Reconciling Acts & Galatians Kevin Kay Table Of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Who Are The Galatians? .............................................................................................................................................. 5 The North Galatian Theory ....................................................................................................................................... 5 Argument #1: The popular use of the terms “Galatia” (Gal. 1:2) and “Galatians” (Gal. 3:1) usually signified the Gauls living in “North Galatia” ...................................................................................... 5 Argument #2: In Acts Luke describes places according to geographical region rather than political province .............................................................................................................................................. 6 Argument #3: In Acts Luke does not use the terms “Galatia” or “Galatians” when recounting Paul’s evangelistic efforts in “South Galatia” on his First Missionary Journey .............................................. 6 Argument #4: In Acts Luke indicates that the apostle Paul evangelized in “North Galatia” .......................... 7 Argument #5: It is unlikely that Paul would use the term “Galatians” (Gal. 3:1) to address Pisidians or Lycaonians (Acts 13:14; 14:6) .................................................................................................. 11 Argument #6: Paul reminds the Galatians that he initially preached among them “because of physical infirmity” (Gal. 4:13), but Luke says nothing about this in Acts .................................................................. 11 Argument #7: Luke reports that Paul was persecuted in “South Galatia” during his First Missionary Journey, but Paul says nothing about this in Galatians ............................................................... 12 Argument #8: The problems addressed in Galatians, involving Gentile Christians, were more likely to have arisen in “North Galatia” than “South Galatia” since there were more Gentiles in this area ...................................................................................................................................................... 13 Argument #9: It is unlikely that Paul would have referred to Barnabas as he does in Galatians (Gal. 2:1, 9, 13) if he were writing to churches in “South Galatia” ............................................... 14 Argument #10: The character traits of the Gaul’s fit Paul’s description of his readers ................................ 14 Argument #11: The “Church Fathers” believed that Paul wrote to churches in “North Galatia” ........................................................................................................................................................... 15 Argument #12: Until the 19th century, most commentators believed that Paul wrote to churches in “North Galatia” ........................................................................................................................... 16 The South Galatian Theory ..................................................................................................................................... 17 Argument #1: Paul preached to the Galatians before his Visit After 14 Years to Jerusalem (Gal. 2:1, 4-5) ................................................................................................................................................. 17 Argument #2: The terms “Galatia” and “Galatians” were used to refer to the Roman province of Galatia and its inhabitants ........................................................................................................... 20 Argument #3: Paul normally describes places according to political province rather than geographical region .............................................................................................................................................................. 21 Argument #4: “Galatia” and “Galatians” were the only terms available to include all the people in all the cities that were visited on Paul’s First Missionary Journey ................................................ 22 Argument #5: It is unlikely that Paul would have established churches in “North Galatia” ........................ 23 Argument #6: Luke gives us virtually no information about the alleged churches in “North Galatia” .......................................................................................................................................... 23 Argument #7: We know of no churches at this early date in “North Galatia” from the NT or other sources ................................................................................................................................................... 24 The 2018 SITS Conference Reconciling Acts & Galatians I:ii Argument #8: It seems highly unlikely that Paul would write a letter to virtually unknown churches in “North Galatia” and not write a letter to well-known churches in South Galatia” ................................................................................................................................................ 25 Argument #9: The Judaizing teachers were more likely to infiltrate churches in “South Galatia” than “North Galatia” ............................................................................................................ 26 Argument #10 The content of Paul’s letter to the Galatians is consistent with Luke’s account of Paul’s work in “South Galatia” .................................................................................................................. 27 Argument #11: Paul’s modus operandi better fits the “South Galatian Hypothesis” ................................... 27 Argument #12: The collection delegation contained no representative from North Galatia ........................ 27 Argument #13: Paul’s references to Barnabas in Galatians (2:1, 9, 13) suggest that he was already well known to the Galatians .............................................................................................................. 29 Argument #14: The absence of any reference to Timothy is strong circumstantial evidence that Paul wrote Galatians before he became one of Paul’s assistants ............................................................ 30 Argument #15: Paul’s silence in Galatians about the Jerusalem Council decree indicates that Galatians must have been written before the Jerusalem Council; and therefore before Paul could possibly have visited “North Galatia” ............................................................................... 30 Argument #16: Paul was charged with practicing circumcision in spite of preaching against it (Gal. 5:11) .................................................................................................................................................. 31 Argument #17: Paul addresses the Galatians in Greek ................................................................................. 31 Argument #18: Paul’s comment that the Galatians had received him as “an angel of God” (Gal. 4:14) could be an indirect allusion to his reception as Hermes at Lystra (Acts 14:11-15) .................. 31 Argument #19: Paul’s comment that “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus” (Gal. 6:17) could be an allusion to his stoning in Lystra (Acts 14:19) ......................................................... 32 How Should Paul’s Visits To Jerusalem, Mentioned In Acts And Galatians, Be Correlated? ........................... 32 Five Visits to Jerusalem in Acts; Two Visits to Jerusalem in Galatians ................................................................ 32 Paul’s Visit After 14 Years (Gal. 2:1-10) corresponds with the Famine Relief Visit (Acts 11:27-30) ....................................................................................................................................................... 34 Argument #1: Paul mentions two visits to Jerusalem after his conversion (Gal. 1:18; 2:1), and according to Luke, Paul’s second visit to Jerusalem after his conversion was the Famine Relief Visit (Acts 11:29-30; 12:25) .................................................................................................. 34 Argument #2: Logically, Paul would not omit a reference to any visit to Jerusalem ................................... 35 Argument #3: There are similarities between the Visit After 14 Years (Gal. 2:1-10) and the Famine Relief Visit (Acts 11:27-30; 12:25) .................................................................................................. 37 Argument #4: Peter’s withdrawal from Gentile Christians in Antioch (Gal. 2:11-14) is more likely to have occurred before, rather than after, the Jerusalem Council .............................................. 39 Argument #5: The criticism of Paul’s apostolic authority more likely occurred early in his ministry rather than later ................................................................................................................................ 39 Argument #6: Paul’s refusal to circumcise Titus (Gal. 2:1-5) more likely occurred before the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) ................................................................................................................... 40 Argument #7: Paul does not mention