Galatians

Galatians has held a significant place within the church from the time Paul wrote it, but even more so since the Protestant Reformation and its emphasis on justification by faith. Originally written to a group of churches, Galatians has helped countless believers understand the gospel and how to live the Christian life.

The authorship of Galatians is rarely challenged. The letter claims to be written by Paul, and even the most critical of biblical scholars accept this claim.

The date and recipients, on the other hand, are widely debated. They are so interconnected that they must be examined together. Despite the complexity of these issues, one’s conclusions have no significant impact on the meaning or interpretation of the letter. The central issue is aligning the two post-conversion visits to Jerusalem Paul mentions in Galatians 1:18–20 and 2:1–10 with the three mentioned in Acts (9:26–30; 11:27–30; 15:1–29). In particular, the debate centers on whether Galatians 2:1–10 refers to Acts 11:27–30 (often called the “Famine Relief Visit”) or 15:1–29 (the Jerusalem Council). If the former scenario is correct, the timeline looks like this:

If instead Galatians 2:1–10 corresponds to Acts 15:1–29, the timeline would be as follows:

Deciding between these two alternatives is difficult, and scholars disagree on which is correct. On the whole, the first scenario (Gal 2:1–10 = Acts 11:27–30) seems more likely.

When it comes to the recipients of the letter, there are two broad theories. The first is the South Galatian theory, in which the recipients would be a Roman territory including both the ethnic Galatians and the cities of Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, where Paul planted churches on his first missionary journey. According to this view, Paul returned from his first missionary journey, heard of the trouble in these cities, and penned the letter before the events of Acts 15. Most scholars who hold this conclude that Galatians 2:1–10 = Acts 11:27–30, giving the letter an early date. However, a small minority of scholars who hold to the South Galatian theory argue that Galatians 2:1–10 = Acts 15:1–29 and thus conclude that Galatians was written in the mid-50s.

By contrast, the North Galatian theory holds that the letter was written to ethnic Galatians who lived on the plains of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Originally from Gaul, they settled in the region before Rome controlled the area.¹ Since Acts does not record Paul visiting this region until after the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), scholars who hold this view tend to date the letter in the mid-50s. Therefore, advocates of this view conclude that Galatians 2:1–10 = Acts 15:1–29.

While there is solid evidence for both views, on the whole the South Galatian view makes the best sense of the evidence. Thus, Paul wrote Galatians to the churches he planted on his first missionary journey shortly before the Jerusalem Council, sometime around 48/49 AD. There is evidence for both North and South theories, and ultimately neither changes the meaning of the letter, but which is more likely? We cannot be totally certain, but we believe the evidence points us to the South Galatian theory. In his writing of Galatians, Paul attempts to prove that his gospel was not from those in Jerusalem, and so omitting a visit to Jerusalem would undermine his argument.

Shortly after Paul’s departure from the region of Galatia, outside teachers (perhaps claiming some kind of link to the Jerusalem church) came into the region and began undermining the gospel that Paul proclaimed. These troublemakers focused their teaching on three broad categories. Theologically, they argued that in addition to believing in Christ, one needed to keep the Mosaic Law in order to be a fully justified son of Abraham who inherits what God promised. With regard to ethics, the troublemakers appear to have taught that keeping the Mosaic Law (with particular focus on circumcision and perhaps food laws and observance of the Jewish calendar as well) was also essential for living the Christian life. Lastly, these teachers argued that Paul was not an apostle with the same level of authority as those who led the church in Jerusalem; instead, his authority was derived from the leaders of the Jerusalem church. Together, these three areas formed a toxic mixture of falsehood that the Galatians had begun to embrace to varying degrees.

Astonished that the Galatians would so quickly turn away from the gospel he preached to them (1:6–9), Paul responds to each of these claims. Theologically, Paul responds by stressing that being a justified son of Abraham who inherits the promises depends entirely on faith in Christ as the offspring of Abraham and in no way rests on our works. When it comes to ethics, Paul insists that because believers have the Spirit through their union with Christ, they are not under the authority of the Mosaic Law (which is no longer binding on Christians now that Christ has come). With respect to his authority, Paul stresses that his commission as an apostle came directly from Jesus Christ, just like the other apostles. He also stresses that he proclaims the same gospel that they do.

Paul writes Galatians to refute the false teaching of the troublemakers by explaining the believers’ freedom in the gospel, which was purchased by the death of Christ and is empowered by the Holy Spirit.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

—Galatians 2:20 ESV

I. Greetings and Astonishment (1:1–10)

A. Greetings (1:1–5)

B. Astonishment (1:6–10)

II. Paul’s Conversion and Apostolic Commission (1:11–2:21)

A. Thesis (1:11–12)

B. Paul’s Conversion (1:13–17)

C. Paul’s Early Ministry (1:18–24)

D. Paul’s Second Visit to Jerusalem (2:1–10)

E. The Incident in Antioch (2:11–14)

F. The Gospel Defined (2:15–21)

III. Seed of Abraham and Sons of Promise (3:1–5:1)

A. A Sharp Contrast: Hearing by Faith or Works of the Law (3:1–5)

B. The Gospel Preached beforehand to Abraham (3:6–9)

C. The Curse and the Christ (3:10–14)

D. Christ the Singular Seed (3:15–18)

E. The Purpose of the Law (3:19–25)

F. Sons of God in Christ (3:26–29)

G. Adopted Sons Sealed with the Spirit (4:1–7)

H. A Reminder from Their Pagan Past (4:8–11)

I. A Reminder from Their Reception of Paul (4:12–20)

J. Free Sons of the Heavenly Jerusalem (4:21–5:1)

IV. Living in the Freedom of Sonship (5:2–6:10)

A. Faith Working through Love (5:2–6)

B. Judgment Will Come on the Troublemakers (5:7–12)

C. Freedom to Serve Others in Love (5:13–15)

D. Walk in the Spirit, Not the Flesh (5:16–26)

E. Bear One Another’s Burdens (6:1–5)

F. Sharing Good and Doing Good (6:6–10)

V. Conclusion (6:11–18)

Paul typically begins his letters with a standard pattern (adapted from his broader Greco-Roman culture): identity of the sender, identity of the recipients, greeting, and thanksgiving. As we shall see, Galatians includes the first three, but lacks the thanksgiving, an indication of Paul’s deep concern for the Galatians.

Paul identifies himself as an apostle, stressing that his commission came directly from God the Father through Jesus Christ and not any human authority. This clarification begins to lay the groundwork to refute the efforts of the opponents to undermine his apostolic authority. He further identifies God the Father as the one who raised Jesus from the dead. Whereas in the OT the act that most clearly revealed God’s identity was the exodus, here in the NT it is raising Jesus from the dead. By referring to others with him, Paul stresses that he is not alone in his understanding of the gospel he is about to defend.

After identifying the recipients as the churches of Galatia (see further the discussion in the Introduction), Paul greets them. By wishing them grace and peace, Paul likely combines a modified form of the common Greek greeting (grace) and common Hebrew greeting (peace). The unmerited favor and restored relationships with God, others, and creation we so desperately need can only come from God the Father and Jesus Christ. We experience those realities through the gospel, which centers on Jesus giving himself for our sins. Through his sacrificial death on the cross, Jesus rescues us from the “present evil age.” Paul shared the common Jewish understanding that human history could be divided into the present age (marked by sin, death, and Satan as a result of the Fall) and the age to come (marked by the arrival of the Messiah, removal of sin, the gift of the Spirit, and a new creation). Where Paul departed from his contemporaries was in his conviction that with the arrival of Jesus the age to come had begun but the present age had not come to an end. Those in Christ live in the overlap of the two ages. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, believers have been delivered from the power and authority of the powers of this present age and been given the Holy Spirit as the evidence they are now part of the age to come. But we must still live in a world that is under the grip of the powers of the present evil age and feel that tension as we wait for the day when God will put a full end to everything associated with the present evil age. All of these realities stem from God the Father’s will and are some of the countless reasons why he is worthy of eternal glory.

