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N e w T e s t a m e n t G u i d e
GALATIANS
By ANTONIO FUENTES
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This Rock
Volume 4, Number 6
 June 1993 
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AT the beginning of this third
apostolic journey, around the year 53 (Acts 18:23), Paul passed through
Galatia to visit the Christian communities he had established in the
area (Acts 13:14ff), which he had also visited during his second journey
(Acts 16:15). The communities in question were in the southern part
of Galatia - Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Derbe, and Lystra.
On this last journey Paul was very surprised to find
that the Galatian Christians - most of whom came from a Gentile
background - had been led astray by "false brethren,"
Judaizers, who made out that Christians should conform to the Mosaic
law and should be circumcised. Perhaps because he was short of time,
the apostle was unable to go into the matter in detail; at any rate,
when he reached Ephesus (53-54) he wrote the Galatians a letter, refuting
the errors involved, in which he goes into the whole question of the
relationship between the gospel and the Mosaic Law, between the Old
Covenant and the New.
He tries to get them to see that the key point is this:
Accepting Mosaic doctrine would mean in practice renouncing the justification
won for us by Christ - and therefore denying the value of the redemption;
it would imply renouncing freedom, because they would be submitting
to the yoke of the Law, which is slavery; it would mean rejecting
the grace and salvation which faith in Jesus Christ brings with it.
The universality of the Church would be destroyed and Christ's doctrine
irreparably damaged.
The Judaizers, for their part, were arguing that God
himself had instituted the Law of Moses, which Christ had come not
"to abolish but to fulfill" (Matt. 5:17). They even went
so far as to invoke the authority of the Twelve against Paul, ignoring
(because they did not want to obey them) the decisions of the Council
of Jerusalem, which had gone into this whole question and with whose
teaching Paul was in line (Acts 15:28-29).
With characteristic energy and zeal, Paul defends his
apostolic authority and denounces the error of the Judaizers, into
which many of the Galatians had fallen. He ends by telling them in
no uncertain terms, "If you receive circumcision, Christ will
be of no advantage to you" (5:2).
The content of the letter - which is reminiscent
Of Romans - ranges much more widely than this.
For example, it makes the following points:
1. While recognizing Peter's preeminent position as
visible head of the Church, the letter stresses that the Church is
one and universal, a community entered into through baptism, one in
teaching and government, under the infallible and absolute authority
of the apostles (1:9, 2:9).
2. Transition from a state of sin or alienation from
God to a state of grace happens only through faith in Christ, who
by dying redeemed us from all sin - original sin and personal sin.
Faith makes us truly children of God, who share in God's own life,
and heirs of heaven, in keeping with God's promises.
3. This faith in Jesus Christ is the only faith by which
we can be saved; through it we attain the grace of forgiveness and
the true freedom proper to the children of God. Therefore, as the
apostle says, anyone who submits to the observances of the Mosaic
Law falls back into the slavery of the Law and denies the redemption
wrought by Christ.
4. Christians, whether of Jewish or Gentile background,
are the true children of Abraham, according to the spirit, because
through faith in Christ they have been justified and incorporated
through baptism into his Church, the new people of God.
5. Jesus Christ, true God and true man, died on the
cross as the representative of all mankind, to make satisfaction for
all sin - not only sins against the Mosaic Law but also those against
the natural law.
6. Following in Christ's footsteps, Christians also
must die to the old Law if they want to live for God (2:19). This
is the death of the old man brought about through baptism, which enables
us to live a new life, the life of grace, so we can "walk by
the Spirit" (5:24) and not under the Law (5:18).
7. Only in this way will Christians attain the true
freedom of the sons of God, which requires that we mortify our vices
and the concupiscence of the flesh to become "a new creation"
(6:15) and reproduce in ourselves the life of Christ, of whom we are
both a member and a temple.
8. This new life, the life of grace, makes Christians
yield the fruit of the Spirit (5:22-23). The Law no longer has any
power; what matters is faith in Jesus Christ, which works through
love (5:6).
Antonio Fuentes is a professor at the University of
Navarre.
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