AN EXPOSITION THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE THE GALATIANS. BY JOHN BROWN, D.D., PROFESSOR OF EXEGETICAL THEOLOGY TO THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHtlRf'H, AND SENIOR PASTOR OF THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CONGREGATION, BROUGHTON PLACE, EDINBURGH. riauXet ^ly^a-'^lv —It a.ura.'is tsjJ roCraiv, iv dT; (irj-J, ivtrvor,-rx riva. — 'ET. llsV. B V li. i(. EDINBURGH: WILLIAM OLIPHANT AND SONS. LONDON: HAMILTON, ADAMS AND COMPANY. NEW YORK: CARTER AND BROTHERS. MDCCCmi. MUHRAV AND GIBB, PRINTKHS, EnlNBUHnH. MINISTERS, PREACHERS, AND STUDENTS, WHO HAVE STUDIED EXEGETICAL THEOLOGY UNDER THE AUTHOR S CARE, THIS EXPOSITION IS INSCRIBED, AS A TOKEN OF KIND REMEMBRANCE, AND OF ARDENT DESIRE FOR THEIR USEFULNESS AND HAPPINESS. " Whatever brings the apostle Paul, in his writings, into notice, will ultimately bring him into triumph. All the malignity and the sophistry of his enemies will not only assail him in vain, but will lead in the end to the perfecting of his glory, and the extension of his gospel. They may scourge him uncoudcmned, like the Roman magistrates at Philippi ; — they may inflict on him the lashes of calumnious censure, but they cannot silence him ; — they may thrust him, as it were, into a dungeon, and fetter him with their strained interpretations, but his voice will be raised even at the midnight of antichristian darkness, and will be heard effectually ; his prison-doors will burst open, as with an eai'thquake, and the fetters will fall from his hands; and even strangers to gospel-truth will fall down at the feet of him, even Paul, to make that momentous inquiry, ' What shall I do to be saved?'" — Wiiaiuly. PREFACE. " The times which are passing over us," after making every fair allowance for the tendency to exaggerate what is present, may be safely reckoned among the remarkable periods of human history. The "signs" of our times stand out in such bold relief that the most careless must observe them, though, with regard to the import of some of them, the most considerate find it difficult to form a decided judgment. Many of them are obviously of the nature of portents or omens, and inevitably lead the mind to think of "the things that are coming upon the earth: " and not a few of them seem to wear a lowering aspect on the near futurities both of churches and of nations. There are, however, others of them bright with pro- mise; and among these perhaps none is more fitted to excite hope in the Christian mind, than the increasing attention which the Bible is drawing to itself. This is manifested in the more thorough study and sifting of its substance and its evidence — in the more searching inves- tigation into the meaning of the sacred books generally, and especially of the wi'itings of the Apostle Paul, and in the more unequivocal and general avowal, among Christians of almost all denominations, of the principle, that, on matters of religious faith and duty, the first PREFACE. application, as well as the last appeal, should be made to "the oracles of God." These characters, which be- long to our age even still more remarkably than they did to the era of the Reformation, shine like a light in a dark place. The happy change in the state of the church and the world, on which the desires of good men arc so intensely fixed, is to be accomplished by Divine truth, accom- panied by Divine influence. Such a pure theology as will prove the suitable instrument of heavenly influence in transforming individuals, and churches, and nations, must be based on a well-understood Bible, and especially on a well-understood New Testament : for we run into no vicious circle when we say, we must learn to read the Old Testament in the light of the New, in order to our derivinfT illustration to the New Testament from the Old. As the New Testament is the complement of the Old Testament, so the Pauline epistles are a concentration of the common doctrine of both respecting the method of human salvation. That wondrous economy in its funda- mental principles, and practical applications, is, in no portion of the inspired volumes, so compendiously, yet so fully, unfolded, as in these remarkable writings. They are, indeed, remarkable writings. " His letters are weighty and powerful," was the reluctant acknowledg- ment of some of the Apostle's contemporaries, who, disbe- lieving his doctrine, and disliking his spirit, endeavoured to undermine his authority ; and all judges, in all ages, possessed of the ade(j[uatc intellect and information, however prejudiced against the system of doctrine taught ill these wonderful compositions, have been coii- strained to admit, that, ajiart altogether IVoni the (|ueK- PREFACE. Vll tion of their inspiration, they must have proceeded from a mind rich in the highest endowments and acquisitions of which the human spirit is capable. There is an inextinguishable vitality, an innate vigour, an indestructible symmetry, an ineffaceable beauty, in the saving truth — the glorious gospel of the grace of God as stated in these epistles. It has been successively, as it were, laid on the Procrustean beds of the Oriental, the IS^eo-Platonic, the Aristotelian, and the Scholastic Philo- sophies; but it has outlived all the rackings and ampu- tations which were requisite to fit it to enter into these artificial forms, and it needs only to be " loosed and let go," to start up " whole, as it was," and to resume its interrupted march through the world, to scatter light and life, liberty and blessedness, among men of " every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." Thus to loose the truth, which has been unhappily so long fet- tered, is the great end of a true exegesis. Much was done towards the attainment of this end by the expositors of the age of the Peformation, numbering among them some of the greatest men of an age singu- larly fruitful in great men ; Erasmus, Luther, Calvin, Melancthon, Zuingle, Ecolampade, and Martyr, and others of scarcely inferior ability, learning, and piety. In the age that followed, the fetters which had been shattered were strangely repaired by many of the second and third series of Protestant expositors; and, with some noble exceptions, humanly constructed theories for har- monising the varied statements of Divine Revelation, under the plausible name of "The Analogy of Faith," were by them not only used as a direct means of interpreting the Scriptures, but so elevated above all other means as to Vlll PREFACE. control, and, indeed, in a great degree, to supersede them. A better course has been entered on. The true nature and design of Exegesis appear to be more clearly appre- hended. Christian Expositors seem now generally of opinion that, however true may be their " systems of divinity," and however manifold and important their uses (and, for my own part, I would find it difficult to over- state my sense of the value of that system of divinity held, in common with all evangelical churches, by that reli- gious denomination to which it is my privilege to belong), it is wiser and safer to make the Bible the basis and the test of the system, than to make the system the principal, and in effect sole, means of the interpretation of the Bible ; and that if, in any case, the system, fairly inter- preted, sliould forbid the reception of a doctrine, which the well-established principles of interpretation, fairly and cautiously applied, bring out of a passage of Scrip- ture, there must be no hesitation as to whether it would be better to modify tlie system, or to misinterpret the Bible. To aid, in however small a measure, the removal of these bandages and entanglements which have sur- rounded inspired truth, so that it may walk at liberty, and perform those higli and holy functions which are its exclusive prerogative — in reforming the church, and converting tlie world, — has been the main object of my ]>ublic life, and especially of those exegetical works, which 1 have — perhaps in too great number — of late years sent from the press. The present [Miblication has tlie same object, and s\ibst;iiitiallv tlic siunc^ cbaracter, as its^ |)recursors. PREFACE. IX Like most of them, though pubhshed at an advanced age, it is the result of the inquiries and studies of youth and manhood. This statement deprives the Exposition and its Author of some claims, which they otherwise might have had, on the indulgence of the readers. But it is right that the truth should be told. The Horatian period for retaining in the Author's repositories forthcoming publi- cations, has been considerably more than trebled since the first sketch of this Exposition was produced ; and during the period which has since elapsed, the manuscript has often been reviewed, corrected, curtailed, and added to. In its substance, it has been delivered to a Christian congregation ; and, with its philological appendages, repeatedly read in the Class of Exegetical Theology, over which I have presided for nearly twenty years In examining some old papers, I found an application made to me, nearly thirty years ago, by a numerous class of Students in Theology, of various Christian de- nominations, who at that time were accustomed to spend an hour with me weekly in critically reading the ^ew Testament in the original Greek, requesting me to publish the ISTotes on the Epistle to the Galatians, which I had read to them. I was gratified with the expressed approbation of my young friends, but do not regret that I declined complying with their request. The I^otes are now a somewhat less inadequate exposition of this important Epistle than they then were. Many of these Students are honourably occupying important stations in different sections of Christ's church, in distant quarters of God's world. It is in the indulgence of a better feehng than vanity that I mention two of their names (and I am sine none of their fellow- X PREFACE. students will find fault with the selection}, the one from among those " who have fallen asleep," and the other from among those " who continue to this day." The first — the dead, — my near kinsman and dear friend, John Brown Patterson, the gifted and saintly minister of Falkirk ; the second — the living, — and long may he live in honour and usefulness, AVilliam Cunningham, D.D., Principal and Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the New College in this city. I have endeavoured, though, I am afraid, with doubtful success, to make this Exposition at once a readable book for intelligent Christians, though unacquainted with the Sacred Languages, and a satisfactory statement of the facts and principles on which the Exegesis is based, to critical Students of the I^ew Testament. It would have been easier — perhaps more advantageous — to have sought these ends in separate publications. Such works as the present, to serve their purpose, must, to a great extent, be compilations. The principal merit of their authors is in making themselves ac- quainted, as far as possible, with all that has been done for the elucidation of the subject of exposition, and pre- senting the substance of all that, in the exercise of their best judgment, they think has been well done — supple- menting this, as they are able, by the results of their own independent research. This is what I have at- tempted to do. I have appended to this Preface a list of the authors whom I have consulted in prc|)aring this work. Where my obligations have been of a kind tliat admitted it, they have been noticed in the text or in the margin ; but he who shall go over the field I have traversed, will lind that 1 have been materiallv helped PREFACE. by hints and suggestions of so indirect and remote a kind, as precluded the possibihty of being intelhgibly acknowledged. It is a remark of Andrew Marvell, that " whosoever he be that comes in print, whereas he might have sat at home in quiet, does either make a treat, or send a challenge to all readers : in the first of which cases, it concerns him to have no scarcity of provisions, and in the other to be completely armed ; for if anything be amiss on either part, men are subject to scorn the weak- ness of the attack, or laugh at the meanness of the entertainment. This is the common condition to which every man that will write a book must be content with patience to submit." The condition appears to me perfectly reasonable. Had I not thought the provision I bring forward whole- some and nourishing, and, moreover, somewhat rare and savoury withal, it would not have been presented. Had I not thought the positions taken tenable, I should never have occupied them. ^N^evertheless, it will be a satisfaction to me to see a table more abundantly covered with viands from the same exhaustless repository — more rich, more varied, and more skilfully prepared ; and in surrendering when fairly conquered, I will feel gratitude rather than shame ; for, to allude to the fine figure of JoRTiN, next to attending and gracing the triumphs of truth, as her successful soldier, the object of my most fervent wish is to be " a captive tied to her chariot wheels, if I have undesignedly committed any offence against her." I cannot conclude without expressing how deeply I feel the favour shown the Author, and the benefit done xn PREFACE. to his work, by the careful revision which the sheets have received in passing through the press, from the Rev. William Yeitch of this city, and from my kinsman, the Rev. J. B. Johnston of Kirkcaldy. The former of these gentlemen, so extensively and so favourably known to scholars by his edition of the " Iliad," and his elabo- rate and accurate work on the " Irregular Greek Verbs," kindly undertook the charge of the Greek quotations ; and by his careful attention to these, as well as by his ingenious and learned suggestions on various points of Greek criticism, he has rendered the work less faulty than it would otherwise have been. JOHN BROWN. Arthur's Lodge, Newington, May 1853. LIST OF AUTHORS CONSULTED DURING THE PREPARATION OF THIS EXPOSITION. Albebti Observationes Philologicse in Sacros. N. F. Libros. 8vo. Lugd. Bat. 1725. A Lapide (Corn.) Commentarii in omnes S. Pauli Epistolas. Folio. Paris, 1638. Amyraut, Paraphrase sur L'Epistre de L'Apostre Paul aux Galates. 8vo. Saumur, 1645. Anselmi Enarrationes in Ep. ad Galatas. Omnia opuscula. Folio. Paris, 1544. Assembly's Annotations. Vol. ii. Folio. 1651. •IBarnes' Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Epistle to the Galatians. 12mo. New York, 1840. Baueki Rhetorica Paullina. 2 vols. 8vo. Halse, 1782. Philologia Thucideo-Paullina vel notatio figurarum dictionis Paul- linfe. 12mo. Halse, 1773. Beausobre et Lenfant snr le Nouveau Testament, Tom. ii. 4to. Amst. 1718. Remarques Historiques, Critiques et Philosophiques, sur N. T. Tom. i. 4to. La Haye. 1742. Belsham's Epistles of Paul the Apostle translated, with an Exposition and Notes. Vol. ii. 4to. Lond. 1822. Bengelii Gnomon N. T. 4to. Ulmse. 1763. Bezje Annotationes in N. T. Fol. Cantab. 1642. Bloomfield's Greek Testament, with English Notes. Vol. ii. 8vo. Lond. 1839. BoNiTZ Commentatio Historico-Exegetica de loco Pauli Gal. iv. 20. 8vo. Leips. 1800. Borger Interpretatio Ep. Pauli ad Gal. 8vo. Lugd. 1806. Bulkley's Notes on the Bible. Vol. iii. 8vo. Lond. 1802. Bos Exercitationes Philologies. 8vo. Fran. 1713. BosEN Unicum J. C. Evang. a Pauli Apostolo defensum Anathema. Thes. Theol. Philol. Tom. ii. FoHo. Amst. 1702. Boston's Paraphrase upon the Epistle to the Galatians. Works. Folio. Edin. 1767. XIV LIST OF AUTHORS CONSULTED. Bowter's Critical Conjectures and Observations on the New Testament. 4to. Lend. 1812. Calvini Commcntarii in Epistolas Pauli Apostoli. Folio. Gen. 1579. Camerarii Comnientarius in Novum Foedus. Folio. Cantab. 1642. Cameronis MjTothecium Evangelicum. Fol. Gen. 1632. Cappelli Jac. Observatt. in N. T. 4to. Amst. 1657. Lud. Spicilegium. 4to. Amst. 1657. Castalionis Notpe. Crit. Sac. Tom. viii. Chandler's Paraphrase and Notes on the Epistles of St Paul to the Gala- tians, Ephesians, and Thessalonians. 4to. Lond. 1777. Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Galatians. 8vo. Oxford, 1845. Clarke's (Ad.) Commentary on the New Testament. Vol. iii. 4to. Lond. 1817. Clarii Notje. Crit. Sac. Tom. viii. Crellii Commentarius in Ep. Paul ad Gal. Bib. Frat. Pol. Vol. viii. Amst. 1656. Contbeare and Howson's Life and Epistles of St Paul. 2 vols. 4to. Lond. 1853. Critici Sacri. Tom. viii. Folio. Am.st. 1698. Davidson's Introduction to the New Testament. Vol. ii. 8vo. Lond. 1849. Day's New Translation of the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians. 12mo. Edin. 1823. De Dieu Animadversiones in D. Pauli Apostoli Epistolam ad Romanes, etc. 4to. Lugd. 1646. Dickson's Exposition of all Paul's Epistles. Folio. Lond. 1659. Doddridge's Family Expositor. Vol. v. 4to. Lond. 1761. D'Oyly and Manx's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures. Vol. ii. Part ii. Lond. 1817. Drusii Scholia. Crit. Sac. Tom. viii. Elsneri Observatt. Sacc. in N. T. Libros, Tom. ii. 8vo. Frag, ad Rhen. 1728. Erasmi Paraphrasis in Omnes Epistolas Apostolicas. 12mo. Bas. 1539. Nota; Crit. Sac. Tom. viii. EsTii Commentarii in Epistolas N. T. Vol. i. Folio. Colon. 1631. Fell's Paraphrase and Annotations upon all St Paul's Epistles. 8vo. Lond. 1703. Ferguson's Brief Exposition of the Epistle to the Galatians. 12mo. Lond. 1659. Gn^PiN's Exposition of the New Testament. 4to. Lond. 1790. Goadhv's Illustrations of the Old and New Testaments. Vol. iii. Folio. London, 17.j9. LIST OF AUTHORS CONSULTED. XV GrROTH Annotatt. in N. T. Vol. ii. Part ii. 4to. Erlang. 1756. GuALTPERii Notaj Crit. Sac. Tom. viii. Guyse's Practical Exposition of the New Testament. Vol. iii. 4to. Lond. 1752. Haldane's (J. A.) Exposition of the Epistle to the Galatians. 12mo. Edin. 1848. Heinsii Sacrse Exereitationes in N. T. 4to. Cantab. 1640. Henry's Exposition of the Old and New Testaments. Vol. v. Fol. Loud. 1737. Hewlett's Commentaries and Annotations on the Holy Scriptures. Vol. iv. 8vo. Lond. 1816. HoMBERGK Parerga Sacra. 4to. Traj. ad Rhen. 1712. Hug's Introduction to the Writings of the New Testament. Vol. ii. 8vo. Lond. 1S27. Jaspis Versio Latina Epp. N. T. Vol. ii. 8vo. Leips. 1797. Keuchenh Annotata in Omnes Libros N. T. 8vo. Lugd. 1755. Knatchbull's Animadversiones in Libros N. T. Paradoxise Orthodoxse. 8vo. Lond. 1709. Krebsii Observationes in N. T. et Flav. Jos. 8vo. Leips. 1755. KOPPE Novum Testamentum Perpetua Annotatione lllustratum. Vol. vi. Gott. 1791. KuTTNERi Hypomnemata in N. T. 8vo. Leips. 1780. Kypke, Observationes Sacr^e in N. T. Libros. Tom. ii. 8vo. Wratislavife, 1755. Launay Paraphrase et Exposition sur les Epitres de Saint Paul. Vol. i. 4to. Charenton. 1650. Le Clerc Novum Testamentum cum Paraph. Hammondi et Notis Ed. Fol. Amst. 1699. Leighii in Universum N. T. Annotationes Philol. et Theol. 8vo. Leips. 1732. Locke's Paraphrase and Notes on the Epistles of Paul. Works. Vol. iii. Folio. Lond. 1740. LoESNERi Observatt. ad N. T. e Philone Alexandrino. 8vo. Leips. 1777. LuTHERi in Epistolam Pauli ad Galatas Commentarius. 12mo. Wittem- berg, 1523. Luther's Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians. 8vo. Paisley, 1786. Macknight's Translation of, and Commentary on, the Apostolical Epistles. Vol. ii. 4to. Edin. 1795. Marlorati Nov. Test. Catholica Expositio Ecclesiastica. Fol. S. L. 1620. MiCHAELis' Introduction to the N. T. by Marsh. Vol. iv. 8vo. Lond. 1828. Mori (A.) in Novum Foedus Notse. 12mo. Hamb. 1712. xvi LIST OF AUTHORS CONSULTED. Mori (S. F.) Acroases in Epp. Paull ad Gal. et Epp. 8vo. Leips. 1795. Olshausen's Biblical Commentary on the Epistles to the Galatians, Ephe- sians, Colossians, and Thessalonians. 8vo. Ed. 1851. Ottii Spicelegium ex. Flav. Jos. ad N. T. Illustrationem. 8vo. Lugd. 1741. Palaieet Observatt. Philologico-Critica in Sac. N. F. libb. 8vo. Lugd. 1762. Paley's Horse Paulina;. Works. Vol. ii. 8vo. Lond. 1825. Pahei in div. ad Gal. S. Pauli Apost. Epist. Comment. 4to. Heidelberg, 1621. Feirce's Dissertation on Gal. iv. 21, etc. Paraph, and Notes on the Epistles of Paul. 4to. Lond. 1733. Penn's (Granville) Annotations on the Book of the New Covenant. 8vo. Lond. 1837-41. Perkins' Commentary upon the Epistle to the Galatians. Works. Vol. ii. Fol. Camb. 1609. PoLi Synopsis Criticorum. Vol. iv. Part ii. Fol. Lond. 1676. Poole's Annotations on the Holy Scriptm-e. Vol. ii. Fol. Lond. 1699. Priestley's Notes on all the Books of Scriptures. Vol. iv. 8vo. Northumb. U. S. 1804. Pripzcovii Cogitationes Sacra? ad Omnes Epistolas Apostolicas. Folio. Amst. 1692. Raphelii Annotationes Philologicse in Novum Testamentuni. Vol. ii. 8vo. Lugd. Bat. 1747. Riccaltoun's Notes and Observations on the Epistle to the Galatians. Works. Vol. iii. 8vo. Edin. 1772. Rosenmulleri Scholia in N. T. Tom. iv. 8vo. Novemberg, 1806. Sa Notationes in Totam Scripturam Sacram. Folio. Lugd. 1601. ScuoTT, Epp. Paul, ad Thess. et Galat. cum. com. perpet, 8vo. Leips. 1834. ScilMiDii Erasm. Versio et Declaratio N. T. Folio. Nuremberg, 1658. Scott's Commentary on the Holy Bible. Vol. vi. 4to. Lond. 1827. Semleri Paraph. Epist. ad Gal. 12mo. Halro, 1779. Stephani Nota; Crit. Sac. Tom. viii. Storrii Opuscula Academica. 3 v. Tub. 1796. Commentatio de Consensu Epistolarum Pauli ad Hebrajos et Galatas. 4to. Tubing. 1792. SuiCERi Thesaurus Ecclcsiasticus. 2 v. Amst. 1735. Tueopuylacti Conim. in D. Pauli Epp. Folio. Lond. 1636. Vall.e Scholia in Crit. Sac. Tom. viii. Van Alpiien Specimina Analytica in Epp. Paul, quinque. Tom. i. 4to. Trajcct, 1742. LIST OF AUTHORS CONSULTED. XVH Walls' Critical Notes. Vol. iii. 8vo. Lend. 1730. Ward's Dissertations upon several Passages of the Sacred Scriptures. 8vo. Lond. 1761. Weingart Comment. Perpetuus in x. Epp. Pauli quas vulgo dicunt minores. 8vo. Gothie, 1816. Wells' Specimen of an Help for the more easy vmderstanding of the Holy Scriptures, being St Paid's two Epistles to the Thessalonians, and his Epistle to the Galatians explained. 4to. Oxford, 1709. Weselii Com. Analytico-Exegetica in Ep. Paul ad Gal. 4to. Ludg. 1756. Wetstenii N. T. Grsecum cum lection, varr. et Commentario Pleniore. Vol. ii. Fol. Amst. 1751. Whitby's Paraphrase, with Annotations, on the N. T. Vol. ii. 4to. Lond. 1822. Winer in Ep. ad Gal. 8vo. Leips. 1829. WoLFii Curfe Philol. et Critic. Tom. iii. 4to. Hamb. 1737. Zegeri Not£e Crit. Sac. Tom. viii. CONTENTS. I.— ANALYSIS. PROLEGOMENA. Page Sect. I. — Of the Persons to whom the Epistle is addressed, . 1 II. — Of the Occasion of the Epistle, .... 3 III— Of the Subject of the Epistle, .... 3 rv. — Of the Date of the Epistle, and the place from which it was Written, ...... 5 V. — Of the Genuineness of the Epistle, ... 6 VI. — Of the General Character of the Epistle, . . 10 VII.— Of the Division of the Epistle, . . . .11 VIII.— Of the Interpreters of the Epistle, ... 12 PART I. INSCRIPTION OF THE EPISTLE. Gal. I. 1-5. Sect. I. — The Author, ..... 1. His Name, ..... 2. His Office, ..... 3. His Associates, .... II — The Persons addressed — the Churches of Galatia, III.— The Greeting, ..... 1. A Prayer, ..... 2. A Statement, .... 3. A Doxology, .... 17 17 18 22 23 24 24 25 33 CONTENTS. Pi«Ke PART II. INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE. Gal. I. 6-10. Sect. I. — Introductory Remarks, ..... 36 II. — The Change which had taken phice among the Galatians, 38 1. The fact, ...... 38 2. The Apostle's feelings in reference to the fact, 42 3. The cause of the fact, .... 43 III. — The manner in which Corrupters of the Gospel ought to be regarded, ...... 44 IV. — The Apostle's Defence of himself against the Charge of being a Man-pleaser, ..... 48 PART III. THE apostle's HISTORICAL DEFENCE OF HIMSELF AND OF HIS OFFICE. G.AL. I. 11-11. 21. .Sect. I. — Introductory Remarks, ..... 53 II, — The Thesis to be proved, " that he was a Divinely-taught, Divinely-authorised Apostle," ... 65 III. — Historical Proof of the Thesis, .... 59 1. His character as a Jew, .... 59 2. His conversion and call, .... 61 3. His conduct in consequence of his conversion, . 63 (1.) He '"' conferred not with flesh and blood," . 63 (2.) He did not go immediately to Jerusalem, 63 (3.) He went into Arabia, .... 64 (4.) He returned to Damascus, ... 64 4. Three years after, he went to Jerusalem to become ac- quainted with Peter ; remained only three days, and saw only two of the Apostles, ... 64 6. He went then into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, being personally unknown to the Churches of Judea, . 66 6. He visited Jerusalem again after an interval of fourteen years, ...... 69 (1.) He went up by revelation, ... 70 (2.) He communicated to the Apostles his mode of preaching the Gospel among the Gentiles, . 71 (3.) He received from the Apostles the most unequivocal acknowledgment of his qualifications, call, and autho- rity, as an Apostle, . . . . 7'> 7. His reproof of Peter for dissembling at Antioch, and liis assertion of the true Gospel, 81 CONTENTS. XXI Pttge PART IV. THE apostle's DEFENCE OF HIS DOCTRINE. Gal. III. 1-iv. 1-7. Sect. I — Introductory Remarks, ..... 102 II. — The Apostle's Astonishment, Displeasure, and Sorrow, at the Change in the Sentiments of the Galatians, . 104 III. — Argument from their own Experience, . . . 109 IV. — Argument from the History of the Justification of Abraham, 114 V. — Argument from the Promise to Abraham, . . 120 VI. — Justification by the Law in the nature of things impossible, 123 VII. — Justification by Law inconsistent with Scripture, . 125 VIII. — Redemption from the Curse of the Law necessary for Justifi- cation both to Jews and Gentiles, . . .128 IX. — Free Justification by believing secured .in a ratified Divine Arrangement which cannot be disannulled by the Law — a subsequent Divine Arrangement, 1. The Thesis stated and proved, 2. Design and Mode of giving of the Law, 3. The Law not contrary, but subservient, to the Prom: 4. State of the Church under the Law, 5. State of the Church after " faith has come," 6. Figurative illustration of these two states, . (1.) The figure, .... (2.) The application of the figure, . (a.) The Church's minor state, (b.) The state of vlodeaia, or "Mature Sonsh into which the Church has been introduced, 191 (c.) The means by which this favourable change was efiected, . . . .193 (d.) Consequence and proof of this favourable change of condition, . . .198 PART V. THE apostle's EXPOSTULATIONS WITH AND WARNING OF THE GALATIANS. Gal. IV. 8-v. 12. Sect. I. — Introductory Remarks, ..... 204 II. — The Apostle shows the Galatians that they were in danger of svibjectiug themselves to a bondage similar to that from which thev had been delivered. . . 2uC> 140 140 148 ise, 162 170 176 182 184 187 187 CONTENTS. Sect. III. — The Apostle reminds them of the circumstances of their Conversion, and shows them that nothing had occurred that should have changed their sentiments towards either him or his teaching, . . .210 IV. — The Apostle exposes the unworthy acts of the Judaising Teachers, ...... 218 V. — The Apostle expresses his deep anxiety for them, and his wish to be present with them, . 226 VI.— Allegorical Illustration, .... 228 1. Introduction, ..... 229 2. The Allegory, ..... 230 3. The Allegory explained, .... 230 4. The Allegory extended and explained, . . 238 5. The Allegory practically improved, . . 248 VII. — The Course the Galatians were following — an implicit Re- nunciation of Christianity and its blessings, . 256 VIII. — Additional considerations fitted to rouse the Galatians to serious consideration, .... 270 1. They had been arrested in the course they had well begim — Why ? . . . . . 270 2. The " persuasion" which had induced them to change had not come from Christ, . . . 272 3. The evil was likely to increase, . 272 4. The Apostle still hoped well of them, . 273 5. Their troublers would be punished, . . 275 6. The obvious falsehood of the suggestion, that the Apostle had become a preacher of circumcision, . . 27G 7. The Apostle's wish that they who troubled the Galatian converts might be " cut off,'' . 279 PART VI. PRACTICAL INJUNCTIONS. Gal. V, 13-vi. 10. Sect. I. — Caution against the Abuse of Liberty, . 283 II. — An Exhortation to " Serve one another in Love," supported by Motives, ..... 286 i. Love is the fulfilment of the Law, . . , 287 2. I'jvil consequences of an opposite temper and conduct, 289 III.— A General Exhortation to " Walk in the Spirit" as the best means of obtaining Dominion over the Lusts of the Flesh, 291 IV. — Particular Exhortations to certain varieties of " Walking in the Spirit," .313 i. Caution against vain-glorying, .313 2. Duty of " the Spiritual " to tho.se " overtaken in a fault," 315 3. Kxhortiilioii to bear one another's burdens, 323 CONTENTS. XMU Page Sect. V. — Caution against Over Self-Estimation, . . , . 326 VI. — The Duty of the Galatians to support their Teachers, . 331 VII. — Caution against mistake in reference to the connection be- tween present Character and Conduct, and future Punish- ment or Reward, ..... 335 VIII. — Exhortation to Well-doing, and Caution against becoming weary in it, . . . , . 342 PART VII. POSTSCRIPT. Gal. VI. 11-18. Sect. I. — Introductory Remarks, . . . . .351 II. — The Apostle's remark that his Letter was Aiitograph, . 354 III. — Unprincipled Conduct of the Judaising Teachers, . 356 IV The Apostle's determination to glory only in the Cross of Christ, . . . . . .363 V. — The Crucifixion of the World to the Apostle, and of the Apostle to the World, by the Cross of Christ, . 370 VI. — The Essence of Christianity again stated, . . 376 VII. — The Apostle's Prayer for all who possess the Essential Ele- ment of Christianity, and act on it, . . . 381 VIII. — An injunction to cease to harass the Apostle, as he had been harassed by the Judaisers and their followers, . 383 IX. — Concluding Benediction, ..... 386 Remarks on the Subscription, ..... 387 APPENDIX. Note A. — Calvin's Exposition of Gal. iv. 1-7, . . . 389 B. — Period of the Appearance of the Messiah, . . 393 C— Elements of Christianity, . . . .398 D. — Remarks on the principle of the Support of the Christian Ministry, stated Gal. vi. 6, . . . . 40U E. — Opposition of the Natural Mind to the peculiar doctrines of Christianity, especially the doctrine of the Cross, . 404 F. — Practical Power of Christian Truth, . . . 407 G. — Tendency of Man to rest in a mere External Religion, . 410 H. — Paul's Mode of considering Judaism and Christianity in their various relations. — Wineb, . . . 412 XXIV CONTENTS Page ADDENDA. Prolegomena, § 1, . . . . • • • 416 §8,p 14, 416 Galatians i. 1, 417 i. 6, 419 i. 17, 419 i. 18, 420 i. 23, 421 ii. 1, 421 ii. 4, , 426 ii. 8, 426 ii. 12, 426 ii. 15, 16, 426 iii. 1, eV vfiiv, 427 iii. 10, . 427 iii. 15, o/xa)£, 427 iii. 24, . 429 iv. 13, 429 iv. 26, 430 V. 5, 430 V. 6, 430 V. 12, 430 V. 16, 431 V. 18, 431 V. 19-23, 431 vi. 7, 8, 432 vi. 11, 433 INDEX. 1 . Principal Matters, 2. Hebrew Words or Phrases explained, 3. Greek Words or Phrases explained, 4. Authors quoted or referred to, . 5. Passages of Scripture quoted or remarked on, 435 439 439 442 445 II.— TABLE FOR FINDING OUT THE EXPOSITION OF ANY VERSE OR CLAUSE OF THE EPISTLE. Ver. CHAPTER I. Paul, 17, 417; an apostle, 18; not of men, neither by man. 19; but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, 21 ; who raised him from the dead, 22; CONTENTS. XXV Ver. 2 and all the brethren which are with me, 22 ; unto the churches of 3 Galatia, 1, 23 : Grace be to you, and peace, from God the Father, and 4 from our Lord Jesus Christ, 24; who gave himself for our sins, 25; that he might deliver us from this present evil world, 26 ; according to 5 the will of God and our Father, 31 : to whom be glory for ever and 6 ever. Amen, 33. I marvel, 42; that ye are so soon, 418 ; removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, 38 : 7 which is not another, 41 ; but there be some that trouble you, and 8 would pervert the gospel of Christ, 43. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you, 46 ; than that which we 9 have preached imto you, let him be accursed, 46. As we have said before, so say I now again. If any man preach any other gospel unto 10 you than that ye have received, let him be accursed, 48. For do I now persuade men, or God ? or do I seek to please men ? 49 ; for if I yet 11 pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ, 50. But I certify you, brethren, 56 ; that the gospel which was preached of me is not 12 after man, 56. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught 13 it, 57; but by the revelation of Jesus Christ, 57. For ye have heard of my conversation, 59 ; in time past in the Jews' religion, 59 ; how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it, 60 ; 14 and profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers, 15 60. But when it pleased God, 61 ; who separated me from my mother's 16 womb, 61 ; and called me by his grace, 61 ; to reveal his Son in me, 61 ; that I might preach him among the heathen, 62 ; immediately I con- 17 ferred, 63 ; not with flesh and blood, 63 : neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me, 63 ; but I went into Arabia, 64, 18 418 ; and returned again unto Damascus, 64. Then, after three years, I went up to Jerusalem, 64 ; to see Peter, 65, 419 ; and abode with him 19 fifteen days, 65. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the 20 Lord's brother, 65. Now the things which I write unto you, behold, 21 before God, I lie not, 66. Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria 22 and Cilicia, 66; and was unknown by face unto the churches of Judea, 66 ; 23 which were in Christ : but they had heard only, that he which perse- cuted us in times past, now preacheth the faith, 67, 420 ; Avhich once he 24 destroyed. And they glorified God in me, 68. CHAPTER II. 1 Then fourteen years after, 420 ; I went up again to Jerusalem, 69 ; with 2 Barnabas, and took Titus with me also, 70. And I went up by revela- tion, 70; and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, 71 ; but privately to them Avhich were of reputa- 3 tion, 72 ; lest by any means I shoidd rim, or had run, in vain, 72. But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be 4 circumcised, 73 : and that because of false brethren, 74, 425 ; brought XXVI CONTENTS. Ver. in unawares, 75 ; who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we 6 have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage, 75 : to whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth (J of the gospel might continue with you, 75. But of those who seemed to be somewhat, 76 ; whatsoever they were, it maketli no matter to me ; God accepteth no man's person, 77 ; for they who seemed to he some- 7 what in conference added nothing to me, 77 : but contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, 8 as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter, 78 ; (for He that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the 9 same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles), 78, 425 : and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, 79 ; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the 10 circumcision. Only the^ would that we should remember the poor; the 1 1 same which I also was forward to do, 80. But when Peter was come to Antioch, 81 ; I withstood him to the face, 82 ; because he was to be 12 blamed, 83. 425. For before that certain came from James, 85; he did eat with the Gentiles, 84 : but when they were come, he withdrew, and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision, 85, 1 3 425. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him ; insomuch that 14 Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation, 86. But when I saw that they walked not uimghtly, 87 ; according to the truth of the gospel, 87 ; I said unto Peter before them all, 88 ; If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why com- 15 pellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? 89. We ivlio are Jews 16 by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 90; knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, 91 ; but by the faith of Jesus Christ, 92 ; even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law, 93 : 17 for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified, 93, 425. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we oiu*selves also are foimd 18 sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin ? God forbid, 94. For if I build again the things which 1 destroyed, I make myself a trans- 19 gressor, 95. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might 20 live unto God, 95. I am crucified with Christ, 9G : nevertheless I live, 9G ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in mo, 97 : and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, 97 ; wlio loved 21 me, and gave himself for me, 97. I do not frustrate the grace of God : for if righteousness couie by the law, then Christ is dead in vain, 98. CHAPTER in. 1 () foolish Gahitiaiis, 107; who, 108; hath bewitched you, 107; that ye should not obey tlie truth, 106 ; before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath 2 l)cen evidently, l'»"); set fortli, crucified among you? 104,426. This CONTENTS. XXVll Ver. only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the 3 law, 109; or by the hearing of faith ? 110 Are ye so foolish? 110 having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh ? Ill . 4 Have ye sufiered so many things in vain ? Ill ; if it be yet in vain, 112. 5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, 113 ; doet/i he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing 6 of faith? 114. Even as Abraham believed God, 116; and it was ac- 7 counted to him for righteousness, 117. Know ye therefore, that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham, 116, 119. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall 9 all nations be blessed, 120. So then they which be of faith are blessed 10 with faithful Abraham, 122. For as many as are of the works of the law, 123; are under the curse, 123, 426: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book 11 of the law to do them, 124. Biit that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is e-vident : for. The just shall live by faith, 125. 12 And the law is not of faith : but. The man that doeth them shall live 13 in them, 127. Christ hath redeemed us, 131; from the cm-se of the law, 130 ; being made a ciu-se for us, 131 : for it is written. Cursed is 14 every one that hangeth on a tree, 132 : that the blessing of Abraham, 125 ; might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, 133 ; that we might 15 receive the promise of the Spirit through faith, 136. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men, 140 ; though it be but, 426 : a man's cove- nant, 141 ; yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth there- 16 to, 141. Now to, 142 ; Abraham and his seed were the promises made, 142. He saith not. And to seeds, as of many; but as of one. And to 17 thy seed, which is Christ, 143. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, 145; the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, 146; that it should 18 make the promise of none efiect, 145. For if the inheritance, 147 ; be of the law, it is no more of promise : but God gave it to Abraham by 19 promise, 147. Wherefore then serveth the law? 148. It was added because of transgressions, 149 ; tiU the seed should come to whom the promise was made, 151 ; and it was ordained by angels, 152; in the 20 hand of a mediator, 153. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, 155 ; 21 but God is one, 160. Is the law then against the promises of God ? God forbid, 162 : for if there had been a law given which could have 22 given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law, 163. But the scriptvu-e hath concluded all under sin, 165 ; that the promise by 23 faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe, 166. But before faith came, 170; we were kept under the law, shut up, 171 ; 24 unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed, 172. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster, 173; to bring us unto Christ, 174, 428 ; 25 that we might be justified by faith, 175. But after that faith is come, 26 176; we are no longer under a schoolmaster, 176. For ye are all the 27 children of God, 177 : by faith in Christ Jesus, 178. For as manv of >'-'^^'>» CONTEXTS. Ver. you as have been baptised into Christ, 178; have put on Christ, 180. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neitlier bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, LSI : for ye are all one in Clirist Jesus, 181. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, 181 ; and heirs according to the promise, 182. 29 CHAPTER IV. 1 Now I say, 185 ; That the heir, as long as he is a child, difFereth nothing 2 from a servant, though he be lord of all, 185; but is under tutors and 3 governors, until the time appointed of the father, 186. Even so, 187 ; we, when we were children, 187; were in bondage, 189; under the 4 elements of the world, 188 : But when the fulness of the time, 191 ; was come, God sent forth his Son, 193 ; made of a woman, 194 ; made 5 under the law, 1 95 ; to redeem them that were under the law, that we 6 might receive the adoption of sons, 191, 389-398. And because ye are sons, 198 ; God hath sent forth, 199 ; the Si)irit of his Son, 199 ; into 7 your hearts, 199 ; crying, Abba Father, 199, 398. Wherefore, 201 ; thou art no more a servant, but a son, 201 ; and if a son, then an heir 8 of God through Christ, 201 . Ilowbeit then, when ye knew not God, 9 20G ; ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods, 207. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, 207 ; how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye 10 desire again to be in bondage ? 208. Ye observe days, and months, and 11 times, and years, 208. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon 12 you laboiu- in vain, 209. Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am : for I 13 am as ye are, 210 : ye have not injured me at all, 212. Ye know how, through infirmity of the flesh, I preached the gospel imto you at the 14 first, 213. And my temptation which was in my flesh, 428 ; ye despised not, nor rejected, 214 ; but received me as an angel of God, even as 15 Christ Jesus, 215. Where is then tlie blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out 16 your own eyes, and have given them to me, 215. Am I therefore 17 become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? 216. They zealously afl'ect you, 221 ; hut not well, 222 ; yea, they would exclude you, that 18 ye might affect them, 223. But it is good to be zealously aflfccted always in a good thinr/, and not only when I am present with you, 224. 19 My little children, 225 ; of whom I travail in birth again until Christ 20 be formed in you, 226 ; I desire to be present with you now, and to 21 change my voice, 227; for I stand in doubt of you, 227. Tell mo, ye 22 that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law ? 229. For it is written, 230; that Abraham had two sons; the one by a bond maid, 23 the other by a free woman. But he who teas of the bond woman was born after the tlesli; but he of the free woman was by promise, 230. 24 Which things are an allegory, 231 : for these are the two covenants, 233 ; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, CONTENTS. XXIX Ver. 25 which is Agar, 234. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, 234 ; and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her ■J6 children, 235. But Jerusalem which is above, 226, 429 ; is free, which 27 is the mother of us all, 238. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not ; break forth and cry thou that travailest not : for the de- solate hath many more children than she which hath an husband, 232. 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise, 239. 29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that ivas 30 born after the Spirit, even so it is now, 240. Nevertheless, what saith the Scripture? Cast out the bond woman and her son: for the son of the bond woman shall not be heir with the sou of the free woman, 243. 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bond woman, but of the free, 254. CHAPTER V. 1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, 2 and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage, 251. Behold, I Paul say mito you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you 3 nothing, 258. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, 4 that he is a debtor to do the whole law, 260. Christ is become of no eflect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law ; ye are fallen 5 from grace, 262. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of 6 righteousness by faith, 266, 429. For in Jesus Christ neither circum- cision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision ; but faith which worketh 7 by love, 268, 429. Ye did run well; who did hinder you, that ye 8 should not obey the truth ? 270. This persuasion cometli not of him 9 that calleth you, 272. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump, 273. 10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none other- wise minded, 274 : but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, 11 whosoever he be, 275. And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet sufier persecution ? then is the ofience of the cross ceased, 12 277. I would they were even cut ofl", 429; which trouble you, 279. 13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for 14 an occasion to the flesh, 283 ; but by love serve one another, 287. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, Thou shalt love thy 15 neighbour as thyself, 287. But if ye bite and devour one another, take 16 heed that ye be not consumed one of another, 289. This I say then, 292 ; Walk in the Spirit, 292 ; and ye shall not frdfil the lust of the 17 flesh, 294. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh : and these are contrary the one to the other, 294 ; so 18 that ye cannot do, 430 ; the things that ye would, 296. But if ye be 19 led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law, 298. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, 299 ; which are these ; Adultery, 300 ; fornication, 20 300 ; uncleanness, 300 ; lasciviousness, 300 ; idolatry, 300 ; witchcraft, 300, 301 ; hatred, 300 ; variance, 300 ; emulations, 300 ; wrath, 300 ; XXX CONTENTS. Ver. 21 strife, 301 ; seditions, 301 ; heresies, 301 ; envyings, 301 ; murders, 301 : drunkenness, 301 ; revellings, 301 ; and such like, 302 : of the which I tell you before, as 1 have also told you in time past, that they which do 22 such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God, 302, 430. But the fruit of the Spirit, 305 ; is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, 23 goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, 304 : against such there is no 24 law, 307. And they that are Christ's, 308 ; have crucified the flesh, 25 with the affections and lusts, 309. If we live in the Spirit, 311 ; let us 26 also walk in the Spirit, 311. Let us not be desirous of vain-glory, 313 ; provoking one another, envying one another, 314. CHAPTER VI. 1 Brethren, if a man, 316; be overtaken in a fault, 316 ; ye which are spiritual, 318 ; restore such an one, 31 7, 320, 321 ; in the spirit of meek- 2 ness, 318 ; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted, 319. Bear ye 3 one another's burdens, 323 ; and so fulfil the law of Christ, 325. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth 4 himself, 327. But let every man prove his own work, 329 ; and then 6 shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another, 330. For 6 every man shall bear his own biu-den, 331. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things, 334, 7 400. Be not deceived, 335 ; God is not mocked, 337 : for whatsoever a 8 man sowcth, that shall he also reap, 337. For he that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption, 338 ; but he that soweth to 9 the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting, 340, 431. And let us not be weary in well-doing, 342 : for in due season we shall reap, if 10 we faint not, 344. As we haA'^e therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all nun, 346 ; especially unto them who are of the household of 1 1 faith, 347. Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with 1 2 mine own hand, 354. As many as desire to make a fiiir show in the flesh, 357 ; they constrain you to be circumcised, 358 ; only lest they 13 should suffer persecution for the Cross of Christ, 359. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law ; but desire to have 14 you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh, 360. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, 303 ; by whom the world is crucified unto me, 370 ; and 1 unto the 15 world, 373. For in Christ Jesus, 377; neither circumcision availeth, 16 378; any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature, 379. And as many as walk according to this rule, 381 ; peace he on them, and 1 7 mercy, and upon the Israel of God, 382. From henceforth let no man trouble me, 383 : for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus, 18 384. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen, 385. ^ Unto tlie Galatians, written from Home, 384. AN EXPOSITION EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. " Commentarii quid operis habent ? Alterius dicta edisserunt ; quae obscure Rcrlpta sunt piano sermone manifestant; multorum sententias replicant; et dicunt, hunc locum quidam sic edisserunt, alii sic interpretantur; illi sensum suum ct intclligentiam his testimoniis et hac nituntur ratione formare ; ut prudens lector cum diversas explanationes legerit, et multorum vel probanda vel improbanda didicerit, judicet quid verum sit." — Hiebontmus, Apoh adv. Ruff. Lib. I. AN EXPOSITION EPISTLE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL GALATIANS. PROLEGOMENA. SECT. I. — THE PERSONS TO WHOM THE EPISTLE IS ADDRESSED. Galatia, or Gallo-Graecia, to the Christian inhabitants of which this epistle was addressed, is a large district in Asia-Minor, situated between Bithynia and Cappadocia, forming a portion of the region now known under the name of Anatoha. It derived its ancient name from being inhabited principally by the descend- ants of a horde of Gauls, consisting of three tribes, the Trocmi,' the Tolistobogii,^ and the Tectosages,^ who, finding their own country too small for its population, emigrated soon after the death of Alexander the Great — about 800 years before the birth of Christ (278) — and proceeding eastward, secured for themselves a settlement in the Asiatic regions."* In the course of time, they intermingled with the Greek inhabitants, and thus got the name Gallo-Greeci, just as the Germans settled in Eng- land were called Anglo-Saxons, though (according to Jerome) TpoKfioi, ^ Toki(TTo^a>yioi. * TfKToaayes, * Wernsdorff, de Repuhlica Oallorum. Pelloutier. liistoire des C'eltes, et particnlierement des Gavlois. 2 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [PROL. still retaining, even so late as the fifth centuiy, much of the dialect and manners of their Celtic' ancestors : at the same time, like the other inhabitants of Asia-Minor, they generally spoke the Greek language ; so that the apostle's epistle would be sufficiently intelligible to them.^ During the reign of Augustus, Galatia was converted into a Roman province, and placed under the government of a propraetor. The inhabitants of this region were generally idolaters, worshipping the Grecian divinities, though it is likely that their religious observances were modified by the traditionary superstitions which the original settlers brought along with them from the west of Europe. In this district, as indeed throughout Asia-Minor, there seem to have been many Jews, and not a few proselytes to Judaism.^ Such was the state of Galatia when the Apostle Paul appeared in it, preaching to its inhabitants the " glad tidings of salvation through Jesus Christ." That it was through the instrumentality of Paul that Christianity was introduced into this province, and a number of Christian churches founded, is abundantly apparent from chap. iv. 13-1.9 ; but it is not quite so easy to say at what particular time these events took place. It is certain that the apostle was at least twice in Galatia.'* Some have supposed that the Galatians were converted by him soon after his first visit to Jerusalem,^ when he went to his native country Cilicia, which was at no great distance from Galatia ; and as he spent a considerable number of years in those regions before Barnabas came and brought him to Antioch, this account of the matter is by no means improl^able. Others suppose that the churches of Galatia were planted by Paul and Barnabas in their first journey, after they had been solemnly set apart to the work of the gospel among the Gentiles.^ Galatia is not indeed expressly mentioned in the history of that missionary tour ; but they are ' Tlieir original name, KfXroi, KfKrai, appears somewhat disguised under their later appellation Takdrui. * " Galatas, excepto sermone Gra;co quo omnis Oriens loquitiu* propriani linguam eandeni projjc liabcre quani Treviros." Ilieronym. Prol. in Kp. ad Gal. The subject of the language of the Galatians is discussed in Jablon- ski's, dissertation " De Lingua Lj'caonica." ^ For a fuller account of these matters may be considted, — Hoffmann's dissertation " De Antiqua Galatia," and his " Introductio Theologico- Critica ad Lcctioncni Epp. Pauli ad Gal. et Coloss." * Acts xvi. C>; xviii. 23. ^ Acts ix. 2r>. Gal. i. 18. « Acts xiii. 1-3. SECT. III.] THE SUBJECT OF THE EPISTLE. 3 said ^ to have preached the gospel " in the region that Hes round about Lycaonia," and there is no doubt that Galatia may be included in this general description. In the Acts of the Apostles, chap. xvi. 6, and chap, xviii. 23, we read of the apostle being in Galatia ; but it seems plain enough that on both these occasions he found churches already established. At whatever period the apostle first came to the Galatians, his labours were remarkably successful. Though apparently suffering severely from some bodily disease, they received him as an angel of God, and his message with a readiness and affection altogether remarkable.^ SECT. II. — THE OCCASION OF THE EPISTLE. It appears that not very long after their conversion to Christi- anity,^ the Galatian churches were visited by some false teachers who professed to be Christians, but who insisted that, on the part even of the converted Gentiles, submission to circumcision and an observance of the Mosaic ritual were necessary in order to salvation. As this doctrine was in direct opposition to the gospel as it had been taught by the apostle and confirmed by miracles, these false teachers left no means untried to shake the attachment of the Galatian churches to their spiritual father, intimating that he was no apostle, in the proper sense of the word, but merely a preacher sent out by the churches at Jerusalem or Antioch ; that he was not consistent in his teaching respecting circumcision ; that he had abandoned the opinion he had once held, and now taught the necessity of submission to the law of Moses, even on the part of believing Gentiles. These un- principled exertions seem to have been attended with but too much success. To stop the progress of this defection, and to bring back to the simplicity of the faith of Christ as to the ground of acceptance with God, those who had been seduced ; and, in subordination to this object, to vindicate his oAvn character from the aspersions cast on it, the apostle wrote this epistle. SECT. III. — THE SUBJECT OF THE EPISTLE. The subject of this epistle is materially the same with that of the Epistle to the Romans — the ground of a sinner's acceptance with God — the Di^ane method of justification ; but it is of im- ' Acts xiv. 6. 2 Gal. iv. 15. '' Gal. i. 6, 7. 4 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [PROL. portance to remark, that it is not viewed exactly in the same aspect, nor treated in the same way, as in that epistle. " Agit apostolus," says Erasmus, " in hac epistola, qnod nus(iuam non agit, nt a legis Mosaictt? ser\itute invitet ad evaiigclii gratiam. Quod idem agit in epistola ad Eomanos : nam utris(|ue idem en'or acciderat sed diversa ratione." The diversity df these two epistles, which have so much in common, arises from the circumstance, that the apostle has to do in each of them with a different set of adversaries.^ In the Epistle to the Romans, in opposition hoth to Gentiles, who expected to be rewarded on account of the merit of their good works, and to unbelieving Jews, who cx])ccted justification through obedience to their law, and who maintained that the Gentiles could not be saved except by submitting to it, he shows that men are restored to the Divine favour not by obedience to any law, but by believing the truth as it is in Jesus, " who was delivered for men's offences and raised again for their justifica- tion;" and that whosoever docs this, whether Jew or Gentile, shall certainly be saved. In the Epistle to the Galatians, he contends not with Jews rejecting Christianity, but with Jews professing to embrace it ; yet teaching that the observance of the law of Moses, as well as the acknowledgment of Jesus as the Messiah, was necessary to the salvation even of the Gentiles. In opposition to this dogma he teaches, that the ^Mosaic institution in all its extent never was capable of justifying any person — that it was never intended for this pui^^ose — that it was now entirely abrogated — and that for men to observe its requisitions toitli the mtention of securing to themselves God's favour, was not only lost labour, but was a material renunciation of the grand characteristic doctrine of Christianity, to wit, that men are restored to the Divine favoui' entirely on the gi'ound of Christ's merits, and entirely by means of faith in him. The doctrine is substantially the same in both * " Sciatis eandeni esse materiam Epistolro Pauli ad Galatas, et quae ad Romanos scripta est : sed hoc difforre inter iitramquc, quod in ilia, altiore scnsu ct profundiorihus usns est arf^unientis : hie (luasi ad eos scribens de quil)us in conscqucntibus ait (> hmcnsnd (ialata> et sic in.vj>icntcs estis? tali scrinonc niodoratus est qnod increparet potius (piani docerot et qncni possent stulti intclli^aTO, nt connnunes sentenliiis conimuni oralione vestirct : et qua; ratio snadere non potorat, revoearet auctoritas." — lln:«oNYM. ad Paul, et Eustoch. SECT. IV.] DATE AND PLACE OF THE EPISTLE. 5 epistles. But in the Epistle to tlie Romans it is laid down in its most general form ; in the Epistle to the Galatians it is laid down with a peculiar reference to the false doctrine taught by the Jewish teachers. At the same time it is worthy of remark, that as, in the general doctrine of the Epistle to the Romans, ' that justification is not by law,' the particular doctrine of the Epistle to the Galatians, ' that justification is not by the Mosaic law,' is necessarily included ; so from the principles on which the apostle in this epistle shows that justification is not by the Mosaic law, the general doctrine, that it is not by law at all, necessarily follows. It also deserves to be noticed, to rescue the apostle from the charge of inconsistency which has sometimes been brought against him, that the opinions respecting the Mosaic law which, in the xiv. and xv. chapters of the Epistle to the Romans, he represents as, though mistakes, yet proper subjects of forbearance on the part of the better informed Christians, and those which in this epistle he represents as utterly subversive of the gospel of Christ, are materially diflPerent. The persons mentioned in the Epistle to the Romans were sincere Christians, who looked to Christ, and Christ alone, for salvation, but who, not being satisfied in their minds as to the abolition of the Mosaic institute, still con- tinued to observe its requisitions, not as means of justification, but merely as religious duties — observances divinely enjoined, and never formally repealed. The persons referred to in this epistle were men who professed Christianity without understand- ing it, — men who, for secular ends, had become teachers, and who insisted that circumcision and the keeping of the law were as necessary as faith in Christ in order to justification and salvation. It is no way wonderful, that though the apostle could bear with the former as well-intentioned though misin- formed Christians, he would " give place to the others, no, not for an hour;" reo-ardincj them as the most dangerous enemies of Christianity — traitors to the Saviour's authority and murderers of the souls of men. SECT. IV. — THE DATE OF THE EPISTLE, AND THE PLACE FliOM WHICH IT WAS WKITTEN. Some have supposed this to be the first epistle written by Paul. This is the opinion of Tertullian and Epiphanius. Others 6 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [PROL. consider it as probably one of the last he wrote. This is the opinion of Theodoret. Chrysostom says it was written previ- ously to the Epistle to the Romans. The only internal indica- tion of date is in chap. i. 6 ; but it is impossible to say whether " so soon " ^ refers to a short period intervening, between their receiving the gospel from the apostle and their apostasy, or between the arrival of the false teachers among them and the success of their machinations. As to the time, therefore, when this epistle was written, it seems impossible to arrive at certainty. It could scarcely, however, be written earlier than a.d. 49, or later than 58. A similar uncertainty rests on the place from whence it was wi'itten. It was probably from some place in Greece-Proper or in Macedonia. It is all but certain that the account given in the note at the end of the epistle is not the true one. AVherever it was written, it seems pretty evident that it could not be written from Rome, to which the apostle did not come sooner than a.d. 60.2 SECT. V. — GENUINENESS OF THE EPISTLE. With regard to the genuineness of this epistle, the evidence, both external and internal, is abundant, and of the most con- clusive and satisfactory kind. Indeed, so far as I know, it has never been seriously questioned.'* It is quoted by the a])ostolic fathers, Clement, Hennas, Ignatius, and Polycarp. Irenajus gives evidence in its favour. Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, and all subsequent Christian writers, refer to it as of undoubted authority. It was known, too, to the ancient heretics, and by them ascribed to its true author. The evidence is to be found at large in Lardner's " Credibility of the Gospel History," Part ii., chaps, ii., iii., iv., v., vi., xvii., xxii., xxvii., xxxviii., Ixxii. ovTU) Tax^(^s. ' Dr Davidson has examined the question respecting the date of the epistle, and the place from which it was written, with p-eat care and candour. He supposes it most likely that it was written from Ephesus about a.d. 66. — Introduction, vol. ii. p. 292, ct seq. ' It does not belong to Eusebius' class of avTikfyofuvai ypa(u, but to that of the fv8ici6i]Koi Kiii oixoXoyovfxfvai ypacjxu, Avhat he elsewhere calls ai KiiTu T7]v (KK\T}(TiiirrTiKi)p TTniHi^oatv (tXi/Odi kui tinXaoToi kui ui/(oiJio\oyt)fi(vai ypa(f)ai. SECT, v.] GENUINENESS OF THE EPISTLE. 7 The internal evidence of the genuineness of the epistle has been placed in a very striking point of view by Dr Paley, in his " Horaa Paulinje :" — " The argument of this epistle in some measure proves its antiquity. It will hardly be doubted but that it was written whilst the dispute concerning the circumcision of gentile con- verts was fresh in men's minds ; for, even supposing it to have been a forgery, the only credible motive that can be assigned for the forgery was to bring the name and authority of the apostle into this controversy. No design could be so insipid, or so un- likely to enter into the thoughts of any man, as to produce an epistle written earnestly and pointedly upon one side of a con- troversy, when the controversy itself was dead, and the question no longer interesting to any description of readers whatever. Now, the controversy concerning the circumcision of the gentile Christians was of such a nature that, if it arose at all, it must have arisen in the beginning of Christianity. As Judea was the scene of the Christian history ; as the Author and preachers of Christianity were Jews ; as the religion itself acknowledged and was founded upon the Jewish religion, in contradistinction to . every other religion then professed amongst mankind ; it was not to be wondered at that some of its teachers should carry it out in the world rather as a sect and modification of Judaism, than as a separate original revelation ; or that they should invite their proselytes to those observances in which they lived them- selves. This was likely to happen ; but if it did not happen at first, — if, whilst the religion was in the hands of Jewish teachers, no such claim was advanced, no such condition was attempted to be imposed, it is not probable that the doctrine Avould be started, much less that it should prevail, in any future period. I likewise think that those pretensions of Judaism were much more likely to be insisted upon whilst the Jews continued a nation, than after their fall and dispersion ; whilst Jerusalem and the temple stood, than after the destruction brought upon them by the Roman arms, the fatal cessation of the sacrifice and the priesthood, the humiliating loss of their country, and with it, of the great rites and symbols of their institution. It should seem, therefore, from the nature of the subject, and the situation of the parties, that this controversy was carried on in the interval between the preaching of Christianity to the Gentiles, and the 8 EPISTLE TO THE G.VLATIANS. [PKOI.. invasion of Titus ; and that our present epistle, which was un- doubtedly intended to bear a part in this controversy, must be referred to the same period. " But, again, the epistle supposes that certain designing ad- herents of the Jewish law had crept into the churches of Galatia, and had been endeavouring, and but too successfully, to persuade the Galatic converts that they had been taught the new religion imperfectly and at second hand ; that the founder of their cliurch himself possessed only an inferior and deputed commission, the seat of truth and authority being in the apostles and elders of Jerusalem : moreover, that whatever he might profess amongst them, he had himself at other times, and in other places, given way to the doctrine of circumcision. The epistle is unintelligible without supposing all this. Referring therefore to this, as to what had actually passed, we find St Paul treating so unjust an attempt to undermine his credit, and to introduce amongst his converts a doctrine which he had uni- fonnly reprobated, in terms of great asperity and indignation. And in order to refiite the suspicions which had been raised concerning the fidelity of his teaching, as well as to assert the independency and divine original of his mission, we find him appealing to the histoiy of his conversion, to his conduct after it, to the manner in which he had conferred with the apostles when he met with them at Jerusalem, — alleging, that so far was his doctrine from being derived from them, or they from exer- cising any superiority over liim, that they had simply assented to what he had already preached amongst the Gentiles, and wliich preaching was communicated, not by them to him, but by himself to them ; that he had maintained the liberty of the gentile church, by opposing, upon one occasion, an a|)0stle to the fiice, when the timidity of his bchavioiu* seemed to endanger it ; that from the first, that all along, tliat to that hour, he had constantly resisted the claims of Judaism ; and that the perse- cutions which he daily underwent at the hands or by the insti- gation of the Jews, and of which he bore in his person the marks and scars, might have been avoided by him, if he had consented to emj)loyhis labours in bringing, tlu'ough the medium of Chris- tianity, converts over to the Jewish institution, for then ' wouhl the offence of the cross have ceased.' Now, an impostor who had litrgcd the epistle for the purpose of producing 8t Paul's SECT, v.] GENUINENESS OF THE EPISTLE. 