What is The Galatian Controversy / The Galatian Heresy ?

Jumping to the end of the book of Galatians we get a very clear picture of what one of the main objectives of the trouble-makers in Galatia was. Let's take a look at Galatians 6:12-13

Galatians 6:12 As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, THEY CONSTRAIN YOU (gentile proselytes) TO BE CIRCUMCISED (in accordance with the Passover passage in Exodus 12:48) ; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. 13 For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; BUT DESIRE TO HAVE YOU CIRCUMCISED , that they may glory in your flesh.

It doesn't seem unlikely then, that when we read of "those of the circumcision" in Acts 10:45 and Galatians 2:12, its referring to those members of the church who believed that gentiles STILL had to become naturalized Israelite citizens through physical circumcision in accordance with Exodus 12:48.

Paul knew that after God revealed that Cornelius' should be baptised without being circumcised, some church members still couldn't quite get their heads around the fact that God was calling gentiles directly into the church, WITHOUT them having to become naturalized Israelite citizens through PHYSICAL circumcision in accordance with Exodus 12:48. That is: they couldn't get their heads around the fact that God had changed His own law. It seems that some of them continued to insist that Cornelius and co. was in fact "a blip" and that circumcision was still ESSENTIAL for gentiles in the church.

But God overlooked NO SUCH THING.

For God, superceding Exodus 12:48 was a completely deliberate change, because from this point onwards, the church was going far wider than "just" the twelve tribes. God was going to call not just an occasional gentile, but MANY MANY more non-Israelites AND to even GREATER promises than he'd made to Abraham; under the NEW Covenant that again had been planned way back, yet again, in what we refer to as the Old (some would say redundant) Testament.

Under the New Covenant God planned to give His Spirit, and the ultimate benefit would not only be physical blessings, but eternal life and things so wonderful that it's not even entered into the heart of man. This was a whole new ball game and importantly from Cornelius' time onwards it would affect gentiles in an ENTIRELY bigger way than some church members (that is: those "of the circumcision" who DIDN'T BELIEVE) could quite understand.

As Acts 15: ruled, gentiles no longer HAD to be circumcised, to be called, to take Passover and participate in the New Covenant or in the parlance that we began with, the new contract with God.

With that in mind let's AGAIN go back to Galatians 6; where we see Paul wrapping his arguments up in a summary, which helps us to see how central this subject was to the letter.

Galatians 6:12 As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, THEY CONSTRAIN YOU TO BE CIRCUMCISED; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.

As we've said; it certainly seems as though those "of the circumcision" were trying to get the gentile proselytes to be circumcised under Exodus 12:48. In the next verse Paul repeats himself:

13 For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. 14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. 15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

Let's be clear, the non-circumcision of gentile proselytes wasn't the only part of the Galatian Heresy, but it was the most significant part. The other main issue dealt with by Paul was what the Galatian's were being taught about Torah-law. These two themes were also referred to by Paul's accusers in Acts 21:21

Acts 21:18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, "You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; 21 but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. NKJV

By "customs" arguably Acts is referring to Pharisaic additions and traditions of oral Torah-law (now the Talmud) that Paul a former Pharisee had been an expert in - the same oral Torah-law / traditions of the fathers that Christ had criticised.

But before we review the issue of law and legalism, which is indeed the second theme of Galatians, let's go back to the beginning of the Epistle and see in more detail how the theme of gentile non-circumcision is central to Paul's letter to the Galatians.

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

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

Let's take a closer look at the Many References to Gentile Circumcision vs. Non-Circumcision in Galatians
© www.galatians-paul-the-torah-law-legalism.info Jan 2006.