Greetings all.

Ok, so Paul's letter to the church in Galatia. It seems to be misunderstood, and I will explain it as best I can. I will later go into other commonly misunderstood new testament doctrines.

What I will do today is give you the context then we will move into explaining the passages, if that is ok.

It is important for us to know who Paul is talking to in this letter. We know it is written by Paul, a Jewish teacher, sent to teach the gentiles the good news.

1, Who is Paul talking to?
Allow me to go to 1 Peter to fetch the answer brother.
1 Peter 1:1-2 "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”

So they are strangers, and yet they are the elect- two opposing terms. They are also said to be 'scattered'

Now, remember that when these letters were sent, the only word of God they knew was the old testament. In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul could only have been referring to the word of God, old testament: " All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness"

So let's go into OT to see who these elect, scattered, strangers are
As I said before, 722 BC God divorced the northern Kingdom (10 tribes) of Israel for their idolatry and allowed them to be carried into captivity in Assyria.
Later, in 586 BC Judah also went into captivity into Babylon. After 70 years in captivity, Judah was able to return to Israel and rebuild the temple. (a remnant was scattered from Egypt across Africa - and these are probably my ancestors

According to the law, if you divorce your wife, you cannot marry them back. So it would seem strange to the prophets that, after divorcing Israel, God would suggest he will take her back. Examine these prophecies brothers:

Jeremiah 50:17 “Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.”
Micah 2:12 “I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.”
Ezekiel 11:16 “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.”

So the Messiah had to die and resurrect so he could marry his bride, Israel.

Think of Romans 11:25 "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

This is why Jesus said in Matthew 15:24 "But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

And who are the elect? The only people known as the elect according to OT is Israel. Elect means chosen:
Isaiah 45:4 "I do this for my servant, Jacob. I do it for my chosen people, Israel..."

So those in Galatia Paul is talking to are non-other than those from the northern Kingdom of Israel (10 tribes) who became scattered, and lived among the gentiles.
These are Israelites that became gentiles, because they were out of the covenant hitherto.

Consider this, in Ephesus, over 100,000 people accepted the gospel. You really think a Jewish rabbi would roll into a city and speak to pagan gentiles (not the scattered sheep) and they would suddenly accept this Jew? The exile occurred in 722BC so relatively recent enough for them to maintain their identity.

The good news for them is that they are no longer out of covenant, and the words of the prophets of old are being fulfilled. They can now come back into covenant via the gospel.

Up until then, the Jews (Judeans) did not view their cast off relatives as brothers. They lived among the gentiles, so according to the traditions of the elders, they were indeed gentiles themselves.
This is actually what the Parable of the Prodigal Son is about.

That is the into and background. I will return to you tomorrow or day after to give you the meat brothers and sisters.
But have in your head, this letter is written, mainly, to the scattered tribes. And also, the context is how to obtain salvation. We shall contrast what Jesus and Paul taught, to the traditions of the elders.

Shalom

The question here is who was Paul directing his letters to? The Jews or the church?

who is a jew and who is a gentile?

shdemidemi: The question here is who was Paul directing his letters to? The Jews or the church?

These people were taught together. Paul taught the Jews (those considered Jews at the time) who lived among the gentiles, and he taught the 'scattered sheep' (who became gentiles), and then he also taught the pagan gentiles (not descendants of Jacob). These people did not learn seperately from each other. Acts 21:20-24 makes this clear.

20 And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:

21 And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.

22 What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.

23 Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;

24 Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.

25 As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.


Acts 15 also makes clear Paul taught the gentiles alongside the Jews.
21 "Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:

20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

Seems Moses was taught in the synagogues, so the Gentiles would learn about the law as time went on.

We shall study Acts later and I will explain how this passage I just quoted is often misunderstood.

Shalom

shdemidemi: who is a jew and who is a gentile?

This is quite obvious. I don't want to get sidetracked into a pointless debate on that. Let me return and we go into the book.

Cheers

1

JesusisLord85: 'and he taught the 'scattered sheep' (who became gentiles)'

.