Instead of the expected thanksgiving section, Paul issues a rebuke. He is astonished that the Galatians are so quickly abandoning the God who called them to himself through the gospel he preached (perhaps within a span of eighteen months!). Even after hearing and believing the gospel, the human heart is prone to seek out alternative ways to find favor before God. These other so-called gospels are not actually good news at all; they are false gospels that cannot deliver what they promise. Outside teachers have come in proclaiming a different gospel, troubling the Galatians to the point of causing “inward turmoil.”² These troublemakers appear to be adding to the gospel that Paul preached, claiming that in addition to believing in Christ, one needed to observe the Mosaic Law. But attempting to add anything to the gospel in fact subtracts from the sufficiency of what Christ has done for his people.

Preaching a different gospel is no small matter. Paul asserts that anyone—including himself or even an angel from heaven—who preaches a different gospel than the one he proclaimed to the Galatians is under God’s curse. Put another way, God’s wrath rests upon any who proclaim a false gospel. While the reference to “an angel from heaven” may suggest the opponents claimed they received their teaching from an angel, it is more likely hyperbole to make a point. Paul repeats the curse for emphasis. Preachers and teachers are not free to modify the gospel to suit their own tastes or that of their audience. Final authority within the church rests on the gospel itself and not any individual.

Paul concludes this small section with a rhetorical question that addresses whose approval Paul seeks. The outsiders may have been claiming that Paul is seeking the approval of people by not teaching that believers must keep the Mosaic Law in addition to trusting in Jesus. But rather than being driven by people-pleasing, Paul has as his goal God’s approval. That is why he is a servant of Christ, language that likely anticipates the description of his conversion where he alludes to the servant song in Isaiah 49 (see 1:15–17). The temptation to be a people-pleaser is something most believers must actively fight. Being a servant of Christ does not allow for rudeness or mistreating others, but it does require a willingness to disappoint others if that is what is necessary to obey Christ. Every human being is a servant of someone or something. Whomever or whatever we seek to please at any cost reveals our true master. Thus, the issue is not whether we will be a servant, but whom or what we will serve.

Now that he has greeted the Galatians and expressed his astonishment at their impending departure from the one true gospel, after stating his thesis that the content of his gospel and his status as an apostle come directly from God revealing Christ to him (1:11–12), Paul recounts four events/periods from his life: his conversion (1:13–17), his early ministry (1:18–24), his interaction with the church in Jerusalem (2:1–10), and an incident in Antioch (2:11–14). He concludes with a summary of his gospel message (2:15–21).

Paul uses a disclosure formula (cf. 1Cor 12:3; 15:1; 2Cor 8:1) to make clear the divine origin of the gospel he preaches. He insists that his gospel is “not of human origin” (CSB). Paul did not receive his gospel from any human being, nor did he learn it through someone instructing him. Instead, it came to him through God revealing the risen Jesus Christ to him. Indeed, no one is converted unless God shines “in our hearts . . . the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2Cor 4:6). But whereas for us that experience comes through the proclamation of the gospel, for Paul it came through a direct encounter with the risen Christ.

Paul begins his personal testimony by describing his former life in Judaism (vv. 13–14), highlighting three particular aspects. The first two aspects should be viewed together. Paul violently persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. Acts 8:1–4 depicts Paul not only approving the execution of Stephen but also spearheading an aggressive effort to eradicate the church, even going so far as entering homes and dragging Christians off to prison. Of course, Jesus had promised that not even the gates of hell would ultimately prevail against his church (Matt 16:18).

The third aspect of Paul’s pre-conversion life was advancing in Judaism beyond his peers because of his zealous commitment to the traditions of his fathers. Philippians 3:5–6 provides a window into that resume, but the focus here is his adherence to the oral traditions and teachings of the Pharisees. Paul may have modelled his zeal for the purity of God’s people after Phinehas, who thrust a spear through an Israelite man and Moabite woman committing idolatry and as a result turned away God’s wrath from Israel (Num 25:1–11).

Verses 15–17 put together Paul’s conversion, his mission, and his immediate actions following his conversion. Paul describes his conversion (also recorded in Acts 9:1–9) with three key phrases. The first is “set apart before I was born.” Like other key figures in redemptive history (cf. Jer 1:5; Luke 1:15), God chose Paul by setting him apart before his birth, marking him out for a specific role in his plan. Second, God called Paul by his grace, just like he had called the Galatians (1:6). His conversion and commission were an expression of God’s undeserved favor, not Paul’s zealous adherence to Jewish traditions and practices. Lastly, and most significant, God delighted to reveal his Son in Paul. That is, God intended to demonstrate Jesus Christ in the life and ministry of Paul in such a way that Jesus Christ became the focus of everything that Paul is and does (cf. 2:20–21). What is true of Paul is true of every believer in the sense that every Christian has been set apart before their birth, called by God’s grace, and had Christ revealed to them through the preaching of the cross (cf. 3:1). The purpose of God doing those three things to convert Paul was to commission him to preach Christ among the Gentiles. In contrast to his former life in Judaism, which prioritized strict separation between Jew and Gentile, Paul was now called to take the good news about Jesus to the Gentiles. Throughout this section Paul borrows language from Isaiah 49:1–6 to portray his life and ministry as the fulfillment of the Servant’s mission to be a light of salvation among the Gentiles.

In the immediate aftermath of his conversion, Paul did not consult with anyone (lit. “flesh and blood”), not even the apostles in Jerusalem. Instead, he went to Arabia (probably a broad reference to the area east of the Jordan river), likely to begin preaching the gospel. When he returned to Damascus, he faced stiff opposition and persecution before fleeing (Acts 9:22–25; 2Cor 11:33–33). Paul’s insistence that he had no contact with the Jerusalem apostles likely reflects an accusation by the opponents in Galatia that he was dependent upon and subservient to them. Paul insists that he received the content of the gospel directly from the risen Jesus, just like the Jerusalem apostles did.

Having stressed that he did not go to Jerusalem immediately after his conversion, Paul now recounts his first post-conversion trip to Jerusalem (cf. Acts 9:26–30), which occurred three years after his conversion. He went up to visit Cephas (the Aramaic name of Peter). The visit was a mere fifteen days, during which the only apostles he saw was James the brother of Jesus. Paul is so concerned to stress the truthfulness of his account that he swears an oath before God, a common way for people in the Greco-Roman world to demonstrate a person’s veracity. The brevity of this visit three years after his conversion reinforces Paul’s insistence that he received his gospel directly from the risen Jesus and is in no way subservient or inferior to the Jerusalem apostles, as his opponents likely claimed.

Verses 21–24 summarize the next period of Paul’s life and ministry. After his fifteen-day visit to Jerusalem, Paul left for Syria and Cilicia (cf. Acts 9:30). Although he does not say so, he likely continued to preach the gospel in an effort to plant churches. Because of his distance from the Jerusalem church and its leaders, the inference is once again that he ministered independently from them. Even though the churches in Judea (described as being in Christ, stressing their identity is rooted in Christ) did not know him personally, they were regularly hearing that the great persecutor of the church had become one of its foremost preachers of the gospel. As a result, they glorified God for what he was doing in and through Paul (an echo of Isa 49:3).

