Although being a key statement in dealing with the controversy over the law and faith, Paul’s declaration about ‘dying to the law, living by faith’ in Gal. 2:19–20 has not been properly interpreted within the literary, social-historical context nor in relation to the before-mentioned controversy. In this study, Gal. 2:19–20 was re-interpreted as part of Paul’s autobiographical narrative, considering the social-historical context, i.e. the first century Jewish pilgrimage. Based on the antithetical structure between the present worldly empire and the empire of God which runs through the whole letter of Galatians, it was shown that Jesus’ followers in those days were under social pressure to submit to the order of the present worldly empire, i.e. first century Judaism with the Jerusalem Temple at its centre. Some of the Jesus’ followers (including Peter) gave in to this social pressure, and this led to the crisis in Galatia. Against this background, the researcher argued that the letter to the Galatians should be read from the perspective of an orthodox monotheistic Jew with a new awakening that God’s forgiveness and acceptance is now mediated by Jesus Christ, not by the Jerusalem Temple and its priests. It was shown that the whole letter to the Galatians, especially Paul’s autobiographical narrative, is orbiting around the controversy over the Jerusalem Temple and Jesus Christ as the new temple. With this context, the research argued that the letter to the Galatians can be better understood with the motif of pilgrimage, which was one of the most important rituals of the existing world order, i.e. first century Judaism. Based on the researcher’s definition of pilgrimage, ‘journey to the centre’, ‘journey to the past’ and ‘journey to the presence of God’, the first century Jewish pilgrimage was re-examined in this study, and then Galatians was reread from the pilgrimage perspective: Clarifying that the present Jerusalem was not the mother-city (pilgrimage centre) of Jesus’ followers, and that the law of first century Judaism should not be identified with the law of God, Paul urges the Galatian believers who were delivered from the present evil empire, to make a pilgrimage to the presence of God in the heavenly Jerusalem, following the examples of the pilgrims who preceded them: Abraham, Paul himself and most significantly, Jesus Christ. Paul’s personal confession, ‘dying to the law, living by faith’ was also re-interpreted within this context. Paul’s dying to the law was understood as his departure from the external worship and life according to the law of first century Judaism. However, ‘dying to the law’ must be understood in relation to the other side of the coin, ‘living by faith’. Paul’s present life which is characterized by ‘being crucified with Christ’, ‘life led by Christ’ and ‘living by faith in Christ’ was, in fact, Paul’s pilgrimage, singing the way of Christ, walking in the law of Christ. Following Christ who made the journey from the highest place to the lowest of the cross to offer his body in order that sinners may be forgiven and restored as the people of God, Paul is making his pilgrimage, which is characterized by persecution and crucifixion, in order to lead the Gentile sinners to the presence of God. Gal. 2:19–20 is Paul’s song to invite the Galatian believers, and ultimately all believers, to participate in the pilgrimage of Christ, which leads us to the lowest place of the cross, and eventually to the presence of God. iii Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za

Pilgrimage as singing and walking in the way of the law of Christ : interpreting 'dying to the law' in Gal. 2:19

This thesis rereads central texts of Paul’s letters to demonstrate that Paul’s speech about God, Jesus Christ, and the Spirit is intricately intertwined so that talk about any one of the three (God, Jesus, or the Spirit) implies reference to all of them together (God, Jesus, and the Spirit). The first part of the Introduction describes how the current landscape of Pauline scholarship has largely given up this way of articulating the dynamics of Paul’s God-, Christ-, and Spirit-discourse. Eschewing explicitly trinitarian language in favor of other conceptualities, much recent Pauline scholarship has opted for discussing the relationship between God and Jesus in terms of ‘high’ or ‘low’ christology. After summarizing this trend, the second part of the Introduction describes trinitarian theologies as representing a better approach that will serve to open a fresh angle on Paul, despite its conceptual difference from Paul’s own speech.
The next four chapters defend that supposition with detailed exegesis. Chapter 1 considers how the identity of God is shaped by Paul’s christology: God’s identity is only what it is in relation to Jesus. Chapters 2 and 3 consider the converse: how the identity of Jesus is shaped by his relation to God. These latter two chapters also rebut the charge that Paul’s alleged ‘subordinationist’ christology renders a trinitarian, relational reading of the divine identity untenable. Drawing on the conclusion found in the history of trinitarian theologies that the oneness or unity between God and Jesus does not come into conflict with the distinction between God and Jesus, Chapters 2 and 3 argue that the mutuality that exists between God and Jesus is asymmetrical but not for that reason graspable with the concept of ‘subordinationism’.
Chapter 4 brings the Spirit into the mutual, reciprocal relationship between God and Jesus. The Spirit’s identity is derived from God and Jesus’; yet the Spirit is also involved in the sequence of events whereby God and Jesus are identified. The Spirit’s identity is relationally determined, but also God and Jesus are who they are only by virtue of the Spirit’s agency which is exercised by God in the resurrection of Jesus.
In this way, despite its historical distance from Paul and its different idiom, trinitarian theology is shown to illumine a way through interpretive difficulties in Paul’s letters that the more recent concepts of ‘high’ and ‘low’ christology have hitherto been unable to illumine.

