The Curse Of The Law And The Crisis In Galatia

Todd Wilson assesses Paul’s references to the Law in the so-called “ethical” section of Galatians in light of a fresh appraisal of the Galatian crisis. He contributes to the continuing debate over the relevance of this section of the letter for the rest of Galatians and for the situation in Galatia.

Todd Wilson examines the rationale for Paul's four references to the Law in 5:13-6.10 in light of a fresh appraisal of the Galatian crisis. He contributes to the continuing debate over the relevance of this section of the letter for the rest of Galatians and for the situation in Galatia. In addition, his study offers a refined understanding of how Galatians functioned in its original setting: he argues that with the letter Paul confronts his apostatising converts with the stark choice between blessing and curse. The author's thesis is that Paul intended his four references to the Law in 5:13-6.10, not as a way of underscoring the superfluity of the Law for Christian living, but as an affirmation of the sufficiency of the Spirit to enable the Galatians to fulfil the Law and thereby avoid the Law's curse. Several notable conclusions are reached. First, the curse of the Law is important not only earlier in the letter (3:10-14; 3:23-29; 4:1-7; 4:21-31), but it also continues to be a central concern for Paul in 5:13-6:10. Secondly, for Paul redemption from the curse of the Law is not a fait accompli: the cursing voice of the Law will only be silenced if the Galatians walk by the Spirit and resist the 'desire of the flesh' (5:16-18). Thirdly, in Galatians Paul places less emphasis upon the superfluity of the Law than is often assumed; rather, he focuses upon the Law's inability to mediate righteousness (2:15-21; 3:21; 5:5-6), its contrast with 'faith' (3:11-12), and its power to curse (1:8-9; 3:10, 13). This observation, in turn, may have far-reaching implications for the question of Christian supersessionism: the idea that the church has displaced the Jews as the elect people of God.

Jarvis J. Williams argues that the Jewish martyrological ideas, codified in 2 and 4 Maccabees and in selected texts in LXX Daniel 3, provide an important background to understanding Paul's statements about the cursed Christ in Gal. 3.13, and the soteriological benefits that his death achieves for Jews and Gentiles in Galatians. Williams further argues that Paul modifies Jewish martyrology to fit his exegetical, polemical, and theological purposes, in order to persuade the Galatians not to embrace the 'other' gospel of their opponents. In addition to providing a detailed and up to date history of research on the scholarship of Gal. 3.13, Williams provides five arguments throughout this volume related to the scriptural, theological and conceptual, lexical, grammatical and polemical points of contact, and finally the discontinuities between Galatians and Jewish martyrological ideas. Drawing on literature from Second Temple traditions to directly compare with Gal. 3.13, Williams adds new insights to Paul's defense of his Torah-free-gentile-inclusive gospel, and his rhetoric against his opponents.

Paul's letter to the Galatians provides key insights into salvation and the nature of grace. Drawing on years of pastoral ministry, Wilson leads readers through the book's major themes with exegetical clarity and theological care. A Preaching the Word commentary.

"What are Paul's rhetorical strategies to affect the Galatian believers? Seon Yong Kim shows how Paul uses heavy employment of the curse theme, complex appropriation of Scripture, and a thoroughly negative caricature of his opponents in order to agitate the mind and emotions of the Galatians and thereby dissuade them from the demand of circumcision." --provided by publisher, back cover

New volume in a favorite Bible commentary series Writing a commentary on Galatians is a daunting task. Despite its relative brevity, this Pauline letter raises a number of foundational theological issues, and it has played a vital role in shaping Christian thought and practice over the centuries. In this replacement of Ronald Y. K. Fung’s 1988 New International Commentary volume, David deSilva ably rises to the challenge, providing a coherent account of Galatians as a piece of strategically crafted communication that addresses both the immediate pastoral challenges facing Paul’s converts in Galatia and the underlying questions that gave rise to them. Paying careful attention to the history, philology, and theology of the letter, and interacting with a wealth of secondary literature on both Galatians and the rest of the Pauline corpus, deSilva’s exegetically sound commentary will serve as an essential resource for pastors and theological students.

This all-in-one commentary bundle on the book of Galatians features volumes from the NIV Application Commentary Series, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary Series, and Expositor's Bible Commentary Series. Each volume provides new and unique insights from leading biblical scholars Scot McKnight, Thomas Schreiner, and Robert Rapa. The unique features from each volume along with the diverse insights provided by the authors gives you all the tools you need to study and master the book of Galatians.

Concentrate on the biblical author’s message as it unfolds. Designed to assist the pastor and Bible teacher in conveying the significance of God’s Word, the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series treats the literary context and structure of every passage of the New Testament book in the original Greek. With a unique layout designed to help you comprehend the form and flow of each passage, the ZECNT unpacks: The key message. The author’s original translation. An exegetical outline. Verse-by-verse commentary. Theology in application. While primarily designed for those with a basic knowledge of biblical Greek, all who strive to understand and teach the New Testament will benefit from the depth, format, and scholarship of these volumes. In this volume, Thomas R. Schreiner offers pastors, students, and teachers a focused resource for reading Galatians. Through the use of graphic representations of translations, succinct summaries of main ideas, exegetical outlines and other features, Schreiner presents Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians with precision and accuracy. Because of this series’ focus on the textual structure of the scriptures, readers will better understand the literary elements of Galatians, comprehend the author’s revolutionary goals, and ultimately discover their vital claims upon the church today.