Answer: Turkey
The capitol of Galatia was Ancyra, known today as Ankara, which serves as the capital of Turkey. The area was named for the Gauls from Thrace who settled there in the 3rd century BC. Paul had visited Galatia during his missionary journeys (Acts 16:6, 18:23), and presumably had planted the church there. This epistle was written around 50 AD, likely the earliest of Paul's letters.
From Quiz: Galatians Grab Bag
Answer: an apostle of Jesus Christ
Right from the start, Paul makes the point that he
- is an apostle, with all the authority which that implies, and
- that no human being but Jesus Christ Himself appointed Paul to be an apostle.
From Quiz: BBB Bible Series: Galatians
Answer: Paul
It says in Galatians 1:1, "Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead)."
Galatia was a Roman province.
From Quiz: Dear Galatians
Answer: A member of the tribe of Benjamin, Paul was circumcised on the eighth day, in strict conformity with Jewish law, and later became a Pharisee.
To understand Paul's attitude toward rules, religion and religious leaders, it is important to understand Paul's early life. He was, in all respects, a perfect religious Jew. As Paul tells us in a letter to the Phillipians, he was "circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, [of] the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews..." (Philippians 3:5, "KJV"). Paul zealously embraced the religion of his people and became a Pharisee, a member of the high profile and exclusive sect that emphasized religious learning and careful observance of the details of Jewish religious law (rules) and traditions.
From Quiz: Galatians: Kidnapped by the Rules
Answer: They were circumcizing Gentile converts.
A group had arisen in the early church, insisting that the Gospel was for followers of the Jewish law, and that therefore non-Jews must follow Jewish law to become followers of Christ. The major controversy centered around whether or not the gentile converts had to be circumcised like the Jews, as a sign of entering into the covenant of God and Abraham. In Galatians 2:12, Paul writes, "For before certain men came from James, [Peter] ate with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party."
From Quiz: The Gist of Galatians
Answer: Jesus
The Jewish Christians in Galatia grumbled that Paul was not a true apostle, so Paul argues this point in the beginning of the epistle. He starts right out by stating that he was not sent by man but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, and then in verse 12 reiterates that he received the gospel directly from Jesus. As evidence, he reminds the reader that he used to persecute the followers of Jesus - only God could change someone so opposed to the way.
From Quiz: Galatians Grab Bag
Answer: the requirement to conform to Judaic Law
Paul's reason for writing this letter was that some Jewish Christians had come to the Galatians and were promoting the idea that in order to be saved one had also to conform to Judaic Law and custom; to be circumcised, eat only kosher foods, offer sacrifices, etc. Paul is emphatic that to accept this teaching is like voluntarily becoming a slave again after being freed.
From Quiz: BBB Bible Series: Galatians
Answer: they had quickly left the gospel of grace and had adopted a different doctrine
Paul speaks of his amazement at the Galatians' abandonment of the gospel of Christ and their willingness to adopt another gospel in chapter 1, verse 6.
From Quiz: Greetings: To The Galatians
Answer: Arabia
It says in Galatians 1:17, "Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus."
According to the Holman Illustrated Pocket Bible Dictionary, when Paul spoke of Arabia he was most likely referring to the territory of the Nabataean Arabs.
From Quiz: Dear Galatians
Answer: They are becoming enslaved again.
"Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God - or rather are known by God - how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you." (Galatians 4 v. 8-11)
The key question was whether Christians were still required to maintain Jewish practice, and the key issue within that was circumcision. The particular significance of circumcision lay in its supposed origins as a sign of the covenant that God had entered into with Abraham and his descendants in perpetuity:
"As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised" (Genesis 17 v. 9-10).
Paul's position was that Christians now lived under the direct control of God through the Holy Spirit. He, therefore, saw the Law as advisory rather than rigidly binding.
From Quiz: Quizzing the New Testament : Galatians
Answer: That justification comes through faith, not through following the law
Paul asserts this truth many times. Gal. 2:15-16: "We ourselves, who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet who know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, in order to be justified by faith in Christ Jesus, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified." Gal. 3:11-12: "Now it is evident that no man is justified before God by the law; for 'He who through faith is righteous shall live'; but the law does not rest on faith, for 'He who does them shall live by them.'" Gal. 3:23: "Now before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed." Gal. 5:18: "But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law."
From Quiz: The Gist of Galatians
Answer: God's curse should fall upon that person
"I will say it again; If anyone preaches any other gospel than the one you welcomed, let God's curse fall upon that person" (1:9). Apparently the churches in Galatia had fallen prey to false teachers, and Paul was writing to correct the believers.
From Quiz: Paul's Letter to the Galatians
Answer: 2 weeks
The verse specifies that he spent 15 days with Peter; some translations say "a fortnight". Paul is making the point that after his experience on the road to Damascus, he went off on his own to learn; it was three years later that he finally met with some of the other apostles.
