Kay

Mark,
“To argue for ecclesiology as the primary function just doesn’t fit the context, nor the content of the letter, nor the overall purpose of the letter.”
I didn’t say it was the primary function of the letter – the letter has more than one function.
Please re-read Gal. 2 – Paul’s words regarding his confrontation with Peter. Did it have anything to do with teaching that the Gentiles weren’t saved? Or that they needed to be circumcised? No, Peter’s problem was that “he was eating with the Gentiles” before certain men returned to Antioch; then, “fearing the circumcision party” Peter quit eating with the Gentile believers. It had nothing to do with salvation. Peter realized that God brought salvation to the Gentiles (Acts 15). Eating with Gentiles was a sign of acceptance into the body of Christ.
One cannot simply deny these points being ecclesiology simply because some labeled this book as “soteriology. Period.”