Bible Commentaries
Galatians

COMMENTARY ON THE

EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS

BY

DAVID LIPSCOMB

EDITED, WITH ADDITIONAL NOTES,

BY

J. W. SHEPHERD
(Special Book Notes by R.C. Bell)

Gospel Advocate Company

Nashville, Tennessee

(c)1976

GALATIA AND THE GALATIANS.

These terms are used in two senses, one official and one pop­ular. The Galatians proper originally belonged to migratory Celtic tribes, which early in the third century B.C. invaded Greece from the north. A considerable number of these sepa­rated from the main body, crossed the Bosphorus, and pene­trated into the region which afterward bore their name. At the outset they were a movable army, encamping, marching, and plundering at will. The surrounding monarchs gradually curtailed their power and repressed them within narrow limits. For a time their kings were recognized by the Romans; but in the reign of Augustus Caesar this district was made a part of the Roman Empire, reaching from the borders of Asia and Bithynia to Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. This was the political condition when Paul visited that district on his second and third missionary journeys. The southern part of the Roman province was the more populous, it long had colonies of Greeks and Jews; commerce and emigration were encouraged by the safety of the great Roman roads which ran through the cities just named.

The ambiguity of the terms—Galatia and Galatians—makes it difficult to determine the destination of the epistle. If Paul used the term Galatia in the popular sense, he must have intended the epistle for churches of some unnamed cities, perhaps Ancyra, Pessimus, and Tarvium; this is the “North Galatian” theory. If, however, he used it in the official sense—as the designation of the Roman province—he addressed the churches in Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe; this is the “South Galatian” theory.

In favor of the former it is contended that all the “Church Fathers” refer it to the northern cities; but, even so, the exist­ence of churches in them is merely conjectural. There is not a single name of a person or a place, or incident of any kind connected with Paul’s preaching in Galatia, mentioned in Acts or the epistle that fits into the theory. And yet the work there was of a strikingly successful character. Those who ad­vocate this theory find room for a visit to these cities in Acts 6:6, and for a second visit implied in Galatians 4:13; Acts 18:23. But the way from Syrian Antioch through Galatia and Phry­gia to Ephesus does not seem to lie through North Galatia, but by “the upper country.” (Acts 19:1).

The other theory is that Paul, being a Roman citizen, would use the official designation of the countries to which he makes reference. And it is gathered from the epistle itself that the churches addressed were in the main Gentiles, though there was a Jewish element among them. According to Luke’s ac­count the churches of Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:43; Acts 13:48), Iconium (Acts 14:1), and Lystra and Derbe, “and the region round about” (Acts 14:6-7; Acts 16:1-5) were composed of Jews and Gentiles. Antioch and Iconium had synagogues (Acts 13:14), and there is other testimony to the presence of Jews in South Ga­latia. On the other hand, there is no testimony that there were any considerable settlements in North Galatia.

OCCASION OF WRITING THE EPISTLE.

Judaizing teachers had made their appearance among the Galatian churches after Paul, and with their attacks upon his apostolic authority (Galatians 1:11; Galatians 2:14), and of their assertion of the necessity of circumcision for Gentile Christians (Galatians 5:2; Galatians 5:11; Galatians 6:12) which involved as a necessary consequence the obligation of the whole law, had found but too ready a hearing, so that the Judaizing tendency was on the point of getting the upper hand (Galatians 1:6; Galatians 3:1; Galatians 3:3; Galatians 4:11-21; Galatians 5:2-7). It is evident that Paul realized the church had been perverted; he is surprised and greatly grieved at what had taken place. Nevertheless it is evident (Galatians 1:9; Galatians 5:3; Galatians 4:16) that he had already spoken per­sonally in Galatia against the Judaizing perversions and that with great earnestness. From this we learn that when he was among the Galatians the second time, the danger was not only threatening, but there already existed an inclination to yield to it, and his language against it was consequently of a warn­ing and a precautionary nature. It was only after his depar­ture that the false teachers set to work with their perversions; and although they did not get so far as circumcision, still they met with so much success, and caused so much disturbance (Galatians 5:15), that the accounts came upon him with such surprise that he cried: “O foolish Galatians, who did bewitch you?” (Galatians 3:1), and “I marvel that ye are so quickly removed from him that called you in the grace of Christ unto a different gos­pel” (Galatians 1:6).

In accordance with this state of things which gave occasion to the writing of the epistle, it was the object of Paul to de­fend in it his apostolic commission and authority, and to bring his readers to a triumphant conviction of the freedom of the Christian from circumcision and the Mosaic law through the justification arising from God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

TIME AND PLACE OF WRITING.

By comparing this epistle with Second Corinthians and Ro­mans, it is clearly seen that they bear such a striking resem­blance to each other that they must be assigned to the same period in Paul’s life. Second Corinthians reveals a similar state of feeling, and was written from Macedonia, on the way to Corinth, in the summer of 57; Romans discusses the same doctrines, but more calmly, fully, and maturely, and we know it was written at Corinth, just before starting on his last jour­ney to Jerusalem, early in the year 58. So we may with some degree of certainty place the writing of Galatians, shortly after Second Corinthians, as having been at Corinth, just be­fore Romans, in the year 57 or 58.

EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS.

By J.W. McGarvey

INTRODUCTION.

This epistle, unlike the other church epistles of Paul, is addressed, not to a single congregation dwelling in a city, but to the churches of a district—"the Galatic Land." The Roman province of Galatia, lying in the central portion of Asia Minor, was larger than "the Galatic Land," for it included several other districts. The territory of the Galatians originally belonged to the Phrygians, but certain tribes of Gauls, as Frenchmen were then called, moved by their restless, conquest-loving spirit, and by the pressure of rival tribes at home, invaded to the southeastward and attempted to overrun Greece. Being repulsed at Delphi, they crossed the Bosphorus, and, after many conflicts, were finally content to confine themselves to this territory, which, as we see, eventually bore their name. This occurred about B. C. 279. In B. C. 189 they were conquered by the Romans, but were still permitted to retain their kings. In B. C. 25 their self-government was taken away and they became part of the Roman province which was also named for them. They were divided into three tribes, each occupying subdistricts, with the cities of Tavium, Pessinus and Ancyra (now Angora), as their respective capitals, which last was also capital of the whole Roman province of Galatia. Though speaking Greek, they also retained their language, so that Jerome leads us to believe that a Galatian and a Frenchman could have conversed together with ease as late as the fourth century A. D. Though a part of the Celtic race, which includes the French, Welsh, Irish and Scotch, they were Frenchmen, and their characteristics are described by Julius Caesar, who says: "The infirmity of the Gauls is that they are fickle in their resolves and fond of change, and not to be trusted." And Thierry speaks of them thus: "Frank, impetuous, impressible, eminently intelligent, but at the same time extremely changeable, inconstant, fond of show, perpetually quarreling, the fruit of excessive vanity." Paul had planted churches among them and had revisited and confirmed these churches; but after his departure certain Judaizers had entered among them, and had persuaded them that becoming Jews was a condition precedent to their becoming Christians, and hence they could not be saved without circumcision. Being met by the teaching which the Galatians had learned from Paul, these Judaizers had felt the necessity of destroying Paul’s influence. They undertook to do this by denying that he was an apostle, and asserting that he was, if anything, only an unfaithful messenger of the other apostles.

The main purpose, therefore, of this epistle is to establish the fact that Christianity was a religion independent of Judaism, and that Paul was an apostle independent of the twelve. The date of the epistle can not be determined with accuracy, but it was evidently written is argumentative, for Paul discussed the relations of the law and the gospel in each. The relation between 2 Corinthians and Galatians is personal, for Paul is defending himself against similar charges in each. For other relations between Galatians and Romans see Romans 8:14-17 and Galatians 4:6-7; Romans 10:5 and Galatians 3:12; Romans 4:13-14; Romans 4:16 and Galatians 3:14; Galatians 3:16; Galatians 3:29; Romans 11:31 and Galatians 3:22. The epistle may be loosely divided into three sections of two chapters each, as follows: Part 1—chapters 1 and 2, Arguments sustaining Paul’s gospel and apostolic office. Part 2—chapters 3 and 4, Justification is by faith in Christ and not by legalism as proved by Scripture. Part 3— chapters 5 and 6, Exhortations to steadfastness and faithfulness to Christian duty. The epistle has been in all ages the stronghold of evangelical Christianity in defending itself against ecclesiasticism and ritualism of all kinds. It was the favorite book of Martin Luther, who wrote three commentaries upon it. But Luther strained the words of Paul and drew from them such extreme conclusions that John Wesley regarded him as guilty of blasphemy.

But the perversions of this precious epistle in no way militate against it or its proper use.sometime during the third missionary tour; for Paul had been twice in Galatia when he wrote it, having confirmed the Galatians on his second visit. Compare Acts 16:6; Acts 18:23; Galatians 1:9; Galatians 5:21. It has been said that it was written from Ephesus, or Troas, or Macedonia, or Corinth. There are several internal evidences which cause us to prefer one or the other of the two places last named, and to place the date in A. D. 57, in the short interval between the writing of 2 Corinthians and Romans. The two Corinthian letters, with Romans and Galatians, if we may judge by their similarity, were all written at about the same period, and, in fact, the points of resemblance between these epistles are so many and so striking that to concede the authenticity of one, is to practically concede that of all. Hence all four epistles have been recognized as authentic even by Renan and Baur. For incidental similarities, such as the mentioning of Damascus and Titus, compare 2 Corinthians 11:32 and Galatians 1:17; 2 Corinthians 2:7; 2 Corinthians 8:12 and Galatians 2:1-3. For verbal similarities, compare 2 Corinthians 10:1-11 and Galatians 4:18; Galatians 4:20; 2 Corinthians 12:20-21 and Galatians 4:19-21; 2 Corinthians 9:6 and Galatians 6:7; 2 Corinthians 11:2 and Galatians 4:17; 2 Corinthians 11:20 and Galatians 5:15. The relation between Galatians and Romans

PAUL’S GOSPEL AND APOSTLESHIP

DIVINELY DERIVED.

by J.W. McGarvey

Galatians 1:1-24.

1 Paul, an apostle (not from men, neither through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead), 2 and all the brethren that are with me, unto the churches of Galatia [These two verses form not only the text of this first section, but also the keynote of the entire epistle. Without a moment’s introduction, Paul passes at once to that which caused him to write, viz.: the challenge of his apostleship. If it was urged against him that he was but the faithless messenger of the other apostles, he replies by asserting, in the clearest, most forceful way, the nature of his apostleship. Both as to source and agency it was divine. The call to it came from God and not from men, and the call came through the agency of Jesus Christ, and not through the agency of any man. The election of Matthias throws light upon these words (Acts 1:23-26), for if he was not called of the apostles, he was at least called through their agency. Paul’s call, on the contrary, was from the lips of Jesus himself, and had in it no human mixture whatever. Why Paul speaks of the resurrection of Jesus is not clear. It has been thought that Paul could claim a call from God the Father, because the Father, by the resurrection of the Son, gave official countenance to the acts of the Son.

Again it is thought that Paul has in mind the fact that Jesus rose from the dead for our justification (Romans 4:25), and since justification by fai th in Christ is the main theme of the epistle, he mentions the resurrection to pave the way for the introduction of that theme. But it seems more likely, from the context, that he has in mind the fact that his own call came after the resurrection of Jesus, and so the resurrection of Jesus was an essential clement in the proof of his apostleship. Paul mentions the brethren who were with him. For a probable list of them see Acts 20:4; Acts 21:16. Paul does not mention them by name, as he does in the epistles to the Thessalonians and Corinthians, because the letter is of a more personal nature than any of these others. But he does mention them to let the Galatians know that others sympathized with him in all that he wrote. The address implies that there were many churches in Galatia, yet to none of them does he attach any honorable title, for none of them does he offer the usual expression of thanksgiving, and to none of them docs he speak the customary words of commendation and praise.

This ominous silence on the part of the apostle constitutes a most telling rebuke]: 3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ [see 1 Corinthians 1:1 and note], 4 who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil world, according to the will of our God and Father: 5 to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen. [The mention of the Lord Jesus Christ in the benediction, coupled with the thought which was uppermost in his mind, namely, that the Galatians were forsaking salvation through Jesus in the hope that they might obtain it through the law of Moses, leads Paul in these very opening sentences to fully set forth the atoning sacrifice of Christ, the deliverance through him, and the will of God, who ordered that atonement and deliverance should come in this way. Gratitude to Christ, who, owning his life, might have retained it, but freely gave it for us, and desire for deliverance from this present evil world, and respect for the sovereign will of God our Father, are three strong motives prompting us to be steadfast in the profession of our Christian faith.

To each of these motives Paul appeals. It is the apostle’s habit, whenever he has occasion to make mention of the mercy of God, to break forth in expressions of thanksgiving (2 Corinthians 9:15; Ephesians 3:20), and he follows his custom here.] 6 I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that called you in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel [The word translated "marvel" conveys the idea of admiration rather than of wonder. Their fickleness was sufficiently striking to be brilliant. Since, if Paul wrote this letter from Corinth on his third missionary tour, it was three years since he had been with them, commentators have been tempted to choose some other date comporting better with "quickly," for three years is rather a long period. But Paul refers to moral speed. The Galatians were changing their position hastily and without due consideration. In doing this they were withdrawing from the God who called them (for "him" refers to God, and not to Paul—1:15; 5:8; Romans 8:30; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 2:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:24; 2 Timothy 1:9) and from the grace, or liberty, peace, etc., of the kingdom into which they had been called, for what? for a new gospel which was not worthy of the name.

There can be but one gospel; that there might be two, between which men might choose, is something which the apostle denies in the next verse]; 7 which is not another gospel: only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. [This verse defines the meaning of that which precedes, so as to correct the false impression that there might be two gospels, similar in some respects and equally effective. The folly of such a thought is ironically set forth at 2 Corinthians 11:4. There is, says the apostle, emphatically but one gospel, but there are some who would revolutionize you (the word "trouble" has this force) by perverting the gospel, making it an unholy, ineffectual compound of living truth and obsolete Jewish forms. His failure to name the leaders in this movement shows his contempt for them. They were parties unknown and deserving to remain unknown. One cannot help wishing that modern churches would waken to the truth here spoken by the apostle. There is and must ever be but one gospel. There is not a separate gospel suited to the prejudices or so-called "tastes" of each sect or denomination. There is but one gospel, and hence all church divisions result from perversions of that gospel, and all such secessions or revolutionary divisions are but the beguiling of Satan, drawing disciples from "the simplicity and purity that is toward Christ"—2 Corinthians 11:3.] 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema. 9 As we have said before, so say I now again, If any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him be anathema. [Here the apostle supposes an impossibility, that he may thereby show that it is not possible to make any alterations in the gospel which God would sanction or accept. No man could make such alterations; no, not even an angel.

Chrysostom suggests that these gospel perverters claim for their teaching the authority of the older apostles, Peter, James, John, etc., and interprets Paul thus: "Don’t tell me of John, don’t tell me of James. If one of the highest angels were to come, corrupting the truth originally preached, he must be rejected.... When the truth is in question, respect of persons is inadmissible." In this connection it is interesting to note that the Galatians had at first received Paul as an angel of light (Galatians 4:14), and they were now probably so receiving these perverters. Also we may observe that the words of angels would be valueless if spoken in an improper spirit (1 Corinthians 13:1), and lastly that the sayings of Jesus differ from the sayings of the law in this very respect, viz.: they are weightier than any words conveyed through the agency of angels (Hebrews 1:2; Hebrews 2:1-3). Upon all such perverters Paul pours out the anathema of God, devoting them to destruction. See 1 Corinthians 16:22. In later centuries the anathema became associated with excommunication, until the two words became convertible terms; but no such confusion of terms existed in Paul’s day, and his words mean more even than severance from the church. Moreover, excommunication would not affect angels, since they are not members of our churches. Paul’s language shows that at his last visit (Acts 18:23) he had warned the Galatians against such Judaizers, and he now makes the warning more effectual by repetition. His reference to his former words suggests surprise that they should have so far forgotten them as to be misled despite them.

The strong wording of this entire passage forms a solemn warning against the sin of corrupting the gospel. All offices, appearances and reputations to the contrary, whoso perverts the divine truth is an enemy to Christ, and rests under the curse of God. Compare Matthew 7:22-23. And who will presume to say how large or important a change must be to constitute a perversion? It is best, as Dean Howson observes, to understand Paul as "precluding any deviation of any kind from the original gospel. ’] 10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? or am I striving to please men? if I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ. [Paul’s enemies accused him of being a time-serving, man-pleasing factionist, who, to gain for himself a large party of adherents, had allowed the Gentiles undue liberty, even receiving them into the fellowship of the church without subjecting them to the essential rite of circumcision, thus being content to let them rest in a low state of imperfection and perhaps even risk their salvation rather than alienate their affections by telling them unpalatable truths, or making unwelcome requirements. Paul therefore makes his present conduct an answer to all this. Neither in his present utterance or in his life since his conversion had he proved himself such a time-server. On the contrary, however, whenever a crisis arose requiring him to make a choice between pleasing man and God, he had spoken God’s unpleasant truths freely, regardless of their effect on human friendship.

Whatever he had done when he was a Pharisee to please priest or people, he was not continuing to do so now. He was no longer a Jew, a Pharisee, or a persecutor of Christians as he would be if he were pleasing men, but he was a servant of Christ; though being so involved being misunderstood, hated, slandered, persecuted and reviled.] 11 For I make known to you, brethren [Paul’s affection will crop out], as touching the gospel which was preached by me, that it is not after Prayer of Manasseh 1:12 For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ. [I want you to understand that the gospel which I preach was in no sense my own invention or production, for it was of a nature not after man; i. e., not such as man could design or devise. And the method by which I received it proves that it was not of a human origin, and hence also not of a human character; for I did not receive it from man, nor did I acquire it by the slow and progressive method of teaching, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ. Jesus revealed himself to Paul on the way to Damascus and he was soon preaching the gospel in that city. Therefore Paul’s revelations must have been received about the time of his conversion, and most probably during his sojourn in Arabia. As to exactly when they were received Paul himself is silent; but as to the manner, he declares that he received them from Jesus, so his gospel was from the same source as that of the other apostles.

The rest of the chapter is taken up in proving the statements of these two verses.] 13 For ye have heard of my manner of life in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and made havoc of it: 14 and I advanced in the Jews’ religion beyond many of mine own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. [Paul’s first proposition is that though it might be possible that he was taught the gospel by men, or that he might have attempted to originate it, it was certainly highly improbable; for his whole early life showed a strong antipathy and aversion to such teaching, and an intense love for that very form of teaching which was now being used to pervert the gospel. Of these very facts the Galatians themselves were in a manner witnesses; for they had doubtless heard the common report concerning them, and had also learned them from Paul himself at a time when they had no bearing on the question now discussed. Paul made no secret of his past life (1 Corinthians 15:9; 1 Timothy 1:13; Acts 22:4-5; Acts 26:10-11). Thus the story of his miraculous call, with which they were perfectly familiar, was evidently true. By "my fathers" Paul means his spiritual fathers, the Pharisees. He was zealous for the whole Jewish religion, as expounded by the Pharisees, with all its forms, rites, laws, etc., both divine and human.] 15 But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me, even from my mother’s womb, and called me through his grace, 16 to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles; straightway I conferred not with flesh and blood [anything mortal]: 17 neither went I up to Jerusalem to them that were apostles before me: but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned unto Damascus. [Paul’s conversion, being too well known to the Galatians to require restatement, is simply referred to in the phrases "called me," "returned to Damascus," etc. He appeals to that conversion to show that he was neither man’s apostle nor even an apostle’s apostle, but a true apostle of God. Moreover, even he himself had no part in the call, for he could in no way have fitted or qualified himself to be such, since God had called him to the place from birth, as he had done Moses, John the Baptist, Isaiah (Isaiah 49:1), and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:5). His call to be an apostle was, therefore, due to the free grace of God and not because of anything which Paul was as a man, or held as derived from man. Moreover, in purpose the call was purely apostolic, for he was called to receive illumination, that, having received a revelation of Christ, he might be sent forth to enlighten the Gentiles with it. And this illumination was absolutely independent of any person or persons at Jerusalem, for he had received it in another land, and it was made wholly sufficient without any recourse to Jerusalem, as was clear from the fact that he had not turned to that city for more light, but had gone into Arabia, and, returning to Damascus, had entered upon his ministry (Acts 9:19; Acts 9:22; Acts 26:20). The sojourn in Arabia must have been brief.

Paul’s predestination to the office of an apostle is an entirely different thing from predestination to salvation, for he nowhere claims the latter— 1 Corinthians 9:27.] 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and tarried with him fifteen days. 19 But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother. 20 Now touching the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not. 21 Then I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was still unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ: 23 but they only heard say, He that once persecuted us now preacheth the faith of which he once made havoc; 24 and they glorified God in me. [The term "three years" may be taken to mean three full years, or one year and parts of two others. Assuming that Paul was converted in A. D. 37, the visit to Jerusalem took place somewhere between A. D. 38 and 40. Luke describes this same period as "many days" (Acts 9:23). For a curious parallel see 1 Kings 2:38-39. Persecution drove Paul from Damascus (Acts 9:22-25; 2 Corinthians 11:31-32), and the desire to form the acquaintance of Peter led him to Jerusalem. The James whom he met was, as described, "the Lord’s brother," and was neither James, the son of Zebedee, nor James, the son of Alphaeus. In fact, he was not properly an apostle, but was called such probably because of his nearness to Jesus and his great influence. For further information concerning him, see "Fourfold Gospel," page 225. Paul’s reasons for leaving Jerusalem are found at Acts 9:29-30; Acts 22:17-21. Cilicia was commonly coupled with Syria in popular phrase; for, though part of Asia Minor, it was cut off from that district by the high ridge of Mt. Taurus, and so formed social and commercial affinities with Syria.

The gist of Paul’s argument is this: My gospel did not come to me from Jerusalem, for, 1. I was in no haste to go there. 2. I did not go there for the purpose of perfecting my knowledge of the gospel. 3. I was not there long enough to perfect such knowledge. 4. Leaving there, I was conscious of no deficiency of knowledge, but went at once to localities far distant, and was not personally known in the regions contiguous to Jerusalem, as I must have been had I lingered in that city long enough to learn the gospel history. 5. But I was known to them by my repentance, and by works for which they praised God, which facts show that I was recognized by them as proficient in a gospel which I did not learn from them.]

PAUL’S GOSPEL APOSTOLICALLY APPROVED.

HIS EQUALITY WITH PETER.

By J.W. McGarvey

Galatians 2:1-21.

[Paul, having shown that his gospel was independent of the powers at Jerusalem, proceeds to prove that it was fully endorsed by them, and so he was not a false apostle, as his enemies represented him to be.] 1 Then after the space of fourteen years [i. e., after his conversion, or about A. D. 51] I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus also with me. [Paul omits his second visit to Jerusalem, which took place about A. D. 44 (Acts 11:30; 12:35). It is not needful to mention this visit, for it was a brief one, and made at a time when persecution raged there, and when James, the son of Zebedee, was beheaded, and Peter cast into prison. It was no time for conference, and had no bearing whatever on Paul’s apostleship or gospel. The third visit (Acts 15:1-35) had such bearings, and is therefore mentioned. Titus was among the "certain other" mentioned at Acts 15:2. Titus was a Gentile convert, and Paul evidently took him with him that he might use him to test the question as to whether circumcision was required of such converts. If Paul wrote from Corinth, Titus was then with him, a living witness of Paul’s success in this test case. At this council which Paul and Barnabas attended, a decree confirming the liberty of the Gentiles was issued. Some question has arisen as to why Paul did not cite the decree to prove the correctness of his position on the question of circumcision. Paley gives an elaborate number of reasons for his not doing so, none of which are wholly satisfactory, but the real reason is very obvious.

Paul could prove his apostleship easier than he could the decree, and the decree would settle only one or two questions, while the establishment of his apostleship would enable him to settle every question. Moreover, the Galatians had no doubt seen the decree and had it explained away—Acts 16:4-6.] 2 And I went up by revelation: and I laid before them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles but privately before them who were of repute, lest by any means I should be running, or had run, in vain. [Paul went up to Jerusalem because he was outwardly appointed to do so by the church at Antioch (Acts 15:2), and inwardly prompted to do so by the Lord. This revelation may have come to Paul through some prophet (Acts 13:1-2), but it was more likely by the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:17-19; Acts 11:12; Acts 16:6-7), but the important point to note is, that as his gospel came from God, so also its sanctioning was brought about by God. Paul wisely consulted with the apostolic leaders (Acts 15:4) before entering the council, lest, through some misunderstanding, he might encounter their opposition, and so have his work destroyed, for he recognized that if his labors were discountenanced at the fountain-head, all that he had done would be in vain.

According to his characteristic use of metaphors, Paul describes his labors under the figure of the Grecian race.] 3 But not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: 4 and that because of the false brethren privily brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: 5 to whom we gave place in the way of subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. [But the sequel showed that I did not run in vain, for my voice and my authority were recognized in that council in the matter of Titus; and though certain Jews, who were members of the church and yet not Christians at all, but had entered the church to further Jewish interests, and who were ever then present in the council as spies of the Jews to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ, that they might bring the church of Christ back into the bondage of the law—though these I say were present, demanding the circumcision of Titus, I did not yield to them at all, but saved the liberty of Titus, that the true liberty of the gospel might be preserved for you Gentiles. Paul after this circumcised Timothy, who was by birth entitled to circumcision. He did this because by so doing he would give Timothy larger influence in preaching to the Jews, and because the church at Jerusalem, having, after a full hearing, accepted one uncircumcised Christian, had once for all admitted that circumcision was not essential to Christianity.

Had Paul yielded in the case of Titus, the precedent would have established the contrary rule.] 6 But from those who were reputed to be somewhat (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth not man’s person)—they, I say, who were of repute imparted nothing to me [Having exposed the Judaists and set forth his triumph over them, and shown them to be no-what, he now turns to discuss those who by reason of their office, influence, etc., seem to be somewhat. Thus, he reaches the main question which the Galatians were asking, viz.: "What, Paul, was your final attitude toward the apostles, those great pillars of the church universal?" He recognizes that in the very putting of such a question they were, so far as he was concerned, exalting the Jerusalem apostles above their true height. He was himself a pillar of equal altitude, and no more to be measured by them than they by him. Though, says he, these men, buttressed by a multitude of followers and by their established official position, seemed indeed to be more important than a lone stranger such as I, yet God is not deceived by such seeming. He knew me to be an apostle as well as they; and they added no gospel fact or doctrine to my store, nor did they impart to me any new authority, or suggest any change in what I preached]: 7 but contrariwise, when they saw that I had been intrusted with the gospel of the uncircumcision, even as Peter with the gospel of the circumcision 8 (for he that wrought for Peter unto the apostleship of the circumcision wrought for me also unto the Gentiles); 9 and when they perceived the grace that was given unto me, James and Cephas and John, they who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go unto the Gentiles, and they unto the circumcision; 10 only they would that we should remember the poor; which very thing I was also zealous to do. [These men, as I say, in no way reproved or corrected me, but, on the contrary, when they saw, by the testimony of the Spirit, that I was sent to the Gentiles as Peter was sent to the Jews (for the Spirit, who gave Peter wisdom and knowledge and power when he worked among the Jews, gave me these same gifts for my work among the Gentiles), and when they also saw the manner in which the Spirit had fitted me for my work, they recognized that God had appointed to each of us a separate sphere of operations; so they agreed, these pillars, that I should preach to the Gentiles, and they should preach to the Jews, and our agreement was not a loose and tacit affair, but one to which we formally pledged ourselves by the giving of hands. The only requirement they made of me was that I should remember the poor in Judaea whenever persecution, etc., brought them into, distress, and this I would have done without their request.

James is mentioned before Peter because he was elder at Jerusalem, and because he appears to have acted as president of the council. (See Acts 15.) The Scripture knows nothing of the supremacy of Peter, as contended for by the Roman Catholics. As to this agreement formed between the apostles, we should note that it was not rigid.

Paul, in his missionary journeys, invariably preached first to the Jews, and Peter did work at Antioch and elsewhere among the Gentiles, and was, according to the appointment of Christ, the first to open the door of the kingdom for the Gentiles (Matthew 16:19; Acts 10; Acts 15:7). Moreover, we should note that while the greatest goodwill and cordiality and most perfect understanding existed between the leaders of these two great wings of the church, this concord did not extend to the wings themselves, for it was a part of Peter’s grand division of the church which was causing Paul trouble in Galatia. As to collections for the poor, Paul had taken one such offering to Jerusalem even before the meeting of this council (Acts 11:28-30), and was even now taking another such collection on a large scale (Romans 15:26-27; Acts 24:16), of which facts the Galatians were not ignorant.] 11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I resisted him to the face, because he stood condemned. [There is no means of determining when this scene took place, but it was probably very soon after the council at Jerusalem. It forms the climax in Paul’s argument, showing that he was not only the equal of Peter, but, at times, even his superior. It upsets the Romish doctrine of Peter’s supremacy, and also shows that in his conduct he was not infallible; for in this instance he was not so much condemned by his fellow-apostle as he was, to use Paul’s phrase, self-condemned—his conduct at one time reproving and convicting him for his conduct at another.

Luther regards Paul as here drawing a contrast between his own conduct in withstanding Peter to his face, and these gospel perverters who were slandering him behind his back.] 12 For before that certain came from James, he ate with the Gentiles; but when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing them that were of the circumcision. [The Jews regarded it as unlawful to have social intercourse with, or to eat with, Gentiles; but Peter’s great vision, teaching the fact that God was no respecter of races or persons, bore especially on the social difference (Acts 10:11-16). Peter, therefore, instructed by the vision, ate with the Gentiles, and defended his conduct in so doing (Acts 11:3-4; Acts 11:12). He therefore knew perfectly what was right and lawful in the matter, but, fearing those who came from James, he played the coward, being, as Alford says, "ever the first to recognize, and the first to draw back from great truths." Peter, therefore, to avoid the censure of these Jerusalem critics, began to withdraw from the Gentiles, and finally to separate himself altogether. Such a withdrawal would mean that Peter could not take the communion with the Gentiles. The "certain" is contemptuous, and corresponds to the "some" of 1:7.

It is not likely that James gave these men any authority for what they did. See his words at Acts 15:19, and those of the decree, Acts 15:24. But James stood in high favor with the Jewish party, and hence, in his absence, would readily be quoted as sanctioning the teachings of that party.] 13 And the rest of the Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that even Barnabas was carried away with their dissimulation. [These Jews from Jerusalem appear to have swept in like an invading army, and were joined by Peter, and then by the rest of the Jewish Christians in Antioch, and lastly by even Barnabas, who had hitherto been Paul’s colleague in defending the gospel liberties. Truly the situation was critical. Either the surrender of the Gentiles, or a division of the church, was sure to follow if these conditions continued. Paul calls the conduct of these men "dissimulation." They were pretending that they believed one principle, when, in reality, they believed the very opposite.

Bishop Lightfoot suggests that the action of Barnabas at this time may have paved the way for the quarrel which soon after separated him from Paul.] 14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Cephas before them all [Antioch was the center and citadel of Gentile Christianity with all its privileges and liberties, and Antioch was being captured. It was time to act, and the whole fate of the church, humanly speaking, rested on one man, but that man was equal to the occasion.

When leaders failed to walk according to the truth of the gospel, Paul was always heard from. He spoke here, and the church was saved. The open boldness of his unsparing rebuke, delivered before some great congregation, was a warning to these gospel-perverters of what he would do should he come to Galatia. Doubt exists as to where Paul’s Words to Peter end, but they seem to embrace the entire chapter], If thou, being a Jew, livest as do the Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, how compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? 15 We being Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16 yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed on Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law: because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified, [if thou, being a Jew to begin with, livest, as is shown by your past custom, like a Gentile, and not like the Jews, by what right do you demand, by your changed custom, that the Gentiles should live like Jews? For even you and I, both being born Jews, and both taking the best view of ourselves possible, and regarding ourselves after the most untempered and unwarranted pride and prejudice of our race as infinitely superior to the degraded heathen (as we were wont to call them), both in righteousness and acceptability to God, even we, I say, despite all this, were forced to see and acknowledge that a man is not justified by those works of the law in which we trusted, but through faith in Jesus Christ, so that we believed on Christ Jesus that we might obtain the justification that comes through him, rather than the vain and insufficient justification of the law, for the Scripture itself (Psalms 143:2) says, "By the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. "] 17 But if, while we sought to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also were found sinners, is Christ a minister of sin? God forbid. [But if we were forced by Christ’s light to confess that we were sinners under the law, so that we turned our backs upon the law as a means of justification; and if we were now so disappointed and dissatisfied with the justification which we have obtained from Christ, that we in turn abandon him and seek to return to the law, what will be said of Christ? Will not all be compelled to say that, so far as we are concerned, he has proved himself not a minister to our justification, but rather a minister to our sense of sin? And is he indeed such a minister? God forbid the thought!

We may regard Paul’s reproof as closing here and look upon the rest of the chapter as an elaboration of the thought addressed to the Galatians. But his address to them begins properly at 3:1, so we prefer to take it as a continuation of the reproof, wherein Paul drops the plural for the singular that he may declare to Peter his own intentions in the matter.] 18 For if I build up again those things which I destroyed, I prove myself a transgressor. 19 For I through the law died unto the law, that I might live unto God. 20 1 have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. [If, as I say, I follow your course, Peter, and abandon and seek to destroy the law because it does not justify me, and, failing to be justified anywhere else, I return to and again build up the law, I prove myself to be a hopeless, unjustified sinner. But I am no such self-convicted transgressor; for I, following my own course, was, by the agency of the law acting as my schoolmaster (3:24), led to die to the law, thus utterly abandoning it, that I might live unto God (Romans 7:1-6). And seeking refuge from the law, I have identified myself with Christ, and in him I have died to the law, for I have been crucified with Christ; and thus it is no longer I, Paul, the lawcondemned Jew, that lives, but Christ, the righteous, the justified, liveth in me. And that life I now live in the flesh is thus merged in and identified with Christ by faith—faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me, dying to fulfill the sentence of the law in my stead.] 21 I do not make void the grace of God: for if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for nought. [I do not, Peter, in following my course, make void the grace of God which gave us Christ. But your course does this very thing, for if a man can be righteous and obtain justification Under the law, then the death of Christ is superfluous. Paul’s rebuke to Peter is not only a complete climactic justification of his claims as an apostle, but forms also a most fitting introduction, both in matter and spirit, to his immediately following rebuke of the Galatians, who were, like Peter, returning to the law.]

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH IN CHRIST

BIBLICALLY VINDICATED.

By J.W. McGarvey

Galatians 3:1-29.

1 O foolish Galatians, who did bewitch you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth crucified? [The Galatians were of well-known intellectual capacity, and their foolishness in not detecting the fallacious reasoning of the Judaizers was hard to understand. Their conduct was so inexplicable that it seemed as if some bewitching fascination like our modern animal magnetism had been made use of, and even this explanation was hardly sufficient, for Christ had been so clearly and forcibly preached unto them, that he had been, as it were, crucified in their very presence, and before their very eyes; so that they had only to look to him to find an antidote to the Satanic poison which was destroying them—Numbers 21:9.] 2 This only would I learn from you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? [Romans 1:5; Romans 16:26. I need ask you but one test question to utterly condemn your conduct. I will refer you to your own experience. When I came and labored among you, God approved and seconded my labor by imparting to you the miraculous powers (v. 5; Mark 16:17; Hebrews 2:4) and spiritual graces (v. 14; 4:5, 6; Ephesians 1:13) of the Spirit. Now, did ye receive the Spirit by these works of the law which these gospel perverters would have you perform, or did ye receive him by hearing and believing the gospel which I preach? The Galatians could give but one answer to this question, and that answer decided the point between Paul and his opponents, and showed that God was with the apostle, and not with his enemies.] 3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now perfected in the flesh? 4 Did ye suffer so many things in vain? If it be indeed vain. [Paul here reproves them in that they have begun their life in the manhood of the Spirit, with the attendant spiritual powers, liberties and graces, and were now seeking to advance or perfect that life by turning back to the childhood of the law with its fleshly forms, rites and ordinances.

They were advancing backward! (See 4:1-6.) He next reminds them of their sufferings, which were vain, since they might have escaped them altogether, had they begun by embracing Judaism, for the Jews were not being persecuted, but were the very parties who had stirred up the hostility of the Gentiles against all Christians. "If it be indeed vain," as translated in the text, expresses a hope that they may repent of their apostasy, and so not lose the reward of their sufferings (Matthew 5:11-12). But the phrase may be rendered "if indeed it is only in vain," which expresses a desire that the loss may be confined to the reward of their sufferings, and may not be extended to something further, as the loss of their salvation. Cook, Meyer, etc., prefer this latter meaning, but, though less commonplace and more forceful, it is also more strained.] 5 He therefore that supplieth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? [According to the unvarying rule of Paul’s writings, the pronoun "he" in this verse refers to God rather than to God’s minister, though the latter reference might make the smoother reading.

The idea is this: Does God, who works miracles among you (or perhaps in you—2:8; Matthew 14:2; Ephesians 2:2; Philippians 2:13), do it as a result of your obedience to the law, or because you have heard the gospel and believed it? Verily, by your belief; and so your case is like Abraham’s.] 6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness. [Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3; Romans 4:9; Romans 4:21-22.] 7 Know therefore that they that are of faith, the same are sons of Abraham. [For by faith Abraham came into such relations with God that he attained righteousness and justification; and I want you to know that those who follow his spiritual example are his real or spiritual children, to the exclusion even of his fleshly children, made such by birth, or adopted, as ye seek to be, by circumcision. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all the nations be blessed. [Genesis 12:3.] 9 So then they that are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham. [The word for "Gentiles" and "nations" is the same; so Paul says that the Scripture, foreseeing that the Gentiles would be justified by faith, just as Abraham was, foretold to him this gospel of justification by saying, "In thee shall all the Gentiles be blessed." That is, the blessing of justification which is imparted to you, the father, shall attach to all the spiritual children which are potentially in you, and are hereafter to be, as it were, born out of you; even the Gentiles. Those, therefore, that are of faith, and not those who are children of Abraham after the flesh (for the Gentiles can never be such), are blessed with Abraham.] 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one who continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them. [Deuteronomy 27:26. But if the Scripture declares positively that the blessing of justification comes by faith, it likewise declares negatively that it does not come by the law, for all failed to keep the law, and it says that all who thus fail rest under a curse, instead of a blessing.] 11 Now that no man is justified by the law before God, is evident: for, The righteous shall live by faith [Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17]; 12 and the law is not of faith; but, He that doeth them shall live in them. [Leviticus 18:5. Moreover, later prophecy bears out the earlier declaration made to Abraham, for it says that the righteous obtain life, or salvation, by faith, and this has no reference whatever to the law, for the law is not a system of faith, but an antithetical system of works, for the Scripture so defines it by a counter statement to the one I have quoted, which says that whoever keeps the precepts of the law shall live by them. Compare Romans 11:6.] 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 that upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. [Deuteronomy 21:23. Compare Matthew 20:28; 1 Timothy 2:6; 1 Cor. 5:20; 7: 23; Titus 2:14, etc. That the Galatians may realize the full meaning of their foolishness, Paul shows them that the condemnation to which they were returning, was the very thing from which the death of Christ redeemed them; for the law brought a curse upon men, but Jesus had delivered from the curse by taking it unto himself, as the Scripture proves; for it called all cursed who were crucified. And Jesus removed this obstructing law and curse, that in himself he might bring Abraham’s blessing of justification upon the Gentiles, that all might receive the fulfillment of God’s promise, that promise which agreed to give the Spirit to all who rendered the obedience of faith—Acts 2:38-39.]

15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men: Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet when it hath been confirmed, no one maketh it void, or addeth thereto. 16 Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. [Genesis 13:15; Genesis 17:8.] 17 Now this I say: A covenant confirmed beforehand by God, the law, which came four hundred and thirty years after, doth not disannul, so as to make the promise of none effect. 18 For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no more of promise: but God hath granted it to Abraham by promise. [Brethren, I wish to use an illustration taken from our daily business life, viz.: that of our usage concerning contracts or agreements. Now if, when a human contract has once been confirmed, it becomes so sacred that no man will presume to annul or change it without the consent of both parties, much more is a covenant of God’s too sacred to be modified or tampered with.

But God made such a ratified or confirmed contract or covenant with Abraham, for he spoke promises to Abraham, and to his seed. Not in fact meaning to Abraham and all his posterity, but to Abraham and his spiritual posterity (for he used a word which maybe so interpreted), for he did not use the plural "seeds," but the singular "seed," thereby referring especially to Christ as the head of the spiritual posterity. Now, I say therefore, that this covenant, having been confirmed before the law came, still holds good, and can not be annulled by the coming of the law, for the law, as you know, did not come until four hundred and thirty years after the covenant was confirmed. Now, to sum up what I have said, the promise, being given to the seed of Abraham, becomes to them an inheritance, and inheritances do not come from two parties, but from one; so, if the inheritance had been derived from the law, it could not have been derived from the promise also; but it was derived from the promise, since God thus gave it to Abraham. We lack space for the grammatical and chronological difficulties of this passage. Suffice it to say, "seed," being a collective noun, is capable of being applied to many; but it is also, as Paul says, capable of being applied to one, and none of his auditors would object at all to his thus applying it solely to Christ.

Again, if the term of four hundred and thirty years is inaccurate, it is the number given in the Septuagint, which was then universally used. And, for argumentative purposes, was sufficiently correct as a round number.] 19 What then is the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise hath been made; and it was ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one; but God is one. [This verse has been interpreted in more than three hundred different ways.] 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could make alive, verily righteousness would have been of the law. 22 But the scripture shut up all things under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. [The apostle now undertakes to show the inferiority of the law to the gospel. For what purpose then, you ask, was the law? It was added by God for the purpose of revealing and manifesting to man his sinfulness, and was to exist only during the interim between the giving of the promise and the fulfillment of the promise by the coming of Christ (2:18; Romans 5:13-20; Romans 7:7). It was not given directly by divine lips, as was the gospel, but through the intervention of angels (Deuteronomy 33:2; Hebrews 2:2); and it was not given personally, but through Moses, a mediator (Deuteronomy 5:5). Now, this mediatorship of Moses also argues the temporal nature of the law; for a mediator is no part of the personality of the one whom he represents: he is a different personality; but God is one personality, and can not, therefore, be properly represented by any other than himself. Such a mediatorship, therefore, must, in the very nature of the case, be but temporary.

The men who represent God are mortal and pass away, but God is immutable and ever-abiding. His promises, therefore, stand on a different plane from anything which rests on human mediation. But some one will ask, if the law brings a curse, is it not antagonistic to the promises which bring a blessing? God forbid that we should think that the Almighty acts in so contrary a manner. There are two ways in which the law might antagonize the gospel. 1. If righteousness could have been obtained by it, it might have proved a rival way of life. But it is no such rival. 2. If it had destroyed life despite the gospel, it would have been contradictory to the gospel. But it merely shut men up as prisoners, doomed for their sins, that justification by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to all them that believe. Thus, instead of being antagonistic to the gospel, the ’aw emphasized and revealed the blessedness of the gospel.] 23 But before faith came, we were kept in ward under the law shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24 So that the law is become our tutor to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. [In the first of these two verses, Paul enlarges the thought of verse 22, fully describing those subjects of the law as prisoners incarcerated in a fortress, and awaiting the coming of a deliverer. The next image is distinct from that of a fortress, yet very similar to it; for the pedagogue or tutor was usually a slave, whose duty it was to take charge of a boy from his childhood to his majority, shield him from physical and moral evil, accompany him in all his amusement, and, as it were, keep him as a prisoner at large, lest he should in any way injure himself. Now, the law was such a tutor to bring those under his care to a state of development fit for the society and fellowship of Christ, the spiritual father.]

25 But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. [Faith, announcing justification from sin, is like a messenger of the father’s announcing maturity and liberty to the son so long under the care of a tutor. From the time of this announcement the son ceases to be a minor, shut off from the father, and becomes the companion of the father. Paul plainly declares the literal meaning of his figurative language in v. 26. Fausset draws attention to the analogy between the illustration here and that formed by the history of Moses and Joshua. Moses, as a representative of the law, brought the people to the border of the land of liberty; but it was the privilege of Joshua, as a type of faith, to lead the people into the full enjoyment of that liberty.] 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ. 28 There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye are all one man in Christ Jesus. [Having declared that faith, that is to say, the gospel, brings us into sonship to God, Paul describes the particular step by which this is accomplished. That step is baptism, for by baptism we become part of the mystical body of Christ. We put on the personality of Christ in the sight of God, and so become, in an individual sense, sons of God, but the individual sense is almost wholly lost in the collective, so that all those racial distinctions and all the fictitious distinctions of caste, and even the distinction of gender, which made a man look upon a woman with contempt, are lost sight of. Not only are all men and women new creatures in Christ Jesus, so that old things are passed away, but they are all part of one new organism, which in glory and importance obscures all former differences.] 29 And if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise. [The promise was given to Christ, the seed of Abraham, and if ye are Christ’s, then are ye in him heirs of that promise. Thus Paul demonstrates that the gospel privileges are not obtained by the law, but by the gospel system of justification through faith, which gospel system was promised equally to all nations, and may be enjoyed by them all without any racial or less distinctions.]

CHILDHOOD AND MANHOOD.

SARAH AND HAGAR.

By J.W. McGarvey

Galatians 4:1-31.

1 But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he differeth nothing from a bondservant though he is lord of all; 2 but is under guardians and stewards until the day appointed of the father. 3 So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the rudiments of the world: 4 but when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. [In this paragraph Paul resumes the metaphor begun at 3:24; but from a slightly different point of view. There, law, or the tutor, was prominent; here, the son, or pupil, is the chief object of consideration. The point now illustrated is the reason why the bondage of the law preceded the liberty of the gospel. It was for purposes of development, similar to those by which youth is trained to manhood. The child in this instance is regarded as wholly subject to the terms of a will (though that of a living father, as appears later). Though the will provides that the son shall eventually be heir of all things, yet for the present he is so hampered, governed and restricted by the inflexible terms of the will that his condition differs, so far as comfort and freedom are concerned, in no respect from that of a bondservant, or slave. His person is under the care of guardians, and his estate is under the direction of stewards, and he can in no way expect to have his affairs bettered until the time has elapsed which is fixed by the will as the period of his subserviency, or minority. Thus, says the apostle, both Jews and Gentiles, as one common, congregate body, or heirs in God’s sight, were held in bondage either to the law of Moses or some other form of law, which laws are collectively described as the rudiments of the world. But when the time arrived which was stipulated in the will for the termination of this period of tutelage, then God took the steps for the liberation of the ward (which steps were also outlined beforehand in the promise to Abraham, and referred to in the types of the will as recorded by Moses), and sent forth his Son to effect the liberation of the ward. At 3:13 the apostle has already suggested that this liberation was to be effected by the son taking the place of the ward, etc. He shows, therefore, the steps by which the Son took upon him this wardship. He took upon him the nature of the ward by becoming flesh, being born of a woman (John 1:14), and he assumed the state of the ward, for he was born under the law and thus came under the wardship. And his gracious purpose in all this was to redeem all those under ward and bring them to the estate of sons (2 Corinthians 8:9)—adopted sons.]

6 And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 So that thou art no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. [And being made sons by the Son through the operation of faith (John 1:12), the Spirit of Christ is bestowed upon us to bring us to blissful realization of our sonship, so that we may speak to God, calling him Abba, Father. Abba is the Syriac for father. The Syriac and Greek names are both used by Paul, probably that all the tender associations which, to cither Jews or Greeks, clustered around the paternal name, might be, at the sound of the sacred word, transferred to God. Thus, by the blessed ministration of Christ, all who believed on him in Galatia passed from servitude and wardship to the estate of sons and heirs—Romans 8:17.] 8 Howbeit at that time, not knowing God, ye were in bondage to them that by nature are no gods: 9 but now that ye have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how turn ye back again to the weak and beggarly rudiments, whereunto ye desire to be in bondage over again? 10 Ye observe days, and months, and seasons, and years. 11 l am afraid of you, lest by any means I have bestowed labor upon you in vain. [This paragraph is addressed especially to the Gentile Christians. He reminds them that at the time of their wardship their condition differed from that of the Jews; for, having no true copy of the will or law, they were in the more severe bondage of idolatry. Having come from this low, degraded, poverty-stricken bondage into the joyous estate of sonship, where they knew and were known of God the Father, they should have been more impressed by the contrast even than were the Jews, and so should have been more reluctant to return to bondage again. They, therefore, had less excuse than the Jews, who had not been so far removed from God. The bondage is forcefully described, and the points of description are thus aptly defined by Johnson: "Weak, because they have no spiritual power to strengthen us; beggarly, because they have no rich promise like the gospel; rudiments, because they belong to a rudimentary condition, to an undeveloped state, to the childhood of the race." In proof of the unquestioned relapse of the Galatians, Paul cites their observance of days, etc., set apart by the terms of the bondage, or law. It is not stated whether these were Sabbaths and festivals of Judaism, or the ritual days of paganism, but as they were observed at the instance and through the urgency of the Judaizers, there can be little doubt that they were the former; and the Jewish calendar corresponds to Paul’s list, for they had Sabbath days, and new moon festivals each month, the great feasts in their seasons, and Sabbatical years. This passage, and that in Colossians (Colossians 2:16), if taken together, show very clearly that the Christians are not required to keep the Jewish Sabbath, and Paul’s closing words, expressing fear as to the results of his labors, is a forcible warning, indicating that salvation itself may be forfeited by a return to legalism.]

12 I beseech you, brethren, become as I am, for I also am become as ye are. Ye did me no wrong: 13 but ye know that because of an infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you the first time: 14 and that which was a temptation to you in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but ye received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. 15 Where then is that gratulation of yourselves? for I bear you witness, that, if possible, ye would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me. 16 So then am I become your enemy, by telling you the truth? [I beseech you, brethren, become as I am, and be not Jews; for I forsook Judaism and became simply a Christian, which made me, in the eyes of my brethren, a Gentile like you. Though I have spoken severely to you, it is for no personal reasons. Ye have done me no wrong. On the contrary, your actions have been very gracious, for you will remember (and here the apostle refers to facts that are nowhere recorded, but which we presume to run thus: ) that my journeying was providentially delayed as I was passing through your land, by my sickness; and so it came about that I preached the gospel unto you; and though my sickness was of so revolting a nature that ye might well have yielded to the temptation to ridicule or despise me, and reject me because of it, ye did not; for, conversely, ye received me as if I had been an angel of light, or the Lord himself. What, then, has become of your self-gratulation that you felt at having a real apostle among you? for I bear you witness that you so honored me that you would have plucked out your very eyes for my sake. Am I then showing myself to be your enemy by telling you truly how foolishly you are conducting yourselves? This plucking out of the eyes for another was a proverbial expression, indicating extreme attachment, and we have so rendered it in the paraphrase. Many take this as an indication that Paul’s thorn in the flesh was ophthalmia; see 2 Corinthians 12:7 and note; and this is not improbable, for, though the expression is proverbial, Paul does not here state it in proverbial form. The words "given them to me" suggest that he needed eyes, and these words are not essential to the proverb.] 17 They zealously seek you in no good way; nay, they desire to shut you out, that ye may seek them. 18 But it is good to be zealously sought in a good matter at all times, and not only when I am present with you. [The Jews showed great zeal in proselyting (1:14; Matthew 23:15; Romans 2:10), and the apostle states that in this case their zeal exhibited itself in courting the Galatians in an unworthy manner, and, what was more serious, for an unrighteous purpose. They were zealous to exclude the Galatians from the church and kingdom of God, by showing them to be not rightly converted; that, feeling themselves forlorn and lost, the Galatians might seek the Judaizers for counsel and advice, and might thus come to look upon them as great shepherds and deliverers. As the apostle sees in imagination the Galatians seeking earnestly for the instruction of the Judaizers, he remembers how they had once sought him, whom they had now forsaken, so he adds: I find no fault with you for zealously courting them, but with the evil cause for which they have you seek them; for it is at all times good to be zealously sought as a teacher in a good cause, and so, for my cause’s sake, you should thus seek me, not only when present, but when absent.]

19 My little children [1 Timothy 1:18; 2 Timothy 2:1; 1 John 2:1], of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you— 20 but I could wish to be present with you now, and to change my tone; for I am perplexed about you. [My little children, for whom I endured spiritual travail to give you birth at the time of your conversion, and for whom I a second time endure travail, that the Christ life may be formed in you, so that you may live, and think, and glory in nothing but Christ. —Here the apostle breaks suddenly off and at once explains why he did so. If the Galatians had come to look upon him as an enemy, how ridiculous such affectionate language would sound to them ! He did not, as he viewed them at a distance, and as they were pictured to him by report, feel free to use such tender speech; but still, trusting that matters were better than reported, he wished that he might be present, and, finding them indeed loyal, lay aside the perplexity which was now hampering him, and change his tone from rebuke and reserve to the accents of loving persuasion. No language could be devised that would more fully reveal the apostle’s heart in all its contending emotions.]

21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? 22 For it is written [Genesis 16:15; Genesis 21:2], that Abraham had two sons, one by the handmaid, and one by the free woman. 23 Howbeit the son by the handmaid is born after the flesh; but the son by the freewoman is born through promise. [Genesis 18:10; Genesis 18:14; Genesis 21:1-2; Hebrews 11:11; Romans 4:13; Romans 9:7-9.] 24 Which things contain an allegory: for these women are two covenants; one from mount Sinai, bearing children unto bondage, which is Hagar. 25 Now this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia and answereth to the Jerusalem that now is: for she is in bondage with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above [Philippians 3:20; Hebrews 12:2; Revelation 3:12; Revelation 21:2] is free, which is our mother. 27 For it is written [Isaiah 54:1; Isaiah 51:2], Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; Break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: For more are the children of the desolate than of her that hath the husband. 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, so also is it now. 30 Howbeit what saith the scripture? [Genesis 21:10.] Cast out the handmaid and her son: for the son of the handmaid shall not inherit with the son of the freewoman. 31 Wherefore, brethren, we are not children of the handmaid, but of the freewoman. [Tell me, ye who are so eager to return to the law, do ye not note what the law itself says? Of itself it warns you not to do this thing, in that it tells you the story of Abraham’s two sons, one of whom, Ishmael, was the son of the bondwoman, Hagar; and the other of whom, Isaac, was the son of the freewoman, Sarah. These sons, it tells you, were born differently. Ishmael, the slave-born, came into the world according to the usual course of nature; but Isaac, the freeborn, came through the promise of God, which held good even contrary to the laws of nature. Now, this history, though literally true, is, nevertheless, so designed as to contain an allegory; for these two women represent the two covenants which we have been discussing. Hagar represents the law, which came from Mt. Sinai, and which, like Hagar, bears slave-born children. Hagar, then, in earlier history, represents Mt. Sinai in Arabia with its covenant, and in later history she stands for Jerusalem, the successor to Mt. Sinai, for she, like Hagar, is in bondage; and all her children are, as to sin and the law, slave-born (John 8:32-34). Leaving out the preliminary steps, Paul rushes at once to the comparison of the two cities, for the emissaries of Jerusalem were constantly disparaging him as not the equal of those who were the heads of the church there (2:6, 7). Filling in all the steps, according to the analogy of the apostle’s reasoning, the full allegory would run thus: Sarah, the freewoman, represents the gospel covenant, which, like Sarah, bears freeborn children according to God’s promise, and she is now represented by the celestial Jerusalem, which, with her free children, is our mother. And the Scripture itself recognizes the order of these two covenants, showing how the law should be populous for a time, and then be excelled by the fecunditi of the gospel covenant, which seemed so long barren; for Isaiah foretells it in the words, "Rejoice, etc." As for a time Hagar seemed to be the real wife, and as such to own the husband so for centuries those of the old covenant seemed to be the real Bride and to own the Lord. Resuming the allegorical history and directly identifying the Christian with Isaac, Paul shows how the history continued to run parallel, for, as Ishmael persecuted Isaac, so the progeny of the law persecuted the children of the gospel. Then, prophetically conscious of God’s design to continue the parallel to the end, he gives the final prophecy of the rejection of God’s once chosen people, and closes with the incontrovertible conclusion that the Galatians are not children of the bondwoman, or law, but of the freewoman, or gospel. Thus Paul, knowing the passion of the Judaizers for allegorizing, meets them with their own weapon, and casts into this appropriate mold matter which he presents argumentatively and logically at Romans 9:6-9, and prophetically at Romans 11:15. The fact that Isaac and the gospel were both matters of promise, forestalled the Judaizers in any attempt to adjust the allegory so as to turn it against Paul. Moreover, the Jews themselves universally recognized the law as a practical bondage (Acts 15:10; Matthew 23:4), and the complaint against Paul was that he allowed too much liberty.]

EXHORTATION TO MAINTAIN FREEDOM WITHOUT

LICENSE, AND TO ABSTAIN FROM LEGALISM.

By J.W. McGarvey

Galatians 5:1-26.

1 For freedom did Christ set us free: stand fast therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage. [This verse continues the thought of the last chapter, and forms a connecting link between it and this section. It means that Christ made us free, not incidentally, but with the very design that, we should cherish and enjoy our freedom, and we should therefore stand fast in it, and not return to bondage.] 2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that, if ye receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing. [By the use of an exclamation followed by his name, Paul calls attention to the sentence, or decree, which, as an apostle, he pronounces in the case. Though circumcision of itself might be nothing (v. 6; Acts 16:3), yet if the Galatians looked to it, and through it to the covenant which it represented, for justification, or even their perfection in Christian grace, they forfeited all their rights in Christ. Though both covenants were of God, they could not be confused without disastrous results. Though a man’s mortal and spiritual bodies may both be from God, the soul which has advanced to the spiritual body would forfeit its salvation by returning to the corrupt mortal body.] 3 Yea, I testify again to every man that receiveth of circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. [The apostle here gives the reason for what he has said in the previous verse. Circumcision was, in its symbolic significance, an entrance into covenant relations with God under the terms of the old covenant, and as that covenant embraced not a part, but the whole law, the covenantee, or circumcised person, was obliged to observe the whole law, or forfeit his claims to life. Paul had probably fully explained this fact on one of his previous visits, and so he now reiterates it.] 4 Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law; ye are fallen away from grace. [Therefore, in being circumcised for the purpose of being justified by the law ye have been guilty of a complete apostasy; there is no longer any justification for you, for you are not under the grace of Christ, but rest under the condemnation of the law.] 5 For we through the Spirit by faith wait for the hope of righteousness. [That ye have fallen from grace is apparent by your contrast with us; for we true Christians, not trusting in carnal ordinances, but strengthened by the Spirit, wait for the fulfillment of the hope which righteousness by faith, instead of by law, insures to us.] 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith working through love. [It makes no difference in God’s sight what a man has been, whether a circumcised Jew, or an uncircumcised Gentile. There is, in his sight, no merit in either condition. That which he values is a faith in his Son, Christ Jesus, which manifests itself in loving service to him.]

7 Ye were running well; who hindered you that ye should not obey the truth? 8 This persuasion came not of him that calleth you. [The apostle again borrows a metaphor from the foot-race of the Grecian game. In their faith and love and works the Christians were running in a course obedient to the truth, but someone had broken up the race-course, and had persuaded them to desist from running. Who had done this? Paul does not answer, but states the important fact in the matter that whoever these persuaders were they were not the agents of the God who had called them to enter the race. The term "hindered" is military and indicates the embarrassment of an army’s progress by tearing down bridges, etc.] 9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. [Paul felt that by this time those who read his letter would be saying that he was censuring the whole church for a course of conduct pursued only by a small minority, but he quotes one of the proverbs of the New Testament (1 Corinthians 5:6) to show that the effect of minorities, if tolerated, becomes a menace to majorities.] 10 I have confidence to you-ward in the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be. [The apostle here expresses his confidence that they will take the same view of the situation that he does, and avoid the contaminating influence of the minority by disciplining it or its ringleader, no matter who he may be.]

11 But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? then hath the stumbling-block of the cross been done away. [It is evident that in this verse Paul defends himself against the charge of having taught the necessity of circumcision by having circumcised Timothy. His answer is that false brethren might misconstrue his act for the purpose of founding false teaching upon it, but that the Jews, the real parties in interest, placed a truer construction upon the act, for they still continued to persecute him as an enemy to circumcision. If Paul had preached circumcision, the stumblingblock of the cross would have been done away. Paul taught that the whole Jewish system of ordinances perished at the cross, and that on the cross Jesus made the one and only atonement for sin. Such teaching was a stumbling-block to the Jews. Had Paul rejected the doctrine of the cross and preached circumcision, as these Judaizers contended that he did when they wished to countenance their errors with his authority, he would have been a hero among the Jews.] 12 I would that they that unsettle you would even go beyond circumcision. [If those who trouble you insist on Mutilating themselves, I wish they would go further and cut themselves entirely off from the church. Having fully established the liberty of the gospel, the apostle now turns to correct any false antinomian theories which might have arisen out of a misconception of his words. Liberty is permissible but not license. The liberty of a son is infinitely larger than that of a ward, and yet the son is not wholly without restraint.]

