Galatians: A Life in Letters

By Johannes W. H. van der Bijl

This narrative commentary explores Paul’s letter to the Galatians by placing it in the larger context of Paul’s life and ministry. Combining cultural and archeological research, Rev. Dr. Johannes W. H. van der Bijl draws together details from the book of Acts and the Pauline Epistles to offer us a unique glimpse into the real-life issues facing Paul, Barnabas, and the first-century church. While centred on the writing of Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia, the author follows Paul’s story and theological development through his early life and conversion to his ministry in Antioch and first missionary journey. By presenting Paul as a tangible, flesh and blood human, readers will better understand the message of Galatians – that there
is unity and freedom to be had in Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Langham Global Library
• Release date: Mar 14, 2024
• ISBN: 9781839739408

Book preview

Foreword

For nearly ten years I have taught courses in New Testament Survey to groups of about twenty-five university students. Time after time I witnessed their enthusiastic engagement with the Gospels and the book of Acts, only to see their interest dwindle in the second half of the course, when coming to the Epistles. In the culture of the Middle East, as in many other cultures, many prefer to do theology through narrative rather than discursive text and are drawn to the first half of the New Testament.

Yet, there is narrative in and behind the Epistles. They are not collections of abstractions but communication from person to person, community to community. Historical critical scholarship has gone a long way in recovering the narratives in and behind the Epistles, but students can easily lose their way in the technical and discursive language of scholarly commentaries. We need commentaries that take us into the narrative of the Pauline communities and, indeed, the narrative of Paul and his co-authors.

Johannes van der Bijl’s narrative commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians does exactly that. And as it narrates, it captivates and educates. It takes the reader to a house in ancient Antioch, where the apostle Paul, with other leaders of the church, might have written this letter. Through imaginative dialogues it brings out the apostle’s deep concern for the spiritual wellbeing of the Galatian Christians, whose faith was threatened by a misapprehension of law and grace.

The narrative is informed by engagement with the Greek text and recent scholarship. It builds on the South Galatian hypothesis, favouring an early dating of the letter before the apostles’ meeting in Jerusalem. The events of the first missionary journey, as told in Acts 13 and 14, guide the interpretation. We meet Paul, Barnabas, and the other leaders of the Antiochian church just before they travel to Jerusalem to discuss the requirements for new believers from among the Gentiles. The nature of Christian freedom is at stake. Van der Bijl shows how this was a personal concern for both the authors and the recipients of this letter.

The medium of story organically evokes the Jewish and Graeco-Roman contexts. Smells, sounds, and sights enable the reader to imagine the process of reflection that lay behind this letter. We see Paul pacing around the room and dictating sentences. We listen to heated conversations about the thorny issues that the Galatians faced. We feel the joy of the breakthrough of an insight.

Readers should remember that this is a commentary on, and not a rewriting of, the Epistle to the Galatians. Van der Bijl is, in many ways, pioneering a new genre in biblical commentary. His approach is to reconstruct the possible and probable circumstances surrounding the writing of the letter and the conception of its theological content. Just like other commentaries, it is an approximation and interpretation, this time in the form of a narrative. It should be read as critically as other commentaries.

If so used, this commentary is eminently suited as a first introduction to Paul and the letter to the Galatians. It may serve as a textbook in courses on Pauline literature and prove its value as an inspirational aid in the preparation of sermons and Bible lessons. In cultures that appreciate storytelling, this is a welcome new approach in biblical studies.

Wilbert van Saane

Haigazian University and the Near East School of Theology,

Beirut, Lebanon

Preface

While Peter is certainly the most developed disciple in the Gospels, Paul undoubtedly shares the title in the Acts of the Apostles and surpasses Peter in the Epistles. Perhaps this is why there is so much more written about Paul than there is about Peter!

And this, of course, begs the question: Why write yet another book on Paul? What do I have to say that would add to the collective knowledge of this towering figure? The answer is quite simple. Nothing. I have nothing to add. But I do have a different style to offer that might be helpful to those who learn primarily through narrative . . . through simple storytelling.

Of course, some may point out that Paul’s letters were written in a propositional style, using logic and rhetoric, whereas a narrative style is more concrete, using stories and images to convey truth. But I would argue that Paul’s letters are full of concrete stories and images, especially in his use of Old Testament quotations . . . quotations that would have conjured up the stories and images contained in the greater context of those quotations.[1] Besides, the real, tangible, flesh-and-blood person, together with other real, tangible, flesh-and-blood people who may have helped in the drafting of each letter – all grappling with real-life issues of cultural and religious plurality in a first-century world – cannot be removed from the letters.

This current volume – and, God willing, those volumes that will follow – seeks to examine, in part, the apostle Paul’s story – his life and his theology – through the lens of his own letters, following an accepted chronological order. Each letter is set in the framework outlined for us by Luke in Acts and by Paul himself in his Epistles. While some speculation is inevitable when dealing with historical figures since, most often, not everything can be known about the character – for example, details about the person’s childhood – I have tried to stay as close to the scriptural texts as possible. I have also endeavoured to stay true to the cultural practices of the day. As with all my books, these volumes are no substitute for the Scriptures; they are simply narrative commentaries.

It is my hope and prayer that my small contribution will bring glory to the one who is ultimately the hero of all our stories – God our Father, Jesus our Lord, and the Spirit, our life-giver and guide.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to all who have encouraged me in the writing of this first book in the narrative commentary series on Paul’s life and labour as seen through the book of Acts, his own writings, the writings of others, as well as a few church traditions. Thanks especially to my wife, Louise, who so lovingly and patiently reads through the material, offering helpful suggestions here and there for improvement. Of all married men, I will always be the most blessed.

Preamble

Acts 7:57–8:3; 9:1–31; 11:19–30

Our story begins after the so-called First Missionary Journey. Paul and Barnabas had been in Antioch for a while when they receive bad news from the churches in Galatia, informing them that Jewish believers were attempting to persuade all Gentile converts to submit to Jewish religious practices and customs.

Paul held the open parchment before him, his hands trembling, his breathing shallow and rapid.

But why are you so upset? Barnabas asked. Jesus taught that if they are not against us, they are for us and that we should not forbid them to . . .[1]

This is not a question of for or against, Barnabas, Paul interrupted. "This is a foreign gospel altogether. It is a fundamental betrayal of everything we believe and teach and practise. Never in the history of our people has deliverance come through the observance of any law! We obey the law because we are God’s people, not the other way round. Ever since Adam’s fall, it has always been God who seeks us out first[2] . . . no human being has ever sought after God.[3] He is found by those who do not seek him."[4]

Barnabas sighed as he sat down next to his colleague. In his opinion, it was unfortunate that Paul possessed the kind of emotionally passionate temperament that caused him to experience life a little more intensely than most people. This often resulted in spur-of-the-moment assessments and decisions that Paul later regretted – like what had happened with Barnabas’s cousin, John Mark.

He took a deep breath and then said gently, Well, I haven’t read the letter from our Galatian brethren yet, so you will have to help me understand.

Have you forgotten where I came from? Paul shot back, his eyes still fixed on the parchment