Paul jumps ahead fourteen years to recount his second post-conversion visit. Whereas the focus of 1:11–24 is his independence from the Jerusalem leadership, here in 2:1–10 the emphasis falls on his agreement with them. On this trip he was accompanied by Barnabas (Paul’s companion on his first missionary journey and a key leader in the early church) and Titus (a Gentile companion of Paul who was converted under the apostle’s ministry [Titus 1:4] and served in places such as Corinth and Crete). As noted in the Introduction, scholars debate whether this Jerusalem visit corresponds to the famine relief visit (Acts 11:27–30) or the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:1–29), though the former seems more likely. They went because of a revelation (cf. Acts 11:27–28), but while there Paul laid out before the apostles the gospel he preached to the Gentiles. His concern that he might be running in vain (an echo of Isa 49:4) does not mean that Paul was concerned he was wrong about the content of the gospel. Instead, he was concerned that his vision of Jew and Gentile united together in one body was in danger if they did not agree on whether Gentiles should be required to keep the Mosaic Law. This meeting took place in private with those who were influential, an expression that, in light of the fuller phrase in 2:9, refers to Peter, James, and John as the pillars of the Jerusalem church.

During this visit a squabble arose over whether or not Titus (a Gentile) needed to be circumcised. Paul uses the language of espionage to describe how a group of “false brothers” (i.e., Jews who professed faith in Christ but were not actually converted) entered into the discussions, demanding that Titus be circumcised. Paul sees in this an effort to take away the freedom that comes from being in Christ and a return to slavery under the Law. As Paul will later stress in 5:1, Christ died to purchase our freedom from the power of this present evil age, sin, the curse, the Law, and the elements of this fallen world. Requiring circumcision would be a step backwards into slavery rather than forwards into freedom. In essence, these false brothers argued that Gentiles needed to become Jews before they could become Christians. Paul took such a strong stand to ensure the purity of the gospel for all who would hear the message and believe, including the Galatians. Adding anything to the gospel as a requirement for salvation—including obedience to the Mosaic Law—in fact subtracts from the sufficiency of what Jesus has done through his death and resurrection.

Verses 6–10 are one long, complex sentence in Greek. The main idea of the sentence is that the leaders of the Jerusalem church added nothing to Paul’s gospel (2:6), but rather extended to him the right hand of fellowship (2:7–10). He refers to the leaders as those regarded as influential (cf. 2:2), a shortened variation of the fuller expression regarding those “who seemed to be pillars” (2:9) that refers to James, Cephas (Peter), and John. Paul notes parenthetically that their reputation means nothing to him when it comes to whether or not they were right about the gospel. He grounds this statement in a common OT idea that God does not take into account status, appearance, or outward credentials in his treatment of people and nations (Deut 10:17; 2Chr 19:7; Luke 20:21; 1Pet 1:17). Elsewhere, Paul uses similar language to stress the impartial nature of God’s judgment, regardless of one’s ethnicity (Rom 2:11) or social status (Eph 6:9; Col 3:25). In these conversations the Jerusalem leaders added nothing to his gospel, since it was the same gospel they themselves proclaimed. Indeed, the Jerusalem leaders affirmed that just as Peter has been entrusted with the gospel to reach the circumcised (i.e., Jews), Paul has been entrusted with the gospel to reach the uncircumcised (i.e., Gentiles). God entrusted both of them with the same gospel message but called them to focus their primary ministry on two different groups of people (this does not mean that Paul and Peter worked exclusively with these groups, as the NT shows Peter ministering to Gentiles and Paul ministering to Jews). Both were apostles with the same level of authority because they were both commissioned by the risen Christ with the same gospel message and had the same Spirit of God working in and through them.

Apparently, some within the early church regarded James, Cephas, and John as “pillars,” which has been understood primarily in two different ways. Some argue that this language is rooted in the Jewish expectation of a new Jerusalem and a new temple, with the apostles viewed as pillars for their foundational role. Others suggest that the mention of three pillars was an intentional parallel to the three patriarchs of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the OT. Thus, just as God established Israel as a covenant community on the basis of the promise to the three patriarchs, so in the messianic period God has established the new covenant community (the church) on the basis of these three pillars. Paul simply mentions their reputation as pillars without expressing his agreement or disagreement regarding their status as such. But it was these very pillars who gave him “the right hand of fellowship,” which in this context goes beyond an expression of agreement and friendship to refer to a formal partnership in gospel ministry. Paul and Barnabas would focus their ministry on the Gentiles, while the pillars would focus theirs on the Jews. The closest the Jerusalem leaders came to adding something to him was the request that Paul continue to remember the poor, a staple of Jewish and early Christian piety. Paul eagerly affirmed his desire to do this, making it clear that they were in fact adding nothing to Paul and his ministry.

In verses 11–14, Paul recounts the final incident in the narrative of 1:11–2:21 to defend his status as an apostle who is independent from the Jerusalem leadership. Whereas in the previous incident Paul stresses that he is on the same page as the Jerusalem leaders (2:1–10), here Paul recounts an event where he sharply disagreed with and publicly confronted Cephas (Peter), one of the so-called pillars. Indeed, Paul goes so far as to say that Cephas stood condemned for his actions. The incident takes place in Antioch of Syria, one of the centers of the early Christian movement. The church there consisted of Jews and Gentiles who shared table fellowship because they were united in one body through their shared faith in Christ. Paul, Barnabas, and even Cephas participated in these shared meals when he initially arrived. Although not a violation of the Mosaic Law, many Jews refused to eat with Gentiles to avoid being ritually impure, even if they ate only kosher foods. Eating shared meals (which likely included celebrating the Lord’s Supper) was a visible demonstration that the food laws originating in the Mosaic Law were not required for Christians.

All that changed when certain people arrived from Jerusalem, claiming to speak and act with the very authority of James. Peter suddenly stopped eating with Gentile believers because he feared “the circumcision party” (ESV). Although the identity of the circumcision party is unclear, they should not be equated with the men from James. Reconstructing the situation is difficult, but it appears that through these emissaries James asked Peter to exercise restraint in his association with Gentiles and perhaps even to resume observance of the kosher laws as a way of easing the intense persecution the Jerusalem church was experiencing.³ So Cephas agreed, and the rest of the Jews followed his lead. With much sadness Paul notes that even his beloved friend and ministry colleague Barnabas joined with the rest of the Jews in the hypocrisy. Withdrawing from table fellowship with fellow believers who were Gentiles directly contradicted their professed belief that both Jew and Gentile have equal standing before God based on what Jesus has done (Eph 2:15).

Although the others could not see it, Paul recognized that this seemingly harmless concession left them out of step with the truth of the gospel. The gospel is not merely how a person becomes a Christian, but it is also the means by which one lives the Christian life. Because this departure from the gospel was so severe, Paul confronted Cephas in front of the entire church. He questions how Cephas, who was not living like a Jew (i.e., not keeping the food laws) even though he was Jewish, could try to compel Gentiles to live like Jews (i.e., observe the food laws in order to maintain table fellowship). The actions of Cephas and the rest of the Jews who followed him would lead to a deep and potentially permanent rift in the body of Christ between Jews and Gentiles, a rift that would undermine God’s intention to unite Jew and Gentile together in Christ.