From Quiz: Galatians Grab Bag
Answer: by a revelation of Jesus Christ
Paul is quite clear that his understanding of the Gospel of salvation was taught to him directly by Jesus Christ: first, by the revelation on the road to Damascus, then through Paul's spiritual retreat of three years in Arabia and Damascus, and finally after another fourteen years in Syria and Cilicia. These solitary times were most likely spent in prayer, meditation, and study of the Scriptures (the Tanakh).
From Quiz: BBB Bible Series: Galatians
Answer: for Peter's withdrawal from the Gentiles in a hypocritical manner
In chapter 2 verse 12, we find Peter eating with Gentiles; that is, until Jews came by. He then withdrew from the Gentiles because he feared the opinions of his fellow countrymen. Peter was not alone in this shameful hypocrisy, however. Other Jews did the same, including the usually very level-headed Barnabas. Paul confronts Peter about this attitude in verses 14-21.
From Quiz: Greetings: To The Galatians
Answer: Antioch
It says in Galatians 2:11, "But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed."
Antioch was the third largest city in the Roman empire. First was Rome and second was Alexandria.
From Quiz: Dear Galatians
Answer: Being struck blind and hearing the voice of Jesus
Paul (the name Saul took after his conversion) had been the member of a rigid religious hierarchy committed to strict observance of religious rules, rules that were narrowly interpreted by the religious leaders. Yet Paul's experience caused him to follow Jesus, not another person persuading him or a particular interpretation of religious writings.
From Quiz: Galatians: Kidnapped by the Rules
Answer: Abraham
The Jewish converts placed great stock in being "sons of Abraham," and therefore inheritors of God's promise to Abraham of blessings through him to his posterity. Circumcision was Abraham's signature on the deal, if you will. So one group was having Gentile converts circumcised as a show of being "sons of Abraham". Paul pointed out the errors in this line of thought : Gal. 3:6: "Thus Abraham 'believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.' So you see that it is men of faith who are the sons of Abraham."
From Quiz: The Gist of Galatians
Answer: Gentiles
"For it pleased God in his kindness to choose me and call me, even before I was born! What undeserved mercy! Then he revealed his Son to me so that I could proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles." 1:15-16
From Quiz: Paul's Letter to the Galatians
Answer: Titus
Titus is the same disciple addressed in Paul's epistle to Titus; that epistle focuses on the work Titus was doing in Crete to strengthen the church. The inclusion of Titus in Galatians is relevant to the theme - Titus was a Greek gentile, and the "Judaizers" in Galatia were demanding obedience to the Jewish laws; thus, Titus was an example of a believer adopted into the church who was not compelled to follow all of the ceremonial stipulations.
From Quiz: Galatians Grab Bag
Answer: James, Cephas, and John
These were James the Greater, the brother of Jesus, who was head of the Church in Jerusalem at that time; Peter (here called 'Cephas', the Aramaic name which Jesus gave him), chief shepherd of the whole Church; and John the beloved disciple. Accompanying Paul on this visit were Barnabas and Titus. The climax of the story is in Galatians 2:9.
From Quiz: BBB Bible Series: Galatians
Answer: a schoolmaster
Galatians 3:23-29 seems to be a comparison between the Law and Christian faith. In verse 25, Paul explicitly states that "after faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster."
From Quiz: Greetings: To The Galatians
Answer: Abraham
It says in Galatians 3:6, "Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."
Righteousness comes from the Hebrew word "tsadiq" translated into the Greek word "dikaiosune".
From Quiz: Dear Galatians
Answer: Abba, Father
"Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father.' So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir." (Galatians 4 v. 6-7)
The word "Abba" is the one that a child would use of its father and is therefore a sign of intimacy. Paul contrasts this relationship with that of a slave and master. He says something similar when writing to the Christians in Rome:
"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children" (Romans 8 v. 15-16).
From Quiz: Quizzing the New Testament : Galatians
Answer: All of these.
Gal. 3:3: "Are you so foolish? Having begun with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?" Gal. 4:7: "So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir." Gal. 5:1: For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery."
From Quiz: The Gist of Galatians
Answer: Circumcision
Here Paul gives the example of Titus, who was not compelled to undergo circumcision in order to be considered a true convert (2:3). Paul likened this to slavery - false brothers were demanding that they forfeit the freedom they had in Christ and submit to circumcision and the slavery of conformity with the entirety of Jewish law.
From Quiz: Galatians Grab Bag
Answer: eating apart from the Gentile Christians
Paul tells how, before these men (probably conservative Jewish Christians) came from Jerusalem, Peter was quite happy to eat and share fellowship with the Gentiles, but that after the men arrived, he conformed to their sense of propriety and ate apart (almost certainly only kosher food) with them. Paul sees this as a betrayal, or at least a failure to support, the principle of salvation by grace rather than by works: religious observance of the Old Covenant.
From Quiz: BBB Bible Series: Galatians
Answer: through Jesus Christ
Galatians 3:14 says, "That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
From Quiz: Greetings: To The Galatians
Answer: faith
It says in Galatians 3:11, "But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith."