9 autliority in the dispute, which, as hath been observed, is the only credible motive that can be assigned for the forgery, might have made the apostle deliver his opinion upon the subject in strong and decisive terms, or might have put his name to a train of reasoning and argumentation upon that side of the question which the imposture was intended to recommend. I can allow the possibility of such a scheme as that. But for a writer, with this purpose in view, to feign a series of transactions supposed to have passed amongst the Christians of Galatia, and then to counterfeit expressions of anger and resentment excited by these transactions ; to make the apostle travel back into his own his- tory, and into a recital of various passages of his life, some in- deed directly, but others obliquely, and others even obscurely bearing upon the point in question ; in a word, to substitute narrative for arg\iment, expostulation and complaint for dogmatic positions and controversial reasoning, in a writing properly con- troversial, and of which the aim and design was to support one side of a much agitated question, is a method so intricate, and so unlike the methods pursued by all other impostors, as to re- quire very flagrant proofs of imposition to induce us to believe it to be one."^ The argument for the genuineness of the epistle, from the obviously undesigned coincidences between it and the Acts of the Apostles, is also very clearly stated by the same most judi- cious WTiter. The general principles on which that argument rests are brought out in Nos. II. and III. of the chapter in " Horge Paulinas " already referred to. The particular instances in which it applies will be referred to in the course of the Ex- position.^ 1 Hor. Paul. chap. v. No. I. 2 The following Table, taken from Dr Davidson, is valuable, both as fur- nishing evidence of the epistle's authenticity, and materials for its right in- terpretation : — Parallels between the Epistle to the Galatians aiid that to the Romans. Gal. ii. 16. . . . Ilom iii. 30. Gal. v. 14. . . Rom. xiii. 8-10. ... ii. 19. . . vii. 4. ... v. 17. . . ... vii. 13-24 ... iii. 6. . . iv. 3. ... v. 19-21, . ... i. 28-31. ... iii. 7. . . iv. 12 ; ix. 6, 7. ... vi. 1, 2. ... XV, l-.S. ... iii. 13. . . viii. 1-4. ... iii. 6; iv. 1-7. ) { ii. 17-29. ... iv. 4. . . viii. 3. ... iv. 21-31. \ ... {iii. 9, etc ... iv. 5, 6. . viii. 14-17. ... v. 1-6. ) (v. 21. ... iv. 28. ix. 7. 10 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIAN8. [PUOL. SECT. VI. — GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE EPISTLE. The character of the epistle is, upon the whole, a divine vehemence mingled with affectionate tenderness. Erasmus goes too far wlien he sa}s that in it the apostle " rej^rehendit niagis quam docet." He reproves, but he teaches even more than he reproves ; and his very reproof is teaching. He is nearer the truth when he describes it as " vehemcns et acris oratio " breath- ing " salubris austeritas et clemens sa3\'itia." Theophylact's re- mark is just : " HoXXoi} TO TrpooifjLiov •yt/net dvfiov Koi waaa o-p^tSoi/ fj fTTiaToKr]' TO yap del eTrieiKeveardai to7s fiaBrjTois eViTrXij^etoj dco/xcVotr, ov BiSaa-KciKov." Jeromo's description of the apostle's eloquence, as displayed in this and his other epistles, is very graphic : " Paulum apostolum quotiescunque lego, videor mihi non verba, sed audire tonitrua. Legito epistolas ejus et maxime ad Komanos, ad Galatas, ad Ephesios, in quibns totus in certamiue positus est : et videbis cum in testimoniis quae sumit de Veteri Testaraeuto, quam artifex, quam prudens, quam dissimulator sit ejus quod agit : Aidentur quidem verba simplicia, et quasi innocentis hominis, et rusticani et qui nee facere, nee declinare noverit in- sidias sed quocunque respexeris fuhnina sunt."* Not less striking is the master-sketch of a living writer, — " The mind of l^aul is rapid as the lightning, and yet strikes, by its zigzag impetuosity, every projecting point that approaches its path ; and, still undelayed by these deflexions, attains in- stantaneously the goal."^ The careful student of his writings generally, and especially of this epistle, will probably concm* with the learned and judicious Be/a in a eulogium which, to a su})orficial reader, may a})pear exaggerated. " Quum orationes ipsius totam indolem et x«pa*- Ti'ifHi j)ropius considero, nullam ego in ipso Platone similem gran- dilo(|uentiam, (paoties illi libuit Dei niysteria detonare; nullam in Demosthene parem ddvoTrjra comperisse me fateor, quoties animf)S metu divini judicii perterrefacere, vel commonefacere, vel ad contemplandam divinam comitatem attrahere vel ad pietatis ac misericorditv officia constituit adhortari ; nullam ' liicronyin. ad ramiuacliium ' Douglas's .Slnuhiro of rrophccv, p. 00. SECT. VII.] THE DIVISION OF THE EPISTLE. 1 1 denique vel in ipso Aristotele et Galeno, prjestantissimis alioquin artificibus magis exactam docendi metliodum invenio." " Quanta subtilitate," to borrow the classic words of the accomplished Winer respecting this epistle, " quam singulari solertia, quam egregio ordine in hac disputatione iisus est apostolus, quamque accommodate ad Juda3orum ingenia, i. e. quam efficaciter expo- sita sunt omnia ! Nihil facile addiderit quisquam, quod argu- mentorum incredibilem vim augeat, nihil demserit quod absonum aut debile, nihil trajecerit quod alieno loco positum videatur. Bene omnia composita absolutaque sunt, gequabiliter fluunt, et his, qui legant assensum psene extorquent." It is justly remarked by Dr Davidson, " A fiery energy pervades the epistle ; an impe- tuous tone marks it. Yet the matter is well arranged. The order is clear. Idea after idea, and proof after proof, are conse- cutively disposed." — " The character of the apostle is strikingly impressed on it. Strong emotion, manly earnestness, a tone emphatic and sharp, alternating by easy transitions with mild, affectionate sympathy, bespeak the energetic Paul."^ SECT. VII. — THE DIVISION OF THE EPISTLE. It is justly remarked by Riccaltoun, that " those who know any thing of epistolary vi^riting will not expect the methodical exact- ness of an accurate treatise, much less the formality of a scholastic disputant. The writer who understands his business will never, indeed, lose sight of the point he has in view, nor omit anything that is necessary or proper for attaining his purpose ; but at the same time he will lay the materials together in such an easy natural way, that every new thought shall appear to be suggested by what went before, until the whole plan is finished ; each part throwing light upon another, and all of them making one con- sistent piece. The epistle before us will be found to be an absolute masterpiece in this way of writing." The following seem to be the divisions into which the epistle naturally resolves itself: — I. The Inscription, chap. i. 1-5. II. The Introduction, chap. i. 6-10. III. The Apostle's Historical Defence of Himself and of his Office, chap. i. 11-ii. 21, IV. His Defence of his Doctrine, chap. iii. 1-iv. 8. V. His Expostulations with,, 1 Introd., vol. ii. p. 310. 12 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [PROL. and Warnings of, the Galatians, chap. iv. 9-v. 12. VI. Prac- tical Injunctions, cliap. v. 13-vi. 10. VII. Postscript,^ chap, vi. 11-18. SECT. VIII. — THE INTERPRETERS OF THE EPISTLE. It may be proper to say a fcAV words in reference to the best inteqn'eters of this interesting portion of inspired scripture — one of the " weiglitiest " of the letters of the great apostle of the Gentiles. Chrysostom is, beyond all doubt, the best expositor of this epistle among the Greek fathers. To use the words of Winer, " Omnibus quotquot in ecclesia Gra^ca deinceps secuti sunt, interpretibus fiiceni quasi praetulit, et a multis transcriptus, a nemine superatus est." Few intci'}:)reters of any age have more carefully and successfully employed the great instruments of right interpretation, the usus loquendi — history — and the scope of the writer. Theodoret, QiJcumenius, and Theophylact, are valuable chiefly from their having boiTOW'ed very largely from Chrysostom. Jerome among the Latin fathers, though too much a follower of Origen in mystic interpretation, gives in many instances just view s of the meaning of words antl phrases, and the force of state- ments and arguments. Augustine and Ambrose are dogmatic rather than cjrammatkal expositors, and betray gi'oss ignorance of the Greek language.^ The remark of Castellanus is severe, but we are afraid just, " Augustinum in exponenda scriptura somniasse." In expounding Scripture, Augustine dreams rather tlian interprets. Among the Roman Catholics, Cornelius a Lapide deserves to be consulted for his liberal quotations from the fathers ; and Estius is, upon the whole, a judicious interpreter. Among the lletbrmers, Luther is the most celebrated com- mentator on this epistle. His work, however, is more remarkable ' " Non vere()r,ne opus sit monere, hanc ci)istoUc distributinucin iion ita esse intorpretanduni, quasi vcro concinnam quaiulam ac rlietDricam i)artiuni ile- scriptionem hie veiiaiulam esse existimarcmus ; quod viilelicct artitioiiim a Paulino scribendi gcnere alicnissimum csbO, ut quisque est liboralis N. F. iiiturpres, ita libenter latctur." — Uokuek. *" Augustine's 'Expositio Epistolie ad Galatas' is still, with regard to the principal contents, namely, its communications as to the connection be- tween the law and the gospel, uncommonly instructive and suggestive." — Olshai'sen. SECT. VIII.] THE INTERPRETERS OF THE EPISTLE. 13 for the light it throws on some of the most important points of Christian theology and religious experience, than for accurate exegesis. Luther's commentary should be read in the original Latin. There is much truth in Dr Rodolph Cudworth's remark, (Ep. Ded. to Perkins's Com. on Gal.), " that it has lost much of its strength and taken wind by changing from language to lan- guage, as wine from one vessel to another," — an observation but too generally applicable to translations. Luther's commentary on the Galatians is a very remarkable book. It was a favourite with himself, and he used to call the epistle, after the name of his much-loved wife, his Catherine de Bora. In the later editions it is so much altered and enlarged as to be quite a different work fi'om the earlier editions. It con- tains some doubtful doctrine, and much unguarded language ;^ yet it is very valuable as an illustration of its author's character, as well as of some of the great binding-together principles of the Christian system. It is justly remarked by Archdeacon Hare, " that they who look into it expecting to find a learned critical commentary, will be disappointed. It is not such, nor was ever ' To prevent equally the notion that this remark was uncalled for, and that it means more than it was intended to do, it is best to give a short specimen of what is referred to. " All the prophets did foresee in spirit that Christ should become the greatest transgressor, murderer, adulterer, thief, rebel, and blas- phemer, that ever was or could be in all the world. For he, being made a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, is not now an innocent person, and without sin — is not now the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary — but a sinner, who carrieth the sin of Paul, who Avas a blasphemer, an oppressor, a persecutor ; of Peter, who denied Christ ; of David, who was an adulterer, a murderer, and caused the Gentiles to blaspheme the name of the Lord ; and, briefly, who hath and beareth all the sins of all men in his body ; not that he himself hath committed them, but for that he received them, being com- mitted or done of us, and laid them upon his own body, that he might make satisfaction for them with his own blood. Therefore, this general sentence of Moses, Deut. xxi. 23, comprehendeth him also (although in his own per- son he was innocent), because it found him among sinners and transgressors ; and when it found him among thieves, condemned and killed him as a thief." — Com. on Gal., in. 13. Now, the great German meant no harm. He merely intended to give a strong statement of the vicarious nature of our Lord's sufferings ; but assuredly here, and on the subject of the Christian's relation to the law, he does not use " words that become sound doctrine" — " sound speech that cannot be condemned." Such statements provoke ridicule on the part of the enemies of evangelical truth, and excite deep regret in all its enlightened friends. 14 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [PROL. intended to bo such. At times, the author's strong will makes passages bend somewhat reluctantly to his interpretation ; but, upon the whole, it is marvellous how he enters into Paul's mind, and draws forth iiis thoughts and expands them." It is a high encomium, especially considering whence it comes, pronounced by John Bunyan on this book. " I prefer this book of Martin Luther's (excepting the Bible) before all the books that I have ever seen, as most fit for a wounded conscience."^ Calvin's com- mentary, though shorter, is much more valuable as an exposition.^ It is made accessible to the English reader by Mr Pringle's ex- cellent translation. Brentius on this epistle is, as usual, judicious. Hyperius, "interjires eximius," as Borger justly calls him, maintains his character in his comment on this epistle. Parens is here, as elsewhere, a judicious dogmatical expositor, wntli many valuable exegetical remarks. In the age that immediately followed, Grotius, though his views of justification lead him to misinterpret some passages," occupies the first place. Since that period, among the con- tinental divines, Bengel,* Wessel (Witsius' successor) ; Launay " accutissimus in paucis interpres," as Borger truly styles him ; Semler, Rosenmiiller, Koppe, Morus, Borger, Winer, Schott, and Olshauscn, desen-e to be consulted;"' and among Britisli expositors, exclusive of the commentators on the whole Bible or New Testament, Perkins, Locke, and Chandler, hold the first place, though it must be admitted that the two last take very low and limited views of the a])Ostle's object in the ' " Lutherus in Epistolam ad Galatas Commentarios scripsit satis aniplos, eruditionis atque ingenii testes locuplctissimos qiianquam satis constat cum in rebus magis illustrandis quara in cxplicandis vocalmlis versari." — Winer. 2 " Calvinns in banc epistolam connnentatus est, miramque in i)ervidenda Apostoli niente subtilitateni, in exponenda perspicuitateni probavit." — WiNKU. ' " Grotio magna; in Uteris sacris explicandis diligentiai, mirifica: artis, varifL' deniquc eruditionis landcs deberi, nunc quidem sciiint atque profiten- tvjr onincs (pii aHcjuid sapiiint." — Winkk. •• " Bcngelius niagnam sagacitatem, in rimandis ac prcssc explicandis Ap. scntentiis vcrborum etiam minimoriini significatibus, consumsit." — Winek. * Tbcrc is a commentary on this epistle bv Vitringa in Dutcli, mentioned by Wolfius. It would be worth while to have it examined, and. if at all of like merit with the commentary on Isaiah, t«» Iiave it translated. SECT. VIII.] THE INTERPKETERS OF THE EPISTLE. 15 epistle. Barnes's notes are creditable to the diligence, acuteness, and piety of their author ; and Ferguson's, Boston's, and Haldane's brief expositions are orthodox and practical; but a satisfactoiy exposition of the epistle in the Ejiglish language will readily be admitted to be still a desideratum. PART I. INSCRIPTION OF THE EPISTLE. Galatians I. 1-5. — " Paul, an apostle (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead), and all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia : Grace be to you, and peace, from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for oiu- sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father : to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." According to the custom of the age, the apostle begins with a short description of himself and his correspondents, connected with a wish for their happiness. Paul was above the affectation of singularity. In the form of his epistles, he follows the ordinary custom of his country and a«Te : and he thus teaches us tliat a Christian oufjht not to be unnecessarily singular. By readily complying with innocent customs, we are the more likely, when we conscientiously abstain from what we account sinful customs, to impress the minds of those around us that we have some other and better reason fc^' our conduct than whim or humour. Yet the apostle contrives to give, even to the inscription of his letter, a decidedly Christiim character ; and shows us that, though we should not mal* an ostentatious display of our Christianity, yet, if Ave are truly religious, our religion will give a colour to the whole of om* conduct : even what may seem most remote from direct religious employment will be tinged by it. The manner in which the apostle manages the inscription of this and his other letters, is a fine illustration of his own injunction, " Wliatsoever ye do in word or deed, do nil in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving p. I. § J.] THE AUTHOR. 17 thanks to God and the Father by him." ^ He shows his Chris- tianity even in the mode of addressing his letters. SECT. I. — THE AUTHOR. 1. His Name. But let us look a little more closely into the terms of this inscription. " Paul." It is probable that the apostle, from his infancy, had two names : " Saul," a Jewish, and " Paul," a Roman name. It was common among Eoman citizens to give their children what was called a cognomen, in addition to the nomen answering to our family name, and the pnenomen answering to our Christian name; and this cognomen often referred to something in the ap- pearance, or to some remarkable event in the history, of the indi- vidual. It is not unlikely that our apostle received " Paul" as his cognomen from his " weak bodily appearance." ^ Ecclesiastical tradition represents him as a person of diminutive size.^ It was no uncommon thino; amono; the Jews to have two names. In ancient times, Solomon and Jedidiah, Azariah and Uzziah. Under the Chaldeans and Persians we find Jews with two names, — one Jewish, the other Chaldean or Persian : Daniel, Belteshazzar ; Hananiah, Shadrach; Mishael, Meshach ; Azariah, Abednego ; Nehemiah, Attirshatha. A similar custom prevailed under the Greek successors of Alexander : Joshua, Jason ; Onias, Menelaus.* Under the Romans, Latin surnames seem to have been common among the Jew^s. In the royal family of the Herods, we find Agrippa and Drusilla. The custom seems to have extended to the common people also. John, sister's son to Barnabas, besides his Hebrew name, had the Roman name Marcus. Paul's companion, Silas, is also denominated Silvanus. Paul seems to have used his Roman name exclusively after his solemn separation to the ministry of the Gentiles.^ His object, probably, was to show, that he had divested himself of all Jewish prejudices, and to secure to himself that respect and attention, which Gentiles were more likely to show to one 1 Col. iii. 17. ^ 2 Cor. x. 10. ^ Paulus is used to signify very small or little by Terence. * Jos. Antiq. ix. 6. ° Acts xiii. 2, 9. B 18 EPISTLE TO THE GALATTANS. [CHAr. I. 1-5. who bore a name wliicli seemed to imply that he Avho bore it was a Koman citi/.cn, than to one whose veiy name told them he belonged to the obnoxious nation, hating, and hated by, all the world. If this is the true account of the matter, we have here a display of Paul's prudence, and knowledge of human nature ; his attention to the most minute circumstances which misht affect his usefulness ; his care not to increase the difficulties in the way of men's conversion by awakening their prejudices ; — in one word) to use his own language, his " becoming all things to all men, that by all means he might save some." It was not, however, to his dignity, as a descendant of Abraham, or a citizen of Rome, that the apostle wished to draw the attention of his Galatian correspoflTlei"^. It was to the office which he held in the Christian chiirch. The style and appellation by which he was anxious to be known, was neither a Hebrew of the Hebrews, nor a Denizen of the Imperial City, but a Christian Apostle. 2. Ills Office. Paul describes himself as " an apostle." The word " apostle " is precisely of equivalent meaning with the term " messenger." ^ It indicates a person emj^loyed by another to execute some com- mission. Thus, the persons appointed by the churches of Mace- donia to carry, along with Paul, their contributions to the poor saints at Jerusalem, are termed " the messengers," or apostles, " of the churches." '^ And Epaphroditus is termed the " mes- senger," or apostle, of the Philippians.'' It is ordinarily employed in the New Testament as the appropriate appellation of the highest order of the Christian ministrj'. The twelve disciples chosen by our Lord himself^ as distinguished from evangelists, prophets, and ordinary pastors, — Matthias, who was chosen to occupy the place of Judas, the traitor, — Paul, and Barnabas, — are the only individuals who, in this sense, receive this honom- able name. The distinguishing marks of an apostle seem to have been, direct instruction by, and commission from, Jesus Christ ; the power of communicating the Holy Ghost by the laying on of their hands ; and authority to superintend and guide the catholic Christian church.' ' Jolin xiii. U!.— " Missus," " legatus." ' 2 Cor. viii. 23. ^ Phil. ii. 25. * Vide article " Apostle," Kitto's " Cyclopedia." p. I. § 1.] THE AUTHOR, 19 As there were false apostles/ and as Paul's apostleship had been called in question, and represented as of a secondary and inferior kind — as if he had been an apostle of the apostles, or an apostle of the church of Jerusalem, rather than an apostle of Christ, — he is not contented with merely calling himself an apostle, but goes on to describe what kind of an apostle he was. Christians, and especially Christian ministers, ought not to be ambitious of distinctions, nor very forward in claiming, in every case, the respect which properly belongs to them ; but when their usefulness is endangered by men endeavouring to rob them of the authority which belongs to their office or character, it is a false modesty which would keep them back from asserting their rights. Paul was a modest man ; but he would not silently allow any man to deny or extenuate the official authority with which Jesus Christ had invested him. He was "an apostle, not of^ men, neither by^ man." The full expression is, ' not constituted or commissioned by men.' ^ Some have supposed, that all that the apostle meant by these words, was merely to assert that his commission was not of human but of Divine origin.* " This imports something, not only greatly more than a Divine permission, or even what is brought about in the course of ordinary providence, — it is the same thing as the express appointment and authoritative order of that God whose apostle he was." ^ The apostolic office was not what Peter says civil go^^ernment is, an " ordinance of man."* I cannot help thinking each of the phrases has its own peculiar meaning. Of those v/ho have been of this opinion, some think that the emphasis is to be laid on the different numbers, plural and singular, men and man ; thus, ' I received my commission neither from any body of men, nor from any individual man.' ' I am not an apostle of the church at Jerusalem, nor am I an ' '^evBaTToa-ToKoi. 2 " OTTO denotes the source, the origin, of the call ; 8ia the intermediate agent through which it is bestowed on the person chosen." — Olshausen. " It is peculiar to Paul to use dift'erent prepositions in reference to one object, so that connected they shall define the idea in all its aspects; as, Gal. i. 1, in no respect an apostle of man : not from men, as the ultimate authority ; not by a man, as mediator." — Winer, § .54, 6. ^ ovK dTr'dv6pa>7rcov Karaaradeis, or dnoarfWo^fvos, etc. : institutus, VOCatus. * 8ia ee\^fxaTos GfoC. Col. i. 1. Eph. i. 1. 1 Cor. i. 1. 2 Cor. i. 1. ® Riccaltoun. ^ dvOpmirivr) ktictis. — 1 Pet. ii. 13. 20 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. I. 1-5. apostle of Peter, or of James or John, or any of those who are " accounted pillars" in the church.' We rather think that the sense of the apostle is to be brought out by laying the emphasis on the particles of and hi/. Paul was not an apostle of^ men, i. e., he did not derive his commission or authority from men. He was employed on no human errand. No man had told him what he was to say — he had received credentials from no man. Neither w'as he an apostle bi/^ man. A man may have a divine communication made to him, and a divine authority and command to impart this to others, and yet he may have obtained both the one and the other through the instrumentality of man. That is the case with every rightly called gospel minister. That was the case with Timothy. His message and authority were both divine. But he received the one from Paul's instructions, and the other from the laying on of his hands and of those of the presbytery. But the apostle was divinely appointed to his oflSce, and furnished with his commission from Jesus Christ, without human interv^ention.^ This is no way inconsistent with the history recorded in the thirteenth cha])ter of the Acts of the Apostles. I may be allowed to remark by the way, that though there is a most material difference between the Apostle Paul and ordinary Christian ministers, yet there is a sense in which it may be said even of them, if they are what they ought to be, that they are not " of men," neither " h^/ man." There are too many who are ministers of men, who have no authority but what men gave them, and no message to deliver but what men luive taught them. These men may be ministers of the Roman church, or of the Greek church, or of the English church, or of 1 uTTo for ino, as 1 Cor. i. 30 ; iv. 5. ^ 8id. 3 TertuUian's proof of Paul's apostleship (adv. Marcion., Lib. v. § 1) is so curious a specimen of patristic exposition and logic, that it is worth quoting. " Inter illas figuras et propheticas super filios suos benedictiones, Jacob cum ad Benianiiu dixisset, ' Benianiin,' inquit, ' lupus rapax ad niatutinum conicdct adliuc, et ad vcspcrani dabit escani.* Ex tribu eniiu Bcniamin oriturum Pauluni providebat lupuni rapaceni, ad niatutinum comedentcm ; id est prima a^tate vastaturum pecora Domini, ut i)ersecutorcm ecclesiaruni, dehinc ad vesperam escam daturum, id est, devergeiite jam a;tatc oves Christi educaturum ut doctorem nationum. Nam et Saulis primo asperitas insec- tationis erga David dehinc poenitcntia ct satisfactio, bona pro malis recipi- cntis nonaliud portcndebat quani Faulum in Saule secundum tribus et Jesum in David secundum virginis censum." Tliis is one of what the African fathers calls, " figurarum sacramenta." p. I. § 1.] THE AUTHOR. 21 the Scottish church, but they are not ministers of Christ. There are others who though not ministers of men are yet ministers hy men. In one sense, in ordinary cases, all ministers must be hy men, as it is by the call of the faithful and the laying on of the hands of the presbytery, that they are regnlarly invested with the'r office. But many good ministers are ministers hy men in another sense. Their views of divine truth are scriptural in their substance, and that they are so, is the ground of their belief of them ; but still they have gained their views chiefly throngh the medium of human writings, and it is in this form only that they can bring them forward to others. How much better is it when a minister has drawn directly from the Word of God what he makes known to his people ; and, freed fi'om the trammels of human system, can clearly state to others what he has clearly seen for himself in the Holy Scriptures ! There is a similar distinction to be observed among private professors of Christianity.^ In opposition to his being an apostle of men, or by man, Paul states that he was an apostle " by Jesus Christ," the Messiah — who, in his estimation, was not a mere man,^ but " God mani- fest in flesh," ^ — " and God the Father, who raised him from the dead." It is a just remark of the acute Leslie, that " if Christ were not more than man, and considered as such in this passage, the apostle's words cannot be made consonant." I can scarcely help thinking that the apostle meant to contrast the two members of this last clause with the two members of the former clause, — ' An apostle, not of men, but of God the Father ; an apostle, not by men, but by Jesus Christ.'* He was " an apostle "^ Jerome says there are four kinds of apostles or messengers to be found in the church. " Primum genus quod neque ab hominibus neque per homin- em, sed per Jesum Christum et Deum Patrem mittitur. Alteram genus a Deo quidem est sed per liominem ; ita Josua fuit a Deo, sed per hominem Mosem dux populi designatus. Tertium genus ab hominibus non a Deo. Hoc genus est eorum, qui hominum favore et studio ordinantur : Quartum genus quod neque a Deo neque per hominem, neque ab homine sed a semetipso est." ^ avdpcoTTOS yp'iXos. ^ Oeos (pavepcode'ls ev aapni. * This is the opinion of the younger Crellius, under the assumed name of Artemonius, and of Le Clerc. " Subintelligendum," says the latter, " aut forte etiam exprimendum anb GeoO, ut fit plena oppositio." " Ut P. h. 1. bia de Christo et Deo pariter collocaret, fecit brevitatis studio ductus. Eum enim aut sic scribere oporteret : HaiJXo? anoaToKos ovk dir av6pa>ira>v, hXX aiTo ©eoO Trarpdj, ovSe St' avOponTTov oKKa 8ia 'irjaov XptoroC ; aut saltern 22 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CH^VP. I. 1-5. of God the Father." God the Father is uniformly represented in the New Testament as, in tlie economy of grace, the fountain of aiithority — " the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Our Father, because his Father ; our God, because his God. It is of Him that " the whole family in heaven and in earth is named." Whatever Jesus Christ does, he docs in the Father's name. From Him came the apostle's commission ; and it came to him, not through the medium of any man, but through Christ Jesus. He was made an apostle by God, through Christ Jesus. Jesus directly called him ; and directly, too, instructed him. What Paul declared, was not what he had learned of men, but what he " received of the Lord."^ The apostle takes notice, by the way, of the important fact — the radical principle of Christianity — that God the Father had raised Christ fi*om the dead. This was a truth ever present to the apostle's mind in its pre-eminent importance ; and consequently he was always ready to give it utterance. It is not unlikely that, in mentioning it here, he meant to suggest the idea, — that as an apostle called by the Savioui* raised from the dead by the power of the Father, he was certainly not inferior to those who had been called by him when in his suffering state. For it does seem to have been one of the circumstances of which the false teachers in different churches availed themselves, in endeavouring to lessen Paul's authority, that he had not, like the other apostles, been the companion of Jesus Christ while on earth. 3. His Associates. In the kind wish which he is about to express for the Galatian churches, he connects with himself (verse 2) " the brethren " who were with him. It is common in the New Testament to call all Christians "the brethren."^ But it seems probable that here the word is used to designate the evangelists who accompanied Paul, such as Sosthenes, ApoUos, Timothy, Titus, Silvanus,* ita ri. a. o.a. a. o. 8. a. uXka 8ia ^Irjaov Xpia-rov dnb Qtov ■narpui, orationeiii i[uo vidcmus modo contraxit : IlaCXor anuaToKos ovk cJXXa 8ia 'It]v. — Demosth. ■'' (}al. i. 6, 7. * fifTarWiadf nno tov KitKt'(TttiiTOi vfiat. p. II. § 2.] CHANGE AINIONG THE GALATIANS. 39 equivalent terms, two descriptions of the same class of individuals. The phrase seems, like most of the distinctive appellations of Christians in the New Testament, borrowed from the Old Testa- ment, and to have originated in the manner in which Abraham was set apart to be the father of the peculiar people of God. He was called by the voice of God when in his native country, and induced to comply with that call, — to come out fi'om among his idolatrous relations, and go to a distant land, and become the founder of a family which was, through many succeeding ages, to be the repository of the true religion.^ To be called, in the New 'Testament sense,^ is, by means of the invitations of the gospel accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit, to be induced to believe the truth/ and make a profession of this faith. The Galatians were " called,^' when, through the preaching of the apostle Paul, they were invited, and induced to accept of the invitation, to j)articipate in the blessings of the Christian salvation.^ But whom are we to understand by " Jwn that called"^ them? Some interpreters have been of opinion, that by " him that called" them, the apostle means himself. This is, however, entirely in- consistent with the uniform usage of the phrase, ' calling men.' It is always, without an exception so far as I know, referred to God the Father, or to our Lord Jesus Christ; and, indeed, calling, in the sense in which we have explained it, is a work to which human agency is altogether inadequate. Calling is ascribed to God the Father, Rom. viii. 30 ; ix, 24 ; 1 Cor. i. 9 ; vii. 15, 17 ; 1 Thess. ii. 12 ; v. 24 ; 2 Thess. ii. 14 ; 2 Tim. i. 9 ; 1 Pet. i. 15 ; ii. 9 ; v. 10 ; 2 Pet. i. 3. It may be understood as ascribed to Christ, Rom. i. 6 ; perhaps John x. 16. Nor need we wonder at calling being ascribed to both, when we recollect that " what things soever the Father doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise ; " ^ and that " all power in heaven and in earth is given ^ Gen. xii. 1-4. Isa. xlviii. 12. 2 Matth. ix. 13. Luke v. 32. Rom. viii. 30; ix. 24, 25. 1 Cor. i. 9, 26. Gal. V. 13. Eph. iv. 1. Col. iii. 15. 1 Thess. iv. 7. 2 Thess. ii. 14. 1 Tim. vi. 12. Heb. ix. 15. ^ The origin and meaning of the terms, KoKeiv, and kKt^o-is, as applied to Christians, are discussed by Pott, in his second Excursus in his Commentary on the Epistles of Peter ; and by Tittmann, in his " Opuscula Theologica," p. 285. * Tov KoKiiravTa. '' John v. 19. 40 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIAN8. [CHAP. I. 6-10. unto him.'' • In the whole process of briniring sinners of man- kind into his kingdom, the Father does nothing but by the Son.^ It is phiin our translators understood the appellation of God the Father ; but I cannot help thinking, with the Syriac and Arabic translators, that the apostle meant the phrase to be vmderstood of Jesus Christ. This is also Jerome's opinion ; and has been adopted in later times by Erasmus, Calvin, Cornelius a La- pide, Junius, Ilyperius, Grotius and Vitringa. The words, liter- ally rendered, are, " Ilim who called you in grace, Christ;" ^ or, more in our idiom, ' Christ, who hath graciously called you.' This gives the natural meaning to ' in grace.' "* It is harsh to render it as if it were 'through grace";' ^ and still harsher to render it as if it were ' into the grace,' '^ as our translators have done.'' Christ, by the instrumentality of Paul's preaching, and by the effectual operation of the Holy Ghost, had converted many of the Galatians from idolatiy and from Judaism to Chris- tianity,— had led them to " believe with the heart," and to " con- fess with the mouth," the truth as it is in Jesus. And this he had done " in grace," or graciously. It was a most important favour he bestowed on them ; and it was a blessing equally unde- sers'ed and unsolicited, entirely the result of sovereign kindness. The next phrase that comes to be considered is, " Ye are removed from him that called you." What is meant by the Galatians being removed from Christ? The expression is, liter- ally, " Ye have removed yourselves." ^ To remove themselves from Christ, who had called them, is plainly to abandon the principles which he had taught them, — to give up the pecu- liarities of his religion, — to leave him for another teacher, — to deny his Gospel, — and to adopt another creed. This appears plainly to be its meaning from what follows : ' Ye are removed from Christ, who graciously called you, " unto another gospel." ' The apostle uses the word "gospel,"^ here, ])lainly not in its ' Matth. xxviii. 18. =* John v. 22. Tov KoXtaavTos iifxus (v ■xupni — XpKTToii. ^ It is not unlikely that Xpiarov was not in the text originally, but is a gloss. — ]'i EPISTLE TO THE GALATLVNS. [CIIAP. I. C-IO. in some other Christ than this Christ under the name of a sa^dour.'" * If sucli a system shoukl be preached to the Gahitians by an angel from heaven, or by the apostle himself, what were they to do ? "Were they to receive it ? No ; they could not receive it without renouncing the true gospel — that gospel which they had already received on the best foundation. Instead of receiving it, says the apostle, " let liinv' who proclaims it " be accursed." It is not probable that the apostle conceived it possible that either he or an angel could preach another gospel. But he puts the thing in the strongest way to impress on the minds of the Galatians the danger of receiving it, and the extreme folly of their conduct in receiving such a gospel, though preached neither by angels nor apostles, but by unauthorised, self-constituted teachers. The ori- ginal words^ are ob^dously to be translated, not ' a messenger from heaven,' but, as in our version, " an angel from heaven ;" (j. d., ' even if one of the holy angels should dare to coiTupt the gospel, let him be accursed.' And good reason why even his gospel should be rejected ; for, as Richard Baxter says, " the gospel hath fuller evidence than if an angel spake from heaven, and is to be believed before, and against, any such angel." Tertullian strangely supposes that the reference is to a fallen angel — an angel once in heaven,^ but now out of lieaven.^ This is one of " the African schoolmaster's " many crochets ; and I do not know if he has had any followers in this opinion. Luther's observation is characteristic, — " Ho casteth out veiy flames of fire, and his zeal is so fervent that he beginneth almost to curse the angels." But what are we to understand by those words of tlie a])()stle in reference to the preacher of another gospel ? " Let him be accursed." Some consider them as a denunciation of vengeance on the corrupters of the gospel of Chnst. I have no doubt that coiTupters of the gospel of Christ, and especially such corrupters as the apostle speaks of, are in extreme danger of aggravated condemnation — of deepest perdition ; and this seems implied in the words ; but I api)rehend that tiie apostle's object is to point out the manner in which the Galatian Christians ought to consider and treat such persons They ought not to roccivf them. Tiiey ^ John Walker. ayye^os (^ ovpavoi. * tv ovpavw. ' *f ovpavov. p. II. § 3.] WAY OF TREATING FALSE TEACHERS. 47 ought not to listen to their doctrines, nor to follow their advice. They ought to consider them as a devoted thing.^ They should treat them in the way in which the Israelites were to treat the accursed or devoted thing.^ I apprehend it is nearly equivalent to the injunction of the apostle John, — " If there come any unto yon, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed : for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds." ^ "I have never conceived," says a very acute expositor of Scripture, " the words, ' let him be accursed,' as denoting a prayer that the curse of God should ultimately fall upon him (though we must be sm^e that it shall, if he obtain not repentance to the acknowledgment of the truth), but as a direction that he should be regarded as an accursed thing — as one (however specious and esteemed) upon whom the wrath of God lies. He that will not heartily join with the apostle in the solemn words, must be animated by some sph'it very different fi'om that of the truth."* At first sight, there may appear a discrepancy between the sentiment expressed here and that contained in 2 Cor. xi. 4 ; but the apparent contradic- tion is very easily removed. How those Christians, who receive as ministers men whom they are ready enough to say preach another gospel, satisfy theii* own consciences, I cannot tell. To acknowledge such men as ministers, and receive Christian ordinances at their hand, is certainly not to treat them as a devoted thing. We should be very cautious how we charge men with preaching another gos- pel ; but whenever we are conscientiously persuaded that they do so, the line of conduct to be followed by us is very plain. We must not acknowledge them as teachers ; we must not listen to their instructions. They must be to us " anathema." 1 wonder what amount of worldly good could have induced the Apostle Paid to have acknowledged such men as ministers, and to have treated them as brethren. Never was there a man more disposed to bear with weak brethren ; but never was there a man more determined to oppose, and to expose, false bretlu'en ; and I believe it ^^•ill be always found that, when the love of the ^ dvdde^a. a^M ^rr, — " Cum eo nihil vobis sit commercii non magis quam cum iis quos sjTiagoga aut ecclesia penitus abscidit." — Grotius. " dvadffjia = dvaTed€fjiaTia[ji€vos, cf. Chap. iii. 13, Kardpa = KardpaTos." — FritscHE. 2 Josh. vi. 18. 3 2 John 10, 11. * John Walker. 48 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CIIAP. I. 6-W. tnith renders men kind and forbearing to others who really love the truth, it renders them just in the same degree into- lerant (so far as chnrch-fellowshii) is concerned) in reference to those who are the enemies of the truth. It was plainly a feature in Paul's character, as well as in that of the church of Eplicsus, that he " could not bear them who were evil." " It is a false charity which represents it as of no essential con- sequence what we believe under the name of gospel. It is, in- deed, but another form of human ungodliness, holding it of little consequence what God we acknowledge."^ The sentiment was an important one, and the apostle repeats it to show the Gala- tians that this was no excessive, exaggerated statement, into which passion had hurried him, but his calmly formed and un- alterable opinion. " As we said before,^ so say I now again, If any jnan (man is a supplement — being, man or angel) preach" as gospel any other doctrine "unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." These words, " as we said before," may refer to the words immediately preceding ; but we think it more likely that the apostle alludes to what he had again and again said to the Galatians when he was among them. There is a similar expression, 2 Cor. vii. 7, where the reference is to what is said in the same epistle, but in another place. Im])ortant truth, especially if it happens to be mipalatable tnith, needs often to be repeated. For ministers to speak the same things to their people, ought not to be grievous to themselves ; and to their people it is not only safe but necessary. SECT. IV. — THE apostle's defence of himself against THE CHARGE OF BEING A MAN-PLEASER. In the 10th verse, I apprehend the apostle states the reason why he found himself under the necessity of using such strong ^ John Walker. ^ irpofipi'jKafjLff is read in some of the Codd. as two words, irpo (lpi]Kafitv. This, however, is against prusc usage. The text. rec. is right. In conse- quence of tlie oUlcst MSS. having been written without any points or disjunctions of words, in some of tlie later MSS. tliero are to he found both false jiuictions and false disjunctions. — John iii. 2; ix. 31 : ]{(nn. viii. J4; I'hil. i. 1 ; 1 Cor, iv. 13; 1 IVt. i. 7; iii. 20. The wonder is not that such mistakes occur, but that thev are not ni()re numerous. r. II. § 4.] THE APOSTLE NO MAN-PLEASER. 49 language. There is an abruptness in tlie transition here. What follows is either an apology for the preceding language, or an appeal to the Galatians whether the imputation of being a time- server was not in his case a gross calumny. It was a convic- tion of duty which dictated his words. His great object was to please God ; and this object he must prosecute, however much men might be displeased. Perhaps the train of thought which connected the 9th with the lOtli verse in the apostle's mind may be thus expressed, — ' I am aware this language will not be very agreeable either to the Judaisina; teachers or to those who have been deluded by them, but I cannot on this account desist from it. My leading object is to please God, and this can only be done by plainly stating and strongly defending the truth.' And it is not unlikely that it was intended to suggest this idea, — ' A man who thus plainly asserts the most unpalatable truths is not very likely to be such a selfish time-server and man-pleaser as the Judaising teachers had represented the apostle.' But let us look at the verse a little more closely. " For do I now persuade men, or God ? or do I seek to please men ? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." In the first clause of this verse we have a proof that a version may be too literal. The translation is so literal as to be unintelligible. It is easy to understand what is meant by " per- suading men," though it is not so easy to see what connection such an idea has with what goes before, or what comes after ; but what meaning can be attached to the phrase, " persuading God"? The ordinary sense of the original word translated " persuade," ^ with an accusative, is to prevail on another, by argument or persuasion, to credit a statement or do an action. This is plainly inappropriate to God. Luther, Erasmus, Vatab- lus, Cramer, and Michaelis, render the clause, — ' Are human or Divine things the subject of my argument ? Do I preach man's doctrine or God's?' Calixtus and Piscator, — ' Do I persuade you to believe men or God?' Calvin su])poses an ellipsis,''* — ^ neido}- 2 Of Kara. Bos seems to have been of the same opinion. " Cave," he says, "ne cum Grotio et aliis veddas placare." In a later edition of his valuable work on Ellipses, these words are omitted. He seems to have chang-ed his opinion. " Et jure mutavit," says Schajffer, " verissime enim Elsnerus illam ellipsin miriiicam et insolentem dicit." D 50 epistlp: to the galatians. [chap. i. g-io. ' Do I respect men or God in my persuasions ? ' All these ex- positions are misatisfactory. If you keep strictly to the primitive meaning of the word, the only sense the clause will bear, is that given by our translators; but then it is obviously inappropriate to the subject. The truth, however, is, that though ' persuade ' is by far the most ordinaiy meaning of the word which occurs here, it is ]iot its only meaning. It means also to ' conciliate,' to ' court favour.' ' In this sense it occurs in Matth. xxviii. 14 ; Acts xii. 20 : " Having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend;"- 2 Mac. iv. 45. When Menelaus, the Jewish liigh priest, foimd himself convicted of his crimes, he promised Ptolemy a large sum of money to " pacify " — to propitiate — " the king."^ The word seems employed with a similar meaning, 1 John iii. 19, — We " shall assure* our hearts before Him." Le Clerc seems to think that in all such cases there is an ellipsis. That this is its meaning here there can scarcely be a doubt. * For do I seek the approbation or favour of men or of God ? or do I seek to please men?' These interrogations are ])lainly equivalent to a strong denial. ' I seek God's approbation, not man's. I am no time-server, no man-pleaser, as I have been represented.' The apostle appeals to his conduct as a proof that the desire of pleasing men was not his regulating principle, — " If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." These words have very commonly been understood as expressing the following sentiment : ' The man whose master-princi])le is a wish to please men, cannot be a consistent servant of Christ.' It has been considered as a particular application of our Lord's general maxim, " No man can serve two masters."'^ In this way the words, which viewed by themselves are well fitted to convey this sentiment, express a truth of the last importance, to be seri- ously weighed by all, especially by those who are ministers of reliii'ion. The man, whom fear of human resentment or desire of human favour can induce to keep back any part of the truth, or pervert any part of the truth, is altogether imworthy of the name of a minister of Christ. There ;u'e truths which ought to ' " TTiiOfiv is here = apeaKeiv, which follows." — Olsu ausen. * irdaavrts. * nt'iaai rov ^aa-iKta. Jos. Antiq. iv. fi, 5; vi. 5, fJ ; viii. 10, 3. * Trti(TOfi(v rcii KupSiai fifioii'- '' Matth. vi. 24. p. ir. § 4.] THE APOSTLE NO MAN-PLEASER. 51 be told, and which cannot be told without displeasing some men ; but then they cannot be concealed without displeasing Christ ; and certainly he is not a faithful servant of Christ who, in a case of this kind, can be silent. But this does not seem to be the apostle's idea here. It would not serve his purpose. His ad- versaries would have said, ' We have no objection to that con- clusion ; that is just what we say — yovi are not a servant of Christ.' Besides, in this way of explaining the phrase, the word "yet"^ loses its force. The meaning seems to be this — ' If I were now a man-pleaser, as I once was, I would not be a servant of Christ.' Paul was once very ambitious to secure the favour of his comitrymen ; and, to obtain it, he took his place in the foremost ranks of the persecutors of Christianity. His exertions to obtain hu.man favour were successful, and he stood high in the estimation of his countrymen. ' Now,' says the apostle, ' were worldly ambition now my leading principle, as it once was, I should not be a servant of Jesus Christ. The course I have chosen is not the path to worldly honour. WhatcA^er I may be seeking, it is obvious I am not seeking to please men.'^ It is a happy circumstance if a Christian minister, when slander- ously reported of, can fearlessly appeal to the tenor of his life, and leave the decision with those who know him best. " ert. 2 « Ef yap TOVTO eanovda^ov [clpeaKeiv ciudpaTTois) ovk av aTvea-rrju twv lovSaiKav Koi irpnariKOov tw Xpicrro), ovk civ Karecppovqcra avyyevmv, (piXmv, do^Tjs ToaavTTjs, Kcii eiXoprjv 8ia>ypovs Kai kiv8vvovs koi cniplas." — TheophY- LACT. " Non defecissem ab ceconomia Mosaica, non renuntiassem omnibus commodis externis, non me dedisscm tot tantisque periciilis in propaganda Christiana religione, mitiorem prjetulissem sortem ac conditionem." — Jaspis. PART III. THE APOSTLE'S HISTORICAL DEFENCE OF HIMSELF AND OF HIS OFFICE. Galatians I. 11-11. 21. — "But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was j^reached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I jjersecuted the church of God, and wasted it ; and profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my ftithers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen ; im- mediately I conferred not Avith flesh and blood : neither went I up to Jeru- salem to them which were apostles before me ; but I Avent into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then, after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother. Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not. Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia ; and was unknown by face unto the churches of Judea which were in Christ : but they had heard only, that he which per- secuted us in times past, now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in me. Then, fourteen years after, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus Avith me also. And I went up by revelation, and commimicated imto them that gospel Avhich I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them Avhich Avere of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain. But neitlier Titus, Avho Avas Avith me, being a Greek, Avas compelled to be circumcised : and that because of false brethren unaAvarcs brought in, who came in priA'ily to spy out our liberty Avhich we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bond- age : to Avhom Ave gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue Avith you. But of those Avho seemed to be somcAvhat, AvhatsocA'cr they Avere, it maketh no matter to me: God ac- cepteth no man's person ; for they Avho seemed to be somewhat in confer- ence added nothing to me: but contrariwise, when tlicy saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision Avas committed unto me, as the gospel of the circum- cision was unto Peter; (for He that Avrought effectually in Peter to the p. III. § 1.] INTRODUCTOEY REMARKS. 53 apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles :) and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship ; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. Only they would that we should remember the poor ; the same which I also was forward to do. But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles : but when they were come, he withdrew, and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him ; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dis- simulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly, according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why com- pellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews ? We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have be- lieved in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law : for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin ? God for- bid. \For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ : nevertheless I live ; yet not I, but Clirist liveth in me : and the 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. I I do not frustrate the grace of God : for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." SECT. I. — INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. Egotism, or a disposition to bring forward a person's self, is a characteristic of a weak mind and a contracted heart. It is not an agreeable feature in any man's character ; but it is peculiarly disaoreeable when it is a leadina; trait in the character of a man who, from the office he fills, should be distinguished by the wide comprehension of bis views, and the generous liberality of his affections. Such a man is a minister of the gospel ; and there is something incongruous and disgusting in one whose mind ought to be habitually employed about the glory of the Divine char- acter— the order and stability of the Divine government — the restoration of a ruined world to purity and happiness — the in- carnation and sacrifice of tlie Son of God — the transforming and consoling influence of the Holy Ghost — the joys and the son'ows 54 EPISTLE TO THE QALATIANS. [CUAP. I. 11-11. 21. of eternity — and whose gi'and business it ought to be to bring these things, in all their reality and importance, before the minds of his fellow-men — it is incongruous and disgusting in such a man to appear primarily anxious to draw men's attention to himself — seizing every opportunity to bring himself into notice — exhibit- ing the truths of the gospel chiefly for the purpose of displa^dng his own talents — calling men's attention to them more as his opinions than as God's truth, and less ambitious of honouring the Saviour, and saving those who hear him, than of obtaining for himself the reputation of piety, or learning, or acuteness, or eloquence. This is truly pitiable ; and if angels could weep, it would be at folly like this. A minister of the gospel can scarcely, in ordinary circum- stances, keep hhnself too much in the background. He should try to forget himself, and to make his hearers forget him, in his subject. His ambition should be to be a voice proclaiming, ' Behold Him ! behold Hiin !' attracting no notice itself, but fixing the mind directly and entirely on the subject of the message. But it is obvious that ministers of the gospel may be placed in circumstances in which duty absolutely requires them to speak a great deal more of themselves than they are disposed to do. The success of a minister's labours depends, in a great degree, on the confidence wdiich those to whom he ministers lia\e in the accu- racy of his information and the integrity of his character. Aware of this, no art has been more frequently employed by the enemies of Christianity, whether secret or open, to arrest its progress, than an attempt to blast the reputation of its teachers. In such cases, it becomes an imperious duty, not so much to themselves as to their Master and to his cause, to come forward and defend them- selves, to expose the falsehood and malignity of their calumniators, and to turn aside the blows which, though directed immediately at them, are ultimately aimed at Christianity and Christ. This is far from being the most agreeable part of a Christian minister's duty; but it is a necessary and important part of it, from which, when called to it, he ought not to shrink ; and it may console him to think, when such engagements withdraw his thoughts from more pleasant employment, that his case is not a singular one — that it has been so from the beginning — and that that apostle who, if left t(» his own choice, would ne\er hiive done anything but preadi " Christ, and him crucified," — '* the jiower r. III. § 2.] THE THESIS TO BE PROVED. 55 and the wisdom of God for salvation " to a lost world, was not unfrequently obliged to defend himself against charges which avowed enemies, and, what he felt more keenly, false brethren, brought against him, and which, if uncontradicted, would have gone far to frustrate the great object of his evangelical labours. In this necessary though unpleasant work, we find the apostle engaged in that portion of the Epistle to the Galatians which now comes before us for explication. Soon after the apostle had left the churches which he had planted in Galatia, false teachers came among them, insisting that submission to circumcision and observance of the Mosaic law were necessary to salvation, as well as faith in Jesus as the Messiah ; and as these sentiments were directly opposed to the doctrines taught by the apostle, they en- deavoured to pave the way for their reception by shaking the confidence of the Galatian converts in his authority or integrity. They insinuated that the apostle's doctrine was not consistent with the doctrine of the other apostles — that he was not uniform in his doctrine, but taught sometimes one thing, sometimes an- other, as it suited his convenience ; that, at any rate, he was but a secondary teacher, not belonging to the class of original apostles, and that, if he had any authority, it must be derived fi'oni them. It is in rebutting the last of these charges that he is engaged in the verses which now lie before us as the subject of exposition. He asserts the fact of his having derived both his information and his authority as a Christian apostle du'ectly from Christ Jesus, and, by appealing to many of the leading events in his history, evinces the falsehood of those statements by means of which the Judaising teachers had endeavoured to undermine his influence on the minds of the Galatians, and seduce them from the simplicity of the truth as it is in Jesus. SECT. II. — THE THESIS TO BE PROVED, "THAT HE WAS A DIVINELY-TAUGHT, DIVINELY-AUTHORISED APOSTLE." " But I certify you, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but b}' the revelation of Jesus Christ."^ The phraseology adopted here by the apostle, " I certify yon," 1 Gal. i. 11, 12. 50 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CUAP. I. 11-11. 21. does not at all imply that he now, for tlio first time, stated to the Galatians the fact he was about to assert. It is the same word he uses when he gives a summary of the gospel to tlie Corinthi- ans, which he at the same time states that he had before preached to them, 1 Cor. xv., " I declare." ^ It intimates his wish that they should remember it, and hold it fast in opposition to the assertions of the false teachers, and also perhaps refers to the confirmation he was about to give of it by a statement of some of the leading circumstances in his history. The truth which he was so anxious that they should remember and hold fast was, that " the gospel wdiicli was preached of him was not after man."" The gospel preached by Paul signifies the doctrine which he taught respecting the way of salvation through Christ Jesus. The sum and substance of that doctrine was, that what Christ Jesus had done and suffered was the sole ground of human hope, and that belief in the truth respecting what Christ had done and suffered was the sole mode of obtaining a personal interest in his salvation. This doctrine, the apostle asserts, Avas not " after^ man." Although the preposition rendered "after" with the accusative of a person does not properly denote the author of a thing, but that it is done according to his will, law, or example : yet here it is obviously equivalent to 'Avas not human but divine.'^ It Avas something " Avhicli eye had not seen, nor ear heard," nor had it entered, nor could it enter, " into the heart of man to conceive it."^ It was not human either in its substance or in its form. What he taught was not a cunningly devised fable, nor a curiously constructed theory. It was a true account of the Divine method of saAing men. It Avas an accurate statement of a divine revelation. But this was not all. This may be said of evxMy gospel sermon. It may be said of Apollos' preaching as well as of Paul's, nay, it may be said of every man Avho declares " the tmth as it is in Jesus." Paul's gospel was not only divine in its substance, but ^ yp(opiC(o. — Prov. xxii. 19; Ezck. xliv. 23; 1 Cor. xii. 3. There is a peculiarity of construction, inlondod to give peculiar prominence to eiayytXtoi/. In strict grammatical pro])ricty, oVt should have preceded fvayyfKwv. - EuayyeXtov flayyiKicrdiv vn t/xov, opposed to fi'ayyeXtoj' tTfpov, — v. 6. lie calls it fvuyytXiuv fiov, Rom. xiv. 25. * K(iT(i. "Kara complectitur vim prajpositionum ajrfi, (^tci et napa, ver. 1. 12." — Benoel. * Theophylact : " ovk ilrOpccnor tx"'' ^«S«'fr*coXor." •'* \ Ci>r. ii. 9. r. III. § 2.] THE THESIS TO BE PROVED. 57 in its form. It was not divine truth clothed in such language as human wisdom suggested — it was divine truth clothed " in the words which the Holy Ghost teacheth." The gospel, as taught by the apostle, was a direct revelation from heaven. He had not framed it himself — he had not borrowed it from those who framed it — he had not even been taught by those who themselves had received it from above. It was in none of these points of view " after man ;" for, adds he, " I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." The pronoun I^ here is emphatic: — "I, though not one of those who associated with Jesus Christ while on earth ^ — I was not a man-tanght apostle.' The phrases, " I did not receive it" — " I was not taught it,"^ may seem at first view synonymous ; but, as tautology is not one of Paul's characteristics as a writer, I rather think they are intended to suggest different ideas. When Paul says, 'I did not receive my gospel fi'om men,' he seems to refer to the authority with which he was invested to preach the gospel. Timothy received the gospel in this way from him. He put it into his hands and authorised him to communicate it to others. But Paul received his gospel directly from Jesus Christ. He made him a minister. He directly and immediately invested him with apostolic authority. And as he did not in this way receive his gospel " from man," so neither was he taught it " by man." It is easy to conceive that a man might be miraculously pointed out as a person destined to be a preacher of Christianity, and yet left to be instnicted in the message he was to deliver by inspired men. But this was not Paul's case; he was not taught his gospel, " but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." * By a direct revelation similar to that by which God made known his will to the prophets of old, Paul was made acquainted with that 1 'Eyw. 2 According- to Theopliylact, this was one of the allegations of the Judaisers, that the apostle was not avTrjKoos tov Xpia-roC. ^ " Accipit qui incipit, discit qui proficit, in Evangelii notitia : vel non accepi ab alio neque a memetipso proprio studio didici." — Lutiierus. " napeXajSou et eSiScix^'ji' non sunt synonyma hoc in loco sed illud ad apos- tolatus onus Paulo impositum, istud ad doctrinte quani prajdicaturus erat perceptionem refertur." — Beza. The reformed divine is the better exegete. * ' AnoKoXvylns 'Jrjaov XptcrTov, genitive both auctoris and objecti. 'Attoku- Xvyj^is, — Scientia ea quee non natural! quadani ingenii humani vi sed diviniore quodam modo homini contingere existinKitur. — Rom. xvi. 25; 1 Cor. xiv. (5, 58 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CIIAP. I. 11-11. I'l. gospel which lie was to preach among the Gentiles. He was not sent to the a})Ostles to be instructed. In the history of his conversion, nothing is said of his receiving instruction from Ananias or the discij)les at Antioch.* Jesus Christ took hira under his own immediate tuition, and made known to him, not only what may be called the abstract part of Christianity, but its leading facts. He received of the Lord an account of the insti- tution of the Lord's Supper.^ lie received of the Lord the gospel he preached to the Corinthians, " that Christ died for oiu* sins according to the Scriptures ; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according t(j the Scriptures.'" This statement does not by any means necessarily infer that Paul knew nothing about Christ Jesus but what he learned by revela- tion. This is certainly in the highest degree improbable. It means that his deep, thorough knowledge of " the truth as it is in Jesus" was of supernatural origin. " As regards the purely sphitual ]»art of the gospel, there is no difficulty in conceiving how Paul could have made this his own without any instrumen- tality from man. For the Holy Ghost, who was imparted to him, filled his inner man as an all-pervading light, and made plain to him, throitgh his belief in Jesus as the Messiah, the whole of the Old Testament, in which all the germs of the New were already laid down. In the Spirit, who is absolute truth — 1 John v. 6 — was given the assured conviction of the truth of the gospel, and insight into its meaning in details. With regard, however, to the historical side of Christianity, the case appears to be different ; and yet there are points connected apparently altogether with this (as, for example, the institution of the Lord's Supper, 1 Cor. xi. 23, etc.), of which the apostle insists that he received them immediately from the Lord. Now, we should undoubtedly be running into an erroneous extreme if we were to assume that all historical particulars in the life of our Lord were imparted to him by revelation. The general outlines of Christ's outw ard life, the history of his miracles, of his jour- neys, and what belongs to tiiem, were no doubt related to him by Ananias or other Christians. But whatever in that life was necessarily connected with the peculiar doctrines of the gospel, 20; 2 Cor. xii. 1.7; Kplt. iii. S. Paul had many revelations, — Acts xvi. 0; xxii. 17 ; 1 Cor. ii. 10; 2 Cor. v. \?,\ xii. 1 ; Gal. ii. 2. • Acts ix. 1!>. -' 1 Cor. xi. 23. '' 1 Cor. xv. 3. r. III. § .5.] HISTORICAL PROOF OF THE THESIS. 59 as, for instance, the institution of the sacraments, the resurrection, and similar points, came no doubt to the apostle in an extraor- dinary manner, by immediate revelation of the Lord ; so as to accredit him as an independent witness, not only before the world, but also to believers. No one could come foi^N^ard and say, that what Paul knew of the gospel had been received from him. For it was from no man, but from the highest Teacher himself, that he had received, as well the commission to preach, as also the essential facts of the gospel, and the Holy Spirit who gives light and life to these facts." ^ This statement the apostle confirms by referring to his past history. It would be high presumption in any Christian minister to use those words of the apostle, which we have been illustrating, in the sense in which he used them. Yet there is a sense, and an impor- tant one, in which every Christian minister should be able to say, " the gospel which I preached unto you is not after man." No man should enter the Christian ministry, for no man is fit for its functions, unless he has been " tauo-ht of God." ^ SECT. III.