This paragraph marks a transition in Galatians. On the one hand, it continues Paul’s response to Peter during the confrontation in Antioch. On the other hand, it provides the thesis for what Paul’s main argument will be in the central argument of the letter (3:1–5:1). To demonstrate the hypocrisy of Cephas’s actions, Paul takes up language the men from James may have used to make their case. He affirms that he, along with the rest of the Jewish believers, are Jews by nature and therefore not “Gentile sinners” (ESV). As used here, the term sinner is not a generic reference to anyone who violates Gods will; here it has the more specific sense of those “who did not observe the Law in detail and therefore were shunned by observers of traditional precepts.”⁴ Thus, by default Gentiles were sinners in this sense. Yet despite this seemingly significant difference between Jews by nature and Gentile “sinners,” Paul notes that as Jewish believers they know that no one is justified (i.e., declared not guilty in God’s lawcourt) by works of the Law (i.e., doing what the Mosaic Law requires) but rather through faith in Christ. Because faith in Christ is the only way to be justified before God, Jewish Christians could only be declared not guilty before God on the basis of faith and not on the basis of keeping the Mosaic Law and its requirements. To drive home the inadequacy of works of the Law as a basis for justification, Paul borrows the language of Psalm 143:2 to stress that no one—Jew or Gentile—is made right before God on the basis of works of the Law.

Assuming this common ground regarding justification by faith in Christ rather than by works of the Law, Paul now moves to show the inconsistency between what these Jewish Christians believe about justification and their insistence that Gentile Christians must keep the Mosaic Law (2:17–18). They are implicitly claiming that final justification is incomplete without works of the Law. The first implication of requiring obedience to the Mosaic Law for justification is that it leads to Jewish Christians becoming “sinners” (2:17). Although the wording is potentially confusing, his point seems to be that since both Jew and Gentile alike are justified by faith, they have equal standing before God. Yet by associating with Gentile believers, Jewish Christians are labeled “sinners” because they disregard the Mosaic Law requirements that distinguish between Jews and Gentiles. But it was being justified in/by Christ that led them to disregard the Mosaic Law requirements and thus be labeled “sinners.” So, it was in fact Christ who led them to “sin” in this way. If this were true, then Christ would be a servant or promoter of sin, a conclusion that Paul adamantly rejects. Verse 18 further explains why Christ cannot be a promoter of sin. If Paul were to reestablish the Mosaic regulations that Christ destroyed, he would be violating God’s standards of righteousness as revealed in the new covenant. It would be a step backward in redemptive history to go back to the Mosaic covenant that God tore down when he built the new covenant in Christ.

Verses 19–20 further establish the point made in 2:18 that reestablishing the Mosaic Law would make him a transgressor of the new covenant. Paul presents his own experience as paradigmatic for all believers. The Law was the means by which he died to the Law. This enigmatic statement likely means that the Law brought him under a curse because he failed to obey it, sentencing him to death (3:10–14). By believing in Christ who fulfilled the Law and became a curse for Paul (3:13), Paul died to the Law. But this death was ironically the path to life, because once freed from the Law, Paul is now able to live to God. Whereas before his life was oriented to and directed by the Law, now his life is oriented to and by God through his Son Jesus Christ. That death to the Law happened because he was crucified with Christ. His former life, centered on Torah observance and zeal for its protection, was nailed to the cross. By sharing in the death of Christ, Paul died to the Law and its claim upon his life as the organizing center of his existence. Indeed, now the risen Christ lives in Paul (cf. 1:15, 24). Paul’s new life is marked and directed by Christ. He experiences this union with Christ by faith in the Jesus the Son of God, who loved Paul and gave himself for Paul (language that echoes the suffering servant in Isa 53).

In verse 21 Paul concludes the paragraph by asserting that he refuses to nullify the grace of God revealed in the gospel by returning to a life governed by the Mosaic Law. After all, if righteousness came through observing the Mosaic Law, then the death of Christ would have been completely unnecessary.

Now that Paul has established that: (1) he is an apostle on the same level as the Jerusalem pillars and that (2) he is on the same page when it comes to justification by faith in Christ rather than works of the Law, he moves on to the central argument of Galatians. His opponents in Galatia contend that faith in Christ plus obedience to the Mosaic Law is the path to final justification. In response, Paul argues that those who believe in Christ the suffering servant and singular seed of Abraham, regardless of their ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or gender, are justified through their union with Christ and therefore receive his inheritance as the promised seed of Abraham apart from keeping the Mosaic Law. Along the way Paul responds to potential objections related to the purpose of the Mosaic Law in redemptive history.

The argument is complex and not always easy to follow, but it can be organized as follows:

The Issue at Hand (3:1–5)

Does the Christian life begin or continue on the basis of faith or (works of) the Law?

A Gospel-Centric Reading of the Abraham Story (3:6–25)

Thesis: Abraham was justified by faith, and those who share his faith (whether Jew or Gentile) receive the blessing promised to Abraham. (3:6–9)

Corollary #1: A curse rests upon all who rely on (works of) the Law because no one can fulfill its demands. However, Christ redeemed Jews and Gentiles from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse, so that those who are “in Christ Jesus” live by faith and receive the promised Spirit by faith. (3:10–14)

Corollary #2: Since the promises made to Abraham came 430 years before the Law, they cannot be altered by the Law. Christ is the promised “seed,” and all those who are united to him receive the promised blessing. (3:15–18)

Excursus Part 1: Why, then, was the Law given? (3:19–20)

The Law was added to deal with/provoke transgression. The fact that it was given through the mediation of angels and Moses shows that it is subsidiary to the promises God spoke directly to Abraham.

Excursus Part 2: Is the Law contrary to God’s promises? (3:21–22)

The Law was never able or intended to make a person alive, because righteousness is based on faith, not Law.

Excursus Part 3: The Law is Israel’s custodian. (3:23–25)

The Law acted as Israel’s custodian until Christ came and the promise to Abraham’s seed could be given through faith in Christ. Now that Christ has come, the Law no longer functions as a custodian.

Provisional Conclusion (3:26–29)

All (whether Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female) are sons of God by virtue of faith and are incorporated into one body through baptism. Therefore, all who belong to Christ are by default Abraham’s descendants and, as a result, share in the blessing promised to him.

Corollary #3: Before we were sons we were in bondage to the elementals, but Christ redeemed those under the Law to inherit sonship and possess the Spirit. (4:1–7)

Application Part 1: Why go back to slavery under the elementals by taking up the Mosaic Law? (4:8–11)

Application Part 2: They are to imitate Paul in his freedom from the Mosaic Law and recall their initial love for each other. (4:12–20)

Climax (4:21–5:1)

The fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant has come in Christ the promised seed and the suffering Servant; through his resurrection the new/heavenly Jerusalem is now bringing forth children (all who belong to Christ by faith) who live in freedom, something the Law could never do. In this way the gospel promise made to Abraham that “all the nations shall be blessed in you” (Gal 3:8 = Gen 12:3) is being fulfilled.

Central Point

Paul’s central point in this section of the letter, then, is that all (regardless of ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic status) who believe in Christ the Seed of Abraham and the Suffering Servant are justified sons of Abraham who receive the promised inheritance and live in the freedom of the Spirit. As such they should not observe the Mosaic Law as a means of regulating their relationship with God or others.

In this opening paragraph Paul begins to unpack the central themes of justification by faith introduced in 2:14–21. To wake them from their spiritual stupor he calls them foolish and implies that their departure from the true gospel must be the result of the opponents casting a spell on them or giving them the evil eye. After all, Paul preached the crucified Christ in such a compelling, beautiful, and glorious way that those who saw him preach in effect saw Christ crucified before their very eyes.