Paul and the Triune Identity: Rereading Paul's God-, Christ-, and Spirit-Language in Conversation with Trinitarian Theologies of Persons and Relations

The Law of Christ

PROMISE AND FREEDOM, FLESH AND SLAVERY: PAUL’S HERMENEUTICAL KEY IN GALATIANS 4:21-5:1 IN LIGHT OF THE THEMES AND STRUCTURE OF GALATIANS Douglas Robert Wallaker, Ph.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2017 Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Robert L. Plummer The story of Sarah and Hagar has been treated as one of the foundational stories for the nation of Israel. Yet, Paul, in one deft allegory, will attempt to overturn centuries of theological and historical interpretation. Against other interpretations, I argue that Paul’s untraditional uniting of Hagar, Sinai, and the present Jerusalem together was accomplished through the interpretive key provided in 4:23: the one who comes from a slave has been born because of the flesh, and the one who comes from a free woman has been born through the promise. Paul no longer reads the story of Sarah and Hagar through a lens of separation based on physical realities, but rather through the lens of promise and flesh, as helpfully stated in 4:23. Ishmael was not “cast out” because of his sinfulness or supposed ethnic deficiencies, but rather because he was born “κατὰ σάρκα” and not “δι ̓ ἐπαγγελίας.” These comparative realities are not introduced here in the allegory for the first time; rather, Paul has been building these comparisons as his primary argument since the foundational 2:15-21. This dissertation, therefore, not only interprets the allegory in consideration of the lens of 4:23, but seeks to set the argument within both the thematic and schematic content of Galatians. While the first chapter summarizes and categorizes the typical interpretations of the difficult Galatians 4:21-5:1, the second chapter seeks to critique these approaches to the allegory. The value of applying Paul’s interpretive lens (Gal 4:23) to the allegory is argued for in the third chapter. By using the hermeneutical lens of 4:23, many of the allegory’s difficulties are eased, and the meaning and import of the allegory is clarified. The fourth chapter seeks to set the allegory within the epistle, both thematically and schematically, centering the main propositio around Paul’s remarks to Peter in Galatians 2:15-21. Finally, the last chapter looks at some limited applications of the thesis to OT hermeneutics, specifically in literal and allegorical readings of the Sarah/Hagar incident.

Promise and Freedom, Flesh and Slavery: Paul's Hermeneutical Key in Galatians 4:21-5:1 in Light of the Themes and the Structure of Galatians

This article is devoted to an overview of research published on the Letter to the Galatians from 2000 to 2010 An attempt is made to paint as detailed a picture as possible of the research on the letter, but in such a way that the gist of the contributions that have been selected is also communicated, albeit very briefly Research on Galatians in the following five areas is discussed: introductory issues (eg, authorship, opponents and recipients), the Wirkungsgeschichte of the letter, interpretative approaches to the letter, studies of particular verses/passages in the letter and the theology of the letter

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Research on the Letter to the Galatians: 2000-2010

J. Louis Martyn has identified perhaps the central question of Galatians: what time is it? This essay sheds fresh light on that question, however, by asking a corollary one: where are the Galatians? For Paul, it is argued, the Galatians are in the wilderness, somewhere between an Exodus-like redemption and the inheritance of the ‘kingdom of God’ (5.21). Paul utilises this narrative location as part of his rhetorical strategy to redress a developing crisis within his churches. The Galatians are on the verge of a wilderness apostasy, hence Paul colours his rebukes and warnings with language that evokes Israel's own tragic wilderness failings.

Todd A. Wilson

Papers

Wilderness Apostasy and Paul's Portrayal of the Crisis in Galatians