— HISTORICAL PROOF OF THE THESIS. 1. His Character as a Jew. " For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' rehgion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it ; and profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers."^ The word conversation in modern English is confined in its signification to mutual talk — colloquial intercourse. Here, how- ever, and in many other passages of the New Testament, it is used as equivalent to behaviour, general conduct, and is the translation of a word of which this is a common meaning.* " Ye have heard of my conversation in the Jewish religion"^ is just equivalent to ' You have heard of my behaviour when I was a 1 Olshausen, " General Introd. to the Ep. of Paul/' § 1. 2 He must be OeodibaKTos. Isa. liv. IS. Jer. xxxi. 33, 34. 2 Gal. i. 13, 14. * dva. ' (p Ttj (fnpfiin. * 2 Cor. iv. (j. * npos (fxnTKr^ov. r. III. § 4.] HISTORICAL PROOF OF THE THESIS. 63 spiritually and really, divines shall speak of the word of God as men speak of riddles, and as priests in former times said their matins, when they hardly knew what they said." 3. His Conduct in consequence of his Conversion. n.) He " conferred not with flesh and bloodP Now when God had thus "revealed his Son" in Paul, "im- mediately," ^ says he (verse Ifi), " I conferred^ not with flesh and blood." The word translated " conferred," properly signifies ' to impose a new burden.' In the classics, the middle voice is used in the sense, — ' I allow a burden to be imposed on myself — I undertake some difficult affair.' It is sometimes used by the later writers with the dative of a person, to signify ' to take counsel or advice of a person,' as he who asks advice lays a burden on the person consulted. This is its meaning here. " Flesh and blood" * are here equivalent to ' human nature ' in himself or in others. — * I neither consulted my own reason or inclination, nor did I seek instruction from others : I committed myself entirely to Divine guidance and teaching. I did not consult with any man. I did not seek instruction from any man. I did not inquire at other Christians if the views of Christianity which had been conveyed into my mind were coiTect or not. I asked at no man what I was to preach, or wdiere I was to preach. I gave myself up to the guidance of the Divine impulse ; and immediately commenced speaking the things of the Spirit, not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth.' * (2.) He did not go up to Jerusalem. " Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me ; ^ but I went into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.'"^ On his conversion, Paul immediately began to 1 ev6ecos connects Avith dnijiXdop. - TrpocravaTiOivai. ' crap^ Koi alfia. "'■^■3"i m. * " Paul means to say, ' Obedient to God alone, I excluded all human deliberation, as being subject to error.' " — Olshausen. ^ 77/30 ifxov, inserted to intimate that he was then an apostle as well as they ; the only difference being in the priority of the date of their apostleship. « Gal. i. 17. 64 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. I. 11-11. 21. teach in Damascus ; and wlien, in consequence of the persecu- tions of his countiymen, he found it necessary to leave Damascus, he did not go up' to Jerusalem to be better instructed in Chris- tianity, or to have his mission confirmed. (3.) lie icent into Arabia. Instead of going to Jerusalem, he went into Arabia,^ for the purpose, it may bo, of yielding himself up in its solitudes to solemn meditation and communion with his divine Master. No proof can be derived from these words that Paul preached in Ai'abia. There is no trace of that in the Acts of the Apostles. (4.) lie returned to Damascus. After continuing in Arabia for some time, he returned to Damascus, which at that time was under the government of Ai'etas, the king of Arabia.'^ During all this time he had never met with one of the a})ostles, nor does it appear that he had in- tercourse with any individual of note among the Christians. And when, after three years, he did at length go up to Jenisalem, he received neither instruction nor authority from the apostles. 4. Three years after, he went to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Peter ; remained only three days, and saw only two of the apostles. " Then, after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to sec Peter, and abode witli him fifteen' days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother."^ It is im- possible to say certainly whether these three years are to be dated from Paul's departure from Jerusalem to Damascus, or ^ If av7}\6ov be the true reading, then probably the true rendering is, * I returned not;' Jerusalem havin;^ been the place of his previous abode. aTTTjXdov, however, .seems to Ije-considercd by the best judges as the preferable reading: ' I went not to Jerusalem, but into Arabia.' - It will scarcely be believed by tiiose unversed in patristic interpretation, that Jerome expounds these words allfgorici-, thus: '' Vod in Arabimn, i.e., ad legem et prophetas, ad Vctcris Testamcnti jam in occidno positi sacra- nicnta conversus, ut qufcsivcrim in eis Christum. Et itrrum revcrms sum JJiimaacum, h. c, ad sanguincm et passioncm Christi. Et deinde lectione prophetica f\rnmius pergit Uierosolyma, locum visionis et pacis." " 2 Cor. xi. 32. * Jerome finds a mystery in these fifteen days. — Ep. ciii. •'• Gal. i. 18, 19. r. in. § 3.] HISTORICAL PROOF OF THE THESIS. 65 from his return from Arabia to tliat city.^ This is probably the visit of which we have an account, Acts ix. 26, 27. His object was to " see Peter." ^ He gained his object, and was Peter's guest for a fortnight.^ It was natural that Paul should wish to make the acquaintance of such a man as the apostle Peter : the man who made the noble declaration, Matth. x\a. 16 ; the man to whom had been given the keys of the kingdom of heaven ; the man who had preached the sermon at Pentecost, wdiich made three thousand converts.* The only other apostle seen by Paul on this occasion was " James the Lord's brother." This was probably James the son of Alpheus, who was our Lord's cousin — the word rendered " brother," ^ like the corresponding Hebrew term, being used for a near relative. Some'' have supposed, but without sufficient reason, that it was another James, a brother-german of om- Lord. If such an indi\adual existed, which is not im- probable, he was not an apostle. On this visit Paul met with only two of the apostles, and he remained with them only fifteen days ; so that it is plain there was no time for him to learn his Christianity from them. Dr Paley well observes, " The short- ness of St Paul's stay at Jerusalem is what I desire the reader to remark. The direct account of the same journey in the Acts,'^ determines nothing concerning the time of his continuance there : ' And he was with them (the apostles) coming in and going out at Jerusalem. And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and chsputed against the Grecians : but they went about to slay him. Which when the brethren knew, they brought him clown to Caesarea.' Or rather this account, taken by itself, would lead a reader to suppose that St Paul's abode at Jerusalem had been longer than fifteen days. But turn to the twenty-second chapter of the Acts, and you will find a reference to this visit to Jeru- ^ Olshausen says, " The i'jreiTa can be reckoned only from the principal event, i.e., from Paul's conversion." ^ laropdv, verbum ana^ \ey6fievov, in the New Testament. He does not say I8(lv, but IcrTopflu. This is a word used in reference to visiting what is accounted peculiarly worthy of being seen. Chrysostom and Theophylact say it is the word employed in reference to great and celebrated cities. " laTopelv non est quoniodocunque videre, sed quomodo spectare aut invisere soleraus res aut personas in quibus ob excellentiam raulta digna sunt cognitu." ESTUTS. ■^ " Magnus hospes magni hospitis." — Grotius. * Ac(s ii. 14-41. * aSfAf^df. " Simon, Michaelis, Storr. ' Acts ix. '28-30. E ()0 EPISTLE TO THE G-i\XATIANS. [CIIAP. I. U-Il. 21. salem, which phiinly indicates that Paul's continuance in that city had been of short duration : ' And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the tem})le, I was in a trance ; and saw Him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem : for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.' Here we have the general terms of one text so explained by a distant text in the same book, as to bring an indeterminate expression into a close conformity with a specification delivered in another book ; a species of consistency not, I think, usually found in fabulous relations." ' It seems likely that it was Paul's intention to re- main for some time in Jerusalem ; but his Master ordered it otherwise.^ It was not the apostles, but their Master, who de- termined where Paul was to labour. In the 20th verse, the apostle makes a strong declaration of the truth of his relation : " Now the things which I write unto yon, behold, before God, I lie not." This is a plain intimation that oaths, on proper occasions, are not unlawful. AVe have similar declarations equivalent to oaths, Rom. i. 9 ; 2 Cor. i. 2.3 ; Rom. ix. 1 ; 2 Cor. xi. 31 ; 1 Thess. ii. 5. 5. He loent then into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, being jiersonaUy unknoion to the churches of Judca. In the following verses the history is continued : " Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia ; and was unknown by face mito the churches of Judea which were in Christ : but they had heard only, that he which persecuted us in times past, now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in me."* After the apostle's departure li'om Jeiii- salem, he went " into the regions' of Syria and Cilicia." The parallel passage in Acts is chap. ix. 30. How long Paul re- mained in these regions, we have no means of ascertaining. " The churches of Judea " is a phrase descri])tive of * the churches out of the capital.' To the members of these cluu'ches Saul was personally unknown. All they knew of him was by ' Ilorre Paul. c. v. No. 8. " Acts ix. 29; xxii. 17, etc. » Gal. i. 21 24. * AcXi/id, proijcrly tlic inclination of the earth from the eijuator to the pole and the consequent diversity of tenijiorature. transferred to a jiarticular rcg'ion distingui.shed l>y a jiarticnlar position and temperature. r. III. § 3.] HISTORICAL PROOF OF THE THESIS. 67 report. " They had heard "^ both what he had been — a destroyer of the faith, — and what he had become — a preacher of that faith." " The tenn by which the apostle expresses the subject of his preaching, " the faith," ^ has occasioned no small contention among the learned, part of the Christian world. He calls it the faith ; and it seems that was the term then commonly used. As it is allowed by all that it (faith) is the same with belief, the meanest day-labourer knows as well as the most learned divine that it is commonly used to express tohat they believe, and the actual believing of it ; or, as the schools speak, the act of believ- ing, and its object ; and can easily distinguish when the one or the other is to be vniderstood by that word. And one cannot help saying, that the learned labours of those who have made it their business to explain it, have contributed more to darken a plain subject, and peq^lex common understandings, than to clear the important subject, which every man knows better than the most learned can define it. No man can believe, or not believe, what and when he pleases. He must perceive the thing to be true, either by his own observation or the testimony of others. Never was there any testimony which deserved half so much regard as that does which God has given us in the record we have in our hands. The facts recorded there are of two kinds : what God has done, and what He has promised to do. By the first, ' his eternal power and Godhead ' are set before us in the only way we can come to the knowledge of Him ; that is, by such works and ways with his creatures, as we can form some notion of. By the second, we leam what we have to expect from Him ; and, from both taken together, we may be enabled to form such apprehensions of the Divine character, as may show us what measures of regard and duty we owe Him. This is the Christian faith, and the belief of these facts is what makes a Christian ; and believed they cannot be, without producing such ^ aKovovres, referring to eKKKr^a-iav, in strict grammatical propriety should have been aKovovaai : but similar modes of expression are common both in profane and sacred writers. Grammarians call such constructions, Kara to (TTjuaivofievov. — Matth. iv. 23; Acts viii. 5; 2 Cor. ii. 12, 13. — ?//iay where we would expect avrovs : the oblique form of expression passing into the direct. Similar transitions are found, Mark vi. 9 ; xi. 32 ; Acts i. 4. ^ niarriv, here, is not believing, but the truth which is believed, or the religion grounded on the faith. " ttIo-tis vox quie et id quo creditur, et id quod creditur significat." — Beza. ^ i? -n-iaTLs. G8 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CIIAV. I. H-U. 21. measures of love to Him, and confidence in Him, as answer to the measures of our faith : and ' love is the fulfilling of the whoie law;' the whole of our obedience to his law being only the native effect and actings of love." ^ This intelligence produced its proper effect on the minds of these Christians : " They glorified God," says the apostle, " in me."" AYell they might ; — and so may — so ought — we. Di\dne grace never had a more glorious trophy, Christianity never made, in one individual, so important an acquisition. " We may still glorify and praise God for the gi'ace manifested in the con- version of Saul of Tarsus. What does not the world owe to him ! What do we not owe to him ! No man did so much in establishing the Christian religion as he did ; no one among the apostles was the means of converting and saving so many souls ; no one has left so many and so valuable writings for the edifica- tion of the church. To him we owe the invaluable epistles — so full of truth, and eloquence, and promises, and consolations — on one of which we are commenting ; and to him the church owes, under God, some of its most elevated and ennobling views of the nature of Christian doctrine and duty. After the lapse, there- fore, of eighteen hmidred years, we should not cease to glorify God for the conversion of this wonderfiil man, and should feel that 'a-e have cause of thankfulness that He changed the infuri- ated })ersecutor to a holy and devoted apostle." ^ " Here we see what is the right way of honouring the saints, and that is to glorify God in them and /or them. As for religious worship of adoration and invocation, it is proper to God, and the saints de- sire it not."* It appears, then, from these statements, that Paul was en- gaged for three years in preaching the gospel before he had any intercourse with a Christian apostle ; that, when he did see them, he saw only two of them ; that he went, not to learn fi-om them as a scholar, but to visit them as an ecjual ; that he was ^ Riccaltoun's Works, vol. iii. 71, 72. 2 iv ijjioi, ' on my account,' — ' on account of what He had done to nic, and was doing by nie.' " Ovk (mtv (Tn')vovv ij tdo^a^uv /if, aXXa tuv Qeov. ;fr(, t^s ;(v. ^ dvfjXdov, " went up." Jerusalem was situated high in reference to the surroimding country, particularly Damascus ; or, perhaps, as it is common (the illustration is Perkins') to say, to ' go up to London,' from all parts of the island, because it is the metropolis. * IVIr Granville Penn is, so far as I know, alone, and likely to continue so, in considering kot drroKoXvylnv as contrasted with kut I8iav, and meaning ' openly.' * Gal. ii. 1, 2. •* " Paul now -places fourteen years of free, self-dependent labours, in oppo- sition to ihe fourteen days of his stay with Peter, chap. i. 18." — Olshausen. ' " It is a matter of mere chronological nicety, as it concerns very little, when we are sure of the facts, to know the precise time when they happened." — KiccALTOUN. Cappellus, in his Hist. Ap., conjectures that i8 had been 70 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. I. 11-11. 21. terpreters also differ as to what particular visit to Jerusalem the apostle here refers : some supposing that he refers to the visit he and Barnabas made to Jerusalem as the bearers of the alms of the church of Antioch, mentioned Acts xi. 27-30; others, that he refers to the visit occasioned by the dispute respecting the obligation of the Mosaic law, of which we have an accoimt, Acts XV. ; and others, that it refers to a visit not mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. The second of these opinions appears to me the more probable one. On this journey Paul was accompanied by Barnabas and Titus ; and, as appears fi'om the narrative in the Acts of the Apostles, by others of the church of Antioch.^ (1.) He " went up by revelation." On this occasion Paul was not summoned by the apostles to give an account of his conduct. He " went up by revelation."^ These words are strangely interpreted by the learned Hermann as equivalent to, ' for the sake of explanation ;' but then" obvious force is, * in consequence of a du'ect communication from his only Lord and Master, Christ Jesus.' Of the nature of this revelation we are not particularly in- formed. It is plain that revelations were common occuiTences with the apostle. According to his own accomit, 2 Cor. xii. 7, he was favoured with "abundance of revelations;"" and these revelations were made to him in various ways : sometimes directly to himself; sometimes to other inspired men respecting him ; sometimes in one way, sometimes in another. The fol- lowing passages contain accounts of revelations made to Paul, or about Paul : — Acts ix. 6 ; xxii. 17 ; xiii. 2 ; xvi. 6 ; xviii. 9 ; xxi. 10; xxiii. 11 ; xxvii. 23. In some such way was Paul instructed that it Avas the will of his Master that he should go to Jerusalem. This is no way inconsistent with the histoiy in the Acts of the Apostles, where it is stated that " it was determined" written by some transcriber very early for 8., and tbat four, instead of fourteen, years arc mentioned. Grotius is fovourable to the suggestion; but I'carson, in his Annall. Pdu/I.. very satisfactorily vindicates the or- dinary reading. See Schott., Frolaj. hav. p. Iir. § 3.] HISTORICAL PROOF OF THE THESIS. 71 that Paul should go to Jerusalem.^ That determination was probably the result of the revelation. (2.) He communicated to the Ajjostles his mode of preaching the Gospel among the Gentiles. On his gomg to Jerusalem on this occasion, he commmiicated" not to the church there as a body, but " privately^ to them who were of reputation"* — i. e., to the apostles, or perhaps to the more distinguished of the apostles — " the gospel which he preached^ among the Gentiles." By " the gospel which he preached among the Gentiles," some understand the doctrine of the freedom of the converted Gentiles from the yoke of the Mosaic law. But this does not seem likely, as certainly, on this occasion, Paul did publicly declare his opinion on this question. Others suppose that the phrase denotes the doctrine that the Mosaic law was not obli- gatory even on the Jewish converts, though they were not pro- hibited fi'om observing it. I rather think the phrase denotes generally Paul's mode of stating the grand fundamental doc- trines of Christianity. The apostles all preached the same gospel, but each of them had probably his own w^ay of preach- ing it. In Paul's way of preaching it, the non-obligation of the Mosaic law on Christians, and the extreme hazard of connecting anything with the merits of Christ as the ground of hope, or with faith in him as the instrument of justification, were made pecu- ^ Acts XV. 2. " Luke says nothing of a revelation ; but, of course, of such inner occurrences Paul himself could alone be accurately informed." — Ols- HAUSEN. ^ Jerome's note on dvtdefirjv is good : " Aliud est conferre avaTiOeaBa^ aliud discere. Inter conferentes requalitas est, ut pari consilio aHquid vel probetur vel improbetur. Inter docentem et discentem minor est ille qui discit." ^ Kar I8iau, sup. ^wpai/, — i. e. not publicly, ennpoaOev ttuvtcov, ii. 14. Olshausen says, " In the kot i8iav there is no occasion for anything local to be imderstood; it answers perfectly to our phrase, ' especially, preferably.'" * rots doKovai, — the full phrase, verse 6, 8oKovai ti, 'those who were ac- counted persons of eminence.' — Acts v. 36; 1 Cor. iii. 7; Gal. vi. 3. Por- phyry contrasts to. irXrjOrf with oi doKovvres. Theodoret interprets the phrase by epo-Tjfioi, ' men of mark.' ■^ Ktjpvaa-a, the present time, to denote that he still pi-eached the sami; gospel — that his teaching had been uniform, not vui and ov. 72 EPISTLE TO THE GALATI.VXS, [CHAP. 1. 11-11. 21. liarly prominent, far more so than in Peter's, or James's, or John's mode of preaching it.^ Now, Paul stated to his apostolic brethren the way in which he was accustomed to preach the gospel among tlie Gentiles. He made this statement not publicly, because it is quite possible that many of the weak Christians at Jerusalem, oveiTun wath Jewish j)rejudices, and accustomed only to James's, or Petei*'s, or John's way of preaching the gospel, might be disposed to think Paul's gospel, though substantially the same with theirs, another gospel. And he made this statement to the apostles, " lest by any means he should run, or had run, in vain," i.e.,thid his past labom's might not become, and that his future labours might not be, fruitless. The apostle- seems to have been fond of agonistic metaphors draAvn from the stadium and arena, 1 Cor. ix. 24-26; Phil. ii. 16; 2 Tim. iv. 7. We have the same idea in plain words, 1 Thess. iii. 5.^ It w^ould have been a great obstacle in the way of Paul's success, if the apostles had been ignorant of his peculiar mode of teaching Christianity. In this case, when inquired at respecting Paul's doctrine by those who were stumbled at it, they could only have said, ' We do not know what Paul teaches ;' but when Paul liad stated his doctrine to them, and when they had approved it as substantially the same gospel which they themselves preached, no danger was to be feared from that quarter.^ That the apostles w^ere not dissatisfied with that part of Paul's doctrine which was peculiarly obnoxious to the Judaising teachers, ' that gentile converts were not bound to be circumcised or sub- mit to the Mosaic law,' was made very evident by their conduct ill reference to Titus. " But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised : and that be- cause of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily ' Neander's view of the peculiarities of Paul's, Peter's, and John's dis- tinctive modes of staling Christian doctrine, in liis " Planting of Chris- tianity," deserves to be carefully studied. ^ fii]TTij)s (Is Kfvov yivt)Tai 6 kuttos rjfiCou, " lest our labour be in vain." ^ Some connect fii]-nu>s, etc., with boKoixri, ' to those who thought,' /. e., ' were in doubt whether I had run,' etc. ; but the common mode of connecting the clauses is greatly preferable. Fritsche proposed to tako this sentence by itself, and as a question : " Num frustra opcram mcam in evangelium insuuio aut insumsi?" But, as Olshauscn says, "this interpretation has no recommendation at all, and was afterwards retracted by the proposer himself." p. III. § 6.] HISTORICAL PKOOF OP THE THESIS. 73 to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage : to whom we gave place by subjec- tion, no, not for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you."^ The construction of this paragraph is a little involved.^ Some, following a different reading from our translation, have in rendering it left out " no, not,^'^ in the 5th verse. They suppose that Titus was circumcised, and that the apostle is explaining the circumstance. Titus was not compelled to be circumcised, but he (Paul) acted on principles similar to those on which he took and circumcised Timothy. It is a very important remark of Dr Paley, that " whenever Paul's compliance with the Jewish law^ is mentioned in the history of the Acts of the Apostles, it is mentioned in connection with circumstances which point out the motives from which it proceeded, and this motive seems always exoteric, namely, a love of order and tran- quillity, or an unwillingness to give unnecessary offence." Acts xvi. 3 ; xxi. 26. The apostle's conduct in such cases was in no degree inconsistent with his doctrine. He yielded for a time to the prejudices of others to gain a good purpose. There are, however, many objections to this way of interpretation. There is no evidence of Titus having been circumcised. The various reading on which this interpretation rests is not so well supported as that adopted in the textus receptus, which is, as usual, followed by our translators ; besides, the reason given at the conclusion of the 5th verse is a very good reason for Paul's opposing Titus's circumcision, but it is difficult to see how it could be a reason for his consenting to it. By supposing the language elliptical — not more so than is common in letters, not more so, at any rate, than is common in Paul's letters — the whole passage may be made plain enough.* 1 Gal. ii. 3-5. ^ " The parenthesis inserted in verse 4 occasions an avaKoKovdov. The apostle could either write, ' On account of false brethren, I would not permit Titus to be circumcised ;' or, ' I wished not by any means to indulge the false brethren ift this respect.' He has mingled both constructions." — Wineu, § 64, ii. '^ ovbi. * Some render Sto Se tovs yl/evbabeXtpovs, ' with regard to the false brethren.' Sm governing the ace, according to Schlevisner, signifies ' quod attinet ad.' — Rom. iii. 26 : viii. 10. Some place a full point at the end of verse 3, and supply, from the previous context, either dve^rjv or dpf6efj.T]i/, — in which case they consider the 3d verse as parenthetical. It seems better to place a comma at the end of verse 3, and to read the three verses as one sentence. — 74 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. I. U-II. 21. It is as if he liad said, ' Notliing can be a more satisfactory proof that the apostles did not object to my doctrine respecting the non-obligation of the Mosaic law on gentile converts than this, that Titus my companion, though known to be a native Gentile, was not required to submit to circumcision. There was, indeed, an attempt to enforce something of this kind by a certain class of men, but I resisted it, and successfiilly resisted it, fi'om the regard I had to the interests of the gentile Christians.* The idea of an attempt having been made to enforce the obligation of the Mosaic law, is probably implied in the phrase " loas not comj^elletV ^ That such an attempt was made, is plain enough from the history as recorded in the xv. chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, verse 5, which refers, I apprehend, not to what had taken place at Antioch, but to what took place at Jerusalem. At the same time, it is obvious that what took place at Jerusalem was the consequence of what had taken place at Antioch. The question was stirred by these false brethren, and it is to them and their introduction into the church at Antioch that the apostle seems to refer here. The persons who made the attempt are described by the apostle as " false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out om* liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage."" Here, as in so many other places of the epistles, we want the light of contemporary history to make the meaning of these words perfectly plain. It has been supposed by some, that the apostle alludes to unbelieving Jews, who, on profession of a pretended faith, had sought and found admission into the Christian society, for the purpose of ac- quiring a more accurate knowledge of the principles and manners of the new sect, that they might the better be able to hold them up to the hatred of their countrj-men as violators and despisers of the law of ISIoses. But the apostle seems to have had a totally different class of persons in his eye — persons who admitted the Messiahship of Jesus Christ, but did not understand his religion Vide, Storr, iii. It is justly remarked by Storr, " Ilebrajoruni aures facile ferebant orationcni, quai quantuinvis licet interrupta csset parenthesibus, tamen ad illiul unile divortisset, non ita rediret, nt partes dissijiativ ajjertius connecterentur." — Gen. i. 29, 30; 1 Chron. xviii. 10; 2 Chron. xxxii. 9: Uom. i. 1-7 ; (jial. ii. G-IO. The whole of Storr's note, Diss. Exiuj. in Epp. Paul. Mill. pp. 3-9, deserves to be read and studied. * oi'St i]viiyK('ivOi]. ' Gal. 11. 4. p. III. § 3.] HISTOEICAL PROOF OF THE THESIS. 75 — who carried into their new rehgion all their old prejudices, or rather who merely had added to their old creed this new article, ' that Jesus was the Messiah.' These persons were brethren, i. e. Christians in name ; but they were " false brethren," ^ Jews in reality. They had been "brought in unawares;"^ for whatever may have been the practice in later times, in the apostolic ages no man was admitted to the communion of the Christian church except under the impression that he really was a Christian. They " came in privily." ^ Had they avowed the opinion, that circum- cision was necessary in order to salvation in the same way as faith in Christ, they would never have been acknowledged Christians at all. I think it most likely, however, that the apostle is not here speaking so much of admission into the Christian church as of admission into the church of Antioch ; and that he refers4o those men mentioned in the fifteenth chapter of the Acts, who, first at Antioch and then at Jerusalem, opposed the doctrine of the apostle respecting the freedom of gentile converts from the yoke of the Mosaic law. These men " privily crept into the church of An- tioch" to spy out the Christian liberty which the gentile Christians there enjoyed : and they did this for the purpose of bringing them into bondage, by subjecting them to the requisitions of the ceremonial law. The phrase, " which we have in Christ Jesus," * is equivalent to, ' which we enjoy by Christ,' or rather to, ' which we in Christ Jesus — we Christians — enjoy.' But to those persons Paul " would not give place, no, not for an hour."^ He opposed them at Antioch — he opposed them at Jerusalem ; and the reason why he thus opposed them was, " that the truth of the gospel might continue with the Gentiles," i. e, that " the true gospel" might continue with them — the glad tidings, that " w^hosoever believeth in Christ Jesus should not perish, but have everlasting life." Had the apostle yielded, the conclusion to be drawn would have been, that something besides Christ's merits was necessary as the ground, and something be- sides faith in him necessary as the means, of justification ; and the admission of both or of either of these principles was materi- ^ yjrevadeXfjiovs, — a word of the same kind as \lfev8oTTp6(pr]Tai, ylrevbanoa- ToXoS. - napeicraKTOvs. ^ napeiaijXBov. rjv exopep iv Xpivra IrjO-ov. 5 Gal. ii. 5. 76 EPISTLE TO THE GAJLA.TIANS. [CHAP. I. 11-11. 21- ally a denial of the truth of the gospel. "Let us learn this kind of stubbornness from the apostle," as Luther says. " We will suffer our goods to be taken away, our name, our life, and all that we have ; but the gospel, our faith, Jesus Christ, w-e will never suffer to be wrested from us : and cursed be that humility which here abaseth and submitteth itself; nay, rather let every Christian be proud and spare not, except he will deny Christ. Wherefore, God assisting me, my forehead shall be harder than all men's foreheads. Here I take for my motto, < Cedo nulli.' I ^^dll give place to none. I am, and ever will be, stout and stern, and will not one inch give place to any creature. Charity giveth place, ' for it suffereth all things, believeth all things, endureth all things ; ' but faith giveth no place." While the apostle thus asserts that his doctrines were sanc- tioned by the approbation of the other apostles, he as unequivo- cally declares that he derived neither instruction nor authoritj'- from them, but M'as treated by them as a person who stood in no need of then* sanction, but was invested with equal authority with themselves. (3.) He received from the Apostles the most unequivocal acknow- ledgment of his Qualifcationsj Calif and Authority, as an Apostle. " But of those W'ho seemed to be somewhat, whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me : God accepteth no man's person : for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me."' " To be somewhat"^ is an idiomatical expression for dignity of rank or station. " They who seemed to be somewhat"^ is no ^ Gal. ii. G. The construction is avaKoKovBov, but the meaning plain. 2 iiva'i Tt. ' The force of oJ boKovvris is very well illustrated by a verse in Euripides, Hecuba, v. 290 :— " Adyos yap (k t nbo^ovvrtov loiv KaK Tuiv hoKuvuT(ov avTOi ov ravrov aOevfi '• rendered by Ennius, " Nam opulonti quum loquiintur paritcr atque ignobilcs, Eadcm dicta cadeuiquc, urulio ii'ijua uon a-quc valet.'' It has been imitated by Dyer thuy: — " Tile same discourse c>|itaiiis not equal praise, AdvaiicM l>j non-colJ^< and right reverend pric&U..' p. III. § 3.] HISTORICAL PROOF OF THE THESIS. 77 disparaging expression. It is equivalent to the expression in a succeeding verse, " they who seemed" — were accounted, justly- accounted — " to he pillars" and probably refers to the same persons, " the chief apostles." ^ " Whatsoever they were, it maketh no difference to me." ^ * Whatever advantages in some points of view they may seem to have had over me, it matters not.' " God regardeth no man's person,"^ a Hebraistic expression, Deut. x. 17, i. e., 'He is sovereign in the dispensation of his gifts. In the bestowal of his favours, He is not regulated by external appearances or relations.' It does not follow that, because James was Christ's kinsman, or Peter and John his personal friends, that therefore they should have higher authority in his church than one who had, perhaps, never seen Jesus Christ till after his resurrection.^ These chief apostles " added nothing"^ to Paul. The word may mean either ' they communicated to him no new information — no additional authority,' or ' they found no fault with his way of preaching the gospel.' They could not in any way improve him who had been taught of their common Master. They never tried it : they were under the influence of a very different spirit. They rejoiced in the grace that had been given to him in common with themselves, and gladly acknowledged him a brother-apostle. " But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter ; (for He that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles) : and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship ; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. Only they would that we should ^ ot vnepKlav aTTocTToKoi. — *2 Cor. xi. 5; xii. 11. ^ ouSeV ^loi 8ia(f>ep€i. Tliis seems nearly equivalent to 6\lyov fioi fieXfi, or to the Latin " mea non interest." ^ 7rp6(T(07Tou dvdpuinov ov Xafi^dvet. * Some connect the words, ov8ev jjloi Bia(j)fp€i, with ano Be rav 8okovvt(ov ehai Ti, and interpret, ' There is no difference between me and those who were reckoned the most eminent." — ydp. k. t. X. The iwis Joquendi is op- posed to this exegesis. * The word is plainly used in reference to that employed in v. 2. Paul dvedero to them ; they oideu npo(Tave6(VTo to him. 78 EPISTLE TO THE CrALATLVXS. [ciIAr. I. 11-11. 21. remember the poor ; the same whicli I also was fonvard to do."> On hearincr Paul state " the gospel which he preached among the Gentiles," the apostles, instead of finding fault with it, saw clearly " that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed^ to Paul, as the gospel of the circumcision to Peter." " Uncir- cumcision" here means the Gentiles, and " circumcision" the Jcws,= Rom. ii. 26, etc.; Eph. ii. 11 ; Col. iii. 11. " The gospel of the uncircumcision," or of the Gentiles, has generally been iinderstood as meaning the ministry of the gospel among the Gentiles; and "the gospel of the circumcision," or of the Jews, the ministry of the gospel among the Jews ; and the meaning of the whole phrase, ' when they saw that it was the will of God that I should labour among the Gentiles, and tliat Peter should labour among the Jews.' I rather think that " the gospel of the uncircumcision" means that way of preaching the gospel which was peculiarly fitted for the Gentiles; and " the gospel of the circumcision" that way of preaching the gospel which was peculiarly fitted for the Jews. On hearing Paul, they distinctly saw that the Holy Spirit had taught him to preach the gospel in a way peculiarly calculated for the conversion of the Gentiles, just as He had taught Peter to preach the gospel in a way pecu- liarly fitted for the conversion of the Jews. " For," ^ says the apostle by the way, " He that A\Tought effec- tually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles." These words are ordin- arily referred to the success of the apostles' preaching, but I apprehend they refer rather to their qualifications for preaching. Christ by his Spirit " wrought effectually in Peter to the apostle- ship of the circumcision," i, e.^ Christ by his Spirit gave to Peter those qualifications which peculiarly fitted him to do the duties of an apostle among the Jews ; and Christ, by the same Spirit, who has a diversity of gifts and operations, gave to Paul those 1 Gal. ii. 7-10. ^ TTfTTicrTfVfxai, K. T. X. = 7rf7r/(TTfiiT«i ^01 TO (V(iyy. i'ik — /. (\ to tvayyeXi- ^€(r6ai iv Tot9 (6vfai. Of this soniowliat rare construction of this verb, we have instances, Rom. iii. 2; 1 Cor. ix. 17. It i.s o(iuivalcnt to (TvLaTtva-i ftoi Qfiii TO (vayyiKinv. aKpofivaria lor uKfjolivcfToi, and irtfiiTOfif) for 7Jf/UT/i.>j^tVrfi(6a — avToi iroptvaaiUTai. 2 There is an ellij)sis here of uiTovai, or nnpaKaXova-i, or ^Aovo-i. ^ €mTov8ntra, i.r. (tvv annvhf} tnoltjaa, — ililigontcr feci. p. 111. § 3.] HISTORICAL PROOF OF THE THESIS. 81 Let there be on both sides perfect frankness — let there be a willingness to explain and state things jnst as they are — and let there be a disposition to rejoice in the talents, and zeal, and success of others, though it should, far outstrip our own, — and contention in the church Avould cease ; and every devoted and successful minister of the gospel would receive the right hand of fellowship from all, however venerable by age or authority, who love the cause of true religion."^ 7. His Reproof of Peter for dissembling at Antioch, and his Assertion of the True Gospel. In the succeeding paragraph (verses 11-21) Paul shows from an incident that took place at Antioch, both how consistently he had all along asserted the freedom of gentile believers, and of Christians generally, from the obligation of the Mosaic law ; and how far he was from being only a secondary apostle. He had not hesitated to differ from, aye, and to reprove, Peter, one of " the chiefest of the apostles," when his conduct was not according to the truth of the gospel. " But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed."^ ' Cephas' is considered the preferable reading by Mill and Lachmann; and some in- terpreters, both ancient and modern, have supposed, in opposi- tion to the plainest evidence, that not Peter the apostle, but some other Cephas is intended. Hardouin, the whimsical but learned Jesuit, is, as might be expected, a supporter of this opinion. Antioch was a celebrated, wealthy, magnificent, popul- ous city, the capital of Syria, the most illustrious city in Asia, as Alexandria was in Africa, and Rome in Europe, situated on the river Orontes, the seat of one of the most flourishing of the primitive Christian churches, remarkable as the place where the disciples of Jesus received the name by which they have ever since been universally known.^ The exact period of this visit of the apostle Peter cannot be fixed. Semler's notion, that it was previous to the visit of Paul to Jerusalem, mentioned in the beginning of the chapter, is in the highest degree improbable. We know that after the apostles and elders at Jerusalem had, by their decree, sanctioned ^ Barnes. ^ Gal. ii. 11. * Xpin-riavni. Acts xi. 26. F 82 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CIlAP. I. II -11, 21. the doctrine of the non-obHgation of the Mosaic hiw on the gen- tile converts, and enjoined on them abstinence " from fornication, and from things offered in sacrifice to idols, and things strangled, and blood," Paul and Barnabas, along \vith Judas, Silas, and others, returned to Antioch,^ and continued there for some time, after which they went to visit tlie churches which they had fonnerly planted. It seems highly probable that it was during the interval which elapsed between the return from Jerusalem and Paul's setting out on this itinerant mission, that Peter Ansited Antioch. He came probably to enjoy the satisftiction of seeing so numerous and flourishing a gentile church, and to give the weight of his personal sanction to the decree of the apostles and elders. This visit seems for a considerable time to hai'e been agreeable and useful to all parties ; but towards the close of it, Paul found it necessary to reprove Peter on account of conduct which ap- peared to him calculated to injure the Christian cause. " I withstood him " ^ — is equivalent to, ' I opposed him ' — " to the face."^ Some of the fatliers, as Chrysostom and Jerome, have represented this disagreement between the two apostles as merely apparent, and the whole affair got up by mutual agi'ocment to serve a purpose.* There is nothing in the narrative which gives the least countenance to such a notion. Such management would have savoured too much of the " craftiness," ^ and " the hidden things of dishonesty,"^ which both the apostles had renounced, and indeed would not have been consistent with in- ^ " The Antioch where this event look place is not that in Pisidia, — Acts xiii. 14; xiv. 19, — but the famous one in Coelo-Syria, on the Orontes, which in the beginning (until Rome became more so) was the central point of gentile Christian life." — Olsiiausen. 2 ' ai/Te(TTr]v. ^ Kara Trpocrcowov, — pr.Tsens prfcsenti. " Non possum quorundani Patnim expositionem probare qui verba Kara npoa-umov secundum spcciem rcddi, et tantum aKuifxaxinu quandam intellij^i volunt. Repugnat haic interpretatio loquendi rationi." — KitEBS. Acts iii. 13; xxv. IG. * The correspondence between Augustine and Jerome on this subject is worth reading, as illustrative of Patristic morality and exegesis. Jerome defends his theory of Peter's " hypocrisis observanda' legis," being cured by Paul's " hypocrisis correptioiiis,'' by the sullrage of Origen, Didymus, Kuscbius Emissenus, Theodorus lleracleotes, and Chrysostom. " Patere me," says he, " errare cum talibus.'' See Whitby's " Dissertatio de Scrip- turarum interpretatione secundum Patrum connnentarios." * nnvovpyia. " ra Kin'TTTci rtji alcTT^vvrif. — 2 Cor. iv. 2. V. III. § 3.] HI8TOHICAL PROOF OF THE THESIS. 8S tegrity. Such a hypothesis would never have been thought of, but to defend the infalhbility of Peter. It is, however, an odd way to defend one apostle fi'om a mistake in judgment, by representing two apostles as guilty of something approaching at least to deliberate falsehood.^ But even in Jerome's and Chrysostom's time, the maxim that the end sanctifies the means, had gained extensive currency among Christians ; and they readily attributed to apostles motives and modes of action with which they themselves were but too familiar. It is of great importance, especially in these days, to be impressed with the conviction that primitive Christianity and ancient Christianity, apostolical Christianity and patristic Christianity, are two very different — in many re- spects two directly opposite — things. Paul did not keep silent as if he had been afraid of Peter as a superior ; he was not awed by the example of so great an apostle into the silent sanction of what he thought wrong ; and he did not oppose Peter by secret insinuation — by speaking evil of him when he was absent, — he avowed to himself his dissatis- faction with his conduct. And he did this " because he was to be blamed."^ Some in- terpreters suppose that the apostle's meaning is, ' because he was blamed,' — every person, except the Jews who came down from James, blamed his conduct as inconsistent, unchristian, and un- manly. We apprehend, however, that our translators have given the true meaning.^ That other people were blaming Peter, would have been no reason with Paul for blaming him. It would have operated rather in the opposite way. The reason that he withstood him was, that he was conscientiously per- suaded he was wrong, and that a public statement of this con- ^ " Omnis autem simulatio etiam in rebus humanis est vitiosa, quia est species mendacii : cum autem omnium rerum simulatio est vitiosa (tollit enim judicium veri, idque adulterat) tum amicitife repugnat maxime, ut inquit Cicero in Lselio. Quanto igitur magis in divinis ?" — Pareus. " In araicitia autem nihil fictum nihil simulatuui." — Cic. de Am. viii. 2 w ' T OTi KaTeyvcocrixeuos rju. ' Winer, a high authority, denies that the participle has the force of being worthy of blame, and maintains that it merely signifies, ' had incurred blame ; ' but Valcknaer, an equally adequate judge in such a question, holds the oppo- site opinion. If the usas loquendi admits of our translators' exegesis, the con- text strongly supports it. A learned friend, worthy of being named along with Winer and Valcknaer, says, "strictly speaking, 'worthy' is an inference. ' Judgment had gone against his conduct' is the fact exjyressed." 84 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. I- 11-11. '21. viction was necessary to serve the purpose of general edification. Of the manner in which Peter received this correction, we have no account. We know it produced no lasting alienation. It was long after this that Peter styled his reprover, " our beloved brother Paul."^ It has been supposed, but we ai'e very unwill- ing to entertain the thought, that the occurrences here recorded had their effect in predisposing Barnabas' mind to that in-itation which made a comparatively very slight difference of opinion the occasion of breaking up that close companionship with his illus- trious friend which had been so full of holy delight to both parties, and so advantageous to the churches. Let us learn from Paul's conduct, not to allow the authority or example of any man, however great or good, to interfere with the convictions of our own minds respecting truth and duty. Let us be certain that a man is to be blamed before we withstand him ; and when we do so, let it be to his face. The apostle goes on to give a more particular account of this un- pleasant affair. " For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles : but when they were come, he withdrew, and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him ; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation."^ For some time after his aiTival, Peter mingled familiarly in social intercourse with the gentile converts who had not been circumcised, and who did not observe the law of Moses. This is the meaning of his " eating with them." It does not refer to eating the Lord's Supper or religious communion ; for we have no reason to think that even after the Jewish brethren came, either he or they refused to have this sort of intercourse with their gentile brethren. The Gentiles were accustomed to eat a variety of articles prohibited by the Mosaic law ; and it would appear that Peter, without scruple, sat down with them at table, and, it may be, without scruple partook of what was ])laccd before him, — acting on the principle which he had been miraculously taught, that " what God had cleansed, he ought not to account common or unclean."^ Such conduct on the jiart of Peter was certainly well fitted to confirm the Gentiles in thuir attachment to their new faith, to show that there was no design to proselyte ' 6 ayanr)Tos f]fiu>v d8(\(pus TiaiiXns. — 2 Pet. iii. l."*. * Gal. ii. 12, 13. '' Acts x. 1,1. p. III. § 3.] HISTORICAL PROOF OF THE THESIS. 85 them to Judaism ; and that the observance or non-observance of Mosaic ceremonies was no way essentially connected with the grand leading doctrines and duties of Christianity. But this agreeable state of things was soon interrupted. " Some came from James,"^ i. e. from Jerusalem, over the church of which James seems to have presided, who, like most of their brethren, were " zealous for the law." It does not seem that they directly attempted to impose the law on the Gentiles ; but they seem to have insisted that the converted Jews should keep it, and, of course, should avoid unrestrained social intercourse with their gentile brethren. Peter " feared^ these men."^ The meaning of these words is not very obvious. I am disposed to think that Peter was afraid of their being so disgusted at seeing the unreserved intercourse of Jews and Gentiles, a thing so abhorrent to their prejudices, as to be tempted to renounce Christianity and revert to Judaism. This is a sentiment much more likely to influence the conduct of a man like Peter than a mean selfish fear of losing his popularity among these prejudiced Jews. Under the influence of this fear he "withdrew, and separated himself;"* not at all, as I appre- hend, from their religious meetings, but he became more reserved and cautious in his intercourse with them, and carefully abstained from anything that looked like a violation of the law of Moses. This conduct the apostle calls " dissimulation."* For Peter's opinion remained unaltered. On the great question he and Paul were completely at one.*' But Peter adopted a mode of ^ Mark v. 35, — dno tov apxio^vvayayov, " from the ruler of the synagogue," — i. e. ' from his house.' s Tovs eK TvepiTOfirfs, a phrase of the same kind as oi sk nia-Teas, oi e'| epycov. * vTrecrreWe koX a.(f>a>pi^fv eavrov. vTvoKpicns. ' TertulHan remarks, •' Conversationis fuit vitium non prsedicationis." — De Prcescript. cxxiii. The observations of Witsius, in his " Meletemata Leidensia," deserve quotation : " Non licet ex hac historise sacrse parte concludere errorem in fide in alterutro apostolorum vel dissensum in doctrina inter utrumque. Indubium enim est, quod doctrinam attinet, Petrum in hoc negotio ejusdem sententife cimi Paulo : fas scilicet Judteo homini esse familiaritatem colere cum GentiUbus fide Christiana prasditis. — Tola ergo hsec controversia fuit non de doctrina libertatis Christianse, sed de illius usu hie et nimc : in qua re Paulus prudentise regidas melius perspectas habmt quam Petrus." — P. 65. Weissmann's dissertation, " De Usu et Abusu Cen- sure Petri PauUnse," deserves to be consulted. " These differences between 86 EPISTLi: TO THE CALATIANS. [cilAP. I. II-II. L'l, conduct Avliich had a iiatui'al tendency to lead the Jews to think that his opinion and that of Paul were different, and to lead the Gentiles to think that he had altered his opinion. A man dis- sembles when, either by Avords, or actions, or silence, or inaction, he gives others reason to think that his sentiments are different fi'om what tlicy really are. The other Jewish converts at Antioch went along with Peter ; and even the excellent Barna- bas was "carried aAvay,"^ it is likely, partly by regard to Peter's authority, and partly by the fear of offending the Judaising brethren. This passage teaches us the importance of consistency of con- duct ; the danger of worldly wisdom in the management of ecclesiastical affairs ; the great caution with which men dis- tinguished for their office, talents, and influence should act ; and the extreme danger of making any man's opinion and conduct the rule of ours. Let us now attend to Paul's account of his own behaviour in these difficult circumstances. " But when I saw that they walked not ujirightly, according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all. If thou, being a Jew, livest aflter the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to five as do the Jews V '^ the apostles," says Dr Graves, " have sometimes been alleged as a decisive objection against the DiviiK» authority of the Christian scheme ; but surely without cause. The New Testament nowhere represents the apostles as impeccable : it has drawn only one perfect character, that of their Divine Lord. But Christianity derives more strength of evidence from the impar- tiality with which its historians relate their own and their brethren's occa- sional errors or faults, than it can suffer injury from any imputation which their conduct may seem to justify. Another signal advantage from the relation of these divisions, is, that it affords the strongest evidence that the whole scheme was founded on truth, not imposture ; for whenever impostors, and these the very chief conductors of the imposition, fall into contention and dispute, the fallacy is inevitably detected. Not so with the gospel : though its teachers might, in some points, for some short time disagree, these dis- agreements impeded not in the least the comidetion of their sacred work ; for this was conducted by the liand of God." " Peter taiujJa quite correctly ; he only 5H.\rsEN. - 1 (Tvvanr^\6i]. * Gal. ii. 14. r. III. § 3.] HISTORICAL PROOF OF THE THKSIS. 87 Paul saw that Peter, Barnabas, and the other Jewish converts " did not walk nprightl},^ according to tlie truth of the gospel." " To walk uprightly," in the English language, means to act with integi'ity — to conduct a person's self according to his con- victions of truth and duty. It does not necessarily imply that the person's conduct is right : it merely intimates that it is honest. Paul " walked uprightly " when he persecuted the church, as well as when he preached the gospel. It has been very common to understand the phrase here in this way, and to suppose that Paul charges Peter and the others with a want of integrity. I see no ground for such a supposition. I apprehend that Peter and Barnabas acted with perfect integrity, — i. e., they acted according to their views of present duty, though these views were mistaken ones. They did not think that their conduct compromised any truth, and they conceived that it was necessary to prevent " the offence " — in the Scripture sense of the term, tlie " stumbling " — of their brethren from Jenisalem. And I am quite sm'e that there ne\er was a man less disposed than the apostle Paul, to ascribe the conduct of his brethren to bad motives. The original term,^ which occurs only in this place in the New Testament, does not refer to motives at all. It literally signifies to loalk straigldly, and refers to propriety of conduct, viewed in reference to some rule. " When I saw that they walked not straightly " means just ' when I saw that their conduct was not right.' Paul does not question their motives, but he condemns their conduct. " According to the truth of the gospel."^ These words are generally understood as nearly synonymous with those which precede them, — ' according to that sincerity which the gospel teaches.' I rather think their meaning is, ' coiTesponding to the true gospel.' The conduct of Peter and the rest seemed to the apostle calculated to throw obscurity and doubt on the true gospel, — that men are saved entirely " by faith," " through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus ;" and accordingly you find, in his address to them, not a reproof of insincerity, but a repre- sentation of the tendency which their conduct had to lead to false views of the way of salvation, and a clear statement of those principles which, in his apprehension, their behaviour was ^ ovK opdoTTodovai. ^ opdorrodovcri. npos ttjv akrjOfiav rov evayyikiov. 88 EPISTLE TO TUE GALATIiVNS. [ciIAP. I. 11-11. 21. calculated to obscure. When he saw that then* conduct was not right, and did not correspond with the truths of the gospel, he " said to Peter before them aW ^ The apostle observes the in- junction he lays on Timothy, " Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear." ^ If he had known that Peter really thouglit differently fi*om him on the general subject, and that the apostles had given a judgment consistent with Peter's ^iews, and inconsistent with his own, Paul durst not have thus acted. In the public assembly of the brethren Paul declared his dissatis- faction with the conduct of Peter, and those who had followed his example. His speech on this occasion is indeed an admirable one, and, in our apprehension, reaches to the end of the chapter. On this subject expositors are not of one opinion. Grotius, Seraler, and Koppe, consider the 14th verse as containing the whole of Paul's address to Peter, and the part, from verse 15-21, as ad- dressed to the Galatians. Rosenmiiller, Tittmann, Knapp, and Jaspis, consider the whole passage, to the end of the chapter, as Paul's address. In this last view we concur. Everything in the passage has a peculiar propriety, as addressed to Peter. Had verse 15 been addressed to the Galatians, this would have been marked in some way ;^ and, in the commencement of the third chapter, the apostle names the Galatians, as again returnuig to direct address.* " If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of the Gen- tiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?" Peter, thougli a Jew, "lived after the manner of the Gentiles,^ and not as did the Jews," '^ — i. e. he ' efXTTfiocrBeu mivrav. ^ 1 Tim. v. 20. ^ As flfJ-tls ovv ahiK<^oi, k. t. X. * " It ha.s long been a question, whether the 15th and following verses are to be regarded as a part of the address of Paul to I'etcr, or the words of Paul as part of the Epistle to the Galatians. The following reasons seem to me to prove that the first mode of interpretation is to be preferred : (1.) It seems the most natural and obvious one, — the discoiu-se proceeding as if it were an address to I'eter. (2.) Tliere is a change at the beginning of the third chapter, where the Galatians are exjjressly addressed. As to the impropriety of Paul's addressing Peter at length on the subject of justifica- tion, we are to bear in mind that he did not address him alone. The reproof was addressed to Peter in the presence of the jjcoplc, who were in danger of being mi.sled by his conduct. Nothing was more jiroper than that, before him and them, Paul should, for t/iair benefit, state the doctrine of justifica- tion. ' — Bar.nks. '' (OrtKwi. " OIK 'I'tvSu'iKwi. p. III. § 3.] HISTORICAL PROOF OF THE THESIS. 89 did not strictly conform to the requisitions of the Mosaic law. He did not regulate himself by its prohibitions. This was plain, for before these men from Jerusalem came he ate with the Gen- tiTes. ' Now,' says the apostle, ' how inconsistent is it in you, who, thoiigh a Jew, do not think yourself under obligation to observe the Mosaic law, to act in a manner which is calculated to lead the Gentiles to think that they ought to observe it!' ^Hien Paul says, " thou compellest," ^ etc., he refers not to what Peter actually did, nor to his intention, but to the plain tendency of his conduct. It is as if he had said, ' Is not the natural ten- dency of your conduct to lead the Gentiles to think that surely something more than faith in Christ is necessary to justification, and to induce them to imitate you, and to subject themselves to ceremonial restrictions in order to secure their salvation? Is not your conduct calculated to sanction the false doctrines which the apostles have condemned '? and can anything be more incon- sistent than such conduct on your part ? Even though you had been conscientiously of opinion that the law is obligatory on Jews, you ought to have avoided everything that could lead to the conclusion that it was obhgatory on the Gentiles ; but as you believe, and have acted on the belief, that its obligation, even on Jews, now no longer subsists, why do that which naturally leads to the conclusion that its observance is a matter of import- ance, and that its non-observance ought to exclude even Gentiles fi'om free intercourse with those who do observe it ? ' The apostle goes on to declare the truth of the gospel, which he was afraid would be obscured by the conduct of Peter and the rest. He declares that Clnristians among the Jews trusted entirely to Christ for salvation, and that, when thej^ acted in any way which seemed to cast into the shade the necessity and com- pleteness of his salvation, they acted both criminally and incon- sistently ; and that, for himself, he was, and was determined ever to be, and to appear to be, a Christian, a thorough Christian, and nothing but a Christian. " We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gen- tiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the 1 duayKa^Q}, used here as in Mattli. xiv. 22, 2 Cor. xii. 11, Acts xx\dii. 19, — ' Thou exercisest, considering thy character and standing, a moral influence, all but irresistible by persons placed in their circumstances. We find the similar word Trapa^id^fadai, Luke xxiv. 29, Acts xvi. 15. 90 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [cilAP. I. 11-11. 21. law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, cveu we have beheved in Jesus Clirist, that we might be justified by the ftiith of Christ, and not by the works of the hiw : for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin ? God forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For 1 through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ : nevertheless I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me : and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave hiuiself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God : for if righteous- ness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."^ "We who are Jews by nature" — native Jews, not prose- lytes,^— " and not sinners of the Gentiles." These words may either mean, ' We v/ho by birth are Jews ' — worshij)pers of the true God, according to the Mosaic law, — ' and not idolatrous Gentiles ' — whom the Jews were in the habit of calling ' sin- ners,' by way of eminence ; or, ' We who are Jewish, and not Gentile sinners.' ^ I am partial to this last view of the phrase. I do not think that Paul, in the circumstances in which he was placed, was likely to use language which, even by implication, could be considered as a reflection on the Gentiles, when con- sidered as in contrast with the Jews ; and it was much to his purpose to bring fonvard the fact, that Jews as well as Gentiles were sinners ; lor it was neither as Jews nor as Gentiles, but as sinners, they had to do with Christ and his salvation. The usus loqiiendi seems in favour of the other view, which also brings out a good sense : '\AVe Jews have found it necessary to abandon the law, and betake om'selvcs entirely to Christ for justification. What absurdity, then, to require submission to the law from the ' Gal. ii. 15-21. * " (fiva-€i — ov TTpoarfKvroi." — TuKOni. ' ^/iftS' (})VtT(l. 'lov'dllioi KUl OVK f^ (OfUV (I/id/JTtoXot. Tllls IS tllO vicW taken by Eisner, Eras. Schmiil, Grotiiis, etc. Eisner says, very justly, " Non enim peccatorum ratione opponcre Judroos CJentilibus, alquc ab his segre;,'are illos, scd potius conjungere apostolus solet tanquatn in eodeni luto hicrcntes, et consimilibus vifiis coiitaminatos, Koni. iii. [), 22-24. liectius refertiu- a/^d/jrwXol ad (jiva-d 'hwduloi queniadmoduni lOpli. ii. 3, ku) rj^ifv TtKva (j)v(Tfi ofiyrfs Km <>i \nnrnt, idque videtur scopo ajjostoli ct ne.xtji acconi- modatius." r. 111. § 3.] HISTORICAL PROOF OF THE THESIS. 91 Gentiles, as if tliat were necessary to their salvation, wliich we have found to be utterly useless in our own case !' " We Jews," sinners, " knowing " — i. e. being persuaded — " that a man is not justified"^ — i. e. cannot obtain the Divine ^ As the term "justified" occurs here for the first time in the epistle, a brief statement of the Christian doctrine of justification may be useftil. It cannot be better given than in the well-considered words of Barnes: — " I. Justification is properly a word applicable to courts of justice, but is used in a similar sense in common conversation among men. An illustration will show its nature. A man is charged, e. g., Avith an act of trespass on his neighbomr's property. Now there are two ways which he may take to justify himself, or to meet the charge, so as to be regarded and treated as innocent. He may (a) either deny that he performed the act charged on him, or he may (6) admit that the deed was done, and set up, as a defence, that he had a right to do it. In either case, if the point be made out, he will he just, or innocent, in the sight of the law. The law will have nothing against him, and he will be regarded and treated in the premises as an innocent man ; or he has justified himself in regard to the charge brought against him. II. Charges of a very serious nature are brought against man by his Maker. He is charged with violating the law of God ; with a want of love to his Maker ; with a corrupt, proud, sensual heart ; with being entirely alienated from God by wicked works ; in one word, with being entirely depraved. This charge extends to all men, and to the entire life of every unrenewed man. It is not a charge merely affecting the external conduct, nor merely affecting the heart ; it is a charge of entire alienation from God, — a charge, in short, of total depravity. — See especially Rom. i., ii., iii. That this charge is a very serious one, no one can doubt : that it deeply affects the human character and standing, is as clear. It is a charge brought in the Bible ; and God appeals, in proof of it, to the history of the world, to every man's conscience, and to the life of every one who has lived ; and on these facts, and on his own power in searching the hearts, and in knowing what is in man. He rests the proofs of the charge. III. It is impossible for man to vindicate himself from this charge. He can neither shoiv that the things charged have not been committed, nor that, having been committed, he had a right to do them. He cannot prove that God is not right in all the charges which He has made against him in his word ; and he cannot prove that it was right for him to do as he has done. The charges against him are facts which are undeniable, and the facts are such as cannot be vindicated. But if he can do neither of these things, then he cannot be justified by the law. The law will not acquit him ; it holds him guilty ; it condemns him. No argument which he can use will show that he is right, and that God is wrong. No works that he can perform will be any compensation for what he has already done. No denial of the existence of the facts charged will alter the case ; and he must stand condemned by the law of God. In the legal sense, he cannot be justi- fied ; and justification, if it ever exist at all, must be in a mode that is a departure from the regular operation of law, and in a mode which the law did not contemplate, for no law makes any provision for the pardon of those who violate it. It must be by some system which is distinct from the law, 92 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. I. U-II. 21. favour — " by the works of tlie law, but by^ the faith of Jesus Christ." The apostle does not seem here to refer merely to and in which man may be justified on different principles than those which the law contemplates. IV. This other system of justification is that which is revealed in the gospel by the faith of the Lord Jesus. It does not consist in either of the following things: (1.) It is not a system or plan where the Lord Jesus takes the part of the sinner against the law, or against God, He did not come to show that the sinner was right, and that God was wrong. He admitted most fully, and endeavoured constantly to show, that God was right, and that the sinner was wrong ; nor can an instance be referred to where the Saviour took the part of the sinner against God, in any such sense that he endeavoured to show that the sinner had not done the things charged on him, or that he had a right to do them. (2.) It is not that we are either innocent, or are declared to be innocent. God justifies the ' ungodly,' Rom. iv. 5. We are not innocent ; we never have been ; we never shall be ; and it is not the design of the scheme to declare any such untruth as that we are not personally undeserAang. It will be always true that the justified sinner has no claims to the mercy and favoiu- of God. (3.) It is not that we cease to be imde- serving personally. He that is justified by faith, and that goes to heaven, will go there admitting that he deserves eternal death, and that he is saved wholly by favour, and not by desert. (4.) It is not a declaration on the part of God that lue have wrought out salvation, or that we have any claim for what the Lord Jesus has done. Such a declaration would not be true, and would not be made. (5.) It is not that the righteousness of the Lord Jesus is trans- ferred to his people. Moral character cannot be transferred. It adheres to the moral agent as much as colour does to the rays of light which cause it. It is not true that ive died for sin, and it cannot be so reckoned or imputed. It is not true that we have any merit, or any claim, and it cannot be so reck- oned or imputed. All the imputations of God are according to truth ; and He will always reckon us to be personally undeserving and sinful. But if justification be none of these things, it may be asked. What is it ? I answer, It is the declared purpose of God to regard and treat those sinners who believe in the LordJesils Christ as if they had not sinned, on the ground of the merits of the Saviour. It is not mere pardon. The main difference between pardon and justification respects the sinner contemplated in regard to his^asZ conduct, and to God's future dealings with him. Pardon is a free forgiveness of past offences. It has reference to those sins as forgiven and blotted out ; it is an act of remission on the part of God. Justification has respect to the law, and to God's future dealings with the sinner. It is an act by which God deter- mines to treat him hereafter ((s a righteous man, or as if he had not sinned. The ground or reason of this is, the merit of the Lord Jesus Christ, — merit such that we can plead it as if it were our own." On the signification of biKcacj and its cognate terms, the following works may be consulted with ad- vantage:— Storr, Opuscula Academ. \o\. i. ; Koppe, Excurs. iv. Epist. ad Gal. ; Zimmermann, De vi atquc scnsu diKcuoa-vprji Qeov : Van Voorst, Ano- tatt. in loc. sel. N. T. Spec. ii. ; and Winzcr, De Vocabtilis, BUaios, BiKaioavmj, ct 8iKaiovi>, in Ep. ad Homo. * (itf firj is here equivalent to aXXu ; so f< ^17 Mutth. xii. 4, ct al. The r. TIL § 3.] HISTORICAL PROOF OF THE THESIS. 