13 For ye, brethren, were called for freedom; only use not your freedom for an occasion to the flesh, but through love be servants one to another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. [Do not think because you are free that you are therefore free to do evil. As a contrast to the spirit of liberty which is indeed yours, I counsel you to become servants one to another, not because the law commands you, but because love constrains you. For ye are indeed under the law of love, and that whole law is summed up in one sentence, which is this: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." But if, instead of having the spirit of love, which becomes men, ye be animated with the spirit of wild beasts, which, in their hasty rancor, bite each other, and, in their settled, inveterate malice, gnaw at and devour each other, take heed that your conduct does not result in your being consumed one of another.]

16 But I say, Walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would. [The Christian is under the guidance of the Spirit, and the Spirit continually prompts him to imitate the Father who has adopted him, and the Christ who has died for him. Now, any one who submits himself to the guidance of the Spirit, will not yield to those lusts of the flesh which he knows are displeasing to God. But he will be tempted to yield to those lusts, for there is an inner conflict forever waged within him in which the flesh contends with the Spirit, and the Spirit with the flesh, each desiring to constrain the man to fulfill its will. And thus it comes about that ye may not do things that ye would, for there are two wills within you, and one or other of them must be subdued and disappointed.] 18 But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law. [By as much as the Spirit triumphs within us, by that much are we freed from feeling the presence of the law. So long as we have two wills we are sensible of conflict, and so of the restraint of law, but when our nature is merged in the will of the Spirit, so that there is but one will within us, then we lose all consciousness of restraint. We attain to that true rule of liberty which Augustine condenses in the saying: "Love God, and do what you please." God himself leads the life of perfect righteousness, yet God can never be said to be under law. He knows no law but his own choice, but his choice is ever righteousness because of the perfect holiness of his character. So the Christian should strive to bring his own will into such perfect accord with the will of the Spirit that he does not feel the constraint of law resting upon him.]

19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, 21 envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. [These sins are too well known to need analysis or comment. It is startling to find "factions, divisions, parties," in so black a list, and coupled with so clear a declaration that these sins exclude the perpetrator of them from the kingdom of God. Verily all professing Christians would do well to take heed to what the Bible designates as sins, and not trust too much to their own fallible sentiment and judgment in such matters.] 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 meekness, selfcontrol; against such there is no law. [Contrast between light and darkness is no more definite and distinct than that between these two catalogues which represent carnal and spiritual desires. All those who do these works of God, find no law of God interfering with them in the exercise of their labors.] 24 And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof. [All those who have been baptized with Christ have been symbolically united with him in his crucifixion and death (Romans 6:2-6). In Christ, therefore, they have crucified the flesh with its passions, and so have consented to cut themselves off from the indulgence of the same.] 25 If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk. 26 Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another. [If we have been born and live in the Spirit, let us manifest that fact by our daily life, abstaining from evil. The especial evils mentioned in the last verse were probably very common among the Galatians.]

EXHORTATIONS TO MUTUAL HELPFULNESS.

RIGHT AND WRONG GLORYING.

By J.W. McGarvey

Galatians 6:1-18.

1 Brethren, even if a man be overtaken [literally, caught] in any trespass, ye who are spiritual, restore [a surgical term] such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to thyself, lest thou also be tempted. [Brethren, if a man be surprised, or caught unaware by temptation, and so fall into sin, ye who have not so done, but have walked according to the guidance of the Spirit, deal gently with such a sinner. Do not amputate him, as a piece of gangrene flesh, from the church body, but so handle him as to restore him. Also do not do this in a proud, Pharisaical spirit, but in the spirit of gentleness, bearing in mind that thou thyself art not beyond the reach of temptation.] 2 Bear ye one another’s burdens [Greek, bara, burden, or distresses], and so fulfil the law of Christ. 3 For if a man thinketh himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. 4 But let each man prove his own work, and then shall he have his glorying in regard of himself alone, and not of his neighbor. 5 For each man shall bear his own burden. [Greek, phortion, burden or responsibility. Bear one another’s burden of trial and suffering, those burdens which come by reason of infirmity of the flesh, and so fulfill the law of Christ, which bids us love one another (John 13:34; John 15:12; 1 John 3:23). For if a man think himself to be something, etc., i. e., so good that he can not be tempted, or so strong that he can not fall, or so perfect that he will never need the patience and sympathy of his brethren, when in reality he is nothing, i. e., no better than other men, he deceives himself. But let each man prove his own work instead of criticizing and judging the work of others, and then shall he have glory in himself alone, and not because he seems superior to his neighbor by comparison of his work with that of his neighbor. And it behooves us to be concerned about our own work, and to thus test it, for each one of us shall bear his own load of duty and accountability, for which alone he shall be called to answer in the judgment.]

6 But let him that is taught in the •word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. [Let the one taught remunerate his teacher, bringing him pecuniary aid, honor, reverence and all other good things. The financial support of teachers is elsewhere referred to (1 Timothy 5:17). Failure to contribute funds to this good end, no doubt, suggested what follows (compare 2 Corinthians 9:7-8); but the paragraph is by no means to be confined to such failure, for the language is too general.] 7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life. [God is not to be deceived by false appearances, and whoever hopes to overreach him only deceives himself (2 Kings 5:15-27; Acts 5:4-5; Acts 5:9). It is a broad law of God’s (and he cannot be deceived about it) that whatever a man sows he shall reap. As in the natural world he reaps grain for grain, so in the moral world, if he sows fleshly indulgence, he shall reap corruption, and so in the spiritual world, if he sows to the Spirit of God, he shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.]

9 And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us work that which is good toward all men, and especially toward them that are of the household of the faith. [And let us who are sowing in this latter manner not grow weary in the good work, for in due season we shall reap (James 5:7; James 5:3) if we do not grow disheartened and quit. And because we are then sure to reap, let us sow our harvest of good deeds as often as we have opportunity to sow, and let us do good toward all men, especially toward all our brethren in God’s household of believers.] 11 See with how large letters I write unto you with mine own hand. [There is no indication that Paul had ever before written to the Galatians, and they were probably not familiar with his handwriting. To call attention, therefore, to the fact that the amanuensis has now turned over the stylus, or pen, to him, and that he is putting his own closing lines as an autograph to the Epistle, he bids them note the difference in the letters. They were much larger than those of the amanuensis. This large lettering is taken by some as an additional evidence that Paul’s thorn in the flesh was defective eyesight.] 12 As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they compel you to be circumcised; only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For not even they who receive circumcision do themselves keep the law; but they desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. [In taking the pen in his own hand it was natural that he should show his earnestness in what he had dictated about circumcision and the Judaizers, tracing with his own fingers a line or two more on that subject. This, therefore, he does, telling them that all those who desire to make a fair show in the flesh, i. e., to please men by complying with worldly demand, seek to compel them (the Galatians) to be circumcised. They did this for no zeal for circumcision, but in order to escape the persecution of their Jewish brethren for adherence to the doctrine of the cross. Moreover, these Judaizers who were thus urging circumcision did not do so from any zeal for the law, for they made no effort themselves to keep it, but they did it that they might boast to other strict and unconverted Jews how they were making Jews out of Gentile Christians. Thus their motives were not religious and holy, but base and selfish.]

14 But far be it from me to glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world hath been crucified unto me, and I unto the world. [Let these glory if they will, in their wicked activity against the cross, but God forbid that I should glory save in that very cross against which they lift their hands, the cross by which the world has died to me, so that it no longer allures me with its false glories, or terrifies me with its frowns and threats; and by which I, in my turn, have died with Christ as to the world, so that I no longer enjoy or take part in its sinful lusts, and no longer rest under its sentence of condemnation.] 15 For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. [I glory in this cross of death from which I have been born again, a new creature in Christ, because, in this new dispensation of Christ’s, former things have lost their value. As a Jew I once held myself superior to Gentiles, and despised them; and had I been of the Gentiles I would, no doubt, have looked at things from their standpoint, and so I should have looked with contempt upon the Jews; but in Christ I have died to all this worldly pride, for in his dispensation there is no advantage or profit in the circumcision which makes a Jew, or the lack of it which makes a Gentile. The whole profit lies in being born again from either of these states (John 3:3) so as to become a child of grace, a recipient of justification, an heir of God.] 16 And as many as shall walk by this rule, peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. [Upon all who walk by the rule which I have just stated—the rule which rejects carnal ordinances, and accepts a regenerated life—upon them, even upon the Israel of God, be peace and mercy. The word translated "and" often means "even," and it has that force here, for it was Paul’s constant contention that Christians were the true Israel of God, the bone-fide sons of Abraham.] 17 Henceforth let no man trouble me; for I bear branded on my body the marks of Jesus. [We have here a figure taken from the life of a slave, who, in that day, was often branded with his master’s name, so as to insure his recovery should he attempt to escape. Now, Paul had been troubled by the Judaizers, who asserted that he was teaching their doctrine, and was as they were (5:10, 11). But this, in Paul’s eyes, was an assertion that he was free from Christ (5:4). Now, it troubled him to be thus accused of being no longer the servant of Christ, and, to silence such calumny, he appeals to the scars on his body, which showed that he was indeed the branded servant of Christ, and not a time-pleasing, persecution-evading (v. 12) servant of the world.] 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen. [The Epistle closes with a fraternal benediction, but the word of grace rests on the spirit of the Galatians, and not on their bodies. Blessing was to be found in rectitude of spirit, and not in fleshly righteousness ceremonially obtained through ordinances. We have no word of history which reveals to us the immediate effect of Paul’s Epistle; but the fact that it was preserved argues that it was well received. Considering the vigor and power of it, it could not have been otherwise than effective. We may say, then, that it, with 2 Corinthians and Romans, were three blows which staggered Judaism, and restrained it, till smitten by the hand of God himself at the destruction of Jerusalem, A. D. 70, it ceased to trouble the church till its forms were again revived in the days of the great apostasy.]

Survey of Galatians
R.C. Bell

Racially, the Galatians were Gauls, or Celts, who had migrated from north of the Black Sea into Europe. The main body of these Gauls finally established themselves in northern Spain, France, and the British Isles. But a branch of them crossed the Dardanelles and settled, during the third century B.C., in central Asia Minor. The Galatians, among whom Paul on his first great missionary journey near the middle of the first century A.D. organized several churches, were descendants of these Gauls.

Out of much personal experience with the volatile Gauls, Julius Caesar wrote: "The infirmity of the Gauls is that they are fickle in their resolves, fond of change, and not to be trusted." Thierry, a modern historian, says they were, "Frank, impetuous, impressible, eminently intelligent, but at the same time extremely changeable, inconstant, proud of show, perpetually quarrelling, the fruit of excessive vanity." The Galatians as pictured by Luke in Acts and in the epistle Paul later wrote to them answer to these characterizations. The Galatians of Lystra, whom Paul at first "scarce restrained" from worshipping him, soon afterward stoned him and left him for dead (Acts 14:8-9). Their fickle character as sketched in this incident is confirmed and developed in their portrait as painted in the book which we are now to study.

Many of us Americans with Gaulish blood, coming mainly through Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and French channels, in us have, as might be expected, some of the characteristics, both good and bad, of our ancient Galatian brethren. Should not this put us on guard against the vanity, instability, and untrustworthiness which were so prevalent in them? Alas, however, the Galatians are but an outstanding example of how prone men in general, from Adam onward, have ever been and still are to "drift away from" the blessings they have received from God.

General Survey of Galatians

R.C. Bell

Theme: Liberty in Christ 1. Personal portion: The apostle of liberty. Paul shows that he is an apostle equal in authority and knowledge to Peter, James, and John 1—2. 2. Doctrinal portion: The doctrine of liberty. Paul shows that justification is by "faith working through love" instead of by "works of law." 3—4. 3. Hortatory portion: The life of liberty. Paul exhorts those "having begun in the Spirit" to "walk by the Spirit" and to bear "the fruit of the Spirit." 5—6.

This skeletal outline of Galatians is the strong, bony framework that supports the meaty reasoning and the moving exhortation for Christian liberty and spirituality that make up the body of the epistle. Just as Ephesians settles the question of Christian unity, Galatians settles the question of Christian independence and freedom. "Every argument in Galatians is a thunderbolt." Galatians, which in fewest words reduces Christianity to its simplest elements, is an inspired classic. It sets forth the gospel, without admixture of legal conditions, as the perfected agency of the pure grace of God to rehabilitate ruined humanity. It shows, as we shall see in our studies, the utter impossibility of uniting the religion of the flesh and the religion of the Spirit. Luther wrote: "The epistle to the Galatians is my epistle. To it I am as it were in wedlock." Referring to Luther’s commentary on Galatians, John Bunyan said: "I prefer this book of Martin Luther (excepting the Holy Bible) before all other books that I have seen, as most fit for a wounded conscience."

Inasmuch, as Galatians is an open book free to all, let us begin and, no matter what we may find, continue our studies of this spiritbreathed, vital, Christian document with an open mind, fully ready to be guided by, "The Spirit of truth . . . into all the truth" (John 16:13). Our method should be both microscopic and telescopic that things both near and far may be discovered. May we, "handling aright the word of truth," discern between the great and the small, see truth in perspective, and give fundamental Christian truths their rightful emphasis and place of fixed, dominant centrality.

Antecedent Matter

According to Acts, as Paul first evangelized Galatia, unconverted Jews, "filled with jealousy" because of his success among the Gentiles, incited mobs that forced him to leave several cities. Despite this, the impressible Galatians continued to respond so favorably to his preaching that flourishing churches began to spring up over the country.

Then Jewish legalists and partyists in the church, who had never been really converted from Moses to Christ and consequently did not know the power of God’s grace and Spirit over human life, were determined that Gentile Christians should observe the customs of Moses. Paul had led the heathen Galatians to Christ without taking them through Moses, and, if these Judaizers were to succeed in binding Moses on them, they must first shake their confidence in Paul. Therefore they persuaded the Galatians that Paul was not equal to the original apostles in knowledge and authority, and that he did not preach the full, final gospel. They did not repudiate Christianity outright, but said to the Galatian Christians: "Except ye be circumcised after the custom of Moses, ye cannot be saved" (.Acts 15:1). That is, these bigots conceded that Paul’s gospel was all right as far as it went, but insisted that, being the gospel only in part, it was inadequate and would not save unless it were eked out and perfected by legal ordinances and rites. Since this perversion of the gospel threw the divine part and the human part of salvation out of true proportion, to the disparagement of the divine and to the exhaltation of the human, it made an exceeding strong and dangerous appeal to the pride and vanity and unstableness of the Galatians.

To Paul, who had himself struggled up and out of Pharisaical bigotry and slavery and knew their blinding and blighting power, all of this was utterly intolerable. He knew as it had been given to no other man to know the insidious nature of this heresy, which 7 really destroyed the very essence and spirit of Christianity itself. That he was vilified had little weight with him, only as it had bearings on Christian doctrine. His having to hold the confidence of the Galatians, lest they be "severed from Christ," explains the autobiographical nature of the first two chapters of the book.

Since the Galatians had been led to doubt Paul’s apostolic authority, and as everything depended on it, he confidently affirmed in the first verse that his apostleship, independently of all human intermediaries, derived personally and directly from, "Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead." As if to ask, "Can Peter, James, and John have better authority than that?" He deemed this point so important that he made, as we shall see, three arguments, covering about a third of Galatians, to establish it. The salutatory sentence, consisting of five verses, full of elementary Christian doctrine, continues: "Grace to you and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of our God and Father." This scripture teaches that the grace and will of God, as executed in Christ, "Who gave himself (the ultimate in giving) a ransom for all," procure for all men who will accept it as God’s free gift the threefold blessing of redemption from sin, deliverance from this evil world, and, "The peace of God, which passeth all understanding." What a blessing! Where are our tears of gratitude?

God’s Two Governments

God’s government for humanity from the beginning has always been a theocracy—that is, a monarchy over which God himself is sole and absolute Monarch. However when men rebel against this government, God suffers them, under the leadership of the archrebel Satan, to set up a provisional, secondary government, as he suffered the Jews for a time because of their "hardness of heart" to put away their wives; but from the beginning it hath not been so" (Matthew 19:8). Under Moses, God permitted, as expedients, both divorce and secondary government. Though he has long since abolished the former, he still permits and uses the latter, according to his sovereign will.

This primary spiritual government is, "The kingdom of heaven"; these secondary, worldly governments are "the kingdoms of the world." In saying to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world . . ." (John 18:36), Christ made a sharp distinction between the two, and made them incompatible. It was these "kingdoms of the world" (Matthew 4:8), in the aggregate that the devil, "the deceiver of the whole world" (Revelation 12:9), and "the god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4), offered Christ. These same kingdoms Paul here calls "this present evil world." Founded in rebellion to God, they all contain the seeds of decay and death within themselves, and as the Bible teaches, God will destroy them as such, after they have served his purpose. "That God may be all in all," this will leave only God’s eternal, spiritual kingdom in its solitary grandeur and perfection.

Deliverance "from this present evil world" means much more than remission of sins, or justification, which to us Christians is always a glorious, motivating, past event. Christ tells when and how justification comes: "He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment (with the world), but hath passed out of death into life" (John 5:24). "There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). We are called out of the world, and are separate from worldlings in life, in death, in resurrection, in judgment, and in eternal destiny. We are in this world, but as strangers in a land occupied by the enemy. We "are not of this world" even as Christ is "not of this world" (John 17:14). During our sojourn on earth as colonists of heaven, "Our citizenship is in heaven; whence we also wait for a Savior" (Philippians 3:20). Father Abraham, as a pilgrim of’ earth seeking "a better country; that is, a heavenly," could have but little interest and part in the God-doomed Canaanitish civilization amidst which he lived a century in tents. Even so are we delivered from unequal yokings with their frustrations, from strivings after wind with their emptiness, from the waste, the brutality, and the desolation which so largely make up "this present evil world." All this gain and freedom on earth, with "new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness" to come. Who would not be a Christian pilgrim?

A Perverted Gospel

In the first two chapters of Galatians (the personal part), Paul’s concern is to restore the Galatians’ confidence in him as an authentic apostle, qualified, and sent by God, As we have already seen, Judaizers, had persuaded them that Paul did not preach "the whole counsel of God."

After the salutation, Paul, without defining it, refers to a deadly perversion of gospel doctrine in their midst. Since the heresy strikes at the wisdom and throne of God, the gravity of the situation justifies his strong language: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema (accursed)." Then in the next verse as if to assure them that what he was saying, instead of being the hasty, explosive words of an angry man, were the sober, measured words of a most earnest man, he deliberately spells out the curse again. The Galatians and all men since, therefore, may know that if Gabriel from heaven, or Paul back on earth, should come to preach, they would have nothing to add to what Paul had already preached to them. How the impressible Galatians must have solemnly read on to learn the nature of their error which Paul took so seriously.

Evidently Paul’s enemies had said that he was an unprincipled, popularity-seeking opportunist. Evil men by misrepresentations, twisted meanings, and half truths can always make out a case, even when their victim is Christ or Paul. We judge from Paul’s reply, "If I were still pleasing men, I could not be a servant of Christ" (v. 10), that his traducers probably said they could sustain their indictment by the fact that he circumcised Timothy, but refused to circumcise Titus, in conformity to policy instead of conscience. For simplicity, compression, and completeness, this answer is an incomparable statement of the immutable, fundamental Christian truth that the interests of men-pleasers and of Christians cannot be reconciled. May we not be thankful that since Christians unto the end of time must suffer similarly, this extreme case of such vile slander and persecution occurred long ago while Paul was still living to make his stabilizing and comforting answer?

After at least one return visit to the congregations he had founded in Galatia during his first visit to that district, Paul, busily evangelizing other places, heard that Judaizing wolves, piously alleging that they were better informed than Paul, were working havoc in the Galatian churches.

These designing, false men, "wiser for their own generation than the sons of light," could make out a reasonable case against Paul before the facile Galatians. There is ample evidence in Galatians and the Corinthian letters to show that their chief line of attack was that Paul was only an upstart, inferior apostle, independent of and out of fellowship with the real, original apostles; and that he kept his disciples subordinate to other Christians by withholding from them truth essential to their full development. (Imagine how the proud, hot-headed Galatians would boil at that!)

The diabolic cleverness of these "deceitful workers" is better understood when it is remembered that ministers of the old Serpent, who "beguiled Eve in his craftiness" (2 Corinthians 11:3) by persuading her that God was withholding good from her, "also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness" (2 Corinthians 11:14) in Corinth, Galatia, Moscow, Rome or Washington to serve the fiendish ends of their demonic master. To overthrow the souls of men, the ministers of the Devil have never needed better strategy than the Father of lies used in Eden.

Paul Explains

The small amount of truth in the lying accusations of Paul’s detractors made these slanders all the more formidable. By giving the truth that Paul was independent of the real apostles a fatal twist, they had something so plausible, and yet so false, that it could be used against him with deadly effect. At the same time, however it furnished skillful Paul a good occasion to set all fair minded men right on a vital matter.

Paul’s explanation is the boldest and fullest statement of his apostolic commission. He concedes, as charged, that he saw none of the apostles before he began preaching, and tells why: "For I made known to you, brethren, as touching the gospel which was preached by me, that it was not after men, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ." Paul here reminds the Galatians that the gospel which they heard from him was not of human origin; nor did he acquire it by the customary educational methods of men; but it came to him directly from the risen, living, reigning Lord in heaven. Hence, the conclusion that in apostolic knowledge and authority, he, at least, could not be "a whit behind the very chiefest apostles" (2 Corinthians 11:5) follows inevitably. In the next five verses, to support this affirmation of divine instruction and ordination, Paul shows that he could not have learned of Christ, either before or after his conversion, in an ordinary way. Before, with characteristic energy and zeal he so persecuted "beyond measure . . . the church of God" that no Christian could have even thought of trying to win him. After, instead of going "up to Jerusalem to them that were apostles before" him to confer with "flesh and blood," he "went away into Arabia."

Paul in Arabia

Christ said to Paul: "For to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen me and of the things wherein I will appear unto thee" (Acts 26:16). Thus, did Christ pledge himself to be Paul’s future teacher. Following this initial appearance, five more appearances, selecting fields of labor, encouraging in prison, sustaining in shipwreck, and revealing the future, are recorded in the books of Acts. Furthermore, Paul to prove to the Corinthians that his apostle-ship was bona jfide speaks of "visions and revelations of the Lord," and mentions one very special occasion when he was "caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable words" (2 Corinthians 12:1-4). Now, we know how Paul learned "the deep things of God" which caused Peter to write: Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, write . . . some things hard to be understood" (2 Peter 3:15-16).

According to Galatians, part of the three years that elapsed between Paul’s conversion and his seeing Peter, Paul spent in Damascus, and the remainder in Arabia. His reason for going to Arabia may be ascertained, I think, with reasonable certainty from the first chapter of Galatians.

Probably the life of no man has ever been so wrecked and so rebuilt as Paul’s. Skeptics have always failed as miserably to account for his revolutionized life as for Christ’s resurrection. No horizontal line of natural cause and effect can explain it, for it was caused by an original act of super-natural grace, coming down from God. Much vital Christian truth flashed into Paul’s mind at the time of his conversion: the despised Nazarene was the Messiah: he had arisen from the dead, and was even now speaking to him from heaven. Dying Stephen had talked with him. Consequently, Paul’s life, which he had so laboriously built up to lofty eminence, lay in ashes. Crushing guilt and terror fell upon his soul as he recalled his contempt for Christ and the innocent men and women he had tortured. To learned, successful, proud Paul, Damascus was the loss of everything. All he had prized in life suddenly became mere refuse.

But Paul had more to learn and to suffer. God’s schooling for his "chosen vessels" includes solitude as attested by Moses in Midian, the Baptist in the wilderness, and John on Patmos. Even so, Paul needed time and quiet for soul work. "The nurse of full-grown souls is solitude." Could there be a fitter place than lonely Arabia and Sinai where fasting Moses received the law and despairing Elijah heard "a still small voice" that made him feel still smaller? Surely, some of Paul’s "visions and revelations" came to him in Arabia. To help him understand the Old Testament, the letter of which he had mastered without getting a taste of its spirit, would not the Lord from heaven commune with him and aid him, as he on earth before his death communed with and aided the other apostles? The Bible would soon become to Paul another book. From every page new meanings would leap out at him. Must it not have amazed him exceedingly to realize that he so grossly, and for so long, had missed it all?

Even when Paul writes about himself, his self-effacement before God in both nature and religion is apparent. In nature: "God, who separated me, even from my mother’s womb"; in religion: "And called me through his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles" (1:15, 16). In writing about himself, his purpose is ever to glorify God, never himself. Paul felt that God had set him apart, at the very beginning of his life, from all other men as his particular apostle to the Gentiles. He saw no more place for human merit in his religious than in his fleshly life. Both were gifts entrusted from God. "When God gets ready to do something great for fallen man, he begins with a baby." Cosmopolitan Paul surely was a divinely prepared and appointed man unto the apostleship for Gentile nations. How many such appointed servants God now has scattered over the earth is something to think about. "Is anything too hard (or too good) for Jehovah?" (Genesis 18:14).

In the closing verses of chapter one, Paul proves that he needs neither instruction nor authentication from other apostles: first, before he saw an apostle, he preached successfully in Damascus (Acts 9:29-35); second, when he first went to Jerusalem three years after his conversion, he saw none of "the twelve" except Peter; and third, after this short, inconsequential visit with Peter he independently executed an extended, fruitful ministry in Syria and Silicia. He might have told the Galatians that he also brought the gospel to them, without further contact with the apostles. During all these years the churches of Judea, though they had not met Paul, knew the story of his life, "and glorified God in" him. In Paul’s writing the Galatians that Judaean brethren, who had never seen him, thanked God for him, I think I see gentle rebuke and tender pleading for the alienated Galatians, who had known him in closest, personal intimacy, and who had until so recently loved and trusted him fully. Paul was shocked and deeply hurt by their capricious desertion of him and the gospel. Not this human hurt, however, but the fact that "the truth of the gospel" was endangered, accounts for his determination not to compromise the independence of his apostleship.

Paul’s object in the first two chapters of Galatians is to show that he, individually and independently, received his apostolic commission from Christ after he ascended to his Father, just as the original apostles, collectively, received theirs from him before he ascended. In the first chapter, he boldly affirms that upon this prime fact he stakes his authority as an apostle, gives historical evidence that his work was approved by God, and takes oath ("before God, I lie not") that his affirmation and collateral proof are true. How earnest, positive and final he is about the apostleship being twofold. Now, he is ready in the second chapter to make his second argument, namely, that the church in Jerusalem formally endorsed him as an independent apostle, with a new work from God.

Paul Vindicated in Jerusalem

(Galatians 2:1-10)

The unity and fellowship of the church in Antioch, composed largely of Gentile Christians, was soon disrupted by the coming of legalists, "deceitful men," from Judaea, who taught the necessity of circumcision for Gentile disciples. Inasmuch as this heresy perverted Christianity so as to destroy its very foundation principle, "Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and questioning with them" (Acts 15:2). But it was the wisdom and will of God that this constitutional question pertaining to the all-sufficiency of his grace in Christ should be taken to Jerusalem, where the church began, that "the apostles and the elders, with the whole church" there, guided by the Holy Spirit, should go into the matter thoroughly, and with deliberation and finality hand down a decision once and for all. Consequently, under God’s overruling providence, "The brethren (at Antioch) appointed that Paul and Barnabas . . . should go to Jerusalem . . . about this question" (Acts 15:2). (These passages in Galatians and Acts refer to the same occasion, supplement each other, and should therefore be studied together).

Let us now consider the use Paul makes of this divinely prearranged, pivotal meeting in his second argument to establish his independent apostleship. He says that he "went up by revelation" to Jerusalem, taking with him Titus. Titus, being Paul’s Gentile fellow-worker who had never been circumcised, would be a test case in the atmosphere to bring out the Christian truth. Some in the meeting who did not understand how differently grace and law work in the human soul, probably thought that much ado was being made over a small matter, but to Paul, who saw into the heart of things, greatest issues were involved. With him it was a matter of life or death, for if the decision should be circumcision for Titus "the truth of the gospel," Christian liberty, and his years of work among the Gentiles would all be lost. But he so skillfully presented the whole truth and so boldly stood his ground against the troublemakers "privily brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage," that the church decided Titus, having access to all Christian privileges and blessings already, could "press on unto perfection" without being circumcised. Therefore, Christianity, free from restrictions of rite and race, is a universal religion.

Moreover, Paul tells the Galatians that the other apostles imparted nothing- to him. Rather, when they saw that God had entrusted him with the apostleship to the Gentiles as he had Peter with the apostleship to the Jews, and when they saw the grace that was given to him, Peter, James, and John, "They who were reputed to be pillars," gave him and Barnabas "the right hands of fellowship." Doubtless the Judaizers in Galatia had said that the leaders in Jerusalem stood with them, but Paul by showing instead that they were with him, turned the tables on them. Paul’s vindication and triumph were complete. The perverters of the gospel suffered a crushing defeat. When the church in Antioch, where the question came to a head, heard of the divinely ordained division of the apostleship between Paul and Peter, and other results of the meeting, "they rejoiced for the consolation." Neither Antioch nor Galatia nor any other place of any time or country should have ever been troubled again by the mixture of the systems of law and of grace.

Inasmuch as "the truth of the gospel" hangs thereby, Paul lays a broad, deep foundation for his independent apostleship. This foundation consists of three parts: first, he received his apostolic commission directly from heaven; second, the original apostles understood that his apostleship was different from theirs, and gave him full endorsement and fellowship; third, when Peter made a mistake at Antioch, he corrected him. Previous essays have dealt with the first two parts. This essay treats the third part. (Galatians 2:11-18).

Peter’s Mistake

Peter’s experience in connection with Cornelius, the first heathen Gentile to become a Christian, convinced him that Christ was for all races and cultures of men. When the church in Jerusalem contended with him for eating with "men uncircumcised," he championed the cause of the Gentiles so effectively that the Jews began to accept uncircumcised Christians into the church. A little later, Antioch became the cradle, and still later, the citadel and missionary center, of Gentile Christianity. When Peter visited this great church, he engaged freely in social intercourse with its Gentile members, as was his right and custom, until some rigid legalists, who would impose circumcision on baptized Gentiles, came from Jerusalem. Then, "He drew back and separated himself, fearing them that were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that even Barnabas was carried away with their dissimulation." But when Paul "saw that they walked not according to the truth of the gospel," he resisted Peter, the leader, "to the face because he stood condemned" (Galatians 2:12-14). Remarkably strange that Gentile Christians suddenly became unfit associates for Peter! Is there to be one church for Jews and another for Gentiles?

The difference between Paul and Peter was not in doctrine, for both spoke "as the Spirit gave them utterance." They agreed that Christianity without additions from Moses would make full-grown Christians. But Peter, under pressure of the Judaizers, ceased in Antioch to fellowship Gentiles as he had been doing since Cornelius several years before. He had not changed his faith, however; he only acted as if he had. In doctrine, he stood firm; in conduct, overawed by men, he failed. This was "dissimulation," or hypocrisy.

Here are some things to warn and fortify us all. The fact that all the Jewish brethren in Antioch, including Paul’s old and tried friend, Barnabas, (how much sleep did Paul lose over this?) were carried away, shows the mighty power of bad example. And if bold Peter and good Barnabas became hypocrites, for whom is hypocrisy impossible? The base motive, "seeking the favor of men," led these two men of good intentions to disguise their attitude toward the law and to pervert the gospel of grace. "The fear of man bringeth a snare" (Proverbs 29:25). Probably, they did not realize that they were hypocrites. And hypocrisy of which its victim is unconscious is the worst form of hypocrisy. For Christians to curry favor of men, from whom their calling certainly and definitely separates them, is, any time and anywhere, perilous.

Peter Corrected

Ever after Cornelius, Peter knew that God made no distinction between Jew and Gentile, but that he freed both religiously from the unbearable yoke of the law, cleansed both by faith in Christ, gave both the Holy Spirit, reconciled "both in one body unto God through the cross having slain the enmity thereby," made "in himself of the two one new man, so making peace," and that both equally had through Christ "access in one Spirit unto the Father." Peter knew too much to be guilty of his conduct, and his slowness to see the implication of his retraction is astonishing. Oh, the weakness and fallibility of even good men!

To Peter, who had possessed this vast wealth of unforgettable knowledge (can men forget what they learn by experience?), and had lived accordingly for years, Paul said something like this: "Your ignoring Jewish scruples respecting circumcision, meats, days, and such like, at first, that you might fit smoothly into the life of this Gentile church was your Christian liberty and duty. But your reversing yourself when Judaizers came has involvements of extremely disastrous consequences. Remember, Peter, that you and I in becoming Christians discarded as a means of salvation all our unavailing legal advantages over lawless sinners of the Gentiles, took our place beside them as condemned sinners all, and, since no man can be justified by law, were justified even as they by God’s grace through our faith in Christ. Your going back to Moses implies that you are correcting the mistake you made in giving him up for Christ. Do you not see that your conduct will be interpreted as inability of faith in Christ to satisfy human need, and as inadequacy of Christ himself to fulfil the deeper and higher longings and aspirations of the soul? Dear brother, remember your speech in the meeting at Jerusalem. How can you be such a great transgressor as to pervert the gospel and to make Christ a minister of sin?" (See 2:14-18).

Who, knowing Paul of the Acts and of his epistles can doubt that he reasoned and pleaded wisely, tearfully, and successfully? Who, knowing Peter of the gospels can doubt that he, in bitter weeping and true repentance, was restored to become a better and stronger man than ever? Two big men met in this incident face to face and heart to heart. Peter was good and great enough to acknowledge his mistake when it was made known to him, and to respect and love Paul evermore for the rebuke and correction (See 2 Peter 3:15). Had not the truth of God and the souls of men been at stake, would Paul have written the Galatians about his having corrected Peter? When they read about it, could they still doubt Paul’s apostolic knowledge and authority?

Peter was so human—impulsive, energetic, basically honest; an ambitious man of action and magnetic leader of men; a man given to rashness and shrinking from ridicule. His faults were but shadows of his virtues. He always needed a wise friend of deliberate mind and sound judgment for restraint and balance— an eye for his hand. For a few years he had such a friend in Jesus. At Antioch he is in character. Had not Paul saved the situation, would not the caste system have entered the church to rob her of her gospel of pure grace and liberty?

In Galatians 2:19-21, Paul glides out of his personal rebuke of Peter into a compressed exposition of the fundamentals of Christianity. If these verses, as some think, were not spoken to Peter, nonetheless they explain why Paul was so much concerned about Peter’s ceasing to associate with Gentile brethren. They show why he thought Peter’s defection under the circumstances forfeited constitutional principles of Christianity and perverted the gospel even unto changing its very heart and pulse beat. This scripture focuses Paul’s interpretation of Christianity and furnishes the key to his teaching and life.

Dead to the Law

God’s written law through Moses was "holy . . . righteous . . . good . . . spiritual" (Romans 7:12-14), but it was addressed to the flesh, not to the spirit of men. It served its purpose in God’s unfolding economy for fifteen centuries, until men were ready for a religion addressed to the spirit. To the obedient, this law promised life; to those who broke it, death. Inasmuch as every Jew without exception broke it, it became to Jews "the ministration of death." Simultaneously, Gentiles without exception, and with the same fatal result, broke God’s unwritten moral law. Consequently, Paul’s unqualified statement: "By the works of law shall no flesh-be justified." Justification by law, good works, character, and merit is utterly impossible. Under the reign of law, through no default of law however, both Judaism and Heathenism failed to justify, and universal condemnation hung over men. Could they justify men, the grace of God and the cross of Christ would be useless (See Galatians 2:21).

The gracious Father of mankind, knowing that his human children would not render the perfect obedience that legal justification requires, never intended the covenant of law to be final. Rather, he was giving men an opportunity to learn by their unvarying failure in obedience that under law they were hopeless, doomed sinners. In this manner, men might be led in despair to abandon Gods’ provisional, educative system of law for his perfected system of grace when it became accessible to them.

"I, through the law, died unto the law, that I might live unto God," says Paul. He had to give up all hope of being justified by the law before he could be justified by grace. The covenant of law and the covenant of grace, therefore, cannot run concurrently. God cannot save sinners until they cease trying to save themselves by law and their own merit. There is no need of a man’s thinking he can live unto God before he is dead to law as a means of salvation. He must, so to speak, attend his own funeral, "for the old man was crucified with him." A clean break must be made with legality and self-righteousness. The two systems are so different that either annuls the other. The law demands unattainable righteousness while the gospel bestows righteousness upon all who will take it. Though Peter did not realize it, to use legal rites as if they were needed to supply deficiencies of the gospel is to go back to law and self-effort, which inevitably means death. This is to fall "away from grace" and stab Christianity through its heart. That Paul saw the subtle poison of Judaism and the danger to the whole structure of Christianity accounts for his rebuking Peter and writing this warning letter to Galatia. The two systems simply will not mix. "They shall not cleave . . . even as iron doth not mingle with clay." What does Paul’s saying, that he "through the law died to the law," mean? He was a breaker of law, subject to God’s inexorable decree, "The wages of sin is death." But in amazing grace, Christ took his place as condemned sinner to die for him. Paul felt most poignantly that his sins nailed Christ to the cross and that he himself, not Christ, should have died there. Hence, he means that because God’s judgment against his sins was executed upon Christ, he himself died, representatively, on the cross with Christ. Law could not execute him again. (See John 5:24).

Note that not law, but Paul, died. When at Damascus he realized how inhuman, steely, and bloody his years of devotion to the law had left him, he, despairing of ever getting any good from it, fled to the gracious "Jesus of Nazareth," who was unbelievably kind and ready to forgive and forget his terrible past. The law still speaks as sternly and fatally to men in the flesh as ever. Only men who forsake law as the means of salvation (die to it), thus making it possible for them gratefully to accept Christ’s vicarious death in lieu of their own, deserved death, can ever escape God’s eternal death penalty for breakers of his law.

Alive Unto God

In further explaining the practical workings of Christianity, Paul writes: "It is no longer I (the old man born of the flesh) that lives, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I (the new man born of the Spirit) now live in the flesh (bodily frame) I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me" (2:20). Later, from his Roman prison, Paul distilled this into, "For me to live is Christ" (Philippians 1:20).

With respect to his flesh and the world, Paul was born into Christ crucified; with respect to his spirit, he lived a risen, Christabsorbed life. Before he became a Christian, religion was to Paul a grim, hopeless struggle to please God and improve himself by living up to God’s moral code. Upon becoming a Christian he exchanged this ineffectual striving to toe a legal chalk line for a grateful, joyous response of his whole personality to the indwelling Christ, and found "a well of water springing up unto, eternal life." Instead of Christ being a dead man that belonged to the past, he was a living, personal companion, living and working in him. Christianity was to Paul a beautiful, warm, fragrant friendship—a personal experience ("Operation Experinece"), "-a divine-human encounter," whereas his religion had been impersonal and traditional. All this sent Paul over land and sea attending to Christ’s business as other men were attending to their own business. He lost his life to find it. A Christian is dead to law, sin, flesh, world, and alive to God, to the measure that he really desires to be, but no more. There can be no outer compulsion and no inner reluctance; all must be personal and spontaneous. "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).

In these "Studies," we are now leaving, "The apostle of liberty" (Galatians 1, 2), for, "The doctrine of liberty" (Galatians 3, 4).

Paul’s Questions

Paul marveled that the Galatians, who had wholeheartedly accepted the gospel when he first went among them, could so quickly embrace "a different gospel"—a gospel so radically and fatally different from the gospel they had received from him that it would not save them. Knowing that they failed to realize the folly and deadliness of the error they were making, he broke out: "O foolish Galatians, who did bewitch you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth crucified? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now perfected in the flesh?" (Galatians 3:1-3).

By these simple, yet discerning questions, Paul hoped to lead the Galatians into seeing that they were under the witchery of blind teachers, and thus to enable them to recover themselves from the infatuation of legalism. To ask the right question in some cases requires more thorough knowledge of the subject, and displays more skill in teaching and exhorting than to make a speech. These questions are still living and apt, and help us get our religion straight. Some Christians, since they fall into the Galatian heresy of thinking they can be "perfected in the flesh," are in range of these explosive questions which Paul shot at the Galatians. If Peter needed Paul’s rebuke, who may not need it?

Inasmuch as the body of every Christian is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), Paul felt no need of asking even these recent converts from heathenism whether or not they had the Spirit. But in order that they might better understand the difference between the basic working principles of grace and law, and their irreparable loss in going back to law, his inquiry focused on the truth that God gave them the Holy Spirit at the same time, and for the same reason, that he gave them remission of sins (Acts 2:38). "He that supplieth the Spirit to you, and worketh miracles among you, doth he do it by the works of law, or by the hearing of faith?" (3:5). God gives his Spirit to all who obey the gospel (Acts 5:32), but not to men who choose to remain under law, for the death penalty of all breakers of law rests upon them. Upon this grand gospel truth, Paul built an argument to the Galatians, which he expected to convince them of the absurdity, blunder, and sin of thinking they could be "perfected in the flesh."

These provocative questions help to an understanding of some things, namely: men become Christians and receive the Holy Spirit, not by law and works, but by grace and faith; God freely gives both "remission of sins" and "the gift of the Holy Spirit" to men when they obey the gospel; for Christians to rely on law and self-effort for justification and sanctification is to give up Christ, the Holy Spirit, and grace altogether. Justification "is of faith that it may be according to grace" (Romans 4:16). Grace arid faith are correlates and imply each ether. Grace and works are antipodes and exclude each other. Grace nullifies law, and faith nullifies meritorious works. As light expels darkness, so grace expels "works of law."

Imbedded in this argument pertaining to Christian doctrine is another question: "Did ye suffer so many things in vain? If it be indeed in vain." According to Acts 14, Paul and his Galatian converts were bitterly persecuted by both Jews and Galatians at the beginning of the gospel in Galatia. His readers had experienced much suffering—too much to get no gain, for there should be great moral value in suffering. "Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God." "Through tribulation to triumph" is Christian doctrine. On the principle that they already had too much invested to forfeit, Paul exhorted: "Cast not away therefore your boldness which hath great recompense of reward" (Hebrews 10:25). After this forceful appeal, he, wistfully pleading, trailed off more winsomely still, "if it be indeed in vain."

Prevalence of Legalism

Legalism and human works hold a strange enchantment over poor man’s proud, self-sufficient heart. They have ever inspired the enmity of the flesh and of the world against the gospel of God’s grace. It is to be feared that Christendom today is largely legalized rather than Christianized. Man, used to acquiring things by work and accustomed to working for things in proportion to the value which he puts on them, correctly thinks that salvation from sin and peace with God are of superlative worth, and therefore reasons that he must expend correspondingly great effort in order to secure them. How false such reasoning! How empty such labor! "The Lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain." Christianity uniquely gives for the asking these priceless benefits—benefits that men with all their wisdom, asceticism and strivings can neither earn, merit, nor get elsewhere gratuitously. Men can scarcely believe that so much can be had for nothing. It is contrary to all human thinking and experience; it is too good and too great to be true. "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."

Abraham’s Religious Experience

(Galatians 3:6-9)

Thus far in the chapter, Paul has reasoned with the Galatians from their own experience. Now, he reasons from the experience of Abraham. Probably the Judaizers in Galatia falsely, though tellingly, taught that to be righteous before God men must, like Abraham and his descendants including Christ, be circumcised. Paul quoting from Genesis 15:6 answers: "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness." Elsewhere, he shows that this took place before Abraham received circumcision as "a seal of the righteousness of the faith which" he had while he was in uncircumcision" (Romans 4:11). After thus smashing the false reasoning, Paul continues to the Galatians: "Know therefore that they that are of faith, the same are the sons of Abraham ... So then they that are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham." For Abraham, faith in God was equivalent to righteousness, and faith like Abraham’s, "who is the father of us all" (Romans 4:16), is equivalent to righteousness for all his spiritual sons.

Galatians 3:1-14 comprises four short pithy arguments in support of Christianity as a means of salvation contrasted with law. The first argument, built on the experience of the Galatians, and the second, built on the experience of Abraham, have been considered. The third, built on Hebrew scripture, and the fourth, built on Christ’s substitutionary death, are now to be studied.

"It Is Written"

Three verses (Galatians 3:10-12) contrast legal works and gospel faith as the only two conceivable ways by which men may attain unto righteousness and life. The argument runs: since no man ever has rendered, or ever can render, the perfect obedience to "all things that are written in the book of the law" which righteousness by means of law requires, no man can escape God’s curse of death on law breakers. Faith is, therefore, the sole way of life. The two ways cannot co-exist, nor can they be combined. Gospel faith is not primarily faith in acts of obedience, but faith in Christ’s death for our sins. Paul reached this same conclusion in his first sermon in the Galatian country years before he wrote Galatians: "By him (Christ) everyone that believeth is justified from all things, from which he could not be justified by the law of Moses" (Acts 13:39). Inasmuch as the little sentence, "The righteous shall live by his faith" (Habakkuk 2:4) is worked into the great doctrinal epistles of Romans (Romans 1:17) and Hebrews (Hebrews 10:38) as v/ell as into Galatians, it must hold cardinal Christian doctrine. Taken in its contexts, it teaches not only that men are justified by faith, but also that they must continue to live, suffer, and grow by faith, not by works. The fact that the Galatians after beginning in faith were falling into works of law was the cause of Paul’s writing them this sharp, warning letter. Ever since Eden, true religion on the human side has always been based on faith in God. Although Abraham demonstrated his faith by sacrificing Isaac, and Paul his by being baptized, their faith was essentially the same. Who can doubt that Abraham would have been baptized had God commanded him to be? Because of this continuum of faith in God, the entire Bible is one organic whole. The Old Testament anticipates the New and kindles the fire of redemption that burns and blazes throughout the New.

"It Is Finished"

Before "grace and truth came through Jesus Christ," men, Jews and Gentiles alike, were inevitably and universally doomed because they were under law. "But Christ redeemed us (Christians) from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree." Before Christ died, there was only one class of men, namely, men condemned to death. His dying created the possibility of another class coming into existence. Condemned men who believe that God in free grace will accept Christ’s vicarious death in lieu of their deserved death and act accordingly come out from among lost men into a new class, namely, justified men. These are they, who realizing their doomed state and feeling keenly their inability to change it under law, come, with no plea but, "Be thou merciful to me a sinner," and accept God’s gracious, judicial decree to deliver them from the sentence of death and to treat them as if they had never been sinners. A justified man "com-eth not into judgment (with men who remain under law), but hath passed out of death into life" (John 5:24).

Such is Christian justification. Christ’s, "It is finished" from his cross signified that the means for justifying condemned humanity was perfected, and that addition from "the flesh" or "will of man," as the Galatians were attempting, could but pervert and ruin it. Think you not that such a great justification should put an end to self, and that God has a moral right to expect Christians, out of sheer gratitude, to be "zealous of good works?" This is the place and the manner in which good works come into Christianity.

The Purpose of the Law

Since Abraham possessed the faith upon which salvation depends, why did not God give him immediately, instead of the promise of Christ’s coming, Christ himself? And why was the covenant of law necessary at all? The last half of Galatians 3, very simple and directly, considers such things.

By his oath, God confirmed his promise to Abraham that in his seed (Christ) all nations should be blessed, "That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong encouragement" (Hebrews 6:18). No matter what time might elapse or what events intervene before its fulfillment, this promise so confirmed, could never in any manner whatsoever be altered. After 430 years, God supplemented this immediate, personal promise to Abraham by a covenant of law, which was in a roundabout way "ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator (Moses)," and which was to last only "till the seed should come to whom the promise" was made. This "till" shows that the covenant of law was to be but a temporary, provisional insertion within the longer, larger covenant of promise. It neither superseded nor opposed the prior promise, which was to be fulfilled after the transitory, legal covenant had passed away.

The Abrahamic covenant with its positive emphasis on promise and faith, inadequately emphasized sin and its curse. The Mosaic covenant with its heavy emphasis on sin and death was needed to attain the proper moral balance, and was therefore "added because of transgressions." Is it not meaningful that, though provision was made for six tribes to stand on Mount Gerizim to bless and the other six on Ebal to curse the people after they had crossed the Jordan and assembled in Canaan, in the actual history not a single blessing was heard, but twelve curses with all the people answering "amen" were pronounced? (Deuteronomy 27). Could there be a better commentary on Galatians 3:10, "For as many as are of the law are under a curse"? As there can be no trespassing without a boundary, so, though sin exists, it does not take the character of transgression and rebellion, and "is not imputed when there is no law" (Romans 5:13). "The law came in besides that the trespass might abound" (Romans 5:20). "Through the law cometh the knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20). Though the Sinaitic covenant served other purposes too, its prime purpose was to discover wounds for which it had no healing that men might seek the great Physician when he came in fulfillment of the promise of Abraham.

Between the promise to Abraham and its fulfillment in Christ, God gave the law through Moses in order to teach man that under law, which required him to earn his justification by his own doing, he was a lawbreaker, condemned to death. This universal, perpetual human failure was supposed to shatter man’s religious faith in himself, and to prepare him to accept justification as a gift procured by the doing of another. Herein lies the chief advantage of Christianity over Mosaism. Were Christianity just another law for man to keep, still he would fail.

"God Is One"

As the foundation of Jewish religion, Moses taught that "Jehovah our God is one Jehovah" (Deuteronomy 6:4). Even men without the Bible have so much evidence in nature that they are without excuse, if they do not see the unity, power, and infinite goodness of God, the Maker and Governor of all (Acts 14:17; Romans 1:20).

When God promised old, childless Abraham an innumerable progeny to occupy, centuries later, a land three or four times as large as Texas, he was pleased to grant Abraham the assurance he asked. At God’s direction, Abraham divided some animals into halves and laid the pieces opposite each other with a passageway between. From time immemorial when two or more parties made an important covenant, they, to seal the compact, walked together along such a passageway. God used this, then, ancient, familiar ceremony as Abraham’s pledge. But very singularly only a flaming torch, representing God, passed between the pieces of the offering. The reason Abraham did not so pass was twofold: first, he was only the recipient of a free promise and was not himself promising anything; second, the relationship between the two was so personal, unifying, and binding that any difference between them, needing a mediator to compose, was impossible. "Abraham my friend" (Isaiah 41:8), was God’s own characterization of this remarkable man. To his friends, the promise of the great "I am that I am" (Exodus 3:14), is always, in both natural and religious matters, enough.

Both the circumstances under which and the manner in which the temporal Mosaic covenant was made preclude the idea that it was to supersede the Abrahamic covenant. Despite all that God had done for them in Canaan, Egypt, and the wilderness, over a period of 430 years, the Hebrews utterly failed to understand and appreciate God’s promise to Abraham. Moreover, they were so far from realizing their great distance from God and the depth of their depravity that the indirect, parenthetical, legal covenant, with its mere angelic ministry and human mediator, became necessary to reveal to them their miserable moral condition.

Since in God’s promise to Abraham only one party was bound, there could be no mediator to arrange terms between two parties. But in the inferior Mosaic covenant much mediatorial work was required. Moses made three up-and-down trips between the people at the base and God at the summit of Mount Sinai (Exodus 19). Even after the people in ignorance and conceit had lightly answered Moses, "All that Jehovah hath spoken we will do," Moses toiled up and down the rugged mountain twice more, cooperating with God to solemnize and sanctify the occasion, to deepen the people’s sense of sin and separation from God, and to lead them to make their side of the contract profoundly religious and sacred. But even so, they had scarcely agreed to the terms of the covenant before they flagrantly broke it with their golden calf. So much for men under law, flesh, and self.

All this underlies Paul’s reasoning with the Galatians when he says of the Sinaitic covenant: "It was ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one." In dealing with each other, God and his sons are not two parties, requiring the services of a mediator. Christians are so incorporated into Christ’s personality, so instinct with his life that one nature serves the whole Christian organism—head and body alike. They are so surrendered to Christ, so identified with Christ, and so absorbed into Christ that, with all differences and discords silenced, Christ and his friends (John 15:15) become one party, with all need of human mediation forever eliminated. What else can Christ’s high priestly prayer to his Father, "That they may all be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfected into one" (John 17:22-23) mean? Paul thought this reasoning should show the Galatians their folly and sin in thinking that the law could add anything to God’s everlasting promise to Abraham, fulfilled in Christ. He hoped it would crush their legality, completely and permanently. Can Christians, now, but learn and yield themselves to the truth that God through Christ in the Spirit takes them to his great fatherly heart in a gracious, loving, friendly, personal oneness, they will have the only way of pressing "on unto perfection" that infinite wisdom, power, and love provide.

Law As A Jailor

Because all men are foolish and slow of heart to believe that law never makes alive, but ever kills, Paul, to his beloved Galatians, yearningly lingers over this vital truth. In the last of Galatians 3, he represents law as a jailor who herds all men into a vast house of death, and securely locks them in. Man is truly a sinner by nature. When he knows but little law, he is a slave to his unbridled flesh. Since "the power of sin is the law" (1 Corinthians 15:56), when he knows law he becomes a rebel, therefore a greater sinner, by breaking it. Verily, law is a huge jailor who has men fast confined in his great jail till—"Till the seed should come to whom the promise hath been made." Law, therefore, with his massy, iron key of sin, curse, and death shuts all in his prison till grace comes with her golden key of faith, justification, and life to open doors for all who, to their imprisonment, prefer freedom. Why do doomed men even hesitate to accept deliverance from sin by God’s unmixed grace and their unmixed faith!

The final teaching of the chapter is that Christianity is a universal religion, without restrictions of race or rite. "There can be neither Jew nor Greek . . . bond nor free ... no male and female; for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus." This does not mean, of course, that Christianity obliterates distinctions in races, social status, and sex, but that, ignoring such things, it offers equal blessings and opportunities to all human beings alike.

Thus far in the doctrinal portion of Galatians the following’ points stand out prominently: first, "The Holy Spirit which dwelleth in us" is the distinctive and unique possession of all Christians; second, since God’s absolute promise to Abraham was that all nations should be blessed through him, the law, which was given to Jews only, chiefly to demonstrate that they were inveterate transgressors of the law, cannot be the fulfillment of the ancient promise of worldwide blessing; third, inasmuch as every man fails to live up to law. he is under God’s curse of death, "kept in ward under the law shut unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed"; fourth, the Jewish Scriptures themselves declare that, "The righteous shall live by his faith," not by his selfrighteousness. All Jews were inexorably condemned by the moral laws of Moses, but, lest they lose heart and in utter despair give up the law altogether, their hope was fostered by the pictorial gospel in its types and symbols. Despair is good, when it becomes creative, as God intends it should, and leads sinners, under the conviction that law has no help for victims of lawlessness, to Christ.

The Law As Tutor

"The law is become our tutor to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." Simultaneously, the law was both jailor and tutor. It offered tutorial instruction and guardianship to the imprisoned Jews; but incarceration and tutorage were to continue only until Christ, who would set them free and lift them out of bondage and pupilage into son-ship and inheritance. In the very nature of things, a tutor is for the immature, whose maturity will render the tutor, because his work is done, unnecessary. "But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor. For ye are all sons of God, through faith in Christ Jesus ... ye are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise" (Galatians 3:25-29).

Man’s passing from law (the Mosaic covenant) to faith (the Christian covenant) shifts the emphasis from human to divine activity. Under law, men try to do something to win divine favor, and thus earn justification by their own doing. Under faith, God does something to win the favor of men, that they may trust him and accept a justification that is based on his doing. This forever separates the two covenants. Under faith, instead of men’s being justified by what they do for themselves, or do for Christ, they are justified by what Christ does for them. Under law, each man is for himself. He is safe only, if he does "all things that are written in the book of the law." If he sins, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Under law, no provision is made for a justification that is procured by another. Since man was bruised and put under a curse in Eden, Christianity is the only religion he has known that properly proportions divine and human activity. In this all-important matter, all other religions, being falsely pivoted, are fundamentally wrong and fatally perverted.

To lead men to think they can weave these two contradictory systems together is probably the devil’s masterpiece of ingenuity, malice, and success. Paul advised a certain course for the church at Corinth, "that no advantage be gained over us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Corinthians 2:11). But are not some Christians today ignorant of his devices? It seems men can never learn that, "If the inheritance is of law, it is no more of promise"; that justification is not something earned by keeping law, but that it is a free gift of God’s grace. This attempt to combine the two covenants was the trouble in Galatia long ago. Is it not a prevalent trouble in the church today? Fallen man has naturally a Judaizing bias. Why do we, as if we mistrusted God’s promise to Abraham, made good to us in Christ, persist in trying to add the principle of law to the principle of faith? We must never forgot that the road to heaven not only begins in faith, but also continues all the way "from faith unto faith," never once shifting into the works of the flesh. Who can know how much Christ has been in the past, or is now, being straitened in the house of his friends by this insidious, satanic device?

"Baptized into Christ"

"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27). This verse tells how men become "sons of God, through faith." A few years after Gentile Cornelius and his house became Christians, Peter said that God "made no distinction between us (Jews) and them, cleansing their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:9). Now turn to Acts 10, 11 to see what occurred when their hearts were so cleansed. An angel said to Cornelius: "Fetch . . . Peter; who shall speak unto thee words whereby thou shalt be saved, thou and all thy house" (Acts 11:13-14). After Peter came, and while he was speaking the "words" that would save, the falling of the Holy Spirit upon his listeners suddenly interrupted him. But after the interruption, he finished his saving "words." Their faith in Christ led the Gentiles to repent and to be baptized in obedience to Peter’s command. The fact that Peter said not one word about the Holy Spirit proves that the Spirit’s coming was no part of Peter’s "words." God sent the Spirit, not to save Cornelius, but to convince Christian Jews that Christ was for Gentiles as well as for Jews. Thus, was Cornelius justified and cleansed by his faith as it obeyed.

This way of cleansing hearts has never been, nor is it ever to be, changed, for Christ’s last charge to his apostles was: "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:19-20). In this manner, fulfilling God’s ancient promise made to Abraham before there were any Jews, are Jews, Romans, Galatians, and all humanity to be saved.

An actor, taking the part of Hamlet, tries to impersonate and reproduce him. Similarly, to "put on Christ" is, first, to put him on in baptism, then "follow his steps" and always be like him. According to the Bible and human experience too, the way for us really to get Christ on and be clothed in him is to let him, through the Holy Spirit, dwell in us, and take over our lives. Other ways get very imperfect likeness, and easily lead into pride, pretense, and hypocrisy. Said Christ: "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy" (Luke 12:1).

Paul begins the fourth chapter of Galatians by tying up what he had just taught in the third. Jews "were held in bondage under the rudiments of the world," until, fulfilling his promise to Abraham, God sent his eternal Son, true man and seed of Abraham however, born of human mother, capable of dying under the law in lieu of the death of actual law-breakers; sent him to be "the end (both aim and the termination) of the law unto righteousness to everyone that believeth" (Romans 10:4), to redeem men from the status of child and ward, and to promote them to sons and heirs—in short, to lift them out of slavery into acknowledged sonship and liberty.

That Gentiles, who had been strangers to the house, as well as Jews, who had been minors in the house, were so exalted is shown by Paul’s’ again reminding the Galatians that they had received the Holy Spirit, which is the peculiar seal of Christianity: "And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father" (4:6). Strangers and minors, having but "the spirit of bondage," could cry only "Master," never, "Father, Father."

"Rudiments of the World"

Why did Paul call the Mosaic covenant "the rudiments of the world . , . the weak and beggarly rudiments"? Although the law itself was holy and spiritual, the legal system in which it was imbedded was a religion of the flesh. It was addressed to the flesh, which "lusteth against the Spirit" (Galatians 6:18); it made its appeal to the natural man, who "receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God" (1 Corinthians 2:14). Religious legal systems are for the morally immature. All of them, Jewish and heathen alike, are built upon the elementary principles that underlie natural religion and civil government—the rudimentary principles upon which the Christ-less world, religiously and socially, has ever been, and is, run.

The Jews had in written form a much fuller revelation of God’s law than did heathen nations, but they broke it, even as Gentiles broke the law they knew. Knowing that his legal anchor would never hold in the mud bottom of the human mind, God was merely using it as preparation for the gospel preached "beforehand unto Abraham" (Galatians 3:8). The Sinaic covenant, though adapted to the minority of the Jews, was too weak and poor to bring to maturity the spiritual, Godlike possibilities of men. Something stronger and richer than "weak and beggarly" legalism and ritualism, were all nations to be blessed, was required. Therefore God from all eternity, was graciously building a religion fitted to lead men into obeying his immutable law of life, that they might live abundantly and eternally. Did not Christ tell the woman at "the well (John 4), that the time had come for the spiritual religion, promised from of old, that would reach man’s inmost spirit, qualify him to "worship in spirit and truth," and "become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life"?

Legalism Becomes Heathenism

After referring to their former heathen life, Paul says to the Galatians: "But now that ye have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how turn ye back again to the weak and beggarly rudiments, where-unto ye desire to be in bondage again"? All Judaizers in the church, ancient and modern, magnify man’s side of redemption, works of law, and human merit to the disparagement of God’s side, works of grace, and human demerit. Because the Galatians were being led into this deep, beguiling error, Paul very emphatically reminds them that their conversion from slavish heathenry began with God’s knowing them, rather than with their knowing God. He is amazed and alarmed at their deserting Christian ground, and fears that he has labored with them in vain. He must by all means show them the real nature of the terrible mistake they are making—that religiously to observe Mosaic rites after the cross is to deny the efficacy of the gospel of grace, to relapse into "bondage over again," and to give up Christ altogether. This deceptive tare, if let alone, will supplant Christianity; hence, Paul digs it up by the roots.

