Galatians: A New Creation in Christ

What was Paul so worked up about in his letter to the Galatians? Learn the fascinating backstory to the drama! We’ll discover how to follow the strange Old Testament stories to the true good news: that we are now part of God’s new, multi-ethnic family of faith who live by the Spirit. We are new creations who live and love like Jesus!

About this 10-Lesson, In-depth, Discussion-based study

Walk through the entire Biblical book of Galatians, the letter the apostle Paul wrote to several churches in this 10-lesson video study.

Lesson 1: Introduction & Overview.

Reading Assignment and Study Questions : Acts 13-14; Galatians 1:1-5

What had Paul’s visit to southern Galatia (Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, & Derbe) in Acts 13-14 been like?
What kind of book is Galatians – what’s its genre? Why does that matter? What will it mean for us?
Take a few extra minutes to scan the book of Galatians. What tone do you notice? What issues come up?
Does Galatians strike you as an easy book to understand? Difficult? Why?

Memory Verse: Galatians 1:3-5

³Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.

Lesson 2: The Circumcision Situation

Reading Assignment and Study Questions: Gal 1:1-10; 4:17-20; 5:2-12; 6:11-18

What did we learn about Galatians in Lesson 1? What are its themes?
Consider the prayer in 1:3-5 – how can we restate it into the message of the gospel?
What do we learn from these four passages about Paul’s opponents and what they said the Galatians needed to do?
What is circumcision and why was it important?

Memory Verse: Galatians 1:10

¹⁰ Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Lesson 3: Independent Gospel

Handout: Possible Chronology of Paul’s Life Events in Acts and Galatians

Reading Assignment and Study Questions: Gal 1:11 – 2:14

What did we learn about the situation in Galatia in Lesson 2? What was the problem that Paul was addressing in the whole letter?
What argument is Paul making by telling the story of his conversion and early life in the church? What are the points of that argument?
What does Paul mean by “the freedom we have in Christ” in Galatians 2:4?
What is the “truth of the Gospel” that is being kept for the Galatian Christians in 2:5? Why does this phrase reappear in 2:14?

Memory Verse: Galatians 1:11

¹¹I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin.

Lesson 4: Justified by Faith

Reading Assignment and Study Questions for this lesson: Gal 2:15 – 3:5

What was Paul arguing in last week’s lesson? Why did it matter?

As you read Gal. 2:15-5:21, think of it as Paul’s argument to Peter to convince him it was important to go back to eating with Gentile Christians, and also a concentrated introduction to the argument he is about to make in the next few chapters.

Who does Paul mean (v.15) by “we who are Jews by birth” in this part of the story? Who does he refer to as “Gentile sinners”?
When Paul says (v.18), “If I build up what I destroyed…” what is he referring to? As in, what did Peter destroy and then build back up (Gal. 2:12)? Compare Eph 2:11-14 for what has been “destroyed” (v.14).
What does it mean if “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me?” Does “I no longer live” sound like a bad thing? Does it make me less myself? How so or how not?
In 3:2 and following, why does Paul start talking about the Spirit? How does that connect to what he has been saying?

Memory Verse: Galatians 2:20

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Note from Deanna about today’s video: This is a new video as of
10/13/21. The original had been recorded at a hybrid in-person / online class and the in-person class members were off screen and not always audible. You can still find that version on my YouTube channel, but I have replaced it here with a recording made during an all-online section of the class which has clearer audio.

Lesson 5: A Lesson from Abraham

Reading Assignment and Study Questions for this lesson: Gal 3:6-29; Gen. 12:1-9; Gen. 15

What were some main points of the passage last week in Gal. 2:15-3:5? What vocabulary did we highlight?
Who is Abraham (v.6) and how does he fit into the story of the Hebrew Scriptures?
What does Gal. 3:8 tell us about the relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament? Is this a surprising verse?
What does it mean to be “cursed” (v.10, 13)? How are verses 10 and 13 connected?
What does it mean to you that there is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female? How should this affect my daily life?

Memory Verse: Galatians 3:28

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Note from Deanna about today’s video: This class was recorded at a hybrid in-person / online class. During the discussion, the in-person class members are off screen and their comments are not always audible. I tried to repeat them into the microphone, but missed doing so occasionally. An all-online section of the class that matches the other recordings in the series was also recorded, but the audio suffers from poor signal at times. You may watch it here, or find it on my YouTube channel.