93 obedience to the Mosaic law, but states the general truth, that it is not by obedience to any law — not by works of righteousness — that men are restored to the Divine favour, but by the faith of Clu'ist. Some would understand " the faith of Christ " as equivalent to ' the gospel;' but, when viewed in contrast with works of law, its plain meaning is, ' the belief of the truth about Christ.' * Well,' says the apostle, ' we Jews, convinced that we are sinners, and that it is not by obedience to law that sinners are to be restored to the Divine favour, but by faith in the Mes- siah, by the belief of the truth respecting him and the way of salvation through him, — under these convictions " we have be- lieved in Jesus Christ;"^ we have credited the testimony of God concerning his Son, " that we might be justified " — i. e. in the hope that we shall be restored into God's favour entirely " through the faith of Christ," and not at all by any obedience on our part to any law ; " for by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified."'^ The reason here stated is plainly a most cogent one. Every Jew has broken the law under which he is placed. Every man has broken the law under which he is placed ; and therefore law may — must — condemn men, but it cannot justify them. This is a gloriously clear statement of the way of salvation, which, rightly understood, puts down at once all attempts to join anything with Christ's righteousness as the ground of justification, or with faith as the means of justification. parallel passages, Rom. iv. 13, ix. 32, fix the meaning ; or rather, as Fritsche ingeniously remarks, eav fifj refers not to the whole of the preceding clause, but only to its first part, — ' A man is not justified by the works of the law, — a man is not justified eav firj, but by the faith of Christ.' 1 els XpKTTov 'irjo-ovv. " Idem est Hebrseis credere Deo, credere in Deo, et credere in Deum : sic idem est credere Christo, credere in Christo, et credere in Christum, credere scilicet ilium esse Christum, i. e., Messiam salva- torem et redemptorem mundi." — Ribera. 2 These words are commonly supposed to be a quotation from memory of Psal. cxliii. 2. In the psalm, however, it is not "Jlesh," but " livinff person." With Koppe, it may be doubted whether the apostle meant any quotation, as SiKaicodrjaeTai is the Only word that occurs both here and in the passage in the LXX. supposed to be referred to. The particle ov does not refer to iraa-a, but to diKaicodrjo-eTai. It is not, ' Not every man,' etc. ; but, ' Every man shall not be justified.' It is not as, " Not every man that saith, Lord, Lord," etc. It has often been said, that in such passages as Psal. cxhii. 2, non omnis is put for nullm ; but we prefer Drusius' mode of accounting for this peculiarity, — " Negatio afficit verbum non particulam." 04 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. I. 11-11. 21. * This, then,' says the apostle, ' is what we Jewish converts have done — we have given up with eveiything but Christ as the ground of cm' justification, and everything but faith as the means of it.' '^ But," proceeds the apostle, " if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin ? God forbid." These words, viewed by them- selves, might signify, what I believe they are generally thought to signify, 'If, while men are professing to seek justification through Christ, they are found living in the neglect of duty, and com- mission of sin, is Christ to blame f i. e. ' Christ is not to blame.' They are abusers of the grace of God. " Sinners " is by some con- sidered here, as in Rom. v. 8, as equivalent to ' guilty,' ' unjustified.' They consider the apostle as saying, ' If, while seeking justifica- tion by faith in Christ, we are yet found unjustified (which seems to be the fair conclusion from seeking, in obedience to the law, for some additional ground of justification), then Christ is the author, not of justification, but of condemnation.' This, however, would require another inference, — such as, ' Then Christ's expiation has been incomplete;' and it would not con- nect well with what follows. From its connection, it seems obvious that neither oT these can be its meaning. The true sense seems to be this, — ' If, in seeking justification solely by Christ Jesus, without laying any stress on the works of the law, we are to be accovuited sinners — offenders — if Ave are to be viewed as acting improperly, " then Christ is the author of the sin'" — he has led us into the error and fault ; for this is the sum and substance of his doctrine, and, in embracing it, we are but fol- lowing him.' " God forbid," says the apostle, starting back from the revolting thought, — i. e. ' It is impossible that Christ can be the author either of error or sin. In embracing the doc- trine of justification by faith, through the redemption that is in him, and in acting accordingly, we certainly follow him, and therefore as certainly we cannot bo wrong.' ^ apa XpicTTos uynipriai diaKovos bein<:; understood, not as an interrogation, but a conclusion ; and apa used, as it sometimes is, ironically. — Vide Vigehus. 2 Tlieodoret's exposition is excellent: "El nupuliaa-n tuvto pfvopiarai, OTi Tov vi'ipov KUTnXnrwTes fv XpirrTut ^rfTOvpifv SiKanddrjvai, fj alria (Is avTOV XptfTTW xtoprjfTfi. r. III. § 3.] HISTORICAL PROOF OF THE THKSIS. 95 ' But to embrace this doctrine of Christ, and yet to do what is calculated to obscure it, to overthrow it, that is obviously self-in- consistency and impropriety, — that were to be sinners indeed.' This is the sentiment contained in the 18th verse. " For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgres- sor." The reference here is plainly to the conduct of Peter ; but according to Paul's wisdom, he makes the statement in the way least fitted to hurt or to offend.^ To pull down with one hand what we build up with the other, that is inconsistency ; and this is what Peter was doing, though not aware of it. He preached the doctrine of ftill and free salvation which he had defended in the council of Jerusalem ; but his present conduct was in its tendency quite opposed to these exertions. In conclusion, Paul declares that whatever others might be or do, he was a thorough, and he was determined to be a consistent, Christian, " For I through the law am dead to the law, that I may live to God."^ The expressed personal pronoun is emphatic, and its position strengthens the emphasis.^ ' Whatever may be the case with others, this is my experience.' " I through the law am dead to the law." Some rendering the words, ' I through law am dead to law,' understand the assertion as equivalent to, ' I through one law am dead to another law. I through the law of faith am completely released from obligation to tlie law of works ;' in the same way as we say, ' man serves man,' or ' hand washes hand.' Others understand the word in both cases in the same meaning, and in both cases consider it as referring to the law to which Paul, as a Jew, vvas originally subject.^ ' I through means of the law convincing me of sin, and showing me the ntter impossibility of justification b}'' itself, have become ^ Jaspis very well remarks, " Petrum innixit sed mitigandi vituijerii causa prima persona loquitur." ^ Gal. ii. 19. " The false apostles taught this doctrine, ' Except thou live to the law, thou art dead to God;' but Paul saith quite the contrary, — ' I must die to the law, in order to live to God.'" — Luther. ' 'Eyco, " As for me." * Wakefield considers 'Eyw 8ia vofiov as a phrase similar to tov 8ia ypafi- fiaros. — Rom. ii. 27. In that case it would just be equivalent to — ' I, who was under the law, have become dead to it.' Bishop Middleton objects to this exegesis the want of the article ; but there are other and stronger ob- jections. Camerarius gives the meaning very concisely : " Ipsius legis ministerio legi sum mortuus." 96 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. I. 11-11. 21. (lead to the law — have ceased to expect justification ami salvation by obedience to its requisitions — "that I might live to God;" ' that, consecrated to God more ctloctually than I could be by obedience to the law, I might live a divine life — a life of reconciliation with God — conformity to God — fellowship ^^^th God.' This second intei'pretation is preferable to the first ; but still it is not satis- factory. It does not naturally introduce the thought that follows. I am jjersuaded that the apostle expresses here the same senti- ment with regard to himself as an individual which he states in reference to Christians in general, when he says, " Ye are become dead to the law by the body of Christ."^ And how that is brought about, is described by him.'' ' By the law having had its full course so as to be glorified in the obedience to death of Him ill whom I am, I am completely delivered from the law. The law has no more to do with mc, and I have no more to do with it in the matter of justification. And this freedom from law is at once necessaiy and eflFectual to my living a truly holy life — a life devoted to God.' What follows is explanatory of this thought, which was ever present to the mind of the apostle, — ' I consider myself as identified with the Lord Jesus Christ.' " I am crucified with Christ."^ I view myself as so connected with Christ, as that when he was crucified I was, as it were, crucified; and I am as much interested in the effects of that crucifixion as if I had undergone it myself. He, in being ciHicified, endured the curse, and I in him endured it ; so that I am redeemed from the law and its curse, he having become a curse for me. " Nevertheless I live." ^ Christ died, and in him ^ To " live to God," is the same thing as to live by Ilini and for Ilim, as his servants and property, — no more their own, being redeemed by blood, precious blood, the blood of Christ. *' Phrasis (riv (v nvi dcnotat addictum et deditum esse alicui rei. — Sic Deraost. ad Philip, apud Lihun. tom. iv. p. 258, foj, equivalent to Kaff 6 8e vvv ^«. 2 iv aapKi is to be interpreted, not by Rom. viii. 8, but by Phil. i. 22. * " Christus se totum dedit mihi, ego me totum do, imo reddo Christo." — C. A L.\PIDE. 98 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CIIAP. I. 11-11. 21. the truth keeps me from seeking justification anywhere but in him, and from doing anytliing wliich could lead others to seek for justification anywhere but from him.'^ " I do not frustrate the grace of God."^ " The gi'ace of God " is plainly the grand manifestation of the free sovereign love of God in the way of salvation through the sacrifice of Christ and the faith of the gospel. To frustrate that, is to act in such a way as to lead to the inference, that this display was either unneces- sary or insufficient for its avowed purpose. They who give their support in any way to the doctrine of justification by works, do thus frustrate the grace of God. " We despise grace when we observe the law with the expectation to be justified by it. The law is good, holy, and profitable ; but it justifieth not. He, then, that keepeth the law in order to be justified thereby, rejecteth gi'ace, denieth Christ, despiseth His sacrifice, and will not be saved by this inestimable price, but will satisfy for his OAvn sins through the righteousness of the law, or deserve grace by his own rio-hteousness. This man blasphemeth and despiseth the grace of God." ^ The last clause depends on an elliptical clause. " But who- soever wdlls to be justified by the law, he frustrates the grace of God."* Paul did not thus " frustrate the grace of God." To do this is, indeed, to frustrate, or represent as useless, this grace of God, " for if righteousness come by the law, then is Christ dead in vam." " Righteousness"^ is here obviously e(|uivalent to, ' justi- ^ Theophylact's note is excellent : " Xptordf f o-ri Trdvra ■jtolSiu iv viiiv Ka\ KparuiV Kai bfo-nu^av : Kai to fxev ijfxeTfpov 6e\t]fia v(Kp6v ((Tti. To Be fKflvov Q Ka\ Kv^epva rfjv ^cotjv i]jj.av. ' ^ Gal. ii. 21. ^ Luther. * adfTfl S«, outh c'k vofxov deXti SiKcnovcrdai,, ^ 8iKaio(rvi>r). Even Archbishop Whately, who insists so strongly that biKaioa-vur] is properly descriptive of disposition rather than relation — of charac- ter rather than state, is constrained to admit that it here " appears to be used in the sense of SiKa/coo-tj." — Essays on the Daiujers to Christian Faith, § 4. If hiKaiaavvr) be equivalent to 8tKiuu)ais here, it will be difficult to give a satisfactory reason why it should not be so interpreted when it occurs in the apostle's writini;s, as it very often docs, in the same connection. This is indeed, if I do not greatly mistake, the ordinnry meaning of the wonl with the apostle ; and I know no one circumstance so well fitted ti» dirtuse light over |)ortions of his writings, otherwise obscure, than the judicious ajiplication of this remark. Let the reader make the experiment with the following pas- sages:—Rom. i. 17; iii. 21, 22, 2.'i-20; v. 17: ix. 30, .SI ; x. 3-10 ; 1 Cor. i. 30; 2 Cor. iii. 9; v. 21 ; IMiil. iii. 9. The argument drawn by the Arch- r. III. § 3.] HISTORICAL PROOF OF THE THESIS. 99 fication.' If men's works are sufficient for their justification, Christ's death was entirely needless.^ If men's w^orks are in any respect necessary for this purpose, Christ's death was so far in- sufficient for the purpose for which it was intended. In either case " Christ has died in vain."^ " This interesting paragraph is one among many proofs," to use the words of the learned and ingenious Hallett,^ " that we Gentiles are indebted inconceivably more to the Apostle Paul than we are to any man that ever lived in the world. He was the apostle of the Gentiles, and gloried in that character. While Peter went too far toward betraying our privileges, our Apostle Paul stood up with a courage and zeal becoming himself. For us in particular, as for the Gentiles in general, our invaluable friend laboured more abundantly than all the apostles. For us he suffered. He was persecuted for this very reason, because he laboured to tui'n us from darkness to light, and to give to us the knowledge of salvation upon our repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. How dear, then, should his memory ever be to us ! While it would be intolerably weak," as well as inexcusably wrong, " in us to worship him, we should always think and speak of him with the highest veneration and respect, — remembering the strong reason, the elevated under- standing, the accurate discernment, the consummate knowledge, the fine address, the affectionate zeal, the unshaken fidelity, the undaunted courage, the firmest patience, the incomparable writ- ings, the unwearied labours, and the uncommon sufferings of this truly Christian hero ; whose character, after he became a Christian, is the most uniform and finished, the most unspotted and amiable, of all the characters of mere man that ever adorned the world." But we shall make it evident that we have very bishop, in coramon with Alexander Knox, from the ordinary force of nouns in ocrvvr], will not have much force in opposition to what even they admit — that this is a rule which, at least in one instance, the apostle disregards. ^ According to the younger Tittmann, a ripe scholar and acute interpreter, this is the only proper meaning of Bwpedv. " 8a>pfav direOave non est frustraj temere, sine etfectu, sed sine justa causa. Nam si ^m tov v6p.ov BiaKaioa-vvr], nulla erat causa moriendi." — De Synonym, p. 161. - " hapedv. Non tautum sine efiectu sed sine causa." — E. Schmid. " Et yap dnedavev 6 Xpiaros, fv8rj\ov on Bid to pf] la-xveLv tov vopov rjpds dcKaiovv fl S' 6 vopos BiKaiol, nepiTTos 6 tov X/jtcrroO OdvaTOs." — Chrysostom. ' Notes and Observations, vol. i. p. 382. 100 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CIIAP. I. 11-11. I'l. imperfectly imbibed his princi}>les, if we rest in the admiration of him as an individual, and do not clearly perceive and plainly acknowledge that it was not he, but the grace of Christ in him, that made him the great and good man he became ; that by the grace of God he was what he was ; and imitating the churches of Judea, " glorify God in him." For " all things " in the new creation " are of God ; to whom, through Christ Jesus, be glory for ever. Amen." PART IV. THE APOSTLE'S DEFENCE OF HIS DOCTRINE. Galatians III. 1-iv. 1-7. — " O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you ? This only would I learn of you. Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith ? Are ye so foolish ? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh ? Have ye suffered so many things in vain ? if it be yet in vain. He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith ? Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore, that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying. In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithfid Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse : for it is written. Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident : for. The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith t but. The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for vis : for it is written. Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree : that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men ; though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many ; but as of one. And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none eflect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise : but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Where- fore then serveth the law ? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made ; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one ; but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God ? God forbid.: 102 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [cilAr. III. 1-IV. 7. for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righte- ousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, tliat the promise by faith of Jesus Cln-ist might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the foith Avhich should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that fiiith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female : for ye arc all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Now I say. That the heir, as long as he is a child, diflereth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all ; but is under tutors and governors, until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world : But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son ; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." SECT. I. — INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. In an epistolary composition, it is not reasonable to expect the same strictness of metliod as in a regular treatise. Yet, even in tlie letters of a man of -well-informed and Avell-di.sciplined mind, the materials will be disposed in the order best fitted for gaining the object he has in view. There will be much method, tliougli there may be little display of it. This is precisely the character of the letters of the Apostle Paul ; and they equally mistake who represent them as regular logical discussions of certain theological principles, and Avho view them as a collection of cursory unconnected hints. In all his epistles he has some one leading object in view, of which he never for a moment loses sight. Whatever he brings forward has a tendency more or less direct towards the attainnient of this object ; but in making his particular statements and reasonings bearing on his grand purpose, he adopts a method more analogous to the course which thought naturally takes in a free, unreserved conversation, than to the artificial form which it assumes in continuous spoken or written discourse. These general remarks are aj)j)lical)le to that particular e])istle, in the interpretation of which we are at present engaged. The r. IV. § 1.] INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 103 leading purpose of the apostle in this epistle is, to point out to the Galatian Christians the falsehood and danger of the principle which some Judaising teachers had been attempting, with but too much success, to impose on them, " that the observance of the ^Mosaic law was equally necessary with faith in Jesus as the Messiah to secure for them the Divine favour and everlasting happiness," and to recall them to, and establish them in, the great fundamental truths of the gospel which he had taught them, ' that Jesus Christ was the only and all-sufficient Saviour ; that his vicarious obedience, sufferings, and death, were the sole ground of the sinner's justification ; and that faith, or believing the gospel, was the sole means of the sinner's justification.' Instead of entering directly into the argument, he first vindicates his own integrity as a man, and his authority as an apostle, both of which had been questioned or denied by the Judaising teachers ; and after having most satisfactorily shown, in a narrative of some of the leading incidents of his past life, that he was no time-server — no man-pleaser — that his doctrine on the point in question had always been uniform and consistent — and that his knowledge of the principles of Christianity, and his authority to teach it, had been derived from no hmnan source, through no human medium, but were obtained directly from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ — that his character as an independent inspired teacher of Christianity had been acknowledged by the most dis- tinguished of the apostles — and that, in his conduct in reference to one of the chief of them, he had at once shown the strength and consistency of his attachment to those doctrines which the Judaising teachers were endeavouring to overthrow, and asserted his independent authority as an apostle of Christ — he proceeds, in the passage which now lies before us for explication, to expose the falsehood of the dogmas of the Judaising teachers, and to confirm the doctrine which he had originally taught respecting the true ground and means of a sinner's justification before God. The manner in which the apostle makes this transition is beautifully natural. In the course of his apologetical narra- tion, he has occasion to recite the address which he made to Peter at Antioch, when, by his conduct, that apostle seemed to give countenance to the opinion that the observance of the Mosaic law was, even under the Christian dispensation, a matter 104 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [cHAP. HI. 1-IV. 7. of importance, in which he places in a very strong point of view the grand pecnHarities of the gospel scheme, tlie fulness an(i the freeness of the Christian salvation, the absolute completeness of the Christian scheme, and the abundant pro\-ision which it makes at once for the holiness and the happiness of all who sincerely embrace it, while the undivided gloiy of the whole deliverance is secured to the free sovereign benignity of the Divine Being, manifested in a consistency with his righteousness through the mediation of his Son ; and expresses, in very glowing terms, his own thorough satisfaction with, his unbounded admiration of, and exultation in, Christ and Christianity. The contrast between this true gospel, so simple, so complete, so full of gloiy to God and advantage to mankind, and that system of inconsistency and error, those " beg- garly elements," as he phrases it, which the Judaising teachers were endeavouring, and endeavouring with but too much success, to induce the Galatians to receive in its room, strongly struck his mind; and, in the words that follow, he gives utterance to a mingled feeling of astonishment, displeasure, and sorroAv. SECT. II. — THE apostle's ASTONISHMENT, DISPLEASURE, AND SORROW, AT THE CHANGE IN THE SENTIMENTS OF THE GALATIANS. " O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?"^ These words are obviously expressive of deep and powerful emotion, profound sorrow, strongdispleasurc ; but the degree of feeling will not appear excessive when w^e have attended to the circumstances which called it forth. The Galatians had enjoyed very peculiar advantages in the clear and ample statements made to them, by the apostle, of evangelical truth. " Jesus Christ had been evi- dently set forth before their eyes crucified among them." The collocation of these words in our version obscures their meaning. It becomes obvious by a very slight change. " Jesus Christ crucified had been evidently set forth before their eyes among them." " Christ crucified," and " the cross of Cln-ist,"aro phrases which, ' (lal. iii. 1. p. IV, § 2.J FEELI^'GS OF THE APOSTLE. lOo in Paul's epistles, are expressive of the whole doctrine of the gospel respecting the way of salvation through the sufferings and death of Christ. This is plainly the meaning in such phrases as " We preach Christ crucified." ^ — " I am determined to know nothing among you, save Christ and him crucified."^ — "God forbid that I shoiild glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus."'' When the apostle says, then, that " Christ crucified had been set forth among them," he means, that they had been taught that Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, had submitted to die, and to die on a cross, as the victim of human transgressions ; that he had been " delivered for our offences ;" * that he had "offered himself"^ a sacrifice for our sins; that his sufferings and death had completely answered their purpose ; that " his blood cleanseth from all sin;"" that no human being can be saved but through the efficacy of that sacrifice which He offered ; and that every believing sinner, whether Jew or Gentile, shall, through the power of this bloody atonement, assuredly escape everlasting destruction, and obtain everlasting salvation ; in one word, that what He did and suffered is at once the sole and the suflficient procuring cause of salvation to every one that be- lieveth. The apostle states, not merely that " Christ crucified had been set forth among them,"'' but "set forth evidently before their eyes."® These words seem to refer to the remarkable distinct- ness with which the doctrine of Christ crucified had been set forth among them.^ It is not impossible that there may be here an allusion to the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, in which the death of Christ is " showed forth " — in which, by the significant emblems of bread and wine — broken bread and 1 1 Cor. i. 23. 2 1 Cor. ii. 2. ^ q^i ^^j ^4 * Rom. iv. 25. * Heb, ix. 14. ^ 1 John i. 7. " eV vfilv. There can be no reasonable doubt that eV is here " among." It is a strange exposition given by Ambrose, Lnther, Brentz, and, what is remarkable, by Storr, generally so judicious: " Christ has been crucified in you — is dead, and dwells no more in you." ^ " Trpoypdcfxiv, in the classic writers, means ' to promulgate by writing,' as an edict written and made plain on a tablet, so that • he who runs may read it.' In later writers it is used of painters, equivalent to ' portray.' Kar otpdaXfiois is equivalent to npo 6^6a\jji.u>v.''' — Abresch. Notoi in Aristarchum, 340. " " e(TTavpci)p.ei'os in fine positum est ut quod maximam sententise vim con- tineat." — Wineh. IOC EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. HI. 1-IV, 7. poured-out wine — broken bread eaten, and poured-out wine drunk, are presented to the mind through the medium of the senses, these trutlis, ' that Jesus Christ, God's incarnate Son, suffered and died in our nature, in oui* room, and for our salva- tion, and that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.'^ These doctrines, then, had been clearly stated to the Galatians, and accompanied with the most satisfactory evidence. They liad professed to receive them, and to rest the interests of their eternity on them — to repose with undivided and undoubting confidence on the crucified Jesus as the only and the all-sufficient Saviour. But in embracino; the doctrines of the Judaising teachers, thev materially relinquished these doctrines, and showed that they did not " obey the truth."f " The trutii''' is here obvionsly what the apostle elsewhere calls " the truth as it is in Jesus," — ' the tiaith respecting the way of salvation through his mediation." "To obey the truth" has often been considered as equivalent to faith. I ratlier think it refers to that complete transformation of character which results from the truth when it is allowed to exert its full influence over the mind. To obey the truth is just to think, and to feel, and to act, like a person wlio understands and believes the truth. Now, the Galatians were not doing this. Had they obeyed the truth they Avould have looked to Jesus, and to Jesus only, for salvation ; they would have seen that there was no necessity, and no possibility, of adding anything to what he had finished on the cross as the gi'ound of accej)tance. They would have seen and felt that there is no need of conjoining anything with faith in him as the means of obtaining an interest in the blessings of his salvation. Trusting in him, and in him alone, for sah'ation, they would have cheerfully devoted themselves to his service in all the spiritual and rational duties of his religion, constrained by his love to live to him who died for them. Instead of this, they were seekinix some other ground of confidence — st)me other method of salvation. As if his atonement had been either unne- cessary or insuflicient, they were endeavouring, in their circum- ^ Vide " Hints on the Lord's Supper, and Thoughts for the Lord's Tahle." ^ The genuineness of the words, rj) uXijOda fxt) miOfaOai, has been called in question on strong grounds, and decided against, by all the great critical editors. The gloss, however, merely brings out the ajtostle's idea. r. IV. § '2,] FEELINGS OF THE APOSTLE. 107 cision and legal observances, to find something else on which they might rest their hopes of acceptance with God. Now, to a person whose views of Christianity accord in any good degree with those of the apostle Paul, it will not appear strange that the apostle should pronounce the persons who acted such a part emphatically ^^ fools." ^ The Galatians were proverbially stupid, as the Galileans were;^ but there is no reason to think that the apostle has any allusion to this.^ The apostle, in astonishment, displeasure, and sorrow, asks them, who had " bewitched " them that they should have acted so unreasonable a part ? What could be more foolish than to take up with a human invention instead of a Divine appointment — to exchange the immoveable rock of the Re- deemer's all-perfect atonement for the broken reed of imperfect, uncommanded, human services — to part with that peace of God which passeth all understanding, which arises from a belief of the truth, for a false confidence constantly liable to be dis- turbed with doubts and fears, and certain ultimately to issue in disappointment and ruin ? This surely was to leave " the fountain of living waters," and to take up with " cisterns which can hold no water."'* Well might the apostle ask, "Who hath bewitched you?"' ' ^ApoTjToi, ' fools,' — stupid, infatuated, demcntes. ^ Callimachus, Del 1 84, speaks of them as ax((r0(u and eniTtXt'iv are ojjposed to each other in the same way, T'hil. i. «!." — Ol-siiai'SKN. V. IV. § 3.] ARGUMENT FROM THEIR OWN EXPERIENCE. Ill perfect, by adopting wliat, in its very best state, was compara- tively a carnal, material fonn of religion, and which, in present circumstances, has no claim of any kind on your adoption ? The rehgioii you at first adopted was a religion which, from its per- fection, renders any addition utterly useless. You may — you must — debase it, but you cannot possibly improve it, by any supplement. Your progress is not improvement, it is degeneracy. It is not the child becoming the man, but the man becoming the child. To pass from Judaism to Christianity is — having begun in the flesh — to be perfected by the Spirit. For the Jew to be- come a Christian, was for the child to become a man — a natural, desirable course. For the Christian to become a Jew, is for the man voluntarily to shik into a second childhood — a most un- natural and undesirable course. They, in receiving the gospel, began with what was spiritual — knowledge, faith, holiness, hope, joy : in submitting to the law, they end in " meats, and drinks, and divers washings." ' ' The apostle still farther illustrates the folly of their conduct in the 4th verse : " Have ye suffered so many things in vain ? if it be yet in vain."^ The ordinary mode of interpreting this verse, which it is j)lain from their version our translators adopted, goes on the supposition that the Galatians, on embracing the gospel as taught them by Paul, had been exposed to severe per- secution, and that that persecution had proceeded from the Jews either directly or indirectly. We have no account of such per- secutions, though it is by no means improbable they did take place in Galatia, as we know they did in many other places ; and 1 It is well paraphrased by Bauer (Rhetor. Paulina, vol. ii. p. 70), " In- ceperitis Spiritu — niente, intelligentia, voluntate, jiidiciis et stiidiis, moribus aninii, efficientia Sancti Spiritus et evangelii, — persequi et absolvere vultis came, lege, ritibus externis ? idque a vobis recte, vere, sapienter, decore, salu- briter, apte, fieri creditis ?" " Even had your outset been carnal, your advance should have been spiritual ; but now, after starting from things spiritual, ye have ended your journey in carnal. To work miracles is spiritual, but cir- cumcision is carnal ; and ye have passed from miracles to circumcision, from apprehension of truth ye have fallen back to types, from gazing on the sun ye seek a candle, from strong meat ye run for milk." — Curysostom. Con- sistency is a great matter. Horace's rule is of very extensive application: — " ScTvetur ad imum Quails ab incepto processerit, et sibi constet." — De Art. Poet. v. 125, 126. 2 Gal. iii. 4. 112 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. III. 1-TV. 7. in no country or age can a consistent Christian profession he made witliout sacrifice and suffering;. What the apostle says, chap. V. 11, and vi. 12, gives plausibility to this supposition. In this case, tlie apostle's argument is this, — ' For your attachment to the truth of the gospel you willingly submitted to much perse- cution ; and are you willing that all this suffering should be lost ? Are you ready to acknowledge yourselves fools in submitting to it ? For be assured it is all lost if you go into the dogmas of these new teachers, which involve in them a virtual renuncia- tion of the gospel.' He adds, " If it be yet in vain." He is unwilling to think that, after all, they would abandon the truth. Tliey liad not yet fairly shifted their ground. He intimates to them that, if they stood firm, their afflictions would be amply compensated. In this case they would find that, " if they suffered wdth Christ, they would also reign with him ;" but if they renounced the truth, their past suffering would serve no good purpose. " How skilfully, how gently, yet how soundly, does he probe the dan- gerous wound I" It deserves, however, and perhaps requires, to be remarked, that the words admit another rendering. The word " suffered," in the original, is used generally of what a man experiences, whether of a pleasant or painful kind.^ And the idea the apostle meant to convey may be, — ' Have ye experienced so many things in vain ? if it yet be in vain ' — i. e. * Have ye seen so many miracles — have you enjoyed, in such variety and abun- dance, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, all attesting the truth of the gospel, — have you experienced all these in vain ? and if you in- deed adopt these opinions respecting the necessity of circum- cision, and other Mosaic observances, ye have experiei'iced them in vain.' This view of the passage has the recommendation of giving unity to the whole paragraph. In the 5th verse, the apostle puts Avhat is materially the same argument in a somewhat different form : " He therefore that 1 "TToo-xftv," says Kypke, " est vocabulum /xeo-oi/ ct gencratim notat re aliqiia adtici sive mala sive bona: inio liaud raro significat bencficiis adfici ctianisi voculre d, ayaOov, aiit similes non adjiciantur." Tlicrc is no instance of this use of the word in the New Testament, but it is not uneommon in the classics. — See Bos. Ellipses, p. 491, Glasg. 1813; and llombergk Par«?»-^'/, in loc. p. IV. § 3.] ARGUMENT FROM THEIR OWN EXPERIENCE. 113 ministeretli to you tlie Spirit, and worketli miracles among you,^ doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith 1 " The language is elliptical. When the ellipsis is filled up it runs, — ' He then that ministereth to you the Spirit, doth he minister it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith "? He that worketh miracles among you, doth he work miracles by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?' The point on which the right interpretation of this verse hinges, is the ascer- taining of the person whom the apostle here describes as " he that ministered to them the Spirit, and wrought miracles among them."^ The appellation has very generally been referred to God. In that case, the phrases, " by the works of the law," and " by the hearing of faith," must be referred to the Galatians, and the force of the interrogation be, ' When God gave you the Spirit, and wrought miracles among you — or in you, or by you — was it in consequence of your yielding obedience to the Mosaic law, or in consequence of your receiving the gospel V And the meaning is precisely the same as in the 2d verse. It not only prevents tautology, but seems to give a more natural meaning to the words — to understand " him that minis- tereth the Spirit, and worketh miracles " — of the apostle. The Holy Spirit, in his mh'aculous influences, was given by the " laying on of Paul's hands ;" and, in his sa\ang influences, was communicated through the instrmnentality of Paul's preaching. And no doubt, among them as well as among the Corinthians, were " the signs of an apostle " ^ distinctly exhibited — " the seal of apostleship " * plainly affixed. The ministry of the gospel is expressly termed " the ministration of the Spirit,"^ as well as the " ministration of i-ighteousness " — that is, of justification, — the ^ The appeals to those to whom the apostolic epistles were written as to miracles of which they had been the witnesses and the subjects, are utterly unaccoimtable but on the supposition that such miracles had indeed been wrought. If it had been otherwise, such appeals would have been, as Baxter says, " the likeliest way to turn them from Christianity with scorn," — the attempt to make that proq/" which was known by them to be false. 2 eTnxoprjyelv, a scenic word, borrowed from the theatre, ' to lead, instruct, furnish out a chorus for a public entertainment ; ' and hence generally ' to furnish, give.'— 2 Cor. ix. 10; x^P^y^^"^ 1 P^t. iv. 11; eTrixoprj-yiaj Eph. iv. 16. ^ TO crr)fie2a rov aTTocTTokov. — 2 Cor. xii. 12. * a(f)payh Trjs aTroo-roX^f. — 1 Cor. ix. 2. ^2 Cor. iii. 8, H 114 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. III. 1-IV. 7. ministry by which botli justification and sanctification are con- ferred on believers. " What a solemn thing is the work of the ministry ! The gospel is ' the ministration of the Spirit ;' and the business of them who pi'each it is to minister or convey the Spirit — the Spirit of God and his blessed Son. If this be not done, nothing is done at all ; and ' who is sufficient for these things?' "1 In this case the force of the apostle's question is, * Was the person by whose instrumentality ye received the Holy Ghost, and who confirmed his doctrine among you by miracles, an up- holder of the Mosaic law ? or was he a preacher of the simple gospel ? ' and it is in some good degree a new argument. ' Not only was the Spirit conferred on you as believers not as workers, but he who was the instrument in conveying this blessing to you was no teacher of Judaism, but an explicit preacher of " the truth as it is in Jesus." ' Besides, the question naturally enough suggested another, the answer to which Avas quite decisive on the point. ' Have any of those who are of " the works of the law " and not of " the hearing of faith," have any of the)n " ministered to you the Spirit, or wrought miracles among you?'" A very strong proof of the reality of the miracles Avrought in the primitive ages arises from these fearless appeals to them in the apostolic writings. It is a just and important remark of Mr Baxter, that " it was a great display of Divine wisdom to suffer such contentions to arise thus early in the church, as should make it necessary for the apostle to appeal to the miracles wrought before and upon those who were afterwards in some degree alienated from them, that future ages might be convinced by the certainty of these miracles as matters of fact beyond all possibility of contradiction."^ SECT. IV. — ARGUMENT FROM THE HISTORY OF THE JUSTIFICA- TION OF ABRAHAM. In the passage which folloAvs, the apostle brings forward an- other argument, borrowed from the histoiy of Abraham, the object of almost religious regard to his descendants. There could be no doubt that Abraham was a justified person, the object of ' Riccaltoun. ^ Baxter's Prac. Works, vol. ii. p. 118, fol. r. TV. § 4.] AEGUMENT FROM ABRAHAM'S JUSTIFICATION. 115 the peculiar Divine regard, " tlie friend of God." ^ He surely was in possession of all that is necessaiy to justification. Now, if it appeared that Abraham was justified, not by his circum- cision, but by his faith ; if it was not Abraham the circumcised, but Abraham the believer, that was justified — that single fact would go far to settle the point that circumcision was not neces- sary, and that faith was sufficient for justification. This is the argument the apostle states in the 6th verse, and is, indeed, the same which he urges with so much effect in the beginning of the fourth chaj)ter of the Epistle to the Romans. The Judaising teachers said, ' Ye cannot be the children of Abraham, the heirs of his blessings, except ye be circumcised.' The apostle says, ' Ye are the children of Abraham, and the heirs of his blessings, if ye be believers.' " Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." ^ These verses may either be considered as forming one sentence or two separate ones. In the first case, the construction is, ' Since Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righte- ousness, ye see that they wdio are of faith are the children of Abraham.' In the second case, the 6th verse must be considered as elliptical, and the ellipsis must be thus filled up, ' Your re- ceiving tokens of the Divine favour in consequence of your faith, and not of your obedience to the law, is no departure from God's ordinary mode of procedure. It was so from the beginning. The scripture account of Abraham's justification exactly corres- ponds with your experience. " Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." ' This is a quotation from Genesis xv. 6, — "And he believed in the Lord ; and he accounted it to him for righteousness." The phrases, " Abraham believed God,"^ and " Abraham believed in God,"* are precisely synonymous, the latter being merely a Hebraism.^ The common doctrine on this subject — that they ^ Tsa, xli. 8. ^ Gal. iii. 6, 7. " ''Edfi.Kvva-e Se Kal ori tov vofiov Tvpecr^vTtpa rj Tricrri?, (Lye npo tov i/o/xov tov 'Aj3paa/x avTT) etiKaicoae." — TheopiiyLACT. eVt'oTeucre tS) Geco. fTricTTevcre ev too 0ew. ' Drusius has set this in a very satisfactory point of view : " Non assentior lis qni vohint aliud esse Deo rrcilere et in Deum, vel ob hoc quod Ebrsei, 11(3 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. III. 1-IV. 7. express different ideas, the former simple belief, the latter belief and such emotions as accompany or rise out of it — seems to have originated with Augustine, who certainly was not overburdened witii Hebrew or Greek learning. The declaration, " Abraham believed God," is just equivalent to, ' Abraham counted time what God said to him, because God said it.'^ quorum phrasis est, quae alias migrat leges Latini sernionis hoc discrimen non agnoscunt : dicunt enim credere Deo et in Deum indiHerenter et pro eodem. lllud quoque vanum est, quod tamen primi nominis Theologi annotarunt, non recto dici credo in hominibus pro illo credo hominibns. Etenim sacra scripta frequenter ita Inquuntur, ut Exod. xiv. 31, ' Credi- derunt in Deum et in ^losen servum ejus;' et Job. xv. 15, ' Eccc in sanctos suos non credet;' et 1 fSam. xxvii. 12, ' Et credidit Achis in David;' et 2 Par, XX. 20, ' Credite in prophetas et feliciter agite.' In qualuor locis in quibus utuntur prfej'ositione cum tamen semio sit de hominibus. His addi poterit ex Jer. xii. G. Xolo credere in eos et quod in translatione Graeca, Miclia vii. 5, ' Nolite credere amicis' — eV (plXois. Ac ne illud quidem veruni est, aliud esse credere verbis Domini et in verba Domini, cum certum sit Davidem ha;c duo non distingucre. Nam Psalmo cvi. quod jirius dixerat crediderunt in verba ipsins, paulo post addit credidernnt verbis ipsius, ver. 12, 24. Quid auteni credere in ecc/es/arH, idemne est quod credere ecclcsiam? Non quidem idem est, sed in idem rccidit ; vel potius idem est. Nam Ebra^i sa-'pius ita loquuntur, Gra;ci etiam. Dicunt enim credere in vitam eternam, credere in resurrectione mortuorum, pro illis credere vitam eternam, credere resurrectioneni mortuorum. IIa;c lingua; Ilebraica? intelligentibus et re non nomine theologis probari capio : ca.'teri sive probant sive improbant ov (ppovrts 'imTOKXfi^T]." — Drusii Observatt. Sacc. lib. iii. cap. i. ' Joan xiv. 1. — " Si crcditis in cum, creditis ei : non autem continuo qui credit ci, credit in cum, nam et da^mones crcdebant ei, et non credebant in eum. Rursus etiam in apostolis ipsis possunius diccre : Crcdinuis Daulo et non crcdimus in Paulum ; credimus Pctro, sod non credimus in Potrum. (iuid est ergo credere in eum ? Credendo amare, credendo diligcre, crodendo in eum ire et ejus membris incorporari." — Aigistin. " It is probable that somewhat of the obscurity whicli has attached to faith, or belief, has taken its rise from introducing in the translation of the Scriptures a Hebrew idiom, foreign to the language in which the translation has been made. Many active verbs in Hebrew take a preposition before their object, while the corresponding verbs in Latin and English admit of no preposition. Take the following examples: — Gen. xxxii. 1; Isa. xl. 12; 1. 10; Jer. xi. 4-7; vi. .30; iii. 16; viii. .G. A similar regimen is used with the Hebrew verb translated to believe, whicli is often construed with the preposition signifying in before its object, whether that object be a divine jierson, a human person, or words spoken by any person. — Gen. xv. G; Dcut. i. 32; Exod. xix. 9; Psal. cvi. 12: 2 Chron. xx. 20. Our Engli.sh translators, following the Hebrew idiom, as tlie LXX and the inspired writers of the Mew Testament had done in some instances, wrote ' to believe on,' or ' to r. lY. § 4.] ARGUMENT FROM ABRAHAM'S JUSTIFICATIOiSr. 117 The result of Abraham's faith is stated in the words that fol- low, " and it was counted to him for righteousness." These words have received two very different interpretations. One class of interpreters, more distinguished for orthodox theology than accurate exegesis, have held that what was imputed to Abraham was not the act of faith — the fact tliat he believed — but the object of fiith, which they say was either Christ himself or tlie sui'ety-righteousness of Christ, that was reckoned to his account as his righteousness on believing ; and thus he was justi- fied. Now, we do not deny that this is substantially a just account of the way in which Abraham was justified, though ex- pressed in a very^ artificial and non-natural way. Nor do we deny, that what is properly the name of a mental act is often used to designate the object of that act. Faith is often equivalent to ' what is believed,' and hope equivalent to ' what is hoped for.' But w^e do deny that this is the true exegesis of these words. The object of Abraham's faith was the truth he be- believe in,' when applied to any of the persons of the Holy Trinity, but dropped the preposition in all other cases. The use of this construction, foreign to the English as well as to the [Greek and] Latin idiom, might naturally give rise to an opinion, that such an unusual expression must have been intended to convey a sense different from the simple meaning of the word believe when used without a preposition. The foregoing quotations, especially the last, may serve to show that such a distinction is not author- ised by the original Scriptures, and that the translators used a freedom hardly consistent with fidelity, if they intentionally retained the Hebrew preposition in their translation of some passages, while they dropped it in others." — This note is attached to an excellent essay on " Faith," in the "Rehgious IMonitor" for Jan. 1808, and in the " Missionary Magazine" for March of the same year, with the signature A. S. D. ; the initials, as I have learned on undoubted authority, of Dr Alexander Stewart, then of Dingwall, formerly of Moulin, and afterwards of the Canongate, Edinburgh. So highly do I value these remarks, that some years ago I reprinted them with a few observations on Christian hope, under the title of " Hints on Christian Faith and Hope." " The Scripture notion of faith agrees with the common notion of faith and belief among men — a persuasion of a thing upon testimony ; but that faith whereby we believe the gospel has been very much darkened by the many things that have been said in the description of it, while that which is most properly faith has been either shut up in a dark corner of the description, or almost excluded from it as a thing presupposed to faith, and not that very faith itself whereby we are justified and saved ; and some have so defined faith as to take into its own nature the whole of gospel obedience." — John Glas, Test, of the King of Martyrs, p. 209. 118 EriSTLE TO Tllli GALATIANS. [CIIAI*. HI. 1-lV. 7. lievecl, and surely tliat could not be reckoned to him as his righteousness. Another class, much worse theologians and somewhat better philologists, have insisted that the words express this sentiment, ' Abraham's faith was reckoned to him instead of" righteousness — or a full obedience to the law — and on account of it he was jus- tified.' This is a doctrine altogether subversive of the apostle's doctrine of justification, and the words, rightly interpreted, do not give any support to it. There can be no reasonable doubt that "his faith" ^ is the nominative to "was reckoned."^ But then, what is the meaning of that phrase ? In the Hebrew idiom, for an action, tjuality, privilege, to be reckoned to a person, is just equivalent to that person being reckoned to liave done that action, to possess that quality, or to enjoy that privilege. For faith to be reckoned or imputed to Abraham is, then, just equivalent to, ' Abraham was reckoned (by God) a believer, and he was so ' reckoned, because he was really a believer — God always reckon- ing men and things to be what they are. The phrase, "for righteousness,"" hangs equally by the two clauses, "Abraham be- lieved God," and " his faith was reckoned to him." God reckonecl him a believer. "Kighteousness"'' is used in the sense in which tiie apostle ordinarily employs it, as equivalent to 'justification.' " For" rather " unto righteousness"^ is equivalent to " unto justification," or, ' so that he was — so that he was thus justi- fied.' The phrase is used in the same sense as in l\om. x. 10, "with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;" and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."^ Abraham does not obey — he does not submit to circumcision, he believes, " unto justification;'"* and not obedience or circumcision, but faith, is reckoned to him " unto justification."^ He is not con- sidered in this matter by God as an obedient, or a circum- cised man, but as a believing man. Abraham believed God : God reckoned Abraham a believer, and as a believer he was justified by God. The exact place of faith in the Divine method of justification, as not in any degree the ground, but the sole means of restoration to the Divine favour, is not fixed ' niiTTLi twTuii. fXuyiadr). •' fls 8iK(uoavvt)f. * 8lKaiO(TVVIj. * (IS htKMIKTVVTJV. tls SlKUlOlTVI"]!'. ' fli (T<,)Ttjj)iiti>. ** (Is SiKaioavvrji', '■' ds SiKawavi'tiv, p. IV. § 4.] ARGUMENT PROM ABRAHAM'S JUSTIFICATION. 119 by this passage. It merely shows, what the apostle's argument required, that Abraham was justified, not by works, but by faith — not by obeying the law, but believing the promise — not as a worker, but as a believer. The conclusion the apostle wishes the Galatians to draw from this fact is, that believers not luoy^hers are the imitators of Abra- ham's conduct and the heirs of Abraham's privileges. " Know ye, therefore, that they who are of faith are the children of Abraham."' "They who are of faith "^ is just equivalent to * they wdio believe' ^ in opposition to them who are " of the law," or " of the works of the law." " They who are of faith" are plainly those who are expecting justification by faith and not by works ; who are not working that they may obtain the favour of God as a meritorious reward, but who are believing that " God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them ;"^ and that " the gift of God is eter- nal life tlu'ough Jesus Christ our Lord ;"® and consequently are looking for it as a gratuitous benefit. These persons, and these persons alone, appear, from this account of Abraham's justifica- tion, to be entitled to the honourable appellation of "his chiklren." To be the children of a person in a figurative sense, is equi- valent to, * to resemble him, and to be involved in his fate, good or bad.' The idea is, similarity both in character and circum- stances. To be " the children of God," is to be like God ; and also, as the apostle states it to be, " heirs of God." To be " the children of Abraham," is here to resemble Abraham, to imi- tate his conduct, and to share in his blessedness.^ It is as if the apostle had said, 'These Judaising teachers talk much of the glory and advantage of being children of Abraham, and insist that it is by cii"cumcision that men attain to this dignity and happiness. But how ftir is this fi'om the truth 1 Abraham's highest distinction was, that he was a justified person, " a friend of God;" and this distinction he attained not by circumcision, but by faith. It follows, then, that they who believe like Abra- ham, and are like Abraham justified through believing, they — ^ The scope of the passage shows that TivmaKere is not the hidicative, but the imperative. Paid does not presuppose that the Galatians acknowledged this principle; he is exerting himself to convince them of it. ^ oi fK TTicTTecos. ol TTtaTevovTes. * 2 Cor. v. 19. ^ Rom. vi. 23. " John viii. 39. 1 John ii. 29; iii. 1, 8, 9. 120 EPISTLE TO THE GALATI.VNS. [CIIAP. III. 1-IV. 7. they alone — are liis true spiritual descendants. Though a man should l)e "a Hebrew of the Hebrews, circumcised the eighth day, and touching the righteousness that is in the law, blame- less,"^ if he is not a believer, he is not spiritually a child of Abraham. And if a man be but a believer, be he Jew or Gentile, he is spiritually a child of Abraham. And this fact, that all who believe, whether they were descendants of Abraham or not, were to be made partakers of his blessedness, was dis- tinctly enough taught in the ancient oracles given to Abraham.' This is what the apostle states in the 8th verse. SECT. V. — ARGUMENT FROM THE PROMISE TO ABRAHAM. " And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed." ^ The language is somewhat peculiar, but the meaning is not obscure. That is ascribed to the Scripture which properly re- fers to God in that transaction which the passage of Scripture quoted describes. Similar modes of expression are to be found in other parts of the New Testament.^ The meaning plainly is, ' God, who foresaw that in a future period many of the Gentiles were to be received into his favour and treated like his children on their believing the revelation of mercy through his Son, gave an intimation of his design to Abraham in the promise which He made to him.' The Syriac version reads, — "And God knowing before hand." The phrase, "preached the gospel beforehand," in consequence of the very definite idea we generally attach to the word " gospel" and the technical sense in which we use the word ^^ preach" does not, I am persuaded, convey distinctly the apostle's idea to most English readers. It is just equivalent to, * made known these good tidings to Abraham long before the period when they were to be realised.'^ Tyndale's version here, as in many other passages, is better than the authorised transla- tion,— " showed beforehand glad tidings-»to Abraham." And ' Phil. iii. 5, 0. - Gal. iii. H. * Mark xv. 28. John vii. 38. 42. Koni. iv. 3; ix. 17. * The word '\s used in tlic snine general sense as when it is employed by Philo-Judrcus, (!<• ( >jnf'. ^f^^u(l. >; fiiv tt/jo)/*/ Tr/iofiinyyfXt'tfrnt fi{\\oina tjXioi' (n'ifT)(fii/, — '■ Tlio (hiwn intimates beforehand the coniiiij;; of the rising sun."' r. IV. § 6.] ARGUMENT FROM THE PROMISE TO ABRAHAM. 121 this intimation was given in these words, — "In tliee shall all nations be blessed."^ The word translated "nations," is the same as that rendered " the heathen " in the beginning of the verse. The same word shonld have been retained to mark more clearly the point of the apostle's argument. Bnt it may be said. What intimation is there in these words of God's purpose to "justify the Gentiles by faith"? Tliis will appear if we consider that the particle translated " in" signifies, in connection icith, along loith, in the same manner as? The de- claration of the oracle, in this way of viewing it, is that, ' all the nations,' i. e. that multitudes of all Gentile nations, ' shall be blessed along with Abraham.' " By ' the nations ' in this promise we cannot understand all and every one in the nations ; nor can we consider them as such, political bodies of men in the earth ; but according to the Nev^^ Testament explication, " it is a great multitude of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues."^ This will be evident if we consider that the blessed- ness spoken of in this promise, is spiritual and eternal, and must be acknowledged so to be by those who take the New Testament account of it.* It is manifest no nation of this world can, in a national capacity, be the subject of justification by faith, and of the promise of the Spirit, which we receive through faith ; and it is as certain that every person in the nations of the world is not to partake of this blessedness. What remains, therefore, but that it should be those who are redeemed b}" Christ out of every nation ? And thus we find out the intent of the writings of the prophets about the nations. For these are enlargements upon this promise to Abraham."^ The promise is fulfilled in God's " visiting the Gentiles to take out of them a people for his 1 Gen. xii. 3; xviii. 18; xxii. IS. See also Gen. xxvi. 4; xxviii. 14. The words are not an exact quotation of any one of these passages, — eVevX, iv (Toi, Gen. xii. 3, tt. t. e. on is not a part of the quotation ; it marks the words quoted, as 1 John iv. 20 ; Rom. viii. 36 ; jNIatth. ii. 23 ; v. 31 ; vii. 23, etc. — See Buttmann, § 149. The Hebrew '3 is used in the same way, Gen. xxix. 33 ; Josh. ii. 24. ^ This is a common signification of the Hebrew part. =, of which eV is here the translation. — Xumb. xx. 20 ; 1 Kings x. 2 ; Jer. xi. 9; Psal. xcix. 6. — Noldii. Concordant. 2, p. 10. 3 Rev. vii. 9. * Gal. iii. 8, 9, 14. * Glas's " Testimony of the King of Martyrs," chap. ii. sect. i. pp. 74-7(5, 12mo ed. 1777. 122 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [ciIAP. HI. 1-IV. 7. name." ^ Thus, all nations shall be blessed along with Abraham, in connection with Abraham, members of the same body, pos- sessed of the same privileges, made happy in the same way as he was made happy. Now, how was he blessed ? ' To be blessed ' and ' to be justi- fied,' seem to be here used as s\Tionymous, and it is not w^onder- ful they should ; for, how can he be blessed who is condemned of God ? and how can he be otherwise than blessed who is the object of God's favour ?" In the declaration, then, that with him all nations should be blessed, God beforehand gave an intimation to Abraham that it was his design to justify Gentiles by believ- ing ; in other words, to make them blessed in the same way in which he had been made blessed. The conclusion he states in the 9th verse is obviously a well founded one. " So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.'"* 'It is plain, then,' as if the apostle had said, ' that they who are justified by beUeving are justified in the way Abraham was.'* They that believe are blessed along with, in the same way as, believing Abraham. Abraham believed and was justified, and thus became blessed. They also believe and are justified, and thus become blessed. And they who are seeking for justification by circumcision, or in any other way than by faith, by believing, are seeking after it in a way totally different from that in which Abraham obtained it, and that in which God had foretold it was to be extended to the Gentiles. Having thus showed that justification is by faith, or through believing, the apostle goes on to show that it is not — that it can- not be — by the works of the law ; that to expect to secm*e the Divine favour as a merited reward by obedience to the requisi- tions of the iSIosaic law, was to indulge an expectation equally unreasonable and unscriptural. The unreasonableness and ab- surdity of the expectation are illustrated in the 10th verse ; the unscripturalness of it is illustrated in the 11th and 12th ' Acts XV. 14. ' ■ Psal. xxxii. 1-5. ^ TTt'oTToy, equivalent to nKTTevoap.— Jolm xx. 27 ; Col. i. 2. * avv Tco iTKTToy ^\(ipaafx, — /. e. aurntp o ttkttos 'A/3/jfuj/x. wcTTrep, because avp. The lending idea is communion, and similarity as its result, — ' blessed alonf; with him, on the same ground, in the same way. and theretbre like him.'— .Sec Winer, § 52 ((i). r. IV. § U.] JUSTIFICATION BY THE LAW IMPOSSIBLE. 123 verses. Let us examine these illustrations somewhat more minutely. SECT. VI. — JUSTIFICATION BY THE LAW IN THE NATURE OF THINGS IMPOSSIBLE. " For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse ;^ for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." 2 This is a new paragraph containing a new argument. The particle translated /br^ here, and in many other places, does not denote that -wdiat follows is a reason for what has been just stated, but merely marks transition, and is equivalent to, — • * Further, moreover.' " They who are of the works of the law," is a phrase denoting, they who are seeking for justification, who are expecting to obtain the Divine favour, by their obedience to the law, who are " following after the law of righteousness not by faith, but, as it were, by the works of the law,"* just as "they who are of faith," in the preceding verse, denotes them who " through the faith of the truth as it is in Jesus," are expecting to be treated as objects of the Divine favour, " freely by God's grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" — who believe in Christ Jesus fhat they niay be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law.^ ' Now,' says the apostle, ' all persons of this description who are expecting justification, are indulging a most unfounded ex- pectation ; for they are already under the curse of that law, by obedience to which they are flattering themselves that they shall obtain the Divine favour. They are already condemned by the law ; and surely the same law that condemns cannot justify.' That all who were seeking justification by their obedience to the law, were already condemned by that law, or, in other words, were " under its curse," the apostle makes evident by quoting the words in which the cm'se of the law is couched. It is 1 nV'sp. — Gen. xlvii. 12. i-ra-^, — Mai. ii. 2. ^ Gal. iii. 10. ^ yap. * 8ia)K0VT€s els vufxov dLKaiuavpqs ovk eV TTia-Tfois, dXK' ws e^ epyav vofiov. — Roni. ix. 31, 32. ^ (Is XpiCTTov ^IrjCTovv eniCTTevaaai, lua 8iKaiw6a>(Ti fK ni(TTf(os Xpiarov Kai. oiiK i^ f'pycop vopov. — Gal. il. 16. 124 EPISTLE TO TIIK GALATIANS. [CHAP. III. 1-lV. 7. written, " Cursed is every one tliat continuetli not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." The quotation is made from Deut. xxvii. 