What could be more startlingly instructive than this identification of heathenry with the Mosaic system after its tutorship was accomplished? When the Galatians, who had never known Moses, observed circumcision and other "carnal ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation," it was the same in principle as if they had returned to heathen idolatry with its impure rites, abominable obscenity, and demon worship. Both systems were based on the rudimentary principles of the flesh and "the wisdom of the (Christless) world," which can never lift men higher than the flesh and the world. According to Galatians, Mosaism after the cross has the same deadly effect on men that heathenism has.

Current Galatianism

The core of the Galatians’ default was they thought the gospel Paul preached was "weak and beggarly." They were so spiritually shallow and ignorant that they thought the Christian life could not be attained on the principle of divine grace kindling and working with human faith, love, and hope; that the gospel needed to be bolstered up and made sufficient by adding the principle of law. (A very common error today.) It was incidental that they manifested this crass misunderstanding of the power and the working of grace in the human spirit by observing Mosaic rites and ceremonies. The basic error of the Galatians was their thinking that, not grace and faith, but law with its immature, not to say infantile, methods was the dynamics of righteousness. Now, the grand object of the book of Galatians was to show them that it was the other way around— that the principle of law was provisional, "weak and beggarly," while within the church was the full-grown power of God, "wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30).

Of course, Christians today do not show their mistrust of the working principle of Christianity by taking up the ways of Moses, but they may easily show it in other ways. Just to name some: trust in blood, wealth, culture, position, ability to sing or speak, strong character, good works, dead forms, traditions of men, and creeds, written and unwritten. Note how the book relies on the Holy Spirit (3:2-5; 4:6; 5:16-26), a new power inaccessible to men until Pentecost, to counteract the fleshly workings of all these. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" and unity and growth and fruit.

"Men spake from God being moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21). Even without this personal impact of the Holy Spirit upon his own spirit, Paul would have been a very superior man. With his large natural and acquired gifts, wealth of experience, and devotion to God, he was capable of holding more of the mind of God than were others. Consequently, when moved, filled, and possessed by the Spirit, he not only taught some things more fully than other inspired men did, but withal became the most vital and fruitful man in history.

The biography of a good man, from Christ down, is .always profitable. When others know a man’s motive is right, they like to hear him tell his own life story. Paul, knowing that the narrative of a Christian’s conversion and subsequent life was good argument for Christianity, on two occasions related his own experience (Acts 22, 26). To make and to develop Christians there is no better preaching and exhorting than what the Spirit "moved" Paul to write about himself.

Paul’s "Little Children"

(Galatians 4:12-20)

Paul feared that the Galatians might misconstrue some of the plain, frank things he had written, and even misjudge his motives. Apparently the Judaizers had maligned him and caused them to think he was their enemy, purposely depriving them of necessary rites. When he thought of how the simple Galatians were being imposed upon by the designing partisans, memories of their unprecedented reception of him, a very sick man, when he first came among them, compassion for their distressed state under hireling shepherds, and perplexity concerning their future filled his heart, and he grew tender and tearful.

Probably what he wrote Corinth about the same time, under similar circumstances, "Out of many afflictions and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears" (2 Corinthians 2:4), would be appropriate in a second letter to Galatia. Or perhaps, what he said to Philippi, "Many walk, of whom I told you often, and now tell you weeping that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ" (Philippians 3:18), he might have said to Galatia. Contrary to Paul’s custom, no thanksgiving is found in Galatians, but it contains one of the tenderest passages in all his writings: "My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you—but I could wish to be present with you now, and change my tone; for I am perplexed about you." Note that the connection between the two verses of this emotionally drenched passage is broken as if by sobs. This introduces a side of Paul and a basic element in Christianity, also, that we today know none too well. If Christ could weep in human sympathy over the broken image of God in the Jews, with the sisters at the tomb of their brother, and pronounce a blessing upon those who mourn, there can be nothing wrong or weak about tears. Paul, whose commission was signed, "I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name’s sake" (Acts 9:16), became a man of profound feeling and many tears before his martyrdom. What better reveals a man’s size than that which moves him to tears? As the foundation of the church was cemented in Christ’s blood, and the superstructure built in the persecutions and afflictions of the saints, so must the building be finished in the sufferings and the sacrifices of Christians.

Love and tears have a ministry peculiarly their own. What can be more eloquent and moving than the tears of a strong man, like Moses or Paul, who does not weep till he has something to weep about? A wayward son can withstand the arguments of his father longer than he can the tears of his mother. If Euodia and Syntyche could have got off to themselves somewhere and had a good cry together, probably, their difference would not have seemed so important (Philippians 4:2). When Christ (Matthew 22:37-40) and Paul (1 Corinthians 13) so certainly give dominant centrality in the kingdom of God to love, it is hard to see why Christians consider it, as compared to intellect and learning, inferior. The church, leaving hearts unexercised and trying to do God’s work with only heads and hands, breaks step with Christ and Paul. The only fault Christ found with the church at Ephesus was that she had left her "first love" (Revelation 2:4).

Paul’s Allegorizing

After closing his argument for the all-sufficiency of the gospel with a touching reminiscence, Paul, feeling that more written doctrinal matter would be useless to the Galatians, tells them that he would like to talk things out with them face to face and heart to heart. Wondering whether or not they really understand how promise and law differ in nature and workings, and realizing how easy it is to confess Christ, yet rely on self, Paul, knowing the value of parabolic illustrations to clarify doctrine, decides, before taking up the hortatory part of the book proper, to use Abraham again to allegorize the difference.

"Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law (legal system), do ye not hear the law (book of the law)?" Very skillfully, Paul commits the Judaizers to their own Bible before he shows that it is against them. "Moved by the Holy Spirit," Paul says of Hagar and Sarah, "These women are two covenants." He teaches that Ishmael, Abraham’s natural son by Hagar, symbolizes and allegorizes the Mosaic covenant; and that Isaac, Abraham’s supernatural son by Sarah, the Christian covenant. As Ishmael, because he mocked Isaac, was cast out, so Jews, because they reject Christ, mocking and persecuting his people, must be cast out. These women with their respective sons were no more incompatible than are the two covenants. Sons of the flesh cannot abide sons of the Spirit. No one hates grace like those who try to save themselves by self-effort. The point of the allegory contained in this bit of history is that God casts out the legal mode of earning justification, and freely bestows it upon "Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise." The prophecy Paul quotes, since it shows Isaiah as well as Moses is against them, further embarrasses Judaizers. Furthermore, it gives Christians of all time assurance that they are on the growing, winning side. Paul proves himself to be an elegant, effective allegorizer.

Galatians is the Act of Emancipation for the slaves of law in all ages. It defends the gospel against any invasion of the principles of law, works, and flesh, which would modify its character of pure grace. It is the Magna Charta of Christian universalism and liberty and freedom.

In the last two chapters of Galatians especially, Paul exhorts his readers to apply his teaching by giving the doctrine of sanctification (personal, practical righteousness) by grace an honest trial. In effect he says something like this: "Your false teachers tell you that, unless the principle of law is woven in with the principle of grace, the moral standards of the church will suffer, and the highest type of Christians will not be produced. But I, Paul, (with all my apostolic knowledge and authority, which was proved in the first of this letter), tell you that the workings of grace alone will sanctify as well as justify men; and that any admixture of the legal principle will fatally pervert it." Paul insists -and warns that the two systems being "contrary, the one to the other" will not coalesce, but that pure, unmixed grace will sustain standards, fulfill the law, and make Christians of the highest order.

Christ the Emancipator

"For freedom did Christ set you free." "Everyone that committeth sin is the bondservant (slave) of sin ... If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:34-36). If men are left in Adam’s sin and their own sins, being slaves of sin by nature and by practice, imprisoned in themselves their doom is eternally sealed. The story of the Negro slave who, upon being sold by a brutal master, heard his new master graciously say, "My purpose in buying you is to set you free," illustrates Christ’s freeing men. Christian freedom is not incidental; Christ’s purpose in buying enslaved men is to make them free. "For ye, brethren, were called for freedom" (Galatians 5:13). "I am the door; by me if man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out (freedom of a child in and around the house of its parents), and shall find pasture ... I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:9-10). In these simple words, Christ offers men, in the language of another, "freedom, fodder, and fullness."

"Be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage." Could the Negro man, after being free for a time, return to his former, hard master? Yet, this is what the Galatians were doing, Their being circumcised and building hope on the law, nullified grace as though "Christ died for naught," and made them debtors "to do the whole law." Thus, they were being ensnared again in the network of legalism, for Judaism, like the heathenism from which Christ had delivered them, was also a legal system—a "ministration of death." To be thus circumcised was to reinstate law, which was powerless either to prevent or forgive sin. It was to be "severed from Christ" and "fallen away from grace" altogether.

Christians today without falling into Judaism, heathenry, or gross sins, may nonetheless fall "away from grace" into an entanglement of dead formality, Pharisaic self-righteousness, and Christless human merit, "holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof"—form without power. In principle, this is the same deadly perversion of the gospel that filled Paul with apprehension for his "little children" in Galatia, and led him tearfully to warn them that "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." May not this powerless form of religion be a termite, now eating out the inner, spiritual life and strength of the church, leaving a hollow, outer shell to collapse later? Christ said to his church in Sardis: "I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and thou art dead" (Revelation 3:1). Sardis must have been bustling with committees, programs, and various activities, a church much alive and gratifying to the flesh, but dead to Christ. Could his church today be drifting into such a state?

Freedom and Obedience

Freedom is not free; nor can it ever be had at a bargain price. It may be possessed only at the same, original, high price. Like peace and happiness, it is not to be sought directly, but as a by-product. Obedience, not freedom, is the primary law of life. When a carnal man seeks freedom by flouting law and authority and by living as he pleases, he soon finds himself physically and morally enslaved. But when men live in obedience to the laws of life, freedom follows as a shadow follows its objects. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God . . . and all these things (including freedom) shall be added unto you." Seek freedom first, and it escapes. Men are free only within bounds—within the frame of law. They are chained back in freedom by law; and the more lawful, the freer men are.

Christian freedom has both a negative and a positive aspect. Men are freed from some things and freed for other things. Christ liberates men from the yoke of traditional, creedal and ceremonial law, for it chokes the freedom he proposes to give. He frees men from the curse of the moral law—from the penalty, power and practice of sin; and from the fear of self, the world, death and hell. Men who fear God rightly, know no other fear. On the positive side, Christianity brims with freedom, Christ gives men the liberty to search the Scriptures with open, yet cautious mind, and in free conscience to accept what they find. Christianity is on the way to dissolution when Christians are afraid to follow their conscience. In Christ men have liberty and privilege to worship, to work, to ponder, to wonder, to wait and dream, to do the right thing, to grow and ripen, to "press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus," and to go on endlessly with God unto perfection even as He is perfect. Verily freedom, unto speechless wonderment, "above all that we ask or think!"

The secret of Christian freedom is that a Christian chooses to go Christ’s way. He believes that since Christ’s and his own interests are identical, either both are served or neither is served ; that Christ’s will for him is his own will at its highest and best. Therefore, when he chooses Christ’s way, he also has his own way. And what is this but freedom? It is the blessed freedom of a Christcaptivated soul — a new kind of slavery, to be sure. But inasmuch as man by purposive creation is a dependent being, the more dependent, the more fulfilled and freer he is. God has worked out a unique plan by which Christ’s slave becomes his own master! Christ gets the essential law of life obeyed, human nature fulfilled, and his slave in possession of life abounding — all this without slavish drudgery or "dragging of feet" on the part of the slave. "To him be the glory forever." "In willing chains and sweet captivity," a Christian is the only free, fulfilled, happy man. Who could be a lukewarm Christian?

"Not having a righteousness of mine own, even that which is of the law, but . . . the righteousness which is from God by faith" (Philippians 3:9). This half verse, written by Paul a few years later than Galatians is a distillment of Galatians. Had Paul possessed legal righteousness, it would have been his own because he had earned it as a deserved wage for his perfect law-keeping. Instead, when he believed on Christ he received gospel righteousness from God as a gift.

"Ye are severed from Christ, ye that would be justified by the law . . . for we through the Spirit by faith wait for the hope of righteousness." Note the contrast between legalists and Christians. Christians being already clothed in Christ’s righteousness do not wait for righteousness itself, but for its fulfillment, "the crown of righteousness," after earth-life. While they wait, their hope and "faith working through love" fill their lives with patient, joyous work. By grace, through faith, in love, unto crowned hope. Inasmuch as Christians find in Christ every need for life, death, and beyond richly supplied, legalists who desert him for a "weak and beggarly" religion of the flesh are foolish indeed.

If Paul doubted the Galatians, he found hope for them in Christ and wrote: "I have confidence to you-ward in the Lord" that you will not fall away into the entanglements of legalism. He did not judge indiscriminately, but distinguished between the leaders and the led. Out of tender, fatherly love for the Galatians, he spared not the troublemakers, wished they would sever themselves from the church, and warned that they could not escape the judgment of God. It is evident (v. 11) that these "evil workers," willfully forgetting that Paul refused to circumcise Titus because to do so would have compromised essential Christian doctrine, took his circumcising Timothy when only expediency and Christian liberty were involved, and twisted it into the malicious, damaging lie that he was an unprincipled man, who preached circumcision when it suited his purpose to do so. Behold, religious partisanship, prejudice, and bigotry at work!

Men Are Triune Beings

The natural man has a fleshly nature and a spiritual nature living within his body. When he experiences the spiritual birth, the Holy Spirit so identifies himself with and so indwells the man’s spirit that a new order of life, the Christian life, which eventuates in eternal life, comes into being. Instead of this spiritual life extirpating "the mind of the flesh," which "is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be" (Romans 8:7), the two live in perpetual strife within the Christian until his death. At the resurrection when Christ comes, a Christian’s body, which was "sown a natural body" and "is raised a spiritual body" (1 Corinthians 15:44), shall be his again to live in forever. Wholly spiritual then, "spirit and soul and body" (1 Thessalonians 5:23), he is forever free from strife.

During this struggle between flesh and spirit throughout the Christian’s life on earth, the arrogant flesh is only counterworked and kept in subjection, never eradicated. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" (John 3:6); it remains flesh in a regenerate man, and cannot become humble and spiritual. The best a Christian is promised, before death and resurrection deliver him from his fallen fleshly nature, is that sin shall not dominate him, and reign over him. (See Romans 6:12-14).’ A Christian is still pursued, but no longer ruled, by Adam’s sin.

This world-old conflict heads up in God and Satan, who are deadly, personal enemies. God works through the spirit, and Satan through the flesh of men, "created half to rise, and half to fall." With the passing of time, Christians should increasingly become less sinful, carnal and worldly, and more saintly, spiritual and other-worldly. (On this background, Galatians 5:12-26 may mean more to us.)

"A New Commandment"

"For ye, brethren, were called for freedom; only use not your freedom for an occasion to the flesh, but through love be servants to one another" (Galatians 5:13). Satan is man’s resourceful, stubborn, wily foe. One stratagem he uses to trick Christians into the indul- gence of their flesh is to prompt them -to reason: "Where sin abounded, grace did abound more exceedingly"; therefore let us "continue in sin that grace may abound" (Romans 5:20; Romans 6:1). Jude calls such as this "Turning the grace of God into Lasciviousness." But Christian liberty may be abused in many other ways. Satan was beguiling the Galatians into making their freedom a pretext for uncharitable treatment of their brethren. Apparently, they thought they were as free from moral law as from Mosaic ritualism, and had license to be lawless. Paul tells them to serve one another in Christian love, and they will discover: "That the whole law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself"; that God has perfected a way of making men, without their becoming legalists, lawful. As the character of Christ proves, law itself and love are not incompatible; Pharisaic legalism, not law, is what contradicts gospel grace, truth, and love.

Codified law is not necessary for Christians, because their "faith working through love" leads them into doing even more than codes can specify. A servant under law, after meeting all requirements, may be off duty for a time; but a servant under love, being unable to do all he wants to do, can never find a stopping place. A Christian often sins more than he pleases, but he never can love and work enough to please himself. His creed is: "Since I am at best only an unprofitable servant, I must ever be going onward, outward, upward, and beyond." Only this attitude can account for the incomparable lawfulness, labor, love, suffering, and success of the author of Galatians. To human merit and all other forms of "confidence in the flesh," Christian love is as dangerous as an atom bomb is to a city.

Just before he went to the cross, Christ said to his apostles: "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you ... . By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples" (John 13:34; John 13:5). In giving the prime and pivotal place in his coming kingdom to love, he was launching a strange, new religion that would distill the Mosaic law into an eleventh commandment, so to speak, and create an immeasurably better social order than any order built on law could ever be. A wonderful King this, who loves men, without their being sensible of law, restraint, and duty, into lawful living plus! Verily, a strange, new religion then, and alack a strange, new religion yet. "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out!”

"If ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another" (Galatians 5:15). The Galatians had ceased "running well" and were biting and devouring each other as a result, apparently, of their having "fallen away from grace" into legalism. Paul, who knew from his own past how loveless, bitter, and cruel the legalistic mind could be, and who wrote, "The power of sin is the law" (1 Corinthians 15:56), warned "Take heed that ye be not consumed one of another"; and advised, "Walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh." This declension of the Galatians refutes the theory that the addition of the legal principle increases the power of the gospel to make superior Christians.

The Galatian Heresy

As an antidote for a righteousness of their own according to the law unto which the Galatians were sinking, Paul prescribes in this epistle pure, complete Christianity, which comes to a climax and focus "in the power of the Holy Spirit." God the Father planned Christianity before the foundation of the world, and worked toward its realization some 4000 years after he created Adam, before God the Son became man in order to add the human element; after this, God the Spirit, fulfilling Christ’s promise to his apostles, "Ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you" (Acts 1:8), with a burst of power on Pentecost brought it to perfection as the divine instrument of redemption. Christianity is, therefore, the grand total of the combined workings of God in these three aspects. God is for, Christ is with (Emmanuel) and the Spirit is in Christians.

God the Spirit through Peter on Pentecost preached perfected Christianity for the first time, promising pardon and that he himself would dwell in Christians as his temple. Under Paul’s preaching, the Galatians accepted this same Christianity in its entirety, but were persuaded later that they did not need it all. Consequently, they substituted a dead religion of the flesh for the spiritual, crucial, crowning part of living Christianity. Christianity thus devitalized and shorn of its power to save men from the practice of sin is not the religion that God created. It is the fatally perverted gospel that aroused Paul to his depths and led him, "being moved by the Holy Spirit,’ to write a dateless, "living and active" book, which could bless all men for all time.

It is significant that Paul, who had led the Galatians out of heathenism into Christianity, nowhere in this book feels the need to prove that Christians possess the Holy Spirit, but takes for granted that the Galatians knew the Spirit indwelt them. In 3:2, he asks, "Received ye the Spirit by the works of law, or by the hearing of faith?" In 4:6, he reminds them that "God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Now, in 5:18, he admonishes, "If (since) ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law," and closes the chapter with, "If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk." Paul could not see how the Galatians, who still believed that in Christianity justification was graciously given, could be, concerning their sanctification, so foolish and inconsistent as to supplant the climactic, character-forming portion of Christianity, in which God personally contacts, vitalizes and renews man’s fallen spirit, with the "weak and beggarly" fleshly religion of human merit.

What wonder that Paul is "again in travail" for his Galatians? They must be saved from deadly heresy! He insists that Christianity, being an indivisible, must be accepted either all, or none; that to think they do not need in their stern struggle against "the flesh" to be "strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man" (Ephesians 3:16), is to challenge the wisdom and integrity of God, who fashioned Christianity ; and that to refuse the deep, inner workings of the Spirit is to counteract the whole of Christianity.

, Does Paul really teach all this? It behooves us, by reading the Bible honestly, to find out. It will be well, if new wine bursts old skins. But we do not understand how the Spirit works! Are we required to do so? Will Christianity fail to work unless we know all of its infinite workings! When we understand how Satan works in man’s flesh, probably we can understand better how the Holy Spirit, without overriding man’s will and depersonalizing him, works in his spirit.

Flesh Versus Spirit

Having discussed uncharitableness as one way of abusing Christian liberty Paul proceeds in the last of Galatians 5 to discuss uncleanliness as another way. "The flesh" is not merely the human body. Bodiless angels have committed some of the sins listed here in Paul’s "works of the flesh." As Adam, before he sinned, and Christ prove, flesh itself is not sinful. Satan makes his attack on men through their flesh. When they yield, he makes the flesh the seat of further operations against the whole man, "spirit and soul and body." "The flesh" is man’s fallen, sub-human nature, with its inbred sin. Individual man, with his nature maimed and his flesh already invaded by the enemy, is doomed in this unequal struggle unless he gets divine support. And Christianity, all of it, is this imperative divine support. Blind and foolish indeed, ignorant of himself, of Satan, and of God, is he who dares this warfare without putting "on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11).

The responsibility of Christians is to make the ideal crucifixion of their flesh a reality in their lives. They are not promised exemption from temptations of the flesh, but that, seeing they are not under law, but grace, superhuman aid shall be supplied according to their need (See 1 Corinthians 10:13), thus assuring victory over "the flesh." Probably, if we Christians could but realize how miserably we fail to live up to Christian standards, we would not be flesh-sufficient and self-righteous. When we realize what it means really to love our brethren as ourselves and to fulfil the lofty requirements of love as defined by Christ, Paul and John; realize how unruly our tongues, how envious (not to mention our secret joy at the setback of a rival) of the success of others, how touchy of our "rights," reputation and position; and realize, how self-centered we actually are, lifted up when praised and honored, cast down when slighted and set aside, and how little we really love and care for others when we realize that all of this, and more, is of the flesh, which is ideally dead, is it not time to ask ourselves whether or not we have "fallen away from grace" into the flesh and legalism, trying to lift ourselves by our own boot straps?

The sins in the church at Corinth included partyism, fornication, litigation, idolatry, and drunkenness. Apparently, the Galatians were guilty of like sins, but Paul saw another sin in them that disturbed him far more deeply. They were forsaking God’s house, built on the rock, for one of their own building on the sand. After having begun in the Spirit, they were turning back to the flesh; denying a full redemption in the Spirit, they were looking for a supplement in their own natural strength and ability to work out for themselves perfected righteousness. In effect, according to Paul, this made void the grace of God, the cross of Christ, the power of the Spirit, and destroyed the house the triune God built to its deepest foundation. Thus, their religion became all of the flesh. Inasmuch as the Galatians did not know "the deep things of Satan" (Revelation 2:24), they did not see the doctrinal implications of their legalism. There is no better evidence of Satan’s deep malice and demonic sagacity than his perverting the law, which God intended to convict men of sin, to humble them, and to lead them to Christ, into a powerful instrument to make men proud and self-righteous. He is deep and wicked enough to turn Christians into blind, Pharisaic hypocrites.

Doubtless, the Galatians continued to preach baptism "into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" for the remission of sins, observe the Lord’s Supper, and meet other requirements, yet, all unknown to themselves, they were "fallen away from grace." Christians today should not think that because they do not observe the carnal ordinances of Moses, they are immune to the legal principle. They should realize that, in infinite wisdom and goodness, God in Christianity, without any help from man except his absolute surrender, assumes all responsibility, no matter what Satan knows and does, for enabling and perfecting Christians who really trust him and cooperate with him. This kind of faith would have saved the Galatians from legalism with its truly terrible consequences, as it will save Christians today from legal-ism with its truly terrible consequences.

"Works of the Flesh"

A cursory examination of these "works" shows a catalogue of fifteen items (ASV), all related to the Mosaic Code. The first three items ("fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness") remind us of, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." The next two ("idolatry, sorcery") of, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Then follow eight items ("enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, envyings"), which violate, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." "Where love is thin, faults are thick." The last two ("drunkenness, revellings") are beastly self-gratification, which are always beneath human dignity. With authoritative finality that admits no argument, Paul follows this list with: "I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Let us read the list again; it was written for us too.

Sorcery, or witchcraft, which is superhuman knowledge and power acquired by compact with evil spirits and traffic with the dead, is a biblical subject. God gives warning against it in the Old Testament: "There shall not be found with thee any one that useth divination ... or a sorcerer ... or a consulter with a familiar spirit, or a wizard, or a necromancer (one who communicates with the dead) . . . For whosoever doth these things is an abomination unto Jehovah" (Deuteronomy 18:10; Deuteronomy 18:12). Immediately following this scripture, God promises to send Christ in lieu of such leaders. In 1 Samuel 28, is found the story of King Saul and the witch of Endor. Saul’s epitaph reads: "So Saul died for his trespass . . . and also for that he asked counsel of one that had a familiar spirit" (1 Chronicles 10:13). In the New Testament, we meet sorcery often, always opposing Christianity. Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8); "Elymas the sorcerer" (Acts 13); and the maid with "a spirit of divination" (Acts 16) are well-known figures. Sorcery was very prevalent in Ephesus (Acts 19). Satan, "the god of this world," opposed Christianity, especially in new places with sorcery. In Galatians 5:20, written some twenty-five years after Pentecost, Paul brackets it with idolatry, with which it is allied and coeval. At a time yet to come, all sorcerers of all time shall have their part "in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone" (Revelation 21:8).

The two leading features of sorcery, reading destiny and commerce with the dead, are prevalent today. Doubtless, there is much humbuggery, based as all idolatry is, on greed, superstition and religious ignorance, yet, according to the Bible, a core of reality exists. The road to Endor, for men like Saul, is still open. For Christians, however, as for the ancient Jews, it is a closed road of disobedience and ruin. They cannot honor Christ as Mediator in some dark room seeking guidance from a "medium." This and all such like is of the flesh.

"Fruit of the Spirit"

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control." The Spirit in this verse is a tree bearing a cluster of ninefold heavenly fruit. Because of its relationship to the rest of the cluster, love comes first. Without love, none of the fruit is sound and wholesome. The joy, the longsuffering, the meekness and all the rest, if they have not love, are rotten at the core and worthless. Magic love is living, contagious, creative, and imparts these qualities to the entire cluster. "The greatest of these is love." Love, joy, peace! What more would you have? Long after the shallow wells of the flesh have run dry, from the perpetual fountain of the Spirit down deep within the human spirit continue to "flow rivers of living water" for "refreshing from the presence of the Lord." "A well of water springing up unto eternal life." "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" and fruit.

The Holy Spirit is the only tree that produces "the fruit of the Spirit." Since such fruit is not native to earth, the flesh does not, and cannot produce it. "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit." All Paul knows to do with the flesh is to crucify it "with the passions and lusts thereof." God does not expect men in the flesh to produce spiritual fruit and live his life until he gives them his Spirit, and they "become partakers of the divine nature." As without changing gravity a magnet counteracts it, so without changing the flesh, the Holy Spirit counterworks it, and keeps it in subjection so that it cannot "bite and devour" and destroy. It never becomes spiritual, any more than foolishness becomes wisdom. It is a tiger which only the Spirit can even chain.

The book of Galatians champions Christian liberty and nobility, and challenges legalistic bondage and bigotry; it is a comparative study of the religion of the Spirit and the religion of the flesh. The last two chapters, especially, warn against the perversions and abortions into which legalism sinks the church. To correct the strange misunderstanding that Christian liberty gives license to indulge the flesh, Paul discusses four points under the heading, "Use not your freedom for an occasion to the flesh": first, do not be lawless and consume one another; second, do not be unclean and wallow in the filth of the flesh; third, do not be proud and despotic; fourth, do not be avaricious and parsimonious. The legalistic Christian in falling "away from grace," inevitably falls into some or all of these fleshpots. The assertion that the addition of the legal principle would promote good morals and spirituality in the Galatian churches is not being fulfilled. Rather, the flesh is running riot to the peril of clean living and Christianity. Paul shows that the pride of the flesh causes much of their abuse of Christian liberty.

Gaining a Brother

"Even if a man be overtaken in any trespass, ye who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to thyself, lest thou also be tempted" (6:1). Even a Christian over whom the flesh does not reign, may be so pursued by the flesh, which ever stalks him, that he sins. This verse does not contemplate a reckless sinner who overtakes sin, or meets it head-on. This man, like Adam in Eden, is "afraid" and ashamed. He needs a kind, understanding brother to lift him out of the remorse that leads to despair up to the repentance that restores. In such cases, legalists, smug and secure in their false self-competency, thinking they cannot fall and that all should be just like them, are stern, exacting and incapable of being gentle and tender with others. Paul wrote the church at Corinth about the restoration of penitent brothers who had fallen: "Forgive him and comfort him, lest by any means such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow" (2 Corinthians 2:7-11).

In the event his recommendation concerning an offending brother should work, Christ says, "Thou hast gained thy brother" (Matthew 18:15). Gaining the brother is the first purpose of discipline. The self-righteous bigot, who cannot see his brother for whom Christ died with a brother’s eye, and who thinks the way to restore him is to "talk down" to him with an air of, "I never would have even thought of doing such a thing," had better not attempt it. I have read of a prisoner who resented all "church workers" until a meek Christian man went to his cell, sat beside him with an arm about him, and said: "Was it not good in God to send his Son to die for poor sinners like you and me?" That thawed the ice at his heart. This man could understand the prisoner because he understood himself and the gospel of grace. He did not deceive himself by thinking he was "something" when he was "nothing." Not until a man realizes that he has no merit before God, and can never have, can he be really gentle with men. Without compromising truth or winking at sin, spiritual men can correct brethren without offending or humiliating them.

Bearing Burdens

"Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" (6:2). To sympathize with and help each other bear the common infirmities of mortal life should be as natural for Christians, who are parts of the same organism and who share the same nature, as for the various members of the human body to help each other. Christians may also share with one another the burdens arising from the troubles and sins of others, as, for instance, a mother brokenhearted over a sinful child. All such bearing of burdens fulfills the law of Christ, which reads: "A new commandment I give unto you that ye should love one another; even as I have loved you." Of course too, Christians are happy to follow and fulfill up to their measure, the life of Christ, the great burden Bearer. There is an undercurrent of thought here, which comes more to the surface in Romans 15:15-21 and 2 Corinthians 10:12-18. Throughout his missionary career, Paul, resolutely refusing to build on another’s foundation, sought out new fields. After he had planted the church in Galatia, Judaizers came in to take over. They thought they were very superior to Paul, gave themselves airs, loaded men down with "burdens grievous to be borne," which they would not so much as touch with their little fingers, and lorded it over the church generally. That Christians should "mutual burdens bear" never once entered their minds. Are not these Galatian Judaizers much like some pre-Christian Pharisees and lawyers, whom Christ encountered in Jerusalem? Paul’s having once been an unbending legalist himself gives him their number precisely. Legalism, because it makes man the center and measure, never has made, nor can it ever make, spiritual men. The religion of the flesh is destructively and fatally off center.

Paul is setting the Judaizers in their place and rescuing the church from their strangle hold. Let them cease being puffed up with fictitious self-importance, and, with envious scorn, setting better men aside; cease boosting the defunct power and glory of Judaism, and, bloated with ignorant pride, cease imposing an impossible legal yoke on the neck of God’s free sons. Let them get out and "prove," not just think, they are something; let them do some real honest, independent Christian work, because after all, a Christian is known by his own work and character, not his neighbor’s. The Greek word translated "burden" (v. 5) is not the word rendered "burdens" (v. 2). The practical lesson is that a Christian’s own life is the basis of his standing and reward. Concerning this class of men in Corinth, Paul wrote: "For we are not bold to number or compare ourselves with certain of them that commend themselves: but they themselves measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves with themselves, are without understanding" (2 Corinthians 10:12). Men’s comparing themselves with other men is idle and wholly of the unwholesome flesh. It is like a child’s thinking he is nine feet high because a, false yardstick which he made himself says he is. If they want a standard of comparison, let them use Christ, the proper standard and touchstone of life and work; if they must have law, let them fulfill his law of love.

Paul teaches that a perpetual struggle between the flesh and the spirit takes place within Christians. The stubborn flesh, though ideally crucified &$ a hopeless law-breaker, wages in practical life a lingering battle. It insists that Christian liberty grants it indulgences, incompatible with spiritual living. In our studies of Paul’s rebuttal, we are now to hear his answer to the clamor of flesh that it has right to money that belongs to the Spirit. What Christians do with their money is pivotal. They must not be covetous and illiberal.

Sowing and Reaping

A passage to Galatia and one to Corinth, two of Paul’s great Scriptures on a Christian’s use of money, both teach the correspondence between sowing and reaping. Galatians 6:6-10 stresses the truth that the harvest must agree with the seed sown in kind; 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 the supplementary truth that the harvest will be proportional to the seed sown in quantity. "He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully . . . -And he that supplieth seed for the sower and bread for food (in nature), shall supply and multiply your seed for sowing (in religion), and increase the fruit of your righteousness: ye being enriched unto all liberality." This scripture teaches that God’s work done in God’s way, shall never lack God’s supplies; that one who really desires to give shall never be denied the privilege and blessing of giving. What an opportunity! Why be stingy? Is it reasonable to trust the seed, the soil, and the sun, yet not trust the word of their faithful Maker and Governor? As if to guard against a misunderstanding of "each man shall bear his own burden" that would lead to illiberality, Paul follows it with: "But let him that is taught in the word, communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for what a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth unto his own flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life." Although this passage deals primarily with material support for teachers, it also has a much broader scope. In view of "the works of the flesh," which he has just enumerated, Paul means to tell the Galatians that "the flesh" is a dangerous enemy so resourceful and irreconcilable that it must not be pampered, but rather be turned over to the executioner for crucifixion; that to allow it to spend money on its own pleasure that should be used in spreading the gospel is to reap corruption; that only after it is curbed can they sow to the Spirit and reap life eternal; that eternal-life is contingent upon continuance in well-doing, preferably to Christians, though others are not excluded.

Sowing and reaping is truly a solemn matter. In the field of destiny, nations and individuals reap as they sow. The condition of the world today shows that God is not mocked. The world has sown to the flesh, and is now reaping the inevitable destruction and desolation. As for men, the present determines eternity. According to God’s wise and inviolable decree, flesh is flesh, and can never evolve into spirit. Grapes are not to be gathered from thorns. The flesh, anywhere, is a marvelously deceitful and diligent architect of misery and ruin. Now as ever, the flesh in the church is its weakness and frustration. The Galatians are not the last Christians to begin in the Spirit, only to be bewitched into finishing in the flesh. The flesh is unbelievably adept in simulating the Spirit. Many things that seem to many Christians to be of the Spirit are of the flesh, and must therefore reap corruption. "God is not mocked." Concerning this subject, we need to be on our guard against materialism and determinism. The superlative good news of all time is that the personal God of providence proposes to intervene between sowing and reaping that the harvest of flesh need not come to the full. God’s offer of pardon and repair constitute Christianity. God, the Maker of the law of sowing and reaping, arrests its operation in this world, and promises more than completely to correct all injury man has suffered, by giving him a spiritual body at the resurrection. All this is but God lawfully exercising his sovereign liberty in grace. "He hath not dealt with us after our sins" (Psalms 103:10). Did Joseph’s brothers reap all they sowed? Christ did not say to the thief dying at his side, "You have sown tares, now reap tares." Paul’s "if" in "if we faint not" gives light. If the Galatians ceased sowing to the Spirit, the harvest would fail. Likewise, if men cease sowing to the flesh, corruption is arrested in time, and life wholly spiritual is reaped in eternity. But even sins forgiven leave scars that remain until death.

Double Crucifixion

In the close of his letter to the Galatians, Paul draws a sharp contrast between himself and the Judaizers. He offers as proof of his strong, unselfish, personal attachment the fact that he, apparently with exceptional procedure and discomfort, writes them in his own handwriting (v. 11). Contrariwise, the selfish, insincere Judaizers have no personal interest in them whatsoever. By having Gentile Christians circumcised, they cannot only escape the bitter, unrelenting persecution of orthodox Jews, but also build themselves up as able, skillful founders and leaders of a new Jewish sect. They have no intention of burdening their party with the whole, wearisome law; the crux, circumcision, will suffice. Paul’s blunt, unreserved expose of these time-serving politicians and hypocrites with their religion, based, as are all religions except pure Christianity, on law, flesh, and human merit, surely is enough to cause leaders of the church today to probe their souls for the inspiration of their leadership and activities.

"They desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But far be it from me to glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world hath been crucified to me, and I to the world." In this incisive language, Paul gives his interpretation of Christianity. The cross was to Paul, Christ’s invitation, "Come, die with me." The glory of the crucified, risen Lord blinded Paul to the world physically three days, and spiritually forever. According to the flesh, it was the end of Paul; he attended his own funeral! To him it was a choice between the church and the world—one or the other, not both. "I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:8). The cross speaks of death and separation, without compromise, It divides mankind into the spiritual church and the fleshly world.

The religion of the flesh and the religion of the Spirit are mutual opposites. In the Bible a group of closely interlocked words and phrases (flesh, old man, body of sin, natural man, world, law, sin, death) are descriptive of the former. Another group, similarly interlocked, (spirit, spiritual man, new man, grace, cross, church, righteousness, life) are descriptive of the latter. There is no interlocking between the groups, however ; they are as distinct as are sheep and goats.

After saying that the Judaizers, though they pretended to be the best Christians in Galatia, selfishly gloried in the flesh, Paul, as the antithesis, says: "But far be it from me to glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." That is, their chief satisfaction, joy, and crown was, hypocritically, to build up in the church a legalistic party, while Paul’s chief delight and glory was in the cross. "The emblem of suffering and shame ... so despised by the world." Elsewhere, Paul says that Christians, "Worship by the Spirit of God, glory in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 3:3).

The Cross

The irreconcilable warfare between God and Satan came to a crisis in the decisive cross of Christ, where God is revealed at his very best and Satan at his very worst. As Christ faced the cross he said: "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth (on the cross), will draw all men unto myself" (John 12:31-32). In the invincible strategy of God, Christ’s being crucified by Satan through his world became the means of ultimately casting out usurping Satan and his doomed, corrupt system of government over the world, which at that time was represented by the Roman Empire and Caesar. As David slew the fallen Goliath with his own sword, so God by the resurrection of Christ snatched Satan’s weapon out of his hand and turned it against him. In this long conflict, Adam sided with Satan, and Christ with God; neither could be on both sides.

The struggle, as seen between Christ’s church and Satan’s world, yet divides men. "What concord hath Christ with Belial? or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever?" (2 Corinthians 6:15). The church and the world will not amalgamate. The confusion, wicked ness and misery of the world are no more displeasing to God than are the pride and works of the world; the sin of the rebel flesh and the righteousness of the rebel flesh are both abominable to him. Christians, being identified with Christ as they are, must be rejected and hated by the world, which has never repented of murdering Christ. "If the world hate you, ye know it hated me before you .. . because ye are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you" (John 15:18-19). "Jesus suffered without the gate" of Jerusalem, and "without the camp" of Judaism. (See Hebrews 13:11-14). Although this scripture originally pleaded with Jewish Christians not to desert Christ, but to cleave to him, become strangers, pilgrims, even outcasts with him as he literally "went out, bearing the cross for himself," it still applies to all Christians of all races. The cross no more separates Christians from their sins than it separates them from the world; it no more brings them peace with God than it brings them war with the flesh. To help Jewish Christians first, and all Christians since, not to think the narrow gate, the strait way, and the separated life too difficult, or even unreasonable, this scripture closes: "For we have not here an abiding city, but we seek after the city which is to come." Indeed, this is still timely monition for worldly Christians. And who can say it so well as Paul said to the Galatians long ago, "The world hath been crucified unto me, and I unto the world."

A New Creation

"For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." This verse is the very heart of Galatians, even of Christianity. All along, Paul had been thundering, "If ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law"; thundering, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" to grow in conformity to the universal principle of life and growth in all realms—the principle that growth proceeds from within to without, never the reverse. When men give themselves over to God in the Christian way, such a renewal takes place in their spirits that a covenant of law is no longer needed to curb their flesh. And, since Christians are the first and only men ever to experience this constitutional, spiritual renewal, they are properly a new creation. "Wherefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (both here and Gal., ASV, have alternative readings, "a new creation"): old things are passed away; behold, they are become new. But all things are of God" (2 Corinthians 5:17-18). Most men, even some Christians are lamentably slow to learn that only the God who created them in the beginning can recreate them after discreative Satan has bruised their heads.

Lazarus and a few others have been called back from death to live again in their same, resuscitated bodies until released by death again. But the body in which Christ lived after he came back from death was a strange, new creation. It was a type of human body with which earth is unacquainted—a spiritual body— adapted to a spiritual eternity. Christ’s new body is not only the "firstfruits" of the bodies to be raised at his coming; it is also a symbol of his body, the church, another new creation. Before the church was created, mankind consisted of only two classes of men—Jews and Gentiles. Out of willing individuals from these two classes, Christ created a "new man, so making peace" (Ephesians 2:15), thus creating a third class of men, in which "neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision." "Give no occasion of stumbling, either to Jews, or to Greeks, or unto the church of God" (1 Corinthians 10:32). What makes legalists legalists is they fail to see that the transition from legalism (elements of the world, Judaic or otherwise) to Christianity is a change of religious center from flesh to Spirit, from man to God. Christ calls this essential, constitutional change, that really makes old things new, a new birth. This spiritual birth is what makes Christianity a new creation, a new covenant. Christians who fall into legalism, Galatians teaches, "are severed from Christ . . . are fallen away from grace," and have the same old, futile religion of the flesh, which men had before God in grace came to die for them, and to indwell and to strengthen them "with power through his Spirit in the inward man."

Christians may trust God never to require, or to permit, anything that is inconsistent with the laws of their mind and nature, or that is inimical to their welfare. To them, God is too wise to make mistakes, and too good to betray their confidence and take advantage of their limitations and helplessness. In Christianity, this is the basic relationship between Creator and creature.

Frustration of Christians

It is very difficult for men really to get onto this Christian ground. Even when they intellectually perceive the correct relationship between the divine and the human in Christianity and want to dethrone self that Christ may reign in their lives, there may be no corresponding inner reality to the outer symbolism. Instead of the old man’s being buried and a new man’s being born in baptism, the old man may remain alive to dominate the desires, ambitions and activities of their lives. Those who go through this pattern of a regenerated life with little or no change in purpose and direction of life should not be surprised when they reap frustration, for "God is not mocked."

Christ taught much that pertains to this matter. He repeatedly warned his disciples against doing things to be seen of men and against the unreality and hypocrisy of the Pharisees. In substance he said: "The attempt of the Pharisees to make men think they are pious and good, when they are not, has eaten the very heart out of Hebrew religion. Beware of their leaven; this must not be repeated in my kingdom." Did Peter, James and John, as well as Judas, need this caution? He warned "his disciples first of all" (Luke 12:1) of this supreme danger. Christ knew that not only his immediate disciples were disposed, but also that many in coming generations would be disposed to pervert his way of living into a code, which they would attempt to "stick on" the old man instead of becoming new creatures, who could live Christ’s way naturally, because it would be in harmony with their new nature. He knew that the effort to do good without being good would be as unnatural and impossible as for thistles to produce figs: he knew that this unreality would dress wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Some Christians are frustrated and joyless because their "fruit of the Spirit," like cut flowers, is rootless and artificial. As the foolish Galatians and Colossians (Colossians 2:16-23) thought, they foolishly think that Christianity lacks power and effectiveness; that, if the best fruit is to be had, the gospel must be eked out by "rudiments of the world," legalism, and human merit. This perversion upsets the exquisite balance and perfect adaption of the gospel to human need, cuts the tap root of the fruit of the Spirit, and otherwise obstructs the divine "power that works in us" (Ephesians 3:20).

God’s Sovereign Cure-all

Sin has not distorted the nature of plants and animals as it has the nature of man. They still live naturally according to their original nature. But when Adam rebelled against God, something deep within his inmost being snapped with catastrophic ruin to his whole personality. He was so disorganized that he could never restore himself, because he had lost the power both to do right and to refrain from doing wrong. No matter how heroically men strive in this depraved state to live rightly, they, as Romans 7 attests, always miserably fail. Since other creatures of earth, from animals, birds and insects through flowers, have never so "fallen," such striving is unknown to them. Man’s being exceptional among earthly creatures in this respect is good evidence of his having been created in the image of God, of his tragic fall, and of his fitness for restoration.

To correct all the ravages that sin has wrought in human nature is the prodigious task that God has set himself in Christianity. And inasmuch as nothing can reach maturity except through the fulfillment of its nature, God proposes to restore man’s original nature so that he may live, naturally, as he was made to live, without moral drudgery. Now, this is a religion worth having, and worthy of God! However, Christians on earth are yet in training, and, by reason of their imperfect surrender to God, much frustration and failure occur. "But now we see not yet all things subjected to him (Jesus). But we behold . . . Jesus . . . saying . . . Behold, I and the children whom God hath given me" (Hebrews 2:8-13). God and Christ are perfecting a host of "children," healed of all wounds, to be "a new harmony yet." "Not yet" do we see it; we are yet to see it.

Sowing seed in soil does not make a harvest. In both nature and religion, sowing seed is prerequisite, but inadequate. The seeded soil must lie exposed to the sun for a season that God with superhuman work may produce his harvest. Likewise, Christians must lie exposed to God’s super-human, redemptive workings as he advances his stupendous task of restoring man’s original personality.

And as men, knowing that the work of seed, soil and sun cannot be divorced, never vex themselves about the part each plays in making a crop, so they need not argue about the respective work of the inseparable word and Spirit in their souls. Nevertheless, God the Spirit’s ministry was not completed with his giving the written word. He takes up his abode in those who receive his word to help their infirmities, and in wordless groanings to pray for them (See Romans 8:26). Of course, all that he does is in conjunction and agreement with his written word.

Christians, can we but realize how deep our hurt, how on a human level incurable our wound, how when given the best human treatment it but festers and grows worse, surely we can humbly and truly trust God’s treatment. Can we but realize the difficulty and the immensity of the task of re-creating wrecked humanity, that, "It is by no (mere) breath, turn of eye, wave of hand, that salvation joins issue with death"; realize that not only man’s destiny, but also God’s name, honor and glory are involved, surely we can see the extreme folly and peril of rending the seamless robe of Christianity and discarding part of it as being unnecessary. If in our redemption,, God, assuming a work that, if any work can tax him, taxes his resources, graciously proposes to dwell in us as his temple and to strengthen us at the place of our greatest weakness and need "with power through his Spirit, in the inward man," who are we to say that such help is contrary to the laws of the human mind! May not such an attitude be responsible for some of our frustration with its mere fluttering instead of flying? "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God."

We close our, "Studies in Galatians" with Paul’s benediction: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen."

One Gospel

Galatians 1:1-9

When one reads through Paul’s letter to the Galatian churches one cannot help but see that Paul is defending the gospel message. There are apparently those who are challenging the gospel message that Paul proclaimed, declaring what Paul taught to be incomplete or insufficient. So Paul must write to these churches and defend the gospel they received from him so that they will continue to walk faithfully to the Lord. For us, this letter will have a great impact for our lives and for building our faith as we will learn what the gospel is and what the gospel is not. We will learn from Paul what the gospel means to our lives and how it should change us. This letter will build up to the point that we will hear this wonderful declaration concerning what the gospel has done for us:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1 NIV)

Paul, An Apostle (1:1)

The book of Galatians has one of the most interesting and unusual salutations when compared to Paul’s other letters. Paul launches immediately into his defense of the gospel, even in the salutation. Notice Paul begins the letter, “Paul, an apostle…” Now, in other letters Paul will say, “an apostle of Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:1). Paul’s most common introduction is, “an apostle by the command of God” (1 Timothy 1:1; 2 Timothy 1:1; 1 Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1). In this letter to the Galatian churches, Paul begins with “Paul, an apostle” but does not continue with his usual opening. Rather, his defense begins immediately.

“…not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead.” (Galatians 1:1 ESV)

Paul immediately makes the point there is nothing human about his calling or the message he received. His calling and his message was directly from Jesus Christ and God the Father. Paul possesses divine authority, not human authority. This is not his personal message. Paul is called by God and has given them the message from God and Jesus. Notice that Paul already begins to give part of the gospel message: “Who raised him from the dead.”

The Churches of Galatia (1:2)

Another unique aspect of this letter is that this letter is not written to one person or to one church, like his other letters. This letter is written to a few churches. The churches of Galatia would include Antioch of Pisidia, Iconia, Lystra, and maybe Derbe (see on a map). These were churches that Paul and Barnabas established on their first missionary journey. Therefore, Paul’s need to defend the gospel message is not a problem in merely one church, but in a whole region where he preached the gospel.

Greeting (1:3-5)

Verse 3 begins with a standard greeting in the first century, “Grace and peace to you.” Thus, Paul extends the greeting of grace and peace from God to them. Now we observe another deviation by Paul. In all of his other letters, all that he says is grace and peace to you from God and Jesus. But to the Galatians he extends the greeting with a fuller description of Jesus. Notice verse 4. “Who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Again, Paul inserts a portion of the gospel message before he even begins to write the body of this letter. This is a wonderful summary of the gospel message. Jesus gave himself, which reminds us that this was a voluntary sacrifice. He gave himself for our sins which describes the purpose of his voluntary sacrifice. The effect of the giving of himself was that we are delivered from the present evil. The origin of this salvation is the will of God. Immediately Paul tells us that our good works are insufficient. The gospel message is not a message of being good enough to get to God. The gospel message is not a message of performing certain external activities to belong to Christ and his kingdom (as we will see that circumcision will be a certain issue in this letter). It is not our will or our righteousness but the will of God. Therefore, God gets the glory (1:5). There is nothing in this about what we have done. The declaration is all about what God has done for us. The only description about us that we see in this description of the gospel message is that we need to be delivered from the present evil age. We cannot deliver ourselves and we live right now in an evil age. Paul declares a powerful message and we have not read the body of the letter yet. But Paul must proclaim and defend the great gospel message given to him by God himself.

Deserting God (1:6-7)

The next part of the letter should be an offer of thanksgiving. In every letter that Paul wrote to a church, he offered some sort of declaration of thanksgiving or blessing to God concerning those he was writing to. But not in this letter. Paul breaks the standard letter form of the first century, which would have immediately grabbed the attention of these churches. Rather than saying, “I thank my God for you,” the apostle begins, “I am astonished” over what you have done.

Notice that Paul says that these Christians have “deserted him who called you in the grace of Christ.” They have deserted God and Paul is astonished that they have done this so quickly. What have these Christians done so that Paul would say that they left God? They had turned to another gospel, but Paul wants to quickly declare that there is not another gospel. There is only one gospel and when you leave the truth of the gospel then you have left the Lord himself. Verse 7 tells us what had happened. There were some who troubled them and wanted to distort the gospel of Christ. But they had been called in the grace of Christ. You are called to live in his grace, but they were deserting that calling for another message that is not the gospel.

You probably know that the word “gospel” means “good news.” But in the first century the gospel had a much richer meaning. When a Roman emperor sent a proclamation around the empire declaring victory and an achievement, this announcement was called “gospel.” The proclamation of Jesus as the victorious king who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age by the will of God cannot be changed or altered in any way. It is no longer the gospel if the message is changed at all. In fact, Paul says that you have deserted the Lord if you change any part of this message.

Let Him Be Accursed (1:8-9)

Paul is so adamant about this that he says that if anyone preaches a message that is contrary to what the apostles preached, they are accursed by God. Please notice how emphatic Paul is because he includes himself in this curse. “But even if we…” Paul does not care if it is an apostle that comes to town. If he or any of his fellow apostles offer something different than what has been preached as the gospel, they are cursed by God. Further, Paul does not care if an angel appears should preach to them. Anything that deviates from the message proclaimed by the apostles is cursed and those who people who teach it are also cursed.

It does not matter if an angel comes down with gold plates, gives them to a person named Joseph, who translates them for the world. If the message on the plates differs from the gospel message, that person is cursed by God. It does not matter if Ellen G. White claims to receive revelations from God, if those messages are different than what is in the scriptures, she is cursed by God. If the Watchtower Society comes along and makes claims and predictions that are not the gospel message declared by the apostles, they are accursed. It does not matter if it is a famous preacher or an angel, let them be accursed if there is anything different than what the apostles revealed. Paul is so certain of this truth that he says it again in verse 9. Please notice that Paul is uncompromising. Any change is a desertion from God.

Please consider the high, supreme view of God’s word that is being proclaimed. It does not matter who speaks or comes from heaven. The scriptures’ authority stands above all people. The scriptures stand above the Pope, Buddha, Mohammed, and Oprah. Any message that comes from me, another preacher, or anyone else must be rejected if it does not conform to the gospel message given by the apostles. We must listen to nothing else but the word of God. Teachers must be evaluated by the scriptures and by nothing else. If the message of the gospel is not proclaimed, then the gospel of Christ is being distorted. There is no other good news. These churches are dealing with troublemakers who are distorting the gospel of Christ. We are not told how they are distorting the message yet, but we will see this as we continue to study this letter.

Conclusion

May we be encouraged to cling to the scriptures so that we know the one true gospel! There is always a real and present danger of apostasy. We see that it is real because it is not just one rare church that was struggling with the gospel. Four or more churches that had been directly taught and established by Paul were now turning away from the gospel message they were taught. We cannot create a new gospel of spirituality that emphasizes something other than Jesus who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from this present evil age. We will have to defend the gospel message, not only from the world that attacks it, but from within. As we see with the Galatian churches, it is people among them who are distorting the gospel message.

But let us also make this point. We do not get to change the message either. The church, the people of God, do not get to decide what the gospel message is and what the doctrines of Christ are. We do not get to say that divorce is right, that sexual immorality is okay, or make any other changes to what the scriptures plainly read to us as written down by the holy apostles and prophets as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. We do not get to change one word of the scripture to conform it to what we think is good or right. I want us to hear what Paul says. Any distortion of the gospel message is a desertion from God and bringing a curse on ourselves.

Let us hold firmly to the wonderful truth: Jesus gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Pleasing God

Galatians 1:10-24

The apostle Paul opens this letter immediately defending the gospel message that he proclaimed. He summarizes the gospel message a couple times in the salutation. Rather than opening his letter with a section of thanksgiving, Paul declares his astonishment that these Galatian churches are deserting the Lord by leaving the grace of God and turning to another gospel, which is not a gospel at all. Paul is so concerned about what these Christians have left that he warns them that if anyone, human being or spiritual being, comes to them declaring a different message than what Paul proclaimed, then let that person be accursed.

As we continue to verse 10 we are able to get a sense of how these troublers are causing issues in the churches of Galatia. Verse 10 gives us the indication that the troublers are arguing to the Christians that Paul does not present the whole gospel. He is trying to please people as he preaches the gospel by leaving out certain requirements to belong in the kingdom of God. In Galatians 2:3 we will read that the issue the troublers say that Paul left out was circumcision. Paul is trying to win converts to Christ but he is leaving out something from his gospel message: the need for circumcision. So these troublers are proclaiming that Paul’s message is deficient. Paul is weakening the truth of the gospel and therefore these Christians must be circumcised to be saved and belong fully to the family of God. I believe Acts 15:1 records a useful summary of what these troublers are proclaiming.

But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 15:1 ESV)

In Acts 15:5 we read another declaration concerning what the Gentile Christians are to do.

But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” (Acts 15:5 ESV)

These are useful concepts for us to have in mind as we read what Paul is teaching the churches in Galatia. Jewish Christians have come to the churches in Galatia and proclaimed these messages of being circumcised and keeping the Law of Moses in order to be saved.

Pleasing People or Pleasing God? (1:10-12)

Galatians 1:10 sets forward the theme for this paragraph. “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man?” Notice the first word “for” which connects us back to his last declaration in Galatians 1:8-9. Paul said that anyone who does not teach what he taught is accursed. Does that sound like he is trying to gain the approval of people? Does that sound like he has weakened his message to gain the Gentiles into the kingdom? Paul’s exclaims, “Absolutely not.” He is not diluting his message at all. He is not trying to be a people pleaser.

Notice in verse 10 why he is not going to be a people pleaser. “If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” If I try to please people, I cannot be a servant of Christ. We need to hear this message. We must rather have Jesus than the approval of people. We must desire Jesus more than the approval of our friends, of our careers, or even of our family. We can either serve God’s desires or another person’s desires, but we cannot serve both. We must do what is right according to the revealed word of the Lord without concern for the world’s opinions or even the opinions of other Christians. The gospel removes a human-pleasing spirit from us. This is so freeing. You do not need your friends’ approval. You do not need your parents’ approval. You just need God’s approval. When we understand that God has delivered us from the present evil age, then all I want to do is please God, not others or myself. So we must ask ourselves which matters most to us: pleasing people or pleasing God. We cannot be a servant of Christ if we are trying to please people. Jesus said it this way to the religious leaders.

How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? (John 5:44 ESV)

The writer of the Proverbs said, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.” (Proverbs 29:25 NIV)

We must desire Jesus and his approval of our lives far beyond the approval of our spouse, or our children, or our parents, or our careers, or anything else. Further, this tells us that we cannot change the gospel message to make it so that it is more acceptable to the world. That is what these troublers claimed Paul had done. They claimed that Paul had softened the message. We must hold fast to the word of God and understand that the world will say that we are too hardline and fundamentalists with the scriptures and must soften the message. We must also understand that Christians may say that we are too soft proclaiming the gospel message. This is why we cannot concern ourselves with what others say about what we are doing. We are not here to please people. We are only here to please God. Our devotion to the word of the Lord must speak for itself. This is what Paul proclaims in verses 11-12. His message is not a human message, just as he said in the first verse as he opened this letter. The gospel message Paul proclaimed is not given to him from a person nor was he taught this message by anyone. He received the gospel by direct revelation of Jesus.

The Gospel Radically Changes Lives (Galatians 1:13-24)

Paul uses himself as an example to show how the revelation of the gospel has radically changed his life. He describes his former life as he was advancing in Judaism beyond many of his own age. He was zealous for the traditions of the fathers. He was so zealous that Paul says he persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. Please think about the weight of those words and do not pass them by too quickly. He violently persecuted God’s community of saved people and did all he could to destroy it.

But God had a plan for Paul. God had set Paul apart before his birth to preach Jesus among the Gentiles. This was God’s mission for Paul and called Paul by grace. Only divine intervention could change him. His conversion and subsequent preaching could only be the result of the grace of God. The same is true for us. It is only by divine intervention and the grace of God that we are changed. This is what Paul wrote to the Ephesian Christians.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:1-7 ESV)

We are called by the grace of God and if we understand that we have been called by grace, then that changes everything about us. The gospel changes lives. In verse 16 Paul says that Jesus was revealed in him in order that he might preach Jesus to the Gentiles. To put this another way, God revealed Christ to Paul so that God would reveal Christ through Paul. It is when Jesus is in our lives that hearts and lives change. Paul preached the gospel and then asked people to look at his radically changed life. The gospel changes lives. We tell the world about Jesus and then ask them to see how different we live our lives because of Jesus.

Notice that this is message for the rest of this chapter. In verse 17 Paul says that he did not go to Jerusalem to see any apostles but went away to Arabia and then to Damascus. Then after three years he went to Jerusalem and saw Peter, seeing none of the other apostles. He only saw James, the brother of Jesus (1:18-19). Then he went about preaching the gospel in Syria and Cilicia. Notice verse 22. Paul was still unknown in person to the churches in Judea. Paul did not go to Jerusalem and get training in the gospel message. Paul did not get introduced to all the churches there. He did not even meet with the apostles. He was with Peter only 15 days. No one in Jerusalem had seen Paul in the years that transpired after his conversion to Jesus. But here is what they did know. Verse 23 says, “They only were hearing it said, ‘He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.’” The people heard about his changed life. People were hearing that the great enemy of the Christian faith was now preaching that same faith. The result was that God was glorified by Paul’s change (1:24). “And they glorified God because of me.” Our actions are to push people to see God, not ourselves. Think about how Paul made this very point in his letter to the Colossians.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4 ESV)

You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. People do not see us because our life is hidden. Our lives show Christ now. This is what happened with Paul. He is going around preaching Jesus and people are hearing about his radical life change. The gospel radically changes our lives if we have let the gospel work in our hearts. God is glorified when children of wrath and enemies of the cross become followers of Jesus and proclaim Jesus to those around them. This change only happens and God is only glorified when we desire to please God and not others. The gospel is not working in us if we are still people pleasing. We cannot be servants of Christ and try to make others happy. Seek to make God happy in your response to his grace. We have been called by his grace to show Jesus to the world.

The Truth of the Gospel Preserved

Galatians 2:1-10

The apostle Paul has been setting before the Galatian churches a defense of the gospel he proclaimed to them. In the last paragraph we learned that the troublers are saying that Paul is pleasing people (Galatians 1:10) by weakening the gospel message. They are saying that he has taken elements out of the gospel to bring in the Gentiles. We learn from Acts 15:1; Acts 15:5 that there are Jewish Christians teaching that the Gentiles could not be saved unless they were circumcised according to the Law of Moses and they needed to keep other aspects of the Law of Moses. Paul is correcting this problem by proving that the gospel he proclaimed is not from man, but by the direct revelation of Jesus. Further, his gospel is accurate, so much so that anyone who declares a message containing anything different than what he proclaimed is accursed. As Paul proclaims this gospel message to the Galatians, we are learning what the gospel message is and how the gospel is to affect and change our lives.

