Rereading Galatians from the Perspective of Paul's Gospel
A Literary and Theological Commentary
(Cascade, 2019)
Presskit
Buy at Amazon1. Why did you write this commentary on Galatians?
This book is a short literary and theological commentary. I don't repeat lots of the good stuff from the traditional commentaries. I read Galatians from the perspective of Paul's gospel that emphasizes God's gospel, Christ's gospel, and the Christian gospel. I hope readers may understand this letter freshly, seeing the importance of Christ's faithfulness and Christian participation in the gospel.
2. What is the method that you applied to read the letter?
My main method is a literary reading of the letter. I don't follow a typical rhetorical analysis. I explore the theme of the gospel in Galatians: "the origin of the gospel; the clarification of the gospel; the root of the gospel; the advantage of the gospel; the mandate of the gospel." These are five features of the gospel in Galatians.
3. Why do you think Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians?
Some in the church confused the gospel of Christ he proclaimed. They claimed that Jewish elements such as circumcision should be a mandate to become children of God. But Paul argues that the gentiles don't need circumcision because it is a cultural, religious thing that is not essential to the faith. His point is faith is what all people need. This fact has been true ever since Abraham trusted God. Otherwise, Paul does not argue that his gospel is law-free. Rather, the law is fulfilled through Christ who loved his neighbor (see Gal 5:14: “For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’”). Paul does not attach any strings or conditions to his gospel other than faith, which has been working since Abraham.
4. How different is your interpretation from others?
My interpretation is different from the traditional one. I argue that "pistis christou" is Christ's faithfulness. Christ revealed God's love and justice and he was obedient to God. Accordingly, his sacrifice is the result of his faithfulness for God’s love. It is not a vicarious redemptive death that he died instead of sinners. Likewise, Gal 2:16 is interpreted differently: "We are justified not by the works of the law, but through Christ's faithfulness." Here justification requires Christian participation in Christ.
5. What can you talk about "justification by faith"?
Strictly speaking, "justification by faith" is a correct one that is argued by Paul. But the question is by whose faith or what kind of faith. Primarily, the needed faith is Christ's faith, which is the basis for Christian faith. Then the content of faith is not merely to accept Christ's vicarious death but to imitate him.
6. You also read Romans from the same perspective of Paul's gospel. Are there common themes between the two letters?
Although the context of Romans is different from Galatians, Paul's view of the gospel is the same. Likewise, in Romans, we see the importance of the gospel involving three aspects: God's gospel, Christ's gospel, and the Christian gospel. The concept of faith and justification in Romans is congruous with Galatians. There is no conflict about Paul's theology.
7. Can you talk about your book briefly? What is it about?
This book approaches Galatians from a threefold-gospel perspective: God, Jesus, and those who live faithfully. For Paul, the good news is rooted in God’s promises to Abraham and confirmed through the faith of Christ Jesus. Those who share his faithfulness are set right with God and become children of God. All the above is the good news that Paul preaches to the Galatians.