26/ where we have a com- mand, that tlie Israelites, on their getting possession of the promised land, were to inscribe the law on stone ; and that, on this being done, one set of priests should pronounce the blessings which should descend on the obedient, and another the curses which should fall on the disobedient. The words quoted are the conclusion of the curses which were to be pronounced, and contain, as it were, the sum and substance of them all. It is a declaration, that whosoever violated any one of the precepts of the Mosaic law exposed himself to the displeasure of God, and to punishment, as the expression of this displeasui'e. The apostle's version, though slightly different fi*om that given by our transilators, accurately exhibits the meaning of the original words. They literally are, — " Cursed is he who maketh not to stand the words of this law to do them." Pie who obeys the precepts makes them to stand ; he who disobeys them does what lies in his power to overturn them. This argument, like many others employed by the ajiostle, is elliptical in its statement ; but the ellipsis is easily supplied. In its comi)leted form it would run thus, — ' None of those who are seeldng for justification by the law, uniformly and per- fectly obey all its precepts ; but it denounces a curse on all who do not thus obey its precepts. It follows of course, then, that they are " under its curse ;" in other words, they are in a state of condcnniation — the objects of the judicial displeasure of God. It is absurdity, it is madness, thus to seek for justification from that which, to persons in their circumstances, is and must be the source of condemnation. To expect to be Avarmed by the keen northern blast, or to have our thirst quenched by a draught of liquid fire, were not more, Avere not so, incongruous. This were merely to expect that a positive appointment of God should ' nas et Traai non sunt in Ilebrreo sed in Saniaritano. Tlie apostle's words are ncitlicr an exact translation of the Hebrew text nor an exact quo- tation from the LXX. Jerome's remark is botli just and important: — " Hoc autein in omnibus paMic testimoniis qua* dc vetcribus libris in N. T. assumpta sunt, observare debemus (juod iiiemoria' crediderint evangclistn? vel apostoli et tantum sensu explicato ssepe ordinem comnnitaverint, nonnunquam vel dcfraxcrint verba vel iiddiderinl." — Com. in lor. r. IV. § 7.] JUSTIFICATIOX BY LAAV UNSCRIPTURAL. 125 be altered, which is not in the nature of things impossible — which, in particular cases, has actually taken place. That were to expect a revolution to take place in the moral nature of Him " with whom there is no variableness or shadow of turning.'" The remark made by the apostle has a direct reference to those who were expecting justification by obedience to the Mosaic law ; but it is equally applicable to all who, by their own obedience to any law, are expecting to stand approved before God. It is true of that law under which all intelligent creatures are placed, as w^ell as of the Mosaic law, that every violation of it exposes to the Divine displeasure ; and that every man, having violated this law, is a proper object of the Divine judicial displeasure, and cannot obtain the Divine favour by obedience to a law which already condemns him to punishment. We find the argument stated in this general form in the Epistle to the Romans, chap. iv. 15, — "Because" — or rather, 'more- over'— " the law worketh wrath : for where no law is, there is no transgression." To com2:)lete the argument, you must supply the implied cause, — ' But where there is law, with a being like fallen man there is transgression, and therefore " wrath," or punishment.' So much for the apostle's illustration of the unreasonableness of the expectation of justification by the law : it is contrary to the nature of things. Let us now examine his illustration of its unscri2)tU7'alness. This is contained in the two following verses. . SECT. VII. — JUSTIFICATION BY LAW INCONSISTENT WITH SCRIPTURE. " But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident : for, ' The just shall live by faith.' And the law is not of faith : but, ' The man that doeth them shall live in them.' " ^ That no man can be justified by the law, has already been made evident from the nature of the thing. The proposition is equally clearly proved by the declaration of God. He has stated distinctly the way in which men become just in his sight, which is by believing. To be justified by the law is, however, quite another thing from being justified through believing ; and, of 1 Gal. iii. 11, 12. 12G EriSTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. III. 1-IV. 7. course, it cannot bo the way of justification. This is, I appre- hend, the force of the argument couched in these words. The apostle's reasoning appears disjointed and inconclusive in our version, in consequence, I apprehend, of our translators mistaking the meaning of the quotation on which the apostle grounds his argument. The quotation is made from Habakkuk ii. 4.^ It is an important principle, that the verbal adjective is sometimes employed for the participle." It is but right to state, that the Hebrew words in the prophet, and the Greek words in the apostle, taken by themselves, admit of the render- ing given them by our translators, and convey an important truth — that it is by the continued belief of the tnith that the new life of the Christian is sustained ; or, in other words, that he continues good and happy, and grows better and happier. This is the truth stated by the apostle above, in the end of the pre- ceding chapter, — " The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God." But we must also state, that the words admit of another rendering, and that the object of the prophet in primarily using them, and of the apostle in quoting them, both here and elsewhere, requires that other rendering, — " The just by faith shall live." ' The man who is the object of God's fjivourable regard in consequence of his faith, that man shall live, or be happy.' ^ In the Book of the Prophet Habakkuk, the ])i'ophct is required to write a prophetic vision, and to " make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it." Jehovah declares that this oracle would certainly in due time be fulfilled ; and then it is added, " Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him." He is obviously speaking of a promise, and he says, ' Where there is a ])r()ud rising of mind, distrusting the fulfilment of the Divine promises, there the mind is not right — not in the state which is well-pleasing to God ; but the person who is "just," or righteous, and of course Avcll-plcasing to God " on account of ^ On this quotation, vide Storr, Opnsc. vol. i. p. 222 ; Dathe, in loco ; Scliniirrcr, Diss. Philol. Crit. p. ini): Knapp. Script. Var. Arp. • 6 ^iKfitns, equivalent to o 8iK(tto)0(ii. This usape is warranted by Rom. ii. 1.3. ' The purpose of the apostle in quoting; this passap^e, hotli here and in Rnin. i. 17, is to prove, not tliat the justified man sliall live, hut that it is the believer who is the justified man, — to confirm, as Winer remarks, the sentiment, biKmnavvr) Ofoii tK 7ria-Tfrehend we have an instance of this in the passage to the interpretation of which we are now to proceed. It seems a fair conclusion from the apostle's statement, that not merely all who are of the works of the law, i. e. who are seeking for justification by obedience to its requisitions, but that all \a ho are under it, are condemned ; and that, of course, the justification of Jews is an impracticable thing. It was then a natural question on the jiart of the Galatians, ' If this be the true statement of the case, how are Jews condemned by the law to obtain the Divine favovu'? Is the thing possible ? and if it be so, how is it brought about V To these questions the 13th and 14th verses contain a satisfoctory answer. " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us : for it is written. Cursed is every one that hanrrcth on a tree : that the blessinpnTa k t\0(\'.'." — Anthj ii. xv. '1, r. IV. § 9.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELY KATIFIED. 147 in tlie next verse. " For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise : but God gave it to Abraham by promise." ' " The inheritance"^ here is, I apprehend, the same thing as the blessing of Abraham, which, we have seen, is justification — the being treated by God as righteous ; or, what is necessarily connected with, indeed implied in, it — the heavenly and spiritual blessings of which the possession of Canaan is the type. The "covenant,"^ "the promise,"* and "the inheritance,"^ all refer to substantially the same thing ; but it would be absurd to say these three words have the same meaning. The " covenant " refers to the Divine arrangement as to confemng on men the blessings of the Divine favour, " the promise " is the revelation of this in the form of a promise, and " the inheritance " is this as enjoyed by men. It is termed " the inheritance," because it is as the spiritual descendants of Abraham, " the father of the faithful," that we come to enjoy it. Now, if the enjoyment of this inheritance be suspended on our obedience to the law of Moses, " it is no more of promise," i. e. it is no more a free donation in fulfilment of a free promise. But this is the char- acter which belongs to the blessing as originally promised to Abraham. " God gave it to Abraham by promise," i. e. ' God freely promised it to Abraham ;' or, ' God in promising it, acted from free favour.' He meant to give a favom', a free favour ; not to make a bargain, however favourable. Abraham's justifica- tion was not suspended on his circumcision ; and the justification of the Gentiles was to be like Abraham's.^ This, then, is the sum of the apostle's argument, ' A ratified, unrepealed constitution cannot be set aside by a subsequent constitution. The plan of justification by believing was a rati- fied and um-epealed constitution. The law was a constitution posterior to this by a long term of years. If the observance of the law were constituted the procm'ing cause or necessary means of justification, such a constitution would necessarily annul the covenant before ratified, and render the promise of none effect. It follows, of course, that the law was appointed for no such purpose. Whatever end it might serve, it could not serve this end ; it could never be appointed to serve this end. 1 Gal. iii. 18. * '} KXr^popofxia. * 8ia67]Kt]. * eVa-yyeXia. " liKrjpovoixia. " This is, in substance, the same argnment as that stated, Rom. iv. 13, 14. 148 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. III. l-H . T. 2. Design^ and Mode of Giving of the Law. This naturally introduces the incjuiiy, What then was its design ? This is the question which, in the next paragraph, the apostle considers ; and in its discussion he makes it evident, that the Mosaic law, so far from being opposed to the covenant or aiTangement revealed to Abraham, was a necessary means of securing the accomplishment of its pro%isions. Let us look at the passage with that closeness of attention which it at once re- quires and deserves. " AVherefore then serveth the law ? ^ It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made ; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator." ^ There can be no reasonable doubt as to the meaning of the term " f/ie laiv"^ here. It is ob\aously the Mosaic institution viewed as a whole. It is neither what has been termed the moral law, nor the ceremonial law, nor the judicial law, wdiich theolomans have been accustomed to treat of as three distinct codes ; but it is the whole arrangement or covenant under which the people of Israel were placed at Sinai. The apostle has showed that that law could not be the means of justification, and that it was never intended for this pm'pose. Now, if it cannot serve this puryiose, Avhat purpose does it serve?* I do not think we are to consider the question as an inquiry into the designs and uses of the Mosaic law generally', but as to its design and use in reference to the arrangement that justifica- tion was to be by faith through the Messiah ; and especially, that justification by faith through the Messiah was to be ex- tended to the Gentiles. If this is not kept in view, the apostle's 1 Some interpreters put the interrogative point before 6 vofios — ri ovt> ; — 6 POfJ-OS K. T. X. ^ Gal. iii. 19. ^ o vofios. * Ti = 8ia TL ; or (Is rl ; " Not only the foolish and ignorant people, but they also who seem in their own conceits to be very wise, do argue after this sort, — ' If the law do not justify, then it is vain. ' Yet it is not therefore true. This consequence is nothing worth, — * Money doth not justify, there- fore it is unprofitable;' 'the eyes do not justif)-, therefore tliey may be plucked out;' 'the hands cannot justify, therefore they may be cut off.' Neither is this, 'The law doth not justify, therefore it is unprofitable.'" — " Let the law mind its own work, and leave justification to grace, the promise, and faith." — Luther. p. IV. § 9.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELY RATIFIED. 149 account may appear defective, while in reality it is complete, so far as his object required. The answer is, "It was added because of transgressions." The law was added or appended.^ It was a separate subordi- nate institution, not an alteration of or addition to the original arrangement. Now, in wdiat way was it added ? The question is easily answered. The revelation of justification by believing,^ which was substantially the same revelation that was made to our first parents after the fall, was given to Abraham, and was to be preserved by his descendants. This was a sacred deposit which they were to preserve pure and entire, till the great De- liverer, to whom it referred, should make his appearance. To this revelation, termed " the promise," committed to the Israelites, " the law " was added or appended. God, who gave the promise to Abraham, thought fit, at least four hundred and thirty years after, to impose the law on his posterity. For what reason was it imposed ? It was, " because of trans- gressions." ^ This passage has very generally been considered as parallel with the declaration of the apostle, — " Moreover, the law entered that the offence might abound,"^ and has been very variously interpreted. The ordinary interpretation is very well given by Barnes. " The meaning is, that the law was given to show the true natm'e of transgressions, or to show^ what was sin. It was not to reveal a way of justification, but it was to disclose the true nature of sin ; to deter men ft-om committing it ; to de- clare its penalty ; to convince men of it, and thus to be ' ancil- lary ' to, and preparatory to, the work of redemption through the Kedeemer. This is the true account of the law of God as given to apostate man, and this use of the law still exists."^ It is strange that so acute an interpreter did not see that the clause, " till the seed should come," is quite inconsistent wdth this exegesis. ^ Trpoa-eTedrj, not dieraxdrj. " rj eTrayyeXia. ^ X^piv, from the full phrase fls X'^P'-^ — napa^daeav, = ufiapriav — apap- TTjpaTdtv. This statement puts us in mind of the words of the Greek poet . " ' Q, Tvas TTOvqpbv iariv dvOpconov (pvais To (jvvokovi ov yap av ttot e8ei]6rj vopov. * Rom. V. 20. ^ Barnes, in loc. Pareus, in the manner of his age, says that the law was given X'^P"' Trapa^daeoiv, " (1) ad transgressiones manifestandas ; (2) ad transgressiones cohibendas ; (3) ad transgressiones puniendas ; (4) ad trans- gressiones augendas et irritandas." 150 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [cUAT. III. 1-IV. 7. If " the law," refen*ed to could do all this, " vvhy," as Riccaltoun shrewdly remarks, " why was it limited to the time that the Seed should come who had the promised blessing to bestow, as the apostle plainly says it was ?" Without noticing any more of the different ways in which these words have been ex]>lained, I shall state as clearly and briefly as I can Avhat appears to me to be the apostle's meaning. " The transgi'essions," on account of which the law was added refer, I ajiprehend, to the criminal conduct of the Israelites, which rendered the introduction of such a system as the law necessary in order to the attainment of the great object of the covenant about Christ, and justification by faith through him. This arrangement was first made known in the first promise, but from the prevalence of human depravity, it seems to have been in the course of ages almost entirely forgotten. " All flesh cor- rupted its way on the earth."' The deluge swept away the whole inhabitants of the ancient world, with the exception of one family, among whom the true religion Avas preserved. In the course of no very long period, the great body of their descen- dants, the inhabitants of the new woi'kl, became idolaters. To prevent the utter extinction from among mankind of the know- ledge of God and the way of obtaining his favour, Abraham was called, and a plainer revelation made to him of the Divine pur- poses of mercy, and his descendants by Isaac and Jacob chosen as the depositaries of this revelation, till He should come to whom the revelation chiefly referred. In consequence of the descen- dants of Jacob coming down into Egypt, they gradually con- tracted a fondness for Egyptian superstitions, and were fast relapsing into a state of idolatry, which nmst soon have termin- ated in their beinn; lost amoni^ the nations, and the revelation with which they were entrusted being first corrupted and then forgotten, when God raised up Moses as their deliverer, brought them out of Egypt, and placed them under that very peculiar order of things, which we commonly term the Mosaic law — an order of things admirably ada])ted to preserve them a distinct and peculiar people — and by doing so, to preserve the revelation of mercy through the Messiah, of which they were the de- positaries, and to prepare abundant and satisfactory stores (tf ' fi'cn vi. 12. r. IV. § 9. J JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELY RATIFIED. 151 evidence and illustration when the great Deliverer appeared — evidence that he was indeed the person to whom the hopes of mankind had from the beginning been directed, and illustration rendering in some measure level to human apprehension what otherwise would have been unintelligible.^ Every person acquainted with the principles of depraved human nature, and with the history of the Jews at and subse- quent to their deliverance from Egypt, will see that their " transgressions " rendered some such arrangement as the Mosaic law absolutely necessary, on the supposition that the Messiah was not to appear for a course of ages, and that the revelation of salvation through him was to be preserved in the world by means of the Jewish people. We are not so much, if at all, to consider the Mosaic law as a punishment for the transgressions of the descendants of Abraham. We are rather to consider it as the means which their transgressions rendered necessary in order to secure the object of their being chosen to be God's peculiar people. To be preserved from being involved in the ignorance, and idolatry, and vice in which the surrounding nations were sunk, was a blessing, at whatever expense it might be gained. At the same time, had it not been for the transgressions of the Israelites, the more spiritual and less burdensome order of things under which Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob were placed, might have been continued, and the law as a distinct order of things never have existed because never needed. The law was for this reason added, " till the seed should come to whom the promise was made." ^ I have already stated my reasons for understanding " the seed" here of the Messiah, and of course rendering the words " till the seed should come, in reference to whom the promise was made." The promise re- ferred to is, " in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed" — a promise made not to the Messiah, but in reference to the Messiah.^ This view of the law being rendered, by the trans- gressions of the Israelites, necessary to preserve them a separate people, and to gain the ends connected with this till the coming of the Messiah, when the necessity of this order of things should 1 Theophylact has given the meaning very well: " Xva avri ;^aAti/o{; «»/ ToXs lov8aiuis- KaiXvdov irapaj3aii>fiv rivas yovv tS>v ivTo\a>v, (I fJ-fj Koi ndaa^. axpi-s ov, = mrre dianeveiv "Xpt- * Storr very Avell renders it, " Ad queni promissio spcctabat." 152 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. III. 1-IV. 7. cease, exactly corresponds with what the apostle afterwards says of the Israclitish people, as " kept " imprisoned, confined, " shut up"' by the law." 2 The apostle adds that this law was " ordained ^ by angels." The word translated " ordain," means to arrange, to appoint, to establish. The law was ordained or estabhshed by Jehovah himself as its author. All its particular injunctions are intro- duced with, " And the Lord spoke to Moses." But while it was ordained by God as its author, it was ordained through the instrumentality of angels. Michaelis'* supposes the reference to be to winds and flashes of lightning, which he, following a mis- talven exegesis, considers as termed " angels " in Psalm civ. 4. There can be no reasonable doubt that the reference there and here is to angels in the ordinary sense of the term. Some have been (hsposed to understand the words as meaning, 'it was established in the presence of angels.' The particle here translated hy '" has cer- tainly this meaning in 2 Tim. ii. 2, ^^ before many^^-itnesses."*' We are rather disposed to understand it in its ordinary meaning of in- strumentality— " through means of." That angels were somehow or other employed in the giving of the law, there seems no reason "t^L-dkpubt." There is, indeed, nothing said about them in the nineteenth chapter of Exodus; but in the thu'ty-third chapter of Deuteronomy, verse 2, Jehovah is said to have come with " ten thousand of his holy ones." In the sixty-eighth Psalm, verse 17, we have these words, " The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels : the Lortl is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place." Stephen in his speech before the Sanhediim says that the Israelites received the law by " the disposition of angels;"^ and the apostle in the Epistle to the Hebrews, calls the law " the ' f(ppovpovfi(6a (TvyK(KK€i(TfMfV(u. ^ Gal. iii. 23. ^ btaraydi. * Introd. V. iv. p. 223. '' 8id. " dia TToWcov fiapTVfiav. Philo uses the word in the same sense: " KXaifiu bia napTvpuiv" — ' to weep before witnesses.' ^ The Rabbins, who are much in the way of " intruding into things which they have not seen," tell us that Moses was so frightened by these " angelos timoris, et angelos sudoris, ct angelos tremoris, et angelos trepidationis," that after being taught the law for forty days by God, coming down among these angels, he entirely forgot it ; and God called to him Jclifia, the angel of the law, who delivered it in good order to Moses, and all the rest of the angels became good friends with him. — resirhtn. li. f. 35, 4 ; Talkat Rnheni, f. 107, 3 ; upud Wetstein. ® fi'v hiarayhi ayytKiov, p. IV. § 9.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELY RATIFIED. 153 word spoken by angels." ^ It seems doubtful for what piu*pose the apostle brings forward this fact. It appears to me probable that he introduces it as characteristic of the law, which was not a method of reconciliation, but a transaction sho"\Wng that God was displeased with Israel for their transgression.^ The supplement and it was is an unhappy one. It is not needed to bring out the sense; it rather obscures it, breaking the close connection with the statement in the first clause. Perhaps there is a tacit contrast as to the man- ner in which the promise was given, " not by the ministry of angels," not " by the hands of a mediator," in the same sense as the law was. God conversed with Abraham as with a friend ; and if an angel spoke the promise after the intended sacrifice of Isaac, it was the angel of Jehovah's presence — the angel in whom Jehovah's name was, the angel of Jehovah. It is obviously the apostle's design to exalt the promise viewed alongside of the law. The promise is first, the law second in order. The promise is the principal transaction, the law is secondary and subservient. The promise speaks of nothing but blessing. The law is " added because of transgressions," and curses transgressors. The promise is for ever ; the law only " till the seed should come." The promise was made directly by God ; the law " given by angels." The promise was given du'ectly to Abraham — God speaks to him as a man with his friend ; the law to Israel by the hand of a media- tor, the people not being able to bear the things which were spoken. He comes to them not as to Abraham, as a man comes to converse with his friend, but in awful majesty as an offended, though still merciful and placable sovereign. If it be admitted, as has been supposed with considerable appearance of probability, that angels were the agents of the Divinity in the production of those terrific phenomena with which the giving of the law was attended, this view of the matter acquires increased plausibility. The law was not only ordained by angels, but also " in the hand of a mediator." ^ " In the hand " is just a Hebraism * for ' XakqQiis 8i ayyeXcov. Heb. ii. 2. 2 Tiiig reference is more obvious if the words ("XP'^ °^ ^'^^Tl ^o airep^a w fnrjyye\Tai) be included in a parenthesis. — " It was added because of trans- gressions, biarayfls 8i dyyeXav iv x^'-P'- fj^^o-lrov." ^ ev X^'-P'- /^eo"tVou. * Luther seems not to have been aware of this when he wrote the following not judicious note : — " Lex non fuit posita in manu nostra, ut nos earn im- pleamus, sed in futuri Christi earn impleturi." 154 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [ciIAP. III. 1-IV. 7. through, or by means of'.^ Though some learned men have been of opinion that the mediator lierc mentioned is the Son of God, yet I think no reasonable doubt can be entertained as to its denoting Moses. Strictly speaking, Aaron, or rather the priesthood, was the mediator of the old covenant. It answers to the Great High Priest,^ Mediator,'' and Surety* of the new covenant. But the reference seems here to the giving of the law ; that was, by Moses. " The law was given by Moses." ^ ^Ve know that the law, with the exception of one proclamation of the decalogue, was given through the medium of Moses. ^ God speaks to Moses, and Moses to the people ; and this arrangement was entered into by the express request of the people themselves. The following is the inspired ac- count of this circumstance, " And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking : and, when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear : but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people. Fear not : for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. And the people stood afar off: and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was."^ Moses himself says, " I stood between the Lord and you at that time."« This statement seems plainly introduced as characteristic of the economy. The existence of a mediator is certainly no proof that a dispensation is not a dispensation of mercy, for the new covenant has a mediator. But the facts connected Avith the law being given by the hand of INIoses as a mediator, plainly show that the hnv was not, in its literal meaning and direct object, a revelation of the way of obtaining the Divine favour. > -■'3. Hag. i. 1. IIos. xii. 11. Exod. ix, .S5; xxxv. 29. Acts v. 12 ; vii. 35; xv. 23. * di))(iepevs. fi((TLTrjs. f-yyvoy. •■* John i. 17. ° D3"rai n--^-|-.= -^s •'::s. l^eut. v. 5. " Exod. XX. 18-21. ** Dcut. V. .'). Exod. XX. in. Barnes leans to the opinion that tlie mediator liere is Christ, lie gives four reasons for tliis k-aning. but they do not apjjear .satisfactory; his note, however, is well worth reading. IMiilo. 17/. .1A'«.. oalls Moses fit(TiTr]s. r. IV. § t).] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELY RATIFIED, 155 Hitherto all is comparatively plain and easy. The law was never intended as a means of justification. It was a means, rendered necessary by the sins of the Israelitish people, of gain- ing the accomplishment of the promise ; and the circumstances of its revelation, so different from all the revelations of the scheme of mercy, mark its character. But while there is little difficulty in apprehending either the meaning of the terms or their bearing on the apostle's object in the verse we have considered, there is extreme difficulty of both kinds in reference to the short verse which immediately follows, one of the most perplexing passages in the whole " Book of God." " Now a mediator is not a mediator of one ; but God is one." ' Perhaps no passage in Scripture has received so many interpre- tations as this. Winer says they were about 250 when he wrote some twenty years ago, and the number has since been considerably increased. Who does not see in this an illustration of the honour done to the Word of God ? On what other book would the same amount of time, and mental labom', and literary attainment, have been expended for the illustration of an occa- sional remark ? ^ The causes of the diversity of sentiment are various. Some suppose the apostle to speak in his own person ; others consider either the whole verse, or at any rate the first part of it, as the words of an objector. Some by the mediator understand any mediator ; others Moses ; others Christ. Some understand "one"^ as a substantive ; others as an adjective vfhich requires a substantive to be supplied to bring out the sense, and that sub- 1 Gal. iii. 20. ^ Schott's remarks are very judicious : " Sermonem apostoli hoc loco ob- scuritate quadam premi, ex ipsa potissimum brevitate elocutionis oriunda, nemo facile infitias est iturus, quam post diversissima explicandi tentamina, quorum mituerus ducentas et quinquaginta interpretationes excedit, nondum licuerit ejusmodi sententiam stabilire quam vel omnes, vel plurimi certe in- terpretes satis habent exploratum. Quanquam base sententiarum diversitas nequaquam ad ejusmodi molem cxcrevisset interpreti admodum molestam, nisi inter eos, qui in loco vexato tractando vires ingenii tentarent baud pauci exstitissent, qui magis pruritu quodara in medium proferendi quae speciem praj se ferrent novitatis quam studio veritatis ex usu loquendi, ex universa sermonis serie. ex indole doctrinte Paulina? aliunde cognita sincere explor- andie dncerenlur." * ei/oj. 156 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. III. 1-lV. 7. stantive they have supplied very variously; some of one party ;^ others of one seed;^ others of one law;^ others of one race;* others of one thing,'' etc. Some understand the assertion " is not of one"^ of the person; others of the condition; others of the design and business of the mediator." Some consider the last member of the sentence, " God is one,"® as philosophical or dogmatic; others as historical, looking to the times of Abraham, or of the giving of the law at Sinai. Luther's notion is quite singidar, — " God offendeth no man, and therefore needeth no mediator ; but we offend God, and therefore we need a mediator." The mode of connecting the passage has also given origin to diversity of view respecting its meaning. Before inquiring particularly into the meaning of these words, there are two remarks which we must make and carry along with us, and which may probably be of some use in the subse- quent discussions, if not in enabling us to discover the truth, at least in preserving us from falling into en'or. The first refers to the words themselves, and the second to the principle on which they must be interpreted. The repetition of the word " a media- tors^ is not in the original. It is marked as a supplement by our translators. The original text literally runs — "Now a" — or the — " mediator is not of one." ^ The second observation to which I solicit attention is that the words must contain in them some statement which lays a founda- tion for the conclusion which the apostle deduces from them in the next verse, to wit, ' that the law is not against the promises of God.' However plausible in other respects an interpretation may be, it cannot be the just one if it does not bring out a sense which justifies the apostle's inference. The almost innumerable opinions of interpreters as to the meaning of these words may be all reduced to two classes, — those in which the words " Now a mediator is not of one," are understood as a general proposition, true of all mediators, and applied by the apostle in the course of his reasoning to the sub- ject before him ; and those in which they are considered as a particular statement, referring exclusively and directly to the /ufpous. (TTTtpfiaTOS. Vi>fJiOV- ytvovs. Xpht^aTin. •* fVof OIK eCTTl. "' fjnairrji. ^ n 0(6i fls tariv n fif fKairrji fVOi OVK ((TTIV p. IV. § [).] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELT RATIFIED. 157 mediator spoken of in the close of the I9th verse, by whose hands the law was given. Those who are agreed in opinion that the words are a general proposition, differ widely in the way in which they understand it, and in which they make it bear on the apostle's argument. One class consider the words as equivalent to — ' Now a mediator does not belong to a state of unity or agreement. The use of a mediator seems to intimate that the parties between whom he mediates are not at one.' This mode of interpretation labours under great difficulties. For, first, it is not true that the use of a mediator necessarily supposes disagreement. There are causes of the use of a mediator besides this. God continues to deal with those with whom He is reconciled through a mediator. And secondly, it breaks the connection between the two clauses of the verse, which obviously is very intimate. Another class consider the words as equivalent to — ' a media- tor does not belong exclusively to one party ; a mediator belongs to both parties ;' and they consider the apostle as arguing thus: ^ No man can be a mediator who is not appointed by both parties. There were two parties in the original agreement — God and the spiritual seed of Abraham. Moses was indeed appointed bv God ; but God was but one of the parties, so that whatever such a mediator could do could not affect the interests of the other party.' This, though supported by such names as Parens, Capillus, Locke, Whitby, Chandler, is anything but satisfactory, because in the appointment of the Great Mediator of the better covenant, God alone was concerned.^ ^ Storr, who considers 6 nealrrjs as equivalent to ' every mediator,' applies this principle, in a way peculiar to himself, to the interpretation of the pas- sage. In support of his view of 6 fiecriTTjs, he appeals to 6 niadmros, John X. 12, which proves that, so far as the word is concerned, he may be right. " A mediator is not of one." In any transaction in which there is a mediator, there are two employed, — the author of the transaction, and the mediator he employs. But God, in giving the promise, was one, alone ; He had no one to come between Him and Abraham ; He spoke to him as a man speaks to his friend. Compare Gen. xv. and Exod. xix., and see the different charac- ters of the promise and the law. He refers to Josh. xxii. 20 and 1 Chron. xxix. 1 as proof that -!-is is used in this May ; and to Mark ii. 7 as proof that els is used in this sense, — Mark's els being equivalent to Luke's novos, chap. V. 21. He considers it as the conclusion of the apostle's account of the character and design of the law, the object of which Avas to deepen the con- viction that it was not a method of justification. It was added to serve a 158 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CIIAP. ITI. 1-lV. 7. A third class consider the words as equivalent to — ' a mediator is not peculiar to this one dispensation. There have been various mediators, but there is but one God. The mediator may be changed, but God continues the same.' If obliged to choose a meaning from this class of interpretations, I should prefer this, which is that adopted by Cameron and Koppe. It is not peculiar to the law to have a mediator ; other Divine dis})ensations have mediators also ; but while there may be different mediators, God is one, and therefore his dispensations must be all like himself — consistent. Judaism had its mediator; Christianity has its mediator ; God is one. The same God ajj- pointed both economies and their mediators; therefore they cannot be opposed to each other. But even this is not satisfactory. The objection to this meaning is a strong one — that the words do not naturally convey it. But I apprehend that an insuper- able objection lies against all the views of the passage which regard it as the announcement of a general proj)osition. The words of the original seem to me to oblige us to understand the mediator in the 20th verse as the mediator mentioned in the 19th. They literally are now the mediator, i. e. the medi- ator just mentioned, tlds mediator is not of one.^ We have thus narrowed the field of discussion to that class of interpre- tations in which the words are considered as a statement in reference to the mediator mentioned. But the field is still very extensive. Some consider the mediator by whose hands the law was given as Jesus Christ. Of those who take this view of the sub- ject, some regard the verse before us, not as consisting of two distinct yet connected propositions referring to difi'erent subjects, the one to the mediator, and the other to God, but as a con- tinued description of the mediator. They consider the apostle temporary puri)ose, and that a purpose of severity and restraint; it was given amid territic ap|)earances produced by angels, and a mcdiiitor bad to be employed to still tbe alarm of ibc people. But there was no mediator in the giving of the promise: Jehovah was alone with Abraham, his friend. It is impossible to deny to this exegesis the praise of learned ingenuity ; but, for reasons stated in the text, we camiot consider it as satisfactory. ' Had nfiTiTTjs first occurred here, the nrticle might only have exj)ressed tliat the |)erson referred to was n mediator: but there can be no nasonable doubt that grammar ro([iiircs us to understiiiul tiie <> fifairr/j in the 2Uth viTKc, of the fifaiTTji in ilu- l!>lh. r. 1\. § 9.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINED^ KATIFIED. 159 as saying, * the law was given by a mediator — Jesus Christ — and this mediator is no inferior being, is not the subject or pro- perty of Hun who is one, but he is the one God himself.' To state this exegesis, though it has been held by learned men/ is to refute it. It is a much more plausible view of the subject which those give who consider the apostle as saying, ' The law was given by the hand of the mediator — of Jesus Christ, the great mediator. Now he is not the mediator of this one dispensation only ; he is the mediator also of the better covenant, and God is one. It is the same God who gave the promise and who established the law ; and it is the same mediator whom He employed in both cases. Can the law then be against the promise ?' This is an argument which hangs very well together ; but unhappily it is one which cannot be brought out of the words of the apostle. Christ is nowhere in Scripture called the mediator of the laiv. " The word" may be considered rather as the giver of the law than the mediator through whom it was given ; and if the reference had been to Christ, the language in the 19tli verse would not have been a mediator, but the mediator, if not the apostle's expression elsewhere, "the one mediator between God and men."^ This renders it unnecessary to examine more particularly the follow- ing view, which otherwise might appear plausible — ' Now the mediator, Jesus Christ, does not belong exclusively to one part of the human race — he is the mediator of man, of both the great divisions of mankind ; even as God is the one God, the God equally of Gentiles and Jews.' We have thus still further narrowed the field of discussion. We have now only — taking for granted that the mediator is Moses — to seek for a meaning which the words of the apostle will bear, and which will support his conclusion, that " the law is not" — cannot be — " against the promises of God." One of the most judicious of the ancient interpreters^ thus comments on the text, — " But Moses was not the mediator of one, for he mediated betw^een God and the people ; but God is one. He gave the promise to Abraham ; Pie appointed the law ; and He has show n to us the fulfilment of the promise. It is not one God who did one of these things, and another another. It is the same God * e.g. Wesselius. * 1 Tim. ii. 6. ^ Theodoret. 1 60 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [cirAP. ITI. 1-IV, 7. who is the author of all these dispensations." This is, upon the whole, excellent sense ; it gives substantially the meaning of the second clause ; but it throws no light on the bearing of the two clauses on each other, or on the words, " Now the mediator is not of one," or on the apostle's object. Some learned and judicious men have considered the apostle as saying, ' Now this Moses was not the mediator of the one seed mentioned in the preceding context.' But this is to interpret the expression the " one seed" in a way which we have showed the apostle's argument will not warrant ; for the one seed is Christ personally,^ and besides breaks the connection betw^een the two claiises of the verse. It is impossible to make sense of the words ' that mediator did not belong to the one seed, Jesus Christ.' The following view of the passage, though by no means clear of objections, seems to me, upon the whole, the most probable that has been given. If the first part of tlie verse be read interrogatively, and if the word 07ie be understood, not numeri- cally, but morally, as signifying, uniform and unchangeable, always self-consistent, a plain meaning may be deduced from the words — the two clauses will be found naturally to follow each other — and a broad and solid foundation to be laid for the con- clusion which the apostle draws in the first clause of the 21st verse, ' The law was given by the hands of Moses as a mediator. But was he not the mediator of Ilim who is one and the same for ever ? Now God, who ai)pointcd Moses mediator, is one and the same — unchanged, unchangeable. Can, then, the law be against the promises of God ?'' Moses was not the autlior of the law, he was but the mediator. The law was God's law, and ^ If this diftiailty could be got over, the interpretation has much to recom- mend it. It dovetails into the succeediufj clause, and lays a foundation for the apostle's inference. ' The mediator of the law, Moses, was the mediator of the Jews, not of the one seed consisting of the Jews and Gentiles. But God is one God: lie stands in a common relation both to Jews and Gentiles if they but believe. The law, then, being a limited dispensation, does not interfere with the promise, which is imrestricted.' This exposition has full justice done to it by NiissELT. '' 6 8( seems to stand fur ovtos 8«, as it frequently docs in the gospels. The word fls is taken not nnmcriciiUy, but morally — one and the same, self- consistent, immutable. This is the interijrttiition given by S. V. N. Morus in his ArroasfS, p. (J7. p. IV. § 9.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELY RATIFIED. 161 Moses was God's mediator : the one was enjoined, the other appointed, by Him. The promise is his promise. He cannot by his law contradict his promise. He is one and the same ; always like himself. The two divine institutions, the law and the pro- mise, cannot be inconsistent, coming, as they do, from the im- mutable God.^ The apostle had already shown in another way that the promise was not made void by the law ; now he proves the same thing by the immutability of God, their common author . This mode of interpretation has the advantage, that the sense it attaches to the words is true in itself, and exactly suits the pur- pose of the apostle's argument. The interrogative form given to the words is not foreign from the apostle's usage. The word one is explained in the same sense in both clauses of the verse, and the connection of the clauses is kept up. The principal difficulties arise from the present tense being used where we would have looked for the imperfect,^ and from the meaning, certainly un- usual, given to the word one. That the meaning, though unusual, is not unexampled, will appear from the following passages, — Gen. xH. 25 ; Lev. xxiv. 22 ; 1 Cor. xii. 11.^ I cannot say with confidence that this is the meaning of the insj^ired writer;* but it appears to me the most probable sense which has yet been given to his words.^ To suppose with Michaelis, in direct opposition to all critical evidence, that the ' " 'Afipacifi Bvo vlovs ecrx^v, eva sk naiSia-KTjs, Kai eva i^ eKfvQepas- avrai he elcri 8vo BiadrJKai' axmep ovv eKet did(f)opoi p.ev ai yvvaiKes, fis 8e 6 avrjp, ovTco KoX fvravda 8vo pteu al BiadfJKai, els Be 6 vofxodeTTjs" — ChrysOST. in Matth. Horn. xvi. 6 Se pealrris evbs ovk eariv instead of 6 Se pecriTrjs evos ovk. rjv ^ It is a just observation of Schott, that though els does not properly signify immutable, yet the idea of constancy and self-consistency is naturally enough, in certain cases, connected with its proper signification. Rom. iii. 30 ; Phil, i. 27. * With Parens I would say, " Licet hie eirexeiv." Assuredly this is one of the passages to which Jerome's remark is applicable : — " Licere aliquando etiam optimis Catholics regulse interpretibus et defensoribus salva fidei corn- page in latitudine charitatis dissentire ab invicem." — Contra Pelag. cap. ii, * Upon the whole, I am obliged to adopt the words of Borger : " Neque ullus extat in universo Novo Testamento locus qui tantum exereuit virorum doctorum ingenia quantum hie versiculus, neque nos quid de loci cujusdam sit statuendum sensu tarn dubios ha^rere meminimus quam quidera de hoc loco." L 162 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. III. 1-IV. 7. passage is spurious, is a veiy unjustifiable mode of cutting the knot.^ What is so difficult to us might be, probably was, per- fectly plain to the Galatians, caHing up a train of thought whicli the apostle, by his discourses when with them, had made familiar to their minds.^ 3. Tlie Icnonot contrary, hut subservient, to the promise. The conclusion which the apostle draws from these statements, with regard to the design and circumstances of tlie mving of the Mosaic law, is contained in the first clause of the next verse, and is couched in the form of an inteiTogation, — " Is the law then against the promises of God?^ God forbid ;"^ or rather, "Let it not be, by no means." To those at all acquainted with the apostle's mode of writing, it is needless to remark that these words are just equivalent to a very strong negation. ' The law is not opjiosed to tlie promise.' ^ On the contrary, he has showed that the law is subservient to the promise : that it was added to secure the fulfilment of the promise ; and that it proceeds from the same author as the pro- mise, -who is one and the same — " Jehovah, who changes not :" " the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." What a sad aptitude is there in our depraved nature to mis- apprehend the design of the gifts and works of God, and to per- ^ " It is to be observed (what is a rarity in the case of important and difficult passages) that not one various reading occurs in all the MSS. and critical authorities. This is a proof that the copyists were very careful in transcribing the passage ; and, on account of its dogmatical unimportance, they had no interest to make any alteration." — Olsitausen. Berthold's intcri)rctation is very extraordinary, lie understands " of one" as referring to Abraham, who, Isa. li. 2, is called -rsn, Moses was not Abraham's mediator ! ! 2 Schott, Comm. in Ep. ad Galat. ad loc. 452-467. Koppe, Nov. Test, vol. vi. Exc. vii. pp. 129-136. Borger, 219-235, Winer, Exc. iii. pp. 110- 118. Bloomfield, N. T. vol. ii. 274-276. Nosselt, Eacercitt. p. 145. Bonitz, Conimentatio Ilistorico-Exegetica, qua plurhnorum dc loco Paxdi, Gal. iii. 20 ; sentential eauminat(e novaque ejus interpretatio tentata. Weigand, Ob- servatt. ad loc. Pauli nohiliss. Ep. ad Gal. Anton. JHsp. locus Ep. ad Gal. Hi. 20 ; critice, historice, et exegetice tractatus. Kcilii Commentado de hoc loco, tres partes. ' So as Karapyelv, — * make them of none effect.' flvai Kara nvos — ad- versari. — Matth. xii. 30; Gal. v. 23; Rom. viii. 31. * fif) yfvoiTO. Gal. iii. 21. * " Distulit Deus proinissum, non abstulit." — Grotius. r. IV. § 9,] JUSTIFICATION RY FAITH DIVINELY RATIFIED. 163 vert that to our destruction which was meant for our salvation, rendering such an exuberance of illustration necessary to prevent fatal mistake as to the purpose of "the law!" The apostle proceeds to show that as the law was not, could not be, against the promise, so it was altogether unfit to serve the purpose of the promise. If the law had been so constituted as that through it guilty men might have obtained life or happi- ness, there might have been some plausibility in supposing that it should have taken the place of the promise. But since the very reverse of this is the case, its great use is not to take the place of the promise, but to evince the necessity of the promise. " For if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe."^ It is plain that the apostle's object is to show from the design of the law, that it is not inconsistent with the promise ; and his argument in the passage just read seems to me to be this, — ' If a law had been given which furnished all the means necessary for making men really and permanently happy, then in that case, justification by law — legal justification — restoration to the Divine favour, on the ground of something done by the sinner, would have been a possible thing. In this case there would have been a practicable legal way of justification by Avorking — differ- ent from, and opposed to, the gratuitous method of jiistification by believing, made known in the promise. But no such law has been given. Neither the law of nature nor the law of Moses is such a law ; for the Scriptiu*es represent all men as violators of the law under which they 'are placed — of course not justified but condemned ; and thus it appears that the promised blessing can be obtained in no other way than as a free gift to be received by believing.' Let us endeavour to make it evident that this im- portant and conclusive argument is indeed expressed by the apostle in the words under consideration. The connective particle "for"^ may either be understood, as it often must, as a mere connective equivalent to, indeedy farther, moreover ; or, as intimating that the words which follow contain 1 Gal. iii. 21, 22. - yap. 164 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CIIAP. HI. l-IV. 7. in tliem a corroboration of tlie sentiment just stated, that tlie law is not against the promises of God. A law tliat could give life* is, in scripture language, a law wliich could secure happiness — true permanent happiness.^ To understand the apostle, we must recollect that he is speaking of mankind in their present guilty and depraved state. To secure tlie happiness of innocent creatures, a law distinctly pointing out to them what to do and what to avoid, is quite sufficient. Such a law was imposed on the angels ; such a law was imposed on man at his creation. It has been found sufficient for its purpose in the case of the angels ; and but for man's fault, it would have been found sufficient in his case too. But a law which is capable of giving life to mankind in their fallen state, of making them truly and eternally happy, must, while it is quite practicable on his part to yield obedience to it, make provision for rendering his happiness consistent with the perfections of the Divine character and the principles of the Divine government, and for effecting such a change in his character as shall make him susceptible of happiness in the only form, that of holiness, in which it becomes God to bestow it on his intelligent creatures. " If such a law was given, verily," says the apostle, " righte- ousness would have been by the law," or rather, "by law."^ " Eighteousncss"* here, as in most other parts of the epistle, is justification. If such a law had been given, then justification by law, a legal justification in opposition to gratuitous justification, would have been a possible thing. A law, by obedience to which the sinner could have made atonement for his past offences and secured those Divine influences which are necessary to make liim holy, and thus obtained for himself true and permanent happiness, — a law of this kind would certainly have furnished the means of justification ; and they who were justified in this way would have had no need of that gratuitous justification by believing made ^ 8vvufjifvos ^a>onoirj(Tai. * The Hebrew n'-n often signifies happiness, in all the extent of that word. — Psal. xxxiv. 13 ; Prov. iv. 22. Zcor) is often, especially by John and Paul, used in the same extensive signification, of the hapi)y condition of those who are the objects of the Divine favour, both on earth and in heaven. — John V. 24 ; 1 John iii. 14; Gal. vi. 8; Rom. vi. 23; John vi. 53; Rom. vii. 10 ; viii. 2, 6. (K vufiov. oiKainavi't]. p. IV. § 9.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELY RATIFIED. 165 known in the promise. Such a law would have been against the promises of God. It would have frustrated the grace of God.^ But no such law has been given.^ No such law could have been given. This sentiment, though not expressed in so many words, is obviously implied in the apostle's statement. " If there had been," etc. Neither the law of nature nor the law of Closes was such a law. They make no provision for efficacious atone- ment for past oifences, or for that change of character which is necessary to prevent new offences. They show us what is right and what is wrong ; and tell us that obedience, if it is jierfect in every point of view, will secure reward, and that disobedience will incur punishment. But they do not, they cannot, give life ; they do not, they cannot, justify. So far from that, " the Scripture hath concluded ^ all under sin." "Sin"* is here, as in many other parts of the apostle's writings, equivalent to ' guilt,' exposure to punishment on ac- count of sin. To be " under sin," ^ is just, in other words, to be guilty, or, condemned. The apostle says, " the Scripture," i, e. the old Testament Scriptures, " hath concluded," or shut up,*^ " all," both Jews and Gentiles, " under sin." Guilt is here con- sidered as a mighty tyrant, under whose power " all" ^ men are ^ " The law would be opposed to the promises if it had the power of justi- fying ; for there would be two opposite methods of justifying a man — two separate roads towards the attainment of righteousness. But Paul refuses to the law such a power, so that the contradiction is removed. ' I would admit,' says he, ' that righteousness is obtained by the law, if salvation were found in it.' But where is such a law?" — Calvin. ^ As Bengel says, " Lex vellet, sed non potest." To justify, to sanctify, is TO dSvvarov rov vo^ov — an impossibility to the law ; for acrOivel bia ttjs aapKos — " it is weak through the flesh." Rom. viii. 3. * " Aliquid dicitur Jleri vel agere quando factum esse vel actum aliquid declarat. 2 Cor. iii. 6; Rom. iv. 15." — Glassius. * ajxapTia. ® ^0' afj-apriav. *> (TvyKheieiv, ' to shut up together,' or ' to shut up on all sides.' It is ap- phed to cities whose gates are closed and walls guarded, or surrounded by a besieging army, Josh. vi. 1 ; Is. xlv. 1. It is used of things collected together, and laid up for a particular purpose, Luke v. 6 ; Ecclus. xxix. 12. It is also employed to denote those who are bound or kept in chains, Job viii. 8. Hence it comes to signify, ' to deliver up to the power of,' ' to make entirely dependent on,' followed by ei's ti, or vn6 n. Psal. xxxi. 8 ; Ixxviii. 60. ^ ra TTavTa, emphatically, for ndi/Tas dvdpdnTovs. Theodoret thus expounds it : " diTjXey^e yap i] 6eia ypafprj Ka\ tovs npo vopov, kol tovs iv vopa, tovs p.€v rov Tijs (j)vaeo}9, rovi di rov MwaaiKoi^ nopnlieftrjKOTCts." Rom. xi. 32, a parallel passage. 1()G EPISTLE TO THE GAEATIANS. [cHAP. III. 1-IV. 7. confined, shut u]). ' To shut up,' is equivalent here to, ' to show, to prove, to be shut up.'^ The Scriptures distinctly state, that all men, both Jews and Gentiles, are imprisoned, as it were, under guilt — are condemned criminals.^ The law under which either Jews or Gentiles have been placed, so far from giving them life, delivers them over to death ; so far from justifying, condemns them. The best illustration of the apostle's declara- tion, that all men are shut up under sin, and that the Scripture says so, is to be found in the concluding part of the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, the whole of the second chapter, and the first part of the third chapter : the substance of which is, ' It is obviously the uniform doctrine of Scripture, that the whole world is become guilty before God.' It is plain that the law of Moses cannot — that no law that had been given, tliat can be given to a being like fallen man can — come in competition with the way of justification indicated in the promise made kno^^n in the gospel. Law in every form, so far from being fitted to take the place of the promise or the gospel, only proves the necessity of some such plan of salvation as they reveal, if man is to be saved at all. This is what the apostle states in the close of the 22d verse, " that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ may be given to them that believe." " The promise," is plainly the blessing promised ; the same thing as the blessing of Abraham, justifica- tion— restoration to the Divine favour.' This promised blessing is by believing. It is obtained not by working, but by believing on Him who justifies the ungodly. It was bestowed on believing Abraham, and it is promised to all believers who are his spiritual children. The particle " that" * either states the design of the Scriptures concluding all men under sin, or the consequence of its doing so. The Scriptures declare all men condemned on account of sin, that it might be, or so that it is, evident that if men are justified at all, that blessing originally promised to believers must be be- stowed as a free gift on men, not purchasing it for themselves by ' As Glassius says, •' Vcrbum activuiu tlcclarative capiciuliini est." ^ Wo have the same icka, lloni. xi. 32, aweKXeiatu 6 Beoj rovs ndpTas tis UlTfldfiaV, IvU TOVS TTUPTdS fXfljffrj. ^ The phrase, fj (irayytXia (k Tr/rrrfcoy, is eciuivalont to ij fir. fj ftrri fV n. " Tfjv Suj ni(TT(u)c XpifTTov 8iKaioi7vi>r}v," — Phil. iii. U. * ifa. p. IV. § 9.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELY RATIFIED. 167 their services, but in the belief of the truth humbly and grate- fully receiving it. This is the true design of the law, whether that under which all men are placed, or that under which the Jewish nation was placed, to demonstrate the absolute necessity, if man is to be saved at all, of such a method of salvation as was dimly made known in the promise to Abraham, and wdiich is now made manifest, being " witnessed by the law and the prophets." The statement contained in these words has lost none of its trutli or of its importance in the lapse of ages, and is just as closely connected with our duties and interests as with those of the Galatians to whom it was originally made. We are indeed in no danger of reposing our hope of an interest in the Divine favour on our enjoyment of the privileges, or our performing the ritual observances, of the Mosaic economy. But we all are in imminent danger of building our expectations of final happiness on a fomidation equally insecure. Are there not thousands and tens of thousands among us who are flattering themselves that they are Christians, merely because they were born in a Christian land and baptised in the name of Jesus ? Are there not count- less multitudes who, without any reference whatever to the Saviour's atonement, on the ground of their comparative in- nocence or excellence, or of their repentance and reformation, or of their alms and their prayers, are expecting to obtain a share in the felicities of heaven ? And are there not countless multi- tudes more who, while they profess to depend on what the Saviour has done and suffered, look on his merits merely as an ample store out of vdiich is to be supplied the deficiency in their own deserts — relying a little on the Saviour, but prin- cipally on themselves ? Indeed, are not by far the greater part of those who name the name of Jesus obviously ignorant and unbelieving respecting the very elementary principle of his religion, that " eternal life is the gift of God," and that men are "justified freely by God's grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus"? Are not the great majority even of those who appear to be religious, going about to establish their own method of justification, and obstinately refusing to submit to this Divine method of justification. They will do anything and everything rather than credit God's testimony concerning his Son, rely en- tirely on his finished work, and humbly and heartily accept of a full and free salvation. 168 El'ISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. III. 1-IV. 7. To such persons we proclaim with the apostle, '' It" there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law." But no such law has been given. No such law could be given. You may indeed imagine remedial and reduced laws, and you may depend on your obedience to tliese laws, and cherish lively hopes of thus obtaining the Divine favour and everlasting happiness. But remember, God will ac- knowledge no law as his but that Avhicli He himself has promul- gated, and He will gratify no hopes but those which He himself has awakened. May I be allowed to speak a parable on this subject ? A ship's crew mutinied against their commander, who was the king's son ; and not only refused to obey him, but threw him overboard with the intention of depriving him of life. Feeling their situa- tion desperate, they commenced pii'ates, and while disorder and every evil work prevailed among themselves, they earned terror and miseiy over the ocean and into all the surrounding coasts. The prince, contrary to all probability, reached the shore in safety, and on arriving at his father's palace, instead of urging the punishment of those who meant to nuu'der him, cmj)loyed all his influence, and with success, to induce his justly offended parent to lay aside all thoughts of vengeance, and even to des))atch im- mediately heralds of mercy offering a free pardon to them if they would but acknowledge the prince as their saviour and ruler, and submit to be guided by him in all their futm'e proceedings ; but reminding them that if they did not accede to this overture of mercy, sooner or later they must fall into the hands of some of his war-vessels, and must count on being dealt with according to the rigour of the law. On the messengers of mercy ap})roaching the vessel, some of the most determined villains Avore lor treating them as they had done their commander, but this projiosal being overruled, they were taken aboard, and their so^'ereign's procla- mation was made in the hearing of the |)iratical rebels. Some mocked at it ; others said it was a stratagem to get them into the king's power ; and even the most sober thinking among them, though they were tired of this scene of discoi'd anil ravage, both in the vessel and when they were on the shore, said that really they could not give the king credit for such extraordinary kind- ness, nor bring their mind to acknowledge the authority of the prince, but that they would eJuleaAOur to behave better as p. IV. § 9.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELY RATIFIED. 169 individuals, to establish better order in the ship, and to restrain their companions from those excesses of cruelty and rapine in which they had formerly indulged, so that if the king's cruisers should lay hold of them, as they feared might be the case, the king might be in- duced to pardon them, perhaps reward them for theirgood conduct. The time dreaded by them all at last arrived. Their vessel is boarded by the king's servants in irresistible force, and the whole crew are safely lodged in prison, and in due time brought before the king for judgment. With a calmness of inflexible deter- mination, more appalling than the most furious passion, the sovereign pronomices their sentence. ' You most causelessly violated your allegiance; you transgressed the law; you, in intention, murdered my son ; yet, on his intercession, I proffered you forgiveness — fi'ee, full forgiveness. You refused to give me credit for the generosity I manifested, and dishonom'ed me by supposing me false and malignant like yourselves. You per- sisted in contemning my authority and opposing my will. And even such of you as have not rmi to the same enormity of licentiousness and cruelty, have formed laws to yourselves which ye have observed ; but my laAvs ye have not regarded. And you have trampled on my grace as well as my authority. You have spurned mercy on the only terms consistent with my honour to offer it ; and you have had the insufferable arrogance of attempting to dictate to me in what way I should bestow my favour. You have had your choice, and you must abide by it. As for those men who would not that I should reign over them, bring them forth and slay them before me.' ^ Let the self-righteous sinner see, in a figure, the doom which awaits him if mercy prevent not. The law by which he must be judged is none of the laws of human device, but the law of God. By that law, "no flesh living can be justified." Let him be thankful that the promised blessing is still held forth as the gift of God to the believer in Jesus. The Scripture has shut us all up under sin, but it is that the promise may be given to us belle\'ing. This is the way — this is the certain, the only way — to justification and peace, to holiness and heaven. The oath which has secured that the believer shall enter, and that the unbeliever shall not enter, into God's rest, is unrepealed and un- 1 This illustration was suggested by a passage in Fuller's Miscellaneous Works, which, however, I cannot find, on searching for it to make a reference. 170 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CIIAP. 111. 1-IV. 7. repealable. God grant that we all may seek and find this good old way, and walk in it, and find rest to our souls. The greater part of the ai)ostle's answer to the question, *' wherefore serveth the law," has hitherto been negative, except the statement, " it was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come." The sum of what he lias said is this, ' The law cannot, it never could, justify. It was never intended to serve this pur}:)Ose.' In the words which follow, and which we consider to be just an expansion of the statement contained in the clause, " the law was added because of transgressions, until the Seed should come " in reference " to whom the promise was made," etc. the apostle states the purpose which the law was in- tended to serve, and which, in fact, it did serve ; and in making that statement he makes it evident, that to be under the law, though a great blessing to those who lived before the coming of the Messiah, was by no means a state to be envied by those who lived under his reign ; and that indeed the two states were quite incongiiious. 