Now, that your statement is false. A Jew is a Jew by birth, he can never become a gentile. A gentile is anyone that is not born Jew. Moses was raised by an Egyptian, he remains a Jew by birth, that is an elementary error from you.

Rome is not a Jewish area, although there were Jews scattered all around at the time. Paul's message was not to the scattered Jews but to the church. Corinth was not a Jewish area, Galatia was not, Ephesus was not as well.

Read your Acts of Apostle properly.

shdemidemi: .

Now, that your statement is false. A Jew is a Jew by birth, he can never become a gentile. A gentile is anyone that is not born Jew. Moses was raised by an Egyptian, he remains a Jew by birth, that is an elementary error from you.

Moses was a Hebrew. The word Jew is relatively new. The only original Israelites in the land were those who returned from captivity from babylon i.e. Judeans and tribe of Benjamin. From Judean, you get Jew.

You are right about lineage, that is true. But the northerners were divorced and had not been back for many years by this time - the samaritans occupied their land..and the JEws hated them too because they were not Jews by lineage.

They did not see their distant brothers are Jews anymore either. It is simple really. If you can't get that or agree with that, you are free to disagree and bring start your own study. I think I have made it simple.

JesusisLord85:

Moses was a Hebrew. The word Jew is relatively new. The only original Israelites in the land were those who returned from captivity from babylon i.e. Judeans and tribe of Benjamin. From Judean, you get Jew.

You are right about lineage, that is true. But the northerners were divorced and had not been back for many years by this time - the samaritans occupied their land..and the JEws hated them too because they were not Jews by lineage.

They did not see their distant brothers are Jews anymore either. It is simple really. If you can't get that or agree with that, you are free to disagree and bring start your own study. I think I have made it simple.

Do you agree a Jew/Israelite cannot become a gentile?

shdemidemi:

Do you agree a Jew/Israelite cannot become a gentile?

Just to dispel your myth:

2 Peter 3:
Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

Perhaps Peter is speaking to you too.. Another verse to help clear that up:

Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.

Done. No more disruptions about that please.

Shalom

JesusisLord85:

Just to dispel your myth:

2 Peter 3:
Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

Perhaps Peter is speaking to you too.. Another verse to help clear that up:

Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.

Done. No more disruptions about that please.

Shalom

Are you joking? Peter was talking about the gospel Paul is teaching, He finds it hard to comprehend it himself. Remember they had a gentle man agreement when Paul chose to go to the gentiles and the rest chose to go to the Jews.

9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

Do you have an idea who the heathen here is and who the circumcised is?

I asked you a simple question, you could not answer it. I repeat my question, can a descendant of Jacob seize to be a descendant of Jacob to become a gentile by flesh?

shdemidemi:

Are you joking? Peter was talking about the gospel Paul is teaching, He finds it hard to comprehend it himself. Remember they had a gentle man agreement when Paul chose to go to the gentiles and the rest chose to go to the Jews.

9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

Do you have an idea who the heathen here is and who the circumcised is?

I asked you a simple question, you could not answer it. I repeat my question, can a descendant of Jacob seize to be a descendant of Jacob to become a gentile by flesh?

Yeah, he did, and that's why he had the insight to say some men would twist it to their own destruction abi. How can you make that statement about something you don't understand yourself.

My actual point is that Paul addressed these people in the church at Galatia, and so did Peter, and Peter also referring to Paul means they would have communicated with the same people. Where Paul was going, it wasn't like there was segregation, the Jews out there were not as snobbish. It is when the Jerusalem sect came to town that there was conflict.
Besides, Peter's was in church council in Jerusalem alongside James, that was his main base at the time so he spoke to the circumcised living in and near the land. Absurd to suggest the Jews (true Judeans) who migrated outside of Jerusalem now joined the movement of Christ, but then went to the synagogue to hear Paul, while the gentiles were not allowed in. I have scripture to prove that, but I think it is obvious so you go figure.

