The Theology of the Letter to the Galatians

With accessible clarity, this book disentangles the complexities of Paul's penetrating theological discourse in his letter to the Galatians.

Bruce Longenecker (Author)

9781108836968, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 August 2025

264 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.6 cm, 0.464 kg

'Bruce Longenecker's wide-ranging study of Galatians draws together numerous competing interpretations in ways that instruct even as they will certainly provoke dissent from some quarters. His bold proposal about what Paul might write in the present warrants careful and sustained attention. A welcome contribution!' Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Helen H. P. Manson Professor Emerita of New Testament, Princeton Theological Seminary

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul sets out an astute vision of what God has done in Christ against the backdrop of a world out-of-joint, a world engulfed in identity-distorting domination systems. Theologically profound and prophetically challenging, Galatians showcases God's initiative to empower liberation from those systems and their relational toxicity. For Paul, the union of Christ with his followers fosters flourishing forms of relational life that testify to the sovereign power of God over all competing forces. In The Theology of Galatians, respected New Testament scholar Bruce Longenecker cuts through the complexity of a notoriously opaque text, disentangling and interpreting Paul's discourse to reveal its multifaceted cosmology, its comprehensive coherence, and its penetrating analysis humanity and the divine. Offering a new interpretation of Galatians, his volume synthesizes the best of four main interpretative alternatives, finding new solutions to scholarly gridlock.

Part I. Reading the Theology of Galatians: 1. An introduction to the study of Galatians
2. An overview of the message of Galatians
3. The discursive flow of Galatians
Part II. Probing the Theology of Galatians: 4. The problem in layered perspective
5. The torah in layered perspective
6. Participation in Christ as identity power-vortex
7. Decentering identity values
8. The slavery of Christ-giving love
9. The hope of righteousness and the faithfulness of God
Part III. Positioning the Theology of Galatians: 10. Galatians and the New Testament
11. The afterlife of Galatians
12. What Paul might say
Appendix: Did Galatians Accomplish Paul's Purpose
Suggestions for further reading
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Theology [HRLB]