Teaching Notes Background of Letter to GALATIANS

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Teaching Notes Background of Letter to GALATIANS

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Paul's Letter to the Galatians

Illuminated Manuscript

Approx. 1250AD Vellum

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BACKGROUND OF GALATIANS

Background of Letter to Galatians

By Grace, Not by Law 

Finality of the Gospel 

Maybe 57AD

Galalia: In Central Asia Minor, see map. Region of Paul's 

First Missionary Journey. Its borders at times varied. It included 

Derbe, the cities of Iconium, Lystra, and probably 

Pisidian Antioch. Read Acts 13 and 14.                                

Galatians were a branch of Gauls, originally from north of 

the Black Sea, split off from the main migration westward to 

France, and settled in Asia Minor, 3rd century BCE.

Occasion of This Letter

Paul’s work in Galatia had been extremely successful.  Great 

multitudes, mostly Gentiles, had enthusiastically accepted Christ. 

Sometime after Paul had left Galatia, certain Jewish teachers 

came along insisting that Gentiles could not be Christians without 

keeping the Law of Moses.  The Galatians gave heed to their 

teaching with the same whole—heartedness with-which they had 

at first received Paul’s message; and there was a general epidemic 

of Circumcision among these Gentile Christians. Circumcision is 

the name of the Initiatory Rite into Judaism. Paul heard of the 

movement. 

And then it was that Paul wrote this Letter to explain to them 

that Circumcision, while it had been a necessary part of Jewish. 

National Life, was not a part of the Gospel of Christ and had. 

nothing whatever to do with Salvation. 

Date of the Letter to Galatians

Paul had founded these Galatian Churches about 45-48 AD. 

He had. re-Visited them, as he was setting out on his Second 

Journey about 50 A D, Acts 16:1—6; and again, as he was starting 

on his Third Journey, about 54 AD, Acts 18:23. 

https://www.ccel.org/bible/phillips/CPn09Galatians.htm

The commonly accepted traditional date of the writing of this 

Letter is about 57 AD, at the close of Paul’s Third Missionary 

Journey, while he-was in Ephesus, or Macedonia",  Corinth, 

shortly before he wrote the Letter to the Romans.

Some think it more probably was written about 49 AD, from 

Antioch, soon after Paul’s first return from Galatia, before the 

Jerusalem Council of. 50 AD, whose Letter stating that Circumcis- 

ion was Not Necessary was carried without delay to the Galatian 

Churches, Acts 15:1-16-4; for, if written after that, it seems like 

Paul would have referred to the Jerusalem Letter. But “first”, 

4:13, favors the later date.

The Judaizers 

Judaizers were a sect of Jewish Christians who, not, willing to 

accept the teaching of the Apostles on the question, Acts 15, 

continued to insist that Christians must come to God through 

Judaism, that a Gentile, in order to be a Christian, must become 

a Jewish Proselyte, and keep the Jewish Law.

They made it their business to visit and unsettle and trouble 

Gentile Churches. They were simply determined to stamp Christ 

with the Jewish Trademark.

Against this Paul stood like adamant. “Had the observance of. 

the Law been imposed on Gentile converts Paul’s whole lifework 

Would have been wrecked.”

“The expansion of Christianity from a Jewish sect into a World 

Religion was Paul’s consuming passion, in pursuit of which he 

broke every hindering tie, and strained every faculty of mind-and 

body for upwards of thirty years.” 

The effort to Judaize the Gentile Churches was brought to an 

end by the Fall of Jerusalem, 70 AD, which “Severed all rela- 

tion between Judaism and Christianity. Up to this time Christian- 

ity was regarded as a Sect or Branch of Judaism. But from 

then on Jews and Christians were apart. A small sect of Jewish 

Christians, the Ebionites, remained, in decreasing numbers, for 

two centuries, hardly recognized by the general Church, and re- 

garded as Apostates by their own race.” 

Circumcision was the name of the initiatory physical rite of 

Judaism, if a male, not born a Jew, wished to become a Jewish 

Proselyte, he could do so by being Circumcised, and observing 

the ceremonial law of the Jews; in some respects, as a foreigner 

may become a citizen of our country. 

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Papyri 46  (also at Chester Beatty) 

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New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

This content adapted from Halley, Henry H., Bible Handbook, Grayson Publishing, Minneapolis, MN.  © 1927 - 1959, 1964.

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Hugh C. Wood, Atlanta, Georgia

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