Dr. Thomas R. Schreiner, a professor of New Testament interpretation and biblical theology, provides a close reading of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians in his latest book, Christ Crucified: A Theology of Galatians. This compact volume is available today, Aug. 27, 2024, and provides an in-depth view of Galatians as part of Crossway’s New Testament series.

Part 1 The Conflict

Dr. Schreiner begins his three-part study of Galatians with the conflict that prompted this letter to the early first-century church. The Galatians resided in the region of Asia Minor, or modern-day Turkey. They were descended from Celtic peoples who migrated from Gaul, or modern-day France. (Blue Letter Bible ) Paul wrote them to address the false claims of his adversaries. First, his adversaries claimed Paul taught “the gospel according to him” and not the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. They also said Paul wanted to please others. These critics told the new believers that they needed to not just believe Christ is the Messiah, but also convert to Judaism. They compelled the Christians to live like Jews and observe things like circumcision and purity laws (clean vs. unclean foods), etc. Sources online called these critics Judaizers. They may have believed in Christ as the Messiah, but they also wanted to continue to live by Jewish customs. They were teaching a false gospel of “faith + works.” Paul twice told the Galatians that their false teachings would bring a curse (anathema, or devoted to destruction) in Gal. 1:6-9.

Paul’s Apostleship and Authority

The adversaries first questioned Paul’s motives and his apostleship and authority to spread the good news of the Gospel. Paul said if he wanted praise from people he would have stayed a Pharisee. Since becoming a servant of Christ, Paul had been persecuted and had the scars to prove it. Paul shared his testimony on his calling. He once lived as a Pharisee. He received his education from the famous Rabbi Gamaliel and was “circumcised on the eighth day.” He loved the law of Moses and thought of it as life. Paul even persecuted Christians out of his zeal for God. Dr. Schreiner noted passages of Acts that confirm this in Acts 9:1-2, 4, 13-14; 22:4-5, 7-8, 19-20, 26:9-11. He said Paul saw himself like a modern-day Phinehas and Mattathias.

Jesus interrupted Paul’s plans on the road to Damascus. This is why Paul said his gospel is independent of the twelve. The Gospel came to him from a divine source – “through revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:12). He compares Jesus’ call on his life to those of the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah. He said in Galatians 1:15-17:

But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.

Paul eventually met with the apostles, but not because he had any doubts of what Jesus shared with him on the road to Damascus. (Gal. 1:18-24) Paul mentions the known pillars, and says he met with Peter and James, the brother of Jesus. James, Peter, and John would later recognize Paul and Barnabas’ ministry to the Gentiles.

Circumcision vs. The Cross of Christ

Paul’s adversaries sought to confuse the new Christians. Like the Pharisees of old, they became the proverbial wolves in sheep’s clothing. They sought to undermine the Gospel. Circumcision became their battleground.

These adversaries told the Galatians they needed more than to believe Jesus is the Messiah. Dr. Schreiner said Old Testament Jews and those in the Second Temple period saw circumcision as the way to becoming God’s people. Paul would show how the cross of Christ is the center of the Gospel and is necessary for entrance, not circumcision. Luke wrote in Acts 4:12,

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.

Paul’s critics then (and now) wanted to know why Timothy was circumcised if circumcision was not necessary for entrance into God’s family. Timothy was part Jew through his mother’s side. The motivation for his circumcision is one of mission. Paul knew Timothy needed access to the synagogues to teach, so he met the Jewish cultural demand for circumcision (See note). But Timothy did not need to be circumcised under the new covenant (See this great commentary from Matthew Henry on Acts 16).

Paul refused to compel his mission partner Titus, a gentile, to become circumcised. The act of circumcision as a requirement to be part of God’s kingdom people passed away with the old age, Paul said. Christ’s death and resurrection ushered in a new age. No one could ever do all that the whole law demands, not even the Judaizers (Gal. 6:12-13). See Titus 3:5-7.

The cross of Christ is one of the main themes explored in this letter to the Galatians. The cross of Christ meant believers no longer live under the Law, but are one in Christ, adopted sons and daughters, co-heirs with Christ, members of God’s family, the church. Paul defended the truth of the Gospel he said to the point he would admonish Peter and his fellow apostle Barnabas when they treated the Gentiles in a similar way as these Judaizers. Known as the Antioch incident (a city in Southern Galatia), James had written to Peter about not eating with Gentiles (purity laws). Fear drove Peter and the other Jews to separate themselves from the Gentiles. Paul asked Peter why he was compelling the Gentiles to follow Jewish customs, distorting the Gospel. Dr. Schreiner said the word anankazō for “compel” is used here. Paul’s famous words in Gal. 2: 20-21 illustrate what happens when we accept Christ as our Savior. Cultural barriers that segregated Jews from Gentiles have come down thanks to Jesus’ work on the cross.

