When we look at what we now refer to as the book of Galatians, written by Paul, we can look at a multitude of factors as to why Paul wrote this letter. Who was Paul writing to? What was the occasion for Paul writing it and when did this take place? What was his purpose? How did he ultimately compose his letter? Through all of this, I believe Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians in response to Judaizers coming to Galatian churches, who Paul had previously established, and preaching a circumcision-centered gospel. It seems that Paul was writing an intimate letter with “deep affection and angry tension,” based on their previous relationship and that he was trying to express his disappointment with these churches; however, he wanted to …show more content…
Unfortunately, there’s debate as to who this even refers to. When Paul refers to the churches of Galatia, is he referring to the churches that it seems he already established in Southern Galatia (the province of Galatia), or is he referring to Northern Galatia (the territory of Galatia in central Asia Minor). H. D. Betz stresses that the receivers of this letter were in a Hellenized area and thus were educated and at least not poor. Father Paul Tarazi brings up the literary connection in Acts 15:32-33 when the verbs translated as “exhorted and strengthened” reappear after first being used in Acts 14:22 in reference to South Galatian cities. It seems that at this Jerusalem Council which is mentioned in Acts 15 and then is referred to in the second chapter of Galatians, could help us to identify the recipients of this letter as Southern Galatians. This seems reasonable as it seems that Paul is writing to churches he established already and brought the good news to. Paul writes to them and says that if anyone, including himself, preaches anything to them other than what they had previously received, “let them be accursed,” and then immediately refers to “the gospel that was preached by me.” And again at Galatians 4:14, “I preached the gospel to you at the first.” Through his fluidity, it seems likely that he is writing to this community that he already established and is writing a rebuke. There is clearly an intimate relationship of some sort as he emphasizes his name in saying “I, Paul,” stressing it is he, the one who was with them, who brought the gospel of the crucified Christ, that is speaking to them. He also tells them that those who are taught should share “in all good things with him who teaches.” There is the intimate relationship between them. A “what’s mine is yours” kind of bond. Finally, these Galatian churches are Gentiles. This is important because Paul is preaching an uncircumcised gospel to a
When one reads the New Testament, a contradiction appears in reading Paul and James’ teachings concerning ‘faith’ and ‘works’. There is also question about the word ‘justified’ as to its meaning. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, Paul writes this “16 yet we know that a person is justified[a] not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.[b] And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ,[c] and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law,” in 2:16. (NRSV) And in Galatians 3:6-7 says this, “6 Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” 7 so, you see, those who believe are the descendants of Abraham.” (NRSV) Paul also stated in Romans a similar idea, “28 For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law,” in 3:28. In chapter 4 of Romans, Paul uses Abraham as an example from
Paul reasserts the authenticity and authority of his apostleship in this section. He does so by describing the unique manner by which he was called to into the Lord’s service (cf. Acts 9:1- 18). Years subsequent to the apostle’s special call (i.e., 3 and 14 years, respectively), he met some of the other apostles (i.e., Peter, James). It was crucial that Paul reassert and defend his divine appointment so that his message to the deceived Galatian believers would be regarded as legitimately apostolic and thus authorative. ...
Aquinas, St. Thomas. COMMENTARY on SAINT PAUL'S EPISTLE to the GALATIANS. Trans. F. R. Larcher. Albany: Magi Books, 1996.
In this passage, Paul first addresses the fact that he did not want to return to the church at Corinth and bring pain upon them again. Paul had a previously painful situation with this church. We are not told the specifics of the current situation which caused Paul to write to Corinth, but we know that Paul was very sensitive in dealing with the matter. He did not desire to harm them or bring sorrow upon them.
Unlike the other churches like Galatians, when Paul writes to Romans, he is writing to a group of Christian converts that he has never actually met before. Despite not knowing his audience personally, his message to the Romans is similar to that of the Galatians- a bad destiny comes to those who do not remain faithful and follow evil and God determines the fate of those who have faith. Near the beginning of Paul’s incredibly long letter to the Romans, he warns them outright of their destinies if they reject all that is true and commit sins, proclaiming, “But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for
After his conversion to Christianity, Paul traveled throughout the Roman Empire and preached the Gospel, similar to Jesus’ own ministry across Galilee. Paul’s teachings were more focused on the community and the relationships of its members with each other and with non-Christians, whereas Jesus’ teachings were geared towards the individual and his/her personal relationship to God. Despite this discrepancy in their doctrines, Paul’s teachings remain consistent with those of Jesus. In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul’s teachings, such as unity in the community and love for others, echo the teachings of Jesus as depicted in the Gospel of Mark and Matthew. Paul essentially reiterates the teachings of Jesus, and applies them to the lives of the people he preaches to, so that they may understand Jesus’ teachings and embrace Christianity.
