Galatians

Summary

Galatians is a short letter with a long shadow. The apostle Paul does not merely tidy up a few church problems, he defends the gospel itself. A technical commentary must therefore do more than provide grammatical notes. It must help us hear the urgency of Paul’s argument, and it must equip us to preach justification by faith with both clarity and courage. Douglas J. Moo writes with that kind of purpose. He gives careful attention to the text, but he keeps returning to the theological heartbeat of the letter, namely, that sinners are made right with God only through Christ, received by faith, and never by works of the law.

We are helped from the outset by the way Moo frames the letter’s flow. He traces how Paul moves from astonishment and rebuke, to autobiographical defence, to doctrinal explanation, and then to the pastoral and ethical implications of life in the Spirit. As we read, we are repeatedly pushed back into the immediate context, and we are kept from forcing our favourite debates onto the text. Moo is attentive to how Paul reasons, how he cites Scripture, and how he addresses opponents who were persuading believers that faith in Christ needed to be completed by law keeping.

For pastors, the book is particularly valuable because it helps us preach Galatians as both polemic and comfort. Paul is fierce, but he is not harsh for its own sake. He is fighting for the freedom of the church, for the assurance of believers, and for the glory of Christ. Moo helps us see how the argument sustains that pastoral aim.

Strengths

First, the exegetical work is patient. Moo deals carefully with key terms, syntactical decisions, and disputed readings, and he shows how small decisions affect the whole. In a letter where a single phrase can carry major theological freight, that care is a gift. We are not rushed to conclusions, and we are not left with mere assertions. The reasoning is usually transparent, which makes the commentary genuinely usable for sermon preparation and teaching.

Second, he keeps the argument tied to Paul’s theological concerns. Galatians is not an abstract treatise. It is written to real churches tempted by a plausible distortion. Moo helps us appreciate the pastoral logic of justification. If righteousness is partly earned, assurance collapses. If acceptance is tied to boundary markers, unity collapses. If the Spirit is treated as a supplement rather than the gift of the risen Christ, sanctification collapses into self effort. Moo repeatedly draws those lines without turning the commentary into a sermon manuscript, which is the right balance for a technical series.

Third, his handling of Old Testament use is an asset. Paul’s citations and allusions are not decorative. They are a key part of his case that the promise to Abraham and the fulfilment in Christ secure the gospel of free grace. Moo’s discussion helps us follow Paul’s reading while also being attentive to the Old Testament contexts. That is especially useful when preaching passages such as vv.3 to 14 in ch.3 and the argument from Sarah and Hagar in ch.4.

Limitations

The limitations are largely the expected ones. This is a technical commentary, so it can be slow going. Some sections carry significant engagement with scholarly discussions, and that will not always serve a rushed week. There are times where we may wish for a slightly more developed bridge into homiletical application, but that is not the main purpose of the series. We should treat the book as a deep well, not as a quick summary.

We should also remember that technical certainty can sometimes feel stronger than our own pastoral confidence. Moo makes clear choices. We will benefit from his decisiveness, but we should still test everything against the text and the wider argument of Scripture, especially when we are preaching and must be accountable for what we say.

How We Would Use It

We would use this commentary in three main ways. First, to establish the flow of Paul’s argument in each unit. Galatians rewards careful outlining, and Moo helps us trace why each paragraph matters. Second, to clarify the big theological terms in context, especially law, faith, promise, curse, adoption, and Spirit. Third, to discipline our application. Galatians produces both gospel comfort and gospel shaped holiness, and Moo helps us see how Paul grounds the ethical calls in the prior gift of Christ and the Spirit.

In preaching, we would particularly lean on Moo for ch.2 and ch.3, where the doctrinal heart of justification by faith is most explicit. We would also use him to keep ch.5 and ch.6 rooted in the gospel logic of freedom. Paul does not call the church to self liberation, but to Spirit formed love. This is freedom that serves, not freedom that consumes.

Closing Recommendation

This is a serious, careful, and theologically weighty guide to Galatians. It will repay time and it will sharpen our preaching, especially where the gospel is most contested. We commend it for those who want to handle Paul’s argument with precision, and who want their proclamation of grace to be anchored in close reading rather than instinct.