Now, I'm going to help you on the Jewish thing, so listen good.
In that time, the only Jews were those who returned from exile in Babylon, i.e. Judean (that is where Jew comes from).
The rest were scattered all over the place. They were living among gentiles, and slavery (captivity) in assyria would have meant some of their identity was stripped from them e.g. while in Babylon Daniel's name was changes to Belteshezer, and the King often tried to make them dishonour God by worshipping other God's. The Assyrian's had their idols too.
So, for my point, the Israelites who God once divorced were, for all intents and purposes, NOT Jews. They were God's elect, chosen people, but they were not from Judea (tribe of Judah) and hence NOT Jews. To the Jews (think of the Pharisees who influenced public opinion), these people were not part of their people. In fact, some may have had trouble proving it.
After all, when returning from Babylon, some of the returnees (Judean) could not prove they were Jews. To them, a gentile is anyone who is not a Jew (Judean).

If you cannot understand the history, and their time in captivity, read the book of Kings. I will press on with Galatians. You can go ask your pastor if you have any question on that. My point was that Paul and Peter spoke to the same people at Galatia, and I made that point and connected with scripture.

Thanks

@shdemidemi In Romans 11:5, Paul writes about the “remnant chosen by grace.” are they Jewish believers or gentile folks?

Bidam: @shdemidemi In Romans 11:5, Paul writes about the “remnant chosen by grace.” are they Jewish believers or gentile folks?

I checked this guy out and saw how he made a nuisance of himself on the thread tagged 'End-time Bible Teaching: Awareness Of SIN'. In light of this, I have decided to ignore him.

Romans 8:6-8 "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God."

Bro you really need to hear me out, you are getting the whole jew and gentile thing wrong. Anyone that is a descendant of Jacob is and will remain a Jew in the flesh. Abraham got the promise from God, the promise was for his off spring scattered or together. Every letter in the new testament has an audience, it is either for the descendant of Abraham(God's earthly people) or the church (God's mythical body).

Good Evening,

So in the original post I gave some background, explaining who the gentiles (non-Judeans, and also pagan gentiles) are that Paul is writing to. I also explained that the context of this epistle is 'how to gain salvation'.
Remember Acts 15:1 "Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”
The group in Acts 15, for the purposes of this summary, I will call these legalists the 'circumcision group'. They were essentially telling those who were saved by faith in Christ, that they had to add works to their faith in order to be saved. But we know His blood is sufficient. Hallelujah!

Galatians 1 study:

In verse 6-9 Paul is upset because they there are reports the people are moving away from the gospel they first heard, the true gospel of Christ.
Paul explains his gospel comes straight from Christ, and not from man, and gives background into what he thought was the way to salvation before he knew Christ
verse 14: "I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers."

The bold text is key. Paul was zealous for the traditions of the elders. This was not the original law that came out of Sinai, but rather, a whole list of other laws the religious leaders added. Take the example of Jesus with the Pharisees below:

Matthew 15:2 "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
Jesus responds in verse 3 "“And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?"

So you can see, there are two forces at play. The law of God, and the rabbinical traditions of men.

Galatians 2

verse 2: Paul recognises the power of unity in this verse. I have heard people say he taught a different gospel to Peter and James. I disagree.

Verse 2:” I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain.”
The next verse comes up abruptly, as if we entered in the middle of a stand-off:
3“Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek”.

As I explained, there were two opposing groups, and the debate was over how to receive salvation. Paul (faith) vs. 'Circumcision group'(works)

In the early days (and it is quite true even now), it took a whole year to convert to Judaism. There were several steps to achieving this (this helps understand James' judgement in Acts 15:19-21). It was believed then that the only way to receive salvation was to convert and become part of the chosen people.
The ‘circumcision group’ did not believe that believing in Christ was sufficient, they believed you had to uphold their traditions too.
Ie. You also had to be circumcised and keep all of the law and their traditions to be saved.
But of course, nobody can follow the law perfectly. Faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved. Keeping his commandments is the way we show him we love him. Think of James 2:18 "James 2:18 “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”

Had Titus been circumcised, he would have put a notch in their belt and they would brag. They would say Titus is one of their converts and not one of Paul’s.
Verse 4 “ This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.”
The freedom alluded to here is not freedom from keeping God’s law, but freedom from legalism – the tradition of the elders.
Verse 5 “ We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.”
i.e. not wanting to put a notch in their belt.
Why remember the poor is verse 10? It is the foundation of the law, that is love.