Paul and Jerusalem (Galatians 2:1-3)

After 14 years Paul went up to Jerusalem and brought Barnabas and Titus with him. But Paul did not go because he was summoned by the Jerusalem church. He did not go because the apostles needed to speak to him or “call him on the carpet” over what he was preaching. Rather, God told him to go, according to verse 2. Paul is preaching throughout the Roman Empire and by revelation he was told to Jerusalem and set before those leaders in Jerusalem the gospel he was proclaiming. Paul did not go to check his message. Paul went to present the gospel he was proclaiming “in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain.” Consider what Paul says. Paul tells the Galatian Christians that he did not go to have his message checked by the apostles, but he went to check their message. Paul wanted to see if what he was doing was wasting his efforts and running the race for nothing because the Judean Christians were proclaiming a different message than him. Paul is living up to his declaration that he made in Galatians 1:8-9. He does not care who it is, the gospel proclaimed must be the same as his, even the preachers are the influential in Jerusalem.

To bolster this point, Paul says that he took Titus with him. Titus was an uncircumcised Gentile Christian. Paul brings Titus to make him a test case concerning the truth of the gospel. As we have noticed in our study, circumcision is one of the key points that the Jewish Christians from Jerusalem are claiming Gentile Christians must perform to be saved. Paul brings Titus to Jerusalem to see what these influential of Jerusalem will do because Titus is Exhibit A of Paul’s gospel preaching. But Titus was not forced to be circumcised. There was agreement on the message. Paul and the influential of Jerusalem had the same revelation and did not teach differently. This is an important point to the Galatian churches. Paul’s gospel was not contradicted or argued against by any of the pillars in Jerusalem.

False Brethren (Galatians 2:4-5)

So what happened? How are there Christians from Jerusalem running around teaching these churches that circumcision and obedience to the Law of Moses are necessary for salvation? This would be a natural question that the Christians in Galatia would ask. Paul went to Jerusalem and the Christians in Jerusalem are on the same page as Paul. Paul is not running in vain. So what has happened? Paul explains in Galatians 2:4.

There are false brethren who were secretly among them. The problem is that there are false Christians. These false brothers have sneaked into their assemblies, seeming to believe and act like them, but were spying out their freedom in Jesus. They were secretly disruptive in their work, attempting to enslave them to the Jewish regulations. They were trying to restrict a freedom they possess in Christ. How often it seems people try to create walls of restriction that God did not give. But in verse 5 Paul says that they did not yield to them for a moment. They do not agree with these false brothers nor endorse what they are teaching. There was no consideration of this doctrine that these troublers are teaching.

Preserving the Truth of the Gospel

Paul says that they did not yield “so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.” We did not give into this error so that you would not have to give into this error. We did not yield to them and you, dear Galatians Christians, must not give into them either. The covenant of Christ is sufficient and self-contained. There is nothing from the Law of Moses that is to be added to the covenant of Christ. Christianity is not the continuation of the Law of Moses but the fulfillment and completion of the Law of Moses. Paul said it this to the Roman Christians like this:

For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. (Romans 10:3-4 ESV)

Paul said this to the Colossian Christians like this:

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14 ESV)

The message of Jesus is not combined with Moses or any other regulations. Everything about the Law of Moses was completely removed, nailed to the cross and completed in Christ. It is important that we hear this truth. All commands and every aspect of the Law of Moses was completely fulfilled and brought to an end in Christ. This includes the commands of circumcision, sacrifices, temple worship, instrumental music, keeping sabbaths, dietary laws, ritual laws, the importance of physical Jerusalem, even the ten commandments that were given at Mount Sinai are obsolete and fulfilled in Christ.

The writer of Hebrews spends a great amount of time trying to argue for this truth.

But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. …In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. (Hebrews 8:6; Hebrews 8:13 ESV)

The troublers are teaching that various aspect of the Law of Moses must be obeyed by Gentile Christians to be saved (Acts 15:5). The New Testament letters like Galatians teach that this is not the case. Everything about the Law of Moses, the commands, the ceremonial laws, the commandments, are completely removed through Christ and nailed to his cross.

Preserving the Truth of the Gospel Today

We also need to preserve the truth of the gospel today. Jesus is everything and there is nothing that is to be added to him or his covenant. This has led many to do something very dangerous to this text by way of application. Circumcision is not to be added as a requirement for salvation, as the book of Galatians and Acts 15 teach. By application many will say that people who come along and teach baptism are adding to the gospel of Christ. Salvation is by faith alone and adding anything to the gospel of justification by faith is to come under Paul’s condemnation that they should be accursed. I want us to consider this charge and ask if it is right. Is calling people to be baptized adding to the gospel message and those who do so should be accursed?

If so, then Paul cursed himself. Notice in Galatians 3:27 that those who are baptized are those who have joined themselves to Christ (cf. Romans 6:1-4). Paul himself did not exclude the need for baptism. But some will argue that it is an external act and Paul is condemning all external acts for salvation in this text. First, if this argument is true then confession, which is an external act according to Romans 10:9-10 because we are confessing with our lips, is also nullified and all who claim the need for confession of Jesus as Lord are accursed. Further, if this argument is true then repentance, which is an external act according to Matthew 3:8 because repentance has visible fruit, is also nullified and all who claim the need for repentance is accursed. We cannot say that Paul is combatting all external acts. Paul himself preached the necessity of repentance, confession, and baptism. What Paul was doing was combatting the addition of the Law of Moses to Christ! The gospel is not Christ plus the Law of Moses. The gospel is not Christ plus circumcision or some other observable act from the Law of Moses. The gospel is Christ alone. The gospel is faith in Jesus. The gospel is justification by faith. But believing in Christ alone means submitting to his covenant and commands. Justification by grace alone through faith alone means I will obey Christ and his covenant alone. Faith without works is dead and useless. Saved by faith alone does not exclude the actions that show faith. The actions that show faith in Christ alone are repentance, confession, baptism, and walking in the light of Christ each day. The truth of the gospel must be preserved against those who take true statements in the scriptures and twist them to mean something different than the clear reading of God’s word.

Nothing Added To Paul (Galatians 2:6-10)

Paul continues to teach the Galatian Christians that those in Jerusalem fully agreed with Paul and his gospel. God told Paul to go to Jerusalem and he met with these influential leaders. But understand something, it makes no difference to Paul or God if these were influential or not. God does not care who you think you are. Your recognition in this world is nothing. These influential leaders and pillars are not greater than Paul and did not possess more authority than Paul. Paul did not need their approval and they added nothing to him.

Quite the opposite happened. They saw that Paul was entrusted with the same gospel that they possessed by direct revelation from God. In essence, Paul says that he is the same as Peter and they have the same gospel with the same Spirit working in both of them, so that Paul was extended the right hand of fellowship. There was not an ounce of disagreement. There was not an ounce of reteaching. There was not a moment of debate. There is no distinction between Paul, Peter, John, or James the brother of Jesus. They recognized that Paul and Barnabas should go to the Gentiles while these other apostles went to the Jews.

Rather than correcting Paul, they received Paul and only asked that they remember and help the poor Christians as they go. Nothing needed to be added to what Paul was proclaiming and he was eager and already remembering and helping the poor Christians in Judea. The New American Commentary makes a useful point that during that time in the first century, so chronic was the economic deprivation of the Judean Christians that they became collectively known as “the poor.” We see this in the book of Acts as the Judean Christians are repeatedly suffering under famine, distress, war, and persecution (things Jesus predicted for this region in Matthew 24). Paul’s message was unchanged and not confronted. The truth of the gospel was preserved by Paul and the other apostles against these troublers who were trying to steal the freedom that existed in Christ. Remember the needy Christians in Judea was all Paul was asked to do, which he was happy to do and we see him do in Acts and 2 Corinthians. We have to care for each other because we belong together as the family of Christ.

Living In Line With The Gospel

Galatians 2:11-14

In the previous paragraph, the apostle Paul has described how he went to Jerusalem in defense of the truth of the gospel. God called him by revelation to go there and set before “the influential” the gospel he was proclaiming to the Gentiles. Paul also took Titus with him, an uncircumcised Gentile who became a Christian and remained uncircumcised. But Titus was not compelled to be circumcised. The gospel Paul preached and the gospel the apostles and influential in Jerusalem preached was the same message. The problem was that there were false brothers who secretly slipped in, trying to bring them back into slavery to the Law of Moses. No one yielded for a moment to this false gospel.

So everything seems fine. Except it wasn’t. There is another issue that can arise, and it did arise in the first century regarding the gospel. It is one thing to agree with the gospel message, but it is another thing to live according to the gospel message. You know the truth of the gospel but will you live in line with the gospel? This is the issue Paul must deal with next, and it comes from a very unexpected place. Read Galatians 2:11-14 to see what happened.

Peter In Antioch (Galatians 2:11-13)

The apostle Paul tells about something that happened to show how he has defended the truth of the gospel. When Peter came to Antioch, Paul had to oppose him because Peter stood condemned. This is an amazing situation. One apostle had to confront another apostle and the reason is because one of the apostles, Peter of all people, stood condemned. This statement should blow a large hole in the idea that the apostles were infallible. Peter is apparently making such a mistake that Paul feels compelled to confront him on what he is doing. So what was Peter doing that required apostolic confrontation?

Galatians 2:12 reveals that Peter was eating with the Gentiles, as he ought to have been. The picture is that Peter did not care about the kinds of foods the Gentiles are eating. Peter is eating these unclean foods along with the Gentiles. Remember that in ancient near eastern society, eating together was a powerful symbol of acceptance and fellowship. We still have some semblance of this idea even in our society, but it was even stronger then. So Peter is doing the right thing and living his life according to the truth of the gospel. There is no returning to the Law of Moses for any of its commands, regulations, or ceremonies.

But a problem arose when certain men came from James. The “James” that this would be referring to is James, the brother of Jesus, one of the pillars in the Jerusalem church. We saw his named mentioned back in verse 9. Now we learned from verse 9 that James agrees with the truth of the gospel, along with Paul, Peter, and John. We see this also in Acts 15:13-21 where James at the Jerusalem council declared that the prophets agree that the Gentiles are not under the Law of Moses and are not to be troubled by telling them to keep any of those customs. So we know that James is not the problem. But certain people came from James. Paul has told us in verse 4 that false brothers had secretly slipped in, and it seems it was some of these who came from James to Antioch to cause trouble. So when these men came, Peter drew back and separated himself from the Gentile Christians. He no longer ate with them after they came (2:12). Unfortunately, not only did Peter do this, but the rest of the Jewish Christians also followed Peter’s actions, so much so that even Barnabas was swept away into this.

Why would they do this? Why would they act hypocritically? They knew the truth of the gospel. It was not that they were misinformed. Not only is Peter included in those who agree with the truth of the gospel (2:9) but also remember that Peter ate with Cornelius and his household who are Gentiles after he received his vision from the Lord (Acts 10:28; Acts 11:3). Peter was criticized by the Jewish Christians but Peter defended his actions to them (Acts 11:2-18). So what caused him to cave into hypocrisy at this point?

Verse 12 reveals that Peter feared the circumcision party. That is, he fears the Jewish Christians who are claiming the need for Gentile Christians to keep the Law of Moses and to be circumcised to be saved. The rest of the Christians in Antioch also fell into this fear, and it seems even Barnabas caved under the fear. They are afraid of what these Christians are going to say. They are under pressure to compromise the truth of the gospel and are doing such because they are in fear. It is useful to consider that peer pressure never ends. We might as well learn to deal with it when we are young because even as adults people will try to use their approval or distain to manipulate us to do things. No one is above falling into error. No one is above caving into pressure.

Unfortunately these pressures are often still applied today. Preachers, elders, and churches can live in this fear of what other churches or other preachers might think or say about them. I could digress into a lengthy description of the staggering number of times I have personally seen this happen myself. When certain people come around who have made themselves to be “be something” or seemingly “influential” then suddenly they will behave or teach differently. We must recognize that we have a vast freedom in Christ for our worship and must not be compelled by others in how we do things. We have the tendency to want conformity and can perceive a lack of conformity to signal sinfulness or liberalism or something else. I have seen this many times. One example is a church I was at that decided to have the Christians meet in four different members homes on Wednesday night for Bible study. Members of the church would go to the home that was nearest to them and members were encouraged to bring their neighbors and friends to these Bible studies. You would think that this decision meant that we have rejected Christ, were trying to be sinful or slick, and some of the surrounding churches caused us problems because we did something different. But meeting in our homes for Bible study on Wednesday is not unscriptural. It is not traditional but it is quite scriptural. What was amazing was if you asked the critics they would tell you that it was perfectly scriptural to have Bible studies in homes! They understood what the scriptures said. But they did not want to practice the truth of what they knew. They want conformity instead. Friends, we must be compelled by the scriptures alone. The goal is not conformity. The goal is not to have the acts of worship all be the same so that we all perform two songs, a prayer, a song, the Lord’s Supper, a song, the collection, a song, the sermon, and then an invitation song. The goal is not to have all our websites look the same. The goal is not to all have the same meeting times. Conforming to each other is not the goal. All that we must desire is conformity to the word of God.

Living In Line With the Gospel (Galatians 2:14)

This is exactly the problem Paul identifies. Peter’s conduct was no longer in step (ESV) or “in line” (NIV) with the truth of the gospel. Christian living is a continual realignment process with the scriptures as the standard, not people. It is our job to bring everything in our lives into conformity with the scriptures. Our thinking, our feelings, and our behavior must be brought into line with the truth of the gospel. Peter knew the truth of the gospel, but his action did not conform to that truth. Rather, he succumb to the fear of what these other Jewish Christians might do or say. Peter wanted to be in conformity to the circumcision party rather than live in conformity to the truth of the gospel.

Peter did not realize that by believing in the truth of the gospel but not living according to the truth the gospel caused the gospel to be denied. Even the imposition of the food laws from the Law of Moses had the same denial of the gospel as if he were to require Gentile Christians to be circumcised. If the Law of Moses has been set aside and fulfilled in Jesus, as Paul and Peter agreed, then going back to any aspect of the Law of Moses, no matter how small or trivial it seemed, was a denial of the gospel message.

Therefore, Paul says that he said before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can your force the Gentiles to live like the Jews?” Why did Paul says this in front of everyone? Why not pull Peter aside and without anyone watching ask him what he is doing? The reason is revealed in what had happened. Peter’s actions had caused the rest of the Jewish Christians to also act hypocritically. This does not mean that Paul had a fit of rage in public on Peter. But his public sin before the Christians in Antioch required a public confrontation before these same people so that the truth of the gospel would be preserved before them as well. Public confrontation is needed for public sin. Listen to what Paul taught Timothy.

Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. (1 Timothy 5:19-20 ESV)

Jesus taught in Matthew 18 that those who refuse to repent of sin must have such taken before the church. Paul taught the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 5 that those who are engaging in unrepentant sin were to be marked and withdrawn from. It can be uncomfortable but there are times when there must be a public stand against sin when that person’s sin causing other’s faith and knowledge to stumble. This is why Paul uses the image to the Corinthians: Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? (1 Corinthians 5:6 ESV)

Conclusion

Living for Christ means continual realignment of our lives to his word. We may come under pressure to turn away from the truth of the gospel to follow traditions. We may come under pressure to conform to the way other churches do things. But we must not give into the pressures of others simply for the sake of appeasement. Paul and the apostles could have just said, “What is the big deal? Just get circumcised so that there are no more problems.” Paul understood that this will not work. We cannot create our own rules and bind them on ourselves or others. Unfortunately, many will cave in rather than stand for what the scriptures teach.

Another part of our continual realignment is the need to always change our lives to the gospel. Everything in our lives must be brought under submission to Christ. This means a constant checking of our heart, our beliefs, and our actions. If Peter can fall, anyone can fall. We are never so strong so as to not be able to fall. Evaluate your hearts. Is Jesus your one and only desire and the gospel that to which you will submit all things in your life under? Pressure will be given by family, friends, and even seeming Christians to do otherwise. Give Jesus everything and live in line with the gospel.

Justified By Faith

Galatians 2:15-21

The apostle Paul is in the midst of an explanation of the gospel of Jesus. He has explained how there are false brethren who are calling for the Gentile Christians to become circumcised and keep the Law of Moses in order to be saved and belong to the family in Christ. Paul has preached along with Peter, John, and James that this is not the case and is in violation of the gospel. However, Peter was found not walking in line with the gospel and acted hypocritically, along with many other Jewish Christians, which required a public confrontation. This brings Paul to the heart of the message of the gospel that he wants to teach the Galatians which is found in the end of chapter 2 and continues through chapter 3.

Not Justified By Works of the Law (Galatians 2:15-16)

As we read verse 15, this statement can sound condescending to our ears. “We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners.” What does Paul mean by this? The picture is the distinction that exists between the privileges and blessings of belong to the nation of Israel in contrast to the Gentiles who were separated from the promises and privileges found in covenant relationship with God. Paul declares that even we Jews recognize that even possessing all the great privileges of being Israel are inadequate for achieving a state of righteousness before God. Paul is declaring the very message that Peter proclaimed in Acts 15.

Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? (Acts 15:10 ESV)

Galatians 2:15-16 gives us the best definition of Paul’s usage of the phrase “the works of the law.” The letter to the Galatians has been about those troublers who are saying that the Gentile Christians must observe the Law of Moses and be circumcised to be saved (cf. Acts 15:1; Acts 15:5). The keeping of the various ordinances, in particular, the things that identified Israel as distinguished from the rest of the world — circumcision, eating only clean foods, and the keeping of certain days — is what Paul means by “the works of the law.” The point is that if the chosen Israel cannot be justified by the works of the law, then certainly Gentile sinners (that is, those outside of covenant relationship with God) cannot. Why would the works of the Law of Moses be applied to the Gentiles when the Jews could not be saved by this system?

Therefore, Paul makes the important declaration: “We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.” The purpose of the Law of Moses was to show that no person could find justification through those activities. They would need to rely on God to forgive their sins and keep them in relationship with him. Our spiritual dilemma is that a person is totally incapable of overcoming one’s own sinfulness. We cannot by our actions makes ourselves right before God. There is nothing we can do to clear ourselves of our guilt. Performing circumcision or eating only clean foods did not make one right before God. Paul made this very point to the Roman Christians also.

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:19-20 ESV)

Therefore, in verse 16 Paul says that the Jewish Christians (we) have believed in Christ so that they can be justified by faith. They did not believe in Christ in order to be justified by the works of the law because that system does not justify anyone. Paul will explore this in more detail in chapter 3. But the point is that the covenant of Christ cannot be turned into the same faulty system of justification by works. Right standing before God is only found through faith in Jesus. The Gentiles are in no different of a position than the Jews in needing to be justified by faith.

The Law Makes Us Sinners (Galatians 2:17-19)

Paul presses this point further in verse 17. To understand what Paul is saying we need to keep the context in mind. Peter and some of the Jewish Christians have separated themselves from eating with Gentile Christians because of the influence of these troublers who have come from Jerusalem. Verse 17 addresses the implications of this teaching by asking a question. If we are sinners as we endeavor to be justified in Christ (and not by works of the law and therefore ignoring those works like circumcision and eating only clean foods), then Christ is also a servant of sin! If eating with Gentile Christians their unclean foods makes us sinners, then Christ is also a servant of sin.

Paul proves this point by implication and by argument. The implications are evident. Jesus himself taught that a person was not defiled by what one ate. “Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)” (Mark 7:18-19 ESV) The Lord is the one who gave Peter the vision instructing him three times to eat unclean foods (Acts 10:12-16). If a Jewish Christian became sinners because of fellowshipping with a Gentile Christian, then Christ himself is a minister of sin because that is the message Jesus taught himself.

Paul now argues that he is the sinner if he rebuilds what he tore down, that is the Law of Moses and the works of the law contained in it. Rebuilding the Law of Moses makes one a sinner, not saved. There is no justification by reverting to the Law of Moses and trying to reestablish a covenant that was demolished by Christ. The Law makes one dead but it is Christ who makes one alive (Galatians 2:19). The Law destroys all hope of salvation by works, forcing me to cry out for salvation another way. Paul would tell the Romans that when we die with Christ we are dying to the Law (Romans 7:4). Union to Christ and his death is our death to the Law and all its requirements (Colossians 2:13). These concepts will be further elaborated on in Galatians 4.

Crucified With Christ (Galatians 2:20-21)

Now the apostle Paul draws us into the amazing result of being in Christ:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 ESV)

Here is another summary of the gospel message that Paul has boldly proclaimed. Justification by faith means that we are no longer alive. We no longer follow our desires. We no longer control our life. The reason this must be the case is because our lives have been enslaved to sin. We are condemned under the law. We cannot justify ourselves. Our actions are fully condemning and utterly sinful. Our old lives must be put to death so that we are not the one who are living this life but Christ is. This is our life banner. Christ has made me alive and the life I live is by faith in him. What identifies a person as a child of God is not the works of the law (as they did under the Law of Moses), but faith in Jesus. Faith is the identifying mark that shows we belong to Jesus. Faith is seen as Christ alive in us and the putting to death our old ways, desires, and life. Faith is what shows we belong to God. This is what matches us to Abraham because the life of faith is what showed him to belong to the promises of God. What marks a person as belonging to Jesus is not baptism, because we can compel people to be baptized. We see this today where we see infants and children baptized. Faith is the identifying mark. Faith in Jesus to give one’s life to him and crucify self is the basis for our obedience to his covenant. True faith will generate repentance, confession, baptism, and all the other acts that Jesus has called us to do and be because he is alive in us now. We know that we are in relationship with Jesus because we can point to the faith in our lives that is moving us to love him and give ourselves to him because he loves us and gave himself for us. Verse 20 is so powerful and so personal. Jesus loved me and gave himself for me. So I am dead to self and live by faith in Jesus.

Therefore, returning to the Law of Moses and any of its works is a rejection of the grace of God (Galatians 2:21). Why did Christ die if we can go back to the works of the law system? If I can find justification by circumcision, by eating clean foods, or by any other action, then why did Christ die? The point of the cross is that we cannot keep the Law at all and are only able to receive justification by faith. Salvation is by grace alone!

Conclusion

Justification by faith changes everything for us. This is the part of the gospel that brings life into our sinful, dead lives. In spite of our sinfulness we can be declared righteous and stand justified in the sight of God. But may we never think that our justification is by our accomplishment of particular works. God justifies us. We do not justify ourselves. Our hope is in Christ and we put our faith in him. Our lives are forever changed as we continue to trust in the promises of God. Pursue holiness and conform your life to the ways of Jesus because he loves you and gave himself for you.

The Blessed

Galatians 3:1-9

The apostle Paul continues to describe the gospel message and the implications of the gospel in the lives of Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians. In Galatians 3 the apostle Paul will continue to describe this great gospel of Jesus. As he continues to describe the gospel he will ask these Christians to consider their experience and consider the scriptures to know if returning to the works of the law is the means for justification for Gentile Christians. Remember that troublers have come into the Galatians churches teaching that Gentile Christians must keep the Law of Moses and be circumcised to be saved (cf. Acts 15:1; Acts 15:5).

Consider Your Experience (Galatians 3:1-5)

Paul begins very forcefully as he wants to know how they had been deceived to believe these false teachings. Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified before their eyes. Obviously Paul is not saying that these people literally saw Jesus on the cross in Jerusalem 20 years earlier. That is not the point. Paul is saying that the significance of the cross was vividly communicated when the gospel was announced to them. They do not understand the significance of Christ crucified. If they understood the truth of the gospel, the message of the cross, then they would not consider the teachings of these false brethren. They would recognize that the power of the cross was being emptied by teaching the necessity of keeping the works of the law. They saw Jesus like a roadside billboard when the message of the cross was proclaimed and now they are being deceived to neglect that message.

Therefore, Paul asks questions concerning these Galatian Christians to help them see that the works of the law must not be added to the gospel message. The first question is if they received the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith (Galatians 3:2). In our study of the scriptures we know that miraculous spiritual gifts were only given by the apostles when the apostles laid their hands on a believer (cf. Acts 8:17-19). So Paul is not asking if they received miraculous spiritual gifts when they performed the works of the law or when they heard with faith. Paul is asking about the promise of the Holy Spirit as promised by God in the prophets (cf. Isaiah 32:15-18; Isaiah 44:3; Ezekiel 39:29) and fulfilled in Acts 2:38-39. Did you enter into the covenant relationship with God, have your sins forgiven, and receive the blessings of being a child of God when you performed works of the law or when you heard with faith. Paul says that all Christians receive something when they hear with faith. You receive a new relationship, belong to the new covenant, receive God’s blessings, become a child of God, enter into God’s kingdom, and have one’s sins forgiven when you heard with faith. Circumcision does not accomplish this. Keeping away from unclean foods does not accomplish this. You already have this when you saw Christ publicly displayed as crucified.

There is not another action to receive these blessings in the Spirit (3:3). You were already given everything in Christ. Are the works of the law going to perfect you when you are already been made perfect in Christ? Please notice “the flesh” is another term for “the works of the law” in this paragraph. This has a very strong reference to circumcision. Since the key elements of the works of the law was circumcision, then Paul can ask if the flesh is going to bring perfection in these Christians. Think about what Paul is asking in this way, which might help us today. When you came up out of the waters of baptism, what are you going to do to enhance your situation before God? What act in the flesh is going to make your circumstance better? What are you going to do now to elevate your standing before God? There is nothing you can do to enhance your situation or make your standing better before God. I think every believer has a sense of that when they come to faith in Christ. I feel like all I can do is mess this up now, not make it any better! Are you going to be perfected in the flesh? Are you going to do some act that is now going to save you? Of course not. Jesus has cleansed you and made you his child which did not come through the works of the law.

Paul wonders if they had suffered so many things in vain. Acts 14:22 records the persecution of these Christians by the hands of the Jews. It is in this region that the apostle Paul was stoned and left for dead. If they are going to return to the works of the law, then they have suffered for nothing. If you are going to live like a Jew, then you suffered for nothing.

The final experience to consider is in verse 5. They saw Paul supply them with miraculous spiritual gifts and saw Paul work miracles among them, not by the works of the law, but by hearing with faith. When Paul preached he powerfully displayed the Spirit to people (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:4). Paul may even be pointing out that the miraculous spiritual gifts are continuing in their midst because they had received the Spirit when Paul laid his hands on them. They already have spiritual gifts and have seen these gifts at work and those things were not received at the point of circumcision but through hearing with faith.

Consider the Scriptures (Galatians 3:6-9)

Now Paul will prove what he has taught them by using the scriptures. Hearing with faith was the way Abraham was counted as righteous. In our study of Abraham we notice that Abraham believed and was credited as righteous in Genesis 15, but circumcision will come many years later in chapter 17. You are counted as righteous just as Abraham was counted as righteous, not by doing the works of the law, but through hearing with faith. The status of “righteous” is bestowed on the wicked when they come to faith (cf. Romans 4:5). The means of salvation has never changed. Faith has been the requirement for both Old Testament and New Testament believers.

Therefore, those who are the offspring of Abraham are not those who circumcise themselves, but those who exercise faith. Faith is what makes one in the family of Abraham and a recipient of God’s promises. We share in Abraham’s blessing by joining Abraham’s family and one joins Abraham’s family by faith, not circumcision.

Further, God’s intention all along was to bless the Gentiles when they exercised the same kind of faith as Abraham (Galatians 3:8). The scriptures preached the gospel beforehand when God made the promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3. Remember in Genesis 12:3 that God is reversing the effects of sin’s curse through Abraham. This would be a blessing to the world, for all peoples and families. The promise was that all the families of the earth would be blessed, not just Israel. I love how verse 8 is worded. The scriptures preached the gospel to Abraham in the words: “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” God offered a solution before we understood we had a problem! The gospel is in Genesis 12! The salvation of the Gentiles is preached in Genesis 12! It was God’s intention from the very beginning that all people, including the Gentiles, would be saved through the same means: hearing with faith. So those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham who was the man of faith (Galatians 3:9).

Conclusion

The sufficiency of faith.

How amazing it is that when we hear the gospel, see Jesus portrayed as crucified in that gospel, and come to faith in Jesus that this is completely sufficient for our salvation! When we have faith which is seen through repentance, confession, and immersion in water in the name of Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 2:38) that there is nothing else to add to belong to the family of Christ and receive all the blessings that are found in Christ. The moment of salvation is a relief, knowing that Jesus has taken our sins away. The guilt of our sins is removed and we have a whole new relationship with God as our Father. There is nothing else to do and nothing else to know. A person can come to Christ and die that day in complete confidence and hope of salvation before our Lord. To make this point another way, there is nothing else to add at that moment of salvation. What you do cannot perfect this salvation for it is already perfected. What we are doing as we go forward is not try to earn this salvation but live by faith in response to that salvation. If salvation is dependent upon my righteousness, then I am lost. I need the grace of Jesus to declare this sinner righteous. As Paul will teach later in this letter, there is fruit that comes from those who have been justified by faith. True saving faith will continue to transform our lives for Christ, for we are crucified with Christ. It is no longer our lives but Jesus living in us and the life we live is by faith in Jesus (Galatians 2:20). This is why Abraham is consider the man of faith (3:9) for his faith transformed how he lived for God, sacrificing all for the Lord.

Let me get to this point another way. There are many times that I have heard Christians say and I have also thought that I know so much more now than I did when I first believed. Was I really saved back then because now I further understand what God desires from me today? The answer is yes you were saved. There was not a test that you had to take before you truly believed. You needed to know that Jesus died for you and you were giving your life to him, to follow and serve him. As we journey with our God we are learning more and more about our sinfulness and further appreciating what God has done for us. We are experiencing a greater appreciation and a deeper love for our Lord Jesus who loved us and saved us. As my children grow, I am more and more appreciating the time I have with them. Does this mean that I did not love them when they were younger? No, but my love and appreciation is growing. In the same way, it is not that you did not love God when you came to Christ in faith through baptism, but that your love for him is stronger and deeper than before.

Faith is our identifying mark. “So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (3:9). The scriptures foresaw that Gentiles would be justified by faith.

The hearing of faith.

The point that the apostle Paul makes is the same point the Gospel of John repeatedly drives into the readers’ hearts. Where does salvation begin? Hearing. Paul would tell the Roman Christians that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). Paul does not say that it is the seeing of faith. Hearing with faith is the means of salvation. We see Jesus portrayed as crucified when we hear the word of God. That hearing must be mixed with faith. The word of God is the power to generate faith. This is why we desire to read God’s word every day. Faith will only come through hearing God’s word. This is why we have sermons and Bible studies together. Faith will only come through hearing God’s word. The more you hear with faith, the more your life will change and transform into the life that God desires you to transform into. As we go forward we are not earning our salvation but confirming our love for Jesus and the salvation he has given us.

Redeemed From The Curse

Galatians 3:10-14

The apostle Paul declares that the Galatian Christians have received the grace of God when they heard the gospel message and responded in faith. It was not through the works of the law that they experienced the promise of the Spirit and had miracles worked among them. It was hearing with faith that brought these people into a covenant relationship with God so that they receive these blessings and privileges in Christ (Galatians 3:1-5). Further, the scriptures also declares that it is through the hearing of faith that Gentiles would be saved. Before the Law of Moses was given, the gospel was proclaimed by the scriptures to Abraham that in him all the nations will be blessed (Galatians 3:8). Therefore, it is those who are faith, not those who perform the works of the law or try to be justified by the flesh, who are blessed along with Abraham and are sons of Abraham.

The apostle Paul will continue to explain in Galatians 3 how it is that we are must be justified by faith and cannot be justified by the works of the law. In Galatians 3:10-14 Paul will explain the doctrine of justification so that the readers will understand the necessity of faith. In Galatians 3:15-29 Paul will use an illustration to prove how those who are of faith are children of Abraham and blessed with Abraham.

The Problem With Works of the Law (Galatians 3:10)

The apostle Paul presses the argument against the works of the law further. Those who rely on the works of the law are under a curse (Galatians 3:10). Why would trying to depend upon circumcision or only eating clean foods make one under a curse? The agitators think that it is the opposite. They are teaching that if you are not circumcised you cannot belong to the covenant and the promises. So Paul turns the tables and says that you are under a curse if you rely on these things. How can this be? Paul quotes the law itself from Deuteronomy 27:26 to prove his point.

“‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ (Deuteronomy 27:26 ESV)

Moses said this after giving the long list of curses for disobedience in Deuteronomy 27. Paul’s point is that if you go back any aspect of the Law, then you are obligated to be justified by all the Law. One portion of the law cannot justify for you must look to be justified by all of it. We see this in the history of Israel who would look to certain aspects of the law and think they were justified because they performed some of the law really well. We see Jesus repeatedly fighting this, particularly in the Sermon on the Mount. They would say that they did not commit adultery. But did you lust in your heart? They would say that they loved their neighbor. But did you hate your enemy? You see that they would pick the laws that they kept and seek justification that way. The problem is that you are required to do all the law, not just some of the law. It is important for us to see that we make the same error today as Christians. We look at ourselves and say that since we did not commit sexual sin and did not steal that we are doing pretty well and we are justified before God. But we are ignoring the other teachings of the scriptures if we are trying to justify ourselves by our own righteousness before God. This path to righteousness does not work.

Law is like a MRI. It provides the diagnosis but does not solve the problem. The law shows our sins but does not show us the solution to our sins. None of God’s laws were given so that we would try to justify ourselves by them. God’s laws teach us our inability to be justified by his laws and our need for mercy from the Savior. We cannot cheat and try to be justified by one or two laws. Any attempt to justify oneself by one law means we must be justified by all its laws. Then we recognize that we are cursed because no one has lived by all that is written in the law and done them. How great is our God that salvation is not by living by all that is written in the law! We would be doomed if God left us the law and said to do them, without any hope of any other means for salvation! Therefore, Paul wants the Galatians to consider this: If everyone is cursed by the law, then why would anyone base their salvation on keeping any aspect of the law? We must see the total incompatibility of living on the basis of faith and also trying to live on the basis of law. To be circumcised is to no longer trust Christ for salvation. Instead, they are trying to live by the law and not by faith.

The Righteous Live By Faith (Galatians 3:11-12)

Therefore, the righteous do not have life by the law or live through the law. The righteous have life through faith and live by faith. The apostle Paul quotes Habakkuk 2:4 to confirm this point. We live our lives on the basis of the faithfulness of God. We are trusting in God’s promises to justify us, though we are sinners, by coming to him in faith. How sad to see that there are times when Christianity has been preached as the righteous live by doing all things written in the book of law! There is no hope that way. This is what Paul points out in verse 12. The law is not of faith. There is no hope in that method because our righteousness is not going to be found by the law. This would be like expecting healing of a disease because we had a MRI. It is the wrong tool. It is the wrong system. Faith, however, looks to what God has done in Christ for salvation, relying of God’s work rather than one’s own. We are proclaiming a hopeless system to people if this is what we are telling them that the righteous live by doing all things written in the book of the law. No wonder people become discouraged in Christ. No wonder people doubt their salvation. We need to help people see the law and their utter failure before it so that they will turn to Jesus and depend upon him for salvation. We need the law to see our sin, so that we have the appropriate diagnosis that we are utterly lost in our sins and need Christ as our surgeon to cut these sins out for us (cf. Colossians 2:12).

Redemption Through The Cross (Galatians 3:13)

So we are doomed for we have not done all that is written in the book of law. That is the diagnosis for all people. “No one is justified before God by the law” (3:11). But Christ has redeemed us from this curse. We are under the curse of God’s law because we have not done what God has told us to do. No one has obeyed the law that God has given. The Law of Moses was given to show the world through Israel’s failure that even if God grants every privilege and blessing, you cannot keep all of God’s requirements. Therefore, the curse of law falls on every individual. Paul said it this way to the Roman Christians:

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned. (Romans 5:12 ESV)

But Christ has redeemed us. Redemption is a picture of buying something back. It was a word used of slaves that they would be purchased out of their slavery. We have been bought out of our slavery to sin by Christ. Christ has redeemed us. How has Christ redeemed us? Paul explains that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. Now, there is a temptation to fail to read the rest of this sentence. Many writers and teachers stop here and say that Christ took our curse of sin upon himself. This is what Martin Luther said of this text:

“The whole emphasis is on the phrase ‘for us.’ For Christ is innocent so far as His own Person is concerned; therefore He should not have been hanged from the tree. But because, according to the Law, every thief should have been hanged, therefore, according to the Law of Moses, Christ Himself should have been hanged; for He bore the person of a sinner and a thief—and not of one but of all sinners and thieves. For we are sinners and thieves, and therefore we are worthy of death and eternal damnation. But Christ took all our sins upon Himself, and for them He died on the cross…. He is not acting in His own person now. Now He is not the Son of God, born of the Virgin. But He is the sinner, who has and bear the sins of Paul, the former blasphemer, persecutor, and assaulter; of Peter, who denied Christ; of David, who was an adulterer and a murderer, and who caused the Gentiles to blaspheme the name of the Lord. In short, He has and bears all the sins of all men in His body—not in the sense that He has committed them but in the sense that He took these sins, committed by us, upon His own body, in order to make satisfaction for them with His own blood.” (Luther, Galatians, 26:277)

While Luther says many things correctly, there are some critical errors that have influenced the way we look at our redemption. Please look at verse 13 carefully and notice that Paul does not say that Christ became a curse by taking our curse. Paul does not say that the curse we have on us for our sins was transferred to Christ. Look carefully at how Christ became a curse for us. “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.” Paul is very careful in his language. Christ became a curse for us, not because he was under the curse of the law nor because he bore the same curse. How could the only person who ever did everything written in the book of the law be subject to the curse of the law? He is not subject to that curse. Rather, Christ became a curse for us because he was crucified. Christ undertook a different curse and by taking this curse, he redeems us from the curse of the law. This perfectly fits the picture of redemption that Paul uses here and the scriptures use repeatedly to describe how we have been set free from sin. Redemption means that a price was paid to set the slave free. What was the price that Christ paid so that we would be set free from the curse of the law? The price paid was the cross. Dying on a tree was a curse in and of itself, according to Deuteronomy 21:23. By volunteering for this manner of death, the cross lifted the curse of the law from upon us. Jesus did not become for us a lawbreaker, as Luther wrote. Rather, Jesus became for us the sinless Lamb who was sacrificed on the cross to set us free. Paul does not say that the wrath of God was poured out on Jesus instead of us, but that our redemption was purchased when Jesus was hung on that cross.

What The Cross Accomplished (Galatians 3:14)

Verse 14 tells us what happened when Jesus died on the cross. “In Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles.” This has been the point of this chapter thus far. The blessing of Abraham comes to those who are of faith (Galatians 3:9). It is those who are of faith that are the offspring of Abraham (Galatians 3:7). So also here in verse 14. We receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. The promises given to Abraham do not come through circumcision. That is not what Gentiles needed to do to belong to the family of God and receiving the blessings of being God’s children. Faith is what is required to belong to the family of God and receive the blessings. The promise of the Spirit and the blessing of Abraham is the same promise. We can see this in the prophets as well.

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams. This one will say, ‘I am the LORD’s,’ another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and name himself by the name of Israel.” (Isaiah 44:3-5 ESV)

Notice the Hebrew parallelism in verse 3. “My Spirit upon your offspring” is the same as “my blessing on your descendants.” The blessing to Abraham is the promise of the Holy Spirit. Please consider Peter’s sermon in Acts 2. Peter tells them in Acts 2:38-39 to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the promise is to them, to their children, and to those who are far off (the Gentiles). Peter proclaimed the same message salvation and blessings were available to those who came to Jesus in faith by repenting and being baptized.

Through the cross Christ has brought us the blessings of Abraham. We have not attained to these blessings by our righteousness. The agitators used Abraham to prove the need for circumcision. Paul, however, used Abraham to show that circumcision is not part of the promise to the world. Since the Gentiles have received the promise of the Holy Spirit, they enjoy the blessings of Abraham. The scriptures preached the gospel to Abraham as recorded in Genesis 12:3 and Christ brought that gospel blessing to the world through the cross.

Conclusion

What an encouragement to faith! No one is justified before God by the law. We need to depend on the Lord to save us by faith. We see what God has done to confirm our faith. Jesus died on the cross to redeem us from the curse. Now the blessings and promises of God can flow to us if we will come to Jesus in faith. The righteous live by faith. Do not try to justify yourself. Put your faith in God to justify you. Submit your life to the Lord and be redeemed from your sinful ways through the blood of Jesus.

Why The Law?

Galatians 3:15-29

The third chapter of Galatians has been Paul’s defense of the gospel he preached to them. In verses 10-14 the apostle Paul taught that relying on the works of the law puts one under the curse of the law, which Christ came to redeem us from by becoming a curse for us. No one is justified before God by the law but the righteous live by faith. But this leads to a natural question: if the law does not save and cannot justify, why was the law given? What is the purpose of the law if the law could not justify those who were under it? Paul is going to use an illustration to answer this question which will help us understand the role of the law and our standing before God.

The Priority of the Promise (Galatians 3:15-18)

Paul begins by showing the priority of the promise given to Abraham. To do this the apostle uses an illustration. In verse 15 he states that no one annuls or adds to a covenant once it has been ratified. It does not matter what comes along later, nothing can come along to annul the ratified covenant. By using this illustration he is equating God’s promises to covenants. When God makes a promise, it is not like promises humans make which are often broken. God’s promises are covenants. His promises are not broken.

The promise was made to Abraham and his offspring. We have seen this in our study of Genesis. The promise was not to all the offsprings of Abraham, that is, Ishmael, Isaac, and all the children he had through Keturah. The promise was through one offspring, one lineage, which is of Isaac. Christ is ultimately what this promise was pointing to. Now every Christian knew that Christ was the promise. That is not the critical point Paul is dealing with in this illustration. He is not informing them that Christ is the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham. It is more than just Christ, the individual, but also Christ and his offspring. Though we are not there yet, please notice that this is where Paul ends the argument in verse 29. If you are Christ’s offspring, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise. But we are not there yet. I just want us to see that the message is not that Christ is the fulfillment of the promise only. It is also that those who belong to Christ, those who are Christ’s offspring, are recipients of the promise. Let us see how Paul gets there in his argument. The point of verses 16-17 then is that there is only one lineage of the promise. Observing the works of the law was dividing Christ’s family into two family: Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians, or the two groups: the circumcised and the uncircumcised. This cannot be, according to Paul, because the law came 430 years after the promise and cannot annul or alter the promise given to Abraham. The promise to Abraham was one family. The law could not come along later and change this promise. All this to observe a simple point in verse 18: the inheritance comes through the promise given to Abraham, not through the law.

The Purpose of the Law (Galatians 3:19-23)

This brings us to the question: what was the point of the Law of Moses if it was not the means of justification? Paul’s short answer is that the law was added because of transgressions. What exactly does this mean? Does Paul mean the law was given to curb sin, to define sin, to deal with sin, or to increase sin? All these answers are possibilities to the meaning of Paul’s short answer. For help, I will use Paul’s own words to the Romans:

Now the law came in to increase the trespass (Romans 5:20 ESV). The NRSV is also helpful in understanding what Paul is saying. But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied (Romans 5:20 NRSV).

The law showed that the law does not curb sin and showed that the law is not the answer to the sin problem. The law simply showed all the sins Israel was committing. The law demonstrates man’s total sinfulness, our inability to please God by our own works, and our need for God’s mercy and grace. This seems to be the point Paul is making in Galatians. The law was put in place until the offspring should come. The law was temporary and subordinate to the promise. Judaism did not see the Law of Moses in this way, declaring that the law would endure forever (Baruch 4:1).

Paul further shows the subordination of the Law of Moses to the promise by showing the difference between their delivery. The Law of Moses was put in place through angels and delivered by an intermediary, which is Moses. The promise, by contrast, was given directly from God.

Does this mean that the law is contrary to the promises? Does the Law of Moses oppose or conflict with the promises God gave to Abraham? Paul’s answer is that they are not contrary because they had different functions. The law could not give life. Right standing cannot come by the law. This was the point Paul made early in this chapter in verse 10-11. It is evident that no one is justified before God by the law. The promise gave life and right standing. Remember what the scripture says: “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Thus, everything and everyone was imprisoned under sin (3:22-23) to set up the necessity of faith in Jesus. The law accomplished God’s plan: for us to depend upon God and not ourselves. John Stott summarized the idea well, “No one has ever appreciated the gospel until the law first revealed him to himself. Not until the law has bruised and smitten us will we admit our need of the gospel to bind up our wounds. Not until the law has arrested and imprisoned us will we pine for Christ to set us free. Not until the law has condemned and killed us will we call upon Christ for justification and life. Not until the law has driven us to despair of ourselves will we ever believe in Jesus” (Stott, 94).

Please notice that Israel and the law become illustrative of the world’s problem. In Galatians 3:22 we see that everything and everyone was imprisoned under sin. In Galatians 3:23 Paul writes to Galatian Christians and says “we” were held captive under the law. Everyone falls under this condemnation.

You Are Christ’s (Galatians 3:24-29)

This brings Paul to a glorious conclusion in verses 24-29. Paul summarizes that the law operated as our guardian until Christ came (3:24). It is hard to put an English word on this individual. Some translations read, “tutor” or “disciplinarian.” This “guardian” refers to a household slave or free person who was in charge of the children until their later teenage years. He was not a teacher, but was one to keep watch over the children during the years of their immaturity. The closest word that I can think of that gets us close to the idea is one of a babysitter. Once the children are old enough, they do not need a babysitter because they have come to maturity. Paul’s point is that by yielding to circumcision and going back to the works of the law is to go back to something that was temporary and immature. The law was to steer us to justification by faith.

We are not under the guardian and cannot go back to the law at all. Why? Because you have graduated. You are all children of God through faith, not through the law! The point is that you are not in Christ if you are under the law. Now, how are you in Christ? The answer to this question is critically important. Being in Christ means that you are sons of God through faith (3:26). When does one belong to Christ? Verse 27 contains the answer. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” You have clothed yourself with Christ when you were baptized into Christ. What is important to see from the words of Paul is that justification by faith and baptism are not incompatible. In fact, baptism is how we are justified by faith. As we see in the other writings of Paul, baptism is our display of faith in the power of God to take away our sins (Colossians 2:11-14). Paul told the Romans that we are united in a death like his when we are baptized (Romans 6:1-4). Yet Paul has been teaching justification by faith in chapters 4-5. Justification by faith and baptism must not be pitted against each other. Rather, baptism is the response of faith in the work of Jesus.

Now look at what this means for us. There is no distinction in our standing before the Lord Christ Jesus. We are all one. It does not matter where you came from when you come to Christ. You have an equal privilege and equal access to God. In a time where our world is full of division and crisis we must proclaim this message of equality in Jesus. We seem to be splintering under every description under the sun, trying to encourage division and separation. But because of Jesus there is only one thing we are: Christians.

As an aside I must mention that some will use this verse to argue that this means women can be elders and preachers in the church because now there is no more male or female in Christ. If this was true, then why did Paul write about the distinction in worship of Christian men and women in 1 Corinthians, 1 Timothy, and Titus? The slave was still a slave though a Christian. The Greek was still a Greek though a Christian. The male is still a male though a Christian. The point is that there is no distinction in terms of our salvation, our access, our privileges, or our status before the Lord. A Jewish free male Christian has no greater privilege than a Gentile slave woman, to use the descriptions of verse 28. We are equal in our standing before God.

Notice the privilege in particular in verse 29. “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring.” Belonging to Christ means you are Abraham’s offspring (cf. Galatians 3:7; Galatians 3:9). If you are Christ’s, you have it all! Once you are in Christ, you are heirs of the promise. This shows us what we observed in verse 16. We are part of the one offspring who belongs to Christ. “The promises were made to Abraham and his offspring” (3:16). We are the offspring because we belong to Christ. This is what is means to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, as we read in Acts 2:38. We are recipients of the promises made to Abraham and his offspring because we belong to Christ through faith.

Friends, I fear that we simply do not see what we have in Christ and what it means to be in Christ. I think we have stopped short when we think of having our sins forgiven in Christ. This is just the tip of the iceberg. The offspring of Abraham would inherit the promised land. Abraham was looking for a city whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11:10). Abraham was told that his offspring would be a great nation. Do you think of the Christian family as a great nation? The scriptures do.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10 ESV)

Do you see the new family that has been created, even before our eyes in this very congregation? We are brothers and sisters together in Christ. We are the new family. The old connections are secondary to this family that we have been put into by Christ. We are children of God through faith. We are cursed under the law but set free by Jesus to be children. It is only when we see our condemnation under the law that we can begin to appreciate the status we have received: justified in Christ through faith because of the cross of Jesus so that you are a child, with all the rights and privileges of being a child of God. Do not take lightly the concept of being a child of God. The child receives all the blessings, privileges, and protections of the family. How great is that on a spiritual level! It is so amazing that the words of Paul to the Ephesian Christians should chill us:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. (Ephesians 1:3-4 ESV)

Praise God for all that we have in Christ that we have received by faith when we came up from the waters of baptism. Will you enjoy these privileges and give your life to Jesus today?

No Longer A Slave

Galatians 4:1-11

The third chapter of Galatians closes with a beautiful picture of the amazing blessings that we have in Christ. When we are in Christ we have everything. When you are clothed with Christ there is nothing else to do and nothing else to add to your situation. You have full standing and equal access to the Father and the promised inheritance. The law was not the solution to sins. The law was intended to prepare people for Christ. The law could not bring right standing before God. The law was to show our utter helplessness, completely imprisoned under sin, awaiting the promise of the Christ. But Paul is not done describing the rich blessings we have in Christ. There is a particular aspect of belonging to Christ that must not be missed by any Christian.

In Galatians 3:29 the apostle Paul declared that if you are in Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, which means you are an heir of the promise. What does it mean to be an heir? We think of children of royalty as being heirs to the throne. Being an heir means that you are in line to receive something. Being an heir means that you have rights to the inheritance. I want you to keep this concept in mind as we explore how Paul describes those who are in Christ. To do this, Paul will show the inferior situation under the law and the superior situation we have in Christ.

Prepared As An Heir (Galatians 4:1-3)

Paul’s illustration concerning an heir continues in the first verse of the fourth chapter. When the heir is still a child, the heir really is no different from a slave. Everything still belongs to the father. The heir is under guardians and managers just as a slave is under restraint. But there is a date that is set when that will change for the child. Under Roman custom, the father would set a particular date for maturity. We do not have this custom today. I do not determine the age of the maturity for my children when they will no longer be treated as minors. But this is what would happen in the Roman culture. Paul uses this illustration from Roman society to show that this is the same situation for the world spiritually.

In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. (Galatians 4:3 ESV)

The difficulty of this sentence is understanding what is meant by “the elementary principles of the world.” Some translations read “elemental forces of the world.” The word was used in Greek to speak of the element of the natural universe. The word was also used to speak of the alphabet, thus, elementary principles like your ABCs. I think both of these ideas work in capturing what Paul is getting at in this statement. Remember that the apostle is speaking to Jewish and Gentile Christians and must write in a way that captures both of their former situations. Our context thus far has been about the Law of Moses, and that the law only served to increase sin and held people captive under it. Therefore, the apostle Paul would be saying that the Law of Moses served as the alphabet, the elementary principles for those under it. But it is interesting that Paul says that these are elementary principles of the world. So it seems that the apostle is also bringing in the Gentile Christians and reminding them of the slavery they were also under to idolatrous and pagan way (which will appear in verse 8 — “you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods”). The point is that all people were in a time of being childish, awaiting maturity so as to enjoy the privileges of being an heir. Everyone was waiting for freedom.

No Longer A Slave (Galatians 4:4-7)

Therefore, the fullness of time arrived. I think we miss the mark if we see the fullness of time as the advent of the Roman roads, unified language, and the like. One could argue that now would be a better time for the arrival of Christ, with all our technology, air and car transportation, computers, video capabilities, phones, etc. The fullness of time is not about the culture. Go back to verse 2. Maturity would come at a date that was set by the Father. The fullness of time is the date that was set by the Father before the foundation of the world for the arrival of Christ. The new era in salvation history began with the arrival of the Son. Therefore, this was the time that the Father planned and established for the children to no longer be enslaved but to receive adoption as sons (Galatians 4:5).

God had two clear purposes that reveal the love of God toward us. First, God sent his Son to redeem those who were under the law (4:5). There needed to be rescue from slavery. Everyone and everything was enslaved under the Scriptures (Galatians 3:22). No one was excluded from slavery because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But God redeemed. We saw this word “redeemed” back in Galatians 3:13. Redeemed was a word used to buy a slave back. We were enslaved to sin (for that is the function of the law — increase sin as we saw in Galatians 3:19 and Romans 5:20). But Jesus was sent to buy us out of our enslavement. Yet this is not all. Second, God sent his Son that we might receive adoption as sons (4:5).

Throughout these paragraphs the apostle Paul has described all the things we were held captive under. We were under the law (Galatians 3:23; Galatians 4:4). We were under a curse (Galatians 3:10). We were under sin (Galatians 3:22). We were under a guardian (Galatians 3:25). We were under the elementary principles of the world (Galatians 4:3). Paul wants us to know all that we were held captive to. But Christ has redeemed us. We have been set free from these things so that we can receive adoption as sons.

This status before God is amazing and Paul wants us to understand this in verses 6-7. Because we are sons, this changes everything about our standing before God. Paul says it like this: “Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Galatians 4:6). The apostle Paul made the same point to the Romans.

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:15-17 ESV)

The proof that these Christians were children of promise is that God had given them the Spirit of his Son into their hearts. We saw Paul make this very point in Galatians 3:1-5. These Christians had received the gift of the Holy Spirit and the promises of God. These things did not come by the works of the law but hearing with faith. You have everything in Christ. You have equal access, equal blessings, and equal privilege before God. You do not need the works of the law to have these things. You are already in God’s kingdom. You already are a child of God. You already are heirs of God. You already are in covenant relationship with God. You already are heirs of the inheritance. You are already recipients of the promise. When you were baptized, you clothed yourself with Christ and received these very blessings (Galatians 3:26-27).

But the end of verse 6 is so powerful. We have the Spirit of the Son crying, “Abba, Father.” Who is the only person who ever called God, “Father?” We see Jesus say this in Mark 14:36 to God. We might think that everyone called God as Father in history. No one ever addressed God this way! Israel never prayed to God as Father. Never! To call God “Father” means you must have a very close, intimate relationship with him. God never gave that direction to Israel or anyone throughout all the Old Testament writings. But because we are sons, we are able to cry, “Abba, Father!” You have the relationship with God because of the death of Jesus that you can called God your dad. Many scholars have powerfully written that we are mistaken to understand “Abba” to be the equivalent of a little child saying, “daddy.” To say this is to make this word be more sentimental than its original meaning. But it speaks of intimate relationship. No one in this room can call Berry Kercheville, “Dad.” But I can. I have that relationship that you do not have. For all of history no one could come before God and call him “Dad” or “Father.” But now we can because through Jesus God has made us sons! We have received adoption as sons. Think about what Jesus did when the disciples were taught how to pray. “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven’” (Matthew 6:7). Call him your Father!!!! We are enabled to call upon God as our Father, a relationship that no one else has with him. Only those who are in Christ receive this amazing blessing. It is so special.

Thus, listen to verse 7. “So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” Don’t you know what it means to call God your Father? You stand in line to receive the inheritance! You are no longer held captive to anything. You are no longer enslaved. You have been redeemed and adopted so that you have it all. You are an heir, not by your works, but through God. You already have all you need. So often people are looking for something special and something more. You are looking for something that you already were given by God: intimacy with God. But do you want it? You have it. But do you want it?

Do Not Throw Sonship Away! (Galatians 4:8-11)

This is Paul’s concern in verses 8-11. You have intimacy with God. Are you going to throw it away? You have come to know God (Galatians 4:9). Are you going to turn back to the weak and worthless elementary principles? Going back to idolatry or going back to the Law of Moses is turn back to the weak and worthless. They are weak because they do not have the strength to redeem. They are worthless because they do not have the wealth to bless us. Why would you ever turn back to the weak and worthless things of the world? Why would you even turn to the Law of Moses and try to find justification or standing there? For the Galatians, they were turn from one slavery to another. They were enslaved to idolatry, were set free in Christ, and now were enslaving themselves to the Law of Moses. Anywhere you turn is to turn to slavery. We are only set free in Christ. We are only children in Christ. How can we turn God away for the emptiness of this world? Do not throw away your inheritance. Do not cast off our identity in Christ. Do not reject your access to God to call him Father. Draw near to God and love him for he has redeemed you and made you his child.

Christ Formed In You

Galatians 4:12 to Galatians 5:1

The apostle Paul writes to the Galatian Christians about the gospel of Jesus Christ. He questioned why they have left the true gospel for a false gospel. He has taught them that to turn back to the Law of Moses is to go back to immaturity and to leave the faith in Jesus altogether. Now Paul’s message becomes very personal. Paul describes what he is doing with these Christians as “the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19). This is the goal that Paul desired for these Christians. He would continue to work with them, correct them, and teach them until Christ was formed in them. So what did they need to know and what did they need to do in order that Christ would be formed in them? When we learn this then we can learn how Christ can be formed in us.

Receiving the Truth of the Gospel (Galatians 4:12-16)

The first picture of having Christ be formed in us is to listen to and receive the truth of the gospel. Notice that Paul praises the Galatians for receiving him the way they did. The Galatians did not pay attention to his bodily ailment, whatever that was. Even though his condition was a trial for them, they did not despise him but received him as a messenger of God. Apparently Paul’s condition was making it more difficult for him to deliver the message to them. But they did not care. It did not matter what Paul looked like or what difficulty he was having, they were happy to receive the gospel and recognize him as God’s messenger.

But now there is an issue. Listen to verse 16: “Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?” Christ cannot be formed in them if they reject the truth because they do not like the message! Have you noticed this problem today? The truth is defined as simply what I want the truth to be. The truth is what I like. The truth is not absolute. The truth is what conforms to my desires and wants. But we will never know Christ nor be conformed to his image if we are unwilling to hear the truth. We cannot reject the message simply because we do not like it. The truth of the gospel is so important for the salvation of our souls and the growing of our faith. Christ cannot be formed in us if we are willing to reject the truth when it does not appeal to our flesh or our desires. Just because something sounds good does not make it right. Just because we want something to be true does not mean it is true to the word of God, which is the only place where truth resides. Our challenge is to have ears willing to listen to the word of God. We must create time to read God’s word. When we read or hear God’s word proclaimed, we must do so with ears and hearts ready to be changed. Christ will not be formed in us if we do not approach God’s word this way. How can this word change me? What do I need to hear from God today? We cannot approach the word with the idea that we are doing right, have everything right, and have no need for life changes and mind changes.

Watch Out For False Teachers (Galatians 4:17-20)

The second way the Galatian Christians were taught to have Christ formed in them is by being watchful for false teachers. Notice what Paul says in verse 17. “They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them.” (Galatians 4:17 ESV) Paul tells them that the way to know that these people are false is that they treat you in such a way so that you will make much of them. They want the attention. They want a big deal made out of them. They are not humble servants of Christ. They want you to make over them and give them their recognition. This was the first thing I saw when we had a false teacher come to us. Before he even stepped foot in the building, the conversations we had on the phone were alarming. This was not a humble servant moving into the area, but a person with expectations of what everyone else was going to do for him. My radar was up immediately and unfortunately the concerns were quickly proven when he did arrive. This is what Paul wants these Galatians Christians to see. These teachers are not there for your well-being but are there for you to lift them up. You must see that in the way they treat you. Whose interest are they looking our for? God warned of this through the prophet Ezekiel so that they would see their leaders as false shepherds (cf. Ezekiel 34). Acts to elevate self reveal the heart of the person who claims to be a servant of the Lord. In our religious world today I think we see this most easily in the apparel and titles of the teacher. The pastor, priest, or whoever does not go by his first name, but is called father, reverend, pastor, or some other title. They wear clothes to make sure you know that they are someone important, someone to be distinguished from the rest. But these are not the acts of humble servants of God. Teachers must not see themselves as important or “in the limelight.” Rather they must see themselves as a servant of God and a servant to the flock. Paul wants them to see that the motives of these agitators is visible and to reject them so that Christ can be formed in them.

Know The Scriptures Well (Galatians 4:21-31)

Finally, Paul is going to show them that they need to learn the scriptures well in order to have Christ formed in them. Since the agitators are telling the Galatians that they need to go back to the Law of Moses for salvation, Paul tells them that they should know the law even better because the law itself tells them that it cannot save. Paul uses the life of Abraham as an illustration for another truth.

In verse 22 Paul reminds us that Abraham had two sons: one from a slave woman, which was Hagar, and one from the free woman, which was Sarah. The son of the slave was born according to the flesh (4:23). This is an important observation, one that we saw in our study in Genesis. Ishmael was the child of human planning, human will, and human action. This was Abraham acting by faith in himself. However, the son of the free woman was born through promise. That is, Isaac was a child of God’s planning, God’s will, and God’s action alone. This was Abraham acting by faith in God.

Verse 24 tells us that these two women and their children represent two covenants. Hagar, the slave woman, is from Mount Sinai and bears children for slavery. Notice that Sinai produces children of slavery. This also corresponds with present Jerusalem (4:25), that is, present Judaism. In short, Hagar represents the Law of Moses, the first covenant that was given to Israel, which produces children in slavery.