Verses 2–5 contain a series of rhetorical questions designed to force the Galatians to reflect on their initial conversion and ongoing experience of the Christian life. His first question deals with how the Galatians received the Spirit: Was it by works of the Law (i.e., doing what the Law commands) or hearing with faith (responding in faith to hearing the gospel)? The answer is obviously the latter. Paul does not question if they had the Spirit but simply assumes it. The second question focuses on how the Christian life is lived. That it begins by the Spirit is obvious, but is it then completed by the “flesh” (ESV)? Whereas in 2:20 flesh simply referred to bodily existence, here it refers to human nature under the power and control of sin and subject to the spiritual forces of evil in this fallen world. Paul’s point is that the Christian life is not lived by self-effort but by dependence on the Spirit, a point he will expand upon in 5:16–26. In his third question, Paul appeals to the suffering they have experienced, asking if it was for nothing. If they abandon the gospel now, it would indeed be in vain. Paul’s final question returns to the contrast between works of the Law and hearing with faith, but now applied to the basis on which God generously supplies fresh experiences of the Spirit and performs miracles among them. Again, the obvious answer is that God does both based on continued faith in Christ rather than on trying to do what the Law commands.

This section introduces Paul’s thesis for the argument of 3:1–5:1. Paul’s opponents appear to have argued that in order to be a son of Abraham, one had not only to believe in Christ but also be circumcised and keep the Mosaic Law. Verse 6 is a hinge that connects the series of rhetorical questions of 3:1–5 (highlighting the centrality of faith and the Spirit over the flesh and the Law) with the thesis of his extended theological argument (3:6–5:1). He cites Genesis 15:6, where God declares Abraham righteous on the basis of his faith. Therefore, Paul insists, everyone who has the same kind of faith as Abraham is a son of Abraham.⁵ The entire argument of 3:6–5:1 is Paul’s attempt to demonstrate this claim. In other words, faith in Christ alone is sufficient to make one a son of Abraham. To support this claim, Paul asserts that God preached the gospel in advance to Abraham when he promised to bless all the nations (i.e., not just the Jews) in Abraham (cf. Gen 12:3; 18:18; 22:18). This promise is the gospel in a nutshell, the seed from which the full revelation of what Jesus has done for us grows. Being right with God has always been based on faith and never on works. Therefore, all who have the same kind of faith that Abraham had in the God of the promise and the promises of God will share in the blessing promised to Abraham (the content of which will be explained throughout chs. 3–4), regardless of their ethnicity and apart from keeping the Law.

Since being a son of Abraham is based on having faith like Abraham, Paul must explain why the Mosaic Law cannot bring the blessing promised to Abraham. Paul uses a series of assertions about the Mosaic Law supported by OT citations. The first assertion is that anyone (Jew or Gentile) who relies upon the Law for being right with God ends up under a curse for not obeying everything written in the Law (citing Deut 27:26; 28:58). Whereas faith in Christ brings blessing, trying to keep the Law brings a curse because no one is able to keep it perfectly. The second assertion is the self-evident claim that God declares no one righteous based on keeping the Law, which is supported by citing Habakkuk 2:4 (“the righteous shall live by faith”). Even when the Mosaic Law was in force, a right standing before God was based on faith. Paul sees in Habakkuk 2:4 the same principle as in Genesis 15:6. Third, Paul asserts that the Law operates on the principle of doing rather than being, as Leviticus 18:5 (“the one who does them shall live by them”) affirms. Thus, trying to gain eschatological life by obeying the Mosaic Law is a dead end because: (1) failing to perfectly keep the Law brings a curse; (2) faith has always been the true path to eschatological life; and (3) the Law was part of a covenant that has been done away with now that Christ has come.

Paul’s final assertion introduces the solution. Christ redeems his people from the curse the Law pronounces on them for their disobedience by becoming a curse for them. He cites Deuteronomy 21:23 to demonstrate that through his crucifixion Christ bore the curse for his people. Christ’s sin-bearing death as the Isaianic servant (cf. Isa 53) accomplishes the new exodus promised in the OT. Two results flow from Christ’s death: (1) the blessing of Abraham (i.e., justification and sonship) comes to the Gentiles (3:8), and (2) believers receive the promised Spirit (echoing Isa 44:1–5) through faith.

Since the Law cannot bring the blessing promised to Abraham, Paul must now explain the relationship between God’s covenant promise with Abraham and the Mosaic Law. Using the example of a human covenant, he insists that once it is ratified, it cannot be set aside or added to. The same logic applies to God’s covenant with Abraham. Those promises were made to Abraham and his offspring, a term that in the OT can refer to either many descendants (e.g., Gen 17:1–8) or an individual descendant (e.g., Isaac in Gen 17:15–21; a future descendant in Gen 22:18). When it comes to the covenant promises made to Abraham, Paul insists that Christ is the singular seed who receives the fulfillment of those promises. He summarizes his point in verse 17: since the Mosaic Law was given 430 years after God’s covenant with Abraham, the Law does not nullify that promise. Indeed, if the inheritance (a term roughly synonymous to blessing) God promised to Abraham comes through keeping the Mosaic Law, then it is based on human performance rather than divine promise. But God gave the inheritance to Abraham on the basis of faith in the promise.

Given the negative things Paul has said about the Mosaic Law, he must now explain how it fits into God’s redemptive plan. Verses 19–20 explain why the Law was given. Its purpose was to identify sin as specific violations of God’s will (cf. Rom 5:20). But the Law had a built-in expiration date: until Christ the promised seed of Abraham arrived. In contrast to God’s promise spoken directly to Abraham, the Mosaic Law was put into effect through angels by the hand of a mediator. Based on Deuteronomy 33:2 (LXX) and Psalm 68:17, many Jews believed that angels were involved in giving the Law (cf. Josephus, Ant. 15:136; Jub. 1:27–29; Philo, Somn. 1:40–44). Echoing Leviticus 26:46, the mediator refers to Moses. “Thus the purpose of the law, the temporal limitations of the law, and the mechanism of giving the law through angels by the hand of a mediator together demonstrate that it has a subordinate role to the Abrahamic promise covenant in God’s economy.”⁶ Verse 20 is one of the most difficult in Galatians. The point seems to be that the Mosaic Law covenant could not produce the promised offspring of Abraham (i.e., Christ) because fulfilling the promise to Abraham requires that all the nations acknowledge the one true God on the last day (echoing Deut 6:4; Zech 14:9), and that is a reality the Law could not produce.

Verses 21–22 further explain the relationship between the Abrahamic covenant and the Mosaic Law. Despite the negative comments about the Law, Paul emphatically rejects the idea that it is contrary to God’s promises. The problem is that the opponents are trying to use it for a purpose it is not designed to accomplish. If God had given the Law as the path by which people are made right with him and experience eschatological life, then righteousness would indeed come through the Law. But that was not the purpose of the Law. Instead, Scripture (including the Mosaic Law) has confined everything (not just people but even creation itself; cf. Rom 8:19–22) under the dominion of sin (see Gal 1:4). Sin is portrayed as a power that enslaves. God’s purpose in confining all things under sin was to enable the promise he made to Abraham to come to everyone who believes in Jesus Christ. Even God confining everything under sin had a redemptive purpose.