Bonus Lesson

(after Lesson 5): Not to Seeds but to Seed

Scripture and Question: Galatians 3:16

Why does Paul make a point about the promise being given to Abraham’s “seed” not “seeds”? What is he saying?

Other Scriptures mentioned: Genesis 13:14-16, Genesis 25:1-6

Watch this bonus content after Lesson 5

Lesson 6: The Joy of Being Heirs

Reading Assignment and Study Questions for this lesson: Gal. 4:1-16

What was Paul’s main point in using the Abraham story in last week’s lesson? What does Paul assume about the relationship of the Old Testament and New Testament, or about “the Scriptures” and “the gospel”?
Look at the situation of the “heir” in Gal. 4:1-3 – what is the “guardian” (look back at 3:23-24)? And what is the child a “slave” to (4:3)?
What Old Testament story does the metaphor of “slavery” allude to?
What are the “elemental things of the world” (NASB) or “basic principles of the world” (NIV) in 4:3, 9? What might they be? How does Paul describe them?
What is the part of the inheritance Paul mentions in 4:6? What does this inheritance begin to do in us?

Memory Verse: Galatians 4:6

⁶ Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

Note from Deanna about today’s video: This is a new video as of 10/28/21. The original had been recorded at a hybrid in-person / online class and the in-person class members were off screen and not always audible. You can still find that version on my YouTube channel, but I have replaced it here with a recording made during an all-online section of the class which has clearer audio.

Lesson 7: The Two Covenants

Reading Assignment and Study Questions for this lesson: Gal. 4:21 – 5:6; Gen. 16; 21:1-21

What was the metaphor Paul used for those who don’t yet have the inheritance? What have we been redeemed from? What have we been redeemed to?
Who was Hagar? How did she come to be Abraham & Sarah’s maidservant (refer to Genesis 12:10-20)? What happened between her and Abraham & Sarah?
Who are the literal descendants of Sarah? But in Paul’s allegory in Galatians 4:24 and following, who are the spiritual descendants of Sarah?
In 5:1 and following, what would it mean to the Galatians if they let themselves be circumcised?
What does it mean to you that “for freedom Christ has set us free?”

Memory Verse: Galatians 5:1

¹ It is for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

The Tuesday video of the same lesson is also available here.

Lesson 8: Live by the Spirit

Reading Assignment and Study Questions for this lesson: Gal. 5:13-26

What was the allegory Paul used in the previous lesson? What point did he make to the Galatians? What was something that surprised or struck you about the story or Paul’s use of it?
Look back at Galatians 5:5-6. What is the “hope of righteousness”? How does it relate to being justified (made righteous – same word!) by faith?
The instruction not to go back to slavery came up several times over the last two sections! Yet what are the Galatians instructed to do in 5:13? Please note that the word for “serve” is literally “be slaves to” (see memory verse). How do these instructions fit together?
Why is it called the “fruit” of the Spirit? How do the virtues on this list appear in our lives?

Memory Verse: Galatians 5:13

¹³ For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve [be slaves to] one another.

The Tuesday video of the same lesson is also available here.

Lesson 9: Life Together – Gal. 6:1-10

Reading Assignment and Study Questions for this lesson: Gal. 6:1-10

What were your main takeaways from last week? What are we supposed to do with our freedom in Christ? What does it mean that someone would “not inherit the kingdom of God” (5:21)?
What usually happens when someone is caught in a “trespass” (literally, a “false step”)? What are the options that could happen, other than Paul’s instruction?
What does it mean to “restore gently”? Which party has more warnings, the trespasser or the restorer? Why?
What does it mean that “God cannot be mocked” (v. 7)? How does this statement connect into the teaching about sowing and reaping in verse 8?
How does the conclusion in v. 9-10 connect to the rest of the passage?

Memory Verse: Galatians 6:8

⁸ For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

The Tuesday video of the same lesson is available here.

Lesson 10: A New Creation – Gal. 6:11-18

Reading Assignment and Study Question for this lesson: Gal. 6:11-18

What were your main takeaways from last lesson? What are some practical instructions for life together?
What does Paul say is not grounds for boasting? What is grounds for boasting? How do these instructions relate to the themes of flesh and Spirit in the preceding passages?
How would you sum up each section of Galatians? Give a one sentence summary of these sections:
1. Gal. 1:1-10
2. Gal. 1:11-2
3. Gal. 3
4. Gal. 4
5. Gal. 5-6
What is Galatians about? What are the most relevant themes and teachings for us today?

Memory Verse: Galatians 6:14-15

¹⁴ 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. ¹⁵ For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.