5. Conclusions:
•Galatians 2:1-10 does not seem to be
describing the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15.
•Paul never mentions the Council in the book of
Galatians, which seems like a big omission.
•The visit of Galatians 2:1-10 is more likely to
be identified with Acts 11:29-30.
•This places Galatians shortly before the
Jerusalem Council in AD 49.
7. Considerations:
•Paul seems to have written prior to the
Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, but after his
missionary efforts in Galatia.
•Thus he likely wrote from Antioch, during the
time described in Acts 14:28.
9. Considerations:
•Paul wrote to multiple churches in the region
of Galatia (1:2)
•Galatia was a region in modern-day Turkey,
and included such biblical cities as Pisidian
Antioch (Acts 13:14-50), Iconium (13:51-14:7),
Lystra (14:8-19), and Derbe (14:20-21).
12. Considerations:
•Men known as “Judaizers” had infiltrated the
Galatian churches.
•They preached a different gospel (1:6-7).
•They attacked Paul’s apostleship and his gospel
message (1:10-12).
•They were teaching that all Christians must not
only believe in Jesus, but keep the Old Testament
law of Moses as well.
14. Outline:
1.Personal: Paul and his gospel (chs. 1-2)
A. Greetings and a rebuke (1:1-9)
B. Paul’s self-defense (1:10-2:21)
2.Doctrinal: What it means to be justified (chs. 3-4)
A. Paul’s defense of justification (ch. 3)
B. Paul’s illustrations explaining justification (ch. 4)
3.Practical: Living out our justification (chs. 5-6)
A. Freedom in Christ (5:1-15)
B. Life in the Spirit (5:16-25)
C. Loving one another (ch. 6)
16. Justification:
“an instantaneous legal act of God in
which he (1) thinks of our sins as
forgiven and Christ’s righteousness as
belonging to us, and (2) declares us to
be righteous in his sight”
– Wayne Grudem –
17. Circumcision:
•A physical act performed by Jews to
identify as God’s covenant people.
•Traces its origins to God’s dealings
with Abraham in Genesis 17:9-12.
•Used in Galatians to signify one’s
desire to keep the whole law (5:3).
18. Allegory:
•A text intended to convey a meaning
other than its literal one.
•Paul uses this in Galatians 4:24.
•He is not saying that the text itself is
an allegory, but that he is building an
allegory based on the text.
19. Three More:
•Gospel: A proclamation of good news,
esp. of how we can be saved
•Law: The Old Testament, especially
the first five books of the Bible
•Gentiles: Non-Jews
21. • Read slowly
• Read prayerfully
• Read multiple times if necessary
• Ask questions
• Don’t forget the steps: Observe-Interpret-Apply
• Each day, write down something you learned, or
something that confused you, or something that
encouraged you—just write down something.
• Persevere. Remember, Galatians is a tough book. If
you get through it, you can get through anything
Paul wrote!