_O foolish Galatians_. " _Each province_," says S. Jerome, " _has its characteristic. Epimenides notes that the Cretans are liars. The Latin historian charges the Moors with frivolity, Me Dalmatians with ferocity. All the poets condemn the cowardice of the Phrygians. Cicero_ (' _pro Flacco_ ') _asse... [ Continue Reading ]
CHAPTER 3 SYNOPSIS OF THE CHAPTER S. Paul proceeds to prove by five reasons that we are justified not by the law, or the works of the law, but by Christ. I. The first proof is drawn (ver. 2) from experience. The Galatians had received the Holy Spirit and His gifts, not in circumcision, but in bap... [ Continue Reading ]
_He therefore that ministereth. I.e_., God or Christ, who infuses His grace, and works in you by His Divine power. Cf. 1 Corinthians 12:6. VER. 6. _Even as Abraham believed God._ This introduces the _second_ argument, to prove that we are justified, not by the works of the law, but by faith; not by... [ Continue Reading ]
_They which are of faith._ A Græcism for they who are faithful, who imitate Abraham's faith. _The same are the children of Abraham._ Not by blood, but by imitation; to them, therefore, belongs the blessing pronounced on Abraham. VER. 8. _Preached before the gospel unto Abraham._ Gave him this most... [ Continue Reading ]
_For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse._ He inquired in verse 5 whether righteousness comes from the law or from faith. He replied, "From faith," and then proved his answer by the example of Abraham. He now proceeds to a _third_ proof, by destroying the alternative, viz., that... [ Continue Reading ]
_But that no man is justified._ This is a _fourth_ proof. S. Paul would fain convince the Galatians by an accumulation of proofs. After that based on the example of Abraham, and that on the condition of those under the law, he proceeds to another drawn from Habukkuk ii. 4, a text already explained i... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the law is not of faith._ The law neither teaches nor gives the grace by which we fulfil the law and live righteously. _But_, as is said in Ezekiel 20:11, _the man that doeth_ what the law commands _shall live_, _i.e._, shall not be punished with the death threatened by the law for transgressor... [ Continue Reading ]
_That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles._ This evidently is a corollary from the preceding verse. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, _being made a curse for us_, in order that the blessing of Abraham might be ours in place of the curse. _The promise of the Spirit._ To th... [ Continue Reading ]
_I speak after the manner of men._ Cf. Job 31:33, and Hosea 6:7. S. Paul's meaning is that in dealing with spiritual things he uses material illustrations, as, _e.g_., that of a testator and his testament, to prove that we inherit Abraham's blessing, not through the law, but through faith in Christ,... [ Continue Reading ]
_The covenant that was before of God in Christ._ If, as was said in verse 15, no one annuls the testament of a man, still less can the law, which came 430 years afterwards, annul the promise of God confirmed to Abraham in Christ. Note that the Hebrew _berith_, the Greek _diathèkè_, and the Latin _t... [ Continue Reading ]
_If the inheritance be of the law._ If our heritage of righteousness be of the law of Moses, then it is not of the promise. But this is false, for God promised this righteousness to Abraham and to his seed, which is Christ. If it is of the promise of Christ, then it is through faith in Christ, and n... [ Continue Reading ]
_Is the law then against the promises of God_? Jerome correctly points out that this is an answer by anticipation to the objection to which S. Paul had exposed himself in verse 19, when he said, "The law was added because of transgressions till the seed should come." For any one might say: If the la... [ Continue Reading ]
_But the scripture hath concluded all under sin._ This Scripture is cited in Romans 3:9. VER. 23. _Before faith came._ Like slaves under the stern discipline of the law, we were kept as though by walls and hedges from sin, and were held, and kept in, that we might be thereby prepared, and might lear... [ Continue Reading ]
_For ye are all the children of God._ Both Jews, who were under the law, and Gentiles, who were not, are become, by faith in Christ, children of God. The conjunction _for_ is causal, and indicates the reason why we are not under the law as a pædagogue, viz., because we are the sons of God. Children... [ Continue Reading ]
_As many of you as have been baptized into Christ._ To be baptized into Christ is to receive His baptism as distinct from that of Moses or John Baptist. The change from the first person (_we_) of verse 25 to the second person (_you_) here denotes the change of subject from Jews to Gentiles. _Have p... [ Continue Reading ]
_If_ _ye be Christ's._ Ifyou are members of the Head, and are the mystical body of its Spirit, then, as Christ is, so are ye Abraham's seed, and hence inheritors of the righteousness promised to Abraham. Accordingly, Ambrose reads here: " _If ye are one in Christ, then are ye Abraham's seed_," which... [ Continue Reading ]