4. State of the Church under the Law. " But before faith' came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. AVherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bi*ing us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."' The first thing to be inquired into here is the meaning of the phrase, " the coining of faith." '^ Some interpreters understand by " faith " Jesus Christ, whom they represent as the object of faith, and consider the phrase, " before faith came," as synonymous with, " till the Seed should come." In strict pro])riety of language, it is not Jesus Christ personally considered, but the truth about Jesus Christ, which is the ol)ject of faith ; and though we have no doubt that the coming of the Seed, in reference to whom the promise was made, and the coming of faith, refer to the same period, yet it does not follow that the expressions are synony- mous. The Son of God and the Messiah are descriptive deno- minations of the same imUvidual, but they are by no means synonymous tenns ; just as the prince of Wales, and the eldest ' " Cave ne sic conlextum ordiiios, ' Conclusi in cam fiilcni,' (juabi in fide velut in carccre." — Lituku, 1524. - Gal. iii. 23, 24. ^ to t'Xriet;' rijv nliTTiv. p. IV. § 9.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELY RATIFIED. 171 son of the monarch of Great Britain, and the heir-apparent to the British throne, may all be descriptive appellations of the same individual, though each appellation has its own distinct signification. The departure of the sceptre from Judah and the coming of the Messiah, are descriptions of the same period ; but it would be absurd to say the two phrases mean the same thing. In the same manner, the coming of the Seed and the coming of faith refer to the same period, but it does not follow that the phrases are synonymous. By " faith " others understand the system or order of things in which faith is the grand means of justification. But this mode of interpretation is obviously inadmissible. For in this sense " faith " came immediately after the fall, or in the revelation of the first promise. There has been but one way of justifying sinners all along. Adam, if he was justified, as we have reason to hope he was, was justified by believing. Abraham was justified by be- lieving. It was true under the Old, as well as under the New Testament dispensation, that it was the person justified by faith that lived — enjoyed true happiness in the possession of the Divine favour, which is life. By faith, I apprehend we are to understand, not the act of believing, but the revelation believed, just as in our language we call the article which a man believes his creed, his belief, bis faith. The expression literally rendered is,' the faith , and looks back to the phrase, faith of Christ, in the preceding verse. " Be- fore the faith of Christ came," is just equivalent to, ' before the Christian revelation was given.' Now, what was the state of the Jewish church previously to this period ? " We," says the apostle, " were kept under the law shut up." The apostle in using the pronoun " we," plainly speaks of himself as belonging to the Jewish church previously ^ Tr]v TTia-Tiv. " TTtcTT. Hiust be understood of the faith to be revealed as an object, not of the subjective state of faith." — Olshausen. " Jesus Christ and the apostles often speak of faith, or the faith, and the truth indifferently. John i. 17, ' Truth came by Jesus Christ;' Gal. iii. 23, ' Before faith came;'' verse 25, ' Mier faith is come;' John xvii. 19, ' Sanctified through the truth;' Acts xxvi. 18, ^ Sanctified hy faith;' John xvi. 13, 'The Spirit of truth;' 2 Cor. iv. 13, 'The Spirit of faith;' John xviii. 37, 'Every one who is of the truth;' Gral. iii. 9, " They that be of faith ;' Acts vi. 7, ' Obedient to the faith;' 1 Pet. i. 22, ' Obeying the truth;' 2 Tim. i. 5, ' The unfeigned _/atai, pro ttjv ttLcttiv, ttjv yueX. diroK. A similar transposition, Rom. viii. 18; 1 Pet. v. 1. * evayyfkcoi' TTpoenrjyyeiXaro Bia rav TrpocprjTav ev ypa(pa1s dyiaiSt Rom. i. 2, 3. 5 Isa. xl. 5 ; Ivi. 1. " Gal. iii. 24. ''"Q.vre, " TratSa-ycoyd?, not bibacrKako^, 174 EPISTLE TO THE OALATIANS. [cHAT. III. 1-IV. 7. Romans — and let it be remembered Paul is writing to a Gentile church — a servant or slave to whom the charge of the children was given while they were under age, and whose business was not solely, or chiefly perhaps, to instruct them, but to keep them from mischief and danger. The paedagogue and the preceptor were two different persons, and had entirely different duties to perform/ Now, says the apostle, the law acted to us the part of a tutor or ptedagogue, restraining, chastising, and protecting us, and preparing us by its discipline for a higher and better order of things. The apostle's object is plainly to lower the idea of the Galatians respecting the state of the Jews, and the economy under which they were placed. He intimates that they were in an infantine state, and that the economy they were put under suited it. They were wayward children, put under the care of a faithful, but somewhat severe and strict, tutor — a servant or slave only temporarily employed till the children should arrive at maturity. " The law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Clirist." These words have often been applied to express this idea, — that it is by the commands and threatenings of God's law brought home to the conscience of the sinner by the effectual working of the Holy Ghost, that he is induced to believe the revelation of mercy, and gladly to receive Christ Jesus as the only and all-sufficient Savioiu'. But this, though a very important truth, is obviously not what the apostle means. He is speaking of the church as a body, and the law it was subject to. Nor is the somewhat more plausible exegesis, that the apostle means to say, that the law by its typical ordinances introduced the Jews into an acquaintance ' Horace calls the pedagogue " Gustos : " — " Itiiberbis juveiiis, tandem custode remote Gaudet cquis, caiiibusque, et aprici prainine campi." — ^1;-*. Poet. 161. It seems equivalent to Hebrew -'z'ir-, "Am I my brother's keejier?" — Gen. iv. 9; — ami to the Spartan ufnsaus (Hesych. quasi ava Truldas noXovvTa). 'J"he following passage from a Talmudical writer illustrates the Jewish idea of a pedagogue: " Rex filio predagogum constituit, et singulis diebus ad eum iiivisit, interrogans euni : num comedit filius mens? num bibit filinsmeus? num in schidam abit? num ex schola rediit." — TANcnrMA, f. .^5, 1; apud VVetstein. The pasdagogue was a person of severe manners, and often of liarsh aspect. Nero, according to Suetonius, used to speak of tlie " vultum p«?da- gogicum" of Seneca, who appears, from bis authentic portraits, to have had a very forbidding countenance. The temporary character of tbe oflice of the picdagogue is intimated in the very name — one who has the care of children. p. IV. § 0.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELY RATIFIED. 175 with the Messiah whom they prefigured, satisfactory, for the leading idea in the word tutor or psedagogue is not teaching, but custody — restriction — correction. You will notice that " to bring us " is a supplement, and is one of the supplements which might as well have been omitted. " Unto Christ," is equiva- lent to, ' until Christ.' The three following expressions are obviously parallel, and throw light on each other. " The law was added because of transgressions till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made." " We were kept shut up under the law till the faith was revealed." " The law was our tutor till Christ, that we might be justified by faiilir These last words may either signify, ' The law was our tutor till Christ, that we might be justified by believing,' i. e. that when the way of salvation through faith in Christ Jesus alone was made knoAvn, Jews might be prepared for gladly accepting it — gratefully hailing a better and more benignant order of things, which would put an end to all the unpleasant restraints of this severe tutor.' Or, ' Thus the law was our tutor till Christ ; this was its character ; so that if we Jews are justified at all, we are justified by faith. The law restrained, commanded, and punished, but it did not justify. If we Jews are justified, it is not by the law, but by faith.' It matters not much which of these two modes of interpreta- tion be adopted, though I confess I lean to the latter. The sub- stance of the apostle's assertion is, that " the law was added be- cause of transgressions till the Seed should come, in reference to whom the promise" of justification to the Gentiles by faith "was made ;" that "before faith came," before the gospel revelation was given, the Jewish chui'ch " were shut up under the law," till the good news promised afore was announced ; and that " the law was the tutor or psedagogue " of the infant church " till Christ." The apostle now proceeds to show that the law, thoiTgh an in- stitution necessary in and suited to that imperfect and prepara- tory state, was utterly unnecessary and unsuited to that new and better state into which the church had been brought by the coming of the Saviour, and to the full and clear revelation of the way of salvation, and therefore to endeavour to pei'petuate it was the height of criminal folly. This is the principle which the apostle lays down in the verse which follows, and which he illustrates down to the close of the 11th verse of the next chapter. 176 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. IIT. 1-TV. 7. 5. State of the Church after '^ faith has corned " But after that faith has come, we are no longer under a schoohnaster: for ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." ^ The meaning of the phrase, " the coming of faith," has already been illustrated. By " faith" we understand the gospel revela- tion, not only as given, but received. " After that faith is come," is, we apprehend, equivalent to, 'After that the truth about the come Saviour, and, the completed revelation, has been made known to us, and believed by us.' " We are no lono;er under a schoolmaster." ^ These words seem a statement not only of the fact, but of the reason of it. It is as if the apostle had said, 'We are no longer, and we no longer need to be, under such a restrictive system as that of the law.^ The necessary imperfection of the revelation of the method of salvation, till the Saviour appeared and finished his work, and the corresponding limitation of the dispensation of divine in- fluence, rendered such a restrictive system absolutely requisite ; but the cause having been removed, the effect must cease. Till faith came, it was necessary that we should be under the tutelage of the law ; but now that faith is come, we need our tutor no longer. AYhen the child, in consequence of the development of his faculties, and the completion of his education, becomes a man, and capable of regulating his conduct by internal principles, the tutor is dismissed, and his pupil is freed from external restraints jiow understood to be superseded by the expanded, instructed, disciplined, rational and moral powers of his nature.' It is plainly on this principle that the apostle reasons ; for he immediately adds, " For ye are all the cliildren of God by faith in Christ Jesus."* 'Faith being come, you no longer need a tutor ; for by ftiith in Christ Jesus ye are all the children of God.' The change of the person from the first to the second, from loe to ye, is easily accounted for. The language in the > Gal. iii. 25, 20. '^ fluai vni), ' lo be under the power of.' Rom, iii. 9; 1 Cor. ix. 20. ^ " yfKoinv TO livhaas ytvoyitvovs tw TTfiifinywyw ki^jo) vnor(i(T(rf(T6ai' wcTTrfp KOI TO, rjfxtpas (pavtiaris fif) tov {jXiou (ipiif dWh tuv \vxvov." — TjlKOI'HYLACT. * Gal. iii. 2G. " Paul, as a true and excellent teacher of faith, hath always these words in his mouth — ' by faith,' ' in faith,' ' of faith.'" — Luther. p. IV. § 9.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELY RATIFIED. 177 25th verse is strictly applicable to belie^Hing Jews only, who once were under the tutelage of the law ; the statement made in the 26tli verse is equally applicable to believers, whether Jews or Gentiles, to all the Galatinn converts, and is plainly intended to lay a foundation for this conclusion — ' if the coming of the faith emancipates those believers who were under the tutelage of the law, it surely must prevent those believers who were never sub- ject to it from being brought under its bondage.' To perceive the force of the apostle's reasoning it is necessary to observe that the figurative appellation " children of God"^ is here used with a certain peculiarity of reference and meaning. When Christians are represented in Scripture as the children of God, we have a view given us sometimes of their state, and sometimes of their character, and sometimes of both conjoined. We are taught either that God regards them as his children, or that they regard Him as their father, or both. To speak in techni- cal language, it sometimes represents them as justified, and some- times as sanctified, and sometimes as both justified and sancti- fied.^ In most of the passages where this figurative expression occurs, it describes the state and character of saints, in opposi- tion to the state and character of unconverted, unforgiven, un- sanctified sinners. But in the passage before us, it obviously describes the state and character of saints under the Christian dispensation, in contrast with the state and character of saints under the Jewish dispensation. The persons spoken of as ha\ang been under the law, previously to the coming of faith, are not represented as aliens fr'om the family of God. They belonged to it ; but being under age, they v/ere " under tutors and governors till the time appointed of the father," when they W' ere to receive,^ what our translators call, " the adoption of sons " — the privileges of grown-up children. There can be no reasonable doubt then that the phrase " chikh'en of God " is here equivalent to groivn-up children.* The meaning of this language is not obscure. It is as if the apostle had said, ' There is as great a difference between the 1 '• vlo\ Qeov is substantially equivalent to TtKva Qeoi, only that the former expresses the idea of one conscious, grown up, more than the other." — Ols- HAUSEN. 2 This idea is more fully illustrated in " The Children of God, und how men become so," in " Plain Discourses on Important Subjects." '■' TTjv vioOfCTiav, chap. iv. 5. * vloi, not vrjmoi, or TtKvia. M 178 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIAXS, [CHAP. HI. 1-IV. 7. privileges you possess, and the character of love to God, and confidence in Him, and submission to Him, to which you have been formed, and the privileges and character of those who lived under the law, as there is between the state and feelings of a son arrived at maturity, and having finished his education, and those of the same child while an infant or still under the care of the nurse and the tutor ; and it were not more incongruous for such a person to insist on still remaining in the nursery or the school — to have all his movements watched and regulated by sei'vants — than it is in you believers in Christ to seek to remain under the bondage of the law, not to speak of your subjecting your- selves to that bondage.' It is " through faith in Christ Jesus" that they were intro- duced into the privileges and formed to the character of mature children. " Faith in Christ Jesus," here as in the whole of the context, is equivalent to the revelation of the truth about Christ Jesus viewed as believed. It is by this revelation believed that Christians obtain that knowledo;e of the Divine Being as " the God and Father of om' Lord Jesus Christ," and our God and Father in him, \vliicli at once fills them with joy and peace, and forms them to that love and confidence in Him which leads them to " serve Him without fear," and to " walk at liberty, keeping his connnandments." To such persons the restrictions of the Mosaic law are unnecessary, and its carnal ordinances altogether unsuited ; and such is the state into which every believer of the gospel is brought, and such is the charactei* to which every believer of the gospel is formed.^ We are now prepared to feel the force of the apostle's reason- ing. ' Now that the gospel revelation has been made, and believed by us, we stand no more in need of such an elementary, restric- tive, external dispensation as the law ; for through this gospel believed we are introduced into a state, and formed to a character, * Riccaltoim connects eV Xptn-rw with viol Ofov. His observations are. as usual, acute: — " If I am not mistaken, the apostle means to say, that their sonship was not so much by believing as by tlie consequence and fruit of it, viz. their bein^ in Christ. lie says, indeed, very plainly, that they were the children of God by faith; but it was only in Christ that they were so. The phrase «V Xpicrro) is never, so far as I remember, joined with ttuttis or ■niari'is- when beliovin-i in Christ is designed, but (Is X/jiotoi', or eVl Xpia-Tov. And thus he explains it in the following verse, where he gives the reason of what he says in this." r. IV. § 9.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELY RATIFIED. 179 to which sucli an introductory institution, however well fitted to serve its own purposes, is utterly unsuited.' That this hiMi honour of being " the children of God" is not peculiar to any class of believers, but common to them all, is the principle which the apostle states and illustrates in the succeeding verses. " For as many. of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." ^ To be " baptized into^ Christ Jesus" obviously means some- thing more than to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. The phrase occurs here only and in the sixth chapter of the Romans, verse 3d, and in both places, something is predicated of those who are " baptized into Christ," which cannot by any means be said of all who are baptized, whether in infancy or mature age, in the primary sense of the term.^ All who are baptized into Christ, are there said to be " baptized into his death," and " buried with him by baptism unto death, and risen with him," etc. And here all who are " baptized into Christ Jesus " are said to " put on Christ." Union with Christ as dying and buried, and raised again, is obviously the idea in the sixth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. To be baptized into Christ is, I apprehend, just equivalent to be united or intimately related to Christ by that faith of which a profession is made in baptism. We camiot understand the apostle's words as applying to all who, either in infancy or mature age, have undergone the rite of Chris- tian baptism, for they are not true of them all. They plainly refer to those who have received the doctrine of Christ, who " by one Sph'it have been baptized into one body, and have been made to drink into one Spirit;"* wdio are saved "by the washing of regeneration," which is not baptism, "and" — even "the renew- ing of the Holy Ghost." ^ The baptism here spoken of is the " one baptism" which belongs to those who have one God and one Lord — one spirit, one faith, one hope. It is that of which external baptism is the emblem — a blessing not at all necessarily con- nected with, and in very few instances, if any, bestowed simultane- ously with, the administration of the external rite. In the case of 1 Gal. ill. 27. ^ "V. ^ " Si qiiis hoc corporeum, quod oculis carnis aspicitiir, aquse taiitum accipit lavacrum, non est indutus Dominum Jesum Christum." — Hieronyat. * 1 Cor. xii. 13. ' Tit. iii. .5. 180 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. III. 1-IV. 7. an adult, the possession of this spiritual baptism is pre-supposed. It is not external baptism that unites to Christ. All who are thus related to Christ Jesus by faith "put on Christ." The language is figurative. Properly speaking, we put on garments. But the phrase is often used figuratively in reference to the acquisition or exercise of intellectual and moral habits, whether good or bad. We read of being " clothed with cursing," ^ of being " clothed with humility," ^ of putting off " anger, wrath, malice," etc., and putting on " kindness, humble- ness of mind,"^ etc. In this use of the figurative expression there is no difficulty. It is sometimes, though less frequently, used in reference to persons. Thus, " the Spirit of the Lord " is said to have " come on," literally " to have clothed" " Zechariah" the son of Jehoiada."* We are exhorted to putoff tlie old man, and to put on the new man.'^ And in the thirteenth chapter, verse 14, of the Epistle to the Romans, Christians are exhorted to " put on Christ." " To put on Christ" in that passage plainly means to imitate Christ, to be distinguished by tlie graces and virtues which distinguished him. To clothe ourselves with his habits. We apprehend the context here requires us to explain the phrase somewhat differently. To put on Christ is plainly some- thing parallel, if not equivalent, to being " a child of God," as bemg " baptized into Christ" is parallel to having the faith of Christ. " To put on Christ" is to become, as it were, one per- son with Christ. They are invested, as it were, with his merits and rights. They are treated as if they had done what he did, and had deserved what he deserved. They arc clothed with his righteousness, and in consequence of this they are animated by his spirit — the mind that was in him is in them. To use the apostle's own language, they do not so properly " live," as "Christ lives in them." The apostle's statement, in plain words, is — ' All who believe in Christ Jesus are so closely related to him as to be treated by God as if they were one with him.' When lie looks at them, he sees nothing, as it were, but Christ. This is the privilege of all believers. For the apostle adds, — " There is neither .Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor ' Psal. cix. 18. M pgt V 5 i c^l. iij. 8-12. * 2 Chron. xxiv. 20. » Eph. iv. 22-24. p. IV. § 9.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELY RATIFIED. 181 fi-ee, there is neither male nor female : for ye are all one ^ in Christ Jesus." ^ The general idea obviously is, that under the Christian dis- pensation our religious privileges depend on nothing but our connection "vvith Christ Jesus, which is formed entirely by faith. External distinctions are here of no avail. It is neither as a Jew nor as a Greek' equivalent to a Gentile, as a bondman nor as a freeman, as a man nor a woman, but purely and solely as a person " in Christ " that the believer enjoys any spiritual bless- ings. And all who are in Christ Jesus are blessed with the same privileges. Believers when they have put on Christ, put off these external distinctions, and appear, as it were, all one in Christ Jesus. The apostle marks here the decided difference of Christianity, both from Judaism and Paganism. There was a great difference in Judaism* between Jews and Greeks — a great difference be- tween male and female — the seal of the covenant being confined to the first. Among the pagans, slaves were excluded from the temples wdiere free men worshipped.^ The conclusion which the apostle draws from all believers being thus united, and equally united to Christ Jesus, is that they are all equally secured of those blessings which flow entirely from their connection with him. "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." *^ To be " Christ's," or to be " of Christ," the property of Christ, as it were, a part of Christ — a member of his body — his flesh and bones — one spirit with him, is the same thing as to be in him, and to be clothed with him. " If ye be Christ's," if you be united to him, " then are ye Abraham's seed." To perceive the force of the apostle's argument, you must look back to the 16th verse, where we are told that Abraham's seed was Christ. Now, says he, if ye are one with Christ, the ^ eVt. Interpreters are divided as to the meaning of this word : some insisting that it is equivalent to iarri, — others, that it is epea-ri,. It does not matter which view is taken ; the general meaning is the same. ' 2Gal. iii. 28. ^"eXKtiv. * The fieaoToi^ov tov (ppayfiov. Eph. ii. 14, 15. ^ Min. Felix. Jaspis supplies oikos — els oIkos, — ' one family — all brethren, children of the same Father, standing precisely in the same relation to Him.' « Gal. iii. 29. 182 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CILVP. III. 1-lV. 7. seed of Abraham, then are ye also Abraham's spiritual seed. You may be Abraham's natural descendants ; but if ye have not put on Christ, if ye are not in him, if ye are not his, you are not Abraham's seed. And if ye have put on Christ, if ye are in him, if ye are his, though you be an utter alien from the Hebrew family, you are one of Abraham's seed. Jews have no claim to the a])pellation, in its spiritual sense, if they are not Christ's ; and Gentiles, if they are Christ's, have just as good a claim as their believing Jewish brethren — they, too, are " heirs according to the promise." To be " an heir" of Abraham, is to possess the same blessings which Abraham possessed, and to hold them by tlie same tenure. All who are Christ's, in other words, all who believe, are " blessed with faithful," i. e. believing, " Abraham." Like him, they are justified, and like him justified through believing. " According to the promise" may either signify ' agreeably to,' in virtue of, ' the Divine promise,' which says, " in Abraham's seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed;" or ' in refer- ence to the promised blessing,' which we have seen above was justification by faith. The same sentiment is to be found strongly expressed, Rom. viii. 17, — " And if children, then heu's ; heirs of God, and joint-heu's with Christ : if so be that we suffer with him, that wo may be also glorified together." Eph. ii. 19, — " Ye " Gentiles " are no more strangers and foreign- ers, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God." Rom. ix. 7, 8, — " Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all childi'en : but. In Isaac shall thy seed be called." " The children of the promise are counted for the seed." 6. Figurative illustration of these two states. There is an unhappy disposition in mankind to overlook and underrate the advantages which they enjoy, while at the same time they often attach an utterly disproportioncd value to sup- posed advantages of which they are destitute. It is in conse- quence of this that they so eagerly, in many cases, exchange real for fancied good ; and find, too late, that they have made " a senseless bargain." It is in consequence of this, too, that in circumstances furnishing everything requisite to substantial com- fort we find so many completely miserable, just because they are without something or other which, whether right or wrong, they p. IV. § 9,] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVI^ELY RATIFIED. 183 have imagined to be necessary in order to make them happy. It is quite possible that the attainment of this very something might be productive of pain instead of pleasure, — it is absolutely certain it would not produce the effect of perfect satisfaction which is anticipated ; but in the meanwhile the want of it embitters every source of enjoyment, and keeps the mind restless and unsatisfied. It is distance which lends encdiantment to supposed ad- vantages and pleasures ; and the best way to secure ourselves from this fascination, is to endeavour to bring them near the eye of the mind, and thoroughly scrutinise them alongside of those possessed advantages for which we may be tempted to exchange tliem. In that case, we shall often find that what was a seem- ing advantage would be a real and important disadvantage to us ; and we shall uniformly find that the most promising of these advantages has its accompanying disadvantages, and is far indeed from that unmingled good which fancy told us of. The Galatian Christians, chiefly of gentile origin, were in great hazard of being led dangerously astray by that principle in human natm'e, to the operations of which I have been ad- verting, at the period the apostle Paul wrote this epistle to them. By the tender mercies of God they had been dehvered fi^"om a state of heathen ignorance, immorality, and wickedness, and made partakers of that peace and purity which flow from the knowledge and faith of the truth as it is in Jesus. " In him they had redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins;" they were "sanctified in his name, and by his Spirit;" and, in the enjoyment of his consolations, and the hope of his glory, they were " walldng in all his commandments and orcUnances blame- less," How happy must they have been, had they been but aware of then' happiness ! But, yielding a too ready ear to the statements of some Judaising teachers, they began to think that, to complete their spiritual dignity and happiness, they must submit to the initiatory rite of the Jewish economy, and yield obedience to all its ritual requisitions. Nothing seemed so venerable as this kind of connection with the holy family ; and, instead of moving onwards in that holy happy course on which, by the belief of Christian truth, they had entered, they were in extreme hazard of being drawn aside to the by-paths of cere- monial services, in which, whatever exercise for the body they 18i EPISTLE TO TUE GALATI.VNS. [cHAP. III. 1-IV. 7. might find, they would experience no improvement to the mind, no rest to the conscience, no peace to tlie heart. The apostle, Avho -svatched over them with the tender anxiety of a spiritual parent, uses the appropriate remedy. He strips the legal economy, now become obsolete, of the false splendour with which the Jndaisiiis teachers had contrived to surround it. He brinn;s it near to them — fully unfolds its nature and design — distinctly shows that it was an introductory, imperfect, and temporary dispensation — that what they strangely had been led to account dignity was indeed in their case dem-adation — what thev called goinij forward was indeed going backward — what they gloried in as progress was in reality all but apostasy. He sets the state of Judaism alongside the state of Christianity, and distinctly shows the Galatians that in their case the two were utterly incompatible, and certainly not to be for one moment compared with each other : in plain words, he assures them that if they were determined to be Jews, they must cease to be Christians ; and that, if they did make such an ex- change, they would have to regret it now and for ever. To make the thing, as it were, palpable to them, he brings it before their minds in a variety of aspects, and illustrates it by various analogies. One of the most striking of these lies now before us. He illustrates the principles he has laid down by a domestic analogy, showing that it would not be more unnatural or absurd for a family of children arrived at majority to insist on being again subjected to all the restraints of the nurserj'-, than it would be for them, after being introduced into the glorious free- dom of the children of God, voluntarily to subject themselves to the servitude of the Mosaic institution. There should have been no division of chapters here. The careful reader of the epistles must often find occasion to notice that the division of chapters and verses is far from being uni- formly judicious.' (1.) The Figure. " Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differ- cth nothing from a ser\ant, though he be lord of all ; but is * It is very justly remarked, that these divisions "dubia ssepe movent ubi nulla sunt et conjuncta disjungendo lectorcni turbant et confundunt." — K', even in Jerusalem itself, ' a yoke which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear.'' The being under such\ a law was really a state of slavery and bondage ; and therefore- 1 the Jews who were heirs of the promises differed nothing whilst,! they were under it from servants." y This was no doubt a far preferable state to that of the Gentiles ; for better be the Lord's bondmen than our own masters, or, in other words, the devil's slaves. But though a state preferable to that of the Gentiles, and necessaiy in the peculiar circumstances in which the church was placed, it was not, as we have already showed, in itself a desirable state. It was only intended to be introductory to something better. It was God's pm'pose to bring them, his bondmen-cliildren, into " the glorious liberty of his gi'own-up children;" and accordingly the apostle states, that when God by the accomplishment of his promise disclosed the mystery, when Christ being come, there could with })ropriety be given a full and plain account of the way of salvation through him — such a view of the Divine character as accompanied with divme influence, was quite sufficient without these artificial and worldly elements to lead the believer to the habitual service of God — then the family of God were delivered from that system of restriction to which they had been so long necessarily subjected, and were introduced into the enjoyment of the pri\ilege of grown-up ' Acts XV. 10. p. IV. § 9.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELY RATIFIED, 191 children. This is what is stated in the next verse, one of the most important in the Book of God.* " Bnt ^Yhen the fuhiess of the time^ was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." ^ Fully to unfold and illustrate the ideas contained in this verse, it will be necessary for us to follow an order somew^hat different fi'om that adopted in the verse itself. In such a passage as that before us, the first point is to endeavour to ascertain what is the leading idea, and wdiat are the accessory ones — what is the trunk, and what are the branches. That is easily done in the present instance. " When we were children, we were under bondage ; now when the fulness of time is come, we have ob- tained the adoption of children." To the obtaining of this it was necessary that they who were under the law should be redeemed from it ; and in order to gain this, " God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law." ^ (h.) The State ofvlodeala^ or, ^'Mature SonsJiip" into which the Church has been introduced. " The fulness of the time " ** is a Hebraism for ' the ftiU time,' in the same way as " the perfection of beauty " * is * perfect beauty, and " the promise of the Spirit," ^ ' the promised Spirit.' When the full time was come — when the time appointed of the Father ^ w^as fully arrived — then we, that is, the church, the family of God, obtained the adoption of sons. The word " adoption," '^ here, is not used in the sense in which it is employed in theological writings generally. It does not ^ Calvin's note on this passage is so valuable, that, though somewhat long, I shall quote the whole of it at the close of the Exposition. — Note A. 1 ■n-'KTjpcofid rtvos signifies ' that which fills it up.' — 1 Cor. x. 26 ; Mark viii. 20. nXrjpcofia tov xpovov, ' complementium temporis' — ' the end of the time appointed,' — iTrXTjpcodrj xpofos, TreTrX/ypcurat 6 Kaipos, eVXr/pco^Tycrai' seu TmiXr]- pcovrai rjpepai. The time of the Messiah was called by the Jews avi/reXeia roil alcovo^, Kaipos ecr)(aros, ijpepai eaxwrai. Eph. i. 10, TrXiypco^a raiu Kaipwv. Mark i. 15, 7re7rX?jpcorat 6 Kaipos koI fjyyiKev tj (BaaiXeia tov Qeoii. ^ Gal. iv. 4, 5. ^ See Note B, ^ " Tantum abest, ut eos, quibus lex lata non fuit jugo legis subjecerit, ut et ipsos Judseos liberatum venerit." — Wetsteln. * Psal. 1. 2. * Gal. iii. 14. ^ fj irpoadea-pia f]p.fpa. ^ v'lndea-ia. 192 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. III. 1-lV. 7. denote the state of a person newly introduced into the family in opposition to that of a person who is not of the family at all — it describes the state of a member of the family raised to a higher station in the family. " Adoption of sons " is equivalent to, ' the state of mature sons as opposed to the state of inftints and children.'^ It describes not the state of saints as opposed to that of sinners, but the state of saints under the Christian dispensation in contrast with that of saints under the Mosaic dis- pensation. Now, in what does that state consist? In the possession of a larger portion of knowledge of the character of God as a fathei', in a hie;her measure of filial love and confidence towai'ds Him, and in a system of religious observances in their simplicity and spirituality suited to this extended knowledge and improved character. Under the Christian dispensation there is a much clearer revelation of the character of God as " rich in mercy and ready to forgive;" "just, yet the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus," than under the Mosaic. The glory of God is most illustriously displayed "in the face of his Son Jesus Christ." The natural effect of this revelation believed is to destroy " the fear that has torment," and to fill the mind with filial confi- dence and love. These sentiments as naturally draw out the thoughts and affections towards God, and thus render unneces- sary, and indeed unsuitable, that complicated system of external religious observances which characterised the former economy. Under the Christian dispensation, the ordinances of religion consist chiefly of the simplest possible expression of the senti- ments and feelings due to God, and of the direct and obvious means of religious and moral improvement. There is just so much of positive institute, and no more, as to keep us in mind of our duty implicitly to submit to Divine authority, while even these positive institutions are so simple and significant as to have far more in them of spiritual, than of bodily, service. To use the powerful language of the first of English authors, "The doctrine of the gospel planted by teachers divinely inspired, was by them winnowed and sifted from tiie chaff" of over-dated ceremonies, and refined to such a spiritual height and temper of purity, and 1 "Yio6f(Tici," says Schott, "cnipliatice dicitur de transitu ex statu servili qualis fuit puerorum in conditioneni tilii qua usuni faciat integrum cujusquc juris ct commodi filio conipetentis." p. IV. § 9.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELY RATIFIED. 193 knowledge of the Creator, that the body, with all the circum- stances of time and place, were purified by the affections of the regenerate soul, and nothing left impure but sin ; faith needing not the weak and fallible offices of the senses to be either the ushers or interpreters of heavenly mysteries save where our Lord himself in his sacraments hath ordained." ^ (c) The Means hy which this favourable Change was effected. In order to the church obtaining this " adoption of sons " — this state of mature sonship — it was absolutely necessary that the believers under the law should be " redeemed " from it. We have already seen that the system of religious observances under that economy was rendered necessary by, and was suited to,, that imperfection of revelation, limited exertion of divine influence, and corresponding imperfection of spiritual character, which pre- vailed under it. That service, as the apostle informs us, " stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordin- ances," which could not make them that performed them perfect as pertaining to the conscience, and was imposed only " until the time of reformation."^ The removal of that state of things was necessary both in re- ference to believing Jews who were already in the family of God, and in reference to those Gentiles who by believing were to be brought into it. It was not meet that those in the family, when ^y^ admitted to the privilege of mature sonship, should continue subject to the restraints necessary in infancy and childhood ; and it was not meet that those admitted into the family in this ad- vanced state, should be made subject to these restraints. Thus it was necessary for them who were under the law to be redeemed or delivered from the law " that we " — that is, both Jews and Gentiles — " might obtain the adoption of sons." The manner in which this great and happy change in the state of the church was brought about, is thus stated, — " God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law," that He might " redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." This change in the Christian state was highly important, and its importance is marked by.the manner in which it was accomplished. It was not accomplished 1 Milton. * Heb. ix. 10. N 194 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [cHAP. III. 1-lV. 7. by a mere revelation of the Divine will by an ordinary messenger eitlier angelic or human. It was accomplished by the only- begotten Son of God becoming incarnate, and subjecting himself to the law that he might deliver liis church from under it. To bring his ancient church out of the slavery of Egypt and put them in possession of liberty and peace in Canaan, God raised up Moses and Joshua ; but to deliver them from the thraldom of the law, and to introduce them into the glorious liberty of God's children, " He sent forth his Son.'" " The Son of God " is an appellation given to him who is our Redeemer, to indicate the identity of his nature with, his personal distinction from, and the intimacy of his relation to, his divine Father, as well as the complacential affection with which they regard each other. When Jesus called God his own Father, and called himself God's oivii) only-begotten. Son, the Jcavs understood him to say he was equal with God ; and that they did not misunderstand him, is plain from our Lord never cor- recting them. This gloriovis Personage, in nature and perfection equal to the Father, but in the economy of human salvation subject to Him, was " sent forth " or commissioned by Him to bring his church into the enjoyment of '' the adoption of sons." The phrase " sent forth " ^ is used of one who sends a person from him in another direction to execute a commission.^ Plainly referring here to something preceding our Saviour's birth, it con- tains in it an intimation of the pre-existence of the Saviour — a doctrine very distinctly taught in many passages of Scripture,^ The Son of God was sent forth " made or born of a woman." * This expression obviously describes our Lord's incarnation. He was sent forth in human nature. " The AVord was made flesh, and dwelt among us."^ "Forasmuch as the children" whom he came to bring to glory " were partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same." ^ It has been ^ f^anocTTeWfiv. - It is used to denote the sending of messengers, Exod. iii. 10 ; Acts xxii. 21. ^ Scmler's remark here is excellent : " Res ipsa siiflRcit : talibus sententiis reprimi onincs illos qui existcndi initium repctunt ab liac nativitate (k yvpaiKos, qua? liic commenioratur. Molesta est sedulitas quse hie obloquitur. Johannes, chap. i. ct Paulus sjopissinic asserunt "irpuiirap^iv hujus filii apud Dciim." * ytvofitvnv (K yvvaiKos. rr» t'^"'. — Job xiv. 1. * John i. 14. « Ueb. ii. 14. r. IV. § 9.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELY RATIFIED. 195 thought that there is a reference in the phrase to the pecuHar mode of our Lord's becoming incarnate — in being born of a virgin, being the offspring of the woman. The words do not necessarily express this ; but I am not prepared to assert that the fact was not present to the apostle's mind when he chose this particular expression which naturally enough suggests this idea in preference to other expressions, which would have merely conveyed the idea of incarnation, without any reference at all to the mode. He came, not only made or born of a woman, but " made" or born "under the law;"^ not only a man, but a Jew. Many interpreters consider " the law " here as what they term the moral law in its covenant form. The doctrine which they state in these words, " Christ was made under the moral law in its covenant form" — that is, " Christ Jesus came commissioned, by the Father to yield a perfect obedience and satisfaction to the law, which his peoj)le, whether Jews or Gentiles, had broken, and thus to deliver them from condemnation, and secure for them eternal life" — is a most important truth ; but it seems very plain that it is not the truth here taught.^ The law under which Christ is here represented as made is the law under which the church was placed before his coming, and from which it was necessary to deliver her in order to the obtaining the adoption of sons. He was made under that law, inasmuch as he was the substitute of all his beheving people who had ever been under it, J^ound to obey its precepts, and to sustain its curse, which they had incurred. It is not at all unlikely that one of the arguments of the Judaising teachers was, ' Jesus Christ was himself a Jew ; he was under the law, and yielded ol^edience to all its requisitions ; he Avas circum- cised and scrupulously conformed to all its injunctions ;' and that the apostle had a reference to this in bringing forward, the fact. It is as if he had said, ' It is very true that Jesus Christ was " made under the law," but it was " to redeem them who were under the law." So far was the imposition of the law on the yevofievov VKO vofiov. ^ " There have been many disputes about the law under which Christ was made, and how far, and in what respects, he was subject to it. These I have no mind to enter into, as it is plain that it was the same law which the apostle had been speaking of, — the law which held him and all his country- men in bondasre as children under ajre." — RrrcALTOUN. 196 EPISTLE TO THE GALATFANS. [CIIAP. IH. 1-lV. 7, Gentiles fi'om being the object of bis coming, one of its designs was to deliver the Jews from under it.' It only remains, to a full elucidation of this important verse, that we inquire what cormection there is between God's sending forth his Son in human natiu'c and subject to the Mosaic law and the redemption of them who were under that law, and the /churches obtaining the adoption of sons. ^Ye have already seen that the state called ^Hhe adoption of sons'"' — the state of New Testament privileges and liberty — could not exist along with the state of legal bondage ; and Ave have seen, too, that the only honourable termination to the legal economy was to be fgund in its jirecepts being perfectly obeyed, and its curse fully endured, by the Substitute of those belonging to the spiritual Israel who had lived under it. For this purpose it was obviously necessary that that Divine Substitute should become both a man and a Jew, and in human nature, and subject to the Mosaic law, and as all his people under that law Averc bound to do, and suffer all they had deserved to suffer, and thus lay a foundation for the honour- able termination of a system which had served its purpose, and the continuation of which was inconsistent with the higher and better order of things which Avas now to take place. Besides, it Avas the imperfection of the revelation of the Avay of sah'ation, attended Avith a corresponding limited communication of divine influence, Avhich Avas the cause of that imperfection of spiritual character Avhich made the hnv necessary as a restrictive system ; and it Avas the fact that the Saviour was yet to come, that the salvation Avas yet to be accomplished, Avhich rendered the imperfection of the revelation necessary. Noaa'^, Avlien the Saviour Avas come, and had " finished transgression, and made an end of sin, and brought in an everlasting righteousness," a foundation Avas laid for a full and plain I'evelation, and this revelation, attended by the influence of the Holy Spirit, produced that state of thinking and feeling in reference to divine things to which such a system of carnal ordinances "as the law contained Avas at once unnecessary and unsuitable, and Avhioh fitted the peo])le of God for that simple spiritual order of things which distinguishes the gospel economy. Such is the apostle's analogical illustration drawn from domestic life. A question most deeply connected A^ ith our highest interests claims our attention ere Ave proceed farther. 'I'his Son of God, p. IV. § y.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELY JfATlFIED. 197 sent forth by the Father, has come into our workl — made of a woman — made under the hiw — a man, a Jew, and he has done and suffered all that was necessary to redeem them that were under the law — and m doing so he has laid a broad and sure foundation for all men, whether under the law or without law, whether Jews or Gentiles, on believing, obtaining the high pri- \Tilege of matiu'e divine sonship. An infinite atonement has been made and accepted — a plain and well-accredited revelation has been given, and a channel wide and deep opened for the com- munication of divine influence all powerful to purify and to save. We live under the dispensation in which all these things are matters, not of prediction and expectation, but of history and of experience. But we may live under that dispensation and yet continue personally uninterested in its blessings. The question — the all- important question — is, ' Am I so united to Christ as to be inter- ested in the blessings of his salvation ? ' Such an union can only be formed by the faith of the truth; and wherever that faith really exists there is that union, and there are all its blessed results. If we are the children of God, it is through the faith of Christ ; and if we believe in Christ, we are the children of God. "To as many as receive him he gives the privilege of being the sons of God — even to as many as believe in his name." Let us see then that we be not unchanged men, while an eco- nomy is in operation around us, in which " old things have passed away, and all things are become new" — that we be not in dark- ness amid light, and when many once in darkness are now light in the Lord — under condemnation while a free pardon is pro- claimed in our ears, and many as guilty as we are actually par- doned— dead while quickening influence is in active operation around us, and many once as lifeless as we are quickened together with Christ. Let us see that we be so united to Christ as to be ^' made the righteousness of God in him." Let us see that we be "created anew in Christ Jesus;" for "if any man be in Christ Jesus he is a new creature." Let us see that this double change has taken place on us. Without the first change, heaven is shut against us ; without the second, we are unfit for heaven ; without them both, it had been better for us that we never had been born. It will be a fearful thing if, with an infinite atonement — an omnipotent Spirit — a plain and well-accredited Bible — a full and a free salva- 11)8 El'ISTLK TO iilE (iALATlANS. [cUAP. III. 1-lV. 7. tion — we yet perish. No common perdition must be our per- dition— deeper than that of Jews or heathens in proportion to the greater number and higher value of our privileges. But why should there be perdition at all ? Salvation in Christ with eternal glory is brought very near us, and must be ours if we do not obstinately refuse to receive it. It can be received only in the faith of the truth of the gospel ; and why should we not believe ? all things are ready — the completed sacrifice — the free Spirit — the plain well-accredited record — nothing in the way but "the evil heart of unbelief" — a state of mind as monstrous as it is wicked, as irrational as it is ruinous. For a proof that the Galatian believers were indeed intro- duced into a state analogous to that of grown-up children, the apostle appeals to their state of mind in reference to God pro- duced by the operation of the Holy Spirit. '^ {d) Consequence and proof of this favourable change of condition. The consequence and proof of this happy change in the church's condition are described in the two following verses, — " And because' ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, cr)-ing, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son ; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." 2 The word " sons" ^ is obviously to be understood as equivalent to groAvn-up sons, as opposed to sons in a state of infancy and childhood; and the whole phrase "because ye are sons" is equiva- lent to — ' as a proof of yoiu' being introduced into a state of mature sonship, as an evidence that you have indeed obtained the adoption of sons* — " God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." ' <> Sec Note C. ^ Many interpreters, like our translators, consider ort as equivalent to StoTt. Others, perhaps witli equal justice, pive it its ordinary meaning, and supply drjXnv, " And that ye are sons is evident," as at chap. iii. 11. ^ Gal. iv. G, 7. ^ vlus, as opposed to vijnioi. vrjTrwrrjs and vloOfo-in arc contrasted. " Dixit vUn non TTfitSfs enini sunt piieri, h. c. infantes aut servi; ut runique />M<'r sig- nificat in oninilnis linguis: ct ciun ipse Christus ttois dicitur scrvus intelligi- tur. Nee dicit vrjmoi in/iDitis, (pii fari nonduni sciunt; scd viovs vocat, nimiruni adultos. nee tantuu) loqueiths sed clamanlcs." — A. Mouus. Trjv viodftriav. p. IV. § 9.] JUSTIFICATIOX BY FAITH DIVINELY KATIFIED. 199 It is not very easy to determine whether by " the Spirit of God's Son" we are here to understand the Holy Spirit, that divine person who, along with the Fatlier and the Son, exists in the unity of the Godhead, and. is the great agent in the com- munication of spiritual blessings; or — like the phrase " The spirit of Elijah " — the temper, the disposition, of Christ — the way of thinking and feeling in reference to God, by which he was char- acterised. Both modes of interpretation are sufficiently agree- able to the use of the language and the object of the apostle. Indeed, it matters very little which is adopted ; for the charac- teristic sentiments and disposition of Jesus Christ, his spirit, was the result of the operation of the Holy Spirit, who, in his enlightening and sanctifying influence, was given him ^^dthout measure. At the same time, the phrase " sent forth," which is the same as that used in reference to our Lord in the 4th verse, seems more applicable to a person than to a temper or disposition. And on this account we are disposed to consider tlie plirase " Spii'it of his Son" as an appellation of the Holy Spirit, intimating either his essential or economical relation to the Divine Son — either his proceeding from him, or his being sent by him, or his dwelling in him. By God's sending forth the Holy Spirit into the hearts of the believing Galatians, we are to understand his making them the subjects of his influence. In the v/hole of the Christian economy " All things are of God." He sends forth his Son ; He sends forth the Spirit of his Son. " Of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things." The particular nature of the influence of the Spirit of his Son wdiom He sends forth is described in the conclusion of the verse, — " Crying, Abba, Father." The word "crjnng" is by a He- braism used instead of making to cry. The phrase is explained by a similar one in the parallel passage in Romans, — " Whereby we cry, Abba, Father." ' The Spirit of God's Son sent into the hearts of the believing Galatians led them to cry, "Abba, Father." The Holy Spirit, through the faith of the gospel, had formed them to the sentiments and feelings of chikh'en, had given them such views of the Divine character as led them to venerate Him, to love Him, to tnist in Him, and to express these sentiments and * Rom. viii. 15. 200 EPISTLt: TO THE GALATIANS. [cHAP. III. 1-IV. 7. feelings in spontaneous, reverential, affectionate, confidential prayer. " Abba" is a Syrian word, signifying fatlier, and a word which none but chikh-en were allowed to use. The Syro- Chaldaic was the apostle's vernacular language as a Jew. The idea he means to express, was that the Galatian believers felt towards God as children, and showed that they felt in this way by the manner in which they approached Hirn in their devotions. Now, what could be more natural for him than to use the word with which his ear was most familiar as the expression of filial regard, which he had likely a thousand and a thousand times addressed, botli to his earthly and heavenly father, as an ex- pression of confidence and tenderness? and then, recollecting that many of those to whom he wrote did not understand the Syriac language, he adds a translation in a language with which they were acquainted.^ The distinction between slaves and children is strongly marked. Slaves seldom spoke to their master ; and when they did, it was in a subdued voice, and then they called him Lord, Baali. Children habitually speak to then" parents — they speak boldly. In distress they ay to them, and they call them. Father, Abba. Selden quotes the Babylonian Gemara to prove that it was not allowed to slaves to use the title of xVbba in addressing the head of the family, or the correspondent title Imma, when speaking to the mistress of it. The possession of such views and feelings in reference to God, and the habitual expression of these in humble, believing, affectionate prayer, are the result of the Spirit of God's Son being sent into the heart, and the most satisfactory of all evidence that we indeed have received the adoption — are the children of God through Jesus Christ. This is the conclusion which the apostle draws from it in reference to the Galatians in the next verse, — " Wherefore thou art no more a seiwant, but a son ; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." ^ ^ It is a striking instiince of learned triflinf;:, Avlicn Dr Gill remarks on this passage, that " the word Abba, road backwards and forwards, is the same pronunciation ; and may teach us that God is the Father of his people in adversity as well as in prosperity." Olshausen's note is better: " With the assumption that the child-like lisp in the word may be combined Winer's opinion, that well known prayers began with Abba; so that the clause miglit be paraphrased thus, ' Who teaches us to pray with a child-like mind, and in a child-like form.' " • Gal. iv. 7. p. IV. § y.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DIVINELY RATIFIED. 201 Tlie apostle here changes the number in his address from the plural to the singular, " tliou art no more," etc. instead of, " ye are no more," etc. Such changes are common in the apostle's writings ; and it is not always possible to assign the reason. In the case before us, it is not improbable that the apostle's object was to impress on the minds of the Galatians that the privilege he was speaking of was a personal privilege, not enjoyed in consequence of their connection with any visible society merely, but in consequence of every individual, by his own faith of the gospel, obtaining an interest in the blessings it reveals and conveys. The verse is obviously a deduction from what goes before. The import of the connective particl^i^" wherefore," or, so that, or, thus, is — 'since God has by sending his Son,' etc. has redeemed those who are under the law, and introduced his church into the state of mature sonship, and since He has by the opjration of his Holy Spirit formed you to a character suited to that state, it is e\^dent that ye are indeed sons of God, grown-up sons of God, and enjoying all the privileges of that exalted state. " Thou art a son"*" at once placed in the filial relation and formed to the filial character. God regards and treats thee as his son ; and thou art taught by the Spirit to think and feel in reference to Him as thy Father ; " and if a Son, then an heir of God through Christ." To be the " heir " of any person, in strict propriety of language, is to be destined to be the legal possessor of his property after his death. It is plain that in this point of view the word is inapplicable to God. To be " an heir of God " is just to be possessed, and secured, of all the blessings which may be ex- pected from God in the character of a father. The force of the apostle's argument is, ' If thou art indeed a son of God, thou^ mayest safely count on all the privileges of sonship ; if thou art a son, the inheritance assuredly is, or will be, thine.' We have the same argument, nearly in the same words, Romans viii. 17, — " And if children, then heirs ; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ : if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." ^ vi6s. " n^53 Hebrpeis sexum utruruque notat : ita reKva ei vloi pro filiis et filiabus: injure Ciesareo Jilius Jiliam etiam iiotat." — Wesselius. 202 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. 111. 1-lV. 7. And all this is " throuo;h Christ Jesus." It was entirely on account of what Christ had done and suffered in the room of the believing Galatian — it was entirely in consequence of the belief of tlie truth on this subject — that he was a son and an heir of God ; and the conclusion to which the apostle obviously wishes him to come, and to which his statements plainly lead, is this, — ' What object can in your case be secured by subjecting yourself to the law ? Ye are already in possession of, or at any rate secured of, all you can possibly wish in the way of dignity and happiness ; ye are already the sons and heirs of God through Christ Jesus. Ye are already complete in Christ, — why go to the law then ? What can it do for you which he has not done ? AVhat can it give you of which you are not already possessed "? ' But you will notice the apostle introduces another idea ; he not only exhibits the dignity and happiness of their state as believers simply, but he exhibits it as contrasted with the de- gradation and misery of a situation in which they had been previously placed. " Thou art no longer a servant, but a son^" etc. Some interpreters suppose ttiat the apostle is here contrast- ing the state of believers under the gospel with that of believers under the law. But this is obviously not the case. The apostle in this passage represents the state of believers under the law not as a condition of servitude (though in some respects resembhng such a state), but of tutelage ; he compares it not with the condition of slaves, but with that of children during their state of minority.^ Had he been addressing Cln'istian Jews, he would have said rather, — ' Ye are no longer in a state of infancy and childhood, but in a state of mature sonship^J Indeed, from the following verse it is quite plain that he is adch'essing himself to converted idolaters, persons who never had been subject to the law. The word " servant " properly signifies ' slave,' and strikingly describes that degraded spiritual condition in which the Galatians were previously to their conversion. ' Thou art no longer a slave as thou once wast — the devoted, degraded seiwant of false divinities — but thou art introduced into the glo- rious freedom of the children of the true God, and into all the immunities and privileges connected with such a situation.' ' They wore utjirun, rfKv'm, iu»( SoCXot. PAET V. THE APOSTLE'S EXPOSTULATIONS WITH AND WAENING OF THE GALATIANS. Galatians IV. 8-v. 12. — " Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beg- garly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage ? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you laboiu: in vain. Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am ; for I am as ye are : ye have not injured me at all. Ye know how, through infirmity of the flesh, I preached the gospel unto you at the first. And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected ; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me. Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth ? They zealously afiect you, but not well ; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might afiect them. But it is good to be zealously aflfected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you. My little children, of whom I travail in birth again imtil Christ be formed in you, I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice ; for I stand in doubt of you. Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law ? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons ; the one by a bond maid, the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bond woman was born after the flesh ; but he of the free woman was by promise. Which things are an allegory : for these are the two covenants ; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage Avith her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of iis all. For it is written. Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not ; break forth and cry thou that travailest not : for the desolate hath many more children than she Avhich hath an husband. Noav we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless, what saith the Scripture ? Cast out the bond woman and her son : for the son of the bond woman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bond woman. 204 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIAXS. [ciIAr. IV. 8-V. 12. but of the free. Stand fast therefore ia the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Be- hold, I Paul say imto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whoso- ever of you arc justified by the law ; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision ; but faith which worketh by love. Ye did run well; who did hinder you, that ye should not obey the truth ? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. I have confidence in you tlirough the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded : but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, Avhosoever he be. And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why. do I yet suffer persecution ? then is the offence of the cross ceased. I would they were even cut off which trouble you." SECT. I. — INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. Man is a being endowed with affections as well as intellect, and these different parts of his mental constitution mutually influence each other. While, on the one hand, you cannot obtain a secure hold of the affections without first brino;ino; the understandinf; over to yom' side ; on the other, the having the affections on your side makes it a comparatively easy work to obtain the suffi'age of the intellect. The same sentiments and arguments wear a very different appearance to the mind when they come from a friend and from an enemy. If I am prejudiced in favour of an indi- vidual, I naturally sec everything he says in the best light. I am prejudiced in favour of his sentiments and arguments ; and if the former are true and the latter conclusive, their truth and force are more readily acknowledged and more strongly felt just because they are his. On the other hand, if I am prejudiced against an individual, I view everything he says and docs with suspicion. I am prejudiced against his sentiments and argu- ments, just because they arc his ; and though the former shoidd be true and the latter conclusive — so evidently true and com- pletely conclusive that there is no denying the one or resisting the other — yet still there is a struggle against, and a reluctance in, surrendering our understandings into the hands of one who has no hold on the heart. Hence the importance of a teacher of Christian truth standing well in the affections of those whom he instructs. If a teacher V, V. § 1.] INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 205 of Christianity be generally viewed as a man altogether destitute of, or greatly deficient in, integrity and piety, anxious to promote his own interest and reputation, but careless of the spiritual interest of those to whom he ministers — however able and eloquent may be his discourses, however clear his statements of truth and powerful his enforcements of duty — it is not at all likely that his labours will either be very acceptable or very useful. On the other hand, if a teacher of Christianity be regarded by his people with reverence and love, as really " honest in the sacred cause," firmly believing every statement he makes, exemplifying in his own character and conduct every virtue and duty he recom- mends, truly desirous of promoting their spiritual improvement and ultimate salvation, truth fi"om his lips is likely to prevail with double sway, attention will be readily yielded, and convic- tion, instead of being resisted, will be welcomed, and obedience cheei'fully rendered. Both Paul and his Judaising opposers in the church of Galatia seem to have been aware of the peculiarity in the human consti- tution we have just adverted to, and to have regulated their conduct accordingly. Perceiving that it was a hopeless under- taking to shake the faith of the Galatians in Paul's doctrine so long as he continued the object of their veneration, esteem, and love, these false teachers appear to have left no means untried to destroy their confidence in his divine mission as an apostle, and his integrity as a man. They seem to have used the most un- worthy acts to seduce their affections from their spiritual father and to appropriate them to themselves ; and it appears that their nefarious attempts were attended in too many cases with success. The apostle easily could, and actually did, oppose clear state- ments to their misrepresentations, and powerful arguments to their sophistical reasonings ; but he knew human nature too well to think that statements of truth however clear, and reasonings in its support however powerful, could of themselves regain alien- ated afi^ection, or, while that affection continued alienated, were likely to produce their own appropriate effect on the mind. To counteract the mischievous design of his enemies and to pave the way for the unprejudiced consideration of his statements and arguments, we have seen him in the two previous chapters of his epistle vindicating his authority as an apostle, and his integrity as a man ; and in the paragraph which begins the next division 20fi EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CIIAP. IV. 8-V. 12. of his epistle, we find him with the skill of a master in the science of human nature making an appeal to the all but extinguished kind affections of those who had once so dearly loved him, bring- ing before their minds in a manner peculiarly calculated to make an impression on their hearts, that mvitual interchange of kind affections and friendly offices by which their original intercourse had been characterised, and assuring them that however they might have changed he remained unaltered, that his heart beat as warm as ever to their best interests, and tliat all he had en- dured for them he was willing to endure again, though the more he loved them the less he should be loved. The object of the apostle in thus adverting to their former situation soon becomes apparent. It lays a foundation for a new argument against their seeking to be subjugated to the Mosaic law. The substance of it is this : * Ye were once slaves ; now you are free. Would you wish to be slaves again ? for, indeed, there is much in common between the rites of the religion you have abandoned and these over-dated ceremonies for which you are discovering so preposterous a fond- ness.' SECT. II. — THE APOSTLE SHOWS THE GALATIANS THAT THEY WERE IN DANGER OF SUBJECTING THEMSELVES TO A BOND- AGE SIMILAR TO THAT FROM WHICH THEY HAD BEEN DE- LIVERED. " Ilowbeit then, when }e knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain." ^ It is as if the a})ostle had said, ' Ye are no more slaves ; but there was a time when ye were slaves.' " When ye knew not God," — that is, ' when you were ignorant of the true God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you were in a state of heathenism,'^ — "ye did service unto them which are no gods." * Gal. iv. 8-11. * iWeni X'*'/"^ Xptfrroi". Eph. ii. 11, 12. p. V. § 2.] DANGER OF THE GALATIANS. 