Paul, as usual, does not mince his words. The Galatians are being foolish in their actions by even considering the claims of the Judaisers that they must be circumcised. As far as Paul is concerned there is no sense at all in doing this, it is as if they have been bewitched.
Now to most or all of us an argument that we must be circumcised would carry no weight at all, but we need to look at things from the Galatians perspective. The gospel came out of Judaism, it was the fulfilment of the Old Testament. In the Old Testament men had to be circumcised. Indeed Abraham, the father of the nation, was told to be circumcised (Genesis 17:10-14). In fact, everyone had to be circumcised otherwise they would not be part of God's people. So the argument that the Galatians needed to be circumcised would seem very plausible to them.
Paul counters this first of all by reminding them that when they first believed they were presented with Christ crucified, no one mentioned circumcision. We always need to be wary of teachings that add things on to the gospel, claiming they are essential. He then reminds them of their own experience. They had received the Holy Spirit. Why did this happen, because they obeyed the Law, or because they believed in the gospel? Note that it is clear that they had a real experience of the Holy Spirit. Becoming a Christian is not a matter of mere intellectual or emotional assent to a set of ideas or beliefs, it is about entering a relationship with the living God. Now we must never base things purely on experience, but equally if we have no living experience of God then something is far wrong.
Now to most or all of us an argument that we must be circumcised would carry no weight at all, but we need to look at things from the Galatians perspective. The gospel came out of Judaism, it was the fulfilment of the Old Testament. In the Old Testament men had to be circumcised. Indeed Abraham, the father of the nation, was told to be circumcised (Genesis 17:10-14). In fact, everyone had to be circumcised otherwise they would not be part of God's people. So the argument that the Galatians needed to be circumcised would seem very plausible to them.
Paul counters this first of all by reminding them that when they first believed they were presented with Christ crucified, no one mentioned circumcision. We always need to be wary of teachings that add things on to the gospel, claiming they are essential. He then reminds them of their own experience. They had received the Holy Spirit. Why did this happen, because they obeyed the Law, or because they believed in the gospel? Note that it is clear that they had a real experience of the Holy Spirit. Becoming a Christian is not a matter of mere intellectual or emotional assent to a set of ideas or beliefs, it is about entering a relationship with the living God. Now we must never base things purely on experience, but equally if we have no living experience of God then something is far wrong.
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