What was Paul's background that he is coming from when he writes Galatians?
Paul’s background was Judaism, with all its legalistic demands and pressures as a religious leader. He had been weighed down by that system, but was set free by grace. He had three years to shed those influences before writing his earlier epistles, including Galatians, which are separated from legalism and Judaism.
Les explains that the apostle Paul is coming from Judaism and all of its demands as a religious leader. He had been weighed down by that system, but was then set free. Les compares this to coming out from underneath the pressure of a religion and legalism into the freedom of grace, like setting a bird free from its cage. Paul had three years to shed himself of all that and to absorb the truths he later brings out in his prison epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. In his earlier epistles, the tremendous doctrines are separated from legalism and Judaism, yet they all fit with the rest of Scripture.