Verses 11 onwards: Paul opposes Peter, and this passage too is often misunderstood passage.

Verse 11-13 is NOT about what they are eating. Oral law (not God’s law) said you could not fellowship with the gentiles. Remember Acts 10:27 "“You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean."

This is why Peter did not want to be seen with them – fearing men. Funny enough, this same guy, Peter, is the person I quote in Acts 10.

Verse 14: “14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas(Peter) in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?”

On the face of it, this seems to say ‘you are a Jew, you live like a gentile. So how can you ask the gentiles to follow the Jewish customs, which you do not follow yourself’?
What is he really saying is: ‘Peter, you are a Jew. You believe that you are only saved through grace, and faith in Jesus. But by leaving your table, the action you took is insulting the very people you gave the right hand of fellowship to. You are telling them they are not saved. You are, by default, saying you agree with the ‘circumcision group' in that they must follow Jewish traditions to be saved.'
This is why he says in the next verse
“15 “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.”
So Paul is simply telling Peter he is being a hypocrite.

So, before verse 17, remember 1 John 3:4 “sin is a transgression of the law”.
17 “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker."

Ie. If he goes back and rebuilds that doctrine he followed (i.e. saved by law, traditions of the elders) he removes the blanket of the Messiah that is covering his sin. The law looks to destroy anyone that breaks it.
19 "For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God."

The only reason the law does not kill you if you are saved is that, to the law, you are already dead, you died with Christ (see verse 20). It cannot condemn you if you are already dead. We are alive to the Messiah and hence we are called born again.

20 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

If you are dead to the law, it cannot condemn you. From the perspective of God, you are alive.

This chapter moved straight into chapter 3. I will type up my chapter 3 notes and present them later today, or tomorrow. But so far, you should be see that this chapter at least, is not doing away with the law. I will show you the same thing with subsequent chapters.

Shalom

shdemidemi: Bro you really need to hear me out, you are getting the whole jew and gentile thing wrong. Anyone that is a descendant of Jacob is and will remain a Jew in the flesh. Abraham got the promise from God, the promise was for his off spring scattered or together. Every letter in the new testament has an audience, it is either for the descendant of Abraham(God's earthly people) or the church (God's mythical body).

I agree that being a Jew (what they eventually called themselves after the ten tribes fell under the control of Jeroboam son of Nebat. The tribe of Judah remained under the control of the Kings was the biggest and became most dominant, Levi also.) or more correctly an Israelite is a matter of birth.

Gentile by definition means a person who is not born of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob who is Israel and then eventually one of the 12 tribes of Israel.

The scattered people include the Samaritans who were Jewish by birth but had been following idolatry since the time of Jeroboam son of Nebat. Samaritans were actually Jews but were defiled by Jerobaom and idolatry. That is why Peter goes to Samaria to baptise them (Acts so that can be purified by the Holy Spirit.

If you take note in Galatians 2:11-15 "11 When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

15 “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles "

There is a clear distinction between Jew and Gentiles the Jews being the Circumcision group.

I think JesusisLord85 is more in danger of misunderstanding Pauls words than shdemidemi.

JesusisLord85:

I checked this guy out and saw how he made a nuisance of himself on the thread tagged 'End-time Bible Teaching: Awareness Of SIN'. In light of this, I have decided to ignore him.

