Essay on Letter to the Galatians

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St. Paul’s teaching to the Galatians concerning Faith and Works

In his epistle to the Galatians, St. Paul reminds the Galatians that they received the Holy Spirit through faith and not by following the law. The Jews considered the gentile as sinners who never followed the laws which regulate the behaviors of people in the society. However, St. Paul teaches the Galatians that the Jews can not be considered upright by simply following the law but must have their faith in Christ who died for their sins.

The Galatians first received the Holy Spirit by believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ. They had not seen him, yet they believed in him. In Galatians 3:5, Paul asks: “Would you say, then, that he who so lavishly sends the Spirit to you, and causes the miracles among you, is doing this through your practice of the Law or because you believed the message you heard?”

Abraham is considered the father of faith. This is because he put all his faith in God and he was blessed with a child named Isaac at old age. He was regarded as upright because of his faith in God. His faith in God made God to bless him and the whole nations. For this reason, it is through faith, that the gentiles receive blessings whish were promised to Abraham. St .Paul further teaches that those who depend on the law but do not follow it are accursed people but those who believe in Christ are absolved from this curse. Christ was crucified so that all those who follow the law may be absolved from the curse, once they put their faith in Christ. The law existed to act as a guide towards Jesus Christ but after Christ came and died for all the sinners, all those who have faith in Christ become the children of God.

Baptism makes all the believers, through faith, to become one body of Christ. Once a person receives baptism and has faith in Christ, he ceases becomes as the rest of the members of the body of Christ. Thus, the believers are equal in Christ and are all the heirs of the blessings promised to Abraham.

St. Paul compares the lives of the Galatians to that of an heir. Though the heir may have a lot of property to inherit from his father, he is kept under the control of the father until he reaches a certain age. Likewise, the Galatians were kept under the confines of the law until a time reached when Jesus was sent by God to redeem the sinners who were subjects of the law. After the Galatians received the Spirit through faith, they were released from the slavery and became the God’s sons and heirs. The laws that were followed by the Galatians before knowing God were enslaving and not in accordance with the will of God.

The Galatians, after having believed in Christ and received the Holy Spirit, starts to turn back to the same laws that they abandoned. In particular, they observe the special seasons and periods as required by the law. Paul is very upset about this turn back by the Galatians and thinks he might have wasted his efforts preaching to the Galatians.

Paul remembers how he met the Galatians and preached to them. He had an eye illness but the Galatians received him well as though he was the Christ himself. However, his relationship with the Galatians seems to worsen. In Galatians 4:16, he wonders: “Then have I turned into your enemy simply by being truthful with you?”

The people who have no faith in Christ want the Galatians to cut their devotion in St. Paul. Paul is not happy with this. He uses figurative language to explain to them the pain he is undergoing to bring the Galatians back to the body of Christ. He compares his pain to that of a woman who is giving birth.

Since the Galatians have decided to be subjects of the law rather than have faith in Christ and be free people, he wonders whether they really know what the law says. The allegory of Hagar, who was Sarah’s Egyptian maiden, shows how the children of those born in slavery continue to live in slavery. The son of Hagar, who was called Ishmael, was born by way of nature while Sarah’s son, who was called Isaac, was born through a promise made to Abraham by God.

Sarah had lived for many years without a child but Hagar gave birth to a son whose father was Abraham. St. Paul quotes the words in Isaiah 54:1 that encourages the barren woman (Sarah) to shout in joy because her sons of the abandoned woman outnumber those of the married one. Abraham was promised by God that his children will be very many and he will be the father of a great nation. Hagar represents the covenant that was given in Mount Sinai while Sarah represents Jerusalem which is a free state. The Galatians are like Isaac, the son of Sarah who was a free woman. The sons of the slaves, the scripture says, should be driven away, never to inherit anything alongside the son of Sarah. Likewise, the Galatians are the children of a free woman.

In conclusion, it can be seen that according to the teachings by St. Paul, through faith and not the law, man receives the spirit and becomes a child of God.