Book of the Month for September 2014: Galatians - Concordia Commentary

Galatians - Concordia Commentary” by A. Andrew Das

2014 / 808 pages

Overview

Paul's fiercely passionate letter to the Galatians offers a rare glimpse into the early history of the emerging Christ-believing movement. Paul is seething with righteous indignation over the events at Galatia even as he conveys his hope that the Galatians might be coaxed back to the true Gospel.

The Galatians' young faith was grappling with issues that would prove to be a watershed. Do gentile Christians need to adopt Moses’ Law and be circumcised as Jews in order to worship the God of the Jewish Savior? Or does Baptism incorporate every manner of person—without distinction—into Christ? Does faith alone suffice for salvation? Across the divide of two thousand years of time and cultural space, the letter to the Galatians is an authoritative witness to the catholic Gospel of salvation by grace alone, for all people alike.

What Others Are Saying

“Andrew Das takes us systematically through each of the questions that scholars debate about this letter, which was born in controversy and which has been a focal point of controversy ever since. By the abundance of information he offers, clearly organized for our comprehension, he challenges us to join in the task of reconstructing that ancient controversy, and thus in the labor to understand what the text may, even now, mean.”

—Dr. Wayne A. Meeks, Woolsey Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, Yale University

“Massively researched with careful and clear exposition of the text and key critical issues: this will be an invaluable resource for all those grappling with Paul’s presentation of his gospel in Galatians.”
—Dr. Christopher Tuckett, Emeritus Professor of New Testament Studies, University of Oxford, England

A Peek Inside

About The Author

Andrew Das is the Donald W. and Betty J. Buik Chair at Elmhurst College. Dr. Das authored Solving the Romans Debate (Fortress, 2007); Paul and the Jews (Hendrickson, 2003); Paul, the Law, and the Covenant (Hendrickson, 2001); and Baptized into God’s Family (Northwestern, 1991; 2d ed., 2008). He coedited The Forgotten God (Westminster John Knox, 2002). His Grand Thematic Narratives of Galatiansis forthcoming from Fortress.

He received his M.Div. from Concordia Theological Seminary and did his graduate work at Yale University, Duke University, and Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. He served as a pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Lombard, Ill., from 2000–2002 and assisted as a pastor at St. John’s Lutheran in Lombard from 2002–2004.

About the Series

The Concordia Commentary Series: A Theological Exposition of Sacred Scripture is written to enable pastors and teachers of the Word to proclaim the Gospel with greater insight, clarity, and faithfulness to the divine intent of the biblical text. This landmark work will cover all the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments, interpreting Scripture as a harmonious unity centered in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Every passage bears witness to the Good News that God has reconciled the world to Himself through our Lord's life, death, and resurrection.

The commentary fully affirms the divine inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture as it emphasizes "that which promotes Christ" in each pericope. Authors are sensitive to the rich treasury of language, imagery, and themes found throughout Scripture, including such dialectics as Law and Gospel, sin and grace, death and new life, folly and wisdom, demon possession and the arrival of the kingdom of God in Christ. Careful attention is given to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek. Further light is shed on the text from archaeology, history, and extra-biblical literature. Finally, Scripture's message is applied to the ongoing life of the church in terms of ministry, worship, proclamation of the Word, Baptism, the Lord's Supper, confession of the faith—all in joyful anticipation of the life of the world to come.

You can order this book online at Concordia Publishing House or by contacting our Church Office.