Paul's Letter To Galatians Analysis

The letter to the Philippians has been the subject of historical criticism in relation to its contemporary authors and philosophers. In Studies in Paul’s Letter to the Philippians , Hans Dieter Betz scrutinizes five segments from the letter to the Philippians to examine scholastic interpretations and to suggest a new interpretation regarding its literary genre as preparation for death(praemeditatio mortis).

Paul’s letters are more difficult to interpret than they seem because they are occasional documents. They were written for a specific reason to a specific group with specific instruction for their situation. These letters contain valuable instruction for us, but only when we have an understanding of what the occasion was that these letters were written.

Paul's letters to the church, also known as epistles, are considered some of the most important documents in the New Testament. Paul's writings continue to shape and forge church even today. His letters were written in some of the darkest, most intense moments of Paul's life, but they also celebrate the grace, love, and life changing power of Jesus. Paul's journey in faith is shown in raw, unapologetic honesty, and inspires Christians to maintain a forward momentum, and to run the race Paul speaks so passionately about in Hebrews 12:1. Paul is able to write with both confidence and humility as he writes about the Christian journey.

law itself, directly to the people who want to be under it. He reminds them of Abraham's two sons by

In Galatians 2:1-3, Paul describes going to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus. The chapter of Galatians describes an agreement, which states that the Gentiles, including Titus does not need to be circumcised. Paul, James, Peter and John agree that Gentiles should not need to be circumcised. However, people continue to disagree with them on this particular issue. In the ESV Study Bible, it says, “Paul regards the imposition of circumcision on Gentile Christians as a slavery producing betrayal of the freedom Christ has given.” With all of this being said, the chapter of Galatians proves that it is a completely different event than in Acts. There are undeniable similarities between the chapters, but it is proven that this specific event did not occur at the same time as the Jerusalem Council. In Galatians 2, this event takes place in 47

To understand the meaning of Galatians 5: 16-18 we must understand the purpose of the letter. Galatians is an occasional letter (Duvall, Hayes 2008, 100) meant to address a congregation who is faced with the dilemma of Judaizers. The Judaizers were teaching that in order for a Gentile to be truly saved he must convert to Judaism; he must be circumcised. They preached salvation by works of the flesh, putting the Gentiles under the law (5: 9-15). But the flesh; circumcision or no circumcision, following the Judaic laws or not following the Judaic laws, makes no difference in salvation. Righteousness is found through faith and shown in love (5:6). Insistence that Gentiles convert to Judaism “distorts salvation by grace alone” and causes dissension in the body of Christ (Wilson 2013, Gal. 5:15). Paul argues that Christians should rely on the Holy Spirit for the power to overcome the flesh and walk in love and faith (5:16– 18). There is clearly a distinction between the fruit of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit (5:19-26). Paul

The Jewish community rejected the lax attitude concerning Mosaic Law. The Galatians, who were brought up in an area of the world dominated by a polytheistic, law-based religion, sought comfort in the more disciplined Jewish approach. “Paul: Appealing or Appalling?” is the surprising title of the first chapter in a book about the differing opinions, written by Christian scholars, Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan. Their account of Paul’s controversial stance on a variety of “major issues” like gender roles and slavery helps to understand the historical significance of Paul’s evangelism. Jews were easier to reach than Gentiles, because of their sacred education, therefore the issue of circumcision was definitely an issue among the first converts to Christianity. The question on everyone’s mind was, “Do you have to be a Jew to be a Christian?” Judeans were taught that salvation would only come to those circumcised according to the custom. Once in Jerusalem, Paul went to the elders to announce God’s grace in the lives of the Gentiles. They rejoiced in his message, but took notice of his advice against Jewish law,

When God created the world, he clearly set the limits. To our wellbeing, to the good course of this life, they were established. These limits were described to the forefathers by God through Moses (see the full history in the book of Exodus, the second book of your Bible), but was even written within our minds, carved in our conscience, either approving or condemning us about what is right or wrong. Unfortunately, these limits have been constantly broken.

NT2200-Week Four Philippians Function Discussion The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians has many themes throughout it covering topics such as an attitude of gratitude, unity among the brethren, joy in spite of suffering, and confidence in Christ. However, the theme of joy and rejoicing seems to be primarily the thought Paul is expressing in Chapter One verse four and continues to be expressed with gratitude and love for the Philippians who have shown Paul great love in supporting him during his time of incarceration. Thomas G. Gombis (2010) states, “This is one of Paul’s most personal letters, written to a church that was founded during his second journey and that he had visited during his third journey (Acts 20:3,6). The Philippian church

After a brief greeting Paul states his concern for the church in Galatia (1:1-6). The church is rejecting the message that Paul gave them in favor of different teaching. Paul condemns any gospel apart from the one he gave them and backs this up with a brief history of how he received and delivered the gospel to them (1:6-2:10). He reminds them of how he even rebuked Peter for not acting in accordance with the gospel (2:11-21). He then points to Scripture to back up his argument against the false gospel of legalism being preached in Galatia (3:1-4:31). After this he encourages the Galatians to live in the freedom of Christ, which he explains to them (5:1-6:10). He then ends his letter while reiterating the importance of not listening to the false gospel (6:11-18).

Paul’s letter shows part of the game of interpretation with the Galatians. Paul started by traveling around and telling people about Jesus and what that would mean for the Jewish

As one of the shortest of Paul’s letters, a careful reading of Galatians 4:13-15 shows that it is situated within the wider pericope of Chapter 4 and the entire book of Galatians. Paul grew up and spent his early years in Tarsus in a setting that taught him the critical importance of penetrating major commercial centers with the Gospel, and so in Galatia, “the northern part was not as well developed as the southern region…..and thus Paul’s churches would have been established in the flourishing towns of the south.”

The purpose of Pauls Letters were to keep in contact with the churches and to resolve any problems or questions they had. Paul mainly wrote to communicate with distant churches, to encourage, to persuade, to inform and to respond to events that he had heard about. Paul’s writings formulated key teachings about the nature of the Church. He taught about how Christ lived in them and by their baptism and the Holy Spirit they were able to contribute to the Christian community. Paul mainly wrote about the issues in society and how to help the churches when they were in need. Paul didn’t believe that the Gentiles need to

The letters to the Ephesians is the 10th book in the New Testament. The texts that were written before and after it, are the letters to the Galatians and the letters to the Philippians respectively. According to tradition, the Apostle Paul wrote the letter while he was in prison in Rome, around 62 AD. Paul wrote the letter to the to Gentile (non-Jewish) followers of Christ, most likely a church in Ephesus. Paul wrote this letter to encourage Gentile believers, and to make it clear that Jews and Gentiles have been brought together as part of one body in Christ. Paul was also wanted his audience to be made aware of the moral laws they may have been  poor in following, or that they were unaware of. The literary form of the Ephesians is of letter form.

Paul, a missionary, established many Christian communities as he traveled around. One church he founded in Galatia began to stray away from the Christian teachings that Paul left for them. Because of the people abandoning their beliefs, Paul writes letters to the church to set things straight. The letters he wrote to this church is now contained in the book of Galatians in the Bible.