The Truth behind Galatians, Part 1: What Paul Really Meant

2000 years of misinterpretations that divided Jews and Christians

Paul's letter to the Galatians has sparked a firestorm of controversy that continues to this day. This study explores the core issues that divided Jews and Christians, revealing the explosive truth behind Paul's message.

This is an introduction to Galatians from a 1st century Judeo-Christian point of view. In the course of this series, we look at individual verses in its original Jewish context in an attempt to challenge traditional Christian viewpoints based on common misinterpretations of Paul's writings.

Misreadings of Paul's writings have possibly cause the greatest rift between Jews and Gentiles over the last 2000 years. On one hand, traditional Christian thinking takes Paul as to abrogate and abolish the Torah (God's Law) and preaches a dangerous doctrine of Faith without Works. While for this reason, Paul is loved by Christian, it is for the same reason that he is hated by a certain Jewish community. Neither viewpoint—upon closer inspection—holds any grounds.

We hope to bring more clarity to the understanding of Paul's writings in the B'rit Chadashah (בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה - New Testament/New Covenant) while upholding the integrity of God's Word, Yeshua Messiah, and the apostles.

1:1

Paul is stating that he is an apostle not made because he heard the gospel from man. Rather, Paul received the gospel through direct instruction from the Father and the Son Yeshua.

We see Paul preparing the scene for the epistle as well as his authority given by Messiah through revelation.

His message is one of extreme urgency. The churches in Galatia seem to have fallen away from the Gospel of Messiah Yeshua, and were pressured into - what seems to be - full conversion to Judaism.

Paul is cementing his authority as an apostle as one through Messiah, not anyone else. Therefore, Paul's message is strong, firm, and with expedience in that he is opposing circumcision in the flesh (without faith in Messiah) as a requirement for salvation.

Main Issue: Circumcision, not Torah

The main issue of Galatians is not the Torah, nor is it circumcision. It is circumcision in the flesh as a means to gain salvation, apart from faith in Messiah.

Contrary to popular belief, circumcision is a God-given prerequisite for the New Covenant. Not circumcision in the flesh, but circumcision of the hearts. God himself circumcises the foreskin of our hearts as to prepares us to walk in His statutes ^[1].

In order to interpret Galatians correctly, one must bear in mind that the main underlying issue in this letter is not the Torah in its totality. Rather, it is the legalistic observance of Torah without faith in Messiah.

Paul, under no circumstance, abrogates the Torah or the Prophets. On the contrary, we are about to discover that he is Torah-observant himself and upholds God's Laws and Commandments himself, and to Jews and Gentiles. Many translations have occurred which put a veil on the text. Instead of clarifying, they rather seem to lead Christians to a false understanding.

We have already uncovered 3 witnesses of a grave defect in popular translations and interpretation. In this case, we have uncovered how 'works of the law' must be considered to be translated not only as 'Law' (Greek: nomos), but rather differentiated as 'legalism'. A linguistic distinction not possible in Greek during Paul's time. There seems to have not been a separate expression for Law and Legalism as we have today. Therefore (three scholars suggest), works of the law in Paul's writings must be considered more nuanced than traditional Christian interpretation allows for.

1:2

We note than there must be more than one church in Galatia, as Paul writes to the 'churches'.

1:4

Paul's reference to the 'present evil age' is more than a mere saying. In order to understand the depth of this comment, we must understand the Jewish concept of 'present age', 'messianic age', and 'the world to come' ^[2].
Why Paul calls it the 'evil' present age can only be speculated. Possibly, he is drawing a parallel between this age, i.e. the age of the flesh, and the coming age of the spirit.

In any case, the Jewish context in this verse is mandatory to be considered in order to come to a conclusive understanding of Paul's intention. Without knowing the meaning of Ages and Worlds according to Jewish literature and belief system—of which Paul was a part—Christianity would come to incorrect conclusions.

We do see in this verse that Paul is speaking about deliverance from this evil age through Messiah—possibly alluding to the Messianic Age—according to YHWH's will. It is further implied that Messiah's sacrifice was a prerequisite for our deliverance.

