Imperishable Inheritance

I'll be leading a study this summer over Paul's letter to the churches at Galatia. Galatians provides an amazing look into the relation of law/gospel, works of the law, worship in truth, the relation between the Mosaic/Abrahamic Covenants, fruits of the Spirit, the Christian life, and much more. But first I need to give you pragmatic details.

This will also be the official website for the study. Throughout the study I will provide materials on here that we will examine. Here is tentative outline for the study. The study will span 12 weeks, but the 4th of July we will not meet due to the holiday (I figure most will be out of town and/or with their families).

The first week will be a study over hermeneutical methodologies and exegesis (vs. eisegesis). Here we will study the redemptive-historical hermeneutic that Paul utilizes particularly in chapters 3-4. We will learn the importance of proper exegesis and expositional learning this week. It will provide us a framework to approach our textual study.

We will then spend a week in overview of the book. We will contrast various theories on authorship, content, audience, etc. We will also uncover the characteristics and themes of Paul's writing in this book and compare it to his other works; then we start expositing starting with Gal 1:1-15. Each successive week will be a selected, thematically congruent, section of Galatians.

I will provide various juxtapositions on interpretations of this work. I will also interact with doctrinal and practical application of the text (from Paul's perspective). The most exciting part is that we will look into the New Perspective on Paul and whether we should abandon or embrace this doctrine (hint: the former). This letter is packed with doctrine, and studying this book and its doctrinal implications will go hand-in-hand.

There will also be various documents to download and review during the course of the study. The first document is Galatians from the New American Standard Version. I have chosen this version because I believe it is the best translation in English from the Critical Text of the New Testament. I have it available for download with notes pages. Please check the area for other documents for download/printing.

But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. - The Apostle Paul (Gal 6:14-15)