Romans 8:6-8 "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God."

maybe you should correct him in love. The part where i totally disagree with him is in saying the Gospel of James, Peter and John is only meant for the Christian Jews while only the pauline epistles is meant for the gentiles in this dispensation and age. As far as i am concerned there is only ONE GOSPEL NOT TWO.

shdemidemi: Bro you really need to hear me out, you are getting the whole jew and gentile thing wrong. Anyone that is a descendant of Jacob is and will remain a Jew in the flesh. Abraham got the promise from God, the promise was for his off spring scattered or together. Every letter in the new testament has an audience, it is either for the descendant of Abraham(God's earthly people) or the church (God's mythical body).

We are descendants of Abraham by faith and you have forgotten the fact that Paul says:"For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh. Romans 2:28.But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.Romans 2:29

Bidam: maybe you should correct him in love. The part where i totally disagree with him is in saying the Gospel of James, Peter and John is only meant for the Christian Jews while only the pauline epistles is meant for the gentiles in this dispensation and age. As far as i am concerned there is only ONE GOSPEL NOT TWO.

my question to you are
1, are Christians going to be around for the tribulation age?
2, would Christ come to pick the church apart from the Jews or would he come for the church and the jews together?

Bidam: We are descendants of Abraham by faith and you have forgotten the fact that Paul says:"For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh. Romans 2:28.But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.Romans 2:29

Seem you just want to argue, the way Paul writes, he takes it gradually. He came to this conclusion to debunk their culture and the title of being Jew that they carry in great esteem. He would not make this sort of statement in chapter 2 verse 1 but he would gradually prepare their mind towards this sort of statement. The inwardly that the man is talking about is spiritual, not in the flesh, we must be very careful when we quote scriptures by picking just any verse cos we risk missing the context at which the man is speaking.

shdemidemi:

my question to you are
1, are Christians going to be around for the tribulation age?
2, would Christ come to pick the church apart from the Jews or would he come for the church and the jews together?

let's follow the book of galatians for now and i believe that's what this thread all about.

shdemidemi: Seem you just want to argue, the way Paul writes, he takes it gradually. He came to this conclusion to debunk their culture and the title of being Jew that they carry in great esteem. He would not make this sort of statement in chapter 2 verse 1 but he would gradually prepare their mind towards this sort of statement. The inwardly that the man is talking about is spiritual, not in the flesh, we must be very careful when we quote scriptures by picking just any verse cos we risk missing the context at which the man is speaking.

let's follow the book of romans on the other thread by image and we shall see the final conclusion by Paul..Why are you in a hurry anyway?

Bidam: let's follow the book of galatians for now and i believe that's what this thread all about.

Please answer the questions if you can, I am going somewhere with the question. We need to understand the basics of this gospel to the church.

Bidam: let's follow the book of romans on the other thread by image and we shall see the final conclusion by Paul..Why are you in a hurry anyway?

ok cool, I will move the question to the other thread.

shdemidemi:

Please answer the questions if you can, I am going somewhere with the question. We need to understand the basics of this gospel to the church.

i will respond. but am busy right now be patient.

Bidam: maybe you should correct him in love. The part where i totally disagree with him is in saying the Gospel of James, Peter and John is only meant for the Christian Jews while only the pauline epistles is meant for the gentiles in this dispensation and age. As far as i am concerned there is only ONE GOSPEL NOT TWO.

There is only one gospel, as there was one law for the Israelites and the "strangers that sojourned" with them in the desert. Exodus 12:49 “One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.”

JesusisLord85: Greetings all.

Ok, so Paul's letter to the church in Galatia. It seems to be misunderstood, and I will explain it as best I can. I will later go into other commonly misunderstood new testament doctrines.

What I will do today is give you the context then we will move into explaining the passages, if that is ok.

It is important for us to know who Paul is talking to in this letter. We know it is written by Paul, a Jewish teacher, sent to teach the gentiles the good news.

