In this final wrap up session I'll briefly consolidate some of the ideas that we have looked at as we have examined this short but intensely powerful letter and consider the implications of these findings on the life of discipleship. Although the most important things that Paul says are indeed theological, the Apostle should not be understood primarily as a brilliant debater, scholar or theologian, but rather as a concerned pastor worried about the fragmentation of a community that ought to have no borders, because Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead .

The term crucifixion is a very important term in Galatians. Only in Galatians 3:1 does it refer to the crucifixion of Jesus; however, it always refers to death by which the pathway to a new life is introduced. We have seen this in the experience of Paul himself in 2:19, which should be understood as normative for all Jews in Christ - crucifixion leads to living to God. We have seen it of gentiles in Galatians 5:24 - Here crucifixion leads to life on the basis of the Spirit and life ruled by the Spirit. In both these passages, the crucifixion verse precedes a new life motif. In the final occurrence of ‘crucifixion’ in Galatians 6:14, we are told that the cosmos is self is crucified. Galatians 6:15 introduces a new life motif, only, unlike the previous two passages, there is no word for ‘life’. Instead, Paul speaks of new creation; it is as if the cosmos has died and been revivified as new creation. This new creation operates with an unprecedented set of social and human dynamics; it embodies God’s new world and God’s new way of being, into which all those who are in Christ have now been welcomed.

The end of Galatians 5 placed us in a position to once more see how Paul envisages the new covenant blessings taking shape in the Galatian Jesus communities. The presence of the Spirit amongst the community would be a unifying force; so, those living by the spirit, must restore the wayward members of the community. As is made clear in Galatians 6:1-10, to live in love and unity in the power of the Spirit, identifies God's people now, and identifies them in the age to come.

We have already suggested that Paul is at pains to see the community in Galatia unified, and unified on the right foundation. That foundation is the Spirit, and in the passages we will consider today Paul suggests how the Spirit will guide people into the kind of life that God requires even though the believers do not need to make reference to a written law. The ultimate goal of the Law is love, and only in the power of the Spirit, can this love be truly made manifest.

Having established that the context of Galatians and the key question underlying the letter is whether or not gentiles need to become Jews before they can be full members of the people of God, it seems rather strange that is near the end of the letter when we first hear the nature of the charge. It is here for the first time that Paul talks about gentiles being pressured into being circumcised. What becomes clear in Galatians 5:1-12 is that even the issue of circumcision is merely part and parcel of a much broader question of how one identifies the End Time people of God. Paul will use very extreme language to make his point; yet, as distasteful as we may find it, it starts to become clear why his stance is so aggressive.

The connection between the resurrection of Jesus and the birth of Isaac is made explicit in Romans 4:17-25. Yet the origins of that argument are in Galatians 4, as we will see today. Galatians 4:21-31 is an interesting and powerful allegory of two mothers, two covenants and two sons, and builds to a dramatic conclusion regarding Paul's attitude towards the false teachers.

Paul is an emotional character. His arguments are lofty and strong, and his debating persuasive, but when push comes to shove, Paul writes so that his communities can heal in the face of some social trauma. Even a cursory reading of Galatians or 2 Corinthians attests to how deeply Paul feel things. We get a sense of just how deeply in the verses at the heart of today's podcast.

Having made some ground exploring the metaphor of life emerging from death, which is so central to Galatians, we can now turn our attention more fully to the second critical metaphorical conception in Paul's understanding of justification - that is, freedom emerging from slavery. We might summarise by saying that to be made alive by the Spirit is to become the Children of God, and as such, experience the true Nature of freedom.

We suggested fairly on in this journey that the key question Paul is asking is whether or not gentiles need to become Jews in order to be the people of God. This should make it very clear that, at least in part, the letter of Galatians addresses the nature of Christian identity. That is, it answers the question ' who are the people of God'? Galatians answers this question in two ways; negatively, it says the people of God are not those who observe the works of the Law. Positively, it says the people of God are those with faith in Christ and, therefore, those who are identified by the Spirit. In four short verses at the end of Galatians 3, all of these ideas crescendo into the grand conclusion by which Abraham, Christ and believers are all connected. Today's podcast will attempt to bring all the strands of this very argument together.