New Testament · Epistle · Book 48 of 66

Book of Galatians

A passionate letter defending the gospel of grace: justified by faith, free in Christ, and led by the Spirit.

6 Chapters

Galatians 1–6

Author

Paul

Written

c. A.D. 48 – 55 (debated)

Written To

The churches of Galatia

Overview

Book of Galatians Summary

Galatians is Paul’s urgent defense of the gospel. After he left the churches of Galatia, teachers arrived insisting that Gentile believers must also be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be right with God (5:2–6; 6:12–13). Paul is astonished that they are so quickly turning to a different gospel (1:6).

In the first two chapters he shows that his gospel came directly from Christ and was recognized by the apostles in Jerusalem. In chapters 3 and 4 he argues that people are justified by faith in Christ, not by works of the law, just as Abraham was, and that believers are sons and heirs of God.

The last two chapters apply this to daily life. Christ has set believers free, and that freedom is not a license for the flesh but a call to serve one another in love and to walk by the Spirit, who produces his fruit in them. The letter has often been called the charter of Christian freedom.

About the Name

Title

The letter is named for its recipients. The early Greek title is Pros Galatas, “To the Galatians.” Paul addresses “the churches in Galatia” (1:2), so it is a circular letter meant for several congregations, not one city.

Galatia was a Roman province in central Asia Minor, in what is now Turkey. Scholars disagree about whether Paul means the southern part of the province, where he planted churches at Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe (Acts 13–14), or the northern region.

Who Wrote It

Author Details

The letter opens with Paul, an apostle sent by Jesus Christ and God the Father (1:1), and “all the brothers” with him join in the greeting (1:2). Near the end Paul says he is writing in large letters with his own hand (6:11).

Paul’s authorship is accepted by virtually all scholars. The letter contains a long autobiographical section (1:11–2:14) about his conversion, his visits to Jerusalem, and his confrontation with Peter at Antioch.

When It Was Written

Date of Writing

The date depends on where the Galatian churches were. If they were in the southern part of the province, Paul could have written from Syrian Antioch about A.D. 48–49, before the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), which would make Galatians one of his earliest letters.

If the churches were in the northern region, the letter was probably written later, from Ephesus or Macedonia, about A.D. 52–55. Both views have capable defenders, so the date is given here as a range.