People have been struggling with the writings of the Apostle Paul from the time he first walked on this earth and began proclaiming the gospel all over the eastern part of the world. However, over the past 50 years the debate has intensified as leading scholars have come to different interpretations of Paul’s literature. This has led to a reexamination of Paul’s writings and the articulation of a strong defense of one’s beliefs about the historical Paul. This paper is being written in order to articulate some of the newer positions pertaining to Pauline Research and to provide some possible implications from their outcomes. The new perspectives on Paul can be rather confusing for the general layperson, so it is the goal of this paper to clarify and explain these new positions in contrast to the prevalent and classically held orthodox view that contains many doctrines that the church has stood upon for years.
A young man, misunderstood, confused, and unhappy with his life is not too uncommon. Most individuals in this situation would evolve or conform to his or her surroundings. In Willa Cather’s, “Paul’s Case,� this is far from the truth. Paul despises living his life on Cordelia Street in Pittsburgh, PA so much that he lies and steals to get away. Sherry Crabtree, a critic of this story, emphasizes the use of symbolism in this story; she notes that flowers are used to show how Paul is isolated for his existing world. Consequently, the main idea of “Paul’s Case� is the struggle of a young man’s isolation; Paul’s actions show how he is disgusted with the way his life is going and will do anything to alter his lifestyle. Cather does an exceptional job using symbols to represent the way Paul is isolated.
There is a lot of debate amongst scholars about who the author was of this epistle. Some scholars say that it was written by a “Paulinist” which is a follower of Paul who is to be one or two generations from the apostle Paul. Other scholars say that there are many stylistic differences such as; conjunctions, prepositions and pronouns. Many scholars made this argument to be a four pronged pastoral authenticity debate with; historical, stylistic, ecclesiastical, and theological questions about the epistle. Some scholars agreed on the fact that the historical arguments did not match up with the book of Acts but they do not understand how Acts can be used as historical reliability unless this letter was written after Acts which isn’t the case. The vocabulary of this epistle was questioned due to the fact that there were a high number of words used in the New Testament but these words were not used by Paul, they were used by other writers throughout the bible. Therefore scholars assumed that Paul did not write this epistle due to the amount of words used in the letter. This debate did not hold up to other scholars accusations because word counting cannot support the meaning of who wrote the epistle or not. The ecclesiastical issue was that the apostle Paul was writing about something within the church that was apparently after his lifetime although he was continuously in the church speaking in person about some things he put it into writing. This allegation did not have enough evidence for this argument to stand amongst scholars. Some scholars also argued that the theology was Gnosticism of the second century, meaning it was a secondary follower and that it was unlike the apostle Paul to write somet...
Harris calls Paul “the most influential apostle and missionary of the mid-first-century CE church and author of seven to nine New Testament letters” (H G-33). It would be quite an accolade to receive such recognition, but what makes it even more remarkable is that Paul, or Saul, (Saul was his Judean name and Paul was his Roman name (footnotes B 1943)) originally persecuted the ekklesia or “church”. Paul went from persecuting the ekklesia or “church” to being its “most influential apostle and missionary”. Why and how did Paul make such a drastic change? The answer to the question can be found in various books of the New Testament including some of the letters that Paul wrote. This answer also aids in the explanation of how and why Paul argue with the Ioudaioi.
Much like a father desires to see his newborn child grow and live a healthy life, the Apostle Paul desires to see his audience of newborn believers grow and live a spiritually healthy life. In Ephesians 1:15-23, the Apostle prays his audience would grow in godly wisdom, and in revelation in the knowledge of Christ; he also desires for his audience to be used by God and to know their value in Him, which was brought about through the death and resurrection of Christ. In essence, Paul’s prayer consists of three parts: thanksgiving, petitions, and praise.
Thesis Statement: Paul gives to the Ephesian church, an example to follow, a warning to heed, and a challenge to practice; in order that they might be equipped by the power of the Holy Spirit and through their faith in Jesus Christ to withstand trials, hardships, and schemes planted by the evil one that will certainly occur because of their faith.
The letter the Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians has some very good lessons within. Paul explains from the beginning that believers are “adopted us as sons” (EPH 1:5), redeemed through His blood, (EPH 1:7) and given the gift of grace. (EPH 4:7) Why did Paul write a letter to Ephesus? The city of Ephesus was a large, multi-ethnic sea-port for trade, commerce, and culture. It was an important city in the Roman Empire.
g. The leading position was seemingly held by James, the brother of our Lord, in the early years of the Church. Consider the Council at Jerusalem which is recorded in the fifteenth chapter of Acts, especially verses 13 to 29. h. Regardless of who was the leader, the Council’s decision was not one leader’s authoritative action. The decision and its implementation were the Council’s collegial action.
The background to this chapter is that Paul is collecting an offering for the Christians in Jerusalem because many were living in extreme poverty, so he wanted to provide them with relief for that suffering. It is also quite possible that Paul saw the collection as an opportunity to bring a greater sense of unity within the church across Jewish and Gentile territories. Remember the Jews and gentiles were worlds apart. Their division went back hundreds of year. Acting from a heart of generosity and Christian concern by the gentiles giving to the Jews who were suffering would demonstrate the power of God’s love.