1:6

It is striking that Paul speaks of a different gospel, i.e. Good News. Should there not be only one gospel? He is possibly referring to a different, perverted, inferior 'good news' which stands in opposition to the gospel of Messiah.
We know that the underlying main issue is not Torah, but circumcision of the flesh. Leading to a "gospel" of full conversion to Judaism in order to gain salvation. We can speculate that those false preachers who were brought in to the churches of Galatia might have been Jews—pressuring the Gentiles into the circumcision of the flesh. Even more so, into full conversion to Judaism.

Life-long Judaism

As we will also see in Galatians 2:11, Paul opposes Peter who, due to the pressure by fellow Jews, separated himself from Gentiles. It is easy to blame Peter or look down at his actions. We shall remember that all apostles, including Peter and Paul, were life-long Jews, raised in Judaism, raised under the Torah i.e. the written Torah and the oral torah (traditions).

We know ourselves how difficult it is to change our mind. Nothing short of a difficulty would it have been for the Jews in Yeshua's time and after His ascension to leave behind all which they grew up on.

We do well to show sympathy not only with Peter, but also with those 'false brethren' Paul speaks of who brought in the circumcision of the flesh again.

How hard is it for us to stop a habit? To stop something that we have believed and practiced for all our lives?

When speaking to Jews (Messianic or other), one can only admire the closeness and relationship, the devotion and commitment they have for YHWH Adonai our God and Father. It is a defect in Christianity for Christians to look down on Jews in arrogance. Paul warns of us such behaviour in Romans ^[3]

It is easy to look back and judge. Much harder is it to live with Messiah for 3 years, handle Him, and yet after His ascension to be within Judaism and running the race of the Gospel against persecution in a matter of Life and death.

Let us not be arrogant. After all, Gentiles were given the same grace as were Jews. We are one in Messiah.

1:8

This verse brings Paul and his teachings back to Yeshua Messiah. Without andy doubt, unmistakably we see that Paul is fervently defending the teachings and gospel of Messiah. A similar passage can be found in 2 Timothy ^[4]. Paul makes it clear that no other word prevails than God's word spoken through Yeshua. Not even an angel from heaven should be adhered to when preached another gospel that is not in alignment with Messiah.

Possibly alluding to Yeshua's remark about Satan (Lucifer) in Luke ^[5], and 2 Corinthians 11:14 ^[6]. This passage holds nothing back and is a testimony of Paul's faithfulness to Yeshua's teachings and revelation.

Torah established, not abolished

Keeping this in mind, we must turn our attention to Matthew 5:17-19 ^[7] in which Yeshua—beyond any shadow of doubt—affirms the enduring validity of the Torah. We have touched on an adjacent topics in a different message, namely the age of the Torah / Age isn't just a number - How Christians are kept from God's Divine wisdom in the Torah and how Scripture (Tanakh) itself and Jewish writings shows us that the age of the Torah (wisdom/instruction) might be older than the heavens and the earth.

Christianity today seems to argue against this very passage in the Sermon on the Mount. This does not fit the Faith vs Works narrative which has taken over the church for 1800 years. One thing to remember is that Religion radically argues against Messiah, not against those who do exactly that about which Yeshua says to do: Do and Teaching others to not relax even the least of the Law and the Prophets.

By including himself (Paul) into verse 8, we might come to the conclusion that this would imply that even those who received the gospel by revelation (Paul) are not safe from error or worldly thoughts and philosophies entering their minds, and corrupting the heart.

We also notice how the word 'cursed' is used in verse 8 and 9. This reminds us of a similar expression Paul uses about Yeshua in chapter 3—Yeshua becoming a curse for us ^[8].

1:10

Paul is asking a rhetorical, or possibly sarcastic, question as to whether he is doing the things he does to seek approval from men or from God rather? A similar sentiment can be found in 1 Thessalonias 2:4 ^[9]

In this verse, there is something else shimmering under the surface which Yeshua taught: We cannot serve God and mammon, i.e. worldly things^[10]. Our service to God must always prevail over serving men. Paul goes even further stating that he considers himself a bondservant of Messiah. In other letters, Paul brings up the stark contrast between being a bondservant of sin ^[11] and a bondservant of Messiah—or: the slavery of sin and the slavery of righteousness ^[12].

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Footnotes