However, Sarah represents spiritual Jerusalem. Paul quotes Isaiah 54:1 to prove this assertion. The barren one will have more children and Christians are the children of promise. Particularly, even Gentile Christians are the children of promise. Now watch the conclusions Paul draws from this in verses 29-31. First, in verse 29 Paul points out that Ishmael persecuted Isaac (the one born according to the Spirit). Please notice that being of the promise is the same as being born according to the Spirit. But then Paul says that as it was then so it is now. Those born according to the flesh are persecuting those born according to the Spirit. Second, in verse 30 Paul notes the instruction to cast out the slave woman and her son because they are not part of the inheritance. They have no part of the inheritance because they are of the flesh and are going to back to Sinai. So cast them out because they are not children of the slave but children of the free woman, children of the promise.

Now this is an amazing instruction. What I want us to see is that you need to know the scriptures, and know them well, for Christ to be formed in us. We are not called to just know a few basics about the gospel and be satisfied with that. Yet often this can be the attitude toward the scriptures. There can be a lack of desire to dig deeper and to know more about our Lord. This was the problem the writer of Hebrews encountered also.

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. (Hebrews 6:1-3 ESV)

God calls us to move to maturity and not be satisfied with our present knowledge. If we want to draw near to God then we have to continue to grow. If we want to have Christ formed in us, then we must continue to drink deeply from the word of God.

Seeing Freedom In Christ (Galatians 5:1)

There is one more picture of how we know that Christ is formed in us. Listen to what Paul says in chapter 5, verse 1.

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1 ESV)

Christ won freedom for us. Don’t go back to the yoke of slavery, neither the idolatry nor the Law of Moses. We will consider more about this next time. But consider this one final point. You are free when you stay away from sin. You are free when you are clinging to Christ with all your might. You are free when you desire is for Jesus and his gospel. We think sin is freedom. But every sin enslaves. You are free when you turn from sin. People today are so enslaved to their desires in the name of freedom. They think they are free and are proclaiming their freedom, but they live enslaved to those sexual passions and desires. They cannot see that they are not free at but are only more and more enslaved. Sinful desires do not free us but cause us to not be able to do what we want to do. The flesh wins the battle over the mind and our freedom is lost. Christ has set us free. Do not go back to any kind of slavery by the way you live your life. Christ is formed in you when you see Jesus as your freedom, not your obligation or duty. Enjoy freedom in Christ. Give your life to him and he will set you free!

What Counts

Galatians 5:1-12

We are very much in a time in our culture where we want the answer quickly. We do not want the details. We do not want an explanation. We just want the quick facts. The information must be given to us in 140 characters or less. It is in the fifth chapter that we see the apostle Paul boil it all down for the Christians in the Galatian region. Paul is going to explain what counts in being a Christian and the effect of what they are doing if they listen to these agitators.

The Impact of Circumcision (Galatians 5:1-4)

We noticed in the last lesson that we have been called to freedom and must not submit to the yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1). The Galatian Christians had left the slavery of pagan idols, were set free in Christ, but now are enslaving themselves by turning to the Law of Moses for justification. Paul explains this with clarity in verse 2.

If they accept circumcision, then Christ has no value or benefit to them. This is an amazing statement which contrasts what the agitators were teaching. Listen to Acts 15:1, “But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.’” (Acts 15:1 ESV) They said you must be circumcised to be saved. Paul says that if you are circumcised you have lost all the benefits that come with Christ. All the advantages and benefits found in Christ are lost if they are circumcised. In verse 3 Paul explains why the value of Christ is lost in circumcision. They are obligating themselves to keep the whole law. A person is allowed to be circumcised by personal choice. But if a person is trying to be justified by circumcision, then the person must keep all the law and its requirements. A person cannot pick out one law by which to declare one justified. One is under obligation to keep all the law if you are trying to find justification through the law. As we have noticed many times in Paul’s arguments, the purpose of the law was not to justify people but to show people that they need to put their hope in God because the law cannot justify. We have an important reminder for us that we cannot add something to the gospel and still remain in Christ. We cannot do what we like and remain in Christ. We lose all the benefits of Christ as soon as we change any aspect of the gospel.

Paul states the problem even more dramatically in verse 4. To submit to circumcision means you are severed from Christ. Not only are you severed from Christ but you have fallen away from grace. That is a frightening declaration. If they choose to be justified by the law by being circumcised then they are no longer with Christ and no longer have the grace of God. It is important for us to consider that there is a way to separate ourselves from the grace of God. This very apostle argued that nothing could separate us from the love of God in Christ (Romans 8:35-39). But there is something that these Christians are doing that would mean they are severed from Christ and fallen away from grace: relying on self for justification. When you no longer depend on the grace of God you have fallen away from his grace. Justification is not by what we do, but by grace. When I try to earn my salvation then I have fallen from his grace. This is why Jesus begins his sermon on the mount that it is the poor in spirit who are blessed and possess the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3). This is why God says twice that he resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). Why do the humble receive grace? They understand their sinfulness and are not trying to justify themselves. They are putting their trust in God to save.

What Counts (Galatians 5:5-6)

Therefore, Paul says that by faith through the Spirit we wait for the hope of righteousness. We are not waiting for the hope of righteous by works through the law. It is not even by faith in our flesh or in our obedience to the law. Our hope is by faith through the Spirit. Righteousness is not something that we can do for ourselves. Our hope is not in our own righteousness but in the righteousness that God will declare upon us, even though we are sinful and condemned. We do not eagerly try to achieve our righteousness. We eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. This is our faith in God to declare us righteous on the final day because Jesus has died for our sins. Therefore we humbly wait for this hope.

Paul sums up by telling us what counts. Circumcision does not count. Uncircumcision does not count. These kinds of outward acts to try to find justification count for nothing. These things have no power for salvation. There is no spiritual benefit in these actions. Here is what counts: faith working through love. This is the only thing that counts according to the apostle Paul. Faith in our salvation in Jesus changes everything about how we live. Notice that it is not just faith because faith alone is not true, saving faith. True faith is faith that works through loves. Our faith in Jesus saving us from our sins will be exhibited by our actions. What counts in Christ is observable faith. What matters in Christ is life-changing faith. If we truly have faith in God saving us through Christ, then that must energize our actions. Faith energizes love. When I see what God has done for me, to take a sinful person who cannot save himself and pronounce him justified, then that energizes my life to live for him and act in love toward him and toward others. People will ask what is the minimum they must do to be saved or belong to Christ. Here is an excellent answer: faith working through love. There is not one thing you can do. Rather, daily faith in Christ works through love daily.

Run Well (Galatians 5:7-12)

Paul notes that these Christians were running well. But now someone has cut in on them so that they are no longer running well. The NIV captures the double meaning well. “Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?” (Galatians 5:7 NIV) They were running well but are no longer obeying the truth. Our faith is pictured as a marathon with the finish line at Christ’s return. The direction they are now running is not from God who called them. They were running well but they need to finish well. These agitators have cut in on them, keeping them from running the race well.

Verse 9 contains the warning. False teaching is like a spreading infection. “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” False teaching about the gospel spreads easily and quickly. This is certainly true concerning this false teaching. To try to depend on yourself for justification is an easy false teaching to accept. We can build a whole church on a false teaching to rely upon your own good deeds for your salvation. We can scare people to obedience by constantly teaching only about all the things you have to do and how you can never know if you are saved if you sin. We can undermine New Testament texts like 1 John which were written so that you would know that you have eternal life. But the law is to show us our need for faith in Jesus and to depend on the grace of God. The sacrifice of Christ is to move us toward obedience and life transformation. But we are not to look to our own actions as the means of justification. This is the error the Christians in the Galatian region have fallen into. Paul tells them that those who taught them this way will bear the penalty for their false teaching. But they must not follow that view but maintain the view Paul has taught in this letter (5:10). One of the reasons I wanted to teach through Galatians is so that we would see what Paul teaches as the truth of the gospel so that we would not fall into this error as others have.

To prove that Paul is not preaching circumcision, he simply asks why he is being persecuted if he was preaching the necessity of circumcision? If Paul was going around preaching the necessity to keep the Law of Moses and maintain the works of the law, he would not have been persecuted by the Jews in nearly every city. Obviously Paul is not teaching justification by the works of the Law. So upset by the fact that he has been misrepresented and that these Christians are turning away from the truth, Paul declares that he wishes those who are agitating them would cut themselves off. Once again we see that Paul is not trying to please people. Paul wishes these agitators who want these Gentile Christians to be circumcised would make the knife cut all the way on themselves!

This is a powerful attitude against these false teachers. We must see false teaching as dangerous and those who promote false teaching as dangerous. This is why the scriptures warn to watch out for the wolves among them (Acts 20:29-30). God said to watch out and avoid those who cause divisions and create obstacles to the gospel (Romans 16:17). The spread of false teaching cannot be allowed in a local church. It spreads like a disease and therefore must be cut out quickly. This is why Paul stood against Peter before them all. Actions and teachings that lead people away from the glorious truth of the gospel must be rejected and cut out.

Conclusion

As we conclude I want to bring our attention back to verse 5. We are to wait eagerly for the hope of righteousness which is by faith in Jesus. That faith in Jesus expresses itself in love. The apostle Paul will call this faith that expresses itself through love “the fruit of the Spirit” in the next paragraph (Galatians 5:22). Make your hope in God, not yourself. Let your faith be seen as it expresses itself in love for God and for others. We have been set free from our sins to love and serve God and others. We are free to hope in God, not fear in God, because Jesus has set us free.

Free, But Not For The Flesh

Galatians 5:13-21

The apostle Paul is writing to these Christians in the Galatian region to inform them of the freedom they have received in Christ. By obeying the works of the law and allowing themselves to be circumcised, however, they are enslaving themselves and Christ is of no benefit to them. Paul is so concerned that these false teachers will turn these Christians away from the gospel that we wishes that since they teach circumcision they would use the knife on themselves. Your free from your sins in Christ. There is nothing else that is to be added to receive justification. By relying on oneself for justification you have cut yourself off from Christ and have fallen from grace (Galatians 5:4). How freeing it is to know that we do not have depend upon our righteousness to be saved! As Paul said in Galatians 5:5 it is by faith that we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

But when we speak about the freedom that exists in Christ, the apostle realizes that there is a danger in speaking this way. People have a tendency hear about freedom in Christ and take an extreme position that since we are in grace, we can live our lives how ever we like. In this section the apostle Paul is going to defeat this kind of thinking.

Through Love Serve (Galatians 5:13-15)

You are free but your freedom does not mean that you are to serve yourself. Your freedom does not mean you get to obey your fleshly desires and lusts. Your freedom is not for self but to serve through love. Consider the shocking paradox: use for freedom to be a servant to others. You were set free to serve. But think about what the apostle Paul taught in Galatians 4:8 that by obeying your desires and listening to yourself you had enslaved yourself to sin. So it does not make sense to see freedom as an opportunity for your flesh because that is how you lost your freedom and put you back into slavery. This is the same idea as a prisoner being set free only to go break the law again and be arrested again because he was free. You are free but not to break the laws of God or do whatever you please!

Here is God’s requirement since you have been set free: love your neighbor as yourself. Stop paying attention to yourself and pay attention to others. The essence of the whole law is that you do not pay attention to yourself but rather love and serve others. This message is really important today. Please notice that Paul does not say that you must learn to love yourself first before you can love others. You know what it looks like to love your neighbor. Paul does not say that first you need to love yourself. Then, once you are doing really well at loving yourself, love others like you love yourself. In verse 13 Paul just taught that freedom is not about loving yourself and doing what you want to do. Rather through love serve others.

Verse 15 pictures the opposite. If we are biting and devouring one another then we are not serving one another through love. Strife and conflict are the results of loving self and giving opportunity to our flesh. We are not thinking about others where there is division and strife. We are not serving others through love when we are causing problems and difficulties.

Walk By The Spirit (Galatians 5:16-18)

In verse 16 Paul teaches something really important for us in our walk with God and fight against the flesh. Notice that Paul does not say to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh, which is a true statement. Rather, when you walk by the Spirit there is a result that will occur: “you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” We cannot win the battle against sin by ourselves. Walking by the Spirit is how to fight against the desires of the flesh. We see that God promised this through his prophet Ezekiel.

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (Ezekiel 36:25-27 ESV)

It is important to recognize that there is not something mystically happening by the Spirit so that we will not gratify the desires of the flesh and will cause us to walk in God’s statutes. Notice that this is not a passive experience. There is an active command to us: walk by the Spirit. I think it is important to point out that we cannot be exchanging one set of commands for another. The apostle Paul cannot be arguing that it is not possible to be justified by the works of the law because no one can keep all the law, then turn around and give us the law of Christ and tell us that walking in the Spirit means doing all the law. To say this another way, Paul is not saying that you could not obey the regulations under Moses’ covenant but now you must obey all the regulations under Christ’s covenant. So what does it mean to walk in the Spirit? Consider how Paul described it to the Christians in Rome.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. (Romans 8:5 ESV)

Walking in the Spirit happens by setting our minds on spiritual things. This is not passive. This is not the Spirit taking over your life. Your mind must be away from the flesh and set on spiritual things. We must press into God to turn away from those desires. Isaiah 55 pictures that we are thirsty souls in need of the soul-satisfying living water. But we are choosing to look for satisfaction by drinking sand in the desert rather than drinking the living water God is offering from Christ. Set your mind on spiritual things and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Verse 17 gives an explanation of this promise in verse 16. The desires of the flesh are in conflict with the desires of the Spirit. They are in opposition to each other. You cannot fulfill the desires of the flesh and be right with God. Paul expresses that there is a battle within the heart of the Christian. The desires of the flesh will keep you from doing what you want spiritually. Also, the desires of the Spirit will keep your flesh from doing what it wants to do. They are in opposition to each other and do not work together. We cannot be sinning and think we are walking in the Spirit. Verse 18 returns to the problem that these Gentile Christians are dealing with. If you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law. This cannot mean that there is no law of what is right and wrong. We were just commanded to walk in the Spirit (5:16). The point is that if you are led by the Spirit then you are not under the Law of Moses and its obligations. Being part of the Spirit and receiving the blessings and promises of the Spirit (as described in Galatians 3:14) means you cannot be part of the old covenant.

The Works of the Flesh (Galatians 5:19-21)

Verse 19 is really important to our understanding of walking by the Spirit. Friends, the works of the flesh are evident. They are clear. They are evident. Just think about this for a moment. It is not hard to realize what is against God. This does not require extraordinary discernment. They are obvious. But Paul then starts a list so that you will understand some of the obvious works of the flesh.

The first three sins are related to sexual sins. We will talk in greater detail about the problem of sexual sins in our upcoming series “The Marriage Rules” where we will look at 1 Corinthians 6-7. But I think it is important that we go through this twice because our world has gone crazy in regards to sex and teach that everything is acceptable. But we are not living a new time. The Greco-Roman world was noted for its considerable openness in sexual matters. We think we are in such a revolution of sexual freedom, but this experiment has been tried many times before in history and failed. From verse 19, sexual immorality refers to all sexual activity that is not in covenant between husband and wife. The Greek word is used for adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bestiality, prostitution, and incest. It is an all-encompassing word. The next two words try to be even more encompassing: impurity and sensuality. Impurity is referring to any sexual activity not authorized by God and sensuality is the idea of sexual indulgence. Here is the point of these words: if you are not married, its wrong. Whatever you might wonder where the line is regarding any kind of sexual touching — if you are not married, it is wrong. It belongs in the works of the flesh.

The next listing of sins are also fairly easy to grasp for the works of the flesh are obvious and clear. Idolatry is the worship of anything apart from the one true God. We have an idolatry problem today. We worship our wealth. We worship our jobs. We worship our family. We worship our hobbies. We worship our comfort. We worship everything because we give it the priority over God. Anything that receives priority over God is idolatry. We must be aware of it and admit that it is the work of the flesh.

The next word is sorcery. Sorcery was used by the ancients to supposedly come in contact with the deities. Thus, the word has a close association to black magic and witchcraft. Sorcery was the use of mind altering and mood altering drugs to accomplish this contact with the supposed deities. Some will say that taking drugs is not condemned in the scriptures. But mind and mood altering drugs are condemned. It does not matter what we legalize as a country. It does not matter if your pills come from the pharmacy or you can buy it off the shelf. Now it is important to make a disclaimer that this does not mean that all medicine and drugs are sinful. That is not the point at all. There are many medicines we take because our bodies are not right and we are using the medicine to bring our bodies back to normal. From dealing with pain to correcting chemical imbalances we are trying to correct something that is broken. These such things are not the works of the flesh. But taking something with the intention to altering the mind would be sinful. Perhaps Oxicodone is a good example. If you had surgery it would be fine for you to take these for the pain. But when you start taking them for mind and mood altering reasons, then you have crossed the line. I hope this makes sense of how we perceive our use of medications.

Enmities, strife, and jealousy are all expressions of hatred or contention against another person. You are showing hostility to another person. You are causing a contention that divides people from one another. You have a zeal against another person. These are the ideas in these three words. Rivalries is the ambition that causes discord. Divisions and dissensions call attention to divisions and create an “us versus them” spirit. It is sad to see that brethren have at times fallen into this trap while trying to defend the truth, using division, rivalries, strife, and dissension to win arguments. Fits of anger is fairly easy to understand also. This is the explosive temper, which some translations read, “outbursts of wrath.”

Envy is the desire to possess what others have and you are not satisfied with what God has given you. Drunkenness is easy to identify and understand. Orgies or carousing is not a sexual reference but a reference to partying. Mardi Gras and spring break parties are a good example. Going to clubs or events where it is a drinking party is another example. Such things are obviously the works of the flesh.

Then Paul wants to make sure that we do not read his listing in such a way so that we think we can have a loophole before God. Paul says in verse 21, “And things like these.” Understand that anything like this is also condemned. Paul warns that those who do these things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Doing anything of these things cannot be dismissed as inconsequential before God. Judgment will fall on us for practicing these things. Doing these things shows that we are not led by the Spirit. In fact, we are showing that we have gone back into slavery to sin and have not been set free in Christ.

Conclusion

Friends, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the Spirit are at war with each other. You have been set free in Christ to serve one another in love, not serve yourself and your desires. If we will set our minds on the Spirit, pressing into relationship and knowledge of God, then we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. This is a great promise and hope given to us. But we cannot be passive. We must walk in the Spirit. We must draw closer to the Lord to see the life transformation that God expects.

The Fruit of The Spirit

Galatians 5:22-26

In Galatians 5:16 the apostle Paul instructed Christians to walk in the Spirit. By doing so, they will not gratify the desires of the flesh. This is a wonderful promise given to us by the Lord. If we will set our minds on spiritual things, our desires will change so that these sinful desires will be replaced by spiritual desires (5:17). So how do I know if I am walking by the Spirit? What does this look like in our lives?

The Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22; Galatians 5:24)

The outcome of setting our minds on the desires of the flesh is that we will carry out the works of the flesh. Our actions reflect what is in our hearts. Similarly, walking by the Spirit means that there will be particular outcomes of this choice. This is called the fruit of the Spirit.

There are some helpful observations we can make from this description. As many have noted, it is interesting that the “works of the flesh” is plural while the “fruit of the Spirit” is singular. We should not make too big of a deal out of this for even in our own language we use fruit in a singular way though referring to many. If someone were to ask you if you had fruit on your tree, you would not say, “No, I have fruits on my tree!” The word “fruit” does carry with it a plural usage. The point is still valid about the concept concerning the fruit of the Spirit. It really is not possible to only have one of the following characteristics that Paul describes as the fruit of the Spirit and not have the others. For example, can you have love but not be patient? Can you have gentleness but not self-control? All of these characteristics work together and when one is removed you probably do not have any of them.

I believe our attention should focus on the contrast between “works” and “fruit.” Why doesn’t Paul say what the works of the flesh are and what the work of the Spirit is? The plural change should not be the focus much as the change from “works” to “fruit.” Fruit implies that you are not striving for these things but these characteristics are the natural outworking of walking by the Spirit. If you set your mind on spiritual things there is a natural outcome that must occur. Fruit will come from walking by the Spirit.

Think about this another way: you cannot make fruit grow. You can plant the tree but you cannot make the fruit grow. You can tend to the tree but you cannot make the fruit grow. You can fertilize the tree but you cannot make the fruit grow. In San Diego we had a large backyard at the bottom of the hill and my father planted strawberries. He had a rototiller and tilled up the ground. Then he planted them and I remember coming down days later and seeing nothing. There is nothing you can do now to make the fruit grow. All you can do is cultivate and prepare so that fruit will grow. I believe this is the idea Paul is getting at as he writes to this Christians. The command is not to be more patient or be more kind or be more joyful. The command is to walk by the Spirit. When we walk by the Spirit this fruit will result. Walking by the Spirit is the cultivating and preparing for the fruit to grow. This is likely why the fruit of the Spirit is not called the “work of the Spirit.”

We have already seen what our work is. It was commanded to us in verse 16: “Walk by the Spirit” which we used Romans 8:5 to learn that this means setting our minds on spiritual things. Paul describes this another way in this very paragraph. Our work is to crucify the flesh with its passions and lusts (Galatians 5:24). So we are not saying that this is a passive process. Doing nothing will not cause fruit to be borne. Rather, we need to deepen our roots in Christ and cultivate our faith so that we will see this fruit in our lives.

Characteristics of the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)

I hope this will put a different lens on how we read about the fruit of the Spirit. We should not read this so much as, “Do this,” but “This is the result of walking by the Spirit.” Now we are giving positive motivation to set our mind on spiritual things and to crucify the flesh and its desires. Look at what is going to happen in our lives.

Love. It is no surprise that love is the first characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit. Loving God and loving others is the natural outcome of walking by the fruit of the Spirit. Loving God and loving others is the summary of God’s law. Giving ourselves for others is what love looks like. Jesus’ instruction to love our enemies reminds us that love is not merely about feelings. Love also is the decision to give ourselves in spite of our feelings. This is true in marriage. This is true of our friends. This is true of our enemies. Love gives.

Joy. A happiness that transcends present circumstances that is based on spiritual realities. Joy is the deep sense of well-being within us because we know all is well between ourselves and the Lord. This joy is what keeps us from being crushed beyond despair because of life’s difficulties. Our eyes are set on spiritual realities which keeps us from deep depression and distress in our hearts.

Peace. Joy comes from knowing we are in a right relationship with God. Peace comes from relying upon his saving grace. There is peace in our souls knowing that our sins are covered through the blood of Christ. We are no longer in hostility with God but are able to rest in the knowledge of God’s forgiveness.

Patience. I think everyone who serves God desires to be more patient. Longsuffering and endurance are words that help us understand what patience looks like. Joy and peace seem to be the foundations we need to be patient in difficult or insulting situations. We can show greater patience with one another as we enjoy the peace and joy that comes from a right relationship with God. Our patience with others comes from seeing God’s patience with us.

Kindness and goodness. Our kindness toward others comes from recognizing God’s kindness to us. Goodness is kindness in action. Doing good cannot be based on others doing good toward me. That does not happen too often. Further, Jesus said that the world does that. Loving and doing good toward your enemies are the marks of being a follower of Jesus. This is when marriages fail: no one will do good and be kind because the other person is not. We are called to kindness and goodness in spite of how we are being treated.

Faithfulness. I hope that we are seeing that each of these characteristics have been displayed by God toward us first. We are to be faithful and dependable to God because he has been faithful to us. The more that we press into God, learn about him, and have a relationship with him, the more we will desire to be faithful to him.

Gentleness and self-control. These two characteristics are also very similar. Gentleness is sometimes translated meekness and speaks to a person who possess control over actions and emotions. Self-control speaks to having control over fleshly desires, showing purity in mind and conduct. Consider how this brings the discussion full circle. In verse 16 the apostle Paul said that if we will walk by the Spirit then we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Thus, we will have self-control over our bodies.

Notice the results of walking by the Spirit. Amazing results that we all desire: love joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Crucify the flesh and watch this fruit grow in our lives.

Galatians 5:25 continues this thought. The life in Christ is pictured as a line that we are walking on, following the steps of the Spirit. There is a line or standard that needs to be walked. Practicing the works of the flesh is not walking in step with the Spirit. If we are living by the Spirit then there will be evident fruit of that choice. If there is not fruit, then this reveals to us that there is a serious spiritual problem. Our minds and hearts have not been transformed from the desires of the flesh to the desires of the flesh.

Work Together (Galatians 5:26)

Verse 26 ends with an interesting admonition that some think is out of place with this discussion. But Paul is making a beautiful point about the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit that we are bearing in Christ is not a competition or a reason for pride. There is not to be a “holier than you” attitude. Recognize the damage that pride causes! We will provoke one another and envy one another rather than enjoying the fruit of walking by the Spirit. We are not in competition with each other in Christ. We are working together in Christ. Let us help and encourage one another to walk by the Spirit.

Bear One Another’s Burdens

Galatians 6:1-5

One thing we do as Christians is talk about the necessity of love. But what does love look like? In this paragraph we have read the apostle Paul directing Christians to walk by the Spirit and not participate in the works of the flesh. Those who practice the works of the flesh will not inherit the kingdom of God. Those who walk by the Spirit will not gratify the desires of the flesh. The natural outcome of walking by the Spirit is the fruit of the Spirit will be borne. But bearing fruit is not a competition among Christians. Rather than provoking one another and envying one another, we are to be helping each other grow fruit. It is this idea of helping one another that Paul expands upon in Galatians 6, showing us what love for one another looks like.

Do Something (Galatians 6:1)

The apostle Paul begins with a situation where a person is caught in any transgression. We should be begin by observing that Paul is not reserving this discussion for what we would classify as a “serious sin.” Rather, if anyone is caught in any transgression. Please also consider that Paul is not saying that we are catching people in their sins. Rather, the person is caught or trapped in sin. They are ensnared by sin. Mounce’s Greek Dictionary says of this word regarding this passage that it means “to be taken by surprise, taken unexpectedly.” Therefore, we are witnessing a Christian who has been overtaken by sin. Paul gives directions for this situation.

What? Restore.

The apostle Paul says that we must not standby and do nothing. We are not to despise the person or condemn them in our hearts. We are not to gossip to others about the person. We are called to restore the person. This Greek word that we have translated into English as “restore” was a word used in secular Greek for setting a fractured bone. The word means to knit together. Our concern must immediately be the restoration of the person. This is exactly what Jesus taught in Matthew 18:15-17.

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. (Matthew 18:15 ESV)

Who? The spiritual.

Who is supposed to do the work of restoration? Paul says, “You who are spiritual.” Who are the spiritual? I believe our context would direct us back to Galatians 5:16-26 where the spiritual are those who are walking by the Spirit and that walk is observed by the fruit of the Spirit in their lives. The spiritual are those in whom the fruit of the Spirit is seen. These are the ones who should see the opportunity and take responsibility to go to a brother or sister in Christ who has been captured by sin.

How? A spirit of gentleness.

Paul also tells us how we are to go restore someone who is captured by sin. The spiritual are supposed to go to that one is a spirit of gentleness. Gentleness is one of the characteristics we read that reveals the fruit of the Spirit. We are coming to them with our emotions and words under control. A lack of gentleness is a sign of immaturity and is why the spiritual are commanded to go restore a fallen believer.

Warning. Paul also includes a warning for this process. The one who is spiritual who is trying to restore the brother or sister must keep watch on himself or herself. There is a temptation to sin in this process. Spiritual pride is a great temptation in trying to restore another. We must be mindful that anyone can fall and no one is above temptation. Even in trying to do the right thing, Satan will tempt us to sin in this process.

Burden Bearers (Galatians 6:2)

Bearing one another’s burdens is described as fulfilling the law of Christ. Christ is the ultimate example of love and serving, who bore our burdens of sin so that we could be restored to him. We are commanded to love others as Christ loved us (John 13:34; Ephesians 4:32). Bearing burdens is one way we follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Remember what Paul taught earlier in Galatians 5:13-14 that through love we serve one another and thus are fulfilling the law.

This command implies that we have relationships with each other. We cannot help each other unless we are in relationship with each other and have fellowship with each other. This means we must open up to each other and welcome deeper relationships as family than just cursory, obligatory conversations. We must spend time together and speak to each other about spiritual things if we will have any opportunity to help each other grow and be able to restore each other.

This is a beautiful picture God has given us. If we walk by the Spirit, we will love one another more, and in loving one another more, we will bear one another’s burdens. In desiring to bear one another’s burdens we will attempt to restore anyone who is caught by a transgression.

Errors From Burden Bearing (Galatians 6:3-5)

But again Paul must warn us about the proper way about how we can help each other and bear one another’s burdens. Paul must caution us against a temptation to pride. “For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” It is important that we read Paul’s explanation carefully because it will help us in our fight against pride. Paul is not saying that for those of you who are important, then you can think you are something. But if you are not really anything, then do not think you are something. The middle phrase is the statement of truth that we need to hear. Before God we are nothing. Therefore, you must not think you are something because you are deceiving yourself.

The gospel is to create in us a new self-image. My sin and God’s grace humbles me. Yet his grace empowers me because all that matters is the praise and honor that comes from God. My value is not in myself but in God who loves me and gave himself for me. This is the new image we are to possess that the gospel creates in us. Jesus’ approval of me is what matters! What I think of myself is not important because I am likely wrong (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:4). We are nothing of ourselves but made valuable in Christ.

Paul gives us another way to keep us from pride in verse 4. “But let each one test his own work.” This is not a competition. We are not here for comparison. Keep your eyes on God, not others, when looking at your own work. Comparison wrecks us in two different ways. First, comparison leads to pride. We think that we are doing better than another person. Second, comparison leads me to think that I am unable to do anything. That person is doing so much better than me spiritually and I am nothing. There are ways that this also is pride because we desire people to compliment us and boost us up. So we are fishing for compliments by telling people how lousy we are as Christians. Both are sinful and both are damaging. Look at your own work before God and take joy in your work. Stop comparing yourself to others. Is this not refreshing to hear? Preachers don’t have to compare themselves to other preachers. Elders do not need to compare themselves to other elders. Churches should not compare themselves to other churches. Christians do not compare themselves to other Christians. Do the work given to you. Take joy in your own work that you have granted to you by God.

It is in this context that we must read verse 5. “For each will have to bear his own load.” This is not a contradiction to the command in verse 2. The point is to just carry your load. Stop comparing your load to others. Stop worrying about how you are doing in comparison to others. This is the same message as the parable of the talents. Each of us have been granted different loads and different responsibilities. But that is not relevant. What matters is what you do with what has been granted to you. In this, there is no room for pride because we are nothing before God, carrying our loads, and helping each other when we are caught in a transgression.

Conclusion

We need to care about each other. We must care enough to act when we see one another struggling spiritually. We must attempt to help with a spirit of gentleness, watching ourselves so that we are not tempted into pride because we are nothing. But God has made us his chosen possession by his grace. Look at your own work. Do not compare your load to others but carry your load, enjoying the work God has given you.

Do Good!

Galatians 6:6-18

The apostle Paul ends his letter to the Galatian churches with instructions for them to do good as followers of Christ. In the last paragraph the apostle Paul has described the fruit of the Spirit as the result of walking by the Spirit. Chapter 6 began by describing the spiritual good we must do for each other as we help those who are caught in sin. Yet walking in the Spirit includes doing good in all aspects of life. Listen to the exhortations of the apostle Paul to do good as we read Galatians 6:6-18.

Do Good To Your Spiritual Teacher (Galatians 6:6-8)

Paul begins by teaching these Christians to share all good things with the one who teaches the gospel. There are many places in the scriptures where we see the apostle Paul needing to tell Christians that they should financially support teachers of the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:9-14; 1 Timothy 5:17-18). But notice how Paul pictures this. He does not want to paint this as a duty. Rather, Paul describes this as an opportunity for sharing. Historically, I have read enough books and heard enough stories about preachers of the gospel being very poorly paid. There are still some who think the preacher should not have anything. I have seen churches try to pay to bare minimum, rather than be generous, toward those who teach the gospel. I experienced this in a gospel meeting I was in where the attitude was that I didn’t need to be paid for the work done. Being a preacher is frightening financially because he is completely dependent upon the generosity of the congregation. He is entrusting his livelihood to the church. I know one preacher who was recently fired and given two weeks notice. How do you expect him to pay the bills until he moves? This is an evil that is practiced when Christians treat Christians this way. I am grateful to you that you have always been generous and have never felt what others have experienced. As a congregation we try to be generous to the preachers we have come for our gospel meetings. We must teach and adopt this attitude of generosity and sharing with each other, including teachers of the gospel.

Notice the reason why for us to have generous hearts toward those who teach the gospel. Paul teaches a common principle before God: what you sow, you will reap. God knows and God sees. God knows if we are generous. Do not be deceived! God is not mocked! Paul is telling these Christians that how we use our money matters to God. Sowing to the flesh reaps corruption. Doing good is how we sow to the Spirit, which results in eternal life. What will we do with the money and possessions we have? Paul tells us that there are only two fields we can sow in. We either are sowing to our own flesh or we are sowing to the Spirit. Doing good has eternal value before God and we will reap what we are sowing with the finances God has given us. We cannot think that our lack of generosity in the things God has given us is going to go well for us spiritually and eternally.

Do Good To All (Galatians 6:9-10)

Since the principle stands that God is not mocked and we will reap what we sow, Paul takes the application to our lives even further. We need to not grow weary in doing good. Do not quit being generous. Do not fail to recognize and show that our wealth comes from the Lord. As soon as you grow tired of doing good, giving to others, and being generous, remind yourself of these words: “In due season we will reap if we do not give up.” God will repay us for our work in doing good.

Not only must we do good toward those who teach the gospel, we need to do good to all people, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ (6:10). The motivation is given to us: in due season we will reap. Our sacrifices and our generosity are not for nothing. Put this another way: the reason we do good is because we are doing for God. We are sowing to the Spirit. We are choosing to sow in the spiritual field. We are not doing this because the other person deserves it. We do not do good because we expect something in return. We are doing good because we are doing good for the Lord. This is exactly what Jesus taught in Matthew 25:31-46. What we are doing to others is what we are doing to the Lord.

Glory In The Cross (Galatians 6:11-18)

In verse 11 Paul takes the pen and writes these final words to emphasize this final message. Scribes (amanuensis) typically would write the letter for the author so he could hear how it would sound when the letter was read. So he takes the pen for these final words to these Christians.

Paul begins by telling them that the reason these Jewish Christian agitators are telling them to be circumcised was to avoid persecution themselves. This is sad, but sadly it does happen even today. People take doctrinal positions, not because they are convicted by the scriptures, but because they want to belong to a certain group of people. They want to be considered sound and not be rebuked or persecuted by certain people. So these agitators are using these Galatian Christians to keep themselves from being persecuted (Galatians 6:12) and so they can boast in what they have made them do (Galatians 6:13). Paul notes that these who are adamant about these Galatian Christians keeping the law do not keep the themselves. Paul has addressed this a few times in this letter concerning the inability of keeping the whole law. This is another picture of false teachers. They try to get everyone else to do something that they themselves do not want to do.

This brings Paul to his final point to these Christians and what it looks like to do good. Paul’s boast will only be in the cross of Jesus. In our language, boasting is equivalent to bragging. But that is not always what this Greek word exactly means in New Testament times. Paul is not saying that he is bragging. This Greek word also means to glory in, rejoice in, or exult in. Therefore, Paul’s glory, delight, joy, and confidence will never be in another person but only in the cross. They are not to glory in being circumcised. They are not to rejoice in their popularity or appearance or any other physical or superficial thing. The cross is what Paul will glory in. Think about how degrading and strange this would sound to their ears. The cross in those days was a symbol of an unspeakable horror. The cross was detestable and disgraceful. Paul says he will glory in that. He will find his joy in the cross of Jesus.

This is why we do what we do. This is why we will do good to all. This is why we are generous. Our joy and our delight will be in the cross alone. This is the proper motivation for Christian service. Listen to Paul: it is through the cross of Jesus that the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Paul says that the ways of the world are dead to him and he is dead to the world. This is the life of Christian. I have a new life and new joy in the cross of Jesus and my confidence will be in that alone. Notice the beautiful picture Paul gives to emphasize this point.

“For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but a new creation” (6:15). All that matters is the new creation. The new creation changes everything. Paul made a similar statement earlier in Galatians 5:6.

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. (Galatians 5:6 ESV)

We live according to a whole new way. The world is dead to us because of the cross of Jesus. This new creation imagery is what Isaiah prophesied would occur when Christ came (Isaiah 43:15-19; Isaiah 32:12-18; Isaiah 35:10; Isaiah 65:17-22; Isaiah 66:22-24). Many of these texts may be in the apostle’s mind when he declares that “new creation” is the answer to the circumcision question. Circumcision nor uncircumcision count for anything because it is a new creation. What matters is the new birth. What matters is a complete transformation of life. New birth is how we are in the family of Christ receiving the blessings of God, not circumcision. In Christ we will have a new nature with changed desires, affections, and habits. A new creation is a wonderful picture of new life to us who are dead in our sins (cf. Ephesians 2:1-3). The cross of Jesus has made us a new creation which is why we live completely transformed lives. Being dead to the world is life in Christ.

Look at verse 16. This is the rule to follow. Peace and mercy on those who do not glory in themselves or what they have done but in the cross of Jesus. Life in Jesus is how one belongs to Israel. There are two ways to read verse 16. It is the matter of a Greek word that is translated in the ESV, NASB, and NKJV as “and” in the phrase, “and upon the Israel of God.” It sounds like there are two groups, and that is one way to understand what Paul is writing. Peace and mercy upon those who walk by this rule and upon the Israel of God. The other way this Greek word can be translated is “even.” Therefore, the meaning would be that those who follow this rule are the Israel of God. The HCSB, NIV, and NLT follow this rendering.

Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God. (Galatians 6:16 NIV)

I believe this way makes more sense of what Paul would argue. First, Paul would not argue the separation of two groups in Christ, Jews and Gentiles. He has always argued that there is now one body in Christ. Back in Galatians 3:28 he wrote that there was no more Jew or Greek for we are all one in Christ Jesus. Second, this rendering fits the message of Galatians. Who are those who belong to the true Israel of God? Not those who perform circumcision, as these agitators have argued. Rather, those who are crucified to the world and are a new creation in Christ (5:15). These are the true Israel. Using Galatians 5:6, those who are practicing faith working through love, not circumcision, are those who belong to the Israel of God. Those who glory in the Lord and not in themselves are the true Israel. Walk in this truth.

Consider how verse 17 fits this beautiful. The marks on the body of being the Israel of God is not circumcision. Paul bears on his body the marks of Jesus, but it is not circumcision. His marks on his body are from a life fully given to Jesus. Paul alluded to this in Galatians 4:29 that those who are born according to the Spirit are persecuted by those born according to the flesh, just as Isaac was persecuted by Ishmael. You will bear the marks for the cause of Christ. Do not grow weary in doing good. Do not stop giving your life completely to Jesus. Do not stop being generous. Do not stop investing in your spiritual life. Our glory is in the cross of Jesus. The world is crucified to you and you are crucified to the world.

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

Galatians Chapter One

This chapter contains Paul’s salutation (Galatians 1:1-5), the dramatic introduction of his reason for writing the epistle, which was the developing apostasy of the Galatians (Galatians 6-10), a bold defense of his apostleship (Galatians 1:11-17), and the additional evidence of his independence and authority as an apostle (Galatians 1:18-24).

Galatians 1:1 --Paul an apostle (not from men, neither through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead). (Galatians 1:1)

Paul, an apostle... The great apostle to the Gentiles did not always stress his apostleship in the same manner as here; but he did so in letters to churches where he was unknown or where his authority was being questioned, as in the first verse of each of his letters to the Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians and Colossians. "In cases where the churches were thoroughly devoted to him, he dropped it altogether, as in the salutations in Philippians, 1Thessalonians and 2Thessalonians.^[1] Of course, false teachers who were stealing the Galatians away from the truth were challenging Paul’s apostleship, making it most appropriate that he should have so vigorously stressed it here. "An apostle is a minister plenipotentiary."^[2]

Regarding the identity of those who were denying Paul’s apostolic authority among the Galatians, it is clear enough that they were Judaizers, "who were saying that Paul was not an original apostle, and that he derived his teaching from the Twelve."^[3]

Not from men, neither through man... This does not deny that human agency was involved in Paul’s conversion, for he was baptized by Ananias (Acts 22:12 ff). Sanday observed that:

The part of Ananias was too subordinate to introduce a human element into it; and the subsequent "separation" of Paul and Barnabas for their mission to the Gentiles, through the act of the church at Antioch, was dictated by the Holy Spirit, and did not confer a new office or new powers.^[4]

Furthermore, "The commission itself had first of all been uttered by Christ, not by Ananias."^[5]

It should be noted that Paul was not here making a distinction between himself and the other true apostles in Jerusalem. "For they did not owe their commission to man any more than he did."^[6] The truth affirmed here was two-fold: (a) Paul’s apostleship was on a full equality with that of the Twelve, and (b) it was genuine, as contrasted with that of the false teachers who were operating among the Galatians. Macknight believed that there is also in view here a denial that Paul had been appointed to the apostleship by the Twelve, as had been the case with Matthias. "He seems to have Peter and James in his eye, whom alone he saw at his first coming to Jerusalem after his conversion, and denies that he was appointed an apostle by them."^[7]

Who raised him from the dead... McGarvey was surely correct in pointing out that by this reference to the resurrection of Christ, "Paul paved the way^[8] for the principal theme of the epistle, which is justification through the faith of Jesus Christ, rather than by the Law of Moses.

One very hurtful interpretation of this verse is the following:

Paul’s commission came neither from a human source nor through man, but directly from and through God... Paul’s gospel rested on his personal relationship with God through Christ, and he was working it out in his own creative way.^[9]

Such a view would make Paul, not Christ, the author of Christianity, a proposition that Paul vehemently denied. Paul "received" a body of truth from the Lord Jesus Christ; and the gospel he preached is not anything that Paul "worked out" for himself. Not going beyond the things which were written (1 Corinthians 4:6) was a caution which Paul faithfully honored. Paul did not "evolve" his gospel, despite the insinuations to that effect. His gospel was revealed to him from on high. Furthermore, it was in no manner whatever any different from the gospel already being preached by the Twelve, except in the single particular of extending it to Gentiles. See under Galatians 1:23, below.

^[1] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1937), p. 946.

^[2] Sherman N. Ridderbos, The Epistle of Paul to the Churches of Galatia (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1953), p. 40.

^[3] Henry H. Halley, Halley’s Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1927), p. 559.

^[4] William Sanday, Ellicott’s Commentary on the Holy Bible (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959), p. 426.

^[5] William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary on Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1968), p. 31.

^[6] R. A. Cole, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1965), p. 32.

^[7] James Macknight, Apostolical Epistles with Commentary and Notes (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1969), p. 107.

^[8] J. W. McGarvey, The Standard Bible Commentary, Galatians (Cincinnati, Ohio: The Standard Publishing Company, 1916), p. 249.

^[9] Raymond T. Stamm, The Interpreter’s Bible (New York: Abingdon Press, 1953), Vol. X, p. 243.

Galatians 1:2-3 --And all the brethren that are with me, unto the churches of Galatia, Grace to you and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

All the brethren... does not imply that Paul had discussed the situation in Galatia with his associates and that they concurred in his admonitions; on the contrary, as Wesley put it, "This phrase must be regarded as belonging exclusively to the greeting, and not to the exhortations which follow it.^[10] It is pointless to speculate on the identity of these "brethren." We simply do not know.

Churches of Galatia... It is remarkable that Paul did not address them as churches "of God" or "of Christ," possibly "because they did not deserve such honorable appellations because of their great defection."^[11] However, Paul’s omission of this usual designation does not deny it in their case but merely avoids emphasis of it. For the identity of these congregations, see the introduction. The view being followed in these studies is that they were the churches of southern Galatia, the ones founded on Paul’s first missionary tour.

Of deep significance are the tit]es of God and Christ in the third verse. Paul spoke of "the Father" when he had in mind the unique relationship between God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who alone in the New Testament referred to God as "my" Father, but who also taught his followers to pray "our" Father. Paul often used "our Father" in his epistles (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Philippians 1:3; Philemon 1:1:3).

"Jesus" is the transliteration of the Hebrew name Joshua, meaning Jehovah is salvation, or Jehovah is Saviour; and "Christ" is the Greek rendition of the Hebrew word Messiah, meaning anointed.^[12]

"Lord" is the translation of a Greek term [@Kurios], and it had at first a number of secondary meanings; but the Christians, from the very first, applied the term to Christ in the sense of absolute Deity. Thus, Thomas said of Christ, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28); Peter on Pentecost preached of Jesus that God had made him "Lord" (Acts 2:36); and again, in the home of Cornelius, said, "He is Lord of all" (Acts 10:36). Paul’s use of "Lord" in the exalted sense in this epistle a bare twenty years after the resurrection of Christ shows that from the very first and reaching far back into the Lord’s personal ministry, the exalted meaning prevailed. Jesus, from the very first, used the title of himself in the sense of the All-Powerful One. Thus, "Many shall say to me in that day (that is, the judgment day), Lord, Lord, etc." (Matthew 7:22). For more extensive commentary on this title, see the introduction to my Commentary on Luke.

^[10] John Wesley, One Volume New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1972), in loco.

^[11] James Macknight, op. cit., p. 108.

^[12] W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1940), 2p. 274, 1p. 190.

Galatians 1:4 --Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil world, according to the will of our God and Father.

Who gave himself... The essential Christian doctrine of Christ’s vicarious sacrifice of himself to save people from sin is here emphasized in order to contrast the true source of salvation in Christ with the false premise of the Judaizers which made redemption to depend upon observing forms and ceremonies of the Law of Moses. In the last clause of this verse, Paul noted that Christ’s giving himself was according to the will of God. For seven centers of initiative in the crucifixion of Christ see my Commentary on Romans 3:25-26. The word "ransom" is used of this sacrifice of Christ in Matthew 28:28; Mark 10:45, and in 1 Timothy 2:6. As Sanday observed, "It was a sacrifice for sinners, wrought in their behalf for their benefit, a sacrifice wrought in their stead. He suffered in order that they might not suffer."^[13] Paul’s stressing this here was for the purpose of "convincing the Galatians that the pardon of sin was not to be obtained by the Levitical atonements, nor by any service prescribed in the Law."^[14]

Deliver... suggests rescue from a state of utter helplessness. However, the deliverance made possible in Christ is not universally applicable to sinners apart from their response to the gospel. As Howard put it, "Such a rescue is not the universal and automatic consequence of the cross, but is a provided possibility."^[15]

This present evil world... The world is evil in the sense of its populations being largely dominated by the influence of Satan. As an apostle said, "The whole world lieth in the evil one" (1 John 5:19). This has always been true, but there was a special sense in which the world of Paul’s day was "evil." The pagan culture of the ancient Roman empire represented the culmination of long centuries of mankind’s turning away from God and walking in darkness.

^[13] William Sanday, op. cit., p. 427.

^[14] James Macknight, op. cit., p. 109.

^[15] R. E. Howard, Beacon Bible Commentary (Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press, 1965), Vol. IX, p 40

Galatians 1:5 --To whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.

The paramount function of all created things is to glorify God. It is true of the material universe. "The heavens declare the glory of God" (Psalms 19:1). It is true of the angels; for when they appeared at the birth of Christ, their song was "Glory to God in the highest" (Luke 2:14). It is even true of all the lower forms of life.

And every creature which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing and honor and glory and power be to him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever (Revelation 5:13).

EVERYWHERE

Where myriad waterfowl with thunderous wings Ascend to climb dawn’s flaming stair, The oratorio of all created things Is heard upon the morning air. Where velvet footsteps march beneath the shade Of mammoth trees and move along The resinous forest’s colonnade, God hears the thrilling Glory Song. Where countless life-forms teem the ocean floor, Is sung God’s glory in the sea, A mighty chorus shore to shore To justify their right to be. Where Pleiades and Morning Star adorn The arch of heaven, even there, From Creation’s birthday morn, God’s glory sings, and EVERYWHERE!

- James Burton Coffman, 1962

Since the very purpose of man’s existence is to glorify God, it follows that when man circumvents or countermands this purpose, he forfeits his right to live. Man cannot rise in his own strength alone, but must place his hand in the hand of his Creator, and like Enoch of old, learn to walk with God. How profound is the thought that man at last may attain eternal fellowship with the Father. What joys unspeakable are implied in this!

Amen... As Cole observed:

Amen, like Hosanna, Hallelujah, Maranatha and Abba, is one of the "fossilized survivals" of Hebrew and Aramaic language of worship, transmitted through the New Testament Greek-speaking church to the later Latin-speaking church, and ultimately to most languages of earth^[16]

For further comment on "Amen," see my Commentary on Hebrews 13:25.

ENDNOTE:

^[16] R. A. Cole, op. cit., p. 37.

Galatians 1:6 --I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that called you in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel.

Hendriksen pointed out that it was Paul’s manner to commend before he began to condemn";^[17] but there is nothing like that here. In the very place where commendation was usually written, Paul thundered his indignant astonishment at a fully developed and continuing apostasy of his beloved converts among the Galatians. As Wesley said, "The Greek word here rendered marvel usually expressed surprise at something blameworthy."^[18]

Ye are so quickly removing... The present tense indicates that the defection of the Galatians was well under way and still going on. There are several possible meanings of this clause: (a) It refers to moral speed,^[19] that is, they were more quickly accepting the false teaching than they had accepted the gospel at first; (b) it means, "So soon after Paul’s visit to them";^[20] or (c) it means, "So soon after their conversion." There is no certain way to know exactly what shade of meaning Paul had in mind; and, for this reason, it is precarious to build a theory regarding the date of this epistle on any alleged meaning of this clause.

The reason why Paul speedily moved to attack and destroy the rampant heresy involved a number of facts, the details of which he would set forth in the bulk of the epistle. As Coad said, "The new teaching was retrograde, a return to bondage (Galatians 5:1)."^[21] To surrender to the Judaizers was to negate the glory of the cross of Christ and to make the death of Christ on Calvary of no effect. It should be constantly borne in mind that the error Galatians was designed to correct was that of grafting Judaism into Christianity. There is absolutely nothing in this letter which may legitimately be construed as the stressing of "faith only" as opposed to "faith and obedience" as proclaimed in the Christian gospel from the beginning. Paul was not here giving a revised Christian doctrine, but defending the true doctrine already known and preached, from the encroachments of Judaism. Some of the comment one encounters regarding Galatians misses this very important point.

^[17] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 37.

^[18] John Wesley, op. cit., in loco.

^[19] J. W. McGarvey, op. cit., p. 250.

^[20] John Wesley, op. cit., in loco.

^[21] F. Roy Coad, A New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1969), p. 446.

Galatians 1:7 --Which is not another gospel; only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

This verse should be read in close connection with the previous one. Regarding the exact meaning, Ramsay preferred as the simplest and best, "that which the English Revised Version (1885) gives in the margin,"^[22] giving the thought thus: "A different gospel which is nothing else save that there are some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ." There is no hint in this passage that Paul actually considered Judaism "another gospel" in any genuine sense. See note regarding "Another Gospel" at end of this chapter.

A sample of the erroneous and irresponsible comment foisted upon this passage is the following:

(The false teaching) was surely a teaching according to which men are saved through faith plus law-works, a perversion of the true gospel which proclaims the glad tidings of salvation (by grace) through faith alone.^[23]

Such a view is untrue, misleading, and anti-Scriptural. A New Testament writer flatly declared that people are not justified "by faith alone" (James 2:24); and no scholar has a right to contradict the New Testament. Note the expression "law-works," used to make it appear that Paul belittled the Christian ordinances; but it is not Christian ordinances and commands which Paul was denouncing, but works of the Law of Moses. We have reason to be thankful for brilliant scholars like R. E. Howard who spoke out against the heresy that people attempted to import into this passage, saying:

The logical implication of justification by faith alone is antinomianism, against which Paul vehemently objected... His repeated warning that wrong living excluded men from God’s kingdom should leave no doubt as to his attitude... The new faith provided the only adequate means for ethical conduct, rather than absolving men from that responsibility.^[24]

Any person familiar with the meaning of ordinary words must know that salvation "by faith alone" means salvation without obeying the Christian ordinances, without holiness, without moral conduct, without respect for any Christian duty, without the church and without the new birth or anything else. Such is the meaning of the word "alone" or its equivalent "only." The only religious error ever known which rivals that of so-called salvation "by faith only" is the Christian Science proposition that there is no pain, sickness or death!

Them that trouble you... Vine stated that the word thus rendered by this verse means "subverting the souls of believers by evil doctrine."^[25] The exact characteristics of the evil teaching going on among the Galatians were gleaned from this epistle by David Lipscomb thus:

It puts in bondage (Galatians 2:4), causes entanglement (Galatians 5:1), could not bring justification (Galatians 2:16), or freedom (Galatians 5:1); it made Christ of no profit (Galatians 5:2), and it made the death of Christ, which is the very essence of the gospel, a superfluous thing of no account (Galatians 2:21); and in addition to providing no blessing whatever, it puts men under a curse (Galatians 3:10); and all who accepted it fell from grace (Galatians 5:4)^[26]

^[22] William M. Ramsay, A Historical Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1965), p. 264.

^[23] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 40.

^[24] R. E. Howard, op. cit., p. 23.

^[25] W. E. Vine, op. cit., 4p. 157.

^[26] David Lipscomb, A Commentary on the New Testament Epistles (Nashville: Gospel Advocate Company, Vol. III, p. 190.

Galatians 1:8 --But though we or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel, other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema.

Paul’s indignation here stood upon the very highest ground. "It is not on account of antagonism to himself, but antagonism to the truth. Though he himself should fall away from it, the truth must still be supreme."^[27] In fact, supposing that he himself should defect from the truth, Paul invoked upon his own head the curse of God.

An angel from heaven... McGarvey pointed out that the word of Christ was superior to that of angels who had ministered the old covenant, and "The sayings of Jesus were weightier than the words of angels in this very respect."^[28] This probably accounts for Paul injecting the thought of angels into this passage. Also, as Cole said, "Paul may be using this word to show them the possibility of Satan himself appearing as an angel of light to deceive them."^[29] It will be remembered that when Peter proposed to Christ the elimination of the cross, our Lord said, "Get thee behind me, Satan" (Mark 8:33).

Anathema... Some have sought to soften the meaning of this word, but there can be no doubt that it is the strongest curse that can be uttered, having the meaning of "yielded up to the wrath of God, surrendered to the curse of God."^[30]

The gospel which we preached... It is a gross error to suppose that Paul’s gospel was different from that proclaimed by all the Twelve, although it is true that Paul had a more accurate understanding of its being for Gentiles and not restricted to Jews only. Paul wrote, "According to my gospel" (Romans 2:16); but he meant it was his in the sense of "my God" (Philippians 4:9) and "my Lord" (Philippians 3:8). Of the same gospel, he wrote that it is "our gospel"; (2 Thessalonians 2:14). In Galatians 1:23, Paul’s gospel was exactly the same gospel that was being preached by others while he was yet a persecutor. Thus, "Paul was referring to his gospel in opposition to all counterfeits,"^[31] especially persistent Judaism. Even here, Paul did not say, "the gospel I preach," but "the gospel we preach." Dummelow affirmed that the "we," both here and in the following verse, is epistolary;^[32] but it seems mandatory to read it as Paul’s conscious intention of including the other apostles as also being preachers of the true gospel.

In later historical times, "anathema" came to refer to excommunication by ecclesiastical authority; but "this curse may not be thought of as anything like that; after all, an angel too is hypothetically involved."^[33] No angel was ever subject to ecclesiastical discipline.

^[27] John Wesley, op. cit., in loco.

^[28] J. W. McGarvey, op. cit., p. 251.

^[29] R. A. Cole, op. cit., p. 42.

^[30] Herman N. Ridderbos, op. cit., p. 50.

^[31] Arthur W. Pink, Gleanings from Paul (Chicago: Moody Press, 1967), p. 49.

^[32] J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 947.

^[33] Herman N. Ridderbos, op. cit., p. 50.

Galatians 1:9 --As we have said before, so say I now again, If any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him be anathema.

In this verse Paul applied the curse concretely to the false teachers operating among the Galatians at that very moment. This verse is not a curse upon some hypothetical violator, but upon the guilty perverters preaching error at that very moment. This progression from the general to the specific dramatically emphasized the fatal danger of surrendering to Judaism.

Galatians 1:10 --For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? or am I striving to please men? if I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ.

Seeking the favor of men... Paul brought into view in these words the bitter human opposition that accompanied his preaching everywhere he went. "His patient endurance made manifest that he was a genuine minister of Christ.^[34] "Paul here showed the utter inconsistency of service of men (in sense of trying to curry favor).^[35]

If I were still pleasing men... The adverb here "marks the contrast between his position before and since conversion.^[36] Yes, when Paul was a Pharisee, he attempted to serve God and please people at the same time, but no such thing was possible for the Christian apostle.

Servant of Christ... The word actually means "bondservant" or "slave"; and with Paul it was no pious pretense. He truly served the Lord.

^[34] Arthur W. Pink, op. cit., p. 74.

^[35] R. A. Cole, op. cit., p. 45.

^[36] W. J. Conybeare, The Life and Epistles of St. Paul (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1966), p. 480.

Galatians 1:11-12 --For I make known unto you, brethren, as touching the gospel which was preached by me, that it is not after man. For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.

Paul’s affirmation that he possessed a personal revelation from the Lord of glory which had endowed him with full and complete knowledge of the gospel was indeed bold and astonishing. It cannot be wondered that some of his contemporaries were concerned about whether or not he could be trusted in this; but it should always be borne in mind that the great miracles which the apostle Paul performed all over the Roman Empire confirmed and authenticated his message. There has not arisen another like him since New Testament times. None of the so-called "inspired" leaders of current times is worthy to be compared with Paul. As Howard expressed it:

The revelation of the written word is unique. It is terminal and not continuous. Paul’s audacious claims were fully substantiated by the Holy Spirit. Our task is not to add to the written revelation, but to understand it and explain it.^[37]

Of course, Paul would at once offer proof to substantiate so bold a declaration; and, first of all, he appealed to the record which was open and to be read by all people concerning what the gospel had wrought in his own amazing life.

ENDNOTE:

^[37] R. E. Howard, op. cit., p. 34.

Galatians 1:13-14 --For ye have heard of my manner of life in times past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and made havoc of it: and I advanced in the Jews’ religion beyond many of mine own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

In these two verses, "Paul was saying that no human persuasion could ever have been able to impart the gospel to such a confirmed and ferocious persecutor.^[38] Only the power of God could have done such a thing. And what was that power? It was noted above that the Spirit of God through the enabling of power to work miracles had confirmed the fact of Paul’s having the revelation from Christ (Galatians 1:12); but it should be carefully noted that the Holy Spirit did not convey the revelation, for that was done personally by Christ. The function of the Holy Spirit, even in the Twelve, was not that of conveying God’s truth to them, but that of helping them remember the truth Christ conveyed; and the same fact is in evidence with reference to the revelation Paul had received from Christ, not from the Holy Spirit. See extensive comment on this exceedingly important truth in my Commentary on John 16:13. The Lord revealed that the Holy Spirit "shall not speak of himself’ (John 16:13), meaning that power to convey gospel truth did not reside in the Third Person of the Godhead. There were limitations upon the Second Person during his incarnation (Matthew 24:36); and, similarly, there were limitations upon the Spirit’s power in human beings.

The proposition that the Holy Spirit operated upon Paul directly, independently of the word which Christ delivered to humanity, is a contradiction of everything in the New Testament. If the Spirit could have done such a thing, it would not have been necessary at all for Christ to come into this world in the first place, nor would it have been necessary for him to appear personally to Saul of Tarsus. Paul received a full knowledge of the gospel in exactly the same manner as the Twelve received it, from Christ himself, as Paul affirmed in Galatians 1:12; and the function of the Holy Spirit in Paul was to enable Paul to remember all that Jesus said, exactly as in the case of the Twelve (John 14:26). Since the personal appearance of Christ to Saul of Tarsus, and later to John the apostle, in all ages since, the Holy Spirit has never conveyed a single new truth to any person whomsoever; and, as always, the Spirit’s function even in those instances was to enable truth to be remembered and not to convey it. So-called "spirituals" in our own times have nothing except the sacred Scripture; because, if they did have truth to convey to others, the Spirit of God would confirm it with the power to do "signs and wonders and mighty deeds," as he did in the case of Paul and the Twelve. They were guided into "all truth" (John 16:13).

I persecuted the church... This went even further than many Pharisees were willing to go. "The ravening wolf of Benjamin"^[39] was "laying waste the church." Paul here declared "ye have heard" of this, indicating the notorious nature of his conduct, and also, perhaps, that "He brought his own career and experience into his preaching (as in this epistle), so that they may have heard it from his own lips."^[40] Paul’s persecution of the church was totally the equivalent of persecuting Christ personally (Acts 22:8). Cole elaborated on this thus:

Opposition to the church is not only opposition to Jesus the Messiah... It is opposition to God, who in the Old Testament had chosen Israel as his "company," and who now has chosen the Christian church, whether Jew or Gentile.^[41]

The Jews’ religion... "The Judaism," as it is in the Greek, includes both the divine original as conveyed through Moses and the prophets and also that incredibly large body of traditions and elaborations of it which had been added by the religious hierarchy of Israel, the latter coming in time to surpass (in their eyes) the importance of the God-given law itself, making it "of no effect" (Mark 7:13; Matthew 15:6). Paul’s here speaking of Judaism as something apart from Christianity shows that within two decades after the resurrection of Christ the term had become synonymous with opposition to Christianity. However, since Jews were the first Christians and have always been welcome to accept Christ, the term "Jews," as used here and extensively in John, has religious rather than racial overtones. The blunder of the Medieval church in blurring this distinction is one of the great tragedies of all time. Some scholars, including Lipscomb, believed that Paul here referred exclusively to the Pharisaical additions to God’s law; but it is an obvious truth that he exceeded his countrymen in knowledge of the divine law itself, as evidenced by his writings.

