The issue at Galatia was whether Gentiles must be circumcised and keep some, at least, of the deeds of the Torah.
The heart of Paul’s response was that “in Christ”
the old distinctions between “Jew” and “Gentile” were no longer
relevant. In him, the covenant promises had found their fulfillment. What
determined membership in the covenant community was not the “deeds of the
law” but the “faith of Jesus Christ.”
PURPOSE OF THE LAW
The Mosaic law was much more than a statement of theological
principles or a set of moral codes that regulated human conduct. In the summary
statement made at Mount Sinai, we read:
- (Exodus 19:3-6) - “And when Moses had gone up to God, then called Yahweh to him out of the mountain saying, Thus, shall you say to the house of Jacob, and tell the sons of Israel: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bare you upon wings of eagles and brought you to myself: Now, therefore, if you will indeed hearken to my voice, and keep my covenant, then you will be mine as a treasure beyond all the peoples, for mine is all the earth. But you will be mine, as a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which you will speak to the sons of Israel.”
Israel was chosen by God as His treasure above all other
nations. The Law was not simply a collection of moral
precepts but a covenant between Yahweh and the
entire nation of Israel.
The pronoun “you” in the passage is plural, not singular. It
was not individual Israelites 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 and NOT to any other
nation, and her obedience to the Torah was vital to her
possession of the Promised Land. The Torah was a
national contract between Yahweh and Israel, one that included a
sacrificial system, dietary restrictions, laws of inheritance, civil
regulations, penal codes, and so on. Some of its regulations were
specific to the nation residing in Canaan such as the establishment of cities
of refuge and regulations governing inheritance.
The Law was intended to keep Israel holy and separate from the surrounding
nations. The dietary restrictions, for example, were designed to keep
Israel distinct from its pagan neighbors and to maintain its ritual purity - (Leviticus
20:24-26).
None of this means that the religion of Israel was closed to
Gentiles. The Law provided the means for Gentiles to join the covenant
community, including circumcision (for males) and submission to ALL
the obligations of the Law.
In effect, Gentile “converts” became members of the nation of
Israel. And since circumcision was THE fundamental sign of the
covenant, it was 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 the book 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 in Caesarea. The
latter was a “centurion of the band called Italian.” Although a Gentile
in Roman service, 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 he 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 through the 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” - (Acts 10:9-16).
Following this 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 had an excellent reputation among the Jewish people. God did not choose just any Gentile for this pivotal event, He selected one known by many Jews for his devoutness and 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.” This statement demonstrates the obstacle to welcoming
Gentiles into the covenant community. Regardless of how righteous a man might
be, he remained outside the covenant and ritually unclean if he was uncircumcised.
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 caused amazement among the Jews with him for “upon
the Gentiles also the free–gift of the Holy Spirit had been
poured out.” God gave the very same gift of the Spirit to uncircumcised
Gentiles - (Acts 10:29-48).
Only after the Spirit fell on the Gentiles did Peter confess that
people from every nation were acceptable to God if they feared him and lived
righteously regardless of whether they were members of Israel, circumcised or uncircumcised.
The “revelation” on that day was the acceptability of Gentiles AS
GENTILES into the church.
Some believers in Jerusalem found fault with Peter’s actions. He had
fellowshipped with “men uncircumcised and ate with them.”
They did not criticize him simply for eating with uncircumcised Gentiles.
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 had given the Spirit to Gentiles while they were
still in an uncircumcised state was irrefutable evidence that He
had 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 the church to spread disruptive teachings,
including claims that it was inappropriate for Jewish believers to eat with uncircumcised
Gentiles. The pressure was so great even Peter and Barnabas were caught up
in it - (Galatians 2:1-13).
The Apostle to the Gentiles would have none of it and confronted Peter
over his hypocrisy:
- (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 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)
and refers to efforts to compel non-Jews to adopt a Jewish lifestyle.
This was the crux of the matter. Some Jewish believers in Antioch were “compelling” Gentiles to conform to Jewish practices. To refuse to eat with Gentiles insinuated there was something defective in their faith and conduct.
The controversy in Galatia focused on circumcision (“If you are
getting circumcised Christ will profit you nothing”). Paul’s opponents were
“compelling you to get circumcised.” To be members in good
standing, must Gentile believers add circumcision to their faith in 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 were to enter the covenant
community were inevitable.
The new “Jesus movement” was connected to the faith of
Abraham. It was natural for Jewish believers to look to the old covenant
for the things that defined the people of God. Inevitably, circumcision would
become an issue. It was the original sign of Yahweh’s covenant with Abraham,
and it even predated the Torah.
And
proponents of circumcision had a strong scriptural basis. Did not the Law
already provide the means for Gentiles to enter the covenant community, namely,
circumcision? This was the situation at Galatia addressed by Paul in his letter
to the Galatians.
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