1, Who is Paul talking to?
Allow me to go to 1 Peter to fetch the answer brother.
1 Peter 1:1-2 "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”

So they are strangers, and yet they are the elect- two opposing terms. They are also said to be 'scattered'

Now, remember that when these letters were sent, the only word of God they knew was the old testament. In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul could only have been referring to the word of God, old testament: " All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness"

So let's go into OT to see who these elect, scattered, strangers are
As I said before, 722 BC God divorced the northern Kingdom (10 tribes) of Israel for their idolatry and allowed them to be carried into captivity in Assyria.
Later, in 586 BC Judah also went into captivity into Babylon. After 70 years in captivity, Judah was able to return to Israel and rebuild the temple. (a remnant was scattered from Egypt across Africa - and these are probably my ancestors

According to the law, if you divorce your wife, you cannot marry them back. So it would seem strange to the prophets that, after divorcing Israel, God would suggest he will take her back. Examine these prophecies brothers:

Jeremiah 50:17 “Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.”
Micah 2:12 “I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.”
Ezekiel 11:16 “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.”

So the Messiah had to die and resurrect so he could marry his bride, Israel.

Think of Romans 11:25 "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

This is why Jesus said in Matthew 15:24 "But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

And who are the elect? The only people known as the elect according to OT is Israel. Elect means chosen:
Isaiah 45:4 "I do this for my servant, Jacob. I do it for my chosen people, Israel..."

So those in Galatia Paul is talking to are non-other than those from the northern Kingdom of Israel (10 tribes) who became scattered, and lived among the gentiles.
These are Israelites that became gentiles, because they were out of the covenant hitherto.

Consider this, in Ephesus, over 100,000 people accepted the gospel. You really think a Jewish rabbi would roll into a city and speak to pagan gentiles (not the scattered sheep) and they would suddenly accept this Jew? The exile occurred in 722BC so relatively recent enough for them to maintain their identity.

The good news for them is that they are no longer out of covenant, and the words of the prophets of old are being fulfilled. They can now come back into covenant via the gospel.

Up until then, the Jews (Judeans) did not view their cast off relatives as brothers. They lived among the gentiles, so according to the traditions of the elders, they were indeed gentiles themselves.
This is actually what the Parable of the Prodigal Son is about.

That is the into and background. I will return to you tomorrow or day after to give you the meat brothers and sisters.
But have in your head, this letter is written, mainly, to the scattered tribes. And also, the context is how to obtain salvation. We shall contrast what Jesus and Paul taught, to the traditions of the elders.

Shalom

NICE RESEARCH BROTHER AND YOU ARE VERY CORRECT. I KEEP TELLING FOLK, THE NEW TESTAMENT IS NOT A BOOK WRITTEN TO THE WHOLE WORLD. ITS A BOOK FOR THE ELECT. ITS A BOOK DETAILING THE PROCESS OF AWAKENING THE ELECT ( ALSO KNOWN AS HEALING THE SICK AND CASTING OUT DEMONS AND GIVING SIGHT TO THE BLIND), GIVING GRACE TO THE ELECT ( FORGIVENESS OF SINS ), SEALING THE ELECT, AND FINALLY SHOWING THE ELECT HOW TO LIVE SEEING AS THEY ARE NO LONGER UNDER THE LAWS. SO NOW THEY HAVE THE FREEDOM TO TRAVEL ALL OVER THE WORLD TO PREACH TO THE GENTILES WITHOUT FEAR OF GETTING KILLED BY THE WILD HEATHENS. THEY ARE NOW SAVED FROM THE WORLD. NOW THEY CAN GO OUT AND BRING THE GENTILES INTO THE LAWS WITH THE JEWS WITHOUT FEAR.
LUKE 1 VS 71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, <<< NO MORE FEAR NOW THEY CAN GO OUT AND BRING THE CHILDREN OF GOD FROM ALL NATIONS BOTH JEW AND GENTILE TO GOD

JOHN 11 VS 52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. << GATHER THE CHILDREN OF GOD SCATTERED ABROAD BOTH JEW AND GENTILES

