Disciples Digital Library

Paul presents the points of agreement and disagreement with his Judaizing opponents in Galatia – Galatians 2:15-21. What identifies the people of God and determines membership in His covenant community is Christ, especially the Messiah who has been revealed on the Cross. Jews and Gentiles are justified through Jesus and his death, and nothing else !

The Letter to the Galatians is Paul’s response to a controversy that had developed among the congregations of Galatia. At issue was the status of Gentile believers. Must they conform to Jewish practices and submit to the regulations of the Mosaic Law to become members of the covenant community, especially the rite of circumcision ?

With the new era inaugurated by Jesus, circumcision is no longer the required sign of membership in the covenant community . Circumcision is an obstacle to any claim that disciples of Jesus are required to keep the regulations of the Mosaic Law. In the Book of Genesis , circumcision was the entrance rite of the covenant with Abraham, the identifying sign of the covenant. Moreover, it is mandatory under the Law given through Moses at Mount Sinai. Therefore, if circumcision is no longer required for membership in the covenant, then the jurisdiction of the Law has changed .

The promise of the Spirit is vital to the redemption of humanity and the Covenant of God with His people, the Church of Jesus Christ . The New Testament links the “ Promise of the Spirit ” to the “ Blessings of Abraham ,” the promise that God will bless the nations through the Great Patriarch.  The Spirit is the gift believers receive “ through the hearing of faith .” It is part of the Covenant promised to Abraham, and the Apostle Peter connects this gift to “ the blessings ” for the nations, the Gentiles, in his sermon preached on the Day of Pentecost.

The jurisdiction of the Mosaic regulations over the covenant community reached its limit with the arrival of Jesus, the Seed of Abraham . In responding to claims that Gentiles must be circumcised, Paul appealed to the common experience of the Spirit received by the Galatians.  Did they receive the Gift through a “ hearing of faith ” or “ from the works of the Law ?”  Having begun in the Spirit, why did they seek the “ completion ” of their faith based on “ flesh ” by submitting to circumcision?

Anyone who is under the Law of Moses is obligated to keep all its required deeds and rituals, and therefore, risks coming under its curse .  In  Galatians , Paul responds to teachings from certain “ men from Jerusalem ” who are disrupting the churches by claiming that male Gentiles must be circumcised to “ complete ” their faith.  This group may also be promoting calendrical observances and the Levitical dietary regulations.

In  Galatians , Paul addresses a growing danger. Certain “ men from Jerusalem ” claimed that Gentiles must keep the deeds of the Mosaic Law to “ complete ” their faith, or at least, some of its statutes and rites. They were “ compelling Gentiles to Judaize ” by adopting circumcision, calendrical observances, and perhaps the Levitical dietary restrictions.

Jesus is the High Priest of the true and greater Sanctuary “made without hands” foreshadowed by the Ancient Tabernacle . Jesus is the High Priest who serves in the “ True Tent pitched by the Lord and not man ,” the Greater Tabernacle and place of worship foreshadowed by the religious structures and rituals of Israel. The Son of God has become our “ priest forever ” who ministers for us “ at the right hand of the Throne of the Majesty in the Heavens ” – (Hebrews 8:1-2).