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Fundamentals of Dispensational Truth.
(Second Series).
No.45. GALATIANS.
The Scope and Structure of the Epistle.
pp. 5 - 8
For the prime purpose of these studies, it does not really matter very much what
particular tribe of human race were the ancestors of those known as the Galatians, for all
nations of the earth are of one blood, all have sinned, and all alike need salvation, and
that by grace; but the British reader may be interested in the conclusion found in
Lightfoot's discursus on the subject:
"There is every reason then for believing that the Galatian settlers were genuine Celts,
and of the two main subdivisions into which philologers have divided the Celtic race,
they seem rather to have belonged to the Cymric, of which the Welsh are the living
representatives. Thus in the age when St. Paul preached, a native of Galatia spoke a
language essentially the same with that which was current in the southern part of
Britain."
For those who desire fuller information, dealing with notes on language, historical
references and other arguments, Lightfoot, Alford and particularly Ramsey should be
consulted.
Whether the Galatians were Celts or not does not matter so much to us at the distance,
what is more important is that they being sinners saved by grace were evidently
influenced by Judaistic teachers and were in danger of bartering their liberty for a dismal
bondage, and to save them from this living death, and to ensure that "the truth of the
gospel" should "continue right through" (diameno Gal. 2: 5), this epistle to the Galatians
was written.
In the Volume "The Apostle of the Reconciliation" (page 111), a tentative structure
was offered, showing the main divisions. For the purpose of that volume this structure
was sufficient. We are now about to make a more thorough examination of the epistle
and a structure that conforms more fully with the correspondences of the theme is
demanded. We set out such a structure below, but it must be remembered that no
attempt has been made in this initial presentation to show in strictly-structural form the
sub-divisions of A or B sections. These will be exhibited later, as the subject matter
under consideration may then demand.