BUT THE NEW TESTAMENT DETAILS THE WHOLE PROCESS. SO YOU ARE RIGHT, THE NEW TESTAMENT IS MOSTLY ELECT TO ELECT RALLYING FOR THE BITTER JOB AHEAD ( SCRIPTURE SAYS WHEN THEY ATE THE SCROLL IT WAS SWEET IN THEIR MOUTH BUT BITTER IN THE STOMACH ) THATS CUZ ITS SWEET KNOWING THE SECRETS OF THE TABERNACLE OF GOD BUT BITTER KNOWING THAT NOW THAT YOU ARE PRIVY TO THIS SECRET YOU HAVE TO GO AND PREACH ALL OVER THE WORLD TO THE GENTILES. VERY BITTER EXEPERIENCE. GETTING LOCKED UP ETC ETC.

timothycel:

I agree that being a Jew (what they eventually called themselves after the ten tribes fell under the control of Jeroboam son of Nebat. The tribe of Judah remained under the control of the Kings was the biggest and became most dominant, Levi also.) or more correctly an Israelite is a matter of birth.

Gentile by definition means a person who is not born of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob who is Israel and then eventually one of the 12 tribes of Israel.

The scattered people include the Samaritans who were Jewish by birth but had been following idolatry since the time of Jeroboam son of Nebat. Samaritans were actually Jews but were defiled by Jerobaom and idolatry. That is why Peter goes to Samaria to baptise them (Acts so that can be purified by the Holy Spirit.

If you take note in Galatians 2:11-15 "11 When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

15 “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles "

There is a clear distinction between Jew and Gentiles the Jews being the Circumcision group.

I think JesusisLord85 is more in danger of misunderstanding Pauls words than shdemidemi.

First off brother, if you read 2 Kings 17, you will realise that the Samaritans are those who settled in the land when the House of Israel were carried off into captivity. These “Samaritans” at first worshipped the idols of their own nations, but being troubled with lions, they supposed it was because they had not honoured the God of that territory. A Jewish priest was therefore sent to them from Assyria to instruct them in the Jewish religion. They were instructed from the books of Moses, but still retained many of their idolatrous customs. Because the Israelite inhabitants of Samaria had intermarried with the foreigners and adopted their idolatrous religion, Samaritans were generally considered “half-breeds” and were universally despised by the Jews. That clears that up.

Jew then meant Judean (and Benjamin, as this was the 2 tribe southern Kingdom). The north Kingdom was occupied by those Assyria put on the land (again, 2 Kings 17 will help you there). You think after hundreds of years of not being around, these proud elders would refer to their cousins, the House of Israel, as Jews? especially when they were not a nation, but lived scattered among gentiles. Some true Judeans had a hard enough task proving they were descendants of Jacob, when returning from Babylonian captivity. Yet, you reckon they called the 'scattered' Jews?
Nehemiah 7:61-62 "61 There were 642 belonging to the clans of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda who returned from the towns of Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer; 62 but they could not prove that they were descendants of Israelites."

JesusisLord85:

There is only one gospel, as there was one law for the Israelites and the "strangers that sojourned" with them in the desert. Exodus 12:49 “One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.”

I am not a fan of long sermons, answer the questions then-

my question to you are
1, are Christians going to be around for the tribulation age?
2, would Christ come to pick the church apart from the Jews or would he come for the church and the jews together?

Ok brothers and sisters, apologies for the delay, been a busy week. Lets continue to Galatians 3. No real introduction as chapter 3 continues where 2 left off. Please see previous posts to catch up:

In verses 1-5, Paul talks about "faith".
"Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?"

At that, I used to think, well that is all well, all I must do is close my eyes and believe. But Paul is not talking about some western, carnal concept of 'belief'. After all, the demons believe and the shudder:
James 2:19 "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”

We must prove our faith by our actions. Abraham is a good example of one who's faith had 'legs' so to speak. Paul uses him as an example in verse 6: "In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
God told Abraham to leave his land and go to a place God would show him. What did Abraham do, he packed up and moved, in obedience. The moment he started packing, he proved that he had faith in his creator.
James' letter backs this up:
James 2:18 "James 2:18 “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works."