Verse 23–25 explain how the Mosaic Law functioned, drawing a temporal contrast between the time before and after Christ arrived. Before faith in Christ the promised offspring arrived and people could put their trust directly in him, Jews and Gentiles alike were imprisoned under the Law. During this time the Law functioned like a “guardian” (ESV) until Christ came. In Greco-Roman families, this type of guardian oversaw all aspects of the child’s life (e.g., education, athletics, social engagements, etc.) until the child reached adulthood. The Law was like a guardian in that it had a supervisory role over Israel until Christ the offspring of Abraham came. God’s purpose in putting Israel under the temporary guardianship was to watch over them until the time when his people would be justified by faith in Christ. But now that Christ has come and people are able to believe in him directly, the supervisory role of the Law as a guardian is no longer necessary.

Paul began his argument by claiming that those who have faith like Abraham are the true sons of Abraham who inherit the blessing God promised to him. This section is a provisional conclusion. But instead of referring to believers (Jew and Gentile alike) as sons of Abraham, he calls them sons of God. In the OT, Adam, Israel, David, and the promised Davidic king were all referred to as sons of God, a title that expresses likeness, authority, and intimacy. Believers have this status because they are “in Christ” (cf. 3:14) through faith. This union with Christ is visibly displayed when believers are baptized into Christ. Through baptism believers share in Christ’s death to sin and his resurrection to new life (Rom 6:3–4). They have, in effect, put on Christ like a new set of clothes. Both in the ancient world and today, clothes reflect a identity and social status. Believers are clothed in the very righteousness of Christ, having been cleansed from their sin (pictured as dirty clothes). The categories that are fundamental to this fallen world—ethnicity (Jew or Greek), socioeconomic status (slave or free), and gender (male or female, an allusion to Gen 1:27)—are irrelevant when it comes to being a justified son of God. Such distinctions still matter in other contexts (see, e.g., Rom 9–11; 1Cor 11:2–16; Eph 5:22–23; 1Tim 2:8–15), but not when it comes to one’s standing before God. Those who belong to Christ by faith are Abraham’s offspring because they are united by faith to Jesus Christ, the promised singular offspring of Abraham, and therefore share in the promised inheritance that belongs to Christ.

Building on his conclusion in 3:26–29, Paul illustrates the status of believers before (4:1–3) and after (4:4–7) the arrival of Christ. Scholars debate whether Paul draws this analogy from Greco-Roman culture or is instead describing Israel’s experience in the exodus as a paradigm for presenting the work of Christ as the fulfillment of the promised new exodus. Perhaps both are at work simultaneously. The heir who is still a child is functionally no different than a slave despite the heir legally being the future master of the household. The heir is under the supervision of “guardians and managers” and therefore not free to enjoy the full benefits of being an heir until the time appointed by the father. Similarly, believers (Jew and Gentile alike) were enslaved to the “elements of the world” (HCSB). Though widely debated, this expression likely refers to “the basic elements of the material world. But Paul uses them to represent all that is associated with this fallen world, this present evil age (1:4) that is under the curse that fell on creation as a result of Adam’s rebellion.”⁷ Outside of Christ, this enslavement is the condition of everyone.

But at the time God the Father appointed from eternity past, he sent his Son into this fallen world to fulfill his promises (in particular of a new exodus). Because he was born of a woman (stressing his full humanity) and born under the authority of the Mosaic Law, he is able to redeem both Jews and Gentiles alike from the penalty their sin deserved and their slavery to sin. This redemption enables believers to be adopted as God’s sons because they are united to Jesus the Son of God. Because believers (regardless of gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status) are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son Jesus to live inside of them, just as the OT had promised (Ezek 36:26–28). The Spirit deepens our intimacy with God by crying out “Abba,” an Aramaic term of endearment (Mark 14:36). All three persons of the Trinity cooperate to ensure the believer’s salvation. As a result, believers are no longer slaves to the elements of this world but sons who have an inheritance from God.

In verses 8–11 Paul applies the theology of 4:1­–7 to the Galatians. He reminds them that before they knew God and were known by him, they were enslaved to pagan deities, which are not actually gods. Now that they know God through Christ, it makes no sense that the Galatians are considering returning to the inferior elements (see notes at 4:3), which are unable to produce spiritual life. The specific form of elements in view is likely the Sabbath and festivals prescribed in the Mosaic Law. Instead of being a step of spiritual growth, observing these would be a reversion back to their pre-conversion slavery. The fact the Galatians have likely already begun moving in this direction makes Paul wonder if his ministry labors among them have been in vain (cf. 2:2).

Paul continues his personal appeal to the Galatians, pleading with them to imitate his Law-free approach to the Christian life, just as he became like them (i.e., not keeping the Mosaic Law) when he first arrived to preach the gospel among them (cf. 1Cor 9:19–23). He insists that they have not personally wronged him. His initial visit was prompted by an unspecified illness. This illness could easily have tempted the Galatians to despise Paul, but instead they welcomed him like an angel of God or even Christ Jesus himself. Indeed, the Galatians considered themselves blessed to receive the gospel through Paul. They cared so deeply for Paul that if possible they would have gladly plucked out their eyes and given them to the apostle (this is likely figurative language rather than indicating the nature of Paul’s illness). But now, Paul wonders whether he has become the Galatians’ enemy by telling them the truth about the gospel. The opponents use flattery to worm their way into the Galatians’ hearts to cut them off from Paul and ensure their exclusive allegiance to the opponents. By contrast, Paul’s motive for pursuing the Galatians is their spiritual growth, regardless of whether he is present with them or not. He pictures himself as a mother in labor, writhing in pain as he brings forth the Galatians as the eschatological people of God with Christ formed in them, which culminates in the full restoration of God’s image. The situation in Galatia is so challenging that Paul wishes he could deal with the situation in person.

This section is the climax of the argument of 3:1–5:1, and it is the most difficult passage in Galatians. The central thrust of this paragraph is that the Abrahamic covenant has been fulfilled in Christ, the promised seed and suffering servant. Through his death and resurrection, the heavenly Jerusalem has come into existence and bears children (all who belong to Christ by faith) into the freedom that Christ has purchased for his people, something the Law could never accomplish. Paul begins by challenging the Galatians to listen closer to what the Law says. Verses 22–23 lay the groundwork for his argument by summarizing what Genesis 16–21 says about Abraham and his two sons. One son (Ishmael) was born from the slave woman, Hagar. He was born “according to the flesh” (ESV) in that Abraham and Sarah tried to produce the promised heir through their own wisdom and efforts by having a child through Hagar. The other son (Isaac) was born from the free woman, Sarah, through faith in God’s promise despite Sarah’s barrenness.

In verses 24–28 Paul explains the significance of these elements, which have a deeper meaning than the mere literal sense. Paul uses a verb (often rendered “allegorical” by English translations) that refers to reading a text “through the lens of another textual, philosophical, or theological framework.”⁸ That framework is Isaiah 54:1 (and its surrounding context), which he quotes in verse 27. Paul combines this “allegorical” approach with a typological reading of Genesis 16–21 to reveal the deeper meaning that God embedded in the text. The two women represent two covenants. Hagar is the Mosaic Law covenant made at Mount Sinai, which bears children into slavery because they are under the dominion of the Law. She also corresponds with present Jerusalem, which refers to all who put the Mosaic Law at the center of how they relate to God and others. Identifying the Mosaic Law with Hagar would have been scandalous to Paul’s opponents, who would have identified themselves with Sarah. But rather than corresponding to the present Jerusalem, Sarah corresponds to the “Jerusalem above” (ESV). Both the OT (Ps 87:3; Ezek 40–48) and Jewish literature (1Enoch 53:6; 90:28–29; 2Enoch 55:2; 4Ezra 10:25–28; 2Bar 4:2–6) speak of a heavenly Jerusalem as part of God consummating his redemptive purposes (cf. Heb 11:10–16; 12:22–24; Rev 21:10–27). This heavenly Jerusalem bears children (all who have faith in Christ regardless of ethnicity) into the freedom of full sonship. “The work of Jesus Christ the seed of Abraham, the servant of Yahweh, the son of David has brought into existence the heavenly Jerusalem, something the Mosaic Law covenant was never able to do. Through his death and resurrection Jesus Christ has brought the long-promised eschatological people of God—consisting of all who believe in Christ regardless of ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic status—into existence at last.”⁹ Paul grounds this conclusion with a citation of Isaiah 54:1, which in its original context celebrates the fulfillment of God’s covenant promises to Abraham through the death and vindication of the suffering servant. The barren woman (Sarah) is now producing more children than the one who has a husband (Hagar). The death and resurrection of Jesus has brought into existence the heavenly Jerusalem, which is bearing children (all who belong to Christ by faith, regardless of Torah observance) into the freedom purchased by Christ (see 5:1).

