Footsteps #44

Galatians 3 contains one of my favourite passage of scripture in the entire Bible! But first let me put it in its context. In a three-point rhetorical question ” (vs1-5) Paul chides the “foolish” Galatians for being drawn away by the false teachers. The word foolish is actually stronger in the Greek and literally means “mindless.” His linking the word with “bewitched” suggests that the ultimate source behind their condition is the devil! He then asks questions about how they began in their new faith. He is therefore aghast that they would now want to pollute the message of faith alone in Christ by relying on their own behaviour. Our danger also is thinking that we are doing OK spiritually, that we are ‘solid’ in our faith and that we are therefore good enough to be saved. You never will be! The source of your salvation will never be based on your performance or any amount of spiritual gymnastics.

In the first 2 chapters Paul has defended his doctrine of justification by faith by appealing to the agreement reached with the Jerusalem brethren. He began chapter 3 by appealing to the Galatians personal experience. He now appeals to the evidence of scripture. The only Bible available when Paul wrote this was the OT. The earliest Gospel (Mark) was still 15 years away and was written just before Paul’s death in A.D.65. We are currently reflecting on the earliest NT document!

Galatians 3:6–4:31 is made up of progressive arguments rooted in Scripture. The OT scriptures play a significant role in Paul’s teachings. He does not view them as dead texts but as the authoritative and living Word of God. In 2Timothy.3:16 he writes, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” The word translated “inspiration” means “God breathed.” Paul always uses the scriptures to demonstrate that Jesus is the promised Messiah, to give instruction in Christian living, and to prove the validity of his teachings (Gal. 3:8, 9). It is difficult to determine exactly how many hundreds of times Paul quotes the Old Testament, but quotes are found throughout all his letters, except his shortest ones, Titus and Philemon.