The key issue in Galatia is whether Gentiles must be circumcised and keep some, at least, of the deeds required by the Torah.
Paul’s letter
to the Galatians is his response to a controversy in the churches of
Galatia. The issue is the status of Gentile believers. Must they conform to
Jewish practices and submit to the regulation of the Mosaic Law, especially the
rite of circumcision?
At the heart of the Apostle’s response is his
contention that “in Christ” the old distinctions between “Jew”
and “Gentile” are no longer relevant - the covenant promises have found
their fulfillment in Jesus, the “seed of Abraham.”
According to Paul, the basis that determines
membership in the covenant community is not the “deeds of the law” but
the “faith of Jesus Christ.”
PURPOSE OF THE LAW
The Mosaic law is much more than a
statement of theological principles or a set of moral codes designed to
regulate human conduct. In the summary statement made at Mount Sinai, God
declares that He chose Israel as His treasure “above all other nations.” The Law is part of the covenant between Yahweh
and the entire nation of Israel -(Exodus 19:3-6).
The pronoun “you” in the passage is in
the plural number, not the singular. At Sinai, it was not each individual
Israelite that accepted the covenant one by one, but the entire nation
proclaimed in unison - “All that Yahweh has commanded we will do.”
The Law was given to Israel, NOT to
any other nation. Her obedience to the Torah was vital to her
possession of the land of Canaan.
Effectively, the Torah is a
national contract between Yahweh and Israel, one that includes a
sacrificial system, dietary restrictions, laws of inheritance, civil
regulations, penal codes, and so on. Some of its regulations are specific
to the nation residing in Canaan, including the cities of refuge and
regulations governing inheritance.
The Law is intended to keep Israel holy and
separate from the surrounding nations. The dietary restrictions, for
example, are designed to keep Israelites distinct from pagans and to maintain their
ritual purity - (Leviticus 20:24-26).
None of this means the religion of Israel
was or is closed to Gentiles. The Law provides the means for them to join the
covenant community, and this includes circumcision (for males) and submission
to ALL the obligations of the Law.
In effect, Gentile “converts” become citizens
of Israel. And since circumcision is THE fundamental sign of the
covenant, it is not optional.
GENTILE INCLUSION
Originally, the church was composed of Jews
and Jewish proselytes. It did not view itself as a new religion but as a
messianic movement within Judaism. Jesus did not abrogate the faith of Israel,
but he fulfilled it. The first chapters of Acts record
how this new “way” spread among the Jewish people.
It was not until sometime later that the
gospel was offered to Gentiles when Peter visited the house of Cornelius. The
latter was a “centurion of the band called Italian.” Although a Gentile
in the service of Rome, he was also “devout and feared God… doing many alms
to the people and supplicating God continually.”
Cornelius was an adherent to the precepts
of the faith of Israel, He loved the Jewish people yet remained uncircumcised.
By the time Peter arrived, he was not yet a Jewish proselyte -
(Acts 10:13-28).
The opening of the gospel to the nations
necessitated divine intervention by means of visions received by Cornelius and
Peter. The latter saw a sheet descending from heaven filled with ritually
unclean animals. A voice commanded him to eat. This he refused to do. As
a devout Jew, “at no time had he eaten anything common or unclean.” The
voice responded, “What things God has
cleansed do not make common.” Following his vision, two men from Cornelius
arrived and told Peter:
- “Cornelius, a centurion, a man righteous and fearing God, well–attested by the whole nation of the Jews, has been instructed by an angel to send for you to his house and to hear words from you.”
Though uncircumcised, Cornelius was well-regarded by many Jews. God did not choose just any Gentile for this pivotal
event. He selected one known by many Jews for his devoutness and high moral
character. But despite his well-attested character,
Peter responded:
- “You well know how it is unlawful for a Jew to be joining himself or coming into one of another race.”
His statement highlights the obstacle to
welcoming Gentiles into the covenant community. Regardless of how righteous a
man may be, he remains outside the covenant and ritually unclean if he is uncircumcised.
As Peter continued:
- “Yet to me has God pointed out that I should be calling no man common or unclean...of a truth, I find that God is no respecter of persons but in every nation, he that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.”
During his sermon, the Holy Spirit fell on
the Gentiles while Peter was speaking. This amazed the Jews with him since “upon
the Gentiles also the free gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out.”
God had given the very same gift to uncircumcised Gentiles that He had bestowed on the 120 disciples gathered in prayer on the Day of Pentecost- (Acts 2:1-4; 10:29-48).
Only when the Gentiles received the Spirit
did Peter confess that people from every nation are acceptable to God if they
fear him and live righteously regardless of whether they are circumcised or not.
The “revelation” on that day was the acceptability of Gentiles AS
GENTILES into the church.
Some believers in Jerusalem faulted Peter
for his actions. He fellowshipped with “men uncircumcised and ate with
them. Peter justified his actions by pointing to
the outpouring of the Spirit on the Gentiles:
- “If the same free–gift God gave to them as even unto us when we had believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that could withstand God?” – (Acts 11:1-3).
The fact that God gave the Spirit to
Gentiles while they were still in an uncircumcised state is irrefutable proof
that He has accepted them because of their faith in Jesus.
After hearing Peter’s defense, the church
at Jerusalem glorified God and declared, “even to the Gentiles has God
granted repentance for life.”
IN GALATIA
In chapters 1 and 2 of his letter, Paul
details how he received his gospel for the Gentiles by divine revelation, a
commission confirmed by the leadership of the Jerusalem church. He also
describes how certain “false brethren, secretly introduced, slinked in to
spy out our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus.”
Paul refers to an earlier controversy
in Antioch when Jewish believers from Jerusalem infiltrated that church and
spread disruptive teachings, including claims that it is inappropriate for
Jewish believers to eat with uncircumcised Gentiles. But Paul would have none
of it:
- (Galatians 2:14) - “But when I saw that they were not walking with straightforwardness regarding the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before all: If you, although a Jew, like them of the nations and not like the Jews live, how do you compel them of the nations to live like Jews?”
The key phrase in the preceding passage is
“compelling Gentiles to live like Jews.” The Greek verb is a
strong one and means “to compel, force” (anangkazō – Strong’s #G315).
The infinitive rendered “to live like Jews” occurs only here in the New
Testament (Ioudaizo – Strong’s #G2450). It refers to efforts to compel
non-Jews to adopt a Jewish lifestyle.
This is the crux of the matter. Some Jewish believers are “compelling” Gentiles to conform to Jewish practices. And to refuse to eat with Gentiles insinuates there is something defective in their faith and conduct.
The controversy in Galatia focuses on
circumcision (“If you are getting circumcised Christ will profit you nothing”).
The opponents are “compelling you to get circumcised.” To be members in
good standing, must Gentile believers add circumcision to the “faith of
Jesus”? - (Galatians 5:12).
This controversy is not surprising.
The first disciples were all Jews. It was only after the incident with Cornelius
that the Gospel was opened to Gentiles, at least formally. Was not Jesus
the promised Jewish Messiah? Questions about how Gentiles must enter the
covenant community were inevitable.
The new community founded by Jesus is
connected to the faith of Abraham. It is natural for Jewish believers to
look to the old covenant for what defines the people of God.
Inevitably, circumcision will become an issue in this
environment. After all, it is the original sign of Yahweh’s covenant with
Abraham, and it even predates the Torah.
And proponents of circumcision have a
strong scriptural case. Does not the Law already provide the means for Gentiles
to enter the covenant community, namely, circumcision? This is the situation in
Galatia that Paul addresses in his letter.