Anyone who is interested in the doing and making of theology could hardly find a better starting place than the letter of Paul to the Galatians. For here is Christianity's first great theologian – arguably its greatest theologian – in full flood. Here we can never lose the sense that issues of profound significance are in the balance, to be argued for and defended as though life itself was at stake – as, for Paul, it was. Here we see Christian theology in the making, ‘the truth of the gospel’ being formulated in its innermost heart and immediate corollaries – at least as Paul saw it. Even if the task of the twentieth-century commentator were to be confined to merely offering a historical description of the theology which Paul here unfolds, it would be hard to avoid being caught up in the issues of first principles, essentials and priorities, hard to remain untouched by the intensity with which Paul engages in the argument. And for those who wish to engage in the theological debate with Paul for themselves, to treat Galatians as a dialogue partner, the power and the passion of the letter can at times be almost overwhelming.

The writing of the following pages has therefore been a labour of love. The sense of engaging with a profound, if somewhat irascible theologian has never left me. As my appreciation for the thrust of the argument, for the allusions, nuances and overtones grew, so my admiration for the man and his theology has steadily deepened.