Galatians/Acts 15-16/Philippians

Acts
Paul's story begins in earnest now. Chapter 15 covers the conflict in the early church that often crept up. The followers of Jesus were all originally Jewish, and did not see themselves as starting a new religion, but a new movement within Judaism. The questions was, for a person to be a member of this Jewish community, how were they to be Jews. The standard answer is that they should be circumcised, but Paul argues that these Gentiles have joined the family of Abraham without circumcision. It is confirmed by the many works the Holy Spirit has done among them. The Jerusalem church and the twelve accept this point and ask that they simply not eat meat sacrificed to idols and follow the Noaich covenant, which forbids consuming blood.

16 covers Paul's missionary journeys. There are several miracles and people are drawn to Paul's message about the Good News.


Galatians
This early letter of Paul is sometimes called the mini Romans because of the similar subject matter. Paul is arguing against a group of people in the community who are holding onto the Jewish Law as the way of salvation. Paul argues that it is God's grace that saves us and brings us into God's family where there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, woman nor man.

Philippians
One of the most beautifully written of Paul's letters, also rather early. The subject of this letter revolves around a conflict that has arisen between two leaders (likely pastors of house churches) Euodia and Syntyche. These woman had divided the larger church community of the town, and Paul urges them to find unity in love. It contains one of the key passages of theology about Christ, the poem (likely a hymn) found in 2.6-11. The identification of Jesus as divine in such an early work of well known hymnody points to a very early understanding of Jesus as God in the first century church.