The Meaning of the Letter to the Galatians

It’s considered the “Charter of Christian Freedom.” What does its content mean for our life of faith today? An overview.

In the Life Application Study Bible, it says of Galatians: “A family, executing their carefully planned escape at midnight, dashing for the border … a man standing outside prison walls, gulping fresh air, awash in the new sun … a young woman with every trace of the ravaging drug gone from her system … they are FREE! With fresh anticipation, they can begin life anew.

“Whether fleeing oppression, stepping out of prison, or breaking a strangling habit, freedom means life. There is nothing so exhilarating as knowing that the past is forgotten and that new options await. People yearn to be free.

“The book Galatians is the charter of Christian freedom. In this profound letter, Paul affirms the reality of our freedom in Christ—freedom from the law and the power of sin and freedom to serve our living Lord.”

The Apostle Paul (Gal 5:2) wrote the letter to various churches in the region of Galatia (1:1-2), which he had visited on his first missionary trip. This included Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe (Acts 13–14). It is the only one of Paul’s epistles (except possibly the letter to the Ephesians) that isn’t addressed to a specific place or person, but to several churches in a region (similar to the letter to the Hebrews, the letters of Peter, and the letter of James). That is also why it’s called the Letter to the Galatians, and Paul addresses the recipient as “Galatians” (Gal 3:1).

Generally speaking, Galatians is dated to AD 49/50. This would make it Paul’s first letter (even before 1 Thessalonians in AD 50/51), and one of the earliest letters of the entire New Testament (next to James). The letter was probably written shortly after his first missionary trip, because it was during that time that he founded churches in the Galatian province—namely, in Antioch, Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe (Acts 13–14).

The early date is confirmed by Paul not mentioning the Apostolic Council (Acts 15). If the letter had been written later, the Council would have been a strong support and would certainly have been put forth as a compelling argument. It would have underpinned his teaching and given him the backing of the highest authority. Thus, the basis for the message’s truth was laid very early on: that people who believe in Jesus are free from the Law. The letter thus shows the greatness of the redemption that Jesus achieved. This seems to have been very important to the Holy Spirit from the beginning.

The occasion of the letter is the argument of the Apostle to the Gentiles against the Judaizers who insisted on the Law, and who had sneaked in (Gal 2:4). These Judaizers worried, unsettled, and seduced Gentile Christians, by teaching that in addition to believing in Jesus, they must also obey Jewish laws and traditions in order to be saved. They mixed up the teaching of the Old Testament Law with the good news of God’s grace under the New Covenant. They tried to force the believers away from freedom and back under the burden of laws, rules, and traditions—even though Jesus Christ heralded the end of the Old Covenant. The Christians in Galatia were about to exchange their “freedom in Christ” for a dead, legal relationship. They believed that because they did certain things and omitted others, they were particularly spiritual. But Paul calls this exactly the opposite: by the flesh (Gal 3:3, 6, 12).

The letter to the Galatians has the sharpest tone of all the New Testament letters. It is an “explosive book.” Martin Luther called the epistle his “Katharina von Bora.” “I have betrothed myself to it,” he said.

Paul does not debate, nor does he even tolerate, the smallest counterargument. He does not yield to the teachers of the Law for even a moment (Gal 2:5). It is, figuratively speaking, as if he was throwing himself into a troubled sea (the Galatians) to fight a monster (the teachers of the Law). By chapter 1, verse 6, he is already leaping into the flood, speaking of a curse on all who preach another gospel (vv. 8-9). He calls the teachers of the Law “false brethren unawares brought in” (2:4), and even gives public testimony of how he resisted Peter (vv. 11-14). He says that he “destroyed” the Law (v. 18). He speaks of Galatians who disobey the truth as being “bewitched” (3:1), and emphasizes that all who “are of the works of the law are under the curse” (v. 10). So, he speaks of the possibility and fear of working among them in vain (4:11), and that he is again experiencing labor pains for them (vv. 4, 19). Paul speaks of bondage under the Law, and warns against allowing themselves to be pulled back into the yoke of bondage (4:24-25; 5:1). He points out the danger in bowing to the Law: that Christ will be of no benefit to them (5:2), and that they will then be separated from Christ and “fallen from grace” (v. 4). Yes, he even writes that Christ would then have died in vain (2:21). And finally, he accuses the Galatians of having been hindered in their good run (5:7).

