Paul Called Uncircumcised Gentiles "Brethren" (Brothers)

Paul called uncircumcised Gentile proselytes “Brethren”. He calls them his brothers. And he calls them his brothers not once, but lots of times. Furthermore in Galatians 4:19, Paul refers to the gentiles in the Galatian churches as his "own little children". Now whilst we normally don’t give that a second thought, in this context isn’t that interesting ?

Galatians 1:11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel…
Galatians 3:15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of…
Galatians4:12 Brethren, I beseech you
Galatians 4:19 My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,
Galatians 4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was,
Galatians 4:31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman,
Galatians 5:11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution?
Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty;
Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault…
Galatians 6:18 Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

We can be sure that when Paul referred to the church members as brethren he wasn’t only talking about CIRCUMCISED descendents of Abraham. He was equally addressing his GENTILE BRETHREN. His brothers in Christ - spiritual descendents of Abraham.

Furthermore when he addresses this letter to the Galatian churches, he begins in chapter 1:2 by writing.

Galatians 1:2 And all the BRETHREN which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia...

We find at the end of the book that he wrote the epistle to the Galatians from guess where: Rome. So he’s referring to gentiles in Rome as “brethren” too.

When Paul Writes "Brethren" or "Children" He's Making a Loaded Point

So whenever Paul uses the term “brethren”, he’s making a loaded point. At almost EVERY opportunity, Paul is saying, YOU UNCIRCUMCISED GENTILES ARE MY BROTHERS.

Not the sort of thing you’d normally hear very often from a former enforcer of the Sanhedrin.

His message VERY CLEARLY is: we are ALL sons of GOD, whether or NOT we are sons of Abraham. And that is arguably is the guts of the first (and most significant) of the two themes that Paul is addressing in his letter to the Galatian churches.

Let's now get some background on first century Jewish Torah law, to lay a foundation for understanding more about Paul's attitude to law in Galatians.

Return to the start of Galatians, Paul, The Torah-Law and Legalism a Judianity website ?

In Acts a small and predictable change to one "Old Testament" law about the circumcision of gentile proselytes caused massive turmoil in the predominantly Jewish first century church. Why then, isn't any comparable fuss recorded in the New Testament if most of the other Old Testament laws were "done away"? Why also do many christian theologians believe even after the crucifixion, that Paul kept Nazirite vows and offered sacrifices at the temple?

Let's take a closer look at First Century Jewish Torah Law and the Oral Torah Law
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