Verses 9-11:
Verse 9 “So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.”
Verse 10 “10 But those who depend on the law {for salvation, because that is the context here} to make them right with God are under his curse”

I inserted my interpretation there, because it is easy to read that and not see the word "depend". As you saw in the introduction to Galatians, the context here is that some of the Jews were saying people needed to follow the law of Moses (and tradition of the elders) in order to be saved. Remember Jesus warned to be wary of the "yeast of the Pharisees".


Verse 10"...Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.11 So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law.

So you cannot attain salvation by observing the law, simply because nobody can keep it perfectly. But this does not mean the law itself is bad. God gave instructions, and through their obedience, Israel was blessed, and when they transgressed, they were cursed. How was we say that the law, which is called "holy", is a curse. Remember, "Curse of the law", and NOT "the law, that is a curse".


Verse 15: "Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case."

What Paul is saying here is that no one can take away the covenant. You cannot set aside God’s covenant and add and take away from it. The covenant of faith requires you to trust and obey God’s commandments. But the Pharisees added all these commandments which changed the covenant to one which was not from God. Hence it was a different gospel to the one Paul preached. Verse 16 adds further to this.

Verse 17-18 explains that the Mosaic covenant did not get rid of the Abrahamic covenant. All the OT covenants were layered on top of themselves and did not do away with previous covenants.

Verse 19:“Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.”

The more we sinned, the more we needed to know the boundaries. Basically saying the law was put into effect until the seed came, the seed is Jesus. Is this saying, is the law unto Christ? No. This is about authority.

Verse 22 “But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin”
Why is this? Well Romans 3:23 says “ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
We have all broken the law of God. This verse should tell us the entire world is subject to the law of God. If it was only given to the Jews then the world would not be in sin because sin is the transgression of the law.

Verses 23-25 talking about a transfer of authority, from the guardian (the law) to Christ our Lord. Has nothing to do with doing away with the law. The law was put in place as a police officer is keeping someone in jail. But when the commissioner of police steps into town, the policeman must stand down and let his superior take his place. The law remains the law. Just that the law is no longer there to condemn us. The one who wrote the law is in the room. The enforcer of the law must step down.
Hence, verse 25 says “Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.”
Remember, Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”
So the law keeps us in check, blessing when we obey, cursing when we disobey. It has never been there to provide a way for salvation, it simply points the way to salvation, which comes via faith in Christ.

Verse 26-29:
I have heard people take this passage (neither Jew nor gentile, male nor female) and use it for whatever. Women pastors/elders use it to justify their authority to preach. But the context here is salvation, let us keep this in mind.
Paul is talking about different opposing groups “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free” that believed in the Messiah. The ‘circumcision group’ would say ‘these gentiles are not like us, we keep all these traditions of the elders, we are circumcised, we believe salvation not only comes through believing in the Messiah, but also by trusting and obeying all of the torah and all the traditions of the elders’.
But Paul says, in Christ, we are all one, nobody is better than anybody else. Think of the ‘grafting into the olive tree’ example from Romans 11:17-27.

Hope that wasn't too long. I will look at chapter 4 sometime this week.
Have a blessed week.

Shalom

shdemidemi:

I am not a fan of long sermons, answer the questions then-

my question to you are
1, are Christians going to be around for the tribulation age?
2, would Christ come to pick the church apart from the Jews or would he come for the church and the jews together?

Apologies for late response, I was conscious that if I responded before my next Galatians post, the bible study would turn into an endtimes debate.

To your first question: I cannot state conclusively, there are 4 schools of thought on this. My limited understanding of endtime prophecy suggests that Christians will indeed be around. The idea of a rapture of the church has only banded around for 200 years, which adds to my scepticism.


Romans 5:3 says "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience"
Now, I know this is not speaking about the endtimes, but it strikes me as odd that the perfect opportunity to build the character of the church would come, and the church gets 'raptured' ahead of this.
But I will not turn to that debate. It is on my list of areas I need to study myself. Perhaps you can start a Daniel/Revelation study.