Church of God... Paul also referred to the community of believers as the church of Christ; and apparently the reason for making it "church of God" in this place was to emphasize that the church was not merely of Christ but also, in view of Christ’s oneness and equality with God (a fact the Judaizers at work among the Galatians would deny), the Christians were "the congregation of God,"^[42] no less than being the church of Christ.

Exceedingly zealous ...; Acts 9:1 and Acts 22:4 reveal the murderous and fanatical persecution Paul mounted against Christianity, resulting in the death of "both men and women." Paul’s hatred of the church sprang from the vivid accuracy with which he saw the true nature of Judaism, the typical forms and ceremonies of which are simply irreconcilable with Christianity. The very heart of the sacred Law itself was typical and preparatory by nature; and Paul’s favorite words regarding it were: "abrogated, done away, taken away, annulled, etc." It was this aspect of Christianity, truly understood, which so antagonized and enraged Saul of Tarsus. As soon as he accepted Christ, he accepted the very first corollary of the faith, that as far as worshipping Almighty God is concerned, it is all over and done with for Judaism.

^[38] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 52.

^[39] Everett F. Harrison, Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 695.

^[40] William Sanday, op. cit., p. 430.

^[41] R. A. Cole, op. cit., p. 49.

^[42] The Emphatic Diaglott (Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society), in loco.

Galatians 1:15-17 --But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me, even from my mother’s womb, and called me through his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles; straightway I conferred not with flesh and blood; neither went I up to Jerusalem to them that were apostles before me: but I went away into Arabia, and again I returned unto Damascus.

The whole burden of Paul’s defense of his apostleship in this and in Galatians 2 was summarized thus by Hayes:

I was an apostle before I ever saw an apostle; I was recognized as an equal by the apostles the first time they ever met me or heard what gospel I preached ... I have preached it with the official sanction of the apostles, and I have preached it in defiance of the apostles (Galatians 2:14). I am an apostle of God, and my gospel is the gospel of God.^[43]

The revelation which Jesus Christ gave personally to Paul was exactly the same as that given to the Twelve. Paul did not claim superiority to them but equality with them, and that implies the equality of the revelation to himself with that of the Twelve. Since the three verses above concern the source of Paul’s revelation, there is a strong inference that Arabia was the place where Christ met him to expound the truth of the gospel. It could also have been there that Paul experienced the visit (whether in the body or out of it being unknown) to the third heaven and to Paradise. It should be carefully noted that the revelation did not "flash into Paul’s mind," as some claim; but it was conveyed personally by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Called me through his grace... It was not the Holy Spirit which called Paul, for Paul himself taught that the Spirit was an endowment only of those already sons of God; and, as always in the New Testament, the call of God means God’s invitation accepted. Paul became a Son of God in the same manner as all Christians, by believing, repenting, confessing Christ and being baptized into him (Acts 22:16).

I conferred not with flesh and blood... Tenney noted that this is a figure of speech, called synecdoche, in which some significant and essential part is used to identify the whole.^[44] The meaning is, "I did not confer with any human being." Sanday also detected a special meaning in "conferred," as used here. "The Greek word contains the idea of taking counsel in a personal interview, much as we now use the word apply in the phrase to apply to a person."^[45] Paul did not apply to the Twelve for permission to accept his call from Christ to the apostleship.

Nothing of the length of time Paul spent in Arabia is known except that from the time of his conversion at Damascus and his preaching in that city for an undetermined length of time, until his escape from the plot under Aretas, was three years, including the sojourn in Arabia.

^[43] D. A. Hayes, Paul and His Epistles (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1915, reprint 1969), p. 293.

^[44] Merrill C. Tenney, Galatians the Charter of Christian Liberty (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 138.

^[45] William Sanday, op. cit., p. 431.

Galatians 1:18 --Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and tarried with him fifteen days.

This and the following verses were added by Paul as an explanation of what he had just said and to checkmate any denial of it by any one who might have known about the trip in view here. He noted that it was three whole years after he had become a preaching apostle and that even then he saw only Peter and James, the purpose being in no sense whatever to apply to them or to complete his knowledge of the gospel, but just in order to become acquainted. Ramsay says the word "visit" here was "used by those who go to see great and famous cities."^[46] He also quoted Lightfoot and Chrysostom as maintaining the same thing. So Paul went to see two of the most distinguished persons in the early church in the same way one would go to see any celebrity. John Wesley also insisted that the word "implied the desire to see a celebrity."^[47] That so busy and distinguished a person as Peter would have devoted an entire fifteen days to Paul shows that he received and entertained him as an equal, and not merely as some appellant seeking a favor.

^[46] William M. Ramsay, op. cit., p. 283.

^[47] John Wesley, op. cit., in loco.

Galatians 1:19-21 --But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’ s brother. Now touching the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.

Save James ... The frequent persecutions might have caused the other apostles to be absent from the city; or they might have been engaged in various preaching missions in Judea. Later, even Peter was forced to flee the city.

The Lord’s brother ... This was one of the persons mentioned as brothers and sister of Jesus, children born to Mary and Joseph subsequent to the birth of Christ (Matthew 13:55). For detailed comment see my Commentary on Matthew 1:24. He became the official leader of the congregation in Jerusalem; nevertheless, his being called an apostle here must be understood (a) either as a complimentary title bestowed upon him by the early church due to his close personal relation to Jesus, or (b) because he was an apostle in the secondary sense, like Barnabas. James was not a plenary apostle like the Twelve and Paul.

Before God, I lie not... Paul considered the information he conveyed here as paramount in importance and appealed to God who knows the hearts of all people, indicating the absolute truth and sincerity of his words.

Verse 21

Then I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

It is hard to be patient with commentators who find some big "difficulty" in equating what is said here with the Lukan account in Acts, where it is related that the brethren, fearing for Paul’s life, "brought him down to Caesarea and sent him forth to Tarsus" (Acts 9:30). There is no difficulty. Tarsus is the chief city of Cilicia; and that was exactly where Luke says Barnabas found Paul and brought him to Antioch, the capital of Syria; and the fact of the order of Paul’s going to those places (in Acts) was Cilicia and Syria, whereas here, it is Syria and Cilicia, is nothing but a quibble. Since it had been at Antioch in Syria where Paul had bestowed the new name on the followers of Christ (Acts 11:26), and as Antioch was the sponsoring congregation who sent him forth on his mission to the Gentiles, it was only natural that Syria should have been mentioned ahead of Cilicia in this place.

Galatians 1:22 --And I was still unknown by face unto the churches of Judea which were in Christ.

There is a distinction between Judea and Jerusalem. In all probability, Paul would not have been in that city some two or three Lord’s days without visiting the church there; but, as the Jews were trying to kill him, it could be that he had attended worship as inconspicuously as possible. No matter how one reads it, what Paul said here was true.

In Christ... As often pointed out in this series of commentaries, this is one of the most meaningful phrases in the New Testament. Stamm noted that "It is Paul’s most unique phrase, being used 164 times in Paul’s letters."^[48] John Mackay placed the number at 169.^[49] Most commentators either ignore it altogether or, after noting it, give no adequate evaluation of it. Therefore, the following from Ridderbos is especially welcome:

As a matter of fact, this in Christ represents, in a remarkable and comprehensive way, the whole profound view which Paul unfolds in his letters concerning the significance for believers of the salvation that has appeared in Christ. ^[50]

Without exception, all Christians are those, and those only, who have been "baptized into Christ." For extensive discussions of this exceedingly important premise, see my Commentary on Romans 3:22

^[48] Raymond T. Stamm, op. cit., p. 464.

^[49] John Mackay, God’s Order (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1953), p. 97.

^[50] Herman N. Ridderbos, op. cit., p. 72.

Galatians 1:23 --But they only heard say, He that once persecuted us now preacheth the faith of which he once made havoc.

Nothing in the New Testament more emphatically nails down the fact that Paul did not "bring a brand-new way of salvation." The gospel he preached was exactly the truth he persecuted. The conflict which underlies Paul’s extensive writings on faith vs. law is not a conflict between two ways of understanding the gospel; but it is a conflict between the one faith vs. the Law of Moses as interpreted by the Judaizers who made keeping it necessary and essential unto salvation (Acts 15:1).

If one might be permitted to speculate upon the reason why Almighty God moved to supplement the personnel of the original Twelve by the addition of Paul, the reason must be sought in the fact that in one essential particular the Twelve did not fully comprehend the absolute freedom (a term Paul himself used to describe the break in Romans 7:1 ff) of Christianity from the totality of Judaism. That God Almighty could not allow, no matter what miracles were involved in order to prevent it. Paul was surely one of those miracles. Paul never went beyond Jesus’ revelation to the Twelve, except in the application of the gospel to all people, and to Gentiles in particular, instead of merely to the Jews. The reason Paul was able to do that did not derive from any difference in Christ’s revelation to himself and to the Twelve; for they had all received the same revelation Paul was given. Peter, for example, on Pentecost had plainly declared that the gospel was for "them that are afar off," obviously meaning Gentiles. The thing that enabled Paul more readily and effectively to apply this truth (although all of the apostles eventually succeeded in doing so) was his greater knowledge of the Old Testament, and in addition, many elements in the personality of the man himself.

Dummelow’s comment on this verse is illustrative of the type of thinking that often clutters the minds of scholars on this question. He wrote: "Preacheth the faith proclaims the necessity of trust in Christ as the sole essential to salvation!"^[51] Indeed, indeed! Paul was preaching the same gospel Peter preached, and Peter commanded believers to "repent and be baptized" in order to receive the remission of sins (Acts 2:38); and this verse is an affirmation that Paul preached exactly the same gospel.

ENDNOTE:

^[51] J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 948.

Galatians 1:24 --And they glorified God in me.

For thoughts regarding the glory of God, see under Galatians 1:5. As Pink said, "To honor that blessed One whose we are and whom we serve, to so conduct myself that fellow saints glorify God in me, that is to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things (Titus 2:10)."^[52] Ridderbos commented on the fact that the churches of Judea glorified God in Paul, despite their having suffered so much at his hands "How different the attitude among the Galatians who had received only good from him."^[53] Such is the mystery of human behavior. Cole accurately pointed out the reason why those in Judea glorified God in Paul.

They recognized his gospel at once as that which they had preached.^[54]

THOUGHTS REGARDING ANOTHER GOSPEL

Paul’s times were not unique in producing advocates of "another gospel," which in reality is "no gospel," but falsehood. Some advocate the gospel of salvation by morality, supposing that the only requirement for eternal life is to live respectably before one’s contemporaries. Others advocate the gospel of an infallible church, whereas no church was ever infallible, not even any that were founded, or planted, by the apostles themselves, as detailed in the first chapters of Revelation. Still others preach the gospel of salvation by faith only, notwithstanding the fact that such a so-called gospel is anti-Scriptural, delusive, deceitful and contrary to everything in the New Testament. The great fad of our own times is the gospel of humanism, which deifies man himself, leaves the Son of God completely out of consideration, and equates humanitarian and charitable works with God’s unqualified approval, despite the truth that no present-day humanitarian may lay claim to any better service than that rendered by Cornelius, who was a lost man until he obeyed the gospel.

Contrasting with all such false gospels is the only one true and eternal gospel of Jesus Christ revealed in the New Testament; and if one desires to know what it is and receive its blessings, he must find it here, and having found it: (a) believe the great facts it reveals, (b) obey its commandments, and (c) receive its glorious promises! Amen!

^[52] Arthur W. Pink, op. cit., p. 231.

^[53] Herman N. Ridderbos, op. cit., p. 74.

^[54] R. A. Cole, op. cit., p. 59.

Galatians Chapter Two

Two major divisions of this chapter are: (1) Paul’s appeal to the fact that fourteen years after his conversion (long after he had been successfully preaching the gospel), the leading apostles in Jerusalem fully endorsed his preaching and extended to him the right hand of fellowship (Galatians 2:1-10), and (2) that in one very important particular he had withstood the apostle Peter face to face, exposing his sin and hypocrisy, the obvious conclusion from such an incident being that (in one particular at least) he was superior to the apostles in Jerusalem (Galatians 2:11-21).

Around these two major themes of the chapter, however, Paul wove some of the most important theological principles revealed in the New Testament, introducing the main theme of Galatians in Galatians 2:16, which is "Justification by the Faith of Christ, and not by the Law of Moses."

Galatians 2:1 --Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus with me. (Galatians 2:1)

Paul’s intention here was to justify his apostleship, as not having been received through human beings; and, since that apostleship began with his conversion, the "fourteen years" here means fourteen years after his conversion. It is remarkable how religious fads can blind the eyes of expositors, and a startling example of it is seen in the usual treatment of this visit, making it fourteen years after his last visit to Jerusalem. This is based on the mistaken view that Paul in this letter had set out to name every trip he had ever made to the capital of Judaism. He obviously had no such intention. He left out of consideration altogether a trip to Jerusalem which he and Barnabas had made to deliver famine relief "to the elders" in Jerusalem (Acts 11:30); but, as that trip came about the time when Peter was imprisoned, James had been martyred, and all of the apostles were in hiding, it could have had no bearing whatever on what Paul was emphasizing here.

I went up again to Jerusalem ... has the simple meaning of "upon another occasion I went up to Jerusalem." It is totally wrong to read this as if it said, "the second time I went up to Jerusalem." The New Testament merely states that he went up "again." As Ridderbos said, "Once one has rid himself of the idea that Paul wants to give a summary here of all his trips to Jerusalem,"^[1] it is easy to see that the meeting described in these verses is the so-called Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:1 ff), and that there is no need to identify it as the famine visit of Acts 11:30. McGarvey was in perfect agreement with this view;^[2] and, as Harrison asked, "If the question of the admission of Gentiles into the church had been settled on the famine visit,"^[3] why was another conference necessary to settle the same question?

Titus ... For full discussion of this man, see under 2 Corinthians 7:6.

Barnabas ... It should be noted that Paul, in order to avoid assuming any domination over Barnabas, stated that he went "with" him; whereas, in the case of Titus, one of his faithful followers, he referred to "taking him."

One of Paul’s purposes, in addition to that of defending his apostleship by making this journey, was to prove that he properly respected and honored those who were apostles before him; and, as Barclay noted, "To prove that his independence was not anarchy, nor schismatic and sectarian, but that his gospel was indeed no other than the faith delivered to the church."^[4]

Another important sidelight here is that Paul spoke of Barnabas here with the necessary implication that he was already known to the Christians in Galatia, "a further indication that they were the churches of the first missionary journey,"^[5] in which Barnabas shared.

^[1] H. N. Ridderbos, The Epistles of Paul to the Churches of Galatia (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1953), p. 78.

^[2] J. W. McGarvey, The Standard Bible Commentary, Galatians (Cincinnati, Ohio: The Standard Publishing Company, 1916), p. 256.

^[3] Everett F. Harrison, Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 698.

^[4] William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1964), p. 16.

^[5] F. Roy Coad, A New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1969), p. 449.

Galatians 2:2 --And I went up by revelation; and I laid before them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles but privately before them who were of repute, lest by any means I should be running, or had run, in vain.

By revelation ... From Luke (Acts 15:2), it is clear that the church in Antioch commissioned Paul and Barnabas to go to Jerusalem; but from this it is learned that Paul went by "revelation." As Macknight said, "The church at Antioch was directed by divine revelation to send Paul and Barnabas on this mission. So, he could justly say that he went by revelation."^[6] There is also the possibility that Paul, at first, would not go, until specifically commanded by Christ to do so. It is a fact that Christ personally stood by Paul on occasions (Acts 22:18). Furthermore, Paul’s reasons for going were not for the purpose of receiving instruction or of getting the apostles in Jerusalem to decide anything. He went there for the purpose of straightening out the error that, for the moment, was rampant in the church in that city. There is nothing in this whole episode that reveals "the Mother Church settling important matters of doctrine." See comment on this so-called council in my Commentary on Acts 15.

And I laid before them ... Paul’s efforts here were directed to the purpose of correcting false views prevalent in the church in Jerusalem; therefore, he laid the pure gospel before them. This does not mean "that Paul had begun to feel insecure about his gospel."^[7] It was an effort to unify the church.

Who were of repute ... seems somewhat ironical. Ridderbos said, "It positively is not that."^[8] However, Paul’s mention of this, using similar and somewhat more emphatic terms, no less than four times in this passage would definitely suggest that very possibility.

But privately ... Some scholars dogmatically assert that Paul’s account of the "council" here cannot be harmonized with Acts 15:1 ff; but that is only because they fail to see that there were private discussions which took place before the public and more formal meeting later on. Huxtable noted that Luke mentions no less than three separate meetings^[9] in Acts 15:4; Acts 15:6; Acts 15:12. Even today large public meetings are usually preceded by private discussions of those in charge of them. Lipscomb said:

These private consultations were a wise precaution to avoid misunderstanding. Such private conferences are usually held in connection with public assemblies for the purpose of preparing and maturing business for final action.^[10]

Lest by any means I should be running ... in vain ... If the Twelve had repudiated Paul’s gospel, it would, in a sense, have nullified his whole life’s work, making it to be largely "in vain." Paul definitely did not mean here that he had any question regarding his own redemption.

^[6] James Macknight, Apostolical Epistles with Commentary and Notes (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1969), p. 122.

^[7] Herman N. Ridderbos, op. cit., p. 81.

^[8] Ibid.

^[9] E. Huxtable, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), Vol. 20, p. 70.

^[10] David Lipscomb, A Commentary on the New Testament Epistles (Nashville: Gospel Advocate Company, n.d.), p. 203.

Galatians 2:3-5 --But not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: And that because of the false brethren brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: to whom we gave place in the way of subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

"The apostle’s language here is somewhat ambiguous,"^[11] as Bruce said, making the interpretation to be: The first time I took Titus to Jerusalem the question was not even raised; but, at a later time, the false brethren spied on us and demanded that he be circumcised; but we refused to do so, etc. Sanday, Bruce and others make Galatians 2:2-5 a parenthetical statement. However, it appears to this writer that the parenthesis is to explain the fact that, even under pressure from the demands initiated by the false brethren, Titus was not circumcised, the mention of the false brethren being for the purpose of showing how the question came up. In any case, the big point is that Paul absolutely refused to have Titus circumcised; and that, even if pressure was applied to Titus personally, he also refused to accommodate the Judaizers.

To spy out our liberty ... "The notion of hostile intent is strongly suggested by this."^[12] The Judaizing party in the church was prepared to go to any lengths to enforce law-keeping and circumcision upon all who became Christians, whether Jew or Gentile.

Liberty which we have in Christ Jesus ... "Being in Christ is primal in all Pauline teaching; once grasped, the secret to Paul is discovered."^[13] "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature" (2 Corinthians 5:17). The liberty which Paul had in view here was primarily freedom from the ceremonials of Judaism; but there is a notable and extensive freedom "in Christ" from all encumbering religious devices. Even the grand ordinances of Christianity are only two in number, baptism and the Lord’s Supper; and one of these is observed only once at the beginning of the Christian life. How antagonistic to the true teachings of the New Testament are the declamations of those who attempt to make Paul’s words here to mean that Christians are free from those ordinances! It was not freedom from Christ’s commandments that Paul taught, but freedom from the forms and ceremonies of Judaism. Jesus himself declared that "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:19). The contrast between the teaching of Paul and the teaching of men here is observable in the following:

PAUL: The binding of circumcision and Jewish ceremonial upon Christians violates the truth that the Christian religion is all that is needed for salvation .... TRUE.

MEN: The binding of circumcision, etc., nullified the truth that faith in Christ is the sole and sufficient ground of justification.^[14] ... FALSE.

Such audacious perversions of sacred truth should be detected and rejected by all true believers in Christ.

^[11] F. F. Bruce, Answers to Questions (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1972), p. 103.

^[12] E. Huxtable, op. cit., p. 73.

^[13] Raymond T. Stamm, The Interpreter’s Bible (New York: Abingdon Press, 1953), Vol. X, p. 472.

^[14] E. Huxtable, op. cit., p. 74.

Galatians 2:6 --But from those who were reputed to be somewhat (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth not man’s person) - they, I say, who were of repute imparted nothing to me.

Who were reputed to be somewhat ... who were of repute ... Paul does not here question the legitimate reputation and prominence of the Twelve, but he is careful not to admit any lack of equality with them on his own behalf. As Howard said it: "He did not want to imply total submission to their judgment, or deny his own unique and divinely given authority."^[15]

God accepteth not man’s person ... No man’s opinion should be received merely upon the basis of who he is, his position in life or any office that he holds. Even Jesus our Lord did not require people to believe him upon the basis of his status as a human being, but upon the basis that God had given him a message, and that that message of God was what he taught. Paul’s reference here is addressed exactly to that very principle. Not even an apostle should be believed as a man, but as a true messenger of God. See more on this in my Commentary on John 12:49. How differently are the sayings of men urged upon us today. Lo, a bishop has spoken, a pope has circulated an encyclical, the head of a church has spoken, or a general conference has decided it, etc. The human failing in relying upon such things predisposes people to find a similar thing at Jerusalem in the events related in this chapter. Indeed this has been called the First Ecumenical Council of the Church, but it was no such thing.

They imparted nothing to me ... Paul was the one who imparted the truth on that occasion, not the so-called council. How amazing is a comment like this:

Added nothing to me ... Paul does not mean that he received from them nothing essential for his gospel!^[16]

Despite such allegations, if language has any meaning at all, that is exactly what Paul did mean, namely, that the council made no contribution of any kind whatever to the gospel he preached, to the revelation of Christ which he had received, or to anything whatever that concerned Paul.

Scholars are critical of Paul for not delivering the "findings of the council" to the Galatians in this letter, and for not any time or anywhere even mentioning them in his epistles. Some even presume to date Galatians at a time far removed from this council in order to account for his not delivering the decisions of it; but the reason for such omission is clear enough in this dynamic clause. The council made no contribution whatever to the gospel, the great result of the meeting being that they received Paul’s views in their entirety and began to preach as they should have been doing already, in full consonance with the gospel Christ had given them, exactly as he had to Paul. Stamm asserted that "Acts says that this conference was called to decide whether Gentile converts must be circumcised";^[17] but this is due to misreading Acts 15:1 ff. Stamm’s very next line is, "But (Acts) in reporting the action of the council says nothing about circumcision.^[18] Of course it didn’t! No such purpose is discernible anywhere. The question of whether Gentiles were to be circumcised had long ago been revealed to the Twelve, as well as to Paul. Peter himself had received into full fellowship the uncircumcised Cornelius, baptizing him into Christ, and defending the action against some who questioned it (Acts 10 and Acts 11). Not only had the question already been determined, all of the apostles on earth, in conference assembled, did not have the authority to alter that decision in any manner. To be sure, the councils of men held today are even more incompetent and unauthorized to meet and determine Christian doctrine; and their presuming to do so is the prime scandal that has perverted Christianity in so many particulars through the ages.

^[15] R. E. Howard, Beacon Bible Commentary (Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press, 1965), Vol. IX, p. 41.

^[16] Raymond T. Stamm, op. cit., p. 474.

^[17] Ibid., p. 477.

^[18] Ibid.

Galatians 2:7-8 --But contrariwise, when they saw that I had been intrusted with the gospel of the uncircumcision, even as Peter with the gospel of the circumcision (for he that wrought for Peter unto the apostleship of the circumcision wrought for me also unto the Gentiles).

Gospel of the circumcision.., of the uncircumcision ... Huxtable was correct in the observation that:

This does not indicate any diversity in the doctrine communicated to the uncircumcision from that communicated to the Jews, but simply a diversity in the sphere of its proclamation.^[19]

The marvelous tenderness and forbearance of the heavenly Father are fully in view in all of these remarkable events. The failure of the apostleship in Jerusalem to get on with preaching the gospel "to the whole creation" as Christ had commanded them to do (Mark 16:15-16) was the most deplorable sin they ever committed. For God to have permitted the Judaizing of Christianity would have been, in its final result, the restriction of salvation to Jews alone; and the entire premise of God’s loving all people and desiring their salvation would have been countermanded and nullified. That was the acute and fatal nature of the problem. The intervention of God himself at such a juncture was the only way to correct it. This accounts for the conversion of Saul of Tarsus who had the power to cut the umbilical cord that strapped the infant church to Judaism, threatening to strangle Christianity to death.

The weakness of the Twelve, springing from their environment, and their failure (at first) to understand the world-wide, independent nature of Christianity, was contained by Almighty God in those events clustered around the name of Paul; and with infinite mercy and tenderness, the Father did not remove or punish the Twelve, but on the other hand, committed the preaching to the Gentiles to one more able than themselves to do it. Later on, of course, the Twelve took up and discharged fully their total responsibility. Would they ever have been able to do so without Paul? It seems unlikely; therefore the miracle of Paul!

ENDNOTE:

^[19] E. Huxtable, op. cit., p. 75.

Galatians 2:9 --And when they perceived the grace that was given unto me, James and Cephas and John, they who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go unto the Gentiles and they unto the circumcision.

James and Cephas and John ... James the brother of John had already been slain by Herod (Acts 12), and this James was the oldest brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55 f), which probably accounts for his influence in the Jerusalem church at this time. Here he was named even ahead of Peter and John; and his position seems to have been that of a "leading elder" in the church there.

Were reputed to be pillars ... Paul does not deny with this the high office belonging to the Twelve, not the deserved reputation and esteem they enjoyed in Jerusalem; but there is a hint here that their specific behavior with regard to the Gentiles was unbecoming. The "reputed pillars" had caved in in this glaring particular. The words are therefore spoken in love and pity, rather than reproachfully.

Right hands of fellowship ... This was the big point of Paul’s relating this incident. Despite their own defection (in that sense), they nevertheless unhesitatingly agreed that Paul was preaching the pure and unadulterated gospel, a thing which they, through timidity, at the moment were not doing; and some little time would elapse before they would.

Galatians 2:10 --Only they would that we should remember the poor; which very thing I was also zealous to do.

Paul mentioned this as a practical matter and with a view to alerting the Galatian churches that they might expect him to raise money from them to be distributed among the poor, as soon as he should have the opportunity. On Paul’s final visit to Jerusalem, he delivered such a contribution to James and the elders in Jerusalem (Acts 21:17).

THE CONFRONTATION WITH PETER

The next eleven verses (Galatians 2:11-21) were written, it seems, to emphasize, not merely that Paul’s gospel had been approved by the Twelve, but that in one grave particular, he preached the true gospel even when it was opposed by such men as Peter and even Barnabas. The chronology of the incident described here is difficult, if not impossible, to determine. Dummelow noted that:

Some hold that St. Paul in this passage is not mentioning a later instance of his independence, but merely another instance of it which was earlier in time than that mentioned in Galatians 2:1-10.^[20]

Favoring that understanding are the indefinite "when Cephas came to Antioch" (Galatians 2:11), and the "before that" of Galatians 2:12, which may be Paul’s way of saying that the episode he was about to relate happened "before" the one just recorded. This would make Peter’s conduct appear to be a little less flagrant than when it is understood as coming immediately after the events just narrated. However, if it was an earlier action, it still came after the experience he had in the home of Cornelius (Acts 10), being totally reprehensible, no matter when it occurred. Ramsay also held that it is not mandatory to interpret the last half of this chapter as coming after the first part, quoting Turner and Zahn as having the same view.^[21]

McGarvey wrote that "It was probably very soon after the council in Jerusalem."^[22] Lipscomb declared that "I am confident that it could not have come before";^[23] and Ridderbos said, "It seems to lie in the whole bearing of the context that Peter came to Antioch after the apostolic council.^[24] John William Russell thought, "This was previous to the visit of Paul to Jerusalem."^[25] Not a great deal hinges on the point, either way.

^[20] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 949.

^[21] William M. Ramsay, A Historical Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistles to the Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1965), p. 304.

^[22] J. W. McGarvey, op. cit., p. 260.

^[23] David Lipscomb, op. cit., p. 208.

^[24] Herman N. Ridderbos, op. cit., p. 95.

^[25] John William Russell, Compact Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1964), in loco.

Galatians 2:11 --But when Peter came to Antioch, I resisted him to the face, because he stood condemned.

He stood condemned ... Far from being infallible in matters of doctrine, the apostle Peter, who is alleged to have been the first pope, here committed the most fundamental doctrinal error imaginable, upsetting completely the false teaching of Peter’s supremacy. Peter was not merely condemned by a fellow-apostle, he was self-condemned, his own conscience reproving and repudiating his actions. Paul stated in Romans (Romans 2:1) the principle that holds a man self-condemned if he practices what he condemns in others. This Peter did, for he advocated eating with Gentiles in Acts 10; but here he refused to do so.

Before going any further with this said failure of the beloved Peter, it should be brought to mind that this was only a momentary thing. As Halley put it:

It took a few years for the apostles to get adjusted to the new teaching; and Paul adjusted more quickly than Peter did. The Galatian incident happened after Paul had come all the way out of Judaism, and while Peter was coming out. But Peter did come all the way out before any of the books of the New Testament were written, and there is not an iota of difference between the teaching of Paul and Peter in the New Testament.^[26]

Paul was compelled to relate this for reasons which were no doubt providential. The utter condemnation of all the arrogant claims of the historical church regarding the supremacy of Peter, his infallibility, and their own alleged succession to such prerogatives is accomplished by this narrative, as well as the practical thing at hand, in which Paul used it to defend his own apostleship.

ENDNOTE:

^[26] Henry H. Halley, Halley’s Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1927), p. 561.

Galatians 2:12-13 --For before that certain came from James, he ate with the Gentiles; but when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing them that were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that even Barnabas was carried away with their dissimulation.

From James ... In Acts 15, it is learned that these Judaizers actually had no commission whatever from James (Acts 15:24), yet they were sinfully and deceitfully operating in his name.

The identity of these Judaizers is provided in Acts 6:7; Acts 15:5, where it is made clear that they were priests of the sect of the Pharisees who had accepted the gospel, but were unwilling to give up the customs and ceremonies of Judaism. They were a powerful and very influential group, and Paul here made extenuating remarks regarding the conduct of both Peter and Barnabas, Peter’s mistake being due to fear of the powerful Pharisaical party, and Barnabas’ being that he was just "carried away" with it in a moment of weakness.

Verse 14

But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Cephas before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest as do the Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, how compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?

I said unto Cephas ... before them all ... This bold rebuke administered by Paul to Peter may not be taken as a relaxation of Jesus’ rule that the brother having sinned should first be approached privately (see my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 5:24). The situation was not one which pertains to any persons today, for both Paul and Peter were inspired apostles of the highest rank; and the near-unique situation demanded exactly what Paul did here. We therefore disagree with Hendriksen that here is established the principle of "rebuking publicly those who have sinned publicly,"^[27] unless and until the three steps commanded by Jesus in Matthew 18:15-17 have been taken. Church leaders, as recommended by Calvin, taking upon them to imitate Paul’s action here, are presuming far too much. Besides, it is not certainly known that Paul had not already, in this case, taken the steps of the first and second admonitions, as he had instructed Titus to do (3:10); but no matter what Paul did, it is the instruction to Titus that more correctly fits the analogy with church leaders today. See much more on this in my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 18:15.

ENDNOTE:

^[27] William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary on Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1968), p. 96.

Galatians 2:15-16 --But we being Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST even we believed on Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by the FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST, and not by the works of law; because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. (KJV)

This passage announces the great theme of Galatians, which is Justification by the Faith of Christ; and the key words in it have been properly rendered, in the light of the best scholarship on earth, and capitalized to emphasize the truth.

REGARDING THE TRANSLATION WHICH IS ACCEPTED HERE

The teaching set forth in this series of commentaries with regard to justification is advocated fully in my Commentary on Romans 3:22; and the student is referred to that for a great deal of material that cannot be repeated here. Since the publication of that volume in 1973, further scholarly studies by distinguished theologians have fully confirmed the undeniable accuracy of translating "faith of Christ" instead of "faith in Christ" in this place and a number of other places in the New Testament. Of course, the KJV is correct in most of these places, though not in all; and strong voices have for years been crying out against the perversion inherent in changing God’s word to read otherwise than the way it is handed down to people in the Greek New Testament. Foy E. Wallace, Jr., decried the butchering of the passage at hand thus:

In this verse (Galatians 2:16), "by the faith of Christ" is changed to "only through faith in Christ"; but" the faith of Christ" refers to the gospel system of faith, and they have manipulated this passage to teach justification by faith only, going so far as to change "the works of the law" (the law of Moses) to "deeds dictated by law"; yet faith itself is a law (Romans 3:27) .... A committee of text-makers who will artfully twist such a specific gospel passage to implement the false doctrine of faith alone will do anything in the name of translation.^[28]

As recently as April, 1974, Professor George Howard, University of Georgia, published a study of "The Faith of Christ" in Expositor Times, pointing out that James Macknight in the 19th century, Gabriel Hebert in 1955, and other great scholars have demanded that this passage be translated correctly as "the faith of Christ."^[29] After citing dozens of scientific studies by distinguished linguists, he gave as his conclusion that:

We may conclude then that, grammatically speaking, [@pistis] [@Christou] should be rendered "faith of Christ."^[30]

He even went further and affirmed that the usual definition of faith as the word is used in the New Testament is not trust/faith as usually thought, but "faithfulness," in the sense of "obedience," "reliability," or "fidelity."^[31] That this is the truth appears from Paul’s references to "obedient faith" at both ends of the book of Romans (Romans 1:5; Romans 16:26).

Thus, the "faith of Christ" includes both his own trust/faith in the heavenly Father, and his perfect obedience and fidelity in the discharge of his mission of redemption. The doctrine of salvation through faith only is wrong on many counts. It is wrong in misunderstanding the sinner’s trust/faith as the ground of justification, whereas it is actually the obedient faith of the Son of God; and even in the Lord’s case, it was not faith only, but faith and perfect obedience. It is totally wrong to regard "faith in Christ" (as used in the New Testament) as reference to the theological concept trust/faith, or subjective faith of the sinner; because as noted by Howard, the usual definition in the New Testament is not that at all, but fidelity. There are other instances in which "faith in Christ" means "the Christian religion," a definition Wallace applied in this verse, but which this writer feels is incorrect in this context. Over and beyond all this, let the key expression "in Christ" be given its proper emphasis, and it is at once clear that no man who ever breathed has "faith in Christ" when he himself has refused to be baptized into Christ, in which case he might have faith out of Christ," but not "in him." Another legitimate meaning of "faith in Christ" is faith exercised by one who is "in Christ," having been baptized into him, made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and fully identified as a member of Christ’s spiritual body, the church.

The faith of Christ ... meaning his perfect fidelity and obedience, is actually the ground of man’s redemption. Absolute perfection is required of all who would be saved (Matthew 5:48), a state that is not attainable by any man who ever lived, save only Jesus Christ our Lord, Immanuel. Perfection being the sine qua non without which none shall enter eternal life, how may it be procured and in a sense achieved by man? God’s device of making one perfect, in the sense of being absolutely justified, is that of transferring him into Christ, identifying him with Christ and as Christ, a transference and identity achieved on behalf of the Christian when he is in the spiritual body of Christ. Thus Paul could say, "That we may present every man perfect in Christ" (Colossians 1:28). See article on "Jesus Christ, Inc.," in my Commentary on Romans. As Paul would say a little later in this chapter, the life which the Christian lives is not his own, but Christ’s ( ).

Even we believed on Christ Jesus ... This is sinners’ faith, introduced into the passage after the "faith of Christ" was mentioned just ahead of it; and if "faith of Christ" meant a sinner’s believing in Christ, this clause would not have been added. Paul develops this great theme throughout the following passages in the epistle.

Works of the law ... refers to Jewish ceremonial in the Law of Moses and has no reference whatever to the ordinances of the Christian religion and to moral obligations and duties of Christians.

^[28] Foy. E. Wallace, Jr., A Review of the New Versions (Fort Worth, Texas: The Foy E. Wallace, Jr., Publications, 1973), p. 509.

^[29] George Howard, Article: "The Faith of Christ," in Expositor Times, Vol. 7, pp. 212-214, April, 1974.

^[30] Ibid.

^[31] Ibid.

Galatians 2:17 --But if, while we sought to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also were found sinners, is Christ a minister of sin? God forbid.

This is somewhat parenthetical to clear up any possible misunderstanding. Paul had just laid down the gospel that we are justified by the faith of Christ; and, in order to prevent any man from thinking that his own fidelity and compliance with Christ’s teaching were not needed, Paul effectively denied such a thought with this verse. Christians are not saved in their sins but from their sins. And holiness is an attainment without which no man shall see the Lord. This does not imply that one has to be perfect, an impossibility anyway, but it does teach that a man must do his best to serve God. God will supply whatever is lacking on the Christian’s part, so that at last every man shall be accounted "saved by grace" and not by any merit whatever.

Galatians 2:18 --For if I build up again those things which I destroyed, I prove myself a transgressor.

Hendriksen paraphrased the meaning of this as, "If I start to rebuild the very things I have torn down, it is then that I prove myself a transgressor."^[32]

"The things I have torn down" would be the ceremonial regulations of Judaism; and Paul here stated that it would be sinful if again he reverted to their observance.

ENDNOTE:

^[32] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 101.

Galatians 2:19 --For I through the law died unto the law, that I might live unto God.

"To live unto God" is to be in Christ who lives at God’s right hand; where Christ is, there the Christian is; for because of his membership in Christ’s spiritual body, there is a sense in which he "is Christ." Christ died, therefore we have died in his person on Calvary as our substitute. That is what Paul meant by saying, "We are baptized into his death." Through the Christian’s being "in Christ," and identified with Christ, he has already perished upon the cross in the person of his substitute. "Being dead to sin but alive unto God in Christ" (Romans 6:11) has a meaning parallel with this verse. The Romans passage does not mean that "in Christ" the Christian is no longer tempted; but that "in Christ" the penalty of sin, which is death, is already paid upon behalf of the Christians by Christ who died on the cross. Here the thought is that "in Christ" Christians have already fulfilled all of the law, since that is what Christ’ did; and we are "in him" and "of him." Also, there is here the thought that people are dead to the law through the body of Christ.

Galatians 2:20 --I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live by the FAITH OF THE SON OF GOD who loved me, and gave himself for me. (KJV)

Here we have followed the KJV, because of the accurate rendition of "FAITH OF THE SON OF GOD."

It is no longer I that live ... This touches the incredibly important truth that no man is ever saved in his own personal identity as possessing any true righteousness. All of the righteousness of God is in Christ (Ephesians 1:3); and no mortal may be saved as John Doe. He must renounce self and become identified with Christ who is righteous. "As Christ," therefore, he is dead to sin, has fulfilled the law, is alive unto God, and the heir of eternal glory "in Christ." "This doctrine, one of the fundamentals of Pauline theology, is one of the concepts which gives meaning to and ties together in a coherent whole the various aspects of Paul’s gospel."^[33] This forsaking of one’s identity to be "Christ, in a sense, in Christ" was announced by Christ himself, who said, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). Also he said, "He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit ... If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, etc." (John 15:4-6). Therefore, if a man is able to answer two questions affirmatively, there is no way he can be lost: (1) Is he "in Christ"? (The only way one can be "in Christ" is to be baptized into him.) (2) Will he be "found in him"? (Philippians 3:9). This means, will he still be "in Christ" when life ends, or the Lord comes? The person described by affirmative answers to these questions is of them concerning whom the voice from heaven said, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord" (Revelation 14:13).

ENDNOTE:

^[33] George Howard, op. cit., p. 214.

Galatians 2:21 --I do not make void the grace of God: for if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for naught.

The great problem existing from the day man first committed sin is, "How can even God justly declare a human being to be righteous?" That the Law of Moses could not do it is an axiom. If true righteousness could have been procured by any man who ever lived on earth through means of the Mosaic Law, Christ’s death would not have been necessary. The corollary of that is that for one to rely upon law-keeping for justification is to repudiate and reject Christ’ sacrifice.

And how does God justly account a man to be righteous? It is not by shooting righteousness into him gratuitously because he believed, but by transferring the sinner into Christ who IS righteous, the sinner first of all renouncing his own identity, in the sense of having any merit (as Jesus said, "denying himself"’), being baptized into Christ and remaining "in him" until the final summons. It is the perfect faith and righteousness of Jesus Christ which constitute "the righteousness of God through the FAITH OF CHRIST" (Romans 3:22-26). Please see my Commentary on Romans, chapter 3, for extensive discussion of this.

Galatians Chapter Three

In this great chapter, Paul proceeded, after relating his confrontation with the apostle Peter, to expound the central theme of Galatians, which is Justification by the Faith of Jesus Christ. This chapter is considered by many commentators and theologians to be the stronghold of their doctrine that the subjective faith only of Christians is the ground for justification, notwithstanding the truth that not a single word in the chapter may legitimately be construed as teaching such a proposition.

Some prior knowledge of Almighty God and the nature of his dealings with mankind will help to understand this chapter. From the days of Cain and Abel, one of whom was cursed and the other blessed, for the simple reason that the deeds of one were righteous and the deeds of the other were evil (1 John 3:12), and throughout the history of the patriarchs, and continuing down through the Jewish monarchy, where of various kings it is said that some "did that which was right and good in the eyes of the Lord" (2 Chronicles 14:2), and of others, that they "did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord" (2 Chronicles 33:2), with the result that some received God’s blessing and others did not, people’s obedience or disobedience to God’s commandments has been the primary and invariable determinator of their destiny. Not even the perfect salvation which Christians have received "in Christ" nullifies this basic law of God’s dealings with mankind. As Paul wrote the Corinthian church:

For we must all be manifest before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Any notion that Paul relaxed or countermanded this truth is erroneous. The relationship between the Jews and the Law of Moses, as contrasted with the relationship between the Christian and the "law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:2), lies only in this: (1) if the Jew did his best to live up to the law (and failed, as all must fail), he nevertheless stood condemned anyway; (2) but if the Christian does his best to keep all of the commandments of the gospel (failing in particulars, as all must fail), he is nevertheless justified and remains uncondemned, because through his identity with Christ "in Christ" and "as Christ," the righteousness of Christ, with whom the true Christian is fully identified, stands in the stead of his own failure, saving his soul anyway. But in such a conception there is no relaxation whatever of the eternal rule that obedience to God is the sine qua non of salvation. In Christ, the obedience is provided by Christ, but certainly not on behalf of those who refused to obey, believed that they were not required to obey, or who through indifference and neglect never got around to obeying. The great fallacy of salvation by "faith only" is that it utterly removes from human hearts all concern whatever with regard to keeping the commandments of the Lord. Paul thunders the refutation of that fallacy throughout his writings, as in this example:

Rest with us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8).

Furthermore, the necessity of obedience (to the fullest extent of human ability) in order to be saved, does not make man his own Savior; because the Christian, no more effectual than the Jew, is simply not able to give perfect compliance to God’s teachings. Thus, all salvation is by grace, without human merit, unearned and incapable of being earned. Despite this, how can any man be saved who has consciously rejected for himself any requirement whatever that God has enjoined upon man? On the basis that he merely believed? Even devils believe (James 2:19).

Another fundamental truth regarding this chapter was enunciated by Halley, thus:

Those Galatians had swallowed the Judaizers’ message so completely that they had instituted Jewish festival days and ceremonies (Galatians 4:8-11), evidently trying to combine the gospel with the Mosaic Law. Paul plainly tells them the two systems do not combine^[1]

The works vs. faith contrast in this epistle regards the incompatibility of Judaism and Christianity, and absolutely nothing else. The separation of subjective faith from Christian obedience with regard to the ground of justification is not under consideration at all, nor may a single line in the whole epistle be rightfully applied to such a proposition.

ENDNOTE:

^[1] Henry H. Halley, Halley’s Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1927), p. 561.

Galatians 3:1 --O foolish Galatians, who did bewitch you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth crucified? (Galatians 3:1)

"Jesus Christ and him crucified" was the burden of Paul’s preaching throughout every moment of his apostleship. The scholarly conceit that Paul only came to this method after failing with a different method at Athens is refuted by the fact that in Galatia, long before Paul came to Corinth, his message was the same.

Foolish Galatians ... By such an adjective, Paul did not violate the Saviour’s injunction in Matthew 5:22. It is the same word Jesus used in Luke 24:25."^[2] Phillips’ translation renders this "You dear idiots," and the New English Bible (1961) has "You stupid Galatians."

Who did bewitch you ... ? Barclay declares that the word here means "the evil eye," rendering it, "Who has put the evil eye on you?"^[3] Still, it is wrong to suppose that Paul absolved the Galatians themselves from the blame. It was their stupidity that lay at the base of it.

Jesus Christ was openly set forth ... This is "from the Greek word [@prografein], used for putting up a poster.^[4] This means that the dramatic story of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection had been emphatically and publicly proclaimed.

^[2] William Sanday, Ellicott’s Commentary on the Holy Bible (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959), p. 440.

^[3] William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1954), p. 24.

^[4] Ibid., p. 26.

Galatians 3:2 --This only would I learn from you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by the hearing of faith?

It will be noted that "Law" has been capitalized throughout this chapter to indicate the one and only law Paul referred to throughout, meaning the Law of Moses. The commentators are less than candid when they use terminology that confuses this, as Dummelow, who said: "The apostle upbraids their speedy change from faith to legal observances,"^[5] leaving room for the allegation that something other than the Mosaic Law is meant.

The hearing of faith ... This is a shameful rendition of a phrase which actually means "the obedience of faith."^[6] As so frequently in the New Testament, faith must be understood as an obedient faith, as in Romans 1:5; Romans 16:26. "The hearing of faith" in this verse means exactly the same thing, as Macknight pointed out:

Here, as in Galatians 3:5, it means "the obedience of faith," as also in 1 Samuel 15:22 (LXX), "behold, obedience is better than sacrifice." In like manner, the compound word means "disobedience," as translated in Romans 5:19.^[7]

Cole is therefore absolutely wrong in rendering this "hearing and believing."^[8] Foy E. Wallace decried the butchering of this text, saying flatly that it has "been bungled."^[9] Of course, it was bungled on purpose to support a theory. Riddebos spoke of this passage as being "not easy to manage";^[10] and indeed it is impossible to manage it in such a manner as to make it support the "faith only" thesis, except by mistranslating it. The "obedience of faith" mentioned here at the head of the chapter makes it certain that Paul was dealing with a contrast between Judaism and Christianity, and not between two ways of understanding the gospel.

^[5] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 950.

^[6] James Macknight, Apostolical Epistles with Commentary and Notes (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1969), p. 139.

^[7] Ibid.

^[8] R. A. Cole, The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1965), p. 89.

^[9] Foy E. Wallace, Jr., A Review of the New Versions (Fort Worth, Texas: The Foy E. Wallace, Jr., Publications, 1973), p. 442.

^[10] H. N. Ridderbos, The Epistles of Paul to the Churches of Galatia (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1953), p. 113.

Galatians 3:3 --Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now perfected in the flesh?

In the Spirit ... in the flesh ... is another way of contrasting Judaism and Christianity, "the Spirit" being the endowment of all Christians, and "fleshly descent" being the total basis of Jewish confidence. But the constant manipulation of every text in the New Testament to fit the "faith only" notion must be maintained: "They received the Spirit by faith,"^[11] as one declared, despite the fact that faith is not mentioned in this verse, and despite the further fact that nobody ever received the Spirit except in consequence of his believing, repenting and being baptized into Christ (Acts 2:38), or as Paul said a little later in this epistle, "Because ye are sons God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts" (4:6). The full meaning is: "Are you so foolish, after receiving the Spirit in consequence of your faithful obedience of the gospel, to think that Judaism can bless you in any manner?"

ENDNOTE:

^[11] R. E. Howard, Beacon Bible Commentary (Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press, 1965), Vol. IX, p. 55.

Galatians 3:4 --Did ye suffer so many things in vain? if it be indeed in vain?

Some translate "suffer" here as "experience" (New English Bible); but even if this is allowable, their experience would have included their sufferings. This writer agrees with Howard that this refers to the persecutions brought against them from the very first by the Judaizers. The whole passage, as Ramsay thought, points squarely at Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe of the first missionary journey.^[12]

ENDNOTE:

^[12] William M. Ramsay, A Historical Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistles to the Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1965), p. 327.

Galatians 3:5 --He therefore that supplieth to you the Spirit and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the Law, or by the hearing of faith?

Worketh miracles among you ... "This is exactly the same phrase as in 1 Corinthians 12:10,"^[13] and logically refers to the miracles which Paul himself had performed among them, notable examples of which, as Ramsay pointed out, were: (1) the healing of the lame man at Lystra (Acts 14:9), and (2) the signs and wonders done at Iconium (Acts 14:3). Of course, Ramsay identified "the Galatians" as those churches of Paul’s first missionary journey.^[14]

Works of law ... hearing of faith ... See under Galatians 3:2.

^[13] W. J. Conybeare, The Life and Epistles of St. Paul (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1966), p. 484.

^[14] William M. Ramsay, op. cit., p. 327.

Galatians 3:6 --Even as Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.

By the introduction of this great truth, Paul refuted the notion that the Law of Moses had had anything to do with the salvation of Abraham. Since Abraham was justified, or reckoned righteous in God’s sight, without regard to the Law of Moses, Abraham being the ancestor of every Jew on earth, why should any of his remote descendants, much less the Gentile Galatians, think to gain anything at all from it? The argument is profound and beautiful.

Abraham believed God ... Abraham’s faith, not his faith only but his obedient faith, was the basis of God’s reckoning him to be righteous. Of course, Abraham did not obey perfectly; but the whole compass of his life was lived out in a frame of obedience to God’s commands. The ridiculous postulations of the "faith only" advocates to the effect that, since Abraham was justified without obeying the Law of Moses (which never even existed until centuries after Abraham) and without circumcision (which also came long after God’s justification of him), therefore he was justified by "faith only" and without any obedience whatever, is just as illogical as it is ridiculous. The New Testament plainly reveals the time of God’s justifying Abraham in such places as the following:

Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? (James 2:21 KJV).

Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? (James 2:21 English Revised Version (1885)).

Despite the obvious attempt to soften this in the English Revised Version (1885) (to accommodate a theory?), the meaning shines through anyway; for it was not Abraham’s "mere faith" which resulted in justification, but justification was "by works." It did not occur as soon as Abraham believed, but "in that he offered" Isaac. Both the Emphatic Diaglott and the Nestle Greek retain the "when."

And if these references should be thought of as insufficient, go back to Genesis. It is revealed that God "did test" Abraham’s faith (Genesis 22:1). There were many tests; but the great one was the command to offer up Isaac; and Abraham did so. He actually offered him and would have slain his son had not God interposed. And upon that occasion, God said:

Now I know that thou fearest God, seeing that thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me (Genesis 22:12).

By such a declaration, God implied that until then, the issue of Abraham’s faith had not been settled. When Abraham met the test, God said, "Now I know."

Now the absurdity of supposing that today God saves people without any test whatever of their faith, and merely upon their supposition that they have had some kind of subjective experience of "faith," is clearly evident. Exactly the same kind of divinely imposed test of every man’s faith in Christ was announced by none other than the Christ himself who declared, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:15-16); furthermore, in that passage, Jesus gave that as his own personal definition of the gospel. Let people scream about it if they will, the truth shines in the word of God; and may God protect all of us from the stupidity of the Galatians in turning away from it.

"Works" as advocated in the New Testament as entering into Abraham’s justification should not be understood in the sense of any perfect obedience by Abraham to everything God commanded, for he palmed off his wife as his sister, and was doubtless guilty of other sins; but, in the all-important matter of meeting the final test of doing what God commanded instead of obeying his own human will, Abraham passed the test. Among Christians, it may be supposed, perfect obedience is not considered to be possible; but in basic tests such as complying with the divinely imposed preconditions of redemption, such tests must be passed by those who hope to enter eternal life. Also, Christians will not merit, earn, or deserve salvation any more than did Abraham.

Galatians 3:7 --Know therefore that they that are of faith, the same are sons of Abraham.

The grand argument is that Abraham was justified upon the exhibition of an obedient faith; and persons today who manifest an obedient faith through their acceptance of the gospel message and obedience to it are true children of Abraham "in Christ." See under Galatians 3:16; Galatians 3:27.

Galatians 3:8-9 --And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all the nations be blessed. So then they that are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham.

Justify the Gentiles by faith ... The New Testament meaning of the word "faith" has been grossly distorted by post-Reformation theologians. "Its meaning in the New Testament is most often faithfulness,"^[15] which is the normal meaning of the word in the LXX, where the word never means trust/faith in the sense of the current usage of it.^[16] "The normal meaning of faith in the Greek language is not trust/faith, but reliability, or fidelity."^[17] Of course, anyone with a knowledge of Pauline teaching could not possibly believe that Paul here meant that the Gentiles were saved by trust/faith only. In the language in which Paul was writing, such a thought did not normally belong to the word at all.

The gospel unto Abraham ... The words "In thee shall all the nations be blessed," immediately following, identify what Paul meant by the gospel preached to Abraham. The word nations in the promise to Abraham means "Gentiles," who would be saved in exactly the same manner as Abraham, namely, by the "obedience of faith." Paul elaborated that in verse 16, below.

^[15] George Howard, Article: "The Faith of Christ," in Expositor Times, Vol. 7, pp. 212-214, April, 1974.

^[16] Ibid.

^[17] Ibid.

Galatians 3:10 --For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one who continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them.

The human impossibility of any man’s doing "All the things of the law" rendered every man attempting to do so subject to the curse, here quoted from Deuteronomy 27:26. The Galatians, by fooling around with circumcision and Jewish festival, had inadvertently obligated themselves, under penalty of God’s curse, to keep the whole law, every jot and tittle of it, an achievement which only Jesus Christ accomplished.

Galatians 3:11-12 --Now that no man is justified by the Law before God, is evident: for, The righteous shall live by faith; and the Law is not of faith; but, He that doeth them shall live in them.

No man is justified by the Law ... The reason this is true is cited in Galatians 3:10. There was another important indication of the same truth, which Paul then quoted from Habakkuk 2:4, "The righteous shall live by faith"; thus the prophets had borne testimony to the fact that the purpose of God, even in the Old Testament, was looking for an "obedient faith" in his children, and not merely for the legalistic type of rule-keeping which was the essence of the Law. The Law did not even require faith, as seen in the quotation Paul gave here from Leviticus 18:5, the meaning of which may be paraphrased, "No matter about faith; do the Law and live." This was the essence of Judaism. See note 2, at the end of the chapter.

Now regarding the conceit that would make Habakkuk say, "The righteous shall live by FAITH ONLY? such a meaning was never in any Old Testament usage of faith. As we have already observed, trust/faith or faith only simply did not pertain to the word in the Old Testament. Paul was here merely pointing out that, from the beginning, God had been interested in receiving "faithful obedience" from his followers, and not a mere faithless rule-keeping. We might add that the meaning of trust/faith or faith only is also foreign to the meaning of the word in the New Testament, or even in the Greek language, as Professor Howard has so effectively demonstrated.

There was still another sense in which the Law was a curse, and Paul quickly pointed that out.

Galatians 3:13 --Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.

The quotation is from Deuteronomy 21:23; and, since Christ was crucified on "the tree" the curse of the Law rested upon the Saviour and Redeemer of all mankind, and this in spite of the fact that Jesus our Lord was the unique and only person of all time who ever kept the totality of the Law in perfection. Cole was doubtless correct in seeing in this verse a rough parallel with 2 Corinthians 5:21, where it is declared that "God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf." Only by his crucifixion and suffering "without the camp" could the holy prophecies have been fulfilled by the Lord.

Galatians 3:14 --That upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

In Christ Jesus ... This is the cornerstone and foundation of the gospel Paul (and all the apostles) preached. The Gentiles will be blessed, along with Abraham, "in Christ," thus becoming technically part of Christ’s spiritual body, therefore truly of "the seed singular" of Abraham, which is Christ. See under Galatians 3:16, where Paul elaborated this.

Through faith ... Every scholar on earth knows that the article precedes "faith" in this place in the Greek New Testament, and that the only honest translation is "through the faith," meaning through the Christian religion. See Emphatic Diaglott, Nestle Greek Text, or any dependable Greek-English rendition of the New Testament. Foy E. Wallace also pointed this out. The attempted perversion of the meaning of this chapter is so extensive as to be phenomenal. The last thing on earth that this passage could mean is that the Gentiles shall be saved through trust/faith alone, which by any definition can be nothing but a subjective personal experience without any merit or trustworthiness whatever.

Galatians 3:15 --Brethren, I speak after the manner of men: though it be but a man’s covenant, yet when it hath been confirmed, no man maketh it void, or addeth thereto.

Paul is here still exposing the sinful arguments of the Judaizers, who despite the fact of Abraham’s being accounted righteous by God, long before the giving of the Law, were insisting that God, in a sense, had amended the requirements of righteousness by the addition of the Mosaic Law. This Paul denied on the basis that, even in the case of a human covenant, it could not be altered by one of the parties after it had been ratified and confirmed, thus demonstrating the proof that God’s covenant with Abraham was founded, not upon his keeping the Law (which never existed until centuries afterward), but upon God’s promise made long before the Law came into being. The application of this is the same as that Paul pointed out in verses 6ff, namely, that if the ancestor of all Jews was redeemed without the Law, there could be no earthly use of anyone’s keeping it.

Covenant ... For extended remarks on the use of this word in the New Testament, see my Commentary on Hebrews, Hebrews 9:16-17.

Galatians 3:16 --Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed which is Christ.

"There is in this verse a sense of the corporate meaning of Christ, as in 1 Corinthians 12:12,^[18] where is mentioned "the body of Christ" inclusively of all the redeemed. Christ is again called the "seed singular" in Galatians 3:19. This is the verse that tells "how" the Gentiles, and even the saints of the Old Testament, are saved. They are saved "in Christ," there being this correspondence between the manner of their salvation and our own, namely, that both for them and for us, the basis of it was "the obedience of faith," notwithstanding the tests for them were not the same as the test which those under the New Covenant must meet. For us, the manner of our being "in Christ" is dogmatically declared to be the baptism of believers "into Christ," as Paul would forcefully show a moment later (Galatians 3:27).

Howard thought this verse was "an afterthought";^[19] Hendriksen spoke of "its being a bit of rabbinical casuistry (equivocal reasoning), ingenious perhaps, but unconvincing";^[20] Coad labeled it a "parenthesis";^[21] and on, and on. Clearly there is no help from the majority of commentators on this verse. Nevertheless, it is the key verse of the entire third chapter. This eliminates completely the nonsense about being saved "by faith only," by making it clear that all salvation is "in Christ," a principle which Paul repeated 169 times in his writings! It is tragic that people would prefer to label the apostle Paul as "an equivocator" rather than face the unwelcome truth of this passage.

^[18] Everett F. Harrison, Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 707.

^[19] R. E. Howard, op. cit., p. 62.

^[20] William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary on Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1968), p. 134.

^[21] F. Roy Coad, A New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1969), p. 134.

Galatians 3:17 --Now this I say: a covenant confirmed beforehand by God, the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years after, doth not disannul, so as to make the promise of none effect.

This was Paul’s repetition for the sake of emphasis of the argument already delivered above.

Four hundred and thirty years ... For comment on the variation in this figure from that given by Stephen in Acts 7:6, see my Commentary on Acts 7:5-8. Paul used the figure also found in the LXX, and Stephen used a round number.

Galatians 3:18 --For if the inheritance is of the Law, it is no more of promise: but God hath granted it to Abraham by promise.

This is based on the profound truth that "all the nations" shall be blessed in the "seed singular" which is Christ. Any salvation allegedly derived from keeping the Law of Moses would, of course, nullify and countermand this promise.

Galatians 3:19 --What then is the Law? It was added because of transgressions, until the seed should come to whom the promise hath been made; and it was ordained by angels through the hand of a mediator.

The Law of Moses expired by limitation when Christ came, because it was given only "until" that event.

Because of transgressions ... Paul elaborated the fuller meaning of this in Romans 3:19 ff; and for discussion of the utility of the Law see my Commentary on Romans. The great service of the Law was to demonstrate that all people are sinners (even the Jews), a fact many of them were loath to admit.

Galatians 3:20 --Now a mediator is not a mediator of one; but God is one.

This writer will spare the reader any exegesis of this verse. The full or even approximate meaning of it is unknown; and as proof of that, it must be pointed out that Huxtable said there are literally hundreds of interpretations;^[22] McGarvey said, "This verse has been interpreted in more than three hundred ways;^[23] and Ridderbos declared that "There are four hundred and thirty interpretations of Galatians 3:20."^[24] It only remains to be added that this writer has never seen an interpretation of it that is wholly satisfactory.

^[22] E. Huxtable, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), Vol. 20, p. 138.

^[23] J. W. McGarvey, The Standard Bible Commentary (Cincinnati, Ohio: The Standard Publishing Company, 1916), p. 268.

