1. Paul's introduction to his letter (1:1-5).
   1. From: Paul, an apostle appointed by God.

   2. To: the congregations in the Roman province of Galatia.

   3. The essential accomplishment and purpose of Jesus Christ is confirmed.

2. Paul's amazement and concern (1:6-10).
   1. He was amazed that they left the grace of Christ.

   2. The good news of Christ's grace was the only message that could save them.

3. Paul listed the evidences documenting as fact that his message of the good news came from Christ.
   1. Before becoming a Christian, he a leading persecutor of Christians (1:11-17).
      1. Obviously, no one would teach the persecutor about Christ.

      2. His Christian message came directly from Jesus after conversion.

   2. He did not visit Jerusalem for three years after his conversion (1:18-24); [obviously the Christian leaders in Jerusalem did not teach him after conversion].
      1. On that visit, he visited with Peter and James only.
         1. He was there only 15 days.

         2. The Christians in Judea did not know him.

   3. Fourteen years later, he made a second trip to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus (2:1-10).
      1. Titus, a Christian who was not a Jew, was not asked to be circumcised.

      2. The apostles in Jerusalem acknowledged that Christ sent Paul to teach people who were not Jews.

   4. Later, when Peter visited with Christians who were not Jews in Antioch, he stopped associating with them (2:11-21).
      1. Paul condemned Peter to his face for doing this.

      2. Paul showed the inconsistency of Peter's behavior.

      3. Justification is produced through faith in Christ, by through following the instructions of the law.

      4. Paul, the expert in the law, declared, "I died with Christ; Christ lives in me."

4. Paul examined their thinking and understanding.
   1. "Who bewitched you [charmed you out of your senses; mesmerized you] (3:1-14)?"
      1. "Every spiritual blessing you received came through the work of the Spirit, not through the message of the law."

      2. "God regarded Abraham, the forefather of the Jews, to be a righteous man because of his faith."

      3. "The person who is not a Jew but who has faith in Christ is Abraham's son" [faith, not circumcision, makes a person who is not a Jew a descendant of Abraham].

      4. "The law placed people under a curse; Jesus rescues people from that curse."

   2. The common, understood realities of a covenant agreement (3:15-22).
      1. The conditions within a covenant agreement cannot be altered; the covenant must be completed as agreed.

      2. God made the covenant agreement [that included the promises] with Abraham hundreds of years before the law was given to the Jews.
         1. That agreement, which could not be changed, was for the Christ to come.

         2. The blessing God promised came as a result of God's covenant with Abraham; therefore the promise came through Christ, not through the law.

      3. If they left Christ and turned to the law, they left the blessing.

   3. When Christ came, the intended purpose of the law ended.
      1. Now people are God's children because they have faith in Christ.

      2. To God, there are no preferred people any longer; anyone who believes in Jesus is Abraham's descendant.

5. Paul's insightful understandings.
   1. A young child is not a slave, but he is under a guardian (4:1-7).
      1. The law (the Jewish law; the law of Moses) served as a guardian until Christ came.

      2. Christ came to release the Jews from the guardian and to adopt people who were not Jews--both can be true sons of Abraham, children of the promise, and sons of God.

   2. Christians who were not Jews were slaves to idols before conversion to Christ (4:8-10).
      1. Paul feared that they were thinking like slaves again.

      2. "I am not your enemy; see me for who I am in my relationship with you--the one who dearly loves you."

      3. Their decision to accept the teaching of Christians who demanded that they obey the law confused and bewildered Paul.

   3. The allegory of Sarah and her son Isaac and Hagar and her son Ishmael (4:21-31):
      1. Those two sons represented two covenants, one temporary and one eternal.

      2. Hagar and Ishmael represented God's covenant with the nation of Israel established through the law of Moses [given only to Israel].
         1. It represented the Jews who clung to the law and rejected Christ.

         2. The law of Moses was the temporary agreement.

      3. Sarah and Isaac represented the God's covenant with all people established through Christ.

   4. "If you people who are not Jews agree to the Jewish rite of circumcision, you reject Christ's freedom and return to slavery (5:1-26)."
      1. "If you use your freedom to love and serve each other, you do not have to worry about obeying the Jewish law--loving each other fulfills that law."

      2. "Refuse to allow your lives to be controlled by the appetites and desires of your physical body."

      3. "Live your life each day in the Spirit bearing its fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control).

6. Closing instructions and encouragement (6:1-18).
   1. Help the Christian who has made a mistake that can destroy him spiritually--rescue him.

   2. Remember the law of the harvest and live with the awareness of that law.

   3. I was so concerned that I wrote this letter instead of dictating it.
      1. Those Jewish Christians who demand that you accept Jewish teachings have their own selfish, private agenda.

      2. To the Christian, there is one supreme reality: the all important, essential death of Jesus Christ.

      3. Closing statement.

1. Paul was astounded that they left the grace of Jesus Christ for Jewish law.

2. He listed the evidences which verified that his message came from Jesus.

3. He challenged them to understand:
   1. Every spiritual blessing they had came through the Spirit.

   2. God's covenant promises were not received through the law.

   3. The law's intended purposes were completed when Christ came.

4. He challenged them to think.
   1. The law was only a guardian that served until Christ came.

   2. Non-Jewish people who trusted Christ were the true children of Abraham.

5. Accepting the Jewish rite of circumcision made them slaves again.

6. Closing instructions:
   1. Rescue the Christian who made a mistake.

   2. Live in the awareness of the law of the harvest.

   3. The supreme spiritual reality is the death of Jesus Christ.

David Chadwell

Galatians Study Guide (part 2)
Wednesday evening Bible class, 14 January - 3 June 1998
West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR

Copyright © 1998
Permission is granted to freely copy and distribute with text unchanged, including author's name.