The Interrelationship between Paul’s Apostolic Defence, His Gospel and the Identity of the Galatians

Abstract:The aim of this article is to demonstrate that there is an interrelationship between Paul’s apostolic defence, his gospel and his identity formation agenda in Galatians 1. The article will argue that Paul, in his apostolic defence, is establishing himself as a group prototype. This is important because group prototypicality is a necessary quality in a leader if they seek to influence the identity of the group. Thus, Paul must show that his apostleship is intertwined with his gospel message, which is a foundation of the Galatians’ group identity. By establishing this link between his personal identity as an apostle called by God and his message, which originates from God, Paul would be able to help the Galatians stay true to their in-group identity. Hence, they would be able to resist the teaching of those he describes as "false brothers" who were insisting that for one to be part of God’s community, the individual needed to be torah-observant. In establishing this thesis, this article will employ the socio-historical and grammatical approach together with social identity theory.