Faith is a very important concept in the Bible and is mentioned in some form over 500 times.
From Quiz: Dear Galatians
Answer: They trusted/believed Paul's message about Jesus.
Paul's teaching to the Galatians emphasized a reliance on trusting God and Paul's message (which Paul indicated was really God's message) about Jesus. Because of this trust, they received God's Spirit. Paul made it clear that it was the Galatians' faith, rather than their adherence to a set of rules or a religious tradition, that empowered them. In Galatians 3:5 Paul chides the Galatians, asking them, "Does He then, who provides you with the Spirit and works miracle among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?" ("NASB")
In English, we distinguish between "faith" and "trust", although the meanings do overlap. In the Greek of the New Testament, the word "pistis" subsumes multiple senses of the two English words and is sometimes translated faith and other times as trust depending on context.
From Quiz: Galatians: Kidnapped by the Rules
Answer: Guardianship
Paul compares the Jewish life under the law with an underage child living under a gardian or custodian in Galatians 4:1-7. He sets up this explanation in Gal. 3:23-24: "Now before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed. So that the law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith."
From Quiz: The Gist of Galatians
Answer: the law
"For when I tried to keep the law, I realized I could never earn God's approval. So I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ, I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me." (2:19-20). Paul was not saying that we should ignore laws because in Romans 7:12 he wrote "the law itself is holy and right and good." Rather, he is saying that the law cannot justify, only God can.
From Quiz: Paul's Letter to the Galatians
Answer: Eating with gentiles
One of the central practices of the early church was the communal meal - resources were pooled, and as stated in Acts 2:42, "they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Jewish tradition, however, drew sharp distinctions between Jews and gentiles and forbade this type of intermingling. Peter succumbed to the pressure and withdrew from the community and others followed, even Barnabas. Paul, never one to mince words, rebuked Peter for this hypocrisy.
From Quiz: Galatians Grab Bag
Answer: crucified
Pauline teaching expresses it most clearly, but it is upheld throughout the New Testament: by the power of God, believers share in both Christ's death on the Cross and in His resurrection, so that they are, in a sense, dead to their original, sinful natures and alive in the new-created life in Jesus Christ.
Christians will tell you that this is the enabling power of the Gospel, which transforms people and lives.
From Quiz: BBB Bible Series: Galatians
Answer: Abba, Father
In Galatians 4 verse 7 we see that people are no more considered as servants, but instead as sons of God through faith. It further states that believers are not just sons, but heirs of God through Christ.
From Quiz: Greetings: To The Galatians
Answer: Promise
It says in Galatians 4:28 "Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise."
Christians believe that this promise refers to the fact that though we are not necessarily the natural seed of Abraham, we are still entitled to the promised inheritance and interested in the blessings of it.
From Quiz: Dear Galatians
Answer: All nations will be blessed through you.
"Consider Abraham: 'He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.' Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: 'All nations will be blessed through you.' So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith." (Galatians 3 v. 6-9)
Paul is quoting a saying that appears three times in Abraham's story. Firstly, God, in asking Abraham to leave his homeland, says:
"... all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12 v. 3).
Then, in the run-up to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, God states:
"Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him" (Genesis 18 v. 18).
Finally, God repeats the statement after Abraham's near sacrifice of his son:
"... through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me" (Genesis 22 v. 18).
From Quiz: Quizzing the New Testament : Galatians
Answer: All of these things
Despite Paul's previous life as a religious Jew, he did not tell the Galatians that they had any obligation to be circumcised, observe traditional Jewish festivals or holy days, or focus on keeping Jewish law. Paul clearly expressed his anger at those who were distorting the Gospel of Christ and at the Galatians for being taken in by the deception (Galatians 1:7). In "The Message", Eugene Peterson translates Galatians 1:6 in this way: "I can't believe your fickleness-how easily you have turned traitor to him who called you by the grace of Christ by embracing a variant message!" Galatians 1:8 is rendered: "Let me be blunt: If one of us-even if an angel from heaven!-were to preach something other than what we preached originally, let him be cursed."
From Quiz: Galatians: Kidnapped by the Rules
Answer: Hagar and Sarah
God had promised Abraham a son. Sarah was old and thought herself barren, so she came up with the idea of Abraham fathering a son with Hagar, the slave woman. But Sarah did conceive a child, as God promised. Paul compares these two sons as the one born to the flesh and the one born of God's promise, in Galatians 4:21-31.
From Quiz: The Gist of Galatians
Answer: those who are of faith
Jesus taught it in the story of Zacchaeus and elsewhere; Paul teaches it here and also in Romans; it is taught in Hebrews and in James: the heirs of Abraham, in the sense of being heirs of the Covenant with God, God's people, are those who follow Abraham in the matter of putting faith into practice. It is not a matter of inheriting particular religious practices, nor of bloodline descent, but of sharing a living faith which moves one to action in accordance with God's will.
From Quiz: BBB Bible Series: Galatians