In 4:28–5:1, Paul lays out the implications of his contrast between the two women, their sons, and the covenants they represent. Because of their faith in Christ, the Galatians are children of the promise, just like Isaac. As a child of the promise born according to the Spirit, Isaac was persecuted by Ishmael, who was born according to the flesh (see Gen 21:9). Paul sees in this incident a pattern that is playing out among the Galatians as they experience persecution from the opponents. Based on this connection, Paul appropriates God’s words to Sarah in Genesis 21:10 as God’s command to the Galatians to cast out the opponents who are trying to bring them back under slavery to the Law. Such decisive action is necessary because those who rely on the Law (i.e., the son of the slave woman) will not inherit what God promised to Abraham and his offspring (i.e., the son of the free woman). As those who, like Abraham, trust in the God of the promise and the promises of God, the Galatians are children of the free woman through their union with Christ and not children of the slave woman. Rather than submit themselves to a yoke of slavery by trying to keep the Mosaic Law as a means of being justified before God, the Galatians should live in the freedom that Christ freed them to experience.

Paul now moves to apply his argument in 3:1–5:1. Circumcision has no value when it comes to justification; what matters is faith working through love (5:2–6). Paul is so angry at the opponents (likened to yeast) for the effect they are having on the Galatians that he wishes they would emasculate themselves (5:7–12). By contrast, believers’ lives should be marked by love for one another as an expression of their freedom in the gospel (5:13–15). God has given believers his Spirit to empower them to live as a reflection of Christ rather than indulge the desires of the flesh (5:16–26). By bearing one another’s burdens, believers fulfill the law of Christ (6:1–5) as they do not grow weary in doing good to one another (6:6–10).

With his main theological argument complete, Paul turns to explain the practical outworking of the freedom that believers have in Christ. This paragraph focuses on the relationship of circumcision to justification and the eschatological hope of the believer. Circumcision is not something that can be added to faith in Christ as a means of being made right with God, because circumcision brings with it the obligation to keep the whole Mosaic Law (which according to 3:10–14 is impossible). It is a package deal rather than a menu that one may pick and choose from. Trying to use the Law as a means of justification cuts off a person from Christ because it is a departure from the grace of God revealed in the gospel. Instead, believers eagerly await the last day, when God will announce their status of righteousness to all creation. In the meantime, the Spirit empowers that hope by enabling them to continuing trusting in Christ until that day arrives. As believers await that day, what truly matters is not whether one is circumcised or not, but their faith in Christ producing love for God and love for others (see 4:14–14).

Once again Paul reminds the Galatians of their initial experience with the true gospel to call them to remain true to it. After their conversion the Galatians got off to a fast start in running the race of the Christian life, but somewhere along the way the opponents cut in front of them and began hindering their efforts to obey the one true gospel. Paul insists these opponents were not sent by the God who originally called them by his grace (cf. 1:6). The false teaching of the opponents is like yeast, which, even though it begins very small, eventually expands to permeate the entire lump of dough. While keeping the Law in addition to trusting in Christ may seem like a small adjustment to Paul’s gospel, such false teaching inevitably alters the gospel into something different. Despite the real danger posed by the opponents, Paul is confident that in the end the Galatians will reject their false gospel and their opponents will bear the penalty of their deception on the day of judgment. In a strange twist, Paul implies that his opponents accuse him of still preaching circumcision, perhaps in other contexts besides Galatia. While he was certainly a zealous advocate for strict adherence to the Mosaic Law before his conversion (1:13–14), the persecution he regularly faces makes it clear he no longer preaches circumcision. Preaching circumcision removes the offense of the cross because it removes the need to trust in Christ to be justified and experience eschatological life and instead preaches the false gospel of justification by works of the Law. Paul is so exasperated with the lies of the opponents that he wishes the opponents who are destabilizing the Galatians would not stop with cutting off the foreskin but continue all the way to emasculating themselves.

Resuming his emphasis on freedom from 5:1, Paul explains the nature of that freedom and how it should shape the Christian life. The call to believe in Jesus to be justified before God is a call to freedom. But the nature of this freedom is not a life free from any moral or ethical restraints in which one indulges any and every opportunity to act on one’s sinful desires and inclinations. Rather, freedom in Christ enables believers to actively serve one another through love. Those who have been freed by Jesus the suffering servant are empowered to show others the same kind of self-sacrificial love. When believers love others this way, they are fulfilling the goal of the Mosaic Law as expressed in Leviticus 19:18, which calls God’s people to love their neighbor as themselves. Rejecting the Mosaic Law as the governing norm for the Christian life does not leave the believer without moral restraints, because the Spirit (discussed at length in 5:16–26) empowers the kind of heart-level love for neighbor that the Law could never produce. The alternative to serving one another through love is biting and devouring one another, behavior that reflects the great serpent Satan rather than Christ. Such calculating selfishness is a cancer that destroys biblical community.

The contrast between using freedom as an opportunity to indulge the flesh or using it to serve others through love (5:13–15) sets the stage for the contrast between the flesh and the Spirit in this paragraph. Verses 16–18 describe the conflict between the flesh and the Spirit. These are not two aspects of a person but are powerful agents that attempt to shape how believers live, each one prompting the believer with conflicting desires. Walking by the Spirit means living a life empowered by the Spirit, who prevents the believer from gratifying fleshly desires. The Spirit not only makes a person spiritually alive but also empowers heart–level obedience to God (Ezek 36:26–27). Because believers are led by the Spirit, they are not under the authority of the Mosaic Law or subject to its condemnation.

In verses 19–21, Paul presents a selective representation of the works of the flesh. The first three (sexual immorality, impurity, and sensuality) deal with some form of sexual desire or activity outside of marriage between a man and a woman. Idolatry and sorcery are both related to the failure to worship the one true God. The next seven (enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions) focus on disruptions to life within the body of believers. The final three works of the flesh (envy, drunkenness, and orgies) are more general departures from God’s will. Those whose lives are characterized by these works of the flesh demonstrate they are not truly regenerate and therefore will not inherit the kingdom of God.

The fruit of the Spirit (vv. 22–23) is the antithesis of the plural works of the flesh. The singular highlights the interrelated nature of the different expressions of the Spirit in a person’s life. God had promised to produce fruit when the Spirit was poured out (Isa 32:15–20; 57:15–20), and the fulfillment of that promise is what Paul describes here. As likely the most important, love heads the list; it refers to self-sacrificial care and concern for others manifested in action. Joy is a deep sense of contentment and pleasure in God and his ways. Peace is the cessation of hostility rooted in a right relationship with God. Patience combines calmness while waiting for something and endurance in the face of hardship or opposition. Kindness is helping others from a generous heart. In the most basic sense, goodness manifests itself in genuine interest in the welfare of others. Faithfulness refers to relying on the Spirit to remain faithful to Christ. Gentleness combines humility, meekness, and consideration of others’ needs. Finally, self-control is the ability to restrain desires and emotions. These qualities that the Spirit produces are not contrary to the Mosaic Law but the embodiment of the command to love your neighbor as yourself (5:14).

