Article 2: What Paul Was Really Arguing in Galatians — The Spirit vs. “Works of Law”
If Article 1 established that salvation is restoration begins with the receiving of the Spirit—not a one-time legal transaction—then Paul’s letter to the Galatians becomes far easier to understand. Most Christians read Galatians as though Paul were arguing about “grace versus moral effort” or “faith versus obedience to God’s commandments.” But that is not the debate Paul is addressing.
Paul’s argument in Galatians is focused on one central question:
How does a person enter the family of God—through receiving the Spirit, or through becoming Jewish?
Everything else in the letter revolves around this issue.
To understand Galatians correctly, we must distinguish between two very different uses of the law:
- Law as instruction for learning God’s way of life
- Law as covenant identity markers defining who belonged to Israel
And we must carefully understand Paul’s often-misread phrase: “works of law.”
What Paul Means by “Works of Law”
The phrase Paul uses is ergōn nomou—literally, “works of law,” not “the works of the law.”
That distinction matters.
In the first-century Jewish world, “works of law” did not refer broadly to obedience, morality, or living according to God’s instruction. It referred to specific covenant markers that identified someone as Jewish and formally placed them within the Jewish covenant community.
These were not simply commandments to obey; they functioned as boundary markers of identity.
Chief among them were:
- Circumcision: the required entry sign for a Gentile to become Jewish. Above all else, circumcision functioned as the gateway act into Jewish covenant identity.
- Calendar observances as identity boundaries: not merely days observed for personal or spiritual benefit, but practices that came to function as markers of covenant status and separation, often reinforcing a sense of distinction from—and superiority over—outsiders.
- Dietary regulations when used as separation markers: particularly where they governed table fellowship, often preventing Jews from eating with Gentiles.
- Purity regulations: extending beyond diet to govern who one could eat with, worship alongside, or even associate with in daily life.
In the first century, these practices were not debated as personal disciplines. They were requirements for Gentiles to formally enter Jewish covenant identity. They were prerequisites for becoming Jewish—not requirements for a child of God to begin learning and living God’s way.
These markers determined who was “in” and who was “out.” They were not primarily about moral character, but about ethnic and covenant identity.
In other words, In the first century, some believed salvation came by becoming Jewish; today many believe it comes by accepting Jesus and saying the right words. In both cases, salvation is treated as a status you acquire by completing the correct requirement, rather than a relationship God initiates and restores through His Spirit.
This is why Paul’s argument must be read carefully.
When Paul says a person is not justified by “works of law,” he is not saying:
- God’s instruction no longer matters
- Moral obedience is irrelevant
- God’s way of life has been abolished
He is saying:
- Entrance into God’s family does not come through adopting Jewish covenant identity markers
Gentiles were not required to become Jews in order to be accepted by God—because God Himself had already welcomed them by giving His Spirit (Acts 15:8–9).
Paul’s concern was not obedience, but misplaced identity—the desire to reduce covenant membership to a checklist of requirements.
The question was never, “Should believers learn God’s way?”
The question was, “Must Gentiles pass through Jewish covenant markers to belong?”
Paul’s answer is clear: belonging comes by God’s calling and Spirit, not by covenantal conversion.
Paul’s Argument: Spirit Over Identity
Paul’s argument in Galatians is straightforward:
- God gave the Spirit to Gentiles apart from circumcision (Gal. 3:2–3; Acts 15:8–9).
- Therefore, the Spirit—not Israel’s covenant markers—is the sign of entrance into God’s family.
- If Gentiles receive the Spirit without becoming Jewish, then those markers are not required for belonging.
- To require Gentiles to adopt them is to distort the gospel.
In other words, Paul is defending the right of Gentiles to join God’s family without converting to Judaism.
He is not abolishing God’s instruction.
He is not eliminating morality.
He is not canceling the Ten Commandments.
He is dismantling the idea that Jewish identity markers are what give someone standing in God’s covenant family.
This distinction clarifies one of Paul’s most misunderstood themes:
- Law as instruction teaches God’s way of life.
- Law as identity functioned as a national boundary.
Paul opposes the second when it is used as a requirement for salvation—not the first.
If salvation is tied to identity markers:
- God’s family becomes ethnic rather than spiritual.
- The Spirit becomes secondary.
- Gentiles become second-class members.
- Salvation is reduced to ritual compliance rather than restoration.
Paul’s concern is that the Galatians are turning salvation into a legal status based on external signs—the same mindset many fall into today.
The Spirit as the Beginning of Salvation
This brings us back to the foundation laid in Article 1.
The Spirit is the beginning—the conception—of God’s work of restoring His children.
Paul consistently teaches that:
- The Spirit is received by hearing with faith, not by ritual status
(Gal. 3:2, 5) - The Spirit establishes sonship, not mere external compliance
“Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts”
(Gal. 4:6–7; Rom. 8:14–16) - The Spirit produces God’s character from within
The fruit of the Spirit reflects the intent of God’s law lived internally
(Gal. 5:22–25; Rom. 8:4) - The Spirit—not physical circumcision—marks the true people of God
(Gal. 6:15; Phil. 3:3; Rom. 2:28–29) - The Spirit enables obedience to the full intent of the law
“That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit”
(Rom. 8:3–4; cf. Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 36:26–27)
In short:
The Spirit, not Jewish identity, marks the beginning of salvation.
That is why Acts 15 mattered so deeply. God chose to give His Spirit to uncircumcised Gentiles, demonstrating that ritual identity was not the criterion for entrance into His family. God Himself bore witness by giving the Spirit first—and identity followed, not the other way around (Acts 15:8–9).
The Real Debate in the Early Church
The early church was not debating:
- Do Gentiles need to keep the Ten Commandments?
- Are God’s instructions still useful?
- Should believers live morally?
They were debating:
- What is required for Gentiles to receive the Holy Spirit?
The Judaizers said:
“Circumcision and covenant identity markers.”
Peter said:
“God already gave some Gentiles the Spirit without those.”
Paul said:
“To require identity markers destroys the gospel.”
James said:
“Let’s ask Gentiles to avoid practices that make shared life and table fellowship impossible, so the body remains unified.”
This is why James lists the four prohibitions in Acts 15—not as salvation requirements, but as relational necessities for a mixed Jewish–Gentile community living, worshiping, and eating together. Drawing directly from God’s instructions in the Leviticus for outsiders living among Israel (Lev. 17–18). This preserved unity in the early church without imposing Jewish covenant markers.
In One Line
Galatians is not a book about replacing God’s law with faith.
It is about replacing ethnic identity markers with the Spirit as the sign of God’s family.
Understanding this prepares us to explore in future articles what Paul means by “the curse of the law,” how judgment and resurrection fit into God’s plan, and why modern Christianity so easily slips back into a legal-status view of salvation—the very thing Paul fought to prevent.