^[24] Herman N. Ridderbos, op. cit., p. 139.

Galatians 3:21 --Is the Law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there could have been a Law given which could make alive, verily righteousness would have been of the Law.

The impossibility of even God’s Law making people righteous derived from the weakness and frailty of human beings. The helplessness of mankind is implicit in this, that man alone unaided, is simply incapable of fully measuring up to God’s perfect and holy standard. Glorious is the thought, therefore, that Christ did it for all people who will receive and obey him. Christ fulfilled all of God’s Law perfectly; and then, through the device of setting up an extra-literal "body," called in the New Testament "the body of Christ," into which people upon believing, repenting and being baptized are enrolled, thus becoming in a true sense "Christ," and therefore "in him," achieving saving righteousness. That is what is meant by "the righteousness of God in Christ." This is a genuine righteousness, not an imputed thing at all, except by the device of the corporate body of Christ. The present-day notion of God in some manner "injecting righteousness," or imputing righteousness to sinners upon the basis of mere faith is incorrect, because "faith only" bypasses the corporate body of Christ, which is his church. This means that it bypasses the "seed singular" who is Christ!

Galatians 3:22 --But the Scripture shut up all things under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

As rendered here, this verse makes no sense whatever, for the paraphrase of the latter part of it is, "that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to them that have faith! What then, is the true rendition? The Authorized Version gave the correct translation thus: "That the promise by the faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe." Even without the authority of the KJV, however, it is absolutely clear that sinner’s faith is in the last clause of this verse, and it has to be the "faith of Christ" in the preceding clause. The faith that saves is never that of the sinner, but that of Christ. Only his faith was perfect, and only his faith was perfectly obedient. In the ultimate sense, there is nothing that any sinner can either believe or perform that is capable of justifying him in the eyes of Almighty God, except in the limited and secondary sense of his "obedience of faith" upon his believing and being baptized, these being prerequisites of his salvation, and thus, in that lower sense, justifying him. See note 3, at the end of this chapter.

Thus, the full meaning of Galatians 3:22 is that the "promise of sharing in the perfect faith and obedience of Christ (called the faith of Christ) might be given to them that believe." Thus, the faith only concept is wrong on two counts: (1) the notion that it is the sinner’s imperfect faith that saves, and (2) the proposition that faith should be understood as meaning "faith only." Not even Christ’s faith was "faith only," for he was obedient in all things, becoming "unto all them that obey him, the author of eternal salvation" (Hebrews 5:9).

Shut up all things under sin ... One great purpose of the Law of Moses was to convict Israel of sin and make the nation conscious of their need of salvation from it. As used by them, however, it became a source of greater pride than ever on their part. The Law’s holy commandments were nullified, expanded, contradicted and perverted in countless ways; as Jesus himself revealed to them, "(You) make void the word of God by your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things ye do" (Mark 7:13). If Israel had properly responded to the Law by realizing and confessing their inability to keep it, and the crying need of their souls for redemption from sin, there would have been a far different attitude on their part when the true Messiah came. That favorable attitude looking to the coming of the Redeemer, however, did not develop in Israel to any great extent, thus frustrating the purpose of the Law to prepare people for Christ.

Galatians 3:23 --But before faith came, we were kept in ward under the Law, shut up unto faith which should afterwards be revealed.

The figure of speech here is that of a jailer keeping his prisoners shut up. The Law could not save people, and the hope of deliverance from the sin which the Law could not forgive could be realized only by the coming of the Holy One.

Galatians 3:24 --So the Law is become our tutor to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith.

This verse should be read with careful attention to Galatians 3:23, where Paul mentioned "the faith that should afterward be revealed." As Howard said, "The coming of faith (Galatians 3:23) here relates to the objective and historical coming of Christ on his redemptive mission and not to the repeated and subjective experience of believers."^[25] Furthermore, what "faith" certainly means in Galatians 3:23, it means exactly the same thing in Galatians 3:24.

The Law is become our tutor ... This rendition is unfortunate, for "The Law was our schoolmaster (tutor) to bring us unto Christ" (KJV) is far better. The Law of Moses is not in this dispensation, in any sense whatever, "our tutor." Although the Greek will bear the translation "has become our tutor,"^[26] it is clear from Galatians 3:25, below, that Christians are not under it.

The translators need to do a little further work on this verse, for neither "schoolmaster" nor "tutor" conveys the thought of the Greek, where the word is "pedagogue." "He was not a schoolmaster (nor a tutor), but the servant who had the care of the children to lead them to and bring them back from school, and had care of them out of school hours."^[27] Thus it is clear that the character Paul used as a comparison with the Law did not teach anything.

Justified by faith ... Exactly like Paul used "faith" in the preceding verse as a reference to historical Christianity, he used it here. A better rendition of it would be "justified by the faith." As frequently in Paul’s writings, "faith" is used extensively as a metaphor (synecdoche) of the religion of Christ, or the primary steps of obedience. As invariably in the New Testament, "faith" in such a context means "the obedience of faith."

^[25] R. E. Howard, op. cit., p. 66.

^[26] Alfred Marshall, The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament (The Nestle Greek Text) (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1958), p. 749.

^[27] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: Carlton and Porter, 1829), Vol. VI, p. 401.

Galatians 3:25 --But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor.

See under Galatians 3:24 for discussion of this. Note that "faith" is still being used in the sense of the historical arrival of the Christian religion, having no reference at all to subjective trust/faith of individuals. The total separation of Christianity from the Law is here dramatically stated with the comparison to a "pedagogue" no longer needed.

Galatians 3:26 --For ye are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Note that we have omitted the commas (RSV) which serve no purpose and even hinder the meaning. It has already been noted that Paul in this section is using "faith" in the sense of historical Christianity, the same usage being continued here. Macknight translated this verse correctly thus: "For ye are all sons of God through the faith published by Christ Jesus."^[28] That this meaning is mandatory is clear enough from the whole context. As Cole remarked with reference to theology itself, "it is nothing more than ordinary rules of grammar and logic applied to the text of Scripture."^[29] It has long been apparent that it is not a knowledge of the Greek, but of the grammar, that leads to an accurate understanding of the New Testament.

^[28] James Macknight, op. cit., p. 161.

^[29] R. A. Cole, op. cit., p. 87.

Galatians 3:27 --For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ.

Baptized into Christ ... is here used in exactly the same manner that "Faith" was in the preceding verse, that is, as a synecdoche for the primary steps of accepting the gospel and becoming a Christian; and by the use of it, Paul testified to the essentiality of it. It violates the rules of grammar to use in such a synecdoche any non-vital, unnecessary or unessential part to stand for the whole. Yet there is a difference between "faith" and "baptism," for here it is declared that people are baptized "into" Christ, a declaration nowhere existing in the New Testament with regard to "faith."

As many of you as were baptized into Christ ... is only another way of saying that "all of the Galatians" had been so baptized. Howard was certain "that this refers to the initiatory rite of water baptism."^[30] Ramsay correctly read Paul’s meaning here as follows: "Beyond all doubt Paul considered that, practically, to become a part of Christ implied membership in the church of Christ."^[31] The use of "As many of you ..." means that any who might not have been baptized were not in Christ. Ridderbos was correct in seeing this verse "as a limitation on the preceding verse,"^[32] making the "ye all" of Galatians 3:26, to be modified and restricted to those who had received Christian baptism, thus clearly denying that any persons whomsoever had believed themselves into Christ without being baptized as Jesus commanded.

Of course, there are trainloads of books coming off the presses every month denying the obvious truth of this verse; and among the countless objections alleged against the truth, perhaps the most common is that "Well, not everyone who is baptized is saved." Such an error is due to a misunderstanding of the pre-requirements of baptism, faith and repentance. Now, any person being immersed without those vital prerequisites to baptism is not baptized at all, but merely wet. It must be confessed that perhaps there are those who have thus been immersed without being saved; but nobody was ever saved without being immersed. See note 1, at the end of the chapter.

^[30] R. E. Howard, op. cit., p. 67.

^[31] William M. Ramsay, op. cit., p. 386.

^[32] Herman N. Ridderbos, op. cit., p. 147.

Galatians 3:28 --There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for all are one man in Christ Jesus.

Every possible kind of racial, economic and sex distinction finds its great equalizer "in Christ." The bond of love and fellowship in the Lord is sufficiently strong to contain all outward differences among God’s children.

Galatians 3:29 --And if ye are Christ’s then are ye Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.

This is not merely a continuation of the argument Paul has been making, but it is continued into Galatians 4. The true seed of Abraham (in the plural sense) are all of those who, believing the gospel, have been baptized into Christ, comprising in their corporate totality the seed singular which is Christ, in the sense of his spiritual body. This enabled the Gentiles to be accounted the true seed of Abraham, bypassing the Law of Moses altogether, thus inheriting through the promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:3; Genesis 18:18; Genesis 22:18).

Huxtable has this pertinent observation on this final verse of the chapter:

Those who believe in Christ and are baptized in him are to be understood as here being affirmed to be "Abraham’s seed," because, being clothed with Christ, they share his position. "Heirs ..." They are heirs, not of Abraham, but of God; for the idea connects to that of the sonship to God (Galatians 3:26), of believers in Christ.^[33]

NOTE 1: ON COMMENTS REGARDING Galatians 3:27

Observations under Galatians 3:27 are not intended as a presumption that any mortal knows the mind of God (1 Corinthians 2:16), or the ultimate judgment of the Almighty regarding any man’s destiny; for God is too wise to make a mistake and too good to do wrong. The whole province of judging is denied to Christians (Matthew 7:1); on the other hand, the observations under Galatians 3:27, and throughout this series, are merely a conscientious effort to read what seems to be the clear and unequivocal meaning of the sacred New Testament itself. It was Christ who said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16), and the antithesis of that bold promise justifies the deductions offered under Galatians 3:27. The New Testament is all that people have as the basis of eternal hope; and it is in that frame of reference alone that people have any right to express opinions or form judgments of what is truth. The Lord has promised eternal life conditionally, and only God could change the conditions.

Upon behalf of many precious souls, apparently devoted, spiritual and praiseworthy in so many ways, who have decided to trust God for salvation regardless of their refusal to comply with the conditions, and in many cases, even admit that there are any conditions, let it be said that only God knows if he will or will not find a way for them to whom he has made no promise in the New Testament. The clear and, in a sense, dogmatic interpretations which have been attempted in this series regard only what has been revealed in the New Testament and do not presume to judge the eternal destiny of any fellow-mortal whomsoever, the sole purpose being that of persuading people to accept the salvation of God in Christ upon the condition of their exhibiting "the obedience of faith" (to the best of their intention and ability), the same being the only condition upon which God has promised (in this dispensation) to give any man eternal life. The presumption to affirm what the one true and Almighty God will do for us sinners-all, over and beyond what he has promised to do, simply does not lie within the boundaries of the purpose of these studies.

NOTE 2: JUSTIFICATION NOT POSSIBLE BY LAW

The term "Law" was capitalized throughout this chapter to indicate that the Law of Moses was the opposite of Christianity which Paul was discussing. In two or three places in this chapter, however, Paul used "law" in a sense that many scholars interpret to be more extensive than the Law of Moses only, the logic of such interpretations being clear enough. No doubt Paul’s using the "law" in that wider application was for the purpose of including any human law, code of ethics, or system of rules as also being powerless to give justification. Certainly, it is a necessary deduction that if the sacred and divine Law of Moses could not do it, then no lesser system of law whatever could do so.

However, the deduction of theologians to the effect that grace abolishes "all law" is sinful and presumptuous as any religious error ever advocated among people. Paul flatly declared: "Do we then make law of none effect through faith? God forbid: nay, we establish law!" (Romans 3:30). It should be observed that in this quotation the English Revised Version (1885) margin has been followed, giving "law" the wider sense of meaning, being in no way a reference to the Law of Moses. So there is a law which faith establishes; and the nature of it is revealed in the New Testament, as follows:

The law of faith (Romans 3:27).

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2).

The perfect law (James 1:25).

The royal law (James 2:8).

The law of liberty (James 2:12).

So fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).

In the light of the above passages, it is futile to think of being "under grace and not under law," unless the meaning excludes the law of Christ which every Christian is under. See "The Law of Christ" under Galatians 6:18.

Furthermore, when the author of Hebrews spoke of the abolition of the Law of Moses, he did not say that all law had been abolished, but that "there was of necessity a change of the law"! (Hebrews 7:12). It is that change which Paul discussed in the above chapter, the change from the Law of Moses to the Law of Christ.

One other extremely important consideration is due in this context. If grace has abolished law, then there is no such thing as sin! "Sin is not imputed where there is no law" (Romans 5:13). "Where there is no law, neither is there transgression" (Romans 4:14). "For sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4). It is clear then that the interpretation of Romans 6:14, "For ye are not under the law, but under grace," if applied to the higher law of the Saviour, becomes the Magna Carta of antinomianism.

NOTE 3: THE FAITH OF CHRIST

This chapter states no less than three times that it is the faith of Christ which saves and justifies, as utterly distinguished from the false notion that it is the sinner’s faith which does this. This is in perfect consonance with an extensive body of New Testament teaching to the same effect, as witness the following: (Most of the following is from the KJV.)

Even the righteousness of God through faith of Jesus Christ unto all them that: believe; for there is no distinction (Romans 3:22).

That he might be just and the justifier of him that is of the faith of Jesus (Romans 3:26)

A man is justified not by the works of the law but through faith of Jesus Christ, even we who believed on Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law (Galatians 2:16).

It is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20).

But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe (Galatians 3:22).

In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him (Christ) (Ephesians 3:12).

And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith (Philippians 3:9).

The failure of the English Revised Version (1885) to render these passages according to their true meaning is one of the most deplorable errors in any translation ever distributed. Not only do the KJV and the best modern scholarship testify to the true rendition; but in those instances marked with an asterisk (above), the context itself reveals the meaning to be certainly not that of the sinner’s faith in Christ, since the sinner’s faith is specifically mentioned in the succeeding clauses. A full dissertation on this exceedingly important truth is given in my Commentary on Romans, Romans 3:22 ff.

ENDNOTE:

^[33] E. Huxtable, op. cit., p. 147.

Galatians Chapter Four

The argument of this whole chapter is a continuation of Paul’s teaching on the abolition of the Law of Moses and the replacement of the entire system by Christianity. First, he compared the Law to the conditions governing a person not yet come of age, as something sure to be replaced by another arrangement later on (Galatians 4:1-7). Secondly, he pointed out the restrictive and onerous nature of the Law itself, comparing it to slavery or bondage (Galatians 4:8-11). Next, he reminded them of the circumstances of their conversion, their love for him, and warned them against the evil men who were seducing them away from the faith (Galatians 4:12-20); and finally, he appealed to an allegory based upon the life of Abraham, which was climaxed by "Cast out the handmaiden and her son," meaning, in the analogy, "Christianity and Judaism are not compatible, or reconcilable; and it is the Law of Moses that has to go." (Galatians 4:21-31).

Galatians 4:1-2 --But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he differeth nothing from a bondservant though he is lord of all; but is under guardians and stewards until the day appointed by the father. (Galatians 4:1-2)

It is plain, as Ridderbos suggested, that Paul’s language here is not technical. "He is not thinking of a special legal procedure,"^[1] but using an illustration that would be appropriate in any society. No child of whatever culture is to be trusted with an inheritance until the age of responsibility. The word here rendered "child" really "means babe,"^[2] as Paul used the same word in 1 Corinthians 3:1 for a child needing a milk diet; but the evident meaning here is simply that of "a minor." As McGarvey noted, "In this paragraph Paul resumes the metaphor of Galatians 3:24 ff, but from a slightly different point of view."^[3] There it is the pedagogue which is stressed; here it is the child himself.

^[1] Herman N. Ridderbos, The Epistle of Paul to the Churches of Galatia (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1953), p. 152.

^[2] R. Alan Cole, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1965), p 112

^[3] J. W. McGarvey, The Standard Bible Commentary, Galatians (Cincinnati, Ohio: The Standard Publishing Company, 1916), p. 271.

Galatians 4:3 --So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the rudiments of the world.

We ... The word here means all people, Jews and Gentiles alike, the world itself being in bondage to all kinds of rudimentary and imperfect conceptions until Christ came.

Bondage ... Peter himself described the Law of Moses in this same terminology (Acts 15:10); and when one considers the incredible number of rules and regulations which were enforced by it, it becomes clear enough that it was indeed slavery.

Some commentators have expressed surprise that Paul did not restrict the "bondage" to primitive religions, making a distinction between the Mosaic Law and the pagan religions; but, while it is true enough that Judaism was magnificently superior to the pagan systems, there were many particulars in which it rose above them scarcely at all. It was purely legalistic; it subjected every violator to death without mercy, and as MacKnight said:

It prescribed no better sacrifices than the heathen religions ... could not cleanse the conscience of the sinner from the guilt of sin, afforded no assistance to enable men to obey it, and was utterly unable to procure pardon and eternal life for its adherents, being precisely the same (in all these categories) as the heathen religions.^[4]

Under the rudiments of the world ... The simple meaning of this place is, "The letters of the alphabet, elementary education in any branch of knowledge."^[5] The meaning of "world" is that of the "world of men," not that of the "cosmos" or "universe." The RSV rendition of this is absurd: "We were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe"! As Foy E. Wallace, Jr. said, "Besides its obscurity, not a word of it is in either the Greek or any (previous) English translation of it."^[6] Of course, this perversion of the sacred text was done to accommodate some rather wild speculations regarding the religion of the Galatians prior to their acceptance of Christianity.

^[4] James MacKnight, Apostolical Epistles and Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1969), p. 169.

^[5] Raymond T. Stamm, The Interpreter’s Bible (New York: Abingdon Press, 1950), Vol. IX, p. 521.

^[6] Foy E. Wallace, Jr., A Review of the New Versions (Fort Worth, Texas: The Foy E. Wallace, Jr., Publications, 1973), p. 443.

Galatians 4:4-5 --But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

The fullness of time ... has the meaning of "At God’s appointed time." All of the grand events of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind were scheduled in advance, and from the beginning, even the final judgment itself being a planned and scheduled event. "God has appointed a day, etc." (Acts 17:31).

God sent forth his Son ... This is a dogmatic statement of the Incarnation, being a clear reference to the pre-existence of Christ with God before the world was (John 1:1). This clause teaches: (1) the deity of the Son of God, (2) "the going forth of the Son from a place where he was before, and (3) his being invested with divine authority."^[7] We agree with Ramsay who said that it was simply "incredible that some unbelievers find here the statement that Christ was only a man."^[8]

Born of a woman ... In view of the clear meaning of the preceding clause, it is impossible to accommodate the opinion so often expressed by otherwise reputable and dependable scholars that "this is not a reference to the virgin birth."^[9] Since the father of Jesus Christ is clearly set forth as the heavenly Father, pray tell how the Lord could have been born, or entered our earth life, in any other way, except by virgin birth? Are all the commentators ignorant of the fact that if there was cohabitation, in the usual sense, involved in the birth here mentioned it could not have produced one who had previously existed with God before the world was, but would invariably and certainly have produced a brand new individual? To be sure, Paul did not here stress the virgin birth, but there is no way that these words could have been spoken by the blessed apostle unless he truly believed it and so arranged his teaching here as to bear an eloquent witness of it.

Furthermore, it is highly questionable if "born of a woman" is the proper translation of the Greek expression "becoming of a woman." While true enough that Christ was born of a woman, that is not the word Paul used. Huxtable believed a better translation is made to be of a woman, preferring it because "Such a translation would imply a previous state of existence (a thought most certainly in the context), whereas born does not."^[10] To say the least, Huxtable’s translation more accurately reflects the thought of the whole passage.

Born under the law ... "Made to be under the law" is better in this place also, where the same word is used. There is a genuine sense in which Christ was not "born" under the law, because as the true Temple of God, the Head of the Theocracy, and the divine Son of God, he was intrinsically absolutely above the law, as emphatically indicated in Matthew 17:25-27, where it is recorded that Jesus consented to the payment of the temple tax, not because he owed it, but because he did not wish to cause people to stumble. See in my Commentary on Matthew 17:24 ff. In the same manner as indicated there, Christ consented to "be made" under the Mosaic obligations for the purpose of fulfilling them, obligations that did not derive in any sense whatever from his birth, but from his joint-purpose with God even before the Incarnation was begun.

The adoption of sons ... Adam was the "son of God" by creation (Luke 3:38), a status that does not pertain to any of Adam’s posterity due to the disastrous behavior of the great progenitor which involved the entire human race in ruin. God’s purpose of redemption is that of adopting all of us "Adamites" into the status of sonship with the Father, the same having been the purpose of the Incarnation, the virgin birth, the making of Christ to be under the law, and, in fact, the total family of events clustered around the sacred name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

^[7] H. N. Ridderbos, op. cit., p. 155.

^[8] Wm. R. Ramsay, A Historical Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1965), p. 396.

^[9] Everett F. Harrison, Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 709.

^[10] E. Huxtable, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), Vol. 20, p. 183.

Galatians 4:6-7 --And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. So that thou art no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

Some scholars read the first clause, "as proof that ye are sons";^[11] but Sanday believed it is better to retain it as in the English Revised Version (1885),^[12] showing that the time of receiving the gift-ordinary of the Holy Spirit is subsequent to achieving the status of sonship and a consequence of it. This is without doubt the true meaning, for it coincides with the promise of the apostle Peter (Acts 2:38) that the reception of the Holy Spirit is to be expected after faith, repentance and baptism into the name of Christ, and as a promise to be fulfilled subsequently to such faith and obedience. That is why Paul also referred to the same gift as "the Holy Spirit of promise" (Ephesians 1:13).

Whereby we cry, Abba, Father ... (KJV) indicates that one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit in Christian hearts is the sense of nearness to God, indicated by the prayers addressed to God in such terms of intimacy, "Abba" being the ordinary word used by Hebrew children in addressing their father. However, it is ridiculous to equate this word with the English word "Daddy," which in current usage has lost a lot of the reverential respect which pertained to the Aramaic word, "Abba."

No longer a bond servant, but a son ... The world, at least that portion of it which accepts Christianity, has come of age in Christ. The idols, liturgical externals, pageantry, regalia and all other visible external spectacularism of pagan worship are not merely unnecessary, but destructive of genuine worship and service of Christ.

If a son, then an heir through God ... A Christian is not an heir of Abraham, but an heir with him, by virtue of sonship and union with Christ. The reason Paul stressed God’s Fathership of the Lord Jesus Christ in Galatians 4:4 was correctly discerned by Pink who declared that "God must be the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, in order to be the God and Father of his people whom he chose in Christ."^[13] The Christian’s sonship to God is derived from his unity with Christ, identity with Christ, as being "in Christ," and thus a part of that spiritual body which "is Christ," who is truly and actually the sinless and perfect Son of God.

^[11] William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1954), p. 38.

^[12] William Sanday, Ellicott’s Commentary on the Holy Bible (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959), p. 450.

^[13] Arthur W. Pink, Gleanings from Paul (Chicago: Moody Press, 1967), p. 93.

Galatians 4:8 --Howbeit at that time, not knowing God, ye were in bondage to them that by nature are no gods.

This is a reference to the idolatry of the Galatians before they accepted Christ. "Bondage" is an apt term to describe the merciless, unfeeling subjection of the pre-Christian pagan world to the devices of idolatrous priests. True, the same word was used of Judaism, but there was a marked difference, due to the sensuality and immorality which were the stock in trade of the idol worshipers.

No gods ... Paul wrote the Corinthians that, "No idol is anything in the world, and there is no God but one" (1 Corinthians 8:4). See my Commentary on 1Corinthians under that verse.

Galatians 4:9 --But now that ye have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how turn ye back again to the weak and beggarly rudiments, whereunto ye desire to be in bondage over again?

To know God, rather to be known by God ... There is a distinction in this that Paul always observed, as in 1 Corinthians 8:3; because, as Leon Morris noted, "The really important thing is not that we know God, but that he knows us!"^[14] All true knowledge of God comes from God, and even that conveyed by the blessed Saviour himself came from the Father. See Matthew 16:17, where Peter’s confession of Christ as the Son of God was said by Jesus not to have been revealed by "flesh and blood," but by "the Father in heaven."

Weak and beggarly rudiments ... In that Paul declared that the Galatians were again coming into "bondage" to such things, it is clear enough that the RSV translation of Galatians 4:3 is erroneous. Whatever the word means here, it means there; and there cannot be any doubt of what it means here, namely, that they were on the verge of becoming entangled again with observing the regulations, sabbaths, etc., of the Jewish law.

Why were these things called "weak and beggarly"? See MacKnight’s lucid comment under Galatians 4:3. They were also beggarly in the sense of being "poor" in contrast to the unsearchable riches of Christ. Dummelow thought that such a defection by the Galatians into Judaism "was a return, not, indeed, into idolatry, but into an imperfect and rudimentary religion."^[15] Of course, such a view of Judaism’s superiority over paganism is true of it before the First Advent of the Son of God and the Jewish rejection of him; but in this dispensation, such a superiority no longer pertains. As Russell put it:

Jewish laws and ceremonies were but symbols of Christ, through which they were to know God as Father, and be known by him as sons. Turning back to exalt mere forms was idolatry.^[16]

^[14] Leon Morris, Tyndale Commentary, 1Corinthians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1958), p. 93.

^[15] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 953.

^[16] John William Russell, Compact Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1964), p. 468.

Galatians 4:10-11 --Ye observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid of you, lest by any means I have bestowed labor upon you in vain.

Sabbatarians have done their best to eliminate the meaning of this passage, but as Huxtable tells us, the words used here "were used by Josephus for the keeping of sabbath days";^[17] and when read in conjunction with Colossians 2:16 there cannot be any doubt that the sin of the Galatians was simply that of keeping, after the Jewish manner, the sabbaths, festivals and special days of the Old Covenant, which if persisted in, would mean their total loss to Christianity. The whole thesis of this epistle is that "Judaism and Christianity do not mix."

ENDNOTE:

^[17] E. Huxtable, op. cit., p. 190.

Galatians 4:12-13 --I beseech you, brethren, become as I am, for I also am become as ye are. Ye did me no wrong: but ye know that because of an infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you the first time.

Paul has given up all ceremonies of Judaism, the few times he observed any of them after becoming a Christian always having some special purpose in mind, like that of avoiding unnecessary persecution or looking to the purpose of preventing disunity in the church. The statement here shows Paul’s utter repugnance for such things. It is in this that he wishes the Galatians to become like himself.

Ye did me no wrong ... As Howard said, "The Galatians would certainly have known what Paul means by this, but it is not clear to modern readers."^[18] Perhaps, as Phillips translated this place, we should read it, "I have nothing against you personally."

Because of an infirmity of the flesh ... Endless speculations concerning the illness (that is the way it must be understood) that caused Paul to preach to the Galatians have found no general agreement among scholars; but the most reasonable explanation of it would seem to be that advocated by William M. Ramsay and accepted by Dummelow, Barclay and many others to the effect that when Paul came to Perga in Pamphylia on the first missionary journey (Acts 13:13 ff), he did not preach there (at Perga), due to a sudden onset of malaria, taking refuge in the highlands of Pisidian Antioch (and later going to the other cities of the first tour). The question is not really important.

Preached the gospel unto you the first time ... The last two words of this clause are important with regard to the problem of dating Galatians, some scholars reading these words as a declaration that Paul had made "two missionary tours" to the Galatians before writing this epistle, which, if allowed, would make it considerably later than if only one tour is mentioned here. See introduction. Dummelow, Sanday, Huxtable and many others insist that the words imply two tours had been made when this was written; but, as Howard observed, "From a lexical point of view, it is not possible to prove that Paul wished here to differentiate between a later visit and an earlier one."^[19] The simple truth is that the words merely mean "formerly" or "on the first occasion" of Paul’s seeing them; and William Hendriksen, who accepted the implication of two tours previous to this letter, translated the place "on the former occasion,"^[20] which certainly allows that Paul’s writing this letter was the occasion present, to be distinguished from the other. It seems to this student that all of the arguments about this are futile, because on the first tour, Paul made two visits to every one of the cities of south Galatia, with the lone exception of Derbe, the second visit being the occasion when Paul appointed elders in each of the churches he had established (Acts 14:23). Therefore, if two visits are a mandatory understanding of this verse, one has to look no further than the first missionary journey of Paul to find both of them!

Of course, it is declared that "The explanation that the apostle intended to distinguish his first arrival at the several South Galatian churches from his return in the course of the same journey cannot be accepted!"^[21] Such an opinion, however, is unsupported by any hard evidence, being quite arbitrary and unreasonable. Why could not Paul have made such a distinction? Especially in view of the fact that at Perga he did not preach on the first of those two occasions, whereas on the other he did. It is ridiculous to suppose that Paul counted his journeys in exactly the same manner as the latest Sunday school lesson, and the fact of the evangelist Luke having distinguished the two we have cited is more than sufficient authority for our doing the same thing. Scholars get carried away. They neatly classify Paul’s labors as Tour I, II and III, then suppose that when Paul is speaking of "journeys" he is using their terminology!

^[18] R. E. Howard, Beacon Bible Commentary (Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press, 1965), Vol. IX, p. 74.

^[19] Ibid.

^[20] William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary on Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1968), p. 170.

^[21]; ISBE, p. 1159.

Galatians 4:14 --And that which was a temptation to you in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but ye received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

There is always a temptation to belittle a sick man, especially one seeking to change one’s whole manner of life, but the Galatians did not yield to it. It seems that all speculations about how repulsive and repugnant Paul’s disease was are merely morbid imagination. He was sick. That is all that is said here,

As an angel of God ... As a matter of fact, some of the Galatians tried to worship him, before they understood his message (Acts 14:11 ff).

Galatians 4:15 --Where then is that gratulation of yourselves? for I bear you witness, that if possible, ye would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me.

Of course, here is the ground of the speculation that Paul’s infirmity was temporary blindness, which of course is a possibility; but such an expression as Paul used here is proverbial, and there can be no certainty that any such thing is meant. Ridderbos said, "Galatians 4:15 has nothing to do with Paul’s infirmity."^[22] Whatever lay behind such a statement, Paul here appealed to the love which the Galatians manifested toward him from the very first time he ever saw them.

ENDNOTE:

^[22] H. N. Ridderbos, op. cit., p. 167.

Galatians 4:16 --So then am I become your enemy by telling you the truth?

In context, the thought is, "Surely one whom you have loved so much cannot become your enemy merely by telling you the truth about people who are now trying to exploit you."

Galatians 4:17 --They zealously seek you in no good way: nay, they desire to shut you out, that ye may seek them.

This was spoken with reference to the Judaizers, whose purpose was to control and exploit the Galatians by using them to support Jewish religious enterprises. "They seek you in no good way" is a figure of speech, called litotes, which is "the affirmation of a truth by denying its opposite,"^[23] the meaning being that the Judaizers were hypocritical, and that their motives in cultivating the Galatians were impure.

ENDNOTE:

^[23] Merrill C. Tenney, Galatians the Charter of Christian Liberty (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 148.

Verse 18

Galatians 4:18 --But it is good to be zealously sought in a good manner at all times, and not only when I am present with you.

By this, Paul meant that he was not merely jealous of the attention others were giving the Galatians, a thing he was diligent to give himself when present with them, but that in the case of these particular ardent cultivators of their friendship, they were up to no good whatever.

Galatians 4:19 --My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you ...

My little children ... This claiming on Paul’s part of the Galatians as his spiritual children has also entered into scholarly efforts to determine the date of Galatians and also the identity of the churches to whom it is addressed, the questions, of course, being related to each other. It is said that "The churches of south Galatia had two founders (Paul and Barnabas), and owed allegiance to Barnabas along with Paul." This is true, of course, but Paul had just written to them of Barnabas’ being "drawn away" into accepting the position of the Judaizers (Galatians 2:13), and until that had been resolved, it would have been improper for Paul to have associated himself with Barnabas in this appeal. Over and beyond that, it is not true that Barnabas was the co-founder of those churches, his status in all of Galatia being more that of Paul’s assistant than that of a co-leader. The dramatic change had come at Paphos. Furthermore, the pagans calling Barnabas, Jupiter, the king of pagan dieties, and Paul only Mercury, the chief speaker, was merely pagan lack of discernment, basing their judgment upon external appearance only. The Jews of south Galatia, who knew the real power of both Paul and Barnabas, as regards the founding of those churches, tried to kill Paul, not Barnabas. It was therefore altogether all right and proper for Paul to have claimed spiritual fatherhood of those churches, even if the defection of Barnabas had been corrected.

Again in travail ... Two things appear in this: (1) there had been an agony of travail (like that of a woman in childbirth) on Paul’s part at the founding of those churches, Acts 13 and Acts 14 giving many of the details of his sorrows and bitter sufferings, and (2) he was going through the same deep anxieties again upon their behalf.

Until Christ be formed in you ... The drifting into Judaism had blurred and distorted the image of Christ in their hearts, and Paul wishes it to be perfectly formed.

Galatians 4:20 --But I could wish to be present with you now, and to change my tone; for I am perplexed about you.

This is an inverted manner of Paul’s saying that he regretted the necessity of reprimanding in order to correct those whom he loved so much.

Galatians 4:21 --Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?

THE ALLEGORY OF ISAAC AND ISHMAEL

Desire to be under the law ... There has always been a basic natural appeal in visible, ceremonial, liturgical, external and spectacular religion, as witnessed continually by the churches of all ages in the persistent drifting into those very things. To the Galatians, so soon out of paganism, they were simply hypnotized and seduced into receiving the allegations of the Judaizers. Paul’s argument, however, here seems to say, "Do not merely look at it, listen to what it teaches!" There is a lot in religion today that needs to be analyzed in the same way.

The Judaizers were talking about being "sons of Abraham," which in a sense (carnal) they were; and the thunderbolt in the next verse is that "Abraham had two sons; which kind were the Judaizers?"

Galatians 4:22 --For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the handmaid, and one by the freewoman.

Ishmael was the son of Hagar, Sarah’s maid, whom she gave to Abraham, in order to claim a son (by such a device) for herself. Abraham had many sons by concubines, but they were his property, not Sarah’s. Isaac was the actual son born to Sarah, born as a result of the promise of God long after the time when either Abraham or Sarah might have expected to have children. Sarah of course was free, the lawful wife of the mighty patriarch. The full account of all this is in Genesis, much of the entire book being given over to the recounting of it. A summary of the allegory Paul was about to give is the following:

JUDAISM CHRISTIANITY

The bondwoman, Hagar The freewoman, Sarah

Son of the bondwoman, Ishmael Son of the freewoman, Isaac

Natural birth Supernatural birth by promise

Mount Sinai, the Law Mount Zion, the Law of Christ

The earthly Jerusalem The heavenly Jerusalem

Enslaved Free

Fruitful Barren (at first)

Small offspring Large offspring

Persecuting Persecuted

Expulsion Inheritance

Judaism a bondage Christians free

These analogies will clarify many of the points Paul made in the next few verses.

Galatians 4:23 --Howbeit the son by the handmaid is born after the flesh; but the son of the freewoman is born through promise.

Ishmael was born as a result of the selfishness of Sarah and the natural cohabitation of Abraham with her slave girl. God was simply not in the arrangement; but Isaac, the son of promise, was born through the enabling promise of God himself, contrary to all natural expectations.

These two sons, as Paul would promptly point out, typified the two types of "sons of Abraham," as represented after Ishmael in the persons of the unspiritual Sadducees and Pharisees, with Isaac typifying the true spiritual seed of Abraham, as elaborated by Jesus in John 8, and by Paul throughout the book of Romans, where the distinction is often made between the fleshly Israel and the spiritual Israel, which is the church.

Galatians 4:24-25 --Which things contain an allegory: for these women are two covenants; one from mount Sinai, bearing children unto bondage, which is Hagar. Now this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia and answereth to the Jerusalem that now is: for she is in bondage with her children.

Hagar is mount Sinai ... Chrysostom stated that "Hagar is the word for mount Sinai, in the language of that country";^[24] but scholars question this on the basis that they do not know where he got his information! As he lived more than a millenium before any of us, it would appear to be a little late to inquire. As Dummelow pointed out, Sinai and Jerusalem mean the same thing, law and bondage; and Hagar typified both."^[25]

Bearing children unto bondage ... This was, first of all, true literally, as Jerusalem itself was subjected to Rome at the time of this writing; and it was also true spiritually. As McGarvey said, "The Jews themselves universally recognized the law as a practical bondage (Acts 15:10; Matthew 23:4)."^[26]

^[24] E. Huxtable, op. cit., p. 203.

^[25] J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 954.

^[26] J. W. McGarvey, op. cit., p. 278.

Galatians 4:26 --But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother.

Abraham was a recognized type of God in the Old Testament, a type recognized by Christ himself in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus; and Sarah herself therefore bore a certain analogy as the holy bride, the church (the unity of God and Christ being pertinent to the analogy). As the sons of Sarah, Christians are upon a much higher level than the sons of the bondwoman.

Which is our mother ... There also seems to be more than a hint here that Paul was rejecting any notion whatever that the Jerusalem church was in any sense "the Mother church" in the earthly sense of that word. The "Mother Church" virus has afflicted all generations of Christians, notwithstanding the truth in evidence here that nothing "on earth" may in any sense be understood as "the Mother Church." It is likely here that one needs to look for the reason for Paul’s refusal to deliver the findings of that church in Jerusalem to these very Galatians.

Galatians 4:27 --For it is written, Rejoice thou barren that bearest not; Break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: For more are the children of the desolate than of her that hath the husband.

This is quoted from Isaiah 54:1, the application being to Sarah and Hagar, as follows: Sarah at first had no child, but when the promise of Isaac was fulfilled, her posterity exceeded that of Hagar; but in the instance of the spiritual fulfillment of this, the numberless "Sons of Sarah" in the church of the living God even more overwhelmingly outnumber those of Hagar.

Galatians 4:28-29 --Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, so also it is now.

Here the reference is to the event of Genesis 21:9 ff. The enmity between these two branches of Abraham’s family has continued until the present day; and there has also been a corresponding hatred of the secular, carnal, fleshly and unspiritual against the holy teachings of Christ also. Paul intends for the Galatians to see that the Judaizers are actually their enemies, having no good thing for them, at all, in their purposes.

Galatians 4:30 --Howbeit what saith the Scripture? Cast out the handmaid and her son: for the son of the handmaid shall not inherit with the son of the freewoman.

This is the dramatic and blunt conclusion Paul enforced by his appeal to this allegory. "When the Judaizers pride themselves on the fact that they are `sons of Abraham,’ let it be remembered that Abraham had two sons."^[27] In Paul’s times, and until now, there are still two classes of "sons of Abraham"; and the significant question is, "Who is a real son of Abraham?" Paul had already given the answer in Galatians 3:26-29. The reason why all natural religious systems are bound to come in conflict with Christianity is that Christianity is supernatural, and the natural systems cannot coexist as parallel paths to the same goal."^[28] The law of Moses and the gospel of Christ cannot be blended, and as Wesley said "It is the Law which must go, and the gospel which must enjoy an unshared supremacy."^[29]

MacKnight was surely correct in the thought that "In this allegory, Paul prophesied the rejection of secular Israel, the natural seed, from being the church and people of God."^[30] Paul never pointed that analogy out, but it is surely there; and "Lightfoot remarked that Paul’s confident application of verse 30 is a striking tribute to his prophetic insight."^[31] This is true, because when Paul wrote, it was to human eyes far from certain that the old Jewish system would be cast out of its inheritance, an event, however, that was dramatically and violently fulfilled in the total destruction of Jerusalem about twenty years after this letter was written.

^[27] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 189.

^[28] R. Alan Cole, op. cit., p. 135.

^[29] John Wesley, One Volume New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1972), in loco.

^[30] James MacKnight, op. cit., p. 186.

^[31] F. Roy Coad, A New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1969), p. 453.

Galatians Chapter Five

Paul in this summarized his teaching of the last three chapters preceding this (Galatians 5:1-5), and then distinguished between the works of the flesh and the works of the Spirit, appealing to the Galatians to live by the Spirit (Galatians 5:6-26).

Galatians 5:1 --For freedom did Christ set us free: stand fast therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage. (Galatians 5:1)

The second clause here makes the identity of the freedom in the first clause easy to ascertain. "There can be no doubt that it refers to freedom from the slavery of the Law of Moses."^[1] As a summary statement, this also shows the meaning of "freedom from law" as taught in the previous chapters. That it never had any reference to Christian obligations, whether in the realm of obedience to the primary ordinances of God, or adherence to the ethical commandments of our holy faith, is absolutely certain.

Stand ... therefore ... Paul, by this admonished the Galatians to hold their ground, resist the Judaizers and reject the persuasions of those who would entangle them in such things as sabbath days, feast days, circumcision and all other Jewish regulations.

ENDNOTE:

^[1] R. E. Howard, Beacon Bible Commentary, Galatians (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1968), Vol. IX, p. 82.

Galatians 5:2 --Behold, I Paul say unto you that, if ye receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing.

Behold, I Paul say unto you ... Intensely personal and dramatic, this appeal was intended to affirm in the most dogmatic and positive way possible the truth which he was uttering.

Circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing ... There were exceptions to this rule, for Paul himself had been circumcised; and what is meant is "that circumcision with any view to its aiding or leading to one’s justification would be a denial of Christ, a repudiation of the Christian gospel and the forsaking of Christianity." As MacKnight said, "This general expression must be limited; because we cannot suppose that the circumcision of the Jewish believers incapacitated them from being profited by Christ."^[2]

The deduction is mandatory that the purpose of the Judaizers among the Galatians had made this their purpose, to circumcise the Galatians, no doubt representing to them that it was no great thing and did not involve them in the more onerous and expensive obligations of Judaism. Paul would expose the fraud in such a proposition in the very next verse.

ENDNOTE:

^[2] James MacKnight, Apostolical Epistles and Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1969), p. 190.

Galatians 5:3 --Yea, I testify again to every man that receiveth circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

So it was no small thing at all the Judaizers had in mind. They would impose the whole corpus of Jewish law-keeping on the Christian converts of Galatia; and in the process, the gospel of Christ would be totally neglected and replaced.

Galatians 5:4 --Ye are severed from Christ, ye that would be justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

Howard observed that "This, in capsule form, is his contention throughout the entire argument. All the other points climax in this."^[3] Of course, this is true; and the allegation that Paul was, in these chapters, displaying a brand new conception of being saved "by faith only" is absolutely foreign to the entire Galatian letter, and the whole New Testament.

The present tense in this verse must be read as indicating that some of the Galatians had actually defected from Christianity in the manner indicated, with the result that they had "fallen from grace." Apparently, Paul was no Calvinist.

ENDNOTE:

^[3] R. E. Howard, op. cit., p. 83.

Galatians 5:5 --For we through the Spirit by faith wait for the hope of righteousness.

Through the Spirit ... The Holy Spirit is conferred upon all baptized believers, according to the promise of Acts 2:38, thus identifying those who "by faith" were waiting for the hope of righteousness.

By faith ... has the meaning here of "by the Christian religion." "Faith" as used in the popular theology of this current era, meaning the subjective experience of sinners and the sole ground of their justification, is merely the jargon of religious cultism, utterly different from the New Testament meaning of the word.

Cole’s opinion that "The gift of faith is the first gift of the Spirit"^[4] cannot be correct; because only those who have already believed, repented and have been baptized into Christ are promised the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).

ENDNOTE:

^[4] R. A. Cole, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1965), p. 143.

Galatians 5:6 --For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith working through love.

This means "neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is relevant to Christianity." The question of true justification does not regard such a thing in any manner whatever. Some have wondered why Paul included "uncircumcision" in this declaration; but, as many of the Galatian converts had been won from the Jewish synagogues (where Paul always went first with the gospel), it was mandatory that none of them should be concerned with the fact that they had been circumcised long ago, nor concern themselves with trying to undo it. Some indeed had, through surgery, attempted to become "uncircumcised." Although there is no evidence that any of the Galatians had done that, it may be inferred from 1 Corinthians 7:18-19 that some at Corinth had gone that far; and as MacKnight said, "Apostate Jews fancied that by such actions they could free themselves of their obligation to keep the Law of Moses."^[5] There was also another consideration: "From Paul’s speaking so much against circumcision, some might have believed that there was something meritorious in uncircumcision."^[6] As Howard correctly summarized it, "For salvation, circumcision had no value; and for salvation, uncircumcision had no value."^[7]

But faith working through love ... Contrasted with things of no value, here is the essence of justification; and sure enough, it is not "faith alone," but "faith working through love," thus presenting the emphatic apostolic denial of the favorite heresy of our age. To be sure, people do not like this verse, rendering it "faith inspired by love" (New English Bible margin), or otherwise avoiding the word "working" as they would strive to avoid the plague! It happens that Paul used the expression "circumcision nor uncircumcision, etc." three different times thus:

Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision ... but faith working through love (Galatians 5:6).

Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision ... but a new creature (Galatians 6:15).

Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision ... but the keeping of the commandments of God (1 Corinthians 7:19).

From the above comparison, it can be seen that "faith working by love" means the same thing as being baptized into Christ in order to become "a new creature" (2 Corinthians 5:17); nor is it limited to that, for it also means "keeping the commandments of God." This threefold summary of what does avail, as contrasted with circumcision or uncircumcision which do not avail, should be pondered by all who seek to be known of the Lord and to stand with Christ "in that day." It is a source of thanksgiving that a scholar of the stature of Huxtable also testified to the truth thus:

"Faith operative through love" must be identical with, or involve "the keeping of God’s commandments," and "a new creature." A close examination of the first of these three sentences will show that this is so. (Huxtable attached an extensive exegesis of the Greek text here, proving that passive renditions such as "faith wrought in us," etc., are absolutely "inadmissible and preposterous.")^[8]

Of all the preposterous interpretations insinuated into this passage, however, none of them is as incredibly evil as that of William M. Greathouse, who wrote: "All Paul had to say about circumcision he would say equally about baptism!"^[9] Nevertheless, Greathouse must be commended in this, namely, that he bluntly stated the conviction of the entire "faith only" family of interpreters, who by their writings attempt to lead the reader to that same conclusion, yet lack the courage to say what they mean as Greathouse did. See under Galatians 5:12 for comment on "in Christ."

^[5] James MacKnight, Apostolical Epistles and Commentary, Corinthians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1969), p. 108.

^[6] James MacKnight (on Galatians), op. cit., p. 192.

^[7] R. E. Howard, op. cit., p. 83.

^[8] E. Huxtable, Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), Vol. 20, p. 242.

^[9] William M. Greathouse, Beacon Bible Commentary, Romans (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1969), p. 103.

Galatians 5:7 --Ye were running well; who hindered you that ye should not obey the truth?

In all Paul’s writings, he sought to lead people into "the obedience of faith"; and his writings in Galatians do not deviate from that invariable purpose.

Who did hinder you ... The original meaning of the word translated hinder is to break up a road, as an army before the advance of hostile forces."^[10] A paraphrase of this metaphor, is "Who tore up the race track in front of you?"

That ye should not obey the truth ... "Some of the Galatians had stopped obeying the truth, as taught by Paul and the other apostles, perhaps neglecting to observe the Lord’s supper and failing to do other things which have been distinctive of the Christian life in all ages. The clause here shows that this disobedience was a prime concern of the apostle’s. Note, particularly, that it is not said that they had stopped "believing in Christ," for there is no evidence that such was the case. "Faith only" for them was as impotent as it is today. By their failing into Jewish observances, they were neglecting and had stopped obeying the teachings of Christ.

ENDNOTE:

^[10] William Sanday, Ellicott’ s Commentary on the Holy Bible, Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959), p. 456.

Galatians 5:8 --This persuasion came not of him that calleth you.

This simply has the meaning that "their disobedience of Christ’s teachings, due to fooling around with Judaism, did not come of anything that Christ, who had called them through the gospel, had taught them."

Galatians 5:9 --A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

It is believed here that Dummelow read this correctly as meaning "that only a few of the Galatian converts were affected by the false teachings."^[11] The danger of the situation, however, was not to be judged by the small size of the defecting group. As Lipscomb said: "Just as one plague-infected person may bring devastation to a city, so may one teacher of doctrine subversive of the gospel corrupt a whole community of believers."^[12]

^[11] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 956.

^[12] David Lipscomb, A Commentary on the New Testament Epistles, Galatians (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Company, n.d.), p. 260.

Galatians 5:10 --I have confidence to you-ward in the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.

I have confidence ... Paul did not believe that the Judaizers would succeed in Galatia, and they did not succeed. All efforts to meld Judaism with Christianity were thwarted and checkmated by this very epistle and other New Testament writings. See under Galatians 5:12 for comment on "in the Lord."

Shall bear his judgment ... The Judaizer (whether one or more) would bear the judgment Paul had written a moment earlier, that of being "severed from Christ," "fallen from grace," etc.

Galatians 5:11 --But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? then hath the stumbling, block of the cross been done away.

If I still preach circumcision ... This evidently refers to the allegations of the false teachers to the effect that Paul himself taught circumcision, an argument they reinforced, no doubt, by appealing to the known instance of Paul’s circumcising Timothy, whose mother was a Jewess (Acts 16:3). Paul’s reason for doing that, however, had nothing whatever to do with Timothy’s salvation, but was for the purpose of avoiding and frustrating Jewish persecution. Any allegation that Paul considered circumcision as related in any manner to salvation was effectively denied by the fact that "if Paul indeed honored circumcision in any such way, the Jews would have stopped persecuting him."

The stumbling-block of the cross ... The cross of Christ was preeminently above everything else the center and citadel of Christian hope; and if Paul trusted circumcision for anything, reliance upon the Great Atonement would have been forfeited. But is is not forfeited. The cross remains!

Galatians 5:12 --I would that they that unsettle you would even go beyond circumcision.

"The priests of Cybele, whom the Galatians had formerly worshipped,"^[13] made themselves eunuchs. Also, "The cult of Attis, whose famous temples were at Rome and in Phrygia of Asia Minor, practiced sacral castration."^[14] None of the Galatians, therefore, could misunderstand Paul’s ironic, and perhaps humorous, remarks here. Paul was so disgusted with all the argument demanding circumcision that he uttered this outburst, which may be paraphrased, "It would be good if you fellows, always wanting to circumcise somebody, would just circumcise yourselves like those priests of Cybele!" Criticism of Paul’s remark here is unbecoming, for the remark is a protest, not any sort of recommendation.

Before moving to a study of the next paragraph, the student should observe the double reference "in Christ" (Galatians 5:6) and "in the Lord" (Galatians 5:10), indicating the ever-present consciousness on his part of the dominating concept which pervades all of his writings, that salvation is always a matter of one’s being "in Christ," who alone is righteous, and whose perfect faith and perfect obedience are the only true ground of redemption for any man. When one is "baptized into Christ" be becomes Christ, in the sense of being part of his spiritual body, being saved, not in his own identity, but "as Christ." This expression, "in Christ," or its equivalent, is found 169 times in Paul’s writings.

ENDNOTE:

^[13] J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 956.

Galatians 5:13 --For ye brethren, were called for freedom: only use not your freedom for an occasion to the flesh, but through love be servants one to another.

Freedom from Jewish observances did not mean freedom to indulge in things forbidden, which Paul would promptly enumerate. No relaxation of the commandments of Christ was for one moment intended by anything Paul had written about being "under grace" and not "under law." Here he cited the great motivator of Christian morality, namely love of the brethren.

Galatians 5:14 --For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, even this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

The "law" in view here is the "law of Christ," mentioned again in Galatians 6:2. True, this was a commandment of the Law of Moses (Leviticus 19:18), but that is not the frame of reference applicable here. Christ himself had made the "first and great commandment" to be the "love of God, and love of one’s neighbor" (Mark 12:29-31), nor has there ever been, from the morning of creation, the slightest relaxation of this primary obligation of all who were ever born on earth. In Romans 13:8-10, Paul outlined this principle more fully, specifying as specific components of this law of Christ such commandments as "Thou shalt not commit adultery ... nor steal ... nor kill ... nor covet, etc." There also, Paul indicated that love of the brethren is the heart condition that makes the honoring of such commandments possible for the Christian. As Huxtable said, "This passage in Romans is a lengthened paraphrase of the one before us."^[15] For further exegesis on all of this, see my Commentary on Romans, Romans 13:9-10.

^[14] Herman N. Ridderbos, op. cit., p. 195.

^[15] E. Huxtable, op. cit., p. 250.

Galatians 5:15 --But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

Christian faith and behavior are never more frustrated and disgraced than by spiteful criticisms, derogatory remarks, snide observations and poison-tongue fulminations of Christians against each other. The fate of any group permitting such a development issues inevitably in that of "The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat":

The truth about the cat and the pup Is this: They ate each other up!

The apostle said as much in this very passage.

Galatians 5:16-17 --But I say, Walk by the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would.

In this passage is the key to righteous living, Everyone is familiar with the seductive force of carnal, or fleshly desire, a force that operates subjectively within the minds of people, aided, of course, by all kinds of external suggestions and allurements. This "lusting against the Spirit" by that force has its stronghold in the mind, in the imagination particularly. Even in the Old Testament, the climax and pinnacle of the so-called "seven deadly sins" (Proverbs 6:18) was revealed as "a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations." The total corruption of the antediluvian world had been achieved by the evil one when the "imagination of men’s hearts" had become evil, and only evil, without intermission (Genesis 6:5). This was the essence of pre-Christian debauchery of the Gentiles (Romans 1:21); and it was "imaginations" which Paul identified as being "exalted against the knowledge of God" (2 Corinthians 10:5), the Christian warfare being simply that of "casting down," eliminating, reducing and controlling the imaginations of the heart.

Now the contrary force to evil imaginations is exerted in the mind, the same being the battlefield where the warfare is decided. The pursuit of sacred studies, the thinking of loving and generous thoughts and the soul’s welcome of the thoughts and attitudes of the Saviour, all of these things coming from the indwelling Spirit but remaining only if they are desired and welcomed - all of these things "lust against the flesh." This means that such Spirit-induced thoughts, if permitted to dwell within, will actively dissipate and destroy their opposites, namely, the fleshly lusts. These two verses are the summary of the thoughts in mind in the following verses, where Paul described the two kinds of life, that of the flesh and that of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:18 --But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Judaism was almost totally concerned with external, liturgical, spectacular, material and physical things; and the filling of people’s minds with that type of observances would add nothing at all, and even detract from the energies needed in the true spiritual warfare. Paul did not hate Judaism, as such; but it simply could not do any good in the kind of warfare that must be won by the soul if people are to please God. The moral commandments of the Mosaic Law are to be fulfilled by Christians, no less than under the law of Christ (see under Galatians 5:14); and Paul’s stress here is laid not upon the relaxation of such obligations, but upon the only manner of their fulfillment.

Galatians 5:19-21 --Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you even as I did forewarn you, that they who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

This is another of Paul’s lists of evil works, similar but longer than the one in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, and also resembling those given in Romans 1:27-32,2 Timothy 3:1-8. Extensive comments on various items in this list have already been made in my commentary on Romans and my commentary on 1,2Corinthians in this series.

There are fifteen evils listed here by Paul, and Ramsay identified them all as characteristic of "the kinds of influence likely to affect the South Galatians recently converted from paganism."^[16] Any thoughtful person could today make up his own list of the sins, perversions and gross wickedness characteristic of the current culture.

Sorcery ... has been cited by some as proof that Paul believed in the reality of witchcraft; and, in the sense of believing that it was a gross work of the devil being practiced in the culture of those times, of course he did believe. But from this, it is not inferred that Paul believed that so-called witches or sorcerers could actually do the things they claimed and pretended to do. This writer believes in witchcraft in exactly the same way, as being a work of the devil advocated and practiced in the city of Houston at the present time, and being just as sinful now as it was in the days of the apostles; however, it is also believed that the claims and devices of such practitioners are fraudulent, untruthful, deceitful and powerless to do anything either good or evil, except in the sense of causing evil in the people who resort to such things.

ENDNOTE:

^[16] William M. Ramsay, A Historical Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistles to the Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1965), p. 447.

Galatians 5:22-23 --But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control; against such there is no law.

Most of these wonderful virtues are subjective, lying within the hearts of Christians, but kindness, goodness and faithfulness are, at least in their manifestation, objective qualities.

Faithfulness ... includes not merely the inward qualities of "keeping on believing in Christ," but it also means remaining loyal and faithful to the church. Goodness and kindness are likewise determined by actions involving others outside the person of the believer.

Significant especially in this list are the things left out of it. The apostle Paul did not list tongue-speaking, charismatic experiences, visions, premonitions, and things like that as being connected in any manner with the "fruit of the Spirit." Strangely enough, some who believe that those omitted things are the fruit of the Spirit very frequently stop being faithful to the church.

There is more misunderstanding in current times over the meaning of the Spirit’s indwelling of Christian hearts than of any other doctrine of the New Testament. As frequently pointed out in this series, there are no less than eight designations in the New Testament of a single condition (see summary below). Note:

Ye are the temple of the living God (1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 6:16).

For it is God that worketh in you (Philippians 2:13).

God abideth in us ... we abide in him and he in us ... God abideth in him and he in God ... he that abideth in love abideth in God and God abideth in him (1 John 4:11-16).

The entire Thessalonian church was said to be "in God" (1 Thessalonians 1:1).

From the above citations, there can be no way to avoid the truth that Christians are in God, and God is in them.

But note also the following:

If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Paul’s writings alone contain 169 references to being "in Christ, in him, in the Lord, in the beloved, etc."

If Christ is in you ... the spirit is life (Romans 8:10).

It is Christ that liveth in me (Galatians 2:20).

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith (Ephesians 3:17).SIZE>

From the above citations, there can be no way to avoid the truth that Christians are in Christ, and Christ is in Christians.

Note likewise these references:

The Spirit of God dwelleth in you (1 Corinthians 3:16).

The Spirit ... dwelleth in you (Romans 8:11).

God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts (Galatians 4:6).

I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day (Revelation 1:10).

Walk in the Spirit (KJV, Galatians 5:16).

If we live in the Spirit (KJV), let us also walk in the Spirit (KJV, Galatians 5:25).

The obvious and undeniable teaching of the New Testament is that the Spirit is in Christians and that Christians are in the Spirit.

In addition to the above, it should also be observed that Christians are commanded to "have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5), Paul declaring that he himself had "the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16). Also, it is a commandment to the church of all ages that they shall "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" (Colossians 3:16). Thus the mind of Christ dwells in Christians, and the word of Christ dwells in Christians.

SUMMARY

God is in Christians.

Christians are in God.

Christ is in Christians.

Christians are in Christ.

The Holy Spirit is in Christians.

Christians are in the Holy Spirit.

The mind of Christ is in Christians.

The word of Christ is in Christians.

These are descriptions of ONE CONDITION, the saved condition; and there is no stretch of philosophical doodling that can find one iota’s difference in the true meaning of the above descriptions of the state of enjoying the salvation of God through Jesus Christ. A full understanding of this, with all of the implications of it, will eliminate the mystical nonsense which has been advocated in this connection. The perfect identity of all of the above as various expressions meaning the same thing is perfectly and glaringly obvious; but, in addition, all of the above expressions are used interchangeably in the New Testament.

Joy ... This may be taken typically of all the various "fruits" here mentioned. This is by no means an experience attributable to the Holy Spirit as separated in any manner from the other persons in the Godhead, or even apart from the mind of Christ and the word of Christ dwelling in people’s hearts. To be filled with the word of God is to have this same joy. To have the mind of Christ is to have it. To have Christ in us is to have it, etc., etc.

Galatians 5:24 --And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and lusts thereof.

Continuing to walk in the Spirit, centering and continuing the thoughts and meditations of the heart upon the teachings of the Lord, actively seeking to maintain identity with the mind of Christ, consciousness of the indwelling Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - these things will indeed "crucify" the lusts and evil imaginations which feed them. This is possible only in the spiritual religion of Christ Jesus, free from the externals and attractive allurements of spectacular Judaism, the same being the blessed "freedom in Christ."

Galatians 5:25 --If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk.

In the Spirit ... instead of "by the Spirit" is far better, the same being the rendition in the KJV. The current conception is so obsessed with "Spirit in us" that they are reluctant to admit that it is also true the other way around, we being "in the Spirit." See notes under Galatians 5:23.

Galatians 5:26 --Let us not become vain-glorious, provoking one another, envying one another.

Vain-glory and jealousy are two of the fundamental fleshly lusts, especially degrading and unbecoming in the church of Jesus Christ. Nothing that anyone is or has is of himself, but of God. As Russell said: `Even Jesus said, `The Son can do nothing of himself’ (John 5:19)."^[17] All of the miracles of our Lord were done as a result of prayer to the Father. See John 11:42 and comment in my Commentary on John.

ENDNOTE:

^[17] John William Russell, Compact Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1964), p. 471.

Galatians Chapter Six

In this final chapter of the epistle, Paul reached the glorious climax of the whole letter dealing with the contrast between the Law of Moses and the Law of Christ, with so FULFILL THE LAW OF CHRIST standing as the essence of the total admonition. Without the understanding of this final chapter, much that Paul has written earlier might have appeared incomplete and inconclusive. This writer’s interpretation of this chapter is at variance with the traditional views concerning it which dominate so much of the current literature on Galatians, but it is presented in the conviction that the sheer logic of the view here advocated will commend itself to the discerning student.

