The Galatians believed in Jesus. There were signs that the Spirit was with them; however, they received Christian-Jews who told them that the ceremonial law, the circumcision, was necessary to be seen as the people of Lord. Why did they listen to these Christian-Jews? Because they were descendants of Abraham, because they were the people that received Moses and the prophets and the Old Testament.
As the Old Testament is the word of the Lord, Paul (a Jew) had to use the Old Testament to argument that the Galatians are in fact the people of the Lord not by the law but by trusting in Jesus because:
Genesis 15:6 - Abraham was justified/saved (seen as just by the Lord) by faith before the Law.
Genesis 12:3 - The promise to Abraham included all nations.
Deuteronomy 27:26 - The Law demands perfection (and we fail); thus by law, no one can be justified.
Habakkuk 2:4 - The righteous live by trusting God.
Therefore, the Galatians don't need to be circumcised to be accepted by the Lord. In fact, they were already accepted by the Lord when they trusted in Jesus, and it was notorious that the Spirit was with them.
5-6 Answer this question: Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him to do them in you? Don’t these things happen among you just as they happened with Abraham? He believed God, and that act of belief was turned into a life that was right with God.
In a way, as the Jews didn't do anything to be chosen by the Lord (because they were not morally superior), so the Galatians were chosen to believe and be welcomed as the Lord's people by Jesus merits. This raises the question: "why does the Law says to be circumcised?", or a greater question: "if we are saved by faith and it was before the Law given by Moses, why the Law?".
Paul compare the Law to the Paidagōgos, a slave that served as a tutor of a child, of a heir. How can one understand the sacrifice of Jesus unless he understands the concept of sin. The Paidagōgos were very good to show this concept to the Jews. Many gentiles don't understand what is sin; some even say that it is revolting to be called a sinner. The restrictions of the Law were important to create the environment to the coming of Jesus. For instance, the restrictions about food, the circumcision, etc. aided the Jews to be a nation with a very different view of the world. Imagine Jesus coming in a pagan society! It was very difficult for the Jews to understand the sacrifice of Jesus, but in a pagan society without the concept of sin, it was impossible.
The Japanese people are very devoted to tell the truth and to work, but they see it as a feature of the Japanese culture. If a Japanese doesn't kill or rob, he can't understand that he needs Jesus. However, a Jew that meditates on the Tanak (Law , Psalms and Prophets) can understand that he needs an atonement for his sins because it is in the Law. It is by the Tanak that we can understand the Passover, and relate it to Eastern. Imagine how can I, a gentile, understand what Jesus made for me without the Tanak!
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