Verified Document

Saint Paul's Epistle To The Galatians, Paul Research Paper

Related Topics:

¶ … Saint Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, Paul is continuing the overall castigation of the Galatian churches which is the overarching subject of the letter as a whole. Indeed, Paul's fierce tone in Galatians is the first thing that strikes the reader: Longenecker (2003) describes Galatians as "teem[ing] with impassioned fervor unequalled in any other Pauline letter" (p.64). The subject is the "backsliding" (so to speak) of the individual congregations in Galatia: Paul indicates at Galatians 4:8 that they had previously been Gentiles, and the third chapter will make repeated reference (as we shall see) to Paul's ministry among them, but it seems that more recently they were accepting missionaries from a Jewish sect that was not Christian in any sense that Paul is prepared to recognize: they have attempted to convert the Galatian congregations begins with Paul's question (presumably rhetorical) of whether the churches have been subject to some kind of witchcraft: "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?" ?(Gal. 3:1). Paul is couching this in such a rhetorically aggressive position precisely because he himself had witnessed the Spirit work miracles among the Galatian churches: "He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by...

3:5). Paul's implication here is that true Christianity insists on the latter, the "hearing of faith" which had been credited with the "miracles" of Paul's own ministry -- the insistence on Mosaic law is credited, throughout the epistle to the Galatians, to the outside agitation of the rival Jewish sect who has been preaching in the region. A memorable example of the "works of the law" referenced here in 3:5 will come later in Galatians chapter 6, in which Paul addresses the issue of circumcision: required by mosaic law, but dispensed with in Paul's Christianity.
For now, Paul is content to outline the doctrinal differences between himself and this recent set of false preachers -- if they have tried to lure the Galatians into following the behavioral practices of Leviticus with reference to the Abraham of Scripture, Paul makes it clear here that spiritual affinity with Abraham (and with the God of Abraham, and of Christ) is attained through "faith" contrasted to doing the works according to Mosaic law:

Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. (Gal. 3:7-9)

This is presumably the same faithas…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited.

The Bible. (King James Version).

Longenecker, Bruce. (2003). "Galatians." In The Cambridge Companion to Saint Paul, edited by James D.G. Dunn. New York and London: Cambridge University Press. 64-73.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Tensions Ambivalence. Yet Christian Ignore Paul's Theology
Words: 2724 Length: 9 Document Type: Essay

tensions ambivalence. Yet Christian ignore Paul's theology pressed letters. Discuss The rationale essay critically explore, evaluate discuss questions: Who St. Paul-What Paul write letters churches individuals ministry? What cultural, social, political religious contexts readings received Paul's writings? How contemporary church reads interprets Paul's writings 21st century evangelism, mission, ministry, Christian character formation ethical teachings. Theology of Paul Saint Paul (originally named Saul of Tarsus) was one of the most influential individuals

Exegesis to Understand 2 Corinthians As a
Words: 2363 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

Exegesis To understand 2 Corinthians as a letter, one must first understand the context in which it was written. This was Paul's second letter to the Christian church at Corinth. His first letter had been less than kind, admonishing the Corinthian church for what Paul saw as many deficiencies in their manner of living and worship. As might be expected, the original letter was not exactly welcome by the Corinthians, and

John 5:13-21 Passage -- John
Words: 3508 Length: 10 Document Type: Research Paper

Gnostics believed that they belonged to the "true church" of an elect few who were worthy; the orthodox Christians would not be saved because they were blind to the truth. Part E -- Content - if we then combine the historical outline of the "reason" for John's writings with the overall message, we can conclude that there are at least five major paradigms present that are important in a contextual

Gospel of Mark Centers on the Controversies
Words: 1999 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Gospel of Mark centers on the controversies of the Little Apocalypse and the narrative of Jerusalem Barabbas. At heart, it is the soulful Christian struggle between the good symbolized at the heart of Old Testament philosophy and made personally physical in the Christ. As in all Christian texts, the conception of evil is posited against the Good News of Jesus. Steeped in Palestinian and Roman tradition in a way

Acts of Christianity the Origin Purpose and Destiny of a Christian...
Words: 3362 Length: 9 Document Type: Research Paper

Christianity: The Origin, Purpose, and Destiny of a Christian Just as the gospels present the account of the life and ministry of Jesus, the book of Acts presents the creation and growth of Christianity. Whereas in the gospels the apostles were consistently clueless about the points Jesus was attempting to make, the ascension of Jesus and the entry of the Holy Spirit transforms these cowardly men into heroes of the

Global Changes in the Missiology
Words: 9755 Length: 35 Document Type: Term Paper

" It caused missionaries to deal with peoples of other cultures and even Christian traditions -- including the Orthodox -- as inferior. God's mission was understood to have depended upon human efforts, and this is why we came to hold unrealistic universalistic assumptions. Christians became so optimistic that they believed to be able to correct all the ills of the world." (Vassiliadis, 2010) Missiology has been undergoing changes in recent years

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now