Paul concludes this paragraph by explaining how life in the Spirit overcomes the flesh (vv. 24–26). Those who belong to Christ (cf. 3:29) have shared in Christ’s crucifixion (2:20) and are therefore no longer enslaved to the flesh and its sinful desires (cf. Rom 6:6). Because believers have been made spiritually alive by the Spirit, they must take their marching orders from the Spirit, keeping in step with him in unison with fellow believers. Otherwise, believers will fall back into community-destroying fleshly behaviors such as arrogance, jealousy, and provoking one another to anger.

Because of the constant war between the flesh and the Spirit, believers must know how to deal with sin. Sin is like a predator that chases people down, ensnaring them. When that happens, fellow believers should seek to restore them to repentance gently, always alert to the danger of either joining in their sin or feeling self-righteous for avoiding it. The general principle animating such action is stated in verse 2 with the command to bear one another’s burdens, which are anything that make following Christ difficult (e.g., sin, suffering, hardship, etc.). Doing so fulfills the law of Christ, which refers to “the moral requirements that come from Christ as expressed in his own teaching and example that are communicated to God’s new covenant people through his apostles.”¹⁰ Christ lives in the believer through the Spirit to empower the same kind of self-sacrificial love Christ showed, thus fulfilling what the Mosaic Law aimed for but could never produce. Verses 3–5 further explain bearing one another’s burdens from several different angles, though with a focus on self-examination. Thinking too highly of oneself is an act of self-deception that prevents one from humbly bearing others’ burdens. Believers must examine themselves and their own work to gain a realistic picture of the fruit in their lives and how it measures up to God’s standards, because on the last day, each believer must stand before the Lord to give an account of their actions and how they have used the gifts, abilities, and resources God gave them (Rom 14:12).

This paragraph continues to unpack the idea of bearing one another’s burdens, though in a more generalized sense. As those who benefit from the faithful teaching ministry of leaders within the church, believers should generously support those who labor diligently to teach God’s Word. This command includes, but extends beyond, financial gifts. Paul warns that God is not mocked. Using the imagery of sowing and reaping (cf. Prov 22:8), Paul insists that those who invest their time, energy, and resources into pursuits that indulge the sinful desires of the flesh will reap destruction on the last day. But those who instead invest their time, energy, and resources into what the Spirit values (reflected in the law of Christ) will experience eternal life. Just as one cannot plant corn and expect to reap soybeans, one cannot sow to the flesh and expect to reap a harvest from the Spirit. Pursuing a life that sows to the Spirit can be exhausting as one seeks to do good to others, but Paul assures believers that at the right time (whether in this life or on the last day), God will produce a robust harvest for them if they persevere in doing good. As a result, believers should proactively look for opportunities to do good to everyone they encounter while prioritizing bearing the burdens of fellow believers in the church (“household of faith” ESV).

Like most letter-writers in the first century, Paul used an amanuensis (secretary) to write out the letter at his dictation. But for this final section he takes up the pen and writes the conclusion in his own hand with large letters to highlight the change in handwriting. This final paragraph summarizes several key themes from the letter. Paul insists that the motives of the opponents are not pure in their efforts to win the Galatians to their understanding of the gospel. They promote circumcision because they are more interested in outward appearances and avoiding persecution than they are in what is true. They want the Galatians to be another “point for their team” so the opponents can boast in their success. Moreover, the opponents are hypocrites because even though they are circumcised, they do not keep the whole Law themselves. By contrast, Paul refuses to boast in anything except what the Lord Jesus Christ did for him through his death on the cross. By faith Paul was crucified with Christ (2:20), making the cross the means by which Paul has been crucified to this fallen world and all that is associated with it (sin, flesh, the elements of this world, slavery to the Law, etc.). Now that Christ has come, whether one is circumcised or uncircumcised does not matter. What matters is that through his death and resurrection Christ has rescued believers from the present evil age (1:4) and inaugurated the new creation promised in the OT (Isa 41:17–20; 43:16–21; 51:9–11; 65:17–25; 66:22–24). All who are united to Christ by faith (regardless of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or gender) experience that new creation (cf. 2Cor 5:17). Paul pronounces a blessing on everyone who believes in the true gospel and has experienced the new creation, praying for them to experience both peace and mercy (an echo of Isa 54:10). He extends that blessing to “the Israel of God,” a phrase whose meaning is debated. It could refer to: (1) the church, consisting of Jewish and Gentile believers; (2) the Jewish people in general; or (3) Jewish believers. While it is difficult to be certain what he means, perhaps the first option is most likely.

Paul concludes the letter with a plea that no one cause him further trouble because he bears the marks of Jesus on his body. These marks likely refer to the physical evidence of his suffering for Christ and the gospel, inflicted through imprisonments, beatings, riots, and other forms of physical torment. His final words of benediction are a prayer for the Galatians to experience tangibly God’s grace even more deeply in their lives. By beginning (1:2) and ending the letter with grace, Paul immerses every word of this letter in the unmerited favor that God has shown believers through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Carson, D. A. “Mirror-Reading with Paul and against Paul: Galatians 2:11-14 as a Test Case,” Pages 99–112 in Studies in the Pauline Epistles: Essays in Honor of Douglas J. Moo. Edited by Matthew S. Harmon and Jay E. Smith. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014.

Harmon, Matthew S. Galatians. Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2021.

–––. “Allegory, Typology, or Something Else? Revisiting Galatians 4:21-5:1,” Pages 144–58 in Studies in the Pauline Epistles: Essays in Honor of Douglas J. Moo. Edited by Matthew S. Harmon and Jay E. Smith. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014.

Schnabel, Eckhard J. Early Christian Mission. 2 vols. Downers Grove: IVP, 2004.

1. For a summary of the history of Galatia, see Eckhard J. Schnabel, Early Christian Mission, 2 vols. (Downers Grove: IVP, 2004), 2:1094–96.

2. BDAG 2. In some secular writings, the term can refer to political unrest (LSJM).

3. See further D.A. Carson, “Mirror-Reading with Paul and against Paul: Galatians 2:11-14 as a Test Case,” in Studies in the Pauline Epistles: Essays in Honor of Douglas J. Moo, ed. Matthew S. Harmon and Jay E. Smith (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014), 108­–12.

4. BDAG s.v. ἁμαρτωλός b.β.

5. The title “son of Abraham” refers to male and female believers alike, but keeping the term “son” preserves the connection between believers’ status as sons of Abraham (3:7; 4:21–5:1) and sons of God (3:26; 4:6–7) with Jesus’s identity as the Son of God.

6. Matthew S. Harmon, Galatians, EBTC (Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2021), 186.

7. For other possible interpretations, see ibid., 220.

8. On the meaning and use of this verb here, see Matthew S. Harmon, “Allegory, Typology, or Something Else? Revisiting Galatians 4:21-5:1,” in Studies in the Pauline Epistles: Essays in Honor of Douglas J. Moo, ed. Matthew S. Harmon and Jay E. Smith (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014), 144–58.

9. Harmon, Galatians, 267.

10. Ibid., 340.

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