Abstract:
Paul earnestly and boldly sought to carry the gospel message to non-Jewish peoples as had been assigned to him. Then, on his first missionary journey, Paul evangelized the cities of Antioch of Psidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe in the Roman province of Galatia, announcing to the Galatians that through faith in Christ they could become heirs of Abraham's promise, with the right to receive the blessing of Abraham and the promise of the Spirit. But some Jews who had believed the gospel descended to Galatia, teaching that only faith in Christ was not enough for the Gentiles to become Abraham's heirs. It was still necessary for them to be circumcised and to keep, like Abraham, the Law. In order to refute the teachings of his opponents, Paul presents a fresh perspective on Abraham's experience, stating that the Galatian Gentiles were justified through faith as Abraham was, becoming Abraham's heirs and blessed just as Abraham was. Paul, still using the same biblical passages used by the Judaizers to defend their legalistic position, declares that man's only way to be justified before God is by faith, and that through the works of the Law this becomes impossible, leaving man only the curse of the Law, since one cannot live by the law, but by faith. Moreover, he says that God had provided a rescue from the curse through the death of Christ, as a curse hanging on a tree, so that, once freed from the curse, the people would receive the blessing of Abraham and the promise of the Spirit. This work first will make a study of the historical context in which Paul's words were spoken. And then it will do a textual analysis of Gal. 3: 6-14. Finally, a theological analysis of the text will be undertaken, verifying the language of the covenant in Paul's statements.
