Euangelion: Interpreting Scripture and Life

In this final wrap up session I'll briefly consolidate some of the ideas that we have looked at as we have examined this short but intensely powerful letter and consider the implications of these findings on the life of discipleship. Although the most important things that Paul says are indeed theological, the Apostle should not be understood primarily as a brilliant debater, scholar or theologian, but rather as a concerned pastor worried about the fragmentation of a community that ought to have no borders, because Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead .

The term crucifixion is a very important term in Galatians. Only in Galatians 3:1 does it refer to the crucifixion of Jesus; however, it always refers to death by which the pathway to a new life is introduced. We have seen this in the experience of Paul himself in 2:19, which should be understood as normative for all Jews in Christ - crucifixion leads to living to God. We have seen it of gentiles in Galatians 5:24 - Here crucifixion leads to life on the basis of the Spirit and life ruled by the Spirit. In both these passages, the crucifixion verse precedes a new life motif. In the final occurrence of ‘crucifixion’ in Galatians 6:14, we are told that the cosmos is self is crucified. Galatians 6:15 introduces a new life motif, only, unlike the previous two passages, there is no word for ‘life’. Instead, Paul speaks of new creation; it is as if the cosmos has died and been revivified as new creation. This new creation operates with an unprecedented set of social and human dynamics; it embodies God’s new world and God’s new way of being, into which all those who are in Christ have now been welcomed.

The end of Galatians 5 placed us in a position to once more see how Paul envisages the new covenant blessings taking shape in the Galatian Jesus communities. The presence of the Spirit amongst the community would be a unifying force; so, those living by the spirit, must restore the wayward members of the community. As is made clear in Galatians 6:1-10, to live in love and unity in the power of the Spirit, identifies God's people now, and identifies them in the age to come.

We have already suggested that Paul is at pains to see the community in Galatia unified, and unified on the right foundation. That foundation is the Spirit, and in the passages we will consider today Paul suggests how the Spirit will guide people into the kind of life that God requires even though the believers do not need to make reference to a written law. The ultimate goal of the Law is love, and only in the power of the Spirit, can this love be truly made manifest.

Having established that the context of Galatians and the key question underlying the letter is whether or not gentiles need to become Jews before they can be full members of the people of God, it seems rather strange that is near the end of the letter when we first hear the nature of the charge. It is here for the first time that Paul talks about gentiles being pressured into being circumcised. What becomes clear in Galatians 5:1-12 is that even the issue of circumcision is merely part and parcel of a much broader question of how one identifies the End Time people of God. Paul will use very extreme language to make his point; yet, as distasteful as we may find it, it starts to become clear why his stance is so aggressive.

The connection between the resurrection of Jesus and the birth of Isaac is made explicit in Romans 4:17-25. Yet the origins of that argument are in Galatians 4, as we will see today. Galatians 4:21-31 is an interesting and powerful allegory of two mothers, two covenants and two sons, and builds to a dramatic conclusion regarding Paul's attitude towards the false teachers.

Paul is an emotional character. His arguments are lofty and strong, and his debating persuasive, but when push comes to shove, Paul writes so that his communities can heal in the face of some social trauma. Even a cursory reading of Galatians or 2 Corinthians attests to how deeply Paul feel things. We get a sense of just how deeply in the verses at the heart of today's podcast.

Having made some ground exploring the metaphor of life emerging from death, which is so central to Galatians, we can now turn our attention more fully to the second critical metaphorical conception in Paul's understanding of justification - that is, freedom emerging from slavery. We might summarise by saying that to be made alive by the Spirit is to become the Children of God, and as such, experience the true Nature of freedom.

We suggested fairly on in this journey that the key question Paul is asking is whether or not gentiles need to become Jews in order to be the people of God. This should make it very clear that, at least in part, the letter of Galatians addresses the nature of Christian identity. That is, it answers the question ' who are the people of God'? Galatians answers this question in two ways; negatively, it says the people of God are not those who observe the works of the Law. Positively, it says the people of God are those with faith in Christ and, therefore, those who are identified by the Spirit. In four short verses at the end of Galatians 3, all of these ideas crescendo into the grand conclusion by which Abraham, Christ and believers are all connected. Today's podcast will attempt to bring all the strands of this very argument together.

I mentioned that there were two critical questions asked by Paul to his readers in Galatians. The first we have already seen in Gal. 3:2, which inquired after how the Galatians believed that they had received the Spirit. The second critical question is the one in 3:19, which is the first verse we will look at today. It is perhaps the most central question in Pauline theology: Why did God give the law? Let's read, think and reflect o this question, because the answer might just shock you!

If you ever want to have a really thorny and controversial debate about the theology of Paul, just ask one simple question: how did Paul understand the Law of Moses after his association with the ancient Jesus movement? This is a question that Paul must address, and indeed in Galatians 3:19, he asks the very specific question himself. The build up to that question comes in the verses we will look at today. The crunch question is why did God give the Law in the first place. The answer to this question will emerge from this contextual framework - who are the true heirs of the promises God made to Abraham?

