The New Testatment Galatians

Close Reading

Galatians 4

By Janet

McCormick Theology Seminar

The Epistles of Paul: Paul’s Life, Letters, & Legacy

Instructor: Sarah Tanzer

October 28, 2015

The Galatians letter is recognized as an authentic letter of Paul. In the Galatians letter it contains some of the ideas mostly central to Paul’s theology, namely salvation through faith in Christ and the Gentile Christian’s freedom from the Mosaic law. Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia gives us a good understanding of what is going on in the Galatian community. Paul’s letter to the churches was an angry and passionate letter regarding Jewish Christian interpretations of the Gospel. Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians because he had received word that his teachings in Galatia were being confused by Jewish Christian missionaries who had arrived preaching a different Gospel and trying to persuade the Gentile Galatians to be circumcised. Additionally, these missionaries were arguing that Paul had failed to properly instruct the properly regarding God’s Mosaic Law. Paul was angered by this news, and wrote this letter to prevent the Galatian Churches from accepting this new version of the Gospel. “Paul called it a perversion of the Gospel” (Galatians 1:7).

The main purpose of Paul’s letter was to discourage the Jewish missionaries from teaching the Galatians that they must obey the Jewish laws in order to enhance their faith. Paul called it a “desertion of the Gospel.” (Gal 1:6). Paul says in Galatians 1:6-7:

“6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.”

Paul’s intent was to prevent any further distortion of the gospel and make sure the people remained faithful to the gospel he was preaching.

Close Reading Selection

My close reading selection is from the book of Galatians 4, verses 12 – 16:

“12 Friends, I beg you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. 13 You know that it was because of a physical infirmity that I first announced the gospel to you; 14 though my condition put you to the test, you did not scorn or despise me, but welcomed me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 15 What has become of the goodwill you felt? For I testify that, had it been possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I now become our enemy by telling you the truth? ” (NRSV)

Here Paul appeal to the Galatians to imitate his example. In other words, since he has become like the Galatians, they should now become like him. Paul state that, “I have become as you are, he is referring to his own decision to reject the practices of Torah observance and live like a Gentile” (Keck 2000, 293). When Paul first came to the Galatians’ communities with the gospel, they received him with open arms, even though he was sick. The Galatians accepted the gospel without any doubt from Paul. The Galatians could not have accepted Paul’s illness,