Article 2: What Paul Was Really Arguing in Galatians — The Spirit vs. “Works of Law” truthsum.org

If salvation begins with receiving the Spirit—as argued in Article 1—then Paul’s letter to the Galatians comes into sharper focus. Galatians is not a debate about grace versus moral effort or faith versus obedience. Paul is addressing a far more specific question: How does someone enter the family of God—by receiving the Spirit, or by becoming Jewish?

At the heart of the controversy is Paul’s phrase ergōn nomou, commonly translated “works of law.” In the first-century Jewish world, this did not mean general obedience to God’s instruction. It referred to covenant identity markers—practices that defined who belonged to Israel. Chief among these were circumcision, calendar observances, dietary rules as table-separation markers, and purity regulations governing social and religious association.

These practices functioned as boundary markers determining who was “in” and who was “out.” Some believed Gentiles had to adopt these markers to be accepted by God. Paul’s objection was not to obedience, but to misplaced identity—the attempt to turn covenant membership into a checklist.

Paul’s argument is simple: God gave the Holy Spirit to Gentiles apart from circumcision (Gal. 3:2–5; Acts 15:8–9). Therefore, the Spirit—not Jewish identity markers—is the sign of belonging in God’s family. To require those markers is to distort the gospel.

Galatians does not abolish God’s instruction. It dismantles the idea that ethnic or ritual identity grants covenant standing. The Spirit establishes sonship, produces God’s character from within, and marks the true people of God. Salvation begins with God’s action—His Spirit—restoring relationship first, not assigning status through external signs.

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