How does Paul address the Galatians compared to other churches?
Paul addresses Corinth as the church of God with all the saints, and Ephesus as the church of God and the faithful in Christ Jesus. To the Galatians, however, he writes only to the churches of Galatia, omitting designations like church of God, saints, or those in Christ.
Les teaches that 2 Corinthians 1:1 calls the Corinthian assembly the church of God at Corinth, along with all the saints, and Ephesians 1:1 calls the Ephesian assembly the church of God at Ephesus, along with the faithful in Christ Jesus. Coming back to the Galatian letter, however, Paul says to the brethren who are with me, and unto the churches of Galatia. Les emphasizes that nothing is said about them being the church of God, the saints, or those in Christ; they are simply the churches of Galatia. He likens this to God's attitude toward Israel when writing to Daniel: God referred to the nation as “thy people,” not “My people,” because they had degenerated so far from their love for Jehovah, so He was not really claiming them. They were Daniel's people or Moses' people, but not My people as at the beginning.
And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:
More Questions
Why had the Galatian churches already degenerated, and how does Paul's greeting reveal it?
Paul's greeting to the churches of Galatia is a subtle way of showing how far the Galatian churches had already degenerated because of a perverted gospel.