Discuss the issues regarding the location of the churches to which Paul
wrote Galatians. Give your view of whether the region referred to as
“Galatia” represents a Northern or Southern Galatia. Defend your
view. Why is the location of the church important?
The
destination is obvious right all we have to do is look at who it was written
to. At least that is how most people process things. However, when it comes to
the letter to the Galatians, “the term Galatia
could be used in the first century in either an ethnic sense or a provincial
sense.”[1]
The confusion comes because around the time of the church fathers all that was
left was the northern portion of the territory. According to Carson and Moo, “Toward
the end of the third century, the southern area was detached, and the province
was reduced to the northern sector. Tradionally, “Galatia” has thus been
understood as the northern area.”[2]
In my point of view Paul was
writing to the church in the south. Kostenberger proclaims that, “Galatia’ was
the only word that would have encompassed Antioch, Lystra, Iconium, and Derbe.
Antioch was in the region of Pisidia; Lystra and Iconium were in Lycaonia.
Moreover, Paul normally used Roman imperal names for provinces.”[3] Carson
and Moo suggest that, “because of an illness’ (Gal 4:13), it is unlikely that
Paul preached in this difficult mountainous country. A convalescent would look
for a place much easier of access.”[4]
And Lea makes several very valid points when he says that is likely Paul was
writing to places that he had visited and makes reference to Barnabas being
with him and Barnabas only visited the churches in southern Galatia with Paul.[5]
The location of the church is important because if it is in the north it becomes
much harder to synthesize materials from the epistles and Luke’s account in
Acts.
Discuss the occasion and purpose for the
writing of Galatians. Who were the opponents of Paul in Galatia?
What was the nature of the opponents’ doctrine, and how did Paul respond to it?
Paul was
writing to the Galatian church because after he and Barnabas had left the scene
a group of Jewish Christians began trying to force Gentile Christians to follow
the Law.[6]
Kostenberger points to the fact that,
Paul wrote Galatians to defend the gospel of justification by
faith alone against the false gospel of the Judaizers. In the process he had to
defend his apostolic authority against the Judaizers attack. Finally, since
some readers might interpret Paul’s defense of the gospel of grace as
justification for immoral or unethical behavior, Paul wrote to defend the
consistency of the Spirit-led life with the law’s righteous demands.[7]
While the Judaizers
attempted to push a legalistic mind set, Paul wrote this letter, without observing
all the niceties of correct letter writing, but an impassioned appeal to the
Galatians for them to return to the faith they first accepted when Paul and
Barnabas preached the Gospel to them.[8]
[1] Andreas J.Kostenberger, and L. Scott Kellum and Charles L. Quarles. The Craddle,
The Cross, and the Crown. (Nashville: B&H Publishing , 2009)412.
[2] D.A.Carson,
and and Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament 2nd edition.
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992)458.
[3]
Kostenberger, Craddle., 414.
[4]
Carson., Introduction.459.
[5] Thomas D. Lea, and David Alan Black. The New Testament: Its Background and
Message. (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2003)367-68.
[6] D.A.Carson,
and and Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament 2nd edition.
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992)465.
[7] Andreas J.Kostenberger, and L. Scott Kellum and Charles L. Quarles. The Craddle,
The Cross, and the Crown. (Nashville: B&H Publishing , 2009)420.
[8]
Carson, Introduction., 468.