207 The English phrase do service, which suggests no other notion than worship, does not by any means come up to the apostle's idea : " Ye were enslaved ^ to them who are by nature no gods," — ideal beings, dead men, evil spirits, heavenly luminaries. ' You served your false divinities, and you served them like slaves: you had the feelings of slaves in reference to them, and your conduct was like that of slaves engaged in a toilsome, profitless round of external services.' In false religion in all its forms, nothing is more remarkable than its enslaving, degrading in- fluence on the minds of its votaries. Such was once the situation of the Galatians ; but an im- portant change had taken place : " They knew God, or rather were known of God." ^ These words admit of two different modes of interpretation. According to one of these, the words mean, ' They had obtained the knowledge of the existence and character of the true G od ; or rather, to speak more accurately, they had been made to know by God.^ Their knowledge of God was not the result of their own research : it \\'as entirely of God. He gave the revelation ; He sent it to them ; He " opened their understanding" to understand and believe it.' In this case we must suppose the apostle to use a Hebraism. According to the other mode of interpretation, which, upon the whole, I think the preferable one, the word " knoio" is to be considered as equivalent to ' acknowledge,' — a sense which it certainly has in some passages of Scripture ; for example, Amos iii. 2 ; Matth. vii. 23 ; John x. 14 ; 1 Cor. viii. 3. ' But now, after ye have acknowledged God, or rather have been acknowledged by God,* — now that you have, in consequence of having believed the gospel, taken the true God for your God, and have been ac- knowledged by Him as his people, by his bestowing on you numerous and important privileges, — how is it that in these circumstances " ye turn again ^ to the weak and beggarly ele- ments whereunto ye desire," or do ye deshe, " again to be in bondage r" ''■ edovXeva-are. ^ jfovrfs Qeov, fxaWov 8( yvaxrdeuTts vtto Qeov. ^ Interpreting the Greek passive as if it were the Hebrew hophal. * TrpoaXijcjidevTes, as Theophylact interprets it. 5 TToKiu ciucodeu. Our translators have not rendered avwBev, considering the two particles as signifying nothing more than ivakiv. This seems a mistake: avu>6iv seems equivalent to " eo modo quo a principio." 208 EPI8TLK TO THE GALATIANS. [CIIAP. IV. 8-V. 1?. These words in.ay seein at first view inexplicable, as they may appear to involve in them one or other of the two following equally false snppositions : that the Galatian Gentiles had been subject to the law previously to their believing the gospel ; or, that they were disposed to return to heathenism. There is a principle that removes all difficulty. — The rites of the heathen worship and the now obsolete ritual observances of the Mosaic economy having much in common, they both deserved the name of "weak and beg- garly elements." The leading character of both was exteniality ; they were both "worldly elements;" they consisted "in meats, and drinks, and divers washings." Those rites were " weak and beggarly." ^ These epithets seem synonymous ; and intimate that they were incapable of propitiating God, of pacifying the conscience, of improving the character. The apostle" represents the " weak " ^ and the " unprofitable " * as the characteristic features of the law, viewed as a method of salvation. The apostle's expostulation is ob^■iously very forcible : ' That ye should have been slaves, even the slaves of false deities, when you knew no better, was not wonderful ; but now that you have acknowledged God as your God, and that He has acknowledged you, not merely as his servants, but his sons, it is very extraor- dinary that, after experiencing " the liberty of the children of God" — the Avalking at liberty, keeping his commandments, ye should discover a disposition again to be subjected to a state of things which, as to externality and restriction, bears a striking analogy to the state from which you have been delivered.' That the apostle's suspicions were not unfounded, he makes evident from the facts he refers to in the next verse. " Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years." ^ This verse may be rendered interrogatively ; but that does not matenally affect its meaning. From this passage, it is plain that some of the Galatian converts had yielded to the Judaising teachers, and commenced in good earnest to keep the law. While they were Gentiles, they performed a set of useless ceremonies in honour of their fiilse deities; and now they do the same thing though unintentionally, in honour of the true God. Under the Christian dispensation, with the exception ' ucrdfufi Koi TTTwxn- * Ileb, vii. 18. ' to naOtpis. * TO (ivu>(\if\fs. * Qal. iv. 10. p. V. § 2.] DANGER OF THE GALATJANS. 209 of the Lord's day/ all days are alike. God may be worshipped at all times, and in all places. The phrase " days" ^ probably refers to the Je'U'ish Sabbath, and the great day of exjoiation ; " months,"' to the festivals at the new moons ; " times,"* to annual feasts, such as the Passover, Pentecost, the Feast of Tabernacles ; " years," ^ to the Sabbatical year and the year of Jubilee. It seems plain, from the fourteenth and fifteenth chapters of the Epistle to the Romans, that though the apostle considered the observing of these institutions on the part even of believing Jews as unnecessary, he did not consider it as unlawful, so long as they viewed them not as a means of justification, but merely as institutions originally of Divine appointment, and in their estimation unrepealed. But for believing Gentiles, who never had been subject to the law, to engage in these services, had a very suspicious aspect indeed, and certainly seemed to say that they wanted something more than was to be found in Christ and in Christianity. Accordingly, the apostle adds, " I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain." ^ ' I am afraid that you have rendered of no effect all the labour I have bestowed on you.' The great object of a Christian teacher is to ^ That, under the Christian dispensation, the first day of the week is divinely appropriated for religious purposes, and that this is in reality the form in which the principle embodied in the Sabbath from the beginning is exhibited under that dispensation, are principles capable, I apprehend, of complete proof by a " conjugation of moral probabiUties," which, on a fair mind, is fitted to produce an eflfect as powerful as demonstration. The dis- like of the objects of the institution, it is to be feared, in many cases leads people to demand a kind and degree of evidence of which the subject does not admit ; and I am afraid harm has been done by persons endeavouring, with the best intentions doubtless, to meet this imreasonable demand. ^ TjfiepaS' ' firjvas. * Kaipovs. f eviavrovs, ® Gal. iv. 11. (jjo^ovfiai v/xas is an example of a construction in which a noun in the accusative is governed by the first of two verbs, instead of being nominative or, more rarely, accusative to the second, els vfias, 'in reference to you,' equivalent to vnep vpav. A similar construction is found, Ignat. Ep. ad Rom. ii. — cjiajSovpai rfjv vpSiv ayaTVT]v, fir) avTr] [le d8iKTjo-r]. Storr considers the use of vfias as indicating this thought, ' I am afraid that you yourselves have frustrated the labour I bestowed on you. The Judaising teachers could not have done it without your assistance.' He considers it as an expression similar to e(j)o^ovvTo tov \a6v, " lest they should be stoned," Acts v. 26; that is, ' they feared that the people would stone them.' Jaspis brings out the same sense in his note : " Timeo ne opera, quam vobis insumsi « vobis irrita reddatur — per vos vana sit." O 210 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. IV. 8-V. 12. bring men to the enjoyment of the blessings of Christianity, by leading them to nnderstand and believe " the truth as it is in Jesus." And whenever men who profess to believe the gospel act in a manner which gives reason to think that they really do not understand and believe the gospel, then the Christian teacher has reason to fear that he has bestowed labour on them in vain. Such was the conduct of the Galatian Christians. The man who clearly imderstood and firmly believed the gospel, which Paul had preached among them, found all in Christ of which he stood in need. " Christ" was to him " all in all." He Avanted no wisdom but the wisdom of Christ — no propitiation but this pro- pitiation. " Of God Christ was made unto him wisdom;" and in him he found "justification, and sanctification, and redemp- tion." ^ But when, by submitting to circumcision, offering sacri- fices, and performing other ceremonial services, the Galatians seemed to find something wanting in Christ, there was much reason to fear that, notwithstanding their profession, they did not understand and believe the truth ; and that, of course, the apostle's labour had been bestowed on them in vain. There is something peculiarly affecting in these simple words of the apostle. He had laboiu'cd, laboured too with appai'ent success; but now, through the exertion of false teachers, the fruits of his labour seem in extreme hazard of being completely blasted. How happy would it be for Christ's church if ministers in general were of the apostle's spirit — " jealous over their people \rith a godly jealousy !"^ SECT. III. — THE APOSTLE KEMINDS THEM OF THE CIRCUM- STANCES or THEIR CONVERSION, AND SHOWS THEM THAT NOTHING HAD OCCURRED THAT SHOULD HAVE CHANGED THEIR SENTIMENTS TOWARDS EITHER HIM OR HIS TEACHING. " Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am ; for I am as ye are : ye have not injured me at all. Ye know how, through infirmity of the flesh, I preached the gospel unto you at the first. And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor re- jected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear ^ 1 Cor. i. 30. SiKairxTvuT] t? Ka\ nyiatrfxhs k TtKvui fiov. P 226 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. IV. f^-X. 12. factory evidence that they were to be addressed as " babes in Christ," not as "spiritual" — "men of fall age."^ The great object of his anxiety was, " that Christ might be fonned in tliem;"^ that is, that they might be true, thorough Christians. The phrase is peculiarly expressive. When a man becomes a ti'ue Christian, " Christ is formed in him ;" that is, Christ's mode of thinking and feeling becomes his. The mind that Avas in Christ is in him. He has the spirit of Christ ; so that he thinks as Christ thought, feels as Christ felt, speaks as Christ spoke, acts as Christ acted, suffers as Christ suffered. He is just an animated image of Jesus Christ. This, and nothing short of this, is to be a Christian ; and to have his people thus made Christians, is the great object of every faithful minister. Nothing short of this will satisfy him. The gaining of this object excited the apostle's most earnest, anxious desires in reference to the Galatians. There was nothing he would not willingly do and suffer to secure it. " I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you." No figure could more strongly express the apostle's agony of anxiety and desire. " I travail again in birth." He had suffered much painful anxiety in reference to them formerly ; and now he is, as it were, constrained by their inconstancy to endiu'e for them a second time the sorrows of a mother.^ Who that sincerely con- ^ 1 Cor. iii. 1. Ilcb. v. 13, 14. ^ " If ministers wish to do any gooil, let them labour to form Christ, not to form themselves, in their hearers." — Calvin. * co8iva> is used to signify the pains of gestation as well as of parturition, like the Ileb. h^T,, Psal. vii. 15, LXX. Erasmus' paraphrase, though some- what ditfuse, is very beautiful : — " Utinam liceret vobis oculos vestros in pectus meum inserere, cerneretis nimirum quanto cum animi dolore scribam hjec. Filioli mci! semel vos genui Christo, non sine multo nixu ac molcstia, nunc descisccntes a Christo denuo parturio donee plene formetur in vobis. Semei) bonum jeceram unde pure Christianos nasci conveniebat, sed nescio quo fascino dcgeneratis in Juda>os, et in ' aliam formam' transitis. Christus ca'lestis est, spiritualis est, vos terreni ct carnales esse tenditis. Sed aft'ectum animi mei non satis exprimit epistola. Utinam nunc liceat apud nos esse ut quod literis uteunque significo ])ossim viva voce vobis apcrire. Nonnihil adderet vultus, nonnihil lachrynuv, nonnihil ipse vocis ardor. In omnia me mutarem quo vos re\ ocarem ad Christum, nunc blandiens, nunc obtestans, mmc objurgans. Orationcm melius ad varietatcs animorum et ad rem pre- sentem accommodarem. f.xperirer omnes rcmediorum vias donee omnes ad sanitatera revocassem." Not loss beautiful are the words of '* the judicious Hooker:" — "He pitieth them; he takoth tlieui up iu his arms; he lovingly p. V. § 5.j THE apostle's ANXIETIES AND WISHES. 227 siders tlie weight of the interests which hang on Christ's being formed in the soul can wonder at the apostle's anxiety ? The true cause of wonder and of regret is that such anxiety is so rare m those to whom is committed the care of souls — the manage- ment of the highest interests of the immortal mind. ^'I desire to be present with you, that I may change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you." " I stand in doubt of you ;" ^ that is, * I do not know well what to think of you. I do not know well how to address you. I cannot think of treating you as apostates, and yet I cannot speak to you as consistent Christians.' " I desire to be present with you." ' I wish I were with you, and then I should be able to ascertain exactly how the matter stands.' " And to change my voice ;" that is, " to vary my mode of ad- dress according to circumstances," ^ as Luther has it. " I could reprove sharply them who are obstinate, and comfort the weak with sweet and loving words, as occasion should require." An epistle can but give what it has — the loving voice of a man can add and diminish, and change itself into all manners of affection, suited to times, places, and persons. The apostle well knew the importance of suiting the applications to the state of the spiritual patient — the importance, to use the apostle Jude's expression, of "making a difterence," '' "having compassion" on some, and " saving others by fear, pulling them out of the fire." The presence of a minister with his j)eople, and, so far as it is prac- ticable, his intimate acquaintance with them, are of the utmost importance to the proper and successful discharge of the duties embraces them ; he kisseth them ; with more than fatherly tenderness, does so temper, qualify, and correct the speech he uses toward them, that a man cannot easily discern whether did most abound the love which he bore to their godly aflfection, or the grief which the danger of their opinion bred him." — Discourse of Justification, Works, vol. iii. p. 406. 8vo, Lond. 1830. ^ dnopovfiat. — John xiii. 22 ; 2 Cor. iv. 8 ; Koi rjirope'iTo LXX. Gen. xxxii. 7. — iv vfitv, 'in reference to you.' — 1 Cor. ii. 6; xiv. 11; 2 Thess, i. 4. " dnopovfiai is to be taken as passive : ' I am brought into embarrassment in regard to you.' " — Olshausen. " Absque dubio apostolus hisce verbis majus quid innuit quam se de Galatis dubium esse, et hesitare quidnam de iis asser- endum sit : versu enim prfecedenti vehementem animi sui commotionem indicaverat. In siniili ferme emphasi hoc verbum occurrit, LXX. Gen. xxxii. 7, ubi dicitur, Et timuit Jacob valde et fuit illi anxium. 'h — .:'•, qure postrema verba transferuntur, koI ^TropeiTo." — Keuchknius. ^ " Mode leniter modo duriter loqui prout res ferret." * 8iaKpiv6iJ.fvoi. — Jude 22. 228 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIAXS. [cHAP. IV. 8-V. 12. of the pastoral office. " Confidence about the profession of others cannot be scripturally regulated— if it vary not in degree according to the scriptural evidences they afford of believing the truth, and it is hard to say whether it be more dangerous when it is on the favourable or unfavourable side."^ What an admirable model for a Christian minister is the apostle Paul ! May the Great Shepherd of the sheep deeply imbue all his servants with the spirit of Paul, which is, indeed, His own spirit, that they may be enabled to " feed the flock of the Lord, which He purchased with his blood" — to "gather the lambs in tlieir arms, and to carry them in their bosom, and gently lead those which are with young" — to " seek that which is lost, and to bring that again which was driven away, and to bind up that which was broken, and to strengthen that which was sick ;" or to adopt another set of figures, that they may be " gentle among the people of Christ, as a nurse cherisheth her children — so affectionately desirous of them as to be willing to impart to them, not only the gospel of God, but also their own souls" — "labouring night and day, exhorting, and comforting, aiid charging every one of them, as a father doth his children." ^ When such pastors abound, the church nmst flourish. From such labours divine influence will not be withheld. Then, as in the befrinnintr, " The word of the Lord would have free coiu'se, and be glorified" — then would " the churclies have rest, and be edified ; walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, they would be edified," ^ and " the exalted Saviour seeing of the travail of his soul would be satisfied." SECT. VI. — ALEEGORICAL ILLUSTRATION. In the paragraph which follows, the apostle endeavours to wean the Judaising Galatians from their strange attachment to an obsolete and servile economy by unfolding to them its true nature. This he does by referring them to an emblematical representation of the two economies taken from the domestic history of Abraham by the prophet Isaiah (ch. liv. 1), and amplified by himself.* ' John Walker. ' 1 Thess. ii. 7, 11. » Acts ix. 31. * This {illegorical representation may be considered as a specimen of what the apostle would have said to them liad he been with them. r. V. § 6.] ALLEGORICAL ILLUSTRATIOX. 229 " Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not liear the law ? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons ; the one by a bond maid, the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bond woman was born after the flesh : but he of the free woman was by promise. Which things are an allegory : for these are the two covenants ; the one from the Mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is fi-ee, which is the mother of us all. Foi* it is written, Rejoice, tliou barren that bearest not ; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not : for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that loas born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless, what saith the Scripture ? Cast out the bond woman and her son : for the son of the bond woman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bond woman, but of the free." ' 1. Introduction. The word "hear"^ in this place, as in many other places of Scripture, is equivalent to, ' to attend to,' or ' to understand.' * The " law" may be interpreted, either of the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses,* or of the Mosaic institution of which it gives an account. The latter is its meaning when it occurs the first time, and the former seems to be its meaning when it occurs a second time. It matters little in which way you understand it. The force of the apostle's question is plainly this, 'If you Galatians, who aspire to circumcision, and subjection to the Mosaic law as a privilege, understood the true nature of the law, as described in the inspired account of it, you would not be so anxious to bring 1 Gal, iv. 21-31. ^ aKoveiv. 5 Matth. xi. 14 ; Mark iv. 33 ; 1 Cor. xiv. 2. The Hebrew yn'a is used in tlie same way. " Origo formulas loquendi ex more Veterum, non legendo, sed recitantem audiendo, Scripta cognoscendi explicanda." — KorPE. * " vojiov Se As-yei to rtjs yevea-eas jBi^Xiov e6os yap uvtm naa-av ttjv TraXaiav vi'ifxov Kokflp." — ThEOPHTLACT. 230 EPISTLE TO THE GALATLUS^S, [CHAP. IV. 8-V. 12. yourselves under its yoke — you avouIcI find that to you it is fraught, not with safety and honour, but with danger and disgrace.' ^ Tlie notions about the law which tlie Judaising teachers had instilled into the minds of the Galatian converts were false. Their attachment to the law was formed on these false notions ; and therefore the shortest and surest Avay of weaning them from their attachment to the law was the exposure of the falsehood of these notions, and the statement of the opposite truth. This statement the apostle does not make in direct tenns ; but by a reference to a piece of Jewish history which afforded a striking emblematical representation of the truth on this subject, and which had already been employed by the prophet Isaiah. 2. The allegory. " For it is written, that Abraham had two sons ; the one by a bond maid, the other by a free woman. But he iclio teas of the bond woman was born after the flesh ; but he of the free woman was by promise." ^ "For"" is, we apprehend, a mere connective particle here. " It is written,""* is an ordinary fomiula of quotation. Here it does not mean that what follows is written in so many words in any of tlie Old Testament books ; but that the focts here stated are related there. Abraham had a nrnnber of sons besides Isaac and Ishmael ; but it is to tliese, and to the circumstances of their birth, subsequent conduct, history, and fate, that the apostle's discussion exclusively relates. Ishmael was the son of Hagar, a female slave. Isaac was the son of Sarah, a free woman, of the same rank with her husband. Ishmael was born in the ordinaiy course, of nature. Isaac was bom in consequence of a peculiar interference of Hea- ven, made known "by promise." Such are the facts of the history. 3. The allegory ea-plaiiied. "Which things are an allegory: for these ai'e the two covenants; the one from the Mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth ' " Legem non legistis." — Vulg. " Si me non auditis, legem ipsam quam ambitis, audite: ipsa vos a sc ad Christimi amandavit." — C. A Lapide. It is to the lliouglit implied in the words that hc are to trace the use of the particle yap, if it be more than a mere indication of connection. * Gal. iv. 22, 23. ^ 7"'P- * ytypairrai. r. V. § 6.] ALLEGOEICAL ILLUSTEATION. 231 to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not ; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not : for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband." ' The introductory words, " which things are an allegory," have occasioned much difficulty to interpreters.- Some have con- sidered them as equivalent to, 'these events were intended to ty|)ify corresponding events under the Christian economy, and their history is to be viewed as an obscure prophecy.' The words certainly do not necessarily imply this ; and the admission of the principle on which the interpretation goes, ' that every- thing, or almost eveiything, in Old Testament history is typical,' would lay a foundation for the indulgence of the wildest dreams of the imagination,^ and would withdraw the mind from the ' Gal. iv. 24-27. ^ anvd iariv aXXTj-yopovfiepa. ^ " Origen, and many others along with him, have seized the opportunity of torturing the Scriptures in every possible way, away from the true sense. They concluded that the literal sense is too mean and poor; and that under the outer bark of the letter there lurk deeper mysteries, which cajmot be extracted but by beating out allegories. And this they have no difficulty in accomplishing : for speculations which appear to be ingenious have always been preferred, and always will be preferred, by the world to solid doctrine. " With such approbation, the licentious system gradually attained such a height, that he who handled Scripture for his own amusement was not only suflered to pass unpunished, but obtained the highest applause. For many centuries, no man was considered to be ingenious who had not the skill and daring necessary for changing into a variety of curious shapes the sacred Word of God. This was undoubtedly a contrivance of Satan, to undermine the authority of Scripture, and to take away from the reading of it the true advantage. God visited this profanation by a just judgment, when He suffered the true meaning of the Scripture to be buried imder false inter- pretations. " Scripture, they say, is fertile, and thus produces a variety of meanings. I acknowledge that Scripture is a most rich and inexhaustible fountain of all wisdom ; but I deny that its fertility consists in the various meanings which any man at his pleasure may assign to it. Let us know, then, that the true meaning of Scripture is the natural and obvious meaning ; and let us embrace it, and abide by it resolutely. Let us not only neglect as doubtful, but boldly set aside as deadly corruptions, those pretended interpretations which lead us away from the natui-al meaning." — Calvix. Rosenmiiller's " Historia Literpretationis librorum Sacrorum in ecclesia Christiana ab Apostolorum astate ad literarum instaurationeni," in five volumes, is a most entertaining and instructive work, well worthy the careful perusal of every one who devotes himself to the interpretation of Scripture. 232 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. IV. ii-\ . 12. rational interpretation of the Old Testament history, and tlie important religious and moral instruction which thus interpreted it is calcidated to convey.^ Others consider the words as equivalent to, ' These historical facts may be turned to account as affordino; an emblematical ilkistration of the true nature of the two divine economies of which I am discoursing;' but it seems plain that the apostle speaks of these facts' as if they had already been used as emblems. He does not make the allegory ; but he takes up an allegory formed to his hand, and applies it to his purpose. T apprehend the phrase, " which things are an allegoiy," is just equivalent to, "which things are allegorized;"- to wit, in the book of the prophet Isaiah, in the passage which the apostle immediately quotes from the fifty-fourth chapter.'^ On no other supposition can you account for his quoting this passage; and this principle of interpretation, as we shall soon see, carries light through the whole paragraph.'' Let us first of all examine the passage in Isaiah, quoted by the aj)ostle, in which the allegory is to be found. The passage is quoted from the Greek translation commonly in use when the ^ " The sacred writers, in the illumination of the Divine Spirit, imderstood history, as it were, in its signatura : they looked into the heart of things ; and thus beheld already formed, when as yet in the earliest germ, like fruit in the blossom, what was later to be developed. Without this spiritual in- tuition, a similar mode of proceeding — that of the Rabbins and enthusiasts of all descriptions used at all times, — is only a means plausibly to impart a Biblical sanction to the wildest creations of phrenzy. Wc therefore, as not being favoured with so intense an operation of the Spirit, cannot proceed independently in the adoption of types, but must adhere to those expressed and sanctioned in the Scriptures." — Olshausex. ^ See Constantini Lexicon, in voc. (rvaroix^o). ' There is little or no force in Koppe's objection to this exegesis, that if it were correct, the word ought to be rjWrjyoprmiva, not aWr^yopovufva. It is common in all languages to speak in tlie present of the contents of actually existing books, though these books may have been written in a distant age. * Luther seems to have seen this ; for he says, " The apostle showeth by the allegory of tlie prop/nt Isaiah," etc. Anthony CoUiiis, the free-thinker, objects that the apostle here sophistically uses an allegory as an argument; but he mistakes the case. The apostle shows that an allegory of tlie projdiet Isaiah, when rightly interpreted, teaches precisely the same doctrine which he does respecting tlie law and the promise, — a perfectly legitimate argument, and one well fitted to have weight with those to whom it was addressed. See an excellent note in Gerard's Institutes of Biblical Criticism, p. 400. p. V. § G.] ALLEGORICAL ILLUSTRATION. 233 •apostle wrote, and it exactly enough corresponds with the sense of the Hebrew original. The meaning of the closing phrase is better given here than m our translation of the Old Testament — " her that hath a," or rather the, " husband," conveys the idea of the original phrase better than " the married wife." The prophet's address obviously goes on the following hypothe- sis : a man who, as it appears from the apostle's interpretation, is Abraham, has two wives, — the one of whom, Sarah, on account of her barrenness, lives as it were in temporary widowhood ; while the other, Hagar, " has the husband," and brings him a son. The mystical Sarah is congratulated by the prophet because the period of her reproach and desertion is hastening to an end, and because her offspring shall ultimately be more numerous than that of the mystical Hagar who long seemed to occupy her place. In plain terms, the passage is a prediction that a period was coming when the spiritual descendants of Abraham should be far more numerous than his merely natural descendants ever were — when the true chikben of God should be more numerous than the nominal chikh'en of God, the Israelitish people, had been. We have a similar use made of a fact in ancient history by the prophet Jeremiah respecting the Babylonian captivity, and by the evangelist Matthew in reference to the slaughter of the infants of Bethlehem.^ But let us look at the apostle's explanation of the allegory. These women spoken of by the prophet allegorically, Sarah and Hagar, " are the two covenants." This is a mode of speech of the same kind as when our Lord says of the bread, " This is my body," that is, it represents it, signifies it ; and when the apostle says of the smitten rock, "That rock was Christ." In this allegory, these two women represent or signify the two covenants. Similar modes of expression are to be found, — Genesis xli. 26 ; Matthew xiii. 20, 22, 38, 39 ; John vi. 41 ; Apoc. xvii. 15. I have akeady stated to you that the English word " covenant " does not exactly answer to the original term," which is much more comprehensive in its meaning. ' Constitution ' or ' aiTange- ment ' comes nearer to it. But what are the two constitutions or covenants here sjioken of? Some interpreters explain them of what are ordinarily termed the covenant of works and the * Gen. XXX. 1, 2. Jer. xxxi. 15. Matth. ii. 17. ' BiaOijKtj. 234 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CIJAP. IV. »-V. 12. covenant of grace. Others, of the two dispensations, the Mosaic and the Christian. An examination of what the aj)ostle says will probably convince us, that while there is an approximation to truth in both of these opinions, neither of them is exactly accurate. " The one," says the ajiostle, " from the Mount Sinai gendercth unto bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is Blount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem, which now is, and is in bondage with her children." The one covenant or constitution is that from Mount Sinai ; it is that order of things under Avhich the Jews were placed at Mount Sinai to keep them a separate people, commonly termed "the law." That constitution " gendereth to bondage " ^ — bringeth forth children who are slaves.^ The children of a constitution or covenant are the persons who are under it, and whose characters are formed by that constitution. The children of " the law " were the Israelites generally, and the Gentiles who submitted to it. It was formed on a servile principle, " do, and live ;" and so far as men were influenced by it only, they must have had a servile and not a filial character. We are never to forget, however, that the jiromise was before the law, and that the law did not disannul the promise. Be- lievers under the law were not destitute of the filial character ; but the law under Avhich they were, infused even into their feel- ings and services something sez'vile ; while, on the other hand, unbelievers under the law, who formed the great majority, were entirely slaves, obeying merely from the fear of external evil and the hope of external good. This is the constitution which Hagar in the allegory represents. The words which follow, " For this Agar is Blount Sinai in Arabia," have greatly peri)lexed interpreters.^ Their perplexity seems principally to have originated in supposing that the apostle was speaking of the looman Ilagar, while in reality he is ^ tls bovkiiav yfvvuxTa. ^ Accurding to ii dictum of tlie civil law, " Partus sequitur ventrera." ' " We are not to understand these words as if St Patil meant to say, Because Mount Sinai is called JLujnr in Arabic, ihrrc/urc Alraliam's servant of that name must he a type of the law ; but only in this way, .-Is Abraham's maid-servant lla. ^ Luther has clearly seen that it cannot refer to the Jerusalem above as to place, tliough he docs not seem to have had even a glimpse of the true meaning; yet his note is worth transcribing. " Jerusalem which is above is not the city of life to come, or the churcli triumphant, as the idle and im- Icarned monks and school doctors dreamed, Avho taught that the Scripture had four senses, — the literal, the figurative, the allegorical, and the moral. The new and heavenly Jerusalem is appointed of God on earth, and not in iieaven, to be the mother of us all, of whom we have been gendered, and yet daily are gendered." V. V. § G.] ALLEGORICAL ILLUSTRATION. 237 beloAV or Jerusalem on the earth, but with Jenisalem that now is. Jerusalem seems to have been a seat of religion before the Israelitish economy. Melchizedec, the priest of the most high God, was king of Salem, which we know was an ancient name for Jerusalem, and which was embodied in its later appellation.^ Zedec seems also to have been an ancient name of Jerusalem. This is asserted by the pseudo Josephus.^ Adonizedek is the king of Jerusalem as Adoni-bezek is the king of Bezek; Joshua X. 1 ; Judges i. 5 ; and there seems a reference to this in Isaiah i. 26 ; Jer. xxxi. 33. In this case, "Jerusalem above," or the ancient Jerusalem, is a very appropriate emblem of the religion of fallen man in its primitive form before " the law was added," which is substantially the religion of the New^ Testament, the latter being the complete development of the former. It is, I apprehend, in reference to the state of things in which Melchi- zedec was a priest, that our Lord is termed a priest, not after the order of Aaron, who was the priest of a peculiar people, but after the order of Melchizedec, who was the priest of mankind. The expression means more than this. If, however, we should understand the word "above" as referring to place, the idea is this, — ' All believers of every age have gone to heaven ; and when a man becomes a believer, he joins the great society they belong to.' Thus the conversion of the Gentiles is described as their coming and sitting down " with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of their Father ; " and the apostle, speaking of believers on the earth, says, That they are "come to the spirits of the just made perfect."^ In either view of it, Jerusalem is the true spiritual church consisting of genuine believers from the beginning down to the present time. 1 This view is supported by Oederus Miscell. Nov. Lips. vol. iv. p. 3 ; Teenckius, in his Comment. Exeg. deprisca Hierosolyma ; Michaelis, J. D. in his Notcn ad paraph. Epp. Pauli ; and an anonymous writer in the Secession Magazine, 1839, whose three papers are most creditable to his learning, ingenuity, and industry. Dr Adam Clarke states, that " Kimchi, speaking of Melchizedek, king of Salem" (in a note on Salem), " says, r\'iii2 hv o•<'r:3^-•■^ it, — ' This is the Jerusalem from above ;' " but I have not been able to verify the reference. Wetstein, who is a safer guide on such subjects than Adam Clarke, refers the dictum to Midras Hannaalim, f. 22, 33. I have no doubt he is accurate. ^ Joseph Ben Gorionis, in his History, lib. xxxii. chap. 6. « Matth. viii. 11. Heb. xii. 22. 238 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [cHAP. IV. 8-V. 12. That church is free. Its principles are free and generous. They lead men to obey from love. Its first principle is, ' believe and live; and love, and do, and enjoy.' In the original state of the spiritual church, its members were untrammelled by such car- nal ordinances as were afterwards enjoined " because of trans- gressions." With the exception of a very few simple rites, its service was spiritual and rational. It preserved a filial spirit in all who belonged to it. Even under the servitude of the law, and now in the most perfect state as to revelation in which it is to be exhibited on earth, its members are " made free by the Son, and are free indeed." ^ This primitive catholic church, which is founded on the promise of mercy, is " the mother of us all," says the apostle ; that is, of all believers whether they be Jews or Gentiles. They are all Abraham's spiritual seed — all childi-en of the mystical Sarah ; and they are a numerous family — " a multitude, which no man can number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues." ^ 4. The A llegory Extended and Explained. Such is the apostle's exposition of the prophet's allegory. But he not only explains the prophet's allegory, he also extends it. He has already done so in introducing the idea of the free and ser\ale condition of the emblematical females and their offspring ; but he further employs it by showing how strikingly the conduct and the fate of the servile and the free-born offspring of Abraham emblematically represent the conduct and fate of those " who are of the law," and those " wdio are of the faith of Christ." Let us consider a little more particularly this application. 1 Vitriiiga, who takes this view, supposes that there is reference to the fact that Jerusiilem was composed of two parts, one of which was called fj Kara nuXis, and the other called rj avm TroXts : and that the last of these — Jerusalem the Upper, Moimt Zion, the City of David, comprehending Mount Moriah, the seat of the temple, as contrasted with the Lower City — is em- ployed by the apostle as an emblem of the celestial church. I do not see what light this throws on the subject. At the sanie time, it is but justice to state, that Vitringa was, so far as I know, the first to see clearly that the prediction in Isaiah is the key to this paragraph, and to apply the key in a satisfactory explanation. Pcirce's Dissertation, following in the same track, has also done good service to the cause of principled exegesis. * Rev. vii. 9. p. V. § 6.] ALLEGORICAL ILLUSTRATIOlSr. 239 " Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.^ But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless, what saith the Scripture ? Cast out the bond woman and her son : for the son of the bond woman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman." ^ The word " we" plainly refers to all who, with the apostle, whether Jews or Gentiles, expected salvation by faith in Christ without the works of the law. ' We believers are, as Isaac was, " the children of promise." ' The general meaning of the word is plain enough. ' In this allegory, we believers are represented by Isaac, and those who are of the works of the law are represented by Ishmael. We and they stand in a relation to God, and to one another, similar to tliat in which Isaac and Ishmael stood to their father, and to one another.' There can be no doubt that this is the leading idea; but it is not so easy distinctly to perceive in what the similarity consists. At first view, the words may seem merely to state the fact that, as Sarah, in the allegory, re])resents the promise, — so Isaac represents believers, the children of the promise. Had this, however, been the apostle's meaning, he Avould not have said " the children of promise," or ratlier, " children of promise," Ijut ' the children of the promise.' Some have sought the resemblance in Isaac being " by promise," in opposition to Ishmael " being born of the flesh." The relation between the Israelites and God, originating in the law, was a relation into which they were brought by natural descent : the relation into which believers are brought with God originates in a supernatural divine influence, which is the subject of promise. Others seek it in the fact that Isaac was a genuine behever, and in this sense " a child of the promise." ' As Isaac was by faith an heir of the promise, so are we.' Neither of these views is satisfactory. I am disposed to think the phrase, " children of promise," is a Hebraism, and is equivalent to promised children. Isaac was Abraham's promised son. It was to him that the promise of a son made to his father referred, — not Ishmael, who, though Abraham's son, was not his promised son. Now, in like 1 Kara 'laaaK, "like Isaac." Eph. iv. 24; Heb. viii. p. ' Gal. iv. 28-30. 240 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIAXP. [ciTAP. IV. 8-V. 1?. manner, believers are the promised children — the spiritual seed promised to Abraham, as the father of all who believe. This idea is strikingly expressed by the apostle in his Epistle to the Romans, when he states that ' Abraham was justified while un- circumcised, that it might be plain that uncircmncised believers were his spiritual children, and that no circumcised person was his spii'itual child unless he was also a believer;'^ and when he states that 'all Abraham's children are not reckoned his seed;^ and that they who are merely the children of the flesh, these are not the sons of God, but the children of the promise arc counted for the seed.' ^ In this statement is plainly implied its counterpart, that they who are of the works of the law — who expect justification and eternal life by observing its requisitions — are, Hke Ishmael, not promised children. It is not to them that the promises made to Abraham's spiritual seed refer at all : it is to us believers, and to us alone, that all the glorious privileges ascribed to Abraham's seed, mentioned in the promise, belong. Ishmael may possess the wilderness ; but Canaan is Isaac's promised portion. Ishmael may obtain a number of gifts, not without their value ; but the birthriirht and inheritance are Isaac's. The apostle proceeds to show that the analogy holds as to the character and conduct of the two classes, of which Ishmael and Isaac are emblems. " But as then he that was bom after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now." * The fact on which the analogy proceeds is this, that " he that was born after the flesh" — that is, Ishmael — " perse- cuted," or maltreated, " him that was born after the Spirit," that is, Isaac. How Ishmael came to be said to be " born after the flesh," we have already explained. He was Abraham's son ; and that is all that can be said of him. But how is Isaac said to be " born after the Spirit" ? Wq have no reason to doubt that Isaac was a true saint — a man " born of the Spirit ;" but whether he was so at the time Ishmael persecuted liim we caimot tell. And, at any rate, there docs not seem any reference to what is ordinarily called regeneration here ; for it is of Ishmael and Isaac as children of Abraham that the j)hrases " after the flesh" and ' Rom. iv. 10-12. * Vide Hallet's Obscrvation.s. ' Rom. ix. 7, 8. * Gal. iv. 29. p. V. § G.] ALLEGORICAL ILLUSTRATION. 241 " after the Spirit" are employed. The phrase " after the Spirit," as opposed to that " after the flesh," seems equivalent to ' in an extraordinary manner, by Div-ine agency,' much in the same way as it is used in the following expression : — " Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." ^ The fact to which the apostle refers is recorded. Gen. xxi. 9-12 : " And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bond woman and her son : for the son of the bond woman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was veiy grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bond woman ; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice ; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called." What the precise nature of this persecuting or mocking was it is need- less to inquire. It is plain from Sarah's opinion, which was sanctioned by the express approbation of God, that it was no trifle — something which made it necessary to banish Ishinael from the family. The cause of Ishmael's dislike, and ill-usage of Isaac, though not recorded, was very probably envy of his brother's peculiar privileges. In this point, then, says the apostle, the analogy holds. Those whom Ishmael represents in the allegory still persecute those whom Isaac represents. The descrijHive appellations given to Ishmael and Isaac are given also to those whom they represent. " They of the law " are represented as, like Ishmael, " born after the flesh." They are mere outward Jews. They become the no- minal people of God, either by natural descent, or by submitting to the carnal ordinances of the Mosaic institution. There is nothing spiritual in their relation or character — nothing super- natural in the way in which they are formed. On the other hand, " they of the promise" — they who believe are represented as, like Isaac, born of the Spirit. They are " Israelites indeed," " inward Jews."'^ They become the true children and people of God by the belief of the truth, which belief is of the operation of God. Their relation to God is spiritual, and that relation is supernaturally formed. ^ Zech. iv. 6. -' u\rj6ci)s 'laparjXirai — eV rw kjivuto-) 'louSotot. — John i. 48; Rom. ii. 29, Q 242 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. IV. 8-V. 12. * Now,' says the apostle, * as Ishmael persecuted Isaac, so do those born of the flesh persecute still those who are born of the Spmt.' The Jews, who obstinately rejected Christ and his reli- gion, persecuted those who embraced them. They were the fiercest enemies of the primitive church. It is of them the apostle speaks when he says, " They both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us ; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men ; forbidding ns to speak to the Gentiles, that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway : for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost." ^ The best commentary on these words is to be found in the book of the Acts of the Apostles.^ In the words of an accomplished writer,^ " As Ishmael persecuted Isaac with taunt, and sarcasm, and keen-edged mockery, nay, possibly with heavier weapons, and more substantial tokens of boyish antipathy, and rivalrj'', and passion, the buffet and the blow, and all the tortures and petty tyranny which Ishmael's superior age and strength enabled him to exercise over his envied brother, most probably a delicate and gentle child, — as he turned out a meek, and tranquil, and meditative man, — even so the children of the servile persecuted those of the free Jerusalem. Stung with jealous rage at the claims of the infant church — which had arisen, as it were, to push them from their stools, to rob them of their birth-right, to supplant them in the prerogatives which they thought and gloried in as rightfully their own — they poured upon the head of the detested sect the last extremes of scorn and cruelty. They smote now the heart of the Christian with the scourge of tongues, and now his person with the lictors' rods ; now they sought to overwhelm his character with barbed and venomous reproaches, * sharp sleet of arrowy shower,' and now hurled at his head missiles of more ponderous and crushing sway. Wherever their influence reached, they laboured in stimng up against the church a perpetual and unrelenting persecution, and exhausted all the resources of subtlety and violence in testing to the uttennost the meekness, and patience, and power of endurance which that young cliurch, mighty in weakness, had inherited from its founders." 1 1 Thess. ii. IT., IG. 'Acts iv. 1-6, 18; v. 17, 40; vi. 9, etc.; ix. 1, 2; xiii. 45; xiv. 19; xvii. 5, 13; xxi. 20; xxii. 22, etc. ; xxiii. 2, 12; etc. etc. *Brown Patterson. — Discourses, vol. ii. pp. 459, 460. r. V. § C] ALLEGORICAL ILLUSTRATION. 243 Those unbelieving Jews were not, however, the only class of the children of the bond woman who persecuted the children of the free woman. A considerable number of Jews professed to believe Jesus to be the Messiah, while at the same tiuie they retained their carnal views as to the character of the Messiah, the design of His mission, and the nature of His kingdom ; and these nominal, fiilse Christians harassed those who had juster, more spiritual, and more liberal views of the Christian economy. These men called themselves Christians ; but they were in re- ality " the enemies of the cross of Christ," and the enemies of all those who gloried in it. But the apostle traces an analogy, not only between the con- duct of Ishmael and Isaac, and that of the two classes he is speaking of, but also between their destinies. "Nevertheless, what saith the Scripture ? Cast out the bond woman and her son : for the son of the bond woman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman." ^ The words here quoted are, as we have seen, the words of Sarah ^ to Abraham when she was dis- pleased at Ishmael's mocking and abusing her son. The counsel of Sarah, we are told, " was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son ;" but it was sanctioned by divine approba- tion, and was of course followed by Abraham.^ The design of the apostle is plainly to bring before the mind of his readers these ideas. Ishmael was expelled the family of Abraham, and excluded from the inheritance. " They who are of the law " shall be expelled from the family of God, and excluded fi'om the inheritance of his children. Isaac obtained the inheritance; and so also shall all " they of the promise," or in other and equi- valent words, " of tlie faith of Christ." It is not at all improbable that the apostle here has a reference to the plain and public proof which Jehovah was soon about to give in the complete destruction of the Jewish polity — of His rejection of the unbelieving Jews as His people — " the cutting off of the natural branches," as he phrases it in the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. " Ere long the decree went forth from God which stript them of the power they loved so well, and had wielded so unsparingly, of persecuting the chosen seed. As of Hagar and Ishmael it had been said, so of 1 Gal. iv. 30. ' Gen. xxi. 10. ' Gen. xxi. 12. 244 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [ciIAr. IV. 8-V. VI. the Mosaic institute, and those who clung to it as their justifying plea, tlieir title to God's favour, their glory, and their hope — of the law and of her children it was said, ' Cast out the bond maid and her sons.' The authority of the Mosaic law was abolished — the system of its institutions was subverted. From the tents wherein they had dwelt so long around the tabernacle and pa- vilion of their God, from the mountain of Jehovah's heritage, from the pale of his acknowledged people, his chosen family, tliey were driven forth, and long, like Ishmael, they have had their abiding place in the wilderness, and long have wandered to and fi'o, ' tribes of the wandering foot and Aveary eye,' seeking rest, and finding none, fainting often for thirst, like Ilagar and her son, in Beersheba's wilderness, yet still by a special Providence sustained and miraculously delivered, earning from the wilder- ness over w'hich they are scattered a random and scanty sus- tenance, like that old huntsman of the desert, ' their hand against every man,' or at least eveiy man's hand against them. Meanwhile ' the free Jerusalem, who is the mother of us all,' hath been brought back again in nuptial pomp into the palace of the king, with gladness and with mirth on every side, and now shines forth in matron dignity, rejoicing in the name re- ceived from God, of " Sarah " — lady, that is, a princess — the ac- knowledged spouse of her Saviour-God, — the consort-queen of the King of kings. The Lord hath looked on her reproach, and she hath 'become ' the joyful mother of children.' She has broke forth on the right hand and the left, and her seed has inherited the nations. How amply this prediction has been fulfilled since ' the promise' took the name of the gospel, we need not tell. ' The world hath seen a nation born — A nation in a day.' And the time is coming when the Lord shall yet more illus- triously fulfil His promise to Sarah, that He will make her seed as ' the dust of the earth, innumerable,' — when all of the race of man shall become the children of the church, and even far scat- tered Israel shall return from their long and weary exile, and with * the innumerable multitude out of every kindred, and ])eople, and tongue, and nation,' shall be adopted into her glori- ous and hap])y household. ' Rise crown'd with light, imperial Salem, rise ! Exalt thy towering head, and lift thine eye, r. V. § 6.] ALLEGORICAL ILLUSTRATION. 245 See a long race thy spacious courts adorn, See future sons and daughters yet unborn, In crowding ranks on every side arise, Demanding life, impatient for the skies.' " ^ But it would be wrong to confine the apostle's meaning to this particular proof of God's casting the childi'cn of the bond woman out of his family. lie seems plainly to have meant to bring forward the general truth, ' That no man who sought for salva- tion by obedience to the Mosaic law could possibly obtain an interest in the blessings of the Christian salvation.' Whether he rejected Christianity altogether, or whether he endeavoured to connect an acknowledgment of the Messiahship of Jesus Christ along with obedience to the Mosaic law, as the ground of his hopes of acceptance with God, he equally shut himself out from participating in the blessings of Christ's salvation, by refusing to receive it in the only fonu in which it is offered — " The gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord." The leading law of the spiritual church in all ages is, " the man wdio is just by faith shall live." That law, as more fully and plainly stated under the New Testament dispensation, runs thus, " Whosoever be- lieveth shall be saved" — " God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." He who refuses to accept of salvation in this way must want it : For " there is no name given under heaven, or among men, whereby men must be saved" but the name of Jesus, and no way of obtaining a personal inte- rest in his salvation but by believing. " He that believeth not shall be damned." " He is condemned already, and the wrath of God abideth on him." AVliile there can be no doubt, then, that the apostle had directly in view the Jewish opposers of true spiritual Christian- ity, his principles are much more widely applicable. In every ao-e, not only have there been two parties — the church and the world, like Abraham's family and the surrounding nations — but there have been two parties in what is called the chm-ch — those who submit to God's method of justification, and those who go about to establish a method of justification of their own — like Isaac and Ishmael, both in the family of Abraham externally. 1 Brown Patterson, nt sup. 246 EiMS'n.K TO Till-: GxVLatians. [chap. iv. «-v. 12. There always have been men wlio professed to beUeve Christianity, while they did not understand its true nature ; and wlio, while they called Christ their only Lord and Saviour, Avere in reality the servants of men, and trusting in something else than His righteousness for their salvation. Sometimes this has been the character of the great body of a religious society, as in the case of the Roman church, falsely styled catholic. In all ages it has been the character of some in every religious body. These children of the bond woman have always been persecutors of the children of the free — Home Papal has been a more cruel enemy of vital spiritual Christianity than ever Rome Pagan was. The worst enemies of the truly evangelical i)arty in every established church are their nominal brethren who think of justification "as if it were by the works of the law ;" and, generally speaking, enlightened, consistent Christians, with whom Christ is all in all, are the objects of the peculiar dislike of those who, wdiile they cling to the name Christian, have dismissed from their religion almost all direct reference to Christ as the Lord of their faith, and the ground of their hope. These two classes of men have always existed, and are likely in some measure to continue to exist to the end. The tares and the wheat will not be completely separated till the harvest. But they shall then be separated. " The children of the bond woman shall not be heirs with the children of the free woman." Mere nominal Christians — those who have never been "justified by the faith of Christ," nor regenerated by his Spirit, though they may have had a place in his church here, of which they were iniwortliy, shall have no place in the church above. They seemed here "children of the kingdom;" but instead of being admitted to " sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in tiie kingdom of their Father," they shall be "cast out into outer darkness, where there is weej)ing, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth." This is a consideration which may well alann us all. Nothing but scriptural, spiritual, Christian, religion will save. Nothing short of an implicit belief ol" Christ's gospel, an unre- served dependance on his atonement, a universal transformation by his Spirit, a constant reliance on his assistance, a habitual submission to his will, can prove us " children of tlie ])romise " — heirs of the inheritance. The paragraph, the ilhistration of u hich I ha\ e finished, is r. V. § 6.] ALLEGORICAL ILLUSTHATION. 247 perhaps above all others fitted to give distinct and accurate ideas respecting the great economies, or covenants, or arrangements by which God has developed and executed his purpose of mercy to man. I take leave of it, in the words of the author already repeatedly quoted, in his elegant dissertation on this important passage. " Such is the allegory drawn, first by the prophet and then by the apostle, from the history of Abraham's household. We do not need the practical inference, at least in the same shape which Paul intended the Galatian church to draw from its consideration — that they should steadfastly resist the acts and efforts of the Judaising teachers, by whom they were at this time assailed, and against whom he wrote the epistle before us, labour- ing as they did, and straining every nerve to bring back the Galatian converts unto the yoke of an over-dated bondage, by persuading them of the necessity of submission to the Mosaic institute for ultimate salvation. Be then our first practical lesson a lesson of gratitude that we need not this instruction ; that to us it has been given distinctly to behold ' the wall of partition ' utterly thrown down, and ' the handwriting of ordinances ' finally abolished, to exult in the unclouded light and unfettered liberty of the gospel, and to acknowledge as the com- mon ' mother of us all ' the mystic Sarah, the fi*ee Jerusalem. And be it further ours, to take especial heed that we not merely call ourselves, but are, her children ; that our character is befitting those who profess to be the children not of the bond woman, but of the free ; that we love oiu* heavenly Father with a filial and ingenuous love, and our Christian brethren with fraternal regard and sympathy ; that we imbibe our sj^iritual mother's spirit, and by her maternal mstructions are daily becoming educated and ripe for heaven. So shall we share the present privileges of her holy household ; so shall we sympathise and exult in the glori- ous prospects which are before her, even in our fallen world ; so especially shall we share her joy in the anticipation now, in the inheritance hereafter, of ' the glory that is to be revealed,' when she shall be presented to her immortal spouse in sublime, un- sullied loveliness, ' a glorious chiu'ch without spot or wrinkle ;' when she shall be acknowledged and welcomed by all the inhabi- tants of heaven as 'the bride,' 'the Lamb's wife;' when He shall encircle her fair brows with the spouse's diadem, and she shall stand on his right hand as queen ' in the gold of Ophir ;' 248 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [ciIAP. IV. S-V. V2. when all lier blessed seed shall share her glory and her joy; when she shall take and make them princes in the land of im- mortality— ' kings arjd })riests unto Gotl, even their Father.' " * 5. The Allegori/ practically Improved. That partial obscurity w hich occasionally perplexes the inter- preters of the apostolical epistles is easily accounted for, and is not altogether to be regretted. It is easily accounted for, arising as it does in a good measure out of their veiy nature as episto- ^ Brown Patterson. The remarks of Mr Barnes are so judicious and useful, that I gladly give ihem a place in this note : — " (1.) It is by no means affirmed that the history of Hagar and Sarah in Genesis had any original reference to the gosi^el. The account there is a plain historical narrative, not desujiied to have any such reference. " (2.) The narrative contains important principles, that may be used as illustrating truth, and is so used by the apostle Paul. There are parallel points between the history and the truths of religion, where the one may be illustrated by the other. " (3.) The apostle does not use it at all in the way of argument, or as if that proved that the Galatiuns were not to submit to the Jewish rites and customs. It is an illustration of the comparative nature of servitude and freedom ; and would, therefore, illustrate the dilference between a servile compliance with Jewish rites and the freedom of the gospel. " (4.) This use of an historical fact by the apostle does not make it proper for us to turn the Old Testament into allegory, or even to make a very free use of this mode of illustrating truth. That an allegory may be used some- times with advantage, no one can doubt while the ' Pilgrim's Progress' shall exist. Nor can any one doubt that Paul has here derived, in this manner, an important and striking illustration of truth from the Old Testament. But no one acquainted with the history of interpretation can doubt that vast injury has been done by a fanciful mode of explaining the Old Testament, by making every fact in its history an allegory, and every pin and pillar of the tabernacle and the temple a ti/jye. Nothing is better fitted to bring the whole science of interpretation into contempt ; nothing more dishonours the Bible, than to make it a book of enigmas, and religion to consist in puerile conceits. The Bible is a book of sense ; and all the doctrines essential to salvation are plainly revealed. It should be interpreted, not by mere conceit and by fancy, but by the sober laws according to which are interpreted other books. It should be explained, not muler the influence of a vivid imagina- tion, but under the influence of a heart imbued with a love of truth, and by an understanding disciplined to investigate the meaning of words and phrases, and caj)al)le of rendering a reason for the interpretiition which is jjroposed. Men may abundantly use (he facts in the Old Testament to illustrate human nature, as Paul did; but far distant be the day when the principles of Origen and of Cocceius .shall again prevail, and when it shall be assumed that ' the Bible means cvtrything that it can be made to mean.'" p. Y. § 6.] ALLEGOIUCAL ILLUSTRATION. 