What makes Galatians special?

Paul's letter to the Galations is very personal, providing help to understand Paul's character and his strong beliefs. The letter also gives some clues that shed light on Paul's early life. Most of all, Galations provides an inside view of a major controversy faced by the early Christian church. This controversy and Paul's response to it had a great effect on the way God's message about Jesus Christ was preached. Paul taught that God's message is that people become God's children by faith in Jesus Christ (3:26), not by following the Law of Moses. Further, Christ sets God's children free from the Law (5:1), and the Holy Spirit guides them (5:16) and helps them to be loving, kind, and good (5:22,23).

Why was Galatians written?

Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians because he wanted them to know that he was a true apostle of Jesus Christ, and that the message he had given them about Jesus was the only true one (1:6-9). On an earlier visit Paul had brought the Galatians God's message, the good news about Christ (1:7,8). In this letter he expresses his anger because he has learned that some people were telling the Galatian churches that they must obey the Law of Moses in order to be God's children. These false teachers claimed that they were following the rules which were being observed by the leaders of the Christian church in Jerusalem, including Jesus' own brother, James (1:19). But Paul tells the Galatians that the Jerusalem apostles accept him as an apostle, and that they agree with him that Gentiles (non-Jews) can be part of the new people of God without having to follow the Law of Moses and the traditions of the Jewish people.

What's the story behind the scene?

Galatia was an area in northern central Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Many of the people who lived there were descended from a group of people called Gauls or Celts who settled in the region well before 200 B.C. At the time of Paul, the Romans ruled this region, which the Roman Emperor Augustus named Galatia in 25 B.C. It is not clear exactly where or when Paul wrote GALATIANS.

How is Galatians constructed?

GALATIANS is a letter, or "epistle," that begins with a brief greeting (1:1-4) and ends with a short blessing (6:18). Primarily, Paul uses the letter to present his case against the false teachers that are causing trouble for the Galatian believers and to defend himself and his message about Christ. Notice these things in the following outline:

Paul defends his apostleship and his message (1,2)

Some in the Galatian churches were denying that God had chosen Paul to be a messenger of the good news about Jesus Christ. In these chapters, Paul defends himself, saying that his message has come directly from Jesus Christ (1:12), and that God has chosen him to announce the message about Jesus to the Gentiles (1:15,16).

Faith in Christ is the way to become God's children (3,4)

Paul knows the Law of Moses, and he uses this understanding to argue that following the Law of Moses doesn't bring a person closer to God. What makes you a child of God is having faith in Jesus Christ. All who have this faith are children of Abraham, who was the father of the Jewish people and the first one to receive God's promises.

Christ gives freedom, and the Spirit guides (5:1-6:10)

Paul reminds the Galatians that Christ sets them free from the Law of Moses. Those who have faith in Christ are guided by the Holy Spirit who helps them live as children of God (5:22-26) and not to be controlled by evil desires (5:19-21).

Final Warnings (6:11-18)

Paul concludes with some more strong words about the people who are trying to insist that the male Gentile Christians in Galatia be circumcised. He reminds the Galatians once more that the most important thing for a Christian is to die to sin and to be made a new person by faith in Christ.