Is Paul Defending his Apostleship in Galatians?

Abstract

In recent research, the claim has been made that Paul's statements about the law in Galatians are often misread from the perspective of the post-reformation law/gospel debate. The thesis of this article is that Galatians has also suffered from a different kind of misreading, that is a reading from a specific perspective of the Corinthian correspondence and which mistakenly assumes that the main issue in Galatians is a defense of Paul's apostolic authority. It will be argued that the main focus is on thenatureof Paul's gospel and, therefore, on the theological basis on which it rests. For this purpose, a number of arguments will be presented relating to the function of Gal 1. 10–11 and 2. 20, both critical transitions in the structure of the letter. These arguments are based on a pragmatic analysis of the letter as a whole, which cannot be discussed here in any detail. It should be stressed, however, that for the determining of the rhetorical function of any subsection of the letter, an analysis of the entire text as a communicative unity is essential. Therefore it is necessary to explain certain methodological implications of the approach which will be followed here.

Conflict as context for defining identity: A study of apostleship in the Galatian and Corinthian letters

“…While this section of the letter is clearly the narratio, its parameters and purpose are both disputed (cf Taylor 1993:66-69). Several scholars have argued that Paul is concerned not so much with his own apostolic authority as with the content of the gospel he preaches (Brinsmead 1982:50;Kennedy 1984;Lategan 1988;Smit 1989). Others have argued that Paul portrays himself as an example to the Galatian Christians (Aune 1987:189-90;Gaventa 1986;Lyons 1985:75-176), or that he is seeking to persuade the Galatians to conform to his interpretation of the gospel (Hall 1991;Hester 1991:282;Kennedy 1984:146;Smit 1989:23 The leaders of the Jerusalem church were the most effective wielders of authority in the Church of this period, and were acknowledged as pre-eminent by the church of Antioch (cf Gl 2:1-14; Brown & Meier 1983;Dunn 1982;Holmberg 1980;Taylor 1992).…”