Galatians 6:1 --Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in a trespass, ye who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of meekness; looking to thyself, lest thou also be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)

Overtaken in a trespass ... The situation here envisioned is not that of some Christian overtaking trespass, but that of the trespass overtaking him! Sin committed impetuously through the sudden and unexpected onset of temptation, actual sin, not a mere "fault," is to be understood here. The term "trespass" does not entail any "absolution of responsibility";^[1] "Of the guilt, there is no palliation indicated by the word fault or trespass."^[2] Despite this certainty regarding the New Testament usage of this word, people still cling to the phantom supposition that there is less blame in it than accrues to "sin." As Childers said, regarding the Lukan form of the Lord’s prayer, where "sin" is used for "trespass," "We who believe that Christians do not commit sins and remain Christians sometimes avoid this form of the prayer."^[3] A comparison of the two New Testament accounts of the Lord’s prayer, however, shows that Christ used "sin" and "trespass" interchangeably. Thus the simple meaning here is, "If a Christian brother unexpectedly commits some sin, etc."

Ye who are spiritual ... is not restricted to ministers, elders, or other special workers in the church but is applicable to all who love the body of the Lord and are zealous for building it up. Obviously, those persons in whom the spiritual life is not dominant would be useless in the endeavor proposed, hence the admonition that "ye who are spiritual" should do it.

Restore such a one in a spirit of meekness ... Amazingly, the commentators have almost invariably described this verse as "a command to love thy neighbor as thyself’; and of course the Christian love of the brethren is an implied necessity, but it is not here mentioned. This is a flat, unequivocal commandment to go out and restore the sinful, the same being one part, and only one part of the Law of Christ, mentioned a moment later in connection with another part of that same Law of Christ.

Looking to thyself, lest thou also be tempted ... The thought here echoes that of Galatians 5:26, showing the coherence and unity of Paul’s continuing message. The deceitful and seductive nature of sin being what it is, the child of the Lord should tread fearfully in the presence of any who have broken the sacred Law, being constantly aware that the same lure of the forbidden which has already trapped a brother might also entangle himself in disobedience.

^[1] Herman N. Ridderbos, The Epistle of Paul to the Churches of Galatia (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1953), p. 212.

^[2] E. Huxtable, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), Vol. 20, p. 294.

^[3] Charles L. Childers, Beacon Bible Commentary (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1964), Vol. Romans, p. 508.

Galatians 6:2 --Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the Law of Christ.

It will be observed that "Law" has been capitalized here, the great pity being that it was not done in the common versions. There is no excuse whatever for writing this word with a capital "L" where the Law of Moses is concerned, as throughout this epistle, and then writing it with a little `T’ where the superior and glorious Law of Christ is involved. Of course, there is a rebellious and sinful design in such an unjustifiable discrimination, that being the unbelievable theological proposition that there is no "Law of Christ"! We are under grace! This verse deals the coup de grace to any such fallacy. See summary of THE LAW OF CHRIST at the end of this chapter. In the verse before us, two essential elements of that Law have already been mentioned in this chapter, and others will be enumerated in a moment. No. 1 is: "Restore the Backsliders" (Galatians 6:1). No. 2 is "Bear Ye One Another’s Burdens" (Galatians 6:2).

Of course, in Galatians 6:5, Paul said, "Each man shall bear his own burden"; but it is still surprising that even a Christian scholar should read this as a "contradiction," even Ridderbos saying, "It is not necessary to eliminate contradiction."^[4] The Greek words from which the translation comes are diverse; one is [@baros], denotes a weight, and is applicable to a spiritual burden; whereas the other is [@fortion], which means "load," being used in Acts 27:20 of the cargo of a ship, thus something that relates to the purpose of being.^[5] Thus, in Galatians 6:2, Paul speaks of Christians bearing each other’s sorrows, due to sins or misfortunes; and in Galatians 6:5, he speaks of every man bearing his own responsibility, fulfilling the purpose of his own responsibility, filling the purpose of his own life. See article, "What to Do with Burdens," under Galatians 6:5.

So fulfill the Law of Christ ... It is almost unbelievable that Christian scholarship has so nearly unanimously ignored or misinterpreted LAW OF CHRIST. That Paul meant the Christian duty of helping fellow Christians to be understood as the totality of the Law of Christ is a preposterous error. Of course, such a view is so patently wrong and unreasonable that the rule on burden-sharing is interpreted in a wider frame of reference to mean "Love thy neighbor as thyself’; and that misinterpretation is hailed and saluted as the law of Christ (little "l")! Note what is alleged:

The meaning is that by showing sympathy to others ... the Christian will best fulfill that "new commandment" ... "the law of love" (John 13:34,1 John 3:23).^[6]

In such a statement Christ is not being set up over against Moses as a new lawgiver!^[7]

There is a law to which they owe obedience and devotion - the new commandment of Christ ... the royal law of love.^[8]

"The law of Christ," an uncommon expression, is the law of love.^[9]

It seems better to take it of the whole moral institution of Christ.^[10] (This restriction eliminates the ordinances Christ commanded).

(It is) Christ’s law of love.^[11]

The law of Christ (little "l") is not a law in the legal sense of the word.^[12]

To fulfill the law of Christ is to love thy neighbor as thyself.^[13] The law of Christ which bids us to love one another.^[14]

With all due deference to the learning, scholarship and devotion of the advocates of such interpretations, all of them utterly fail to get the point which is that Christians are to obey the Law of Christ (all of it) as distinguished from the Law of Moses. As for the allegation that the "law of Christ is not a law in the legal sense," there is no way to read "Law of Christ" except in the sense of "God’s Law"; and how could divine law be defined as not being in a legal sense? The very term legal means "pertinent to or conformity to law." So the proposition means "Christ’s law is not pertinent to law!" Such a notion must be rejected. Moses was the type of Christ, and Christ surpassed Moses, being the Lawgiver for all mankind.

Thus Paul’s true meaning in this place must be, "Fulfill the Law of Christ," in this particular also, that of bearing each other’s burdens! All of the interpretations cited above make bearing burdens to be inclusive of the larger principle of "love thy neighbor"; but the interpretation here makes Law of Christ to mean just what it says: the totality of our blessed Saviour’s teachings. See article, "Law of Christ," at end of chapter.

The total disbelief of many scholars that there is really any such thing as "the Law of Christ" is as incredible as it is unreasonable. That holy Law is mentioned in that terminology in this verse; and the context cites a number of its components such as No. 1 and No. 2, above, and others to be noted below.

^[4] H. N. Ridderbos, op. cit., p. 215.

^[5] Vine’s Greek Dictionary, on "burdens."

^[6] William Sanday, Ellicott’s Commentary on the Holy Bible (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959), p. 460.

^[7] H. N. Ridderbos, op. cit., p. 213.

^[8] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 957.

^[9] John Wesley, One Volume New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1973), in loco.

^[10] E. Huxtable, op. cit., p. 296.

^[11] James MacKnight, Apostolical Epistles with Commentary and Notes (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1969), p. 201.

^[12] David Lipscomb, A Commentary on the New Testament Epistles, Galatians (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Company, n.d.), p. 277.

^[13] J. W. McGarvey, The Standard Bible Commentary, Galatians (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1916), p. 285.

^[14] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 235.

Galatians 6:3 --For if a man thinketh himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

This appears to be addressed to any of the "spiritual" in Galatians 6:1 who might consider themselves above "sinners" and thus under no obligation to restore them.

Galatians 6:4 --But let each man prove his own work, and then shall he have his glorying in regard of himself alone, and not of his neighbor. For each man shall bear his own burden.

Work ... here means "practical behavior contrasted with profession."^[15] Such a work is here set forth as the basis of one’s "glorying," a Pauline expression meaning "rejoicing in the hope of salvation." This is a companion statement to "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12). Standing, as it does, here at the end of Galatians it is the effective and irrefutable denial of the slander that would make Paul’s rejection of the "works" of the Law of Moses as having any connection with salvation, to be in any sense inclusive of the "work of faith" which is required of every Christian (1 Thessalonians 1:3). Hendriksen revealed a shade of meaning accurately in his rendition thus: "Let each one test his own work; then his reason to boast will be in himself alone, and not in (comparing himself) with someone else."^[16]

WHAT TO DO WITH BURDENS

Every man, rich or poor, old or young, wise or foolish, weak or strong, has some burden to bear. One’s neighbors may not always see it, for some burdens are hidden; and there must be many like the ancient Jewish king who wore sackcloth beneath his royal robes. Some smiling faces mask a burdened heart.

The word of God reveals that burdens may be handled in three ways. Some may be shared with others; other burdens must be borne by every man himself (see under Galatians 6:1); and of a third class, the Scriptures command, "Cast thy burden upon the Lord" (Psalms 55:22, English Revised Version margin (1885)).

A. Burdens that may be shared with others. There is many a load of life that grows infinitely lighter under the touch of a friendly hand or the sound of an encouraging word. When the storms of life’s deepest emotions have been unloosed by overwhelming experiences, it is the glory of Christians to "rejoice with those that do rejoice, and to weep with those who weep." Love and toleration for the weak, and loving compassion for the needy, as well as love and appreciation for every soul’s unique and eternal value "in Christ" can ease the burdens of the weary and bless the giver and the receiver alike.

B. The burdens one must bear himself. No one may share another’s responsibility. "Every man shall bear his own burden." "Every one of us must give an account of himself to God" (2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:12). Every man must bear the burden of ordering his life after "the sayings of Jesus Christ" (Matthew 7:24-27), upon pain of being either a wise or a foolish builder; and no commentator or preacher ever had the right to bear that burden for him. See Law of Christ at end of chapter.

C. The burdens that are too heavy to be borne. Of a third class of burdens, it is said, "Cast thy burdens upon the Lord." Our sins are such a burden. Our sins we cannot ignore, deny or make restitution for them; only "in Christ" may they be forgiven. Our anxieties are too frustrating and depressing to be borne by mortals. All of them should be cast upon the Lord (Philippians 4:6). Great natural calamities, wars, pestilence, revolutions and countless other things are burdens no mortal can bear. Cast them upon the Lord.

^[15] E. Huxtable, op. cit., p. 296.

^[16] William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary on Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1968), p. 234.

Galatians 6:6 --But let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.

Huxtable noted that this exhortation to "liberality toward our teachers is perfectly germane to the preceding topics of sharing one another’s loads, and so carrying our own pack."^[17] However, it is germane in another very important relationship. Paul here was enumerating a number of things included in the Law of Christ, not a total summary, of course, but a list of particulars in which he felt the Galatians might need special exhortation. This is No. 3 of a group of things Paul stressed. It means financially support your teachers. Conybeare made the meaning clearer by capitalizing Word,^[18] showing that not all teachers are indicated but that teachers of the Word of God are meant.

Howard observed that the word here rendered "communicate" is [@koinoneo], meaning to share, or participate, even as a partner.^[19] Failure to understand this reference to the Christian duty of giving support of the gospel as pertaining to the Law of Christ led to the somewhat humorous exclamation of Ridderbos that "It is difficult to find the right connection between verse 6 and what precedes ..."^[20] Of course, it connects with that Law of Christ which none of the commentators can see!

^[17] E. Huxtable, op. cit., p. 297.

^[18] Conybeare and Howson, The Life and Epistles of St Paul (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1966), p. 492.

^[19] R. E. Howard, Beacon Bible Commentary, Galatians (Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press, 1965), Vol. IX, p. 116.

^[20] H. N. Ridderbos, op. cit., p. 216.

Galatians 6:7-8 --Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth unto his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption,’ but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life.

Soweth unto his flesh ... is a reference to living after the lusts of the flesh as Paul had just outlined in Galatians 5:18-21; and sowing to the Spirit is the equivalent of living the kind of life that exhibits the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24).

SOWING AND REAPING

A. The principle of sowing and reaping is handed down from the throne of God himself. None can deny it; no skeptic can scoff at it; it was true in the garden of Eden that Adam reaped what he sowed, and it has been true ever since. It is true of every individual, of every saint and sinner, or every hypocrite who thinks he is a saint; it is true of every race, society and nation. It was true of Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, France and Germany, and it will be true of the United States of America.

It is true in both physical and spiritual creations. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament teach it. "Whoever perished being innocent?" (Job 4:8); "they have sown the wind and shall reap the whirlwind" (Hosea 8:7); "he who sows injustice will reap calamity" (Proverbs 22:8, RSV).

In the New Testament, Paul used this principle to teach Christian giving (2 Corinthians 8-9). "No planting, no harvest" is the law of life. The mandate to the church is "preach the gospel." It is the executive order of God for every individual. There are no small and big opportunities; all opportunities are BIG with eternal potential.

B. Extensions of this principle. The reaping is always more than the sowing. It is inevitably in kind. No man ever sowed to the flesh and reaped eternal life, or the other way around. It is inevitable. There is no art or device of man that can countermand, avoid, or checkmate this eternal law of God. The sons of Jacob sold their brother; and all of them became slaves in the same land. America sowed the wind (of slavery) and reaped the whirlwind of war. Germany sowed the wind when they listened to the Pied Piper of Munich and reaped the devastation of World War II. Wherever men or nations today obey their own foolish philosophies instead of the word of God they are sowing to the wind; and already the whirlwind gathers dark and threatening upon the horizons of all the troubled earth. It might be almost time to reap the whirlwind.

C. There is a good side to this also. Sowing to the Spirit promises certain, inevitable, increased reward in kind. They who have loved and sought the fellowship of Christ in God shall at last enter the eternal fellowship above, where all the problems of earth are solved in the light and bliss of heaven.

Galatians 6:9 --And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Be not weary in well doing ... This is No. 4, being an undeniable component of the Law of Christ who went about doing good (Matthew 21:15). How could any man imitate Paul as he imitated Christ without doing good? This touches the principal practical business of Christians on earth. It is amazing how little regard some seem to have for it.

In due season we shall reap if we faint not ... For discussion of fainting, see my Commentary on Hebrews. Hebrews 12:3. Many things can cause Christians to faint, among them being the evil doctrines which undermine and destroy their faith.

Galatians 6:10 --So then, as we have opportunity, let us work that which is good toward all men, and especially toward them that are of the household of the faith.

The badge of Christian behavior is that of positive good toward all on earth. "Work that which is good ..." Strange that Paul should have mentioned this, especially if he had been advocating for five chapters that "works" do not have anything to do with salvation! Of course, the meaning in those previous chapters refers to the works of the Law of Moses and not to that class of works which Christians must do. Yes, the word is must! Christ equated salvation with this very principle Paul had in view here, there being the same distinction between "everybody" and "the household of faith" in the great passage from Matthew 25:31-46. Although the Christian must do good and not do evil to all people, there is a special and prior obligation to Christian brothers, as elaborated by Jesus in the passage cited. "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these MY BRETHREN ..." was the test of receiving or losing eternal life. The savage humanism of the current era which would tie the full resources of the church of God to every social scheme that comes along cannot be justified by a proper respect to what Jesus said there and what Paul said here.

Galatians 6:11 --See with how large letters I write unto you with mine own hand.

Scholars advocate opposing views on what is meant by this; for certainly, it may be translated otherwise than in English Revised Version (1885). MacKnight rendered it thus:

The phrase is rightly translated how large a letter. The first word properly signifies of what size; and the second denotes an epistle, as well as the letters of the alphabet."^[21]

As in all cases where two translations are possible, the context and other overall consideration must be resorted to. Of pertinence here, it seems, is the opinion of Ramsay, who said, "Those who suppose that a trifling detail, such as the size or shape of Paul’s handwriting, could find room in his mind as he wrote this letter are mistaking his character.^[22]

I write ... is also better rendered as "have written," thus having, as Dummelow thought, "a reference to the foregoing letter of Galatians."^[23]

Scholarly objections to this on the basis that after all, Galatians is not as large as Romans, are not valid, as Romans had not been written, nor, for that matter, any of the other Pauline letters. We have followed the opinion of Hendriksen who wrote: "If, of all Paul’s letters that have been preserved, Galatians was the very first one that he wrote, as we have assumed, he could perhaps have written, `See what a big letter I wrote you’^[24]

Most current scholars go the other way, however, taking an alternate rendition and interpreting it to mean Paul’s eyesight was bad, or his handwriting was characteristically large, thus forming a kind of signature, or even that he was somewhat illiterate! It seems to this student that such guesses have little in their favor.

^[21] James Macknight, op. cit., p. 206.

^[22] Wm. M. Ramsay, A Historical Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1965), p. 466.

^[23] J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 957.

^[24] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 241.

Galatians 6:12 --As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they compel you to be circumcised; only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

This verse is valuable as showing that this whole chapter still deals with the Moses vs. Christ theme; and that it is not "looking quite away from the Judaic controversy,"^[25] as alleged by Ramsay and many others. No, Paul is still on the same subject; and that Judaism vs. Christianity is still his primary concern surfaces again in Galatians 6:15.

Only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ ... This is Paul’s charge that the Judaizers were insincere hypocrites who cared nothing at all for the Law of Moses (see next verse), but that they were merely striving to accommodate to Jewish opinion for the sake of self-promotion. This was a devastating charge. Even the errors of sincere men may be tolerated and understood, but the pretensions of self-seeking hypocrites can receive nothing except utter contempt.

ENDNOTE:

^[25] William M. Ramsay, op. cit., p. 454.

Galatians 6:13 --For not even they who receive circumcision do themselves keep the law; but they desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.

Something of the strategy of the Jerusalem hierarchy is detected in these two verses. They evidently had persuaded certain Christians who had become Judaizers to procure, by any practical means, the circumcision of as many of the Gentile converts as possible, leaving out of sight the ultimate amalgamation of all of them as proselytes to Judaism, which they doubtless envisioned as coming at a later phase of the effort. This accounts for the fact that the Judaizers neither kept the Law themselves nor sought to bind any of its more objectionable features upon their followers. The hypocrisy of such a device Paul exposed in this verse.

Thus, as Huxtable discerned, those Judaizers were courting favor with the Jewish hierarchy. He said: "Paul meant, It is from no zeal for the Law that they do what they do, for they are at no pains to keep the Law; but only with the object of currying favor with the Jews."^[26]

ENDNOTE:

^[26] E. Huxtable, op. cit., p. 308.

Galatians 6:14 --But far be it from me to glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world hath been crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

Glory, save in the cross ... The cross of the Son of God, by the love for men exhibited upon it by the Saviour, by the atonement for sins provided upon its crude beams, by all the hope of the gospel which it symbolizes, is indeed the only grounds of rejoicing and glorying on the part of Christians.

Through which ... This should not be "through whom"; for Christ does not crucify Christians, nor the world; it is the cross which does so.

The world hath been crucified unto me ... The cross has crucified the world to Christians in the sense that the hope of the gospel achieved and symbolized thereupon has made the world to be, in the eyes of Christians, crucified by the cross of Christ.

And I unto the world ... MacKnight has this comment:

The cross of Christ crucifies Christians to the world, by inspiring them with such principles and leading them to a course of life which renders them in the eyes of the world as contemptible, and as unfit for their purposes as if they were crucified and dead."^[27]

ENDNOTE:

^[27] James MacKnight, op. cit., p. 210.

Galatians 6:15 --For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

For full discussion of this thought, see under Galatians 5:6. The significance of its recurrence here is that of focusing upon Paul’s main theme continuing right through this chapter and to the very end of it, namely, that of the Law of Moses vs. the Law of Christ, forcing the conclusion that "Law of Christ" in Galatians 6:2, is not a mere afterthought with regard to the general rule of "love thy neighbor," but an emphasis upon that glorious entity, the Law of Jesus Christ, which is antithetical to the Law of Moses, abrogating and replacing it altogether.

Galatians 6:16 --And as many as shall walk by this rule, peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

As many as shall walk by this rule ... that is, the Law of Christ, not regarding merely the portions of it stressed in this final chapter, but all of it.

Peace ... and mercy ... The apostolic blessing is invoked upon those who will walk under the Law of Christ, as distinguished from them that desire to cling to the Law of Moses.

And upon the Israel of God ... It is surprising that any could misunderstand this, as if Paul were, in any manner, invoking a blessing upon racial Jews. "Israel of God," in the true sense, with Paul, was never racial Israel, but the spiritual Israel. See Romans 2:28-29; Romans 4:13-16 and Romans 9:6-8. This meaning of "spiritual Israel," of course, included all of every race, including Jews, who accepted Christ. "Israel of God," according to Wesley, means "the church of God, which consists of all those, and only those, of every nation and kindred, who walk by this rule."^[28]

This benediction is not addressed to two distinct sets of persons (those who walk by this rule, and upon the Israel of God) but upon the same set of persons addressed in two ways, as if he had said, "Yea, upon the Israel of God.^[29]

^[28] John Wesley, op. cit., in loco.

^[29] William Sanday, op. cit., p. 463.

Galatians 6:17 --Henceforth let no man trouble me; for I bear branded on my body the marks of Jesus.

This is doubtless a reference to the scars of such suffering as Paul’s stoning at Lystra, among these very Galatians, on the first tour; and he considered such "marks" as positive and undeniable evidence of the genuineness of his apostleship. Any interpretation of this passage as a statement that nail-prints had appeared in Paul’s hand and feet in some supernatural manifestations of the Stigmata belongs to the Dark Ages. Nothing like that is in the passage.

There might be, however, some comparison intended with certain practices among the heathen. "The mark of the pagan god Dionysus was that of an ivy leaf burned into the flesh with a branding iron,"^[30] and such a practice widely known to the Galatians might have suggested Paul’s using the term "branded" here; but beyond that, there could have been no connection. As Ramsay eloquently declared, "The marks that branded Paul as a slave of Jesus were the deep cuts of the lictor’s rods of Pisidian Antioch and the stones of Lystra!"^[31]

^[30] E. Huxtable, op. cit., p. 314.

^[31] William M. Ramsay, op. cit., p. 472.

Galatians 6:18 --The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.

Paul gave no commendation at the beginning of Galatians, and the tone of the whole letter is one of hurt surprise, sorrow and indignation; but in this final word "brethren," one finds the loving heart of Paul yearning for his beloved converts in Galatia. It is a final word of love and hope for all of them. He had not given them up; they were still brethren. History gives no clue to the manner of their receiving this letter, nor to the continued success or failure of the Galatians; but as McGarvey said:

We have no word of history which reveals to us the immediate effect of Paul’s epistle; but the fact that it was preserved argues well that it was favorably received. Due to its vigor and power, it could not have been otherwise than effective.^[32]

This epistle, along with the Corinthians and Romans, staggered Judaism and restrained it until, smitten by the hand of the Almighty at the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, it ceased to trouble the church any more until the times of the apostasy, when its forms and systems were revived, and in modern times when sabbatarians still attempt to bind such things as the sabbath day.

THE LAW OF CHRIST

1. He that heareth and doeth Christ’s "sayings" shall be saved; he that does not do so shall be lost (Matthew 7:24-29).

2. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that disbelieves shall be condemned" (Mark 16:15-16).

3. "Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).

4. Regarding the Lord’s supper: "This do ye until I come" (1 Corinthians 11:24 ff). "Except ye eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of man ye have no life in you" (John 6:54 ff).

5. Observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matthew 18:18-20).

6. Whosoever shall break one of the least of these commandments and teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:19).

7. "Abide in me ... apart from me ye can do nothing." "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and cast them into the fire" (John 15:4-6).

8. "Be ye therefore perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). The manner of keeping this is discussed under Colossians 1:28, which see.

9. What is done to the church, the spiritual body of Christ, is also done to Christ (Acts 9:4 ff).

10. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life" (Revelation 2:10). Etc.

This is no more than a few suggestions; but they do not represent human opinion at all, but what Christ said. Let every man ponder this Law. The notion that the apostle Paul set aside all of the words of Christ and substituted a "faith only" way of attaining salvation fails to take account of the fact that Christ is the head of his church, not Paul. Apostle though he was, he was a mortal, the eloquent and holy apostle and most distinguished preacher of all times; but he was the bond-slave of Jesus Christ who gave people the teachings of the New Testament. Those who believe that Paul would have said or done anything to pervert or change the teaching of Christ understand neither Paul nor Christ.

A popular superstition is that "The Law of Christ is a positive law, not a negative law." In the sense of stressing many positive values, of course, it is; but the Law of Christ has many negatives also. Notice just a few of them from the Sermon on the Mount:

Swear not at all (Matthew 5:34).

Judge not that ye be not judged (Matthew 7:1).

Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24).

Be not therefore anxious (Matthew 6:31).

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs (Matthew 7:6).

In praying use not vain repetitions (Matthew 6:7).

And ye shall not be as the hypocrites (Matthew 6:5).

Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth (Matthew 6:19).

If ye forgive not ... neither will your Father forgive you (Matthew 6:15).

Everyone that heareth these words of mine and doeth them not ... like the foolish man who built his house on the sand ... great was the fall thereof (Matthew 7:26-27).SIZE>

The above are merely representative of a vast body of similar teaching in the Magna Carta of the Christian religion, called the Sermon on the Mount.

But, is not the Law of Christ a "law of liberty" in comparison with the Law of Moses? To be sure it is. All of the vast ceremonial, with its physical sacrifices, presentations upon certain days, and intricate, elaborate procedures for every conceivable kind of violation - all that is gone. The subjection to priestcraft, which was an inevitable accompaniment of the Old, has been taken away. There is forgiveness of violations under the New, but there was none under the Old. The indwelling of the Spirit of God aids the Christian, but did not aid the worshiper under Judaism. Not any of the morality, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, sobriety, chastity, etc., that were required under Moses have been abrogated or relaxed under Christ. The notion that Christianity has a looser moral code than Judaism is ridiculous; and yet that is precisely the understanding some have regarding the wonderful "freedom in Christ." Such is a fatal delusion. It will be apparent to any who will contemplate it, that if Christ came into the world in order merely to relax the will of God regarding what is or is not righteousness, such an alteration could in no case have required the death of the Son of God. As a matter of truth, the morality of Christ is a higher, stricter and tighter code than Judaism ever was, as specifically elaborated in the Sermon on the Mount. This undeniable truth sends shudders of apprehension through those who see it and draw back and cry, "Impossible! Who can be perfect? Where is any possible ground of confidence?"

THE CONFIDENCE IN CHRIST

Despite the higher level of morality required of Christians, and despite the specific commandments of both a positive and negative nature which abound in Christian doctrine, and despite the fact that no salvation of any kind is promised to them who "obey not the gospel," there is, nevertheless, the solid ground of absolute trust and confidence "in Christ." The forgiveness provided in the love of Christ in the New Dispensation is operative on a constant and continual basis, "cleansing us of all unrighteousness"; and two questions only, if they may be honestly answered affirmatively by the human conscience, bestow full and mighty confidence in the Christian. "Am I in Christ?" and "Shall I be found in him?" All of our confidence is not in our own success as to meeting God’s standards, but it is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

ENDNOTE:

^[32] J. W. McGarvey, op. cit., p. 288.

LESSON 1

GOSPEL THAT PAUL PREACHED

Galatians 1:1 to Galatians 2:21

1. Paul’s apostleship came through whom? Ans. Galatians 1:1.

2. To whom is this letter addressed? Ans. Galatians 1:2.

3. Whose will was it that Christ should die for our sins? Ans. Galatians 1:3-4.

4. Paul was amazed at what? Ans. Galatians 1:6-7.

5. What about one who preaches a different gospel, or changes the gospel of Christ? Ans. Galatians 1:8-9.

6. If we strive to please men, we can not be whose servant? Ans. Galatians 1:10.

7. From whom, and how, did Paul receive the gospel he preached? Ans. Galatians 1:11-12.

8. Before Paul was converted how did he treat the church of God? Ans. Galatians 1:13.

9. Through whose will was Paul called to preach the gospel? Ans. Galatians 1:15-16.

10. Where did Paul go first? Ans. Galatians 1:17.

11. After three years Paul went where, and visited whom for how long? Ans. Galatians 1:18.

12. What other apostle did Paul see on this visit? Ans. Galatians 1:19.

13. What did the Judean Christians know about Paul? Ans. Galatians 1:21-24.

14. After 14 years Paul went where and took whom with him? Ans. Galatians 2:1.

15. What caused Paul to go to Jerusalem? Ans. Galatians 2:2.

16. To whom did he tell his gospel privately, and why? Ans. Galatians 2:2; Galatians 2:9.

17. What did some want Titus to do and how did Paul answer this? Ans. Galatians 2:3-5.

18. How did those who were of repute rank in Paul’s mind? Ans. Galatians 2:6.

19. Who was an apostle to the Jews and who was an apostle to the Gentiles? Ans. Galatians 2:7-8.

20. What reception did Peter meet with when he came to Antioch and saw Paul? Ans. Galatians 2:11.

21. How did the men sent from James affect Peter’s relationship with the Gentiles? Ans. Galatians 2:12.

22. What question did Paul ask Peter when he saw that .Peter was not walking uprightly? Ans. Galatians 2:14.

23. Justification is by what, instead of by what kind of works? Ans. Galatians 2:15-16.

24. If we try to find justification in Christ, yet relapse to the law, what about it? Ans. Galatians 2:17-19.

25. Give in detail Paul’s kind of living after he was crucified with Christ. Ans. Galatians 2:20.

26. If righteousness is through the law, what about the grace of God and the death of Christ? Ans. Galatians 2:21.

LESSON 2

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH -

NOT BY THE LAW OF MOSES

Galatians 3:1-29

1. What happened to the Galatians? Ans. Galatians 3:1.

2. What great fact had been set forth among them? Ans. Galatians 3:1.

3. What did Paul ask them about the Spirit which they had? Ans. Galatians 3:2.

4. After having begun in the Spirit, how were they trying to finish? Ans. Galatians 3:3.

5. The supplier of the Spirit gave them ability to do what? Ans. Galatians 3:5.

6. How did the Spirit work? Ans. Galatians 3:5.

7. Belief in God did what for Abraham? Ans. Galatians 3:6.

8. Who are the sons of Abraham? Ans. Galatians 3:7.

9. By what are Gentiles justified? Ans. Galatians 3:8.

10. What promise did God make to Abraham? Ans. Galatians 3:8.

11. What reward have those who are of faith? Ans. Galatians 3:9.

12. What about those who are under the works of the law? Ans. Galatians 3:10.

13. No man can be justified before God by what? Ans. Galatians 3:11.

14. What did Christ do for those who were under the law? Ans. Galatians 3:13.

15. How is a man’s covenant treated after it has been ratified? Ans. Galatians 3:15.

16. To how many seeds was the promise of God given? Ans. Galatians 3:16.

17. Who was this seed? Ans. Galatians 3:16.

18. What effect did the law have on God’s promise to Abraham? Ans. Galatians 3:17.

19. If the inheritance rests upon the law, what about the promise? Ans. Galatians 3:18.

20. Why was the law given? Ans. Galatians 3:19.

21. If a law had been given that could have brought life, where would righteousness have been? Ans. Galatians 3:21.

22. The promise by faith in Christ Jesus is given to whom? Ans. Galatians 3:22.

23. What was the law used for? Ans. Galatians 3:23-24.

24. Of what use is the law now that faith is come? Ans. Galatians 3:25.

15. Through what did the Galatians become sons of God? Ans. Galatians 3:26.

26. How did they get into Christ? Ans. Galatians 3:27.

27. They were all one man in whom? Ans. Galatians 3:28.

28. Who are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to promise? Ans. Galatians 3:29.

LESSON 3

BORN TO FREEDOM - NOT TO BONDAGE

Galatians 4:1-31

1. For how long a time are the heir and the bondservant alike? Ans. Galatians 4:1-2.

2. Who corresponds to the heirs in this illustration of Paul’s? Ans. Galatians 4:3.

3. When were they held in bondage? Ans. Galatians 4:3.

4. When did God send his Son? Ans. Galatians 4:4.

5. What would God’s Son do for them that were under the law? Ans. Galatians 4:5.

6. Now that Christ has come, what are they? Ans. Galatians 4:6-7.

7. What condition were they in before they knew God? Ans. Galatians 4:8.

8. Now that they are known to God, what had they done? Ans. Galatians 4:9.

9. What were they doing that caused Paul to think his labor might have been useless? Ans. Galatians 4:10-11.

10. What does Paul beg them to do? Ans. Galatians 4:12.

11. What caused Paul to preach to them the first time? Ans. Galatians 4:13.

12. How was he received by the Galatians? Ans. Galatians 4:14.

13. How much did they love Paul? Ans. Galatians 4:15.

14. How were some attempting to abuse the Galatians? Ans. Galatians 4:17.

15. What did Paul say was good? Explain this. Ans. Galatians 4:18.

16. What would Paul like very much to do? Ans. Galatians 4:19-20.

17. Paul tells those that desire to be under the law to do what? Ans. Galatians 4:21.

18. Who were the two sons mentioned in verse 22? Ans. Genesis 16:16; Genesis 21:3.

19. What was the difference in the birth of these two sons? Ans. Galatians 4:23.

20. Explain how Paul uses the illustration of Abraham’s family. Ans. Galatians 4:24.

21. What does Hagar represent? Ans. Galatians 4:25.

22. How do Christians correspond to Isaac? Ans. Galatians 4:28.

23. What was true when Paul wrote this, that was also true when Isaac and Ishmael lived? Ans. Galatians 4:29.

24. Christians are children of whom? Ans. Galatians 4:31.

TOPICS FOR GENERAL DISCUSSION

What Two Covenants Do Hagar And Sarah Represent?

What Came From Mount Sinai?

From Verse 21 Through 31, What Would You Think The Christian’s Obligation Is To The Law Of Moses?

LESSON 4

TURNING TO THE LAW IS APOSTASY

Galatians 5:1-26

1. Who set the Galatians free? Ans. Galatians 5:1.

2. What did Paul tell them not to do? Ans. Galatians 5:1.

3. What profit is circumcision? Ans. Galatians 5:2.

4. If a man is circumcised, he is indebted to what? Ans. Galatians 5:3.

5. What about those who would be justified by the law? Ans. Galatians 5:4.

6. What did Paul say they were waiting for? Ans. Galatians 5:5.

7. What kind of faith avails anything in Christ? Ans. Galatians 5:6.

8. The Galatians had been hindered from doing what? Ans. Galatians 5:7.

9. What can a little leaven do? Ans. Galatians 5:9.

10. Paul had confidence that they would do what? Ans. Galatians 5:10.

11. What shall happen to the one who is troubling them? Ans. Galatians 5:10.

12. Verse 11 implies that some had accused Paul of still preaching what?

13. What fact proves that he was not doing this? Ans. Galatians 5:11.

14. What did Paul desire that those who were preaching these troublesome things would do? Ans. Galatians 5:12.

15. Unto what had the Galatians been called? Ans. Galatians 5:13.

16. How were they to be servants one to another? Ans. Galatians 5:13.

17. What expression fulfills the whole law? Ans. Galatians 5:14.

18. If they fight among themselves, of what must they be careful? Ans. Galatians 5:15.

19. What can they do that will keep them from fulfilling the lust of the flesh? Ans. Galatians 5:16.

20. How do the flesh and the Spirit regard one another? Ans. Galatians 5:17.

21. Who is not under the law? Ans. Galatians 5:18.

22. What are the works of the flesh? Ans. Galatians 5:19-21.

23. What about those who indulgt in these things? Ans. Galatians 5:21.

24. What does the fruit of the Spirit consist of? Ans. Galatians 5:22-23.

25. Those who are of Christ have done what? Ans. Galatians 5:24.

26. If we live by the Spirit, by what should we walk? Ans. Galatians 5:25.

27. What should Christians never become? Ans. Galatians 5:26.

LESSON 5

HELPFULNESS TO OTHERS

Galatians 6:1-18

1. What is the Christian’s duty toward the erring? Ans. Galatians 6:1.

2. In what manner should this be done? Ans. Galatians 6:1.

3. What warning is given those who do the restoring? Ans. Galatians 6:1.

4. Whose burden shall we bear? Ans. Galatians 6:2.

5. Whose law do we fulfill when we do this? Ans. Galatians 6:2.

6. When is a man deceiving himself? Ans. Galatians 6:3.

7. What shall each man do? Ans. Galatians 6:4.

8. Then where shall his glorying be? Ans. Galatians 6:4.

9. What shall a man do about his own burden? Ans. Galatians 6:5.

10. He who is taught shall do what for the teacher? Ans. Galatians 6:6.

11. If we think God can be mocked, who is deceived? Ans. Galatians 6:7.

12. What shall a man reap? Ans. Galatians 6:7.

13. Who shall reap corruption? Ans. Galatians 6:8.

14. Who shall reap eternal life? Ans. Galatians 6:8.

15. Of what must we not become weary? Ans. Galatians 6:9.

16. Upon what condition shall we reap? Ans. Galatians 6:9.

17. What is our obligation to all men? Ans. Galatians 6:10.

18. Especially to whom should our good work be done? Ans. Galatians 6:10.

19. What restriction is placed upon our helping those who are in need? Ans. 2 Thessalonians 3:10.

20. Who was the actual penman of this letter? Ans. Galatians 6:11.

21. Why were some compelling the Galatians to be circumcised? Ans. Galatians 6:12.

22. Those same ones, although receiving circumcision, were not doing what? Ans. Galatians 6:13.

23. Paul would glory only in what? Ans. Galatians 6:14.

24. What alone amounts to anything in Christ? Ans. Galatians 6:15.

25. What about those who walked by this rule? Ans. Galatians 6:16.

26. What did Paul bear branded on his body? Ans. Galatians 6:17.

No Other Gospel –

Galatians 1:1-10

Open It

1.    What is your usual way of starting a letter?

2.    When you have something difficult to share with a loved one, how can jotting down your thoughts help?

3.    When you want to emphasize an important point to someone, how do you do it?

Explore It

1.    How did the author of the letter identify himself? (Galatians 1:1)

2.    How did Paul bring up two vital concerns in the beginning of his letter (Galatians 1:1; Galatians 1:4)

3.    Who joined Paul in sending the letter? (Galatians 1:2)

4.    To whom was the letter sent? (Galatians 1:2)

5.    What traditional form of greeting did the apostle use in his letter? (Galatians 1:3)

6.    How did Paul conclude his salutation? (Galatians 1:4-5)

7.    What attitude did Paul express? Why? (Galatians 1:6-7)

8.    How were the Galatian Christians being thrown "into confusion"? (Galatians 1:7)

9.    What hypothetical case did Paul present to show the purity of the gospel? (Galatians 1:8-9)

10.    How did Paul emphasize the importance of representing the gospel accurately? (Galatians 1:8-9)

11.    What accusation had been directed at Paul? (Galatians 1:10)

12.    How did Paul affirm his purpose to please God? (Galatians 1:10)

Get It

1.    The tone of Paul’s letter is serious and abrupt; why did he write this way?

2.    Why was it important that Paul establish his credentials?

3.    Why do some Christians base their identity on things other than Christ?

4.    How did Paul assert his authority in this letter?

5.    Why was it important for the Galatian churches to be reminded that salvation lay in the work of Christ, not in human works?

6.    How do Christians have a tendency to bypass God’s grace in their daily experience?

7.    What was at stake in Paul’s warning to the Galatians? (Galatians 1:8-9)

8.    How do you need to examine the doctrine of salvation you pass on to others?

Apply It

1.    How can you prepare to respond the next time you hear a distorted message about Christ?

2.    As a servant of Christ, what are some ways you can best share the true gospel with the unbelievers you know?

3.    What important letter to a struggling believer can you write today?

Paul Called by God

Galatians 1:11-24 <http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Gal+1:11-24>

Open It

1. What personal accomplishment makes you feel proud?

2. If you could teach yourself a new hobby, skill, or line of work, what would you choose?

3. What kind of recognition do you want for the work you do?

Explore It

1.    What gospel did Paul preach? (Galatians 1:11-12)

2.    *What did Paul try to establish by bringing up his personal history? (Galatians 1:13-14)

3.    Before his conversion, what was Paul’s approach to Judaism? (Galatians 1:14)

4.    What three things did God do for Saul when he intervened in his life? (Galatians 1:15-16)

5.    How did Paul emphasize that his conversion and calling were none of his own doing? (Galatians 1:15-16)

6.    *What did Paul do after his conversion? (Galatians 1:16-17)

7.    How did Paul form his theology? (Galatians 1:16-17)

8.    How long did Paul wait before going to Jerusalem? (Galatians 1:18)

9.    How much time did Paul spend with Peter? (Galatians 1:18)

10.    While in Jerusalem, which other apostle did Paul meet? (Galatians 1:19)

11.    Why did Paul want his readers to know how limited his relationship was to the apostles? (Galatians 1:18-19)

12.    What did Paul say to confirm the truth of his testimony? (Galatians 1:20)

13.    How was Paul’s ministry clearly not under the authority or oversight of the Jerusalem church? (Galatians 1:21-22)

14.    What was reported to the Judean churches about Paul? (Galatians 1:23-24)

Get It

1.    Why did the Galatian church have misgivings about Paul and his message?

2.    Why was it important for Paul to establish the independent nature of his ministry?

3.    By what criteria did Paul establish his apostleship?

4.    What kind of support does your pastor receive from members of your congregation?

5.    What kind of support should a pastor receive from members of the congregation?

6.    Paul had a clear and unique sense of his calling; how do you feel about God’s imprint on your life?

7.    Paul knew what God wanted him to do with his life; to what line of service has God called you?

8.    Why did the Judean churches praise God when they heard the report about Paul?

9.    What are your "before and after" conversion pictures like?

10.    How has God changed you so far?

Apply It

1.    *What change do you want to make in your life this week to reflect your walk by faith?

2.    What kind of prayer and Bible study this week would most help you in your witness to others?

Paul Accepted by the Apostles

Galatians 2:1-10

Open It

1. What location do you enjoy visiting?

2. If you could work in a new location among a particular group of people, where and whom would you select?

3. Whose opinion of your work is very important to you?

Explore It

1.    On a return trip to Jerusalem, whom did Paul take along? (Galatians 2:1)

2.    Why did Paul go to Jerusalem? (Galatians 2:2)

3.    Why did Paul seize the opportunity to meet with the other apostles? (Galatians 2:2)

4.    What was Paul’s motive in bringing Titus along on the Jerusalem trip? (Galatians 2:3-5)

5.    What did the "false brothers" do? (Galatians 2:4)

6.    How did Paul and his partners respond to the Judaizers? (Galatians 2:5)

7.    How did the Jerusalem leaders respond to Paul’s message? (Galatians 2:6)

8.    How did James, Peter, and John respond to Paul’s mission? (Galatians 2:7-9)

9.    What was the "right hand of fellowship"? (Galatians 2:9)

10.    What was the only thing that the Jewish leaders requested of Paul? (Galatians 2:10)

Get It

1.    Even though Paul asserted his independence from the apostles, how did he also show his solidarity with them?

2.    Why was it important for Paul to have the apostles’ approval?

3.    Why was it important for Paul to stand up for freedom from the Law?

4.    In what ways do some Christians try to impose rules on others?

5.    What does caring for the poor have to do with telling others about Christ?

Apply It

1.    How can you express today your appreciation and respect for older Christians who have helped you in your spiritual walk?

2.    What can you do to help a poor person or family this week?

Paul Opposes Peter

Galatians 2:11-21

Open It

1. If a colleague of yours were doing something wrong, how would you confront that person?

2. How do you tend to take criticism?

Explore It

1.    When Peter visited Antioch, what did Paul do? (Galatians 2:11)

2.    Why did Paul rebuke Peter? (Galatians 2:11-13)

3.    Why did Peter feel free to eat with Gentiles at one time? (Galatians 2:12)

4.    Who pressured Peter to stop eating with Gentiles? (Galatians 2:12) Why?

5.    How did Peter’s behavior influence other Christians? (Galatians 2:13)

6.    What did Paul say in response to Peter’s hypocritical behavior? (Galatians 2:14)

7.    What did Paul say to those who were Jews by birth? (Galatians 2:15)

8.    How is a person justified before God? (Galatians 2:16)

9.    How does a Christian avoid being a lawbreaker? (Galatians 2:17-19)

10.    How is the new life characterized by faith and not works? (Galatians 2:20)

11.    How does Christ live out His life through Christians? (Galatians 2:20)

12.    How had Peter set aside God’s grace? (Galatians 2:21)

13.    If righteousness were possible by keeping the Law, why would the Cross have been absolutely useless? (Galatians 2:21)

Get It

1.    What hypocritical practices have you seen in churches you have visited?

2.    Why is it easier for Christians to live by rules and traditions than by faith?

3.    If Paul hadn’t spoken out against Peter’s inconsistency, what could have happened among Hebrew and Gentile Christians?

4.    How did the matter of legalism provide Paul with the opportunity to spell out the doctrine of justification by faith?

5.    How could addressing a problem in your congregation provide a real opportunity for spiritual growth?

Apply It

1.    How do you plan to confront troubling behavior the next time you see it in your local fellowship?

2.    In the future, how can you show courage in resisting well-meaning Christians who want to impose their own rules on others?

Faith or Observance of the Law

Galatians 3:1-14

Open It

1. When was the last time you were sarcastic to someone?

2. If you were trying to convince a friend to believe in what you were saying, what tone of voice would you use?

3. If someone close to you displayed a lack of knowledge about a subject you knew well, what would you do about it?

Explore It

1.    *Why did Paul scold the Galatians? (Galatians 3:1)

2.    What rhetorical question did Paul ask? (Galatians 3:2)

3.    How did Paul expect the Galatians to answer his question? (Galatians 3:2)

4.    Based on Paul’s second question to the Christians, how did he think the Galatians felt the Law could help them? (Galatians 3:3)

5.    Why did Paul ask the Galatians if their suffering had been for nothing? (Galatians 3:4)

6.    On what basis did the Holy Spirit perform miracles? (Galatians 3:5)

7.    How did Paul’s use of Abraham as an example of faith strike a blow to the champions of the Law? (Galatians 3:6-8)

8.    How did Paul link the past with the present? (Galatians 3:9)

9.    What is the curse of the law? (Galatians 3:10)

10.    How does a person become justified before God? (Galatians 3:11)

11.    *Why is combining faith and Law impossible? (Galatians 3:11-12)

12.    How does Christ save people from the curse of the Law? (Galatians 3:13)

13.    Why is Christ’s redemptive work effective for both Jews and Gentiles? (Galatians 3:14)

Get It

1.    When has your preacher corrected the congregation?

2.    What rules have become very important in your church?

3.    How much of your righteousness is self-righteous behavior?

4.    If you were to write a two-line summary of the doctrine of justification, what would you say?

5.     In your view, what is the biggest difference between Law and faith?

6.    What is your relationship to Abraham?

7.    What has Christ done for you?

Apply It

1.    In what situation can you share the blessings of Christ with someone else this week?

2.    How can you help new Christians get a clear understanding of their position in Christ?

The Law and the Promise

Galatians 3:15-25 <http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Gal+3:15-25>

Open It

1. Where do you keep important personal or family documents?

2. If you lost all your legal papers, what would you do?

3. What is the oldest legal document you possess?

Explore It

1.    What spiritual truth did Paul explain by using an everyday example? (Galatians 3:15-16)

2.    Through whom were the promises of Abraham fulfilled? (Galatians 3:16)

3.    How long after the promises to Abraham was the Law given? (Galatians 3:17)

4.    What was the relationship of the Law to the covenant? (Galatians 3:17)

5.    What was the promised inheritance? (Galatians 3:18)

6.    What was the purpose of the Law? (Galatians 3:19)

7.    How was the Law put into effect? (Galatians 3:19)

The Law required a mediator; how was the promise given to humanity without a mediator? (Galatians 3:20)

8.    Why did God give both the Law and promises? (Galatians 3:21-22)

9.    How did the Law pave the way for the gospel? (Galatians 3:22-23)

10.    What freedom did faith in Christ bring? (Galatians 3:23-25)

11.    How did Christ’s coming change the role of the Law? (Galatians 3:24-25)

Get It

1.    Why did Paul go to such lengths to explain Law and grace?

2.    When have you perceived God as a harsh disciplinarian?

3.    How much of your experience as a Christian is based on a set of rules?

4.    If you had lived in Old Testament times, how would you have benefited from living under the Law?

5.    How does faith in Christ set us free from legalism?

6.    How has faith in Christ set you free from legalism?

7.    How does God fulfill His promises in your life?

Apply It

1.    How can you help an unbelieving friend understand that being a good, law-abiding person is not enough to get right with God?

2.    What life-changing promise of God do you want to hold on to this week?

3.    For what spiritual inheritance can you praise God today?

Sons of God

Galatians 3:26 to Galatians 4:7

Open It

1. What would be the advantages of growing up in a multiethnic neighborhood?

2. If you could become part of another family, which family would you choose?

Explore It

1.    What was the family status of the Galatian believers? (Galatians 3:26)

2.    How are Christians joined to Christ? (Galatians 3:27)

3.    What new garments did the Galatians put on? (Galatians 3:27)

4.    How does God cut across cultural and human distinctions in the family of faith? (Galatians 3:28)

5.    How were the Galatians heirs of the promise to Abraham? (Galatians 3:29)

6.    How are those who live under the Law immature? (Galatians 4:1-2)

7.    Before the Galatians became Christians, how were they like slaves? (Galatians 4:3)

8.    How did the coming of Jesus perfectly satisfy the requirements of the Law? (Galatians 4:4-5)

9.    How did the believers benefit by becoming part of God’s family? (Galatians 4:5)

10.    Whom did God send into the lives of the Galatian Christians? (Galatians 4:6)

11.    How did the Spirit move the believers to address God? (Galatians 4:6)

12.    Since the Galatians were no longer slaves, what had they become? (Galatians 4:7)

Get It

1.    How would you describe your spiritual clothing?

2.    What is your favorite way to address God?

3.    If you were a Galatian Christian, how would you feel after learning of your position in God’s family?

4.    As a child of God, do you behave like a slave or more like an heir?

5.    In what ways do even Christians discriminate or value some types of people over others?

6.    How do many churches hold on to cultural barriers even as they represent Christ?

7.    In what ways should churches work to break down barriers between groups?

Apply It

1.    How can you take action to step beyond your cultural boundaries in befriending Christians who are different from you?

2.    How can you develop more intimacy with and trust in your heavenly Father during the coming days?

Paul’s Concern for the Galatians

Galatians 4:8-20 <http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Gal+4:8-20>

Open It

1. How have you become estranged from a former friend?

2. In what ways have you switched alliances among your circle of friends during the past few years?

3. Are you more or less joyful than you used to be? Why?

Explore It

1.    Before becoming Christians, to what were the Galatians enslaved? (Galatians 4:8)

2.    After they became believers, how did the Galatians turn back to their paganism? (Galatians 4:9-10)

3.    Why did these Christians go back to observing the Mosaic calendar? (Galatians 4:9-10)

4.    How did Paul express his concern for the Galatians? (Galatians 4:11)

5.    Why did Paul tell the Christians to follow his example? (Galatians 4:12)

6.    What had been Paul’s experience with the Galatian believers? (Galatians 4:12-14)

7.    How had the Galatians esteemed Paul? (Galatians 4:15)

8.    Why did the believers turn away from Paul? (Galatians 4:16)

9.    What motivated the Judaizers to turn the Galatians against Paul? (Galatians 4:17)

10.    What did Paul say in defense of zealousness? (Galatians 4:18)

11.    How did Paul express his attitude toward the Galatians? (Galatians 4:19-20)

12.     How did Paul want his "dear children" to change? (Galatians 4:19)

13.     Why did Paul want to be with the believers? (Galatians 4:20)

Get It

1.    What are some of the "weak and miserable principles" by which non-Christians live their lives?

2.    After experiencing salvation, why do some Christians return to their former bad habits?

3.    What bad habits are hard for you to break?

4.    How have we allowed cultural practices to affect the way we celebrate Christmas and Easter?

5.    How does your pastor show concern for your spiritual growth?

6.    When have you turned away from friends because you did not like what they had to say?

7.    How can we show concern for Christians who have turned away from the truth?

Apply It

1.    What is one step you can take, starting today, to increase the joy in your life?

2.    What friendship can you mend this week for the sake of Christ?

Hagar and Sarah

Galatians 4:21-31

Open It

1. What is unique about being the firstborn child in a family?

2. In your family, how were you and your siblings each treated differently?

Explore It

1.    Before the Galatians truly gave themselves over to the Law, what did Paul ask them to consider? (Galatians 4:21)

2.    Why did Paul appeal to the example of Abraham? (Galatians 4:22)

3.    What was the difference in status between Abraham’s two sons? (Galatians 4:22)

4.    How were Abraham’s sons conceived? (Galatians 4:23)

5.    How did Hagar represent the covenant at Mount Sinai? (Galatians 4:24)

6.    How did Paul refer to the birth of Abraham’s sons? (Galatians 4:24-27)

7.    In what way did Hagar typify first-century Jerusalem? (Galatians 4:25)

8.    How was Sarah an example of the "Jerusalem that is above"? (Galatians 4:26-27)

9.    How did Paul apply an ancient prophecy to Sarah’s history? (Galatians 4:27)

10.    How were the Galatians like Isaac (the child of promise)? (Galatians 4:28)

11.    How were the Judaizers like Ishmael (the child of slavery)? (Galatians 4:29)

12.    Based on his illustration, how did Paul expect the Galatians to deal with the legalists? (Galatians 4:28-30)

13.    How did Paul compare Ishmael’s persecution of Isaac to the legalists’ opposition to the Christians? (Galatians 4:29-30)

14.    How did Paul align himself with the Galatians and Sarah? (Galatians 4:31)

Get It

1.    Why was Paul’s allegory helpful in explaining Law and grace?

2.    In your family, do you feel like a child of Hagar or a child of Sarah? Why?

3.    In what ways do Christians try to impose extra-biblical standards on one another?

4.    Which of your own rules or personal standards are you tempted to require of others?

5.    How does the new birth in Christ give us freedom?

6.    What do you have in common with Isaac?

7.    How should you treat people who try to impose their standards on you?

Apply It

1.    What can you do this week to encourage other Christians to enjoy their freedom in Christ?

2.    What will help you avoid unfairly imposing your own standards on others?

How can you start drawing on your inheritance in Christ today?

Freedom in Christ

Galatians 5:1-15

Open It

1. If you took up running, would you jog for enjoyment or train to compete in races? Why?

2. Do you prefer group or individual sports? Why?

3. Do you like games with challenging instructions and rules, or games with simple instructions and few rules? Why?

Explore It

1.    What challenge did Paul set before the Galatians? (Galatians 5:1)

2.    Why did Paul challenge the Christians to be resolute? (Galatians 5:1)

3.    What warning did Paul issue to the Galatians? (Galatians 5:2)

4.    How would turning to the Law obligate the Galatian Christians? (Galatians 5:3)

5.    What consequence would seeking justification by Law bring? (Galatians 5:4)

6.    How did Paul contrast legalists and true believers? (Galatians 5:5)

7.    How did Paul sum up the significance of circumcision? (Galatians 5:6)

8.    What really matters? (Galatians 5:6)

9.    How did Paul describe the Galatians’ Christian experience? (Galatians 5:7)

10.    How had false teaching affected the Galatian church? (Galatians 5:8-9)

11.    Why was Paul optimistic about the Galatians? (Galatians 5:10)

12.    How did the Cross mark the end of the Law? (Galatians 5:11)

13.    What strong words did Paul have for the Judaizers? (Galatians 5:12)

14.    How were the Galatian Christians to use their freedom? (Galatians 5:14)

15.    What were the Galatians called on to guard against? (Galatians 5:15)

Get It

1.    What challenge does this passage set before your church?

2.    What are the side effects of trying to be saved by keeping the Law?

3.    What unnecessary rules and regulations do Christians tend to impose on one another?

4.    What difference will it make if you run the Christian race with your attention on Christ?

5.    How do some Christians abuse their freedom in Christ?

6.    In what ways are you hindered from loving others?

7.    When have you been guilty of backbiting and gossip?

8.    Why should you serve the family of God in love?

Apply It

1.    Who is one neighbor to whom you can show a gesture of love this week?

2.    As you run your race for Christ today, how can you free yourself of unnecessary rules and regulations that hinder your progress?

3.    Whom can you invite to join you in running a good race?

Life by the Spirit

Galatians 5:16-26

Open It

1. If you could change one personality trait in yourself, what would you change?

2. What do you really like about yourself?

Explore It

1.    What would happen if the Galatians lived by the power of the Holy Spirit? (Galatians 5:16)

2.    What is the conflict between the sinful nature and the Spirit? (Galatians 5:17)

3.    How were the Galatians affected by the conflict between the sinful nature and the Spirit? (Galatians 5:17)

4.    How could the Galatian Christians lead godly lives? (Galatians 5:18)

5.    What is one obvious feature of human nature? (Galatians 5:19)

6.    To what sexual sins are we prone? (Galatians 5:19)

7.    *What religious sins does the sinful nature produce? (Galatians 5:20)

8.    What societal evils come from our sinful nature? (Galatians 5:20-21)

9.    In what sense is Paul’s list of sins incomplete? (Galatians 5:21)

10.    What warning is given to those who live sinful lives? (Galatians 5:21)

11.    What happens to a Christian who is under the control of the Holy Spirit? (Galatians 5:22-23)

12.    What is the result of yielding to the Spirit? (Galatians 5:22-23)

13.    How do the Christian graces affect all areas of the believer’s life? (Galatians 5:22-23)

14.    How is a Christian empowered to live by the Spirit? (Galatians 5:24-25)

15.    What did Paul tell the Galatian Christians not to do? (Galatians 5:26)

Get It

1.    How much should we rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance and power in our lives?

2.    How is your response of faith necessary in order for the Holy Spirit to have victory in you?

3.    Why do Christians tend to excuse the behavior of their old nature?

4.    What acts of the sinful nature tend to entangle you?

5.    What is the fruit of the Spirit?

6.    In what sense do love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control grow in a person much the way fruit grows on a tree?

7.    How can a person cultivate the character qualities of the Holy Spirit in his or her life?

8.    What can a Christian do to promote the growth of godly character in his or her life?

9.    How do you see the character of the Holy Spirit growing in your life?

10.    Who is kept out of the kingdom of God?

11.    How does the warning against living a sinful life apply to someone you know?

12.    In what ways do Christians need to guard against conceit and envy?

Apply It

1.    What can you do this week to nurture the character of the Holy Spirit in your life?

2.    How can you and the Spirit get rid of the dead wood that stifles your growth?

3.    What do you want to do the next time you encounter conceit or envy in your church?

Doing Good to All

Galatians 6:1-10

Open It

1. How easily do you share your time and skills with others?

2. What’s hardest about serving others?

3. How do you feel when you aren’t thanked for going out of your way to help someone?

Explore It

1.    What did Paul say about helping a Christian overtaken by sin? (Galatians 6:1)

2.    What warning about sin do strong Christians need to heed? (Galatians 6:1)

3.    How should Christians support each other? (Galatians 6:2)

4.    What is the law of Christ? (Galatians 6:2)

5.    What is the antidote to self-deception? (Galatians 6:3-4)

6.    How is carrying one’s own load different from bearing the burdens of others? (Galatians 6:5)

7.    What is the responsibility of church members toward their teaching elders? (Galatians 6:6)

8.    How did Paul warn against a lack of financial support for the Christian workers in the Galatian churches? (Galatians 6:7-8)

9.    How did Paul encourage the Christians to endure in service? (Galatians 6:9)

10.    What did Paul say about a Christian’s social responsibility? (Galatians 6:10)

11.    What responsibility do believers have toward each other? (Galatians 6:10)

Get It

1.    What is the best approach to helping a Christian brother or sister caught in sin?

2.    How is your view of yourself in line with God’s?

3.    What encourages you to keep going in Christian service even when you feel like giving up?

4.    How would you evaluate your history of tithing?

5.    How can you help meet the needs of others outside the church?

Apply It

1.    How can you help a member of your church this week with a particular burden he or she has?

2.    This week, what can you do to support someone in missions in a way that will please the Spirit?.

Not Circumcision but a New Creation

Galatians 6:11-18

Open It

1. What family traditions are very important to you?

2. How willing are you to try new things?

Explore It

1.    What kind of letters did Paul inscribe? (Galatians 6:11)

2.    Why did certain people want the Galatians circumcised? (Galatians 6:12-13)

3.    How did the legalists practice hypocrisy? (Galatians 6:13)

4.    Who was being hypocritical? How? (Galatians 6:13)

5.    What did the legalists boast about? (Galatians 6:13)

6.    What was Paul’s only boast? (Galatians 6:14)

7.    How did Paul and the legalists view the cross of Christ differently? (Galatians 6:14)

8.    In terms of salvation, how significant were outward religious symbols? (Galatians 6:14-15)

9.    What was the only thing that mattered? (Galatians 6:14-15)

10.    What blessing did Paul pronounce on believing Galatians and on believing Jews? (Galatians 6:16)

11.    What did Paul want ended? (Galatians 6:17)

12.    How did Paul show that he belonged to Christ? (Galatians 6:17)

13.    How would you describe the tone of Paul’s benediction to the Galatians? (Galatians 6:18)

Get It

1.    What motivates you to observe certain religious traditions in your church?

2.    How important is it to make a good impression outwardly?

3.    In what ways should we be "crucified" to the world?

4.    *How did Paul show his love for the Galatians?

5.    How do other Christians recognize your love for them?

Apply It

1.    What sacrifices are you willing to make for the cross of Christ this week?

2.    How can you show to the world in the coming weeks that you are becoming a new creation?