The situation in Antioch surely was tense: Paul and Peter, two leaders in the church, were in open conflict. And Paul holds nothing back as he calls Peter to account for his behavior. What reasons does Paul give for publicly confronting Peter? Gal. 2:11-14. As Paul saw it, the problem was not that Peter had decided to … Continue reading –>
Some time after Paul’s consultation in Jerusalem, Peter made a visit to Antioch in Syria, the location of the first Gentile church and the base of Paul’s missionary activities described in Acts. While there, Peter ate freely with the Gentile Christians, but when a group of Jewish Christians arrived from James, Peter — fearful of … Continue reading –>
Read Galatians 2:1-10. Paul says that the false brothers “slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery” (Gal. 2:4, ESV). What are Christians free from? Read John 8:31-36; Rom. 6:6-7; Rom. 8:2-3; Gal. 3:23-25; Gal. 4:7-8; Heb. 2:14-15. How do we experience for ourselves the reality of this freedom? Freedom, as a … Continue reading –>
Why was circumcision such a focal point in the dispute between Paul and certain Jewish Christians? See Gen. 17:1-22; Gal. 2:3-5; Gal. 5:2, Gal. 5:6; Acts 15:1, Acts 15:5. Why is it not that hard to understand how some could have believed that even the Gentiles needed to undergo it? Circumcision was the sign of the covenant relationship that God established with Abraham, … Continue reading –>
Read 1 Corinthians 1:10-13. What does this passage tell us about how important Paul believed unity in the church was? Having refuted the allegations that his gospel was not God-given, Paul directs his attention in Galatians 2:1-2 to another charge being made against him. The false teachers in Galatia claimed that Paul’s gospel was not in harmony with … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Gal. 2:1-14, 1 Cor. 1:10-13, Gen. 17:1-21, John 8:31-36, Col. 3:11. Memory Text: “Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind”(Philippians 2:2, ESV). Protestant reformer John Calvin believed that disunity and division were the devil’s chief device against the church, and he warned … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: “In almost every church there were some members who were Jews by birth. To these converts the Jewish teachers found ready access, and through them gained a foot-hold in the churches. It was impossible, by scriptural arguments, to overthrow the doctrines taught by Paul; hence they resorted to the most unscrupulous measures to … Continue reading –>
The troublemakers in Galatia were claiming that Paul’s gospel was really driven by his desire to obtain the approval of others. What might Paul have done differently in his letter if he were merely seeking human approval? Consider Gal. 1:6-9, Gal. 1:11-24. Why did Paul not require Gentile converts to be circumcised? Paul’s opponents claimed it was because … Continue reading –>
What normally follows the opening greeting in Paul’s letters? How is Galatians different? Compare Gal. 1:6 with Rom. 1:8, 1 Cor. 1:4, Phil. 1:3, and 1 Thess. 1:2. Although Paul addresses all kinds of local challenges and problems in his letters to the churches, he still made it a practice to follow his opening greeting with a word of prayer or thanksgiving … Continue reading –>
In addition to defending his apostleship, what else does Paul emphasize in his opening greeting to the Galatians? Compare Gal. 1:3-5 with Eph. 1:2, Phil. 1:2, and Col. 1:2. One of the unique features of Paul’s letters is the way he links the words grace and peace in the greetings. The combination of these two words is a modification of the most characteristic greetings in … Continue reading –>
