From Paul, an apostle who is
not sent from human authority or commissioned through human agency, but sent
through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead; and from all the brothers and sisters with me. To the
churches in Galatia.
Verses 1-2
The apostle Paul's letter to the churches in Galatia is a very significant letter, both to the Jew and Gentile. I believe there are many who misunderstand, or fail to understand at all, the purpose of this letter. Starting just in the very first chapter of his letter, we see some very strange and yet very powerful verses.
One of the more basic things to understand when approaching this letter, as with any letter of Scripture, is to understand its context. Not just the context found within the letter, but also the context outside of the letter itself. Why was Paul writing this letter in the first place? To whom was he writing it? What was the historical background of this setting, and what motivated him to write these things? Which leads to one of the most important questions I had to ask myself when studying through this letter, "To what was Paul responding?" Very rarely does one write such a letter like this on a whim, much less in the power of the Spirit. But the apostle was not writing this because he saw visions of their error, but rather because he knew of it firsthand through his own experiences with the Party of the Circumcision. Though many start with the whole historical context (such as the geographical setting, the era in which they lived, the customs of the people, etc.), I would prefer to keep this more as a general and applicable overview. Not to say the other ways of study are wrong or are not applicable, but that my purpose in writing this is to layout, in plain English, the intent of his message to these churches. For example, if you notice in my quotation of the first two verses above, I did not use the New American Standard Bible (my "go-to" version for many of my Bible references), but rather, the Common English Bible (CEB), particularly due to the fashion in which it is phrased and laid out. I will go into greater detail later on as to why I did this, but I will periodically do this throughout my study, not to edit the Text itself, but to clarify better, in the flawed language that English is, the intent of the verses, in order to point better to the meaning of them.
I would not dare consider myself an expositional scholar, but I do firmly believe that the Scripture was written so plainly to make it understandable and clear to the average reader. And for the purpose of lesser thinkers such as myself to understand it better, and apply it quicker and more accurately to my life. Far too many seem to lay out their findings in the Scriptures as a sort of theological leap, something you wouldn't come across on your own. But ultimately, one does not need a degree, nor a perfect understanding of history or culture, to understand the basic gist of these texts. I am not one who excelled in History (much less Math), and I know very little about the era in which this was written. What I have learned about it has been a culmination of what I have heard and read throughout the past few years, some of my own research, and ultimately, the study of Scripture, which often reveals many of the culture and historical mysteries in and of Itself.
The study of Scripture lasts longer than our small lifetimes allow however, but its intent is to affect our lives now.