The Galatians were Christians, and therefore redeemed by grace. But they were reaching out toward the Law again, and that was just as bad as having fallen into other fleshly sins. In this context, however, it should be noted that although New Covenant believers aren’t subject to Old Covenant law, they are not lawless. The demands of the New Testament are sufficiently strong to enable us to lead sanctified lives in practice.

Hans Brandenburg comments: “Legalism is the misunderstanding of mistaking diagnosis for treatment …  Legalism is always something halved. Most commonly, people look for a particular point that they are willing to keep, and then rely on the supposed keeping of the Law and renounce fellowship with Jesus.”

Paul uses the letter to the Galatians to sharply refute this false doctrine, and in doing so, wants to lead believers back to the pure Gospel. He vehemently campaigns for salvation, with the application that salvation comes about through God’s great grace alone, through faith in Christ Jesus: He fights for freedom in Christ. He manages to keep the balance between freedom in Christ (namely, being free from Jewish laws, rituals, and slavery) and a disciplined way of life in the Holy Spirit (in which Christians love one another, bear burdens, and avoid every injustice and lust of the flesh). After all, freedom from the Law doesn’t mean freedom to sin.

Christianity isn’t subject to Jewish laws or any religious traditions and ceremonies, or even to any higher Christian authority. It is subject only to the Bible, with the statements of the apostolic letters forming the conclusion and climax of divine teaching.

In the letter to the Galatians, Paul specially affirmed his apostolic calling and his Gospel, because the Judaizers probably doubted them (1:1, 6-7, 11-12, 17-24; 2:1-10). He rejects any other teaching that doesn’t correspond to the Apostles’ Gospel (1:6-9; 2:4-5). He even mentions his argument with the Apostle Peter in the struggle for absolute and urgent truth (2:11-14). Throughout the letter, he places grace in Jesus over law, freedom over slavery, faith over works, and the Spirit over flesh. Jesus Christ is the keystone. Paul also refers to Abraham’s example.

The Apostle makes it clear that doctrinal evil (false doctrine) is just as bad as moral evil (sin). In 1 Corinthians, for example, Paul addresses the moral sins in Corinth and compares them with leaven (Gal 5:9). Both one and the other ultimately spring from the fleshly nature (3:3; 6:12). This is significant, in that the teachers of the Law often think they are particularly holy and spiritual.

In Galatians 3:19-25, Paul explains the purpose of the Law: It makes sin plain. It points to the promise in Christ and to faith in Christ. And it is a disciplinarian toward Christ. But faith has replaced the Law (3:25). The Apostle makes it clear that in Christ there is no longer Jew or Greek, servant or free man, man or woman, but that in Him all believers become God’s children. God became our Father, and we are therefore God’s heirs (3:26–4:7).

Paul points to the weakness of the Jewish statutes in contrast to the strength of grace in Jesus (4:8-18). He gives examples such as Isaac and Ishmael, Sarah and Hagar, and the earthly and heavenly Jerusalem; thus, contrasting law and grace (4:19-31).

Whoever wants to be justified by the Law achieves the opposite: He is under the curse, and loses Christ (1:8-9; 5:1-12). Paul also admonishes the Galatians that freedom shouldn’t give space to the flesh, but that they should instead live in the Spirit (6:1-10). We should approach each other in meekness, bear one another’s burdens, be there for one another, impart good things, sow good things, sow to the Spirit, and not grow weary in doing good. The letter ends with summaries and very personal words from the Apostle Paul (6:11-18).

Lastly, it’s also noteworthy that Paul speaks of being the Apostle specially called by God to make the Gospel known to the Gentile (Gal 1:11-12, 16; 2:2). He was charged with the present management of God’s grace (Eph 3:2). According to Galatians 2:7, Paul is entrusted with the Gospel of uncircumcision, and Peter and the other Apostles with that of circumcision. That explains some of the different nuances. Paul therefore also describes himself as the herald, Apostle, and teacher of the nations (1 Tim 2:7; 2 Tim 1:11). His letters particularly emphasize God’s saving actions concerning us (Rom 16:25), while the Jewish Apostles emphasize God’s saving actions concerning Israel (because Israel still has a future beyond the Church Age). However, both aspects complement each other, because all New Testament letters apply to the whole church.

In summary, Galatians says: Keeping the law is an attack on the Gospel of Jesus, the grace He brought, and the work He did. Only when we understand this focus can Paul’s vehement struggle against the Judaizers be understood, in that he didn’t give way for a moment (2:5). Galatians 5:1 could be given as the epistle’s key verse:

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

Midnight Call - 08/2024