Paul goes to some fairly extraordinary lengths to demonstrate the significance of the risen Christ. The risen Christ is central to his arguments, and as we shall see in today's podcast, the Spirit is the vehicle by which the risen Christ energizes the faithful. This is initially the story of Isaac's birth, which preempts the story of the Resurrection of Jesus, which in turn foresees justification by faith.

With the context of the Deuteronomist history firmly in place, we are in a position to try to make sense of the quotations from the Old Testament in Galatians 3:10-13. Ultimately, Paul makes this claim; the curse for disobedience promised in Deuteronomy, have indeed come up on Israel. That is, the curse of exile; and yet even though the geographical exile in Babylon was over, Israel was still ruled by pagans, and the exile continued in their hearts. The true key to ending the curse of exile, which Paul sums up as death, was the life and death, and life again, of the Messiah.

This short excursus is to contextualise Galatians 3:10-13. It uses the scheme of the closing chapters of Deuteronomy to explain Israel's history. This is a history of rebellion leading to exile and repentance leading to restoration. To sum it all up, Paul seems to understand exile in terms of death, just as the author of Deuteronomy, and freedom and restoration as life, once more, just as the author of Deuteronomy. This becomes key for the rest of the argument, because for Paul the motif of life emerging from death is the most central dynamic reality of justification.

Galatians 3 introduces a key figure the argument of the letter, that of the patriarch Abraham. It is possible that Paul is only reacting to the fact that his opponents have introduced Abraham into their own arguments, but it is far more likely that Paul introduces Abraham for wholly other reasons. In Galatians 3:6-9, the Apostle argues that faith is what unites God's people, and that those who are defined by faith, are the true children of Abraham, and, therefore, the true people of God.

A number of commentators treat Galatians 3 as the beginning of what they call the scriptural argument of Galatians. Whilst not a meaningless designation, it can sometimes help simply to have a big picture of Galatians. Here, in particular, the transition from chapter 2 into chapter 3 is an important one, and it introduces one of two pivotal questions in the letter. How did the Galatians receive the spirit (Gal. 3:2) and what does this have to do with justification? In this podcast, we will open the door on this question, and as we we'll see, this is a door that doesn't close!

Galatians 2:15-21 is one of the thorniest and yet one of the most significant passages in the entire Pauline corpus. It outlines the key issue about which Paul was facing opposition in Galatia. What does it mean to be justified? What does that have to do with faith in Christ and why does it preclude the works of the Law? What does Paul mean that he has been crucified with Christ? The answer to these and to many more questions and what they mean for our lives are covered in today's episode!

It is sometimes overlooked in scholarship on Galatians that the key salvation terminology of the letter emerges from a very particular context. That context is the subject of today's instalment. A fellowship meal in Antioch goes horribly wrong when a group of Christian Jews turn up. Galatians 2:15-21 is the so-called thesis statement of Galatians. It relies on the story that we will tell today in Galatians 2:11-14.

Galatians 2 introduces the key vocabulary and theological ideas around which the entire letter revolves. For many years, and largely because of the interpretation of the Protestant Reformers, many saw the central question of Galatians as 'how does a sinner gracious God'? This position has been very strongly challenged, and many argue that this was the Reformers' question and not Paul's; a view which I am largely sympathetic with. As we shall see in this episode, the key underlying question of Galatians is about ethnic unity in view of the Resurrection. Paul's question is not, 'how do I find a gracious God', at least not in the initial instance; rather his question is, 'how can Jewish believers and gentile believers be one family - the children of Abraham and the New Covenant people of God.

We wrap up Galatians chapter 1 by considering Paul's final movements before he finally ventures to Jerusalem to meet with the leaders there. It seems that this first meeting was an amicable one. As we will see in the next chapter, Paul's next visit to Jerusalem was not nearly so smooth! However, here for the last time, Paul hints at the Divine nature of his message and the impact that it had, even in Judea.

In this section, Paul both rehearses some of the themes which have already emerged and preempts some of the ideas which will appear later on in the letter. Interestingly, Paul hardly ever mentions what happened to him as he travelled to Damascus that fateful day; it is in this section that perhaps he comes closest to doing so. In this reflection we will consider some of the issues surrounding that event and how that revelation lead to what we know as the Pauline gospel.

In this second instalment, we will start to address the question of why Paul wrote Galatians in the first place. Paul's letters are what are known as 'occasional letters'. Paul never wrote simply to tell audiences what he believed; rather he wrote to provide antidotes and solutions for problems that had a reason in believing communities to which he was in some way connected. Galatians 1:6-10 give some initial hints as to the nature of the problem Paul addresses.

In this introductory session, we ask a little about why Paul wrote this punchy, powerful epistle, and get a little start on why it develops in such explosive fashion. This intro is unlike any other Pauline epistle, and for very good reason as we will see in the days and weeks to come. So buckle in, and let's explore!