Part 2 The Gospel

The Promise vs. The Law

Paul felt led to admonish Peter at Antioch because Christ had united Jews and Gentiles through His death on the Cross. No longer would animal sacrifices stand in the place of the sinner. No longer would humans be in bondage to sin. Christ wants unity within the church, a “unity rooted in truth,” Dr. Schreiner said.

After comparing circumcision vs. the Cross of Christ, Paul compared the unconditional covenant God made with Abraham to the conditional covenant God made with Moses. God promised Abraham in Genesis 12: 2-3 that He would make Abraham a great nation. When God freed the Israelites from Egyptian captivity, He made a conditional covenant with the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-24). This Mosaic, or Sinai, covenant is the torah, or the Law. The Law revealed to the Israelites their sinfulness and need for a Savior. See also Romans 3:23-24. Paul explains why the Law was given in Gal. 3:19. "It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come."

The Seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ, came to fulfill the promise God made to Abraham. He is the only fully divine, fully human, second Person of the Trinity who kept the whole Law. He delivered humanity from the bondage of sin and death when He suffered and died on the cross. Christians no longer live under the Law’s curse. Dr. Schreiner said that the Law itself is not a curse; the curse is human fallenness and sin. Jesus’ atoning work on the cross freed sinners from life in the flesh. See Gal. 3:28-29.

Part 3 The New Life

The Galatians needed to hear that they were part of God’s promise to Abraham. The Law came 430 years after. Paul makes a distinction between the life of the flesh (old era) and life in the Spirit (new era). Christians aren’t made perfect by the flesh, he said, but by the Holy Spirit who lives within every believer. Paul said these adversaries were living as if the new creation had not arrived and were trying to get the Galatians to do the same. He then presents an allegory using the story of Hagar and Sarah from Genesis. Paul likened those who did not have the faith of Abraham to the child born of a slave, Ishmael (Gal. 4:21-31). Paul told the Galatians they became like Isaac, born of a free woman when they accept Christ by faith (3:3, 7-8). God’s covenant with Abraham – the Abrahamic Covenant — is in full effect (Galatians 3:16-18).

Justification by Faith in Jesus Christ

Dr. Schreiner said Paul wanted the Galatians to not listen to those who were trying to get them to revert back to old era, life in the flesh. He said that love for the world ends at the cross. After accepting Christ, the believer receives the promised Holy Spirit. He resides within Christians who undergo a renovation that starts the moment they accept Christ. Christians are “governed and directed by the Holy Spirit” to live in a way pleasing to God.

Christians will still experience the desires of the flesh while living in this fallen world, but the Spirit empowers them to “crucify the flesh”, to repent and turn away from sin. He produces within the believer fruits of the spirit that signify a life lived in service to the Lord. (The works of the flesh versus the fruits of the Spirit are given in Gal. 5:19-25.) Christians rooted in the life of the Spirit no longer live for themselves: they live for Christ. While each person must decide to follow Jesus, Dr. Schreiner said, each one has a place, a role to fulfill, within the corporate body of Christ.

Concluding Thoughts

I had not read a devotional solely on Galatians; in fact, the last time I read Galatians, I also read Ephesians and Philippians with tie-ins to Paul’s other letters. Even though this book is on Galatians, Dr. Schreiner took me to other biblical passages. Scripture interprets Scripture, so I fully expected to explore other books of the Bible. Galatians also ties into end times study, or eschatology, Dr. Schreiner said. Christians reside in God’s Kingdom now and are awaiting Christ’s return. The “already, but not yet” eschatology in Paul’s letters is of interest to modern Bible scholars.

Dr. Schreiner is a Pauline scholar and professor of New Testament, as well as an associate dean of the School of Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In his discussion, he used other religious texts besides the Hebrew Bible, such as the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical books and the Masoretic Text. I think he used those works to provide historical, literary, philosophical, and religious context for Paul’s letter to the Galatians…but that’s just my take on it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Crossway publishing for allowing me to read and review this advance reader copy of Christ Crucified: A Theology of Galatians.

I’ve been interested in reading Schreiner for a while as I often hear his work quoted by pastors and other leaders of theology. Christ Crucified is a very helpful look at the book of Galatians broken into 3 parts: The Conflict, The Gospel, and The New Life. I found this to be a clear guide to help me think through Paul’s letter to the Galatian church and this commentary would be an excellent source to use as a guide while studying the book of the Bible. I look forward to reading it again at a slower pace to dig deeper in my Bible study. The language is easy enough for lay people to understand and Schreiner points people to Christ with this work.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review of the text.

Tom Schreiner has a gift from God to help us understand about New Testament, especially in his new book, Christ Crucified, we can dig deep unto the Galatians theology. This is concise and reliable introduction for all of us to know more about Galatians major theme.