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    Galatians: A Commentary
    Galatians: A Commentary
    Galatians: A Commentary
    Ebook96 pages2 hours

    Galatians: A Commentary

    By Marc D. Simon

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    NEXT TO ROMANS, NO OTHER WRITING has impacted the shape of reformed theology more than Paul's letter to the Galatians. So important was the letter that Luther affectionately referred to it as his Katie von Bora – the name of his wife, stating that in some ways he was married to the letter as well.

    Like Romans, Galatians is rooted in Paul's conviction that through the resurrection of Jesus, God's new creation has burst in upon the old with redeeming power and vindication for those made part of Christ's body by faith.

    Unlike Romans however, Galatians isn't primarily an exposition on the gospel or how we get saved. Rather, what is really at issue is the inclusion of all people in the single, multi-ethnic family of God. Who is in and who is out? Who belongs? And on what basis? These are the real issues being debated by the churches to whom Paul is writing.

    Paul's answer is that men and women are made part of the community of Christ by faith alone and not works of the Law. Followers of Jesus, no matter what their ethnic or moral background is, are incorporated into the family of God by the grace and action of God alone, and not by outward marks of Jewish identity.

    In Galatians: A Commentary, pastor and author Marc Simon offers a verse by verse exposition of Galatians which is at once accessible to scholars, pastors, and students alike.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateJan 4, 2023
    ISBN9781665579285
    Galatians: A Commentary
    Author

    Marc D. Simon

    MARC D. SIMON is an ordained minister with the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel and serves as the senior teaching pastor of Church For The Nations, in Oxnard, CA. Marc holds graduate degrees in Psychology, Organizational Leadership, and Theology, and also serves as a chaplain with the Ventura County Rescue Mission.

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      Book preview

      Galatians - Marc D. Simon

      © 2023 Marc D. Simon. All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

      Published by AuthorHouse  12/29/2022

      ISBN: 978-1-6655-7927-8 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-6655-7928-5 (e)

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

      and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

      New American Standard Bible (NASB)

      New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

      New International Version (NIV)

      Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

      New Living Translation (NLT)

      Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

      Contemporary English Version (CEV)

      Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

      English Standard Version (ESV)

      The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

      New King James Version (NKJV)

      Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

      Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)

      KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.

      New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

      New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

      Contents

      Introduction

      I.       Galatians 1:1–17

      II.     Galatians 1:18–2:10

      III.    Galatians 2:11–21

      IV.    Galatians 3:1–14

      V.      Galatians 3:15–29

      VI.    Galatians 4:1–11

      VII.  Galatians 4:12–5:1

      VIII. Galatians 5:2–26

      IX.    Galatians 6:1–18

      Bibliography

      Meet the Author

      Introduction

      NEXT TO ROMANS, NO OTHER WRITING has impacted the shape of reformed theology and teaching more than Paul’s letter to the Galatians. So important was it that Martin Luther affectionately referred to the letter as his Katie von Bora – which was the name of his wife, stating that in some ways he was married to the letter as well.

      Like Romans, Galatians is rooted in Paul’s conviction that through the resurrection of Jesus, God’s new creation has burst in upon the old with redeeming power and vindication for all those made part of Christ’s body by faith.

      Unlike Romans though, Galatians isn’t primarily an exposition on the gospel itself or how we get saved. Though faith and works factor heavily in the letter, sin itself is rarely mentioned, salvation not at all, and the resurrection only once.

      What is really at issue in Galatians is the inclusion of all people in the single, multi-ethnic family of God…on earth…right here…right now. Who is in and who is out? Who belongs? And on what basis? These are the real issues being debated by the churches to whom Paul is writing.

      Who were the Galatians?

      While there is still debate on the exact identity of Paul’s intended audience, his letter was likely addressed to churches in the Roman province of Southern Galatia. This region includes Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe; which are specifically named as places where Paul established churches on his first missionary journey (cf. Acts 13-14).

      This means that Galatians probably has an earlier dating than some have suggested and was likely written in the time between Paul’s first mission in Southern Galatia and the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, where many of the issues at play seem to have been addressed.

      The Occasion and Purpose of the Letter

      Paul’s converts in Galatia were mostly non-Jews who embraced his teaching about Jesus, were baptized (3:26-28) and experienced the work of the Holy Spirit among them (cf. 3:2- 5, 4:6).

      Though his readers were running what he calls a good race (5:7), other teachers had come among them after Paul’s departure, preaching a different gospel (1:6) and insisting that Jewish Law was binding on all members of the church. These teachers also argued that Paul himself was a second-rate apostle with no real authority.

      The identity of Paul’s opponents is never stated outright in the letter, but we should not suppose that the conflict was about Jewish and anti-Jewish sentiment. Paul himself was (1) a Jew, (2) a follower of Christ, and (3) an apostle.¹ The conflict wasn’t about being Jewish or Christian, but about Paul and his opponents having different Jewish-Christian interpretations of the gospel and its spread among Gentiles.

      It is the spiritual identity of the new churches in the Mediterranean that Paul and his opponents are vying for. Were these churches to see themselves as part of the community of Judaism, or as part of a new and distinctive community altogether, something neither completely Jewish nor pagan, but Christian instead?

      Paul’s answer is that new believers were now part of the community of the Messiah by faith alone and not works of the Law. Followers of Jesus, no matter what their ethnic or moral background, were incorporated into the family of God by the grace and action of God alone, and not by outward marks of Jewish identity, Sabbath keeping, or other works of the Law.

      COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S LETTER TO THE

      GALATIANS

      I. No Other Gospel

      Galatians 1:1–17

      1 Paul, an apostle – though not from men nor through the agency of a man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead – ² and all the brothers who are with me.

      To the churches of Galatia:

      ³

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