Answering Faith: A Guide to Galatians With N.t. WrightSample

At the end of Galatians 3, Paul makes a bold theological claim, which is at the same time sociological and political. He may here be parodying a Jewish prayer (problematic for our time) thanking God for not making one be born as an enslaved person, woman, or pagan. The particular identities emphasized are less important than the fact that all identity markers are now transcended, save belonging in Messiah Jesus.

Right before this, Paul had explained his understanding of the Torah as a good but time-limited thing. The word he uses is often translated as ‘teacher’ but more often described the enslaved person who escorted children to school, like a chaperone or babysitter. This role is, of course, only necessary while the children are young. By analogy, when the One community of God comes into maturity, they no longer need a babysitter.

This maturity is in effect when the people are called ‘sons of God.’ Many modern translations use ‘children of God’ to avoid sexist language, which is all well and good. ‘Children’ approaches at least part of Paul’s meaning, but his statement is actually much bolder. Back then, as a category, children were hardly respected in their own right. Jesus followers are more than just any old children. Paul’s point is more along the lines of inheritance. Only sons were afforded inheritance in the ancient world. The sonship metaphor also plays on interlocking symbols from the Old Testament. Israel is God’s firstborn son, carrying the inheritance promise through the Davidic line all the way to Jesus, another ‘Son of God.’ For this reason, the male language is important for the analogy, though it needs to be understood in light of Paul’s immediate declaration that there is, in fact, no gender divide in the New Age. This makes all the more sense in the context of Paul’s larger argument that circumcision, a male-only identity marker, is no longer relevant. Thereby, Paul implicitly erases the inherent gender division in community definition. Baptism and faith, by contrast, are gender-neutral markers.

This begs the question: How are we inheritors of God’s promise? Answer: ‘Through faith,’ a statement which for Paul carries the double implications of human faith in Messiah Jesus and the Messiah’s faithfulness. The point is that faith aligns us with Israel’s Messiah, placing the community of believers into Messiah to share in the inheritance.

Reflection:

When Paul says there is ‘neither Jew nor Greek’ etc., what is the basic theological claim he makes? How do you personally think about identity as both particular and God-given?