Galatians

Paul addresses this letter to the “churches of Galatia” (Gal. 1:2), a province of central Asia Minor. We know from the book of Acts that Paul twice traveled through this region, on his second journey (Acts 16:6) and again on his third (Acts 18:23). The Galatians were principally Gentile, never under law, and brought into the knowledge of God through the preaching of the Gospel.
The Epistle to the Galatians is short and to the point. The subject is a most critical one, the corruption of the Gospel of the grace of God. There were those that would seek to mingle Judaism with Christianity. Judaism was earthly in character, adapted to man in the flesh. Christianity is heavenly in character and totally sets aside man in the flesh.
In particular, there were those that questioned the apostleship of Paul. After all, he had not received his credentials from those in Jerusalem (Judaism’s earthly center). However, in rejecting him, they rejected the Gospel received by the revelation of Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:12); its source was heavenly. Secondly, they sought to place the Galatian believers under law, observing days, months, times and years (Gal. 4:10), even insisting upon circumcision. There was reproach in being a Gentile believer but less if you were circumcised in the manner of the religious Jew (Gal. 6:12).
Outline
The brief, five-verse introduction in chapter 1 is key to the entire book. “Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father” (Gal. 1:3, 4). We have been delivered from this present evil world; any teaching that brings us back into that sphere is a corruption of the gospel.
The first two chapters address the subject of Paul’s apostleship (received quite apart from those prominent in Jerusalem) and his special calling as the Apostle to the Gentiles (Gal. 2:7). In the third chapter we have law contrasted with grace and promise. The law, coming between the promise (Gen. 12:3) and Christ, in no way voided the promise. Faith and blessing go hand-in-hand, as does the law and the curse (Gal. 3:10, 14). The fourth chapter contrasts the legal condition of Israel under the law with the saints under grace and Christ. God sent forth His Son to redeem those under law, that we might receive sonship (Gal 4:4, 5).
The contrast between the Spirit and the flesh is the subject of the fifth chapter. The liberty that we enjoy does not give us license to sin. Recognizing this, our natural tendency is to seek to restrain the flesh by placing it under law. If the law could restrain the flesh, then there is no need for grace (Gal. 5:4). Rather, we are to “walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16). Regardless of the dispensation, the solemn principle stands: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Gal. 6:7-8).
The sixth chapter presents practical principles in which we are to continue on together. In Christianity it is the law of Christ: “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). As to circumcision, they were not to trouble him; the Apostle bore in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus—physical scars received because of his faithfulness (Gal. 6:17).