Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• Historical Background
  "The most uncontroverted matter in the study of Galatians is that the letter was written by Paul, the Christian apostle whose ministry is portrayed in the Acts of the Apostles."1The Apostle Paul directed this epistle to the c...
• Outline8
  I. Introduction 1:1-10A. Salutation 1:1-5B. Denunciation 1:6-10II. Personal defense of Paul's gospel 1:11-2:21A. Independence from other apostles 1:11-241. The source of Paul's gospel 1:11-172. The events of Paul's early mini...
• B. Denunciation 1:6-10
  In these opening words Paul rebuked his readers for turning away from the gospel that he had preached to them and for turning toward a different "gospel."He accused them of being religious turncoats. He did so to impress them...
• II. PERSONAL DEFENSE OF PAUL'S GOSPEL 1:11--2:21
  The first of the three major sections of the epistle begins here. We could classify them as history (1:11-2:21), theology (chs. 3-4), and ethics (5:1-6:10).". . . Paul was . . . following the logic of the Christian life: Beca...
• C. Correction of another apostle 2:11-21
  Paul mentioned the incident in which he reproved Peter, the Judaizers' favorite apostle, to further establish his own apostolic authority and to emphasize the truth of his gospel.2:11 Peter had shaken hands with Paul in Jerus...
• III. THEOLOGICAL AFFIRMATION OF SALVATION BY FAITH 3:1--4:31
  Here begins the theological section of the epistle, which Paul led up to in his preceding historical account of his own conversion and calling culminating in his confrontation with Peter over justification.79Paul first vindic...
• The blessing of faith 3:6-9
  3:6 The Judaizers, in emphasizing the Mosaic Law, appealed to Moses frequently. Paul took them back farther in their history to Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation. He cited Genesis 15:6 to prove that God justified Abrah...
• B. Clarification of the doctrine ch. 4
  In chapter 3 the Jews' preoccupation with the Law of Moses was foremost in Paul's mind. In chapter 4 he reiterated his argument for the benefit of Gentiles for whom religious syncretism and pagan idolatry were primary concern...
• 2. The historical illustration 4:12-20
  Paul appealed next to his past contacts with the Galatians and called on them to remember his visits to Galatia to move them to abandon nomism."If the reader is inclined to think Paul has been impersonal in dealing with the p...
• The practical application 4:28-31
  4:28 Paul drew three applications from his interpretation. First, Christians are similar to Isaac in that they experience a supernatural birth and are part of the fulfillment of God's promise. Therefore they should not live a...
• IV. PRACTICAL APPLICATION TO CHRISTIAN LIVING 5:1--6:10
  Paul moved next from theology (chs. 3-4) to ethics, from doctrine to exhortation.
• The significance of Gentile believers' union with Jewish believers 2:14-18
  Essentially Jesus Christ's death has resulted in peace between Gentile believers and Jewish believers and peace between Gentile believers and God.2:14 To understand this verse we must discover what dividing wall Paul had in m...