How Then Shall We live

Background

Speaker, Audience, and Date

Paul speaking to the people in Galatia. It is unknown whether he was talking to the ethnic Galatians from the North (people from Paul’s second missionary journey) or those in Southern Galatia which would be labeled as Galatians because Rome designated this area a formal province (people from Paul’s first missionary journey). The significance of this is determining where this letter fits in with Paul’s timeline. Because of this the letter is most likely written in the 40s but as late as 55 AD.

Date: Because of the timeline issue above, this letter was written in the late 40s to as late as 55 AD.

Why

THis

Because of the timeline issue above, this letter was written in the late 40s to as late as 55 AD.

What

Outline

A general outline is something like this:

A general outline is something like this:

Paul's Defense of His Apostleship (1:1-2:21)

Paul's Defense of His Apostleship ( )

Paul’s Rejection of a False Gospel ()

The Divine Origin of Paul’s Gospel ()

Paul’s Life Before and After His Encounter with Christ ()

The Intrusion of the False Believers ()

Peter’s Hypocrisy and Reaction ()

Paul’s Gospel ()

Paul's Defense of His Gospel ()

Application ()

Fruit of the Spirit

Setting

The Judaizers are convincing the Christians in the area of Galatia that without the law you can not live a moral life apart from the flesh. To the Jews, the Law was the moral guide to be holy. Paul's argument is that all of that has change. Since Jesus was the fulfilment of the Law and that the flesh has been put to death with Jesus on the cross then the moral guide is now the Spirit of God. Paul contends that the Spirit is the replacement for the Law in the life of the Christian.

The Judaizers are convincing the Christians in the area of Galatia that without the law you can not live a moral life apart from the flesh. To the Jews, the Law was the moral guide to be holy. Paul's argument is that all of that has change. Since Jesus was the fulfilment of the Law and that the flesh has been put to death with Jesus on the cross then the moral guide is now the Spirit of God. Paul contends that the Spirit is the replacement for the Law in the life of the Christian.

Vices

The vices are not just external things (sexual immorality, debauchery, etc.) but are vices that come from self-centeredness. They revolve things that come from within us and for us. What is it that separates us from God? Is it not these things? They are the ways that we once lived and can still want this because it is a way of living that we all shared in some form or fashion. This now paints a better picture about what it means to live in the flesh. To live in the flesh fundamentally means we live apart from God. These list of vices are just that, ways that separate us from God.

If you look closely at the vices, about half are focused on interpersonal relationships. If you take a step back and read the whole chapter, Paul shows us how there were a lot of problems within the Galatians. They were in constant upheaval. They were fighting with each other about everything. The chapter includes things like: devouring one another, do not be conceited.

Virtues

The virtues are on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. They center on the selflessness of how they come to be. Loving others, caring for others. It is only through Christ that we can have our world view changed. These things become important now, or more emphasized in our lives. The virtues are also focused on interpersonal relationships. Trying to learn how to live WITH and AMONG each other for the betterment of the Kingdom.