paul’s preaching career: his transition from a largely Jewish orientation to his new role as apostle to the Gentiles. It is true that Paul nowhere referred to himself by his Jewish name in his letters. He did speak of the pride he once had taken in stemming from the tribe of Benjamin who had given Israel King Saul, after whom Saul of Tarsus likely was named (Phil 3:5). However, as one whose expressed missionary strategy was to become “a Jew to the Jews” that he might thereby win some to Christ, Paul may very well have continued to introduce himself as Šaʾul when working in a largely Jewish setting. It is even more likely that he carried the double name Saul Paul from birth since this was a common practice among Jews of the diaspora. Paul’s companion Silas also was called Silvanus, just as Barnabas’s nephew John carried a Roman surname, Marcus (cf. Acts 12:25).

The word “Paul” in Greek literally means “small,” or “little.”119 The earliest physical description we have of Paul comes from The Acts of Paul and Thecla, a second-century apocryphal writing that describes the apostle as “a man of small stature, with a bald head and crooked legs, in a good state of body, with eyebrows meeting and nose somewhat hooked, full of friendliness; for now he appeared like a man, and now he had the face of an angel.”120 Although written many years after his death, these words may well reflect an authentic tradition about Paul’s actual likeness.

We know that his opponents in Corinth poked fun at his physical appearance, claiming that while his letters were weighty and bold, he was not much to look at in person. “His physical presence is weak,” they alleged (2 Cor 10:10). They themselves were “super-apostles” (2 Cor 11:5), as Paul dubbed them, glorying in their eloquent speech, miraculous powers, and impressive platform performance. What were Paul’s credentials compared to theirs? What could he possibly brag about, this “little Apostle Little”?

While we cannot be sure that Paul’s opponents in Galatia were the same as those he confronted in Corinth, there seems to be a common thread running through his defense against both sets of adversaries. In both Galatians and 2 Corinthians he advanced a theology of the cross in distinction from a theology of glory. In 2 Cor 12 Paul resolved to boast only in his weaknesses, afflictions, and persecutions, “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (v. 10). In Gal 2 he identified himself with the crucified Christ and his cross, the only proper standard of boasting for a true follower of Jesus (Gal 6:14).

His Office

1:1b Paul called himself “an apostle.” This was his favorite term of self-designation and occurs in the salutation of eight of the twelve NT letters that bear his name. He also referred to himself as a prisoner (in Philemon) or a servant (Philippians, Romans, Titus) of Jesus Christ. Indeed, he also claimed the title “servant of Christ” in Galatians as well but not until 1:10. The second word in the epistle is apostolos—an indication that Paul’s apostolic office and his right to bear its name would figure prominently in the Galatian letter.

The word “apostle” had a rich and varied history prior to its assuming a NT meaning.121 As the noun form of the verb apostellein, meaning “to send” or “to dispatch,” an apostle is literally an envoy or ambassador, one who has been sent in the service of another. In classical Greek the term was actually used of a naval expedition, perhaps deriving from the apo prefix, indicating “to send away from,” that is, to send off on a long and arduous mission.

Some scholars have derived the immediate background for the Christian office of apostle from the Jewish concept of the šālîaḥ. This term, derived from rabbinic sources, referred to a person who acted on behalf of another, particularly in legal or ceremonial matters. A šālîaḥ possessed a delegated authority comparable to what we might call the power of attorney. He could, for example, transact business on behalf of his client, carry certain offerings to the temple in his stead, even enter into engagement or divorce proceedings at the behest of another. While these parallels are intriguing, there are also important differences between the Jewish concept of the šālîaḥ and the Christian office of the apostle, not least of which is the prophetic notion of a divine commissioning that the NT apostolate assumes.122

Turning to the NT, ...

Table of contents

• Series Introduction
• Preface to First Edition
• Preface to Second Edition
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Outline of Galatians Commentary
• Select Bibliography
• Name Index
• Subject Index
• Scripture Index
• Extrabiblical Literature Index