249 lary compositions, written in a remote age to persons whose modes of thought were very different from ours, and of whose particular circumstances we are in a great measure ignorant, except so far as these can be gathered from tlie epistles them- selves ; ^ and it is not altogether to be regretted, for not only does it stimulate attention, but it is one of the many marks of authen- ticity which belong to these writings. Without that particularity of allusion by which they are so remarkably distinguished, and from which occasionally obscurity must necessarily arise, the internal evidence that the epistles are no forgeries, would not have been by any means so strong as it is. On the supposition of the epistles being what they profess to be, they could not liave been without their obscurities to us, unless accompanied by a collection of historical notices and documents more voluminous than the letters they were meant to illustrate. A careful study of the epistles and of the history of the age in which they were w^'itten will fi'equently suggest important hints for the elucidation of passages which otherwise would be ex- tremely obscure. This is a source of satisfactory interpretation which is by no means yet exhausted. And in the absence of all direct information, it not unfrequently happens that a reference to opinions and customs, modes of thought, and modes of ex- pression, known to have existed at the period when, and among the people to whom, these epistles were written, enables us more distinctly to apprehend the meaning of a statement, the appro- jjriateness of an illustration, and the force of an argument. This remark applies, we apprehend, to the somewhat difficult paragraph in the exposition of which we are engaged. We know certainly that the Jews were accustomed to plume themselves on their descent from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. From connection with these patriarchs, they conceived that the most valuable blessings necessarily flowed. They looked upon all the other nations of the world as belonging to an inferior 1 " Haud paullum difficultatis vel ex eo nascitur quod Paulus Epistolas scripsit ; quas cum colloquia inter se notorum esse soleant et tanguntur in iis quje nemini nisi quibus Epistolse reddentlje sint cognita, et causae expositio non ad rem sed ad amicorum ingenium et rationes accommodatur. Atque Epistolas ante multa secula scriptas fieri non potest quin majores etiam et quas historise luce plane discutere nequeas, tenebrte premant." — Fritsche. 250 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. IV. 8-V. 1-2. class, and considered submission to the rite of circumcision and to the other ordinances of tliat law which had been given to Israel, as the only way in which these nations could find admission into the privileged order of the people of God. • Jewish contempt and hatred of gentilism and Gentiles, were proverbial ; and this mode of thinking and feeling was not confined in the primitive age to the unbelieving Jews ; it prevailed to a considerable degree among the great majority of converts to Christianity, and formed a leading trait in the characters of those Judaising teachers, from whose artful attempts the Galatian gentile converts were exposed to considerable hazard of being induced to sacrifice that entire reliance on Jesus Christ for salvation, which the apostle had taught them, and ])lace at least a portion of their dependance on their being admitted by circumcision among the carnal descend- ants of Abraham. In prosecuting their object, there is little doubt that they dwelt much on circumcision being the seal of God's covenant ; and that while uncircumcised, men were still aliens fi'om the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenant of promise ; and they not improbably, in illustration of their doctrine, that faith in Christ as the Messiah without circum- cision was not sufficient, might in allusion to the history of Abraham state, that they who acknowledged the Messiah yet did not submit to circumcision, were but imperfectly connected with Abraham. If they were of the family at all, it was but as Ishmael was, not as Isaac. Nothing could better comport with the sentiments and feelings of these false teachers. Nothing could be better fitted to gain their object of making their gentile con- verts envy them than such a statement. ' Ye are but Ishmael- ites. AVe are the true Israel.' All tliis is highly probable ; and on the hypothesis of its having been fact, we see an obvious propriety in the peculiar illustration which the apostle uses ; and we admire liis dexterity in wresting his adversaries' weajions out of their hands, and turning them against themselves, by showing that tliey were the Ishmaelites and the unbelievers ; and that the true Israelites were those who rested entirely and solely in the faith of Jesus Christ. The apostle shuts uj) his allegorical illustration of the two economies, and j)aves the way for the jiractical inference to which the truth thus illiistratrd naturallv led, in these words : " 80 r. V. § G.l ALLEGORICAL ILLUSTRATION. 251 then, brethren, we are not chikken of the bond woman, but of the free."^ This, as is common with the apostle, seems the first half of an antithetic sentence — the second member readily sup- plied by the intelligent reader, — and for obvious reasons left thus to be supplied, being — ' And the Judaisers are children, not of the free woman, but of the bond.' These words stand in need of little illustration. We are not to consider them as, strictly speaking, a conclusion from what goes before ; for what goes before is an analogical illustration, not an argument. They are merely a brief statement of the sum and substance of that illustration ; the justness of which depends not on its intrinsic evidence, but on its having been employed by inspired men — a prophet and an apostle. ' We believers are the true seed of Abraham, the sj)iritual children of God. We are not children of the bond woman, born to slavery, but we are the children of the free woman born to liberty.' The idea of the abolition of the legal economy, though not directly brought forward here, is plainly implied. The mystical Isaac is born and weaned ; the power of the mystical Hagar is come to an end. She and her children must be banished from the family ; and it is not meet that the children of the promise should be longer subject to her control or their persecution. This view is very closely connected with the verse which follows; and we have here one among very many proofs, that the division of the New Testament into chapters is far from being unifonnly judicious. If, indeed, believers are the subjects of the economy of promise, and if the economy of law is come to an end, nothing could be more inconm'uous than for them to endeavour to attach themselves to it ; and a plain and broad foundation is laid for the exhortation which the apostle proceeds to address to them. " Stand ^ fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." * The first w^ords of this verse are connected by Lachmann and Schott with the preceding one, — " We are children of the free woman by that liberty whereby Christ has made us free." We prefer the ordinary mode of connection. This exhortation is obviously addressed to the gentile con- verts among the Galatians, and this is intimated by the change of ^ Gal. iv. 31. * " flncov 8f (TTT]K(Te eSd^e cruXevoixtvovs" — TllEOrilYLACT. ^ Gal. V. 1. 252 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. lY. 8-V. 12. person, " we are the children not of the bond woman, but of the free," that is, toe believers, wliether Jews or Gentiles ; " stand," ye gentile believers, " fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made you free;" and it is farther made evident from the per- sons addressed being persons who had not submitted to circum- cision. This remark is of importance to the right understand- ing of the passage. By the liberty wherewith Christ had made these gentile con- verts free has very generally been understood — freedom from the Mosaic law. But ther/ surely could not with propriety be said to be made free from that to which they were never subjected. The liberty with which Christ had made them free is something much more general and extensive than this — something that is common both to believing J6ws and Gentiles. It is a deliverance from subjection to the doctrines and commandments of men, and it is a deliverance too from a servile spirit in yielding obedience to the commandmerits of God. When a man embraces the gospel with an enlightened faith he acknowledges Christ as the alone Lord of his understanding and conscience, of his faith and conduct ; he knows and feels that no man, no body of men, have any right to dictate to him what he is to believe, and what he is to do in religion. " One is his master, even Christ." To observe all His ordinances and com- mandments is the whole of his duty ; and in doing so " he walks at liberty." In embracing the gospel, the man not only obtains this kind of freedom, but he is also delivered from a servile spirit in obey- ing the commandments of God — knowing and believing that " God is in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imput- ing to men their trespasses" — persuaded that '' in Christ he has redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of his sins accord- ing to the riches of Divine grace," he loves God who has so loved him, and constrained by love he " serves him without fear in righteousness and holiness." This is the liberty wherewith Christ makes all who believe His gospel free. Luther's description of the liberty wherewith Christ makes His people free, though not ])erhaps exegetically correct, is doc- trinally true, and very beautiful and delightful, "Christ has made us free, iiot civilly nor carnally, but di\ iuely ; we are made free in such a sort that o»u' conscience is free and (piiet, not r. V. § G.J ALLEGORICAL ILLUSTRATION. 253 fearing the wrath of God to come. This is the true and ines- timable hberty to the excellency and majesty of which, if we compare the others, they are l)ut as one drop of water in respect of the whole sea. For who is able to express what a thing it is when a man is assured in his heart that God neither is, nor will be, angry with him, but will be for ever a merciful and a loving Father unto him for Christ's sake ? This, indeed, is a marvellous and incomprehensible liberty, to have the most high and sovereign Majesty so favourable to us that he doth not only defend, maintain, and succour us in this life, but also as touching our bodies will so deliver us as that, though sown in corruption, dishonour, and infirmity, they shall rise again in incorruption, and glory, and power. This is an inestimable liberty that we are made free ft'om the wrath of God for ever, and is greater than heaven and earth and all other creatures. Of this liberty there foUoweth another freedom from the law, sin, death, and the power of the devil. ' Blessed is he that understandeth and be- lieveth.'"^ Now, the apostle's exhortation to the Galatian converts is, " stand fast in this liberty." To stand fast is just equivalent to, * to persevere in, to maintain.' ^ ' Act like Christ's freemen.' To receive the doctrines of the Judaising teachers, to submit to the ritual observances which they wished to impose, was utterly incongruous with this liberty. They said, " unless you are cir- cmncised, and keep the law of Moses, ye cannot be saved." But Christ had said no such thing ; on the contrary, he said, " Who- soever belie veth shall not perish, but have everlasting life." To receive their principle, and to act on it, was plainly to renounce Christ's authority, and to submit to the authority of men ; and the whole of their system of seeking justification by their own doings was utterly subversive of the filial confidence, that generous spirit, which the faith of the gospel of Christ generates, and was necessarily productive of a ser\dle temper. " Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free," is thus equivalent to, ' maintain your Christian freedom.' When the Judaising teachers press their principles on you, ask for their authority ; ^ A fuller illustration of Christian liberty may be found in " Expository Discourses on the First Epistle of Peter," Disc. xi. vol. 1. 2 Rom. V. 2; 1 Cor. xv. 1 ; xvi. 13 ; 2 Cor. i. 24; is equivalent to 1*3^, 2 Kings xxiii. 3; Eccl. viii. 3; Dan. xii. 13. 254 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. IV. 8-V. !♦. request them to show you tlie sanction of Christ ; and let them know that He is your master, and tliat ye are not, and will not be, " the servants of men." When they call on you to submit to cmuimcision and other ritual observances, in order to obtain the favour of God, tell them that, " being justified by faith, ye have already peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and have access into the grace wherein ye stand, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." The apostle adds, " be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage," or rather, a yoke of bondage.^ The apostle plaiidy refers to the subjection to the law — this was the particular yoke of bondage that the Galatians were in danger of being subjected to — but he speaks generally, and calls it not the yoke, but a yoke, for a plain reason. The Galatian gentile converts had never been svibject to this yoke of bondage before, and therefore they could not with propriety be warned against being again en- tangled in it ; but they had been subject to a yoke of bondage, and might with propriety be warned against being again subject to any such yoke. The state of gentilism, as we have already seen, bore in many respects an analog}' to the state of those who were under the law. The heathen were the slaves of human authority even more, if possible, than the Jews were ; like them, they were subject to an endless, wearisome series of external services; and like them, their sentiments and institutions naturally produced a sei'\'ile s|)irit. It is as if the apostle had said, ' You were once slaves : Christ has made you free : beware of becoming slaves again. If you follow the advice of these Judaising teachers ye will become so. They have no better claim on your belief than the priests and sages of paganism ; and the system of observances they would force on you has now no more authority than that burdensome ritual from which you have been so happily delivered.' The general principle of this exhortation is applicable to Christians in all ages, both in regard to religious doctrine and duty. Let them assert their freedom, and guard against the acbnission of any principle, or the submission to any imposition, 1 (vyM hnvKf'uii, equivalent to (vyli^ fiovXdos, ' a servile yoke,' not the "yoke which is easy." fuyoy x/*'?'^'"''^' ^I:»ttli- x>- ^^^' /^<'pi'f» not f'\a(f)p6s. *i>(Xf'hatever their new teachers might tell them, utterly incompatible ; that to yield to these Juclaising teachers was to sacrifice their Christian freedom, and in effect to renounce Christianity altogether. " Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing."^ There are two things which here require our attention — the apostle's statement and the manner in which this statement is made. The statement is, that if the Galatian gentile converts submitted to circumcision in comphance with the wish of the Judaising teachers, "Jesus Christ would profit them nothing." The phrase, " Jesus Christ shall profit you nothing," is equivalent to, ' you will derive no advantage fi-om Jesus Christ — you cannot share in the blessings of his salvation.' The statement is not, that no circumcised person can obtain salvation thi'ough Christ. Abraham, the father of circumcision, and all his believing children of the circum- cision, were saved through the Messiah, and through faith in the Messiah. From the case of Timothy, who was of Jewish descent by his mother, and who, after his conversion to Christianity, was by the aj)ostle taken and circumcised, it seems plain that the mere act of submitting to that rite did not imply in it a renuncia- tion of the blessings of Christ's salvation. The words are to be understood with a reference to the Galatian converts in the pai*- ticular circumstances in which they stood. For them who were Gentiles never subject to tiie law of Moses, to submit to it in order to obtnin for th(.>mselves the favom* of God and etornni life, Gul. V. p. V. § 7.] THE NATURE AND TENDENCY OF JUDAISING. 259 was an implied renunciation of Christianity, and to such persons Christ could be of no advantage. Actions derive their moral character from the circumstances in which, and the principles from which, they are performed. To eat bread and drink \nne in commemoration of Christ's death, had not our Loi'd commanded us to do so, would have been a superstitious usage — a piece of will-worship. To do so now that he has commanded it, is an important part of Christian worship. To observe this ordinance for the purpose for which it has often been observed, to make atonement for sins, or to qualify for civil office, is gross profanation. To observe this ordinance from a regard to the Divine authority — a wish to honour the Saviour, a desire to obtain spiritual improvement — is highly dutifi.il. In like manner, for a Jew, pre\aously to the coming of the Messiah, to attend to the initiatoiy rite of his religion, was an imperative duty. For a Jew, even after the coming of the Messiah, to submit to it, if he did not regard it as the ground of his hope, as securing his salvation, was not forbidden, nay, in certain circum- stances, as those of Timothy, it might become a duty. But for any person, especially for a Gentile professing to believe the gospel, and to expect pardon and salvation entirely " through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," to submit to circum- cision for the pm'pose of securing for himself the favour of God and eternal happiness, was obviously most incongruous and cri- minal conduct. The doctrine of the Judaising teachers, as we liave often had occasion to observe, was, " except ye be circumcised and keep the law of Moses, ye cannot be saved." In submitting to the rite in comphance with the wishes of such teachers, gentile converts in effect said, ' The atonement of Jesus Cin'ist as apprehended by faith, is not a sufficient ground of hope ; it stands in need of addi- tion.' This is to renounce Christianity. For its leading doctrine is, " Christ is all." In him we are justified, sanctified, and redeemed. And the apostle's objection to circumcision, now an obsolete rite, would have been equally strong to their substituting anything else in the room of the Saviour's obedience to the death, which is the sole foundation of the sinner's hope, or of that faith of the truth by which the sinner lays hold of " the hope set before him in the gospel." Such then is the apostle's statement — that if any gentile con^■ert submitted to circumcision as, either wholly or in part, the means of 260 EPISTLE TO THE GALATLVJSS. [CIIAP. IV. 8-V. 1-2, obtaining the Divine favour, he cut himself off from the blessings of Christ's salvation. Not that there was no room for his repentance — not that if he did repent and believe the gospel his having sub- mitted to circumcision would bar his way to the Saviour — but the act when performed in tliese circumstances, and from these prin- ciples, Avas an implied renunciation of Christ and Christianity. The manner in which the statement is made deserves notice. " Behold, I Paul say unto you." This form of introducing the statement, marks his sense of its importance, and his wish that it should be well pondered by them. It is equivalent to, ' I Paul, a divinely authorised teacher, " an apostle not of man, neither by man," who " wrought miracles among you and ministered the Spirit," who ardently loves you, and whom you once ardently loved, and who have been artfully and calumniously represented as contradicting the doctrine I taught while among you, I Paul solemnly assure you, in the name of ray Master, that if you sub- mit to circumcision that you may be saved by it and the works of the law to which it is introductory, you in effect renounce Jesus Christ, and will cut yoursehes off from a participation in the blessiniis of his salvation.' There is no reason to doubt that the Judaising teachers had told the Galatian converts, that submis- sion to circumcision, even on their principles, was perfectly consistent with the faith of Christ, and that it was under this mistaken notion that some had discovered a willingness to comply with their Avishes. Such a declaration was therefore called for on the part of the apostle, and was certainly well fitted to make them pause and consider before they went fm'ther. In the next verse the apostle takes notice of another circum- stance wdiich the Judaising teachers had kept out of sight, and which was well fitted to show the Galatian converts how hazardous a step they were taking in submitting to the im'tiatory rite of Judaism : " For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law\"^ As the statement in this verse is a different one from that made in the former one, and indeed different from any made in the previous part of the epistle, we apprehend the word " again "* * Gal. V. 3. " Si Judaisnnis via est ad salutcm, totus Judaismus observ- andus est: Non ex eo eliscndum ct sperncndum quod volis." — Grotuis. ' 7raXi»/. If the 3d and 4tli verses are considered as one statement, then TrdXti/ has its proper signification, and refers to (he Xf'yu) in verse 2. p. V. § 7.] THE XATUHE AND TENDENCY OF JUDAISING. 261 signifies here * besides,' or, ' moreover.' This is its signification, Matth. V. 33 ; xiii. 45. Some consider it as equivalent to, " on the other hand;" and quote in support of this signification, Matth. iv. 7 ; 1 Cor. xii. 21 ; 2 Cor. x. 7 ; 1 John ii. 8. The phrase, " every man that is circumcised," is obviously to be limited to every one of the persons to whom he is referring. ' Every one of you gentile converts who submit to circumcision, in compliance with the will of your new teachers, I testify to you that by doing so he becomes bound to keep the whole law;^ that is, on the very same principle that you submit to circum- cision as necessary for your salvation, you must observe all things " written in the book of the law to do them." ' Chrysostom re- marks that " there is an internal connection of precepts in the law, circumcision was connected with sacrifice, sacrifice implied sacredness of times and places, and sacred places required lus- tratory rites." The apostle does not say that by doing so they would obtain what they were in quest of. On the contrary, he distinctly tells them that, " by the deeds of the law no man can be justified." But lie tells them also what consistency required of them if they submitted to circumcision. It seems obvious that these Judaising teachers were not very attentive to some of the Mosaic rites ; ^ and it is probable that the gentile converts in submitting to the initiatory rite of Judaism did not contemplate subjecting themselves to all its requisitions. ' But,' says the apostle, ' where can you stop ? If obedience in any point be necessary, it is necessary in all. Cir- cumcision is not more obligatory than the other ordinances of the Mosaic economy.' They were thus allowing a heavier yoke to be imposed on them than they were aware of. And all for no purpose — for worse than no purpose. The principle is of universal application. Whenever a man shifts the ground of his hope in any degree from the finished work of Jesus Christ — whenever he depends on anything he has done, or is to do — he lays himself open to a claim for complete perfect obedience and satisfaction to that law, by obedience to which he is seeking justification. To depend on works at all is absurd, unless we have perfect works. We must choose between the two prin- ciples, justification by faith and justification by works — justification ^ TToiTjaai 6\ov Tuv voyiov is equivalent to vo^ov n^rjpSxrai, or noir)aai ra yeypafifxeva Iv rw ^i/3Xi'a) rov v6\lov. — Gal. iii. 10. ^ Gal. vi. 13. 2(>2 KIMSTLK TO TlIK GALATIAXS. [cil-Vr. IV. S-Y. 12. as a free gift, and justification as a merited reward. There is no combining tlio two j)riiiciples; and if we prefer the law, let ns recol- lect we must stand by its terms. "The soul that sinneth shall die." This is substantially the apostle's assertion in the next verse. " Christ is become of no effect unto you/ whosoever of you are justified by the law ; ye are fallen from grace." ^ The expression " whosoever of you are justified by the law," is plainly equivalent to, ^such of you as are seeking justification by the law ;"^ for, as the apostle has himself remarked above,'* " that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, is evident." To such of the Galatians as were seeking justification by the law, " Christ had become of no effect." The word here used is the same as that employed in Romans vii. 2-6, — "She is loosed"^ — "We are delivered from the law."" The idea is, 'Christ and you are completely separated.'' They had professed faith in Christ, but their conduct in seeking justification by the law was a proof that they never understood the gospel they had professed to believe. Christ for justification and the law for justification, are not only two different, but two incompatible, things. You who are seek- ing for justification by the law can have nothing to do with Christ, for " Christ for righteousness," or justification, " is the end of the law." The man who is seeking pardon and salvation as the reward of his own doings, cither in whole or in part, necessarily, from the very constitution of the gospel, cuts himself off from the benefit of Christ's mediation. God will give freely or He will not give at all. Christ must be the sole Saviour, he will not divide his honour with the sinner.*^ " No ; He as soon will abdicate his own As stoop from heaven to sell the proud a throne." — Cowpeb. " Ye are fallen from grace." To " fall from grace," is not to ' Thcophylact interprets the phrase, " KarijpytjdijTt dno tov Xptoroi* (which is a phrase of the same kind as KaTr)pyrj6r]re airb tov vofiov, Rom. vii. 7), firffiffiiap Koivaviav (XfTf ix€TU tov XpicrTov." ^ Gal. V. 4. * 8iKaiova6( is equivalent to diKaiovadai (rjTflrf, or anovtd^fTt. ' Gal. iii. 11. '' KaTijpyrjmi. " KaTTjpyTjdrjfitv. '• Dr Pye Smith interprets the phrase thus, " Ye are nullilied from Christ;" that is, ' lie is to you as if he had never e.xisted : ye are totally separated from him.' — Scrip. Text. iii. 53. " It has been well said, " Christum dimidium (luisquis habere vult pcrdit ttitiun." r. V. § 7.] THE NATURE AND TENDENCY OF JUDAISING. 263 cease to be objects of the peculiar favour of God. We have no reason to think the persons spoken of were ever interested in the Divine special favour ; and it appears to us very distinctly the doctrine of the Bible, that a man cannot, in this sense of the word, fall from grace. " There is no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus." Nothing " can separate them from the love of God," — i. e. his grace " in Christ Jesus." ^ Grace is here used as opposed to works ; and what the apostle says is, ' By seeking to be justified by works, you have renounced the way of justification by grace.' There is no combining the two things ; for, as the apostle says, "if it be by grace, then is it no more of works ; otherwise grace is no more grace : but if it be of works, then is it no more grace ; otherwise work is no more work." ^ ' You give up all claims on the Divine favour, or kindness, when you go about to establish a method of justifica- tion of your own.' In the general principles laid down here we are just as much interested as the Galatian converts, to whom the Epistle was written. The principle in human nature which led them to seek for justification by the Mosaic law still exists, and is in active operation ; leading men, under a profession of Christianity, to " make void the grace of God," and involve themselves in endless destruction, by " going about to establish their own methods of justification," and refusing to submit to the Divine method of justification. These human methods are various ; but their com- mon principle is to substitute something in the room of Christ's obedience to the death as the ground of hojie, and something in the room of faith as the means of justification. An eiTor here must be dangerous — may be fatal. Let us all carefully examine the foundation of our hopes. The only secure ground is the finished work of Christ ; the only way of making that the ground of our hope is the faith of the truth respecting it. But let us never forget that the only permanently satisfactory evidence of our interest in Christ's atonement, and of our having really believed the true gospel, is our personal experience of its sancti- fying and comforting efficacy, — the only sure evidence of our having the faith of the gospel, is our feeling its purifying, and our exemplifying its transforming, influence. Luther's pithy 1 Kom. viii. 1, 35-39. ^ ^^^^ xi. G. 264 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CIIAP. IV. 8-V. 12. words are worth quoting : — " Some woiild bind us at this day to certain of Moses' laws wln'ch like them best, as the false apostles would have done at that time ; but this is in no wise to be suffered. For if we give Moses leave to rule over us in any- thing, we are bound to obey him in all things ; wherefore we will not be burdened with any law of Moses. We gi'ant that he is to be read among us, and to be heard as a prophet and a witness-bearer to Christ, and moreover, that out of him we may take good examples of good laws and a holy life ; but we will not suffer him in any wise to have dominion over our consciences. In this case, let him be dead and bui'ied, and let no man know where his gTave is. — Deut. xxxiv. 6." ' To a reflecting mind, few things seem more worthy of con- siderate remark tlian that identity of essence which, amid almost endless variety of form, has characterised false religions and corruptions of the true. True religion, in all its fonns, has been spiritual in its nature, and humbling in its tendency ; and false religions, in all their varieties, have been possessed of directly the opposite qualities. The leading principles of true religion are, "God is all in all;" — man, as a creature, "is as nothing; and less than nothing, and vanity;" — God, as the Governor of the world, has done all things well ; — his law is, like himself, perfect, — its precept is not too strict, its sanctions are not too severe ; and man, as a sinner, a violator of the law, is most criminal, and altogether inexcusable ; — if man is saved at all, it must be in the exei'cise of sovereign kindness on the part of Him whom he has offended. " AJl things are of God." " Of Hin^, and through Ilim, and to Ilim, are all things." The leading duties of true religion are spiritual duties — exercises of the mind and heart ; the understanding and affections towards God cor- responding to the views given of his character and moral ad- ministration, and our relations to Ilim. In almost all false religions and corruptions of the trac, the pride of man's nature is done homage to. lie is not represented as he really is, an inexcusably criminal, an utterly lost, being, * These are not words I should choose to express an entire approbation of; but the sentiment tliey arc intended to state is of inliiiite iiiii)ortance : ' Nothing in the hiw of Moses is obligatory on a Christian's conscience, im^rely because it is there, for a very plain reason, — that if aniitli'uuj in it is obliga- tory fur this reason, cvcr)/thiii. D. ^ II 7-i}v' ^iK.iiii.rCiiij^ (TTi'l>iimn'. — '2 Tim. iv. 8. r. V. § 7.] THE NATURE AND TENDENCY OF JUDAISING. 2G7 cation vvliicli we hope for, or tliat salvation which is the object of our hope as justified persons " through the Spirit by faith." The phrase " through the Spirit," or, " in the Spmt," may either be connected with the word " we," or with the phrase, " expect the justification we hope for." In the first case it describes the character of the persons spoken of; in the other it describes the manner in Avhich they expect justification. In the first way of explaining it is equivalent to, ' We who are " in the Spirit " and " not in the flesh ; " we who are spiritual and not carnal ; Ave who by the Spirit of God have been formed to a spiritual character ; whatever others may do, we expect the justi- fication we hope for solely by faith.' This makes veiy good sense ; but the peculiar turn of expression adopted by the apostle, and the connection in which the words are introduced, lead us to prefer the second mode of interpretation, wdiich considers the jDhrase as describing the manner in which they expect' justifica- tion. ' We expect the justification we hope for " in the Spirit," or, " through the Spirit ;" that is spiritually, in a spiritual man- ner, not in a carnal manner. We expect justification not by the performance of external ceremonies as the Judaising teachers teach you to expect it. We have " begun in the Spirit," and we are determined to carry on in the Spirit. We expect spmtual blessings in a way corresponding to their nature.' And as they expected the hoped for justification, or the bless- ing they hoped for as justified persons, through the Spirit, not through the carnal ordinnnces of the law, so they ex- pected it not by working but by believing — " we expect the hoped for justification by believing." It was by believing they had ob- tained a place in God's favour, and it was by believing they hoped to retain it. Justification was a blessing of which they were already in possession ; but it is a pennanent state into which they enter by faith, and in which " they stand by faith." The senti- ment is the same as that more fully expressed by the apostle in the beginning of the fifth chapter of the Romans, " being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ : by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God," that is, of the Divine approbation at last. It is not by obedience to the law of Moses, ' dnsK^eX^'^^"'-- Rom. viii. 10, 23, 25; 1 Cor. i. 7. 268 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CIIAP. IV. 8-V. 12. but by exercising faitli in the gospel of Christ that we hope to continue in the state of favour into which we have been brought, and to receive the Divine approbation at last. The reason why Paul and all genuine enlightened Christians expected the hoped for justification " through the Spirit," not through the flesh, " by faitli," not by works, is stated in tlie Gth verse, — " For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircnmcision ; but faith which worketh by love." ^ The phrase " in Christ Jesns," has been variously interjjreted, some considering it as equivalent to, ' in the estimation of Jesus Christ ;'^ others, as equivalent to, ' in the kingdom of Christ — under Christ's dispensation.' We see no necessity of receding from the ordinary sense of the phrase, according to which it describes that intimate relation to Christ Jesus in which all true believers stand. The expression by an ordinary ellipsis is equi- valent to, ' to the being in Christ Jesus ; ' to the being a true Christian — one so related to Jesus Christ as to be as it were in liim, one with him, interested in all the blessings of his salvation.' Now, to the being a true Christian, " neither circumcision availeth anything, nor un circumcision." It is not either as Jews or as Gentiles that men are connected with Christ Jesus. The general idea is, connection with Christ depends on nothing ex- ternal. It is the same idea that is more fully expressed, 1 Cor. vii. 19; Col. iii. 11; and Gal. iii. 28. The apostle's state- ment then is, * We do not look for justification from any ex- ternal distinction ; for we know that to the being a true Chris- tian external distinctions, of whatsoever kind they be, avail nothing ; but we do look for justification by faith, for we know that " faith working bv love " does avail to a man beino; in Christ Jesus to his being a true Christian. By "faith" I understand just the belief of the gospel — the counting true the testimony which God has given us concerning liis Son — that he " died for our sins according to the scriptures ;" that " he was raised again from the dead according to the scrip- tures ;" that " he came to save sinners, even the chief;" that " his blood cleanseth from all sin;" that "he is able to save to the uttermost;" and that "whosoever l)elieveth on him shall not ])eri.sh, but have everlasting life." This faith availeth to a man ' Gal. V. 0. ^ /. '/. 7ra/j« X/ucTT^. "* Koni. viii. 1 ; I'-iili. i. I. tis to fifiu fi- XfnirTui'liiaDv, p. V, § 7.] THE NATURE AND TENDENCY OF JUDAISING. 269 being in Christ Jesus. It is this faith which connects a man with the Saviour. He who lias it not, whatever else he may have, is not in Christ Jesus ; he who has it is in Christ Jesus. " He that believeth not is condemned akeady. He that believ- eth is not condemned — he cannot come into condemnation." " We look for justification by believing," says the apostle, for faith avails to a man being in Christ Jesus. And " there is not " — there cannot be — " condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus." It takes no more to make any man a subject of Christ's kingdom than to be of " the truth " — this truth ; and it requires no less. The Jews, notwithstanding all their privileges, are not iii Christ if they be not of this truth ; the Gentiles are free in this kingdom if they be of this truth. The circumcision of the Jew does not raise him above the Gentile ; the uncircumcision of the Gentile does not sink him below the Jew. The Greek has no advantage from his politeness ; the barbarian has no loss from his rudeness. The slavery of the bondman cannot hinder his liberty if he be of the truth ; and the freeman, if he is not of the truth, has no part in " the liberty wherewith Christ makes free."' This faith, which connects the sinner with the Saviour, which avails to the being in Christ Jesus, is described as faith " which worketh," wdiich exerts itself " by love." ^ Wherever the word of the truth of the gospel is believed it produces an effect on the temper and conduct. " It worketh effectually in all who believe." The apostle James speaks of a " dead faith,''^ that is, either a mere pretended faith — a faith which a man says he has but has not — or it is a faith of something else than the gospel. A man may have a considerably distinct and extensive theoretical view of the gospel without believing it ; and such a view may — must — be in a great measure inoperative — will exert itself in any way rather than in love and good works. But wherever the faith of the gospel — of the whole gospel — exists, it will " work," ^ and « by love." 1 Glas. 2 1 Thess. i. 3. 1 Tim. i. 5. ^ evepyovfifvrj is not in the passive but in the middle voice, — ' which exert- eth itself;' or is used deponently, 'which worketh.' — Rom. vii. 5; 2 Cor. i. 6 ; iv. 12; Eph. iii. 20; Col. i. 29; 1 Thess. ii. 13; 2 Thess. ii. 7; James V. 16. In the most of these passages it cannot have a passive signification. The attempt to interpret in this way has produced very strange exegeses. Some very good Protestants, as well as the Papists, insist that the true translation is, ' faith which is wrought, or produced, by love.' We are by 270 EPISTLE Tt) THE GALATIAN8. [CIIAr. TV. 8-V. 12. It is impossible, from the constitution of human nature, that tlie gospel should be really believed without the man who be- lieves it, just in the degree in which he believes it, loving God, loving Christ, lo\iiig his brethren in Christ Jesus, loving his brethren of mankind. It is so easy to impose on a person's self — by mistaking mere speculation about the gospel for the faith of the gospel, or by mistaking the faith of something else for the foitli of the gospel — that it is of the last importance to him who would not be deceived in a matter which involves his everlasting interests to take care not to conclude himself a believer if he is a stranger to that love by which the faith of the gospel uniformly exerts itself. In the verses which follow, the apostle recals to the minds of the Galatians the auspicious commencement of their career — expresses his regret and astonishment at their subsequent con- duct, halting and stumbling in the Christian coui'se — states his conviction that the means which had been unhappily effectual for this purpose were not sanctioned by Divine authority, and wanis them of the hazard of admitting any, even the slightest, admixture of human error into the system of Divine truth, of which their creed, as received from him, was originally composed. SECT. VIII. — ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS FITTED TO ROUSE THE GALATIANS TO SERIOUS CONSIDERATION. 1. They had been arrested in the course they had well begun. Why ? " Ye did run well ; wlio did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth ? " ^ no means convinced that tlio Greek words require such a translation; and altlioujjli we readily admit that love to God greatly facilitates the exercise of faith in his declarations, yet we cannot cimceive of love to God in a mind where the f\iith of the gospel docs not exist. There is no God but the God whom the gospel reveals ; and how can He he loved if He is tiot in some measure known ? and how can lie be known but by the truth aliont Ilim being in some measure believed? We do not well understand — most certainly we cannot apjirove — either the philosophy or the tbenlogy which makes love the primary princi])le of faith. Parens says, " Bellarminus manifesto b;irbarismo pas.sive interpretatur fvtpyt'iTo.'" 8ee Winer, § 31', (i, note. Camerim's note, in his Mi/rotlitrlioti, \). 244, is exceedingly good: " Ridiculi,"' says he, " sunt Pon- titicii (pii hinc volant probare fidem a cliaritat^' generari." ' (Jal. v. 7. r, V. § 8.] ADDITIONAL COKSIDERATIONS. 271 The language is figurative, but \)j no means obscure. The life of a Christian, which is a life of faith in, and obedience to, Jesus Christ, is here represented as a race cowse on which a man enters when he believes the gospel, and along which he runs while holding fast the faith of Christ — he walks in his ordinances and commandments blameless. "Now," says the apostle, " ye did run well." On embracing the gospel, ye for a while had your conversation in every way becoming the gospel of Christ. Ye " walked at liberty, keeping Christ's commandments " — " having received Christ Jesus, the Lord, ye walked in him " — finding youi'selves " complete in him." In the words " ye did run well," is obviously implied, that they ran well no longer ^ — a sentiment more plainly brought out in the interrogation ■which follow^s, " who did hinder you that ye should not obey ^ the truth?" The figui'e is contained in the first clause, ' Who has ob- structed you — repelled you — in your onward career;' and in the second clause it is explained, ' Who have induced you " not to obey the truth." '^ To "obey the truth," is to yield the mind up to the native influence of the truth. The man who yields his mind to the influence of the truth, as it is in Jesus, finds all he needs in Christ — he does not go about to establish a way of justification of his own, but submits to God's method of justifica- tion, through the faith of Christ. All halting in the Christian course originates here. While the mind yields itself up to the influence of the truth, the Christian runs well ; but whenever this influence is resisted, he is hindered. The question is not answ^ered ; nor was it needful. The apostle and the Galatians were ]ierfectly aware how^ the change had been brought about, and who had been the great agents in effecting it — the Judaising teachers. ' Now,' says the apostle, ' the change has not come from the right quarter.' "^ It is an expression like that of Virgil: " Fuimus Troes;" or, " Troja fuit." - The sense is the same if /x») be omitted ; nrj, equivalent to fxrjKtTi. iviKoy\fev, preferred by Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, etc., does not materially change the meaning. ^ akrideia, equivalent to (iXrjdeia rod fvayyf'hiov. 272 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. IV. >-v. i». 2. TTie ^^ persuasion " ichich had induced them to change had not come from Chj-ist. " This persuasion cometh not of Him that calleth you." ^ The word " persuasion " * may be understood as referring either to the Galatian Christians or to the Judaising teachers who had misled them. In the first case it must refer to the opinion they had been brought to entertain in reference to the nececsity and efficacy of submission to the Mosaic law for justification, or rather to their credulous confidence in their false teiichei*s ; and according as you understand the plirase, "riim that calleth you" of God, or Christ, or of the apostle, the meaning will be either, ' Tliis opinion you have imbibed, or this submission of mind you have showed, is not of divine origin, or is not of divine requisi- tion ;' or it is not an opinion or habit of mind which you have learned firom me.' I am rather disposed to view the word as referring to the per- suasion— the persuasive arts used by the Judaising teachers, by means of which they hindered the Galatian Christians in their Christian course, and led them to disobey the truth. Tliis per- suasion, of w hich you have been the subjects, " is not of Him who calleth you." In illustrating the sixth verse of the first chapter, I explained the phrase Him who calleth you, and endea- voured to show that it refers, not to the apostle, but to Jesus Christ. The apostle's statement seems then to be, ' This per- suasion to which you have yielded is not from Christ. It comes from a very difierent quarter. The men who have employed it are not moved by His Spirit. They have no divine authority, and you ought not to peld to them, " no, not for an hour." 3. The evil was likelv to increase. The proverbial adage which the apostle goes on to quote, seems to have been intended to meet a thought which miorht verv * Gal. V. 8. ' rrtiafioyT). * The word izfia-fiovr} is otto^ \ty6fifvov. It does not appear in the LXX nor in anv profane writer, with the exception of Apol. Stint, p. 195, 10; Chrysost. 1 Thess. i. 3 ; Eustathius, in his Notes on the Iliad and Odyssej, and belongs to what has been termed Gr'Tcitu serior. This has led s«inie to doubt the authentidtv of this verse, but without sufficient reason. It is no satisfac- tory proof of a word not being in use at the time the New Testament was written, that it occurs in no extant book of that aire. r. V. § 8.] ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS. 273 naturally rise in the minds of such of the Galatians as had lis- tened to the seductive persuasions of the Judaising teachers — ^ Why so much ado about nothing ? Mar we not, in matters of so slight importance as these Jewish rites, accommodate ourselves to our new teachers ? ' " Xo,"' says the apostle. " A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." ^ This is a proverb borrowed prob- ably from some old Greek writer. The principle necessaiily involved in submitting to any Jewish rite in order to justifica- tion, is one which, once admitted into the mind, will completely change the whole belief in reference to the peculiarities of the Christian faith. It leads directly to the denial of the two grand principles of the Christian system : The necessity and sufficiency of Christ's obedience to death as the only ground, and of faith in the gospel as the only means, of the sinner's justification. " Lea- ven " is fi-equently used to denote false doctrine, as Matt. xvi. 6 ; 1 Cor. V. 7 ; and is alluded to, though the word (Joes not occur, 2 Tim. ii. 17. By some interpreters the proverb has been ap- plied to the Judaising teachers, as if the apostle had said, ' Beware of these teachers ; they may be few at present ; but error is in- fectious. By and by the whole body of you may be led away from the truth.' This harmonises with the way in which the same apophthegm is applied by the apostle in reference to the Corinthian Church.^ He exhorts them to cast out the incestu- ous person, as his continuance in the society was hazardous to the purity of the other members. But there is nothing to hinder the apostle from apphdng the same proverb to different subjects which it equally answers. Our Lord, for instance, employs this proverb — " The disciple is not above his teacher, nor the servant above his master" — in illustration of two totally distinct state- ments,— Matt. X. 24 ; Luke vi. 40.^ 4. The Apostle still hoped well of them. In dealing with those who have apostatised, or are in danger of apostatising, there is a peculiar need of the union of tender- ness with fidelity. In warning men of the crime and misen.' of apostasy the minister cannot be too honest. There is scarcely a possibility of exaggerating here. But lie must not take too iQal. V. 9. MCor. V. 6. * Locke's conjecture, that the whole controversy originated only with one man. is inconsistent with verse 12, — avatrTaTovin-fs. S 274 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CIIAP. IV. 8-V. 12. readily for granted either that apostasy is begun, or that it has become obstinate. To address a man who is but doubting as if he were a confirmed infidel is a very likely method of making him one. The Christian teacher ought always to act under the influence of the charity which "hopeth all things;" and when he stands in doubt of any of those whose souls are committed to his care, he must not conceal his hopes while he makes known his fears. Here, as in every other department of the duty of a Christian teacher, the apostle Paul presents us with an example which every minister of Christ should endeavour to copy. After hav- ing, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, placed before the mind the fearful consequence of apostasy in one of the most alarming passages in the whole book of God,^ he adds, " But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak." And in the section of the Epistle to the Galatians now before us, after he has stated the very hazardous and criminal conduct of those who should yield to the ensnanng acts of the Judaising teachers, he expresses his hope that the great body of the Galatian converts would adopt a wiser, more dutiful, and safer course. " I have confidence^ in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be." ^ Tlie literal rendering of this first clause is, ' I have confidence in the Lord m reference to you,' or ' I ho])e in the Lord concei-n- ing you.' The confidence of a true Christian, either in reference to his own perseverance, or to that of his Christian brother, rests on the Saviour. He trusts iir reference to both that the arm of Divine kindness which has laid hold of them Avill never let them go — that He who has begun the good work will carry it on " until the day of the Lord," and will keep those whom He has brought to the knowledge and belief of the truth by His power " through faith unto salvation." The apostle had reason to hope that many of the Galatian church were genuine converts of Christ ; and, with regard to them, he had a confident hope in Christ that, notwithstanding tlie temptations they might be ' Ileb. vi. 4-S. ^ 'Eyw ncnoifia k. t. X. seems opposed to 6 Sf Tafu'iaowv k. t, \. — ' I have no reason to despair as to the ultimate success of my exertions ; 6 8t r. has, he will not only be disappointed, hut ])unished.' ' (lal. v. lo. p. V. § k] additional considerations. 275 exposed to, they would continue " rooted and grounded" in Him, and " established in the faith as tliey had been taught." That this was the subject of the apostle's confidence is plain from what follows — " I have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that ye will be no otherwise minded." ' Some interpreters would confine the reference of these words to the apophthegm which immediately precedes them, and the application of it, g. d. ' I trust you will be of my mind, that the beginnings of error are hazardous, and mil act accordingl}^' It seems to me much more probable from the solemnity of the preface, that the apostle refers to the great subject of contro- versy between him and the Judaising teachers. His confidence was that the Galatian converts would reject that " other gospel " which it was the object of their new teachers to obtrude on them, and think on tliat subject as he thought — as they had thought in the beginning of their Christian profession ; and that, in opposition to all attempts to seduce them, they would continue to hold Christ's obedience to the death as the only ground of their justification, and faith in him as the only means of their justification. 5. Their trouhlers loould he punished. In the concluding clause of the verse he states his conviction that while through the help of Christ they wovild be preserved " steadfast and immoveable " in the true grace of God wherein they stood, those who had disturbed their peace by harassing their minds with perverse disputings about the law should not pass unpunished. " He that troubleth you,^ whosoever he be, shall bear his judgment." We cannot conclude certainly from these words that the apostle had in view some individual of con- ^ (j}poueo), in the sense of judging. — Acts xxviii. 22; Phil, iii. 15. 2 6 rapaa-aav, in the singular, used collectively for ol rapda-a-ovTes. That there was a plurality of these disturbers is plain from verse 12, = " He that perplexes and unsettles," instead of establishing the mind in sound doctrines, like the teachers described by Galen, as quoted by Wetstein, mpuTTouTes fjLovov Tovs pauddi/ovras, 8i8d. reHgi(»ii ; in tlie second, it is the obstacles which tlie cloctrine of the crucifixion of Christ, as the victim for sin, throws in the way of its success. Either mode of interpretation will bring out a good sense. If you adopt the first, the meaning is, ' If I liad become a preacher of circumcision, the Jews would have ceased to persecute me, and this obstacle in the way of men becoming Christians would no longer exist.' If you adopt the second, it is, ' If I were a preacher of the necessity of circumcision, and the obsen-ance of the law of Moses, to salvation, the Jews would cease to persecute me, for the great stumbling-block to them — the representing the obedience of Jesus Christ to the death, the death of the cross, as the sole ground of hope — would no longer exist.' We prefer the latter mode of interpretation. It was not so much the fact of the Messiah being crucified — though even that was not very palatable — which exasperated the Jews, as the holding forth his death on the cross as the only ground of hope for sinners, excluding everything else, paiiicularly all those things in which they had been accustomed to place their confidence, and thus reducing them, as Jews, to a level with the despised, ac- cursed Gentiles ; an'd it is this which has been substantially the great stumbling-block all along. It is this which makes genuine Christianity so much disliked by natural men in all countries and in all ages, — the insisting on relinquishing every ground of hope but one, and that one the death of Jesus Christ on a cross. When- ever Christianity has been so modified as to get quit of this most re]>ulsive principle, it has ceased to excite veiy strongly the anti- pathies of natural men. But it is this doctrine which gives Chris- tianity all its peculiar efficacy; and when " the offence of the cross" ceases in any other way than by the eyes of the mind being opened to behold its glory, the triumph of Christianity ceases also. The Jews had no great objection that Jesus should be allowed to be the Messiah, if, at the same time, the law of Moses was admitted to be the only way of salvation ; and there are multitudes who are ready enough to admit that Jesus was a divine messenger, if they may be but permitted to depend for salvation on anything but his obedience to death. It is not a pleasant thing in itself to be an object of censm*e ; but an honest minister of the gospel would rather be censured than pralsi'd by i>ersons of a particidar mode ol' thinking. A\']ieM he hears a discourse praised by those who are '' g'^i'>g about to P, V. § H.] ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS. 279 establish their own righteousness," — who are expecting salvation in some other way than " through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus," — he feels alarmed that " the cross " has not had its own pre-eminent place assigned it ; for to such persons, wheresoever " the cross " is, there is " a stumbling-block." To the unrenewed mind, Christ crucified — the sole foundation of the sinner's hope — is the grand hindrance to the embracing of Christianity. Give up this, and what is necessarily connected with this, and the bitterest opponents of Christianity may be softened into complaisance ; but you cannot give up this with- out in effect giving up Christianity itself — with all that gives it peculiarity — with all that gives it efficacy. 7. The Apostle's wish that they loho troubled the Galatian converts might he cut off. In the next verse the apostle expresses a strong wish that the Galatian church were w^ell rid of those Judaisers who had troubled their peace, and had well-nigh subverted their souls. " I would ^ they were even cut off which trouble you." ^ The word translated " trouble " here is not the same as that word in the 10th verse, though it is nearly of equivalent import.^ The Judais- ing teachers derived the name of " troublers " on two accounts, both as they troubled the minds of the Galatian converts indi- vidually with doubts and alarms, and collectively as a society, pro- ducing strifes and schisms among them. To use the language of the apostolic decree respecting the same class of persons at Anti- och, " They troubled the disciples with words, subverting their souls ;"■* and they also, to use the apostle's language in reference to the same class in the Church of Rome, " caused divisions and offences, contrary to the doctrine which they had learned."^ With regard to those persons, the apostle wishes they were " cut off." It is not very easy to say Avhat is the true meaning of the phrase, rendered " I would that they were cut off."" Some will have it a wish that, by a sudden stroke of Divine judgment, they w^ere deprived of life, and hurried into the de- 1 o^eXoi/ (a)(/)eXoz/), in classic Greek, is usually construed with the infini- tive. Its connection with the indicative in the case before us, is, I appre- hend, late usage. ^ Gal. V. 12. "' avaaraTnvvTfs. * Acts xv. 24. ""^ Rom. xvi. 17. * dnoKoyj/ovTai. 280 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [cHAP. IV. S-\. \2. struction \\ hicli their conduct merited. Tliis is the view taken of it bj the judicious Calvin. He remarks that, though at first sight such a w ish may not seem very consistent with the Chris- tian meekness of the apostle, yet, in a certain state of mind, when the glory of God and the welfare of his clmrcli occupy the whole attention, and when the criminal conduct of some in- dividuals is seen to he obscuring the one and endangering the other, and there seems no way of the mischiefs being stopped but by their death, such a wnsh as that of the apostle is the natu- ral result of a high degree of spiritual feeling, and is not to be condenmed. " When the wolf entereth the fold of Christ," says he, " is the shepherd to be condemned who wishes his destruc- tion, as absolutely necessary to the safety of the sheep "?^ This is anything but satisfactory, and can be accoimted for only on the principle that the reformer had still in him a remnant of the spirit of the church he had abandoned. Surely, when he wrote these woixls, he knew not what spirit he was of. It is a mure probable interpretation which ex])lains the phrase of excommunication. ' I wish they were cut oft from the Chris- tian clim'ch ; I wish they were distinctly declared to be what they are, not Christians.' At the same time, I think it likely that, if this had been the apostle's meaning, ho would, as in the case of the incestuous person in the chm'cli of Corinth, have exhorted the Galatian church to excomnmnicate them.^ The words may be rendered, ' I wish they would cut themselves off; I wish they would renounce all pretensions to Christianity.' This is a ^vish similar to that of Jesus Christ in reference to the church of Laodicea, — " I would that thou wert either cold or hot."^ Paul would rather that those men had become true Christians ; but if not, he would rather they would cut themselves off from the Christian church altogether. It is a very just observation of Wr Fuller, that " corrupt Christianity is more offensive to God " — and, wc may add, more hurtful to the interests of genuine Christianity, " than open infidelity." Every man who has just and extended views will be ready to say, ' We wish there were more real Christians ; but we wish there were fewer merely nominal 1 «< Nequc taincn hoc modo quenquam velini perditum, scd ecclesia^ amor ft solicitiulo me rajiit quasi in ocstasiii lit niliil aliud cnrcni : Nemo verus irit ccclesiH' pastor qui non simili zelo ardeat." — C"al\in. ^ 1 Cor. V. 3-5. ^ Rev. iii. li. r. V. § 8.] ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS. 281 Christians, even although the diminution should be made by these nominal Christians throwing off a profession altogether.' The doctrinal errors and the practical abuses which prevail among nominal Christians are the principal cause, of a secondary kind, why Christianity has not long ago gained her promised tri- umphs.^ The general conclusion of a practical kind, to which all this is calculated to lead, is, that, both as individuals and as churches, if we wish to be what we ought to be, we must cling alone to the cross — to Jesus Christ, and to him crucified — as the sole ground of hope, and the grand channel of Divine influence ; and that our worst enemies, whatever guise they may assume, are those who would conceal or obscure the cross, or place an;yi;hing in its room. " God forbid that we should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus." 1 The opinion of Clirysostom and Jerome seems very strange to persons of occidental and modern habits of thought, but is not deserving of the in- dignant contempt with which it has been very generally treated. El ^ovKov- raiif fif) TTtpiTejjiVi.TUta'av fiovof, dXka TtepiKonTeuOaxrav. — ChrysOST, " Si putant sibi hoc prodesse, non solum circumcidantur, sed etiam abscindantur." — HiERONTM. The best modern interpreters, including Olshausen and Neander, following Grotius and Koppe, embrace this exegesis. The Visi- goths had a very severe law against those who should practise the rite of circumcision, borrowed apparently from this view of the passage. — See Grot. in loc. Le Clerc's censure of this opinion is certainly excessive : " Impre- catio ejusmodi scurras est non Pauli." When he said this, he spoke like a European, not like an Oriental, — ^like a Dutchman of the seventeenth century, not like a Jew of the first. Bengel places a point after ocpeXov, and con- nects it with what goes before: — " Then is the ofiience of the cross ceased. Would that it were so." — And then translates what foUows as a sentence by itself: — " They that trouble you shall be cut off." This is more ingenious than satisfactory. If the sarcasm seem unworthy the apostle, then Bengel's punctuation must be adopted, and the expression must be considered as equivalent to "in^si, ' they shall be punished by God,' Gen. xvii. 14; Exod. xxxi. 14; — a repetition of the sentiment at verse 10, /Sao-rdo-ei to Kplfia. PART VI. PRACTICAL INJUNCTIONS. Galatians v. 13-vi. 10. — " For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty ; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then. Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh : and these are contrary the one to the other ; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these ; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like : of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meek- ness, temperance : against such there is no law. And they that are Clirist's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain-glory, provok- ing one another, envying one another. Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness ; considering thyself, lest tliou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself ahme, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not de- ceived ; God is not mocked : for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption ; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well-doing : for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." In the versos wliicli follow, down to the lOtli verse ol" tlie sixtli cliaj)tei', the apostle i2^i\e,s the Ualatiaiis various praetical ach'ices, rising out ot the pre\i(nis diM-ussions. r. YI. § 1.] CAUTION AGAINST THE ABUSE OF LIBERTY. 283 SECT. I. — CAUTION AGAINST THE ABUSE OF LIBERTY. He first of all cautions the Galatians against the abuse of their Christian liberty. " For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty ; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another."^ There is a strange disposition in mankind to misapprehend the meaning and tendency of religious truth however plainly stated, and to turn it to purposes which it was never intended to answer, and which, when rightly understood, it obviously appears that it was never intended to answer. The Apostle Paul was well aware of this tendency, and accordingly he often connects with a statement of a Christian doctrine a caution against its abuse. This is what we find him doing here in reference to the doctrine of Christian liberty which he liad been stating and defending. The whole of the paragraph which commences with this verse and ends with the 10th verse of the next chapter, is occupied with showing that the liberty wherewith Christ had made them free, by no means relaxed their obligation to religious and moral duty, but, on the contrary, furnished them at once with the most cogent motives and the most powerful encouragements to avoid sin in all its forms, and to cultivate universal holiness both in temper and conduct. "For"^ seems here to be merely a particle of transition. The whole clause is equi\'^Ient to, ' Brethren, ye have indeed been called to liberty.' To be " called," is, as we have had re- peated occasion to remark to you, equivalent to becoming a Christian ; so that the apostle's statement is, — ' In being made Christians ye were made freemen.^ " Called unto liberty," * does not mean merely to be called into a state of freedom from the Mosaic law, but to be called into such a state of spiritual liberty generally as is quite incompatible with subjection to that institu- tion. When men become Christians by the belief of the truth, ^ Gal. V. 13. 2 yap. A learned friend suggests that yap refers to the apostle's displea- sure at the Judaisers, — q. d. ' How can I but resent their attempts yap ' ' eV fXevdepia, " Called that you may be free." For a similar use of eVj, compare 1 Thess. iv. 7; Heb. ix. 17; Eph. ii. 10; Rom. viii. 20. * fts eXfvdepiap, " in order to possess freedom." See 2 Thess. ii. 14. 284 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. V. 13-VI. JO. they are introduced into the state, and formed to the character, of spiritual freemen. Their conscience is deHvered from the yoke of human authority, and their obedience, even to the Divine law, flows not from the mercenary spirit of a slave, but from the generous spirit of a son. It is the offspring not of unenlightened fear, but of well-informed love. In the beginning of the chapter the apostle had exhorted the Galatians to " stand fast " in this liberty, and to resist every attempt to bring them into bondage. In the passage before us, he warns them against the imprudent display and the criminal abuse of this liberty. Ye are indeed called unto liberty, and you ought to assert the liberty into which you have been called ; but you ought also to beware of using it as an occasion to the flesh.^ " The Jlesh " here obviously signifies the depraved inclinations which are natural to man in his present state, and which, though subdued, are by no means extinguished even in the regenerate. These inclinations are personified under the name of " the flesh," and are represented as ready to seize every opportunity that is afforded for obtaining their gratification. In the seventh chap- ter of the Romans we find " sin dwelling in " Paul — which is just a synonyme for "the flesh," — represented as "taking oc- casion " from the tenth commandment to " work in him all manner of concupiscence ;"^ and here we find " the flesh " in the Galatians represented as being ready to tui'n to its own purposes the doctrine of Christian liberty.^ Of the manner in which " the flesh " has availed itself of the doctrines of Christian liberty for its gratification, the history of the Christian church is replete with the most melancholy illus- trations. At a very early period indeed " the gi'aco of God was turned into lasciviousness," and freedom from sin strangely identified with freedom in sin — freedom to sin. There were men bearing the Christian name who said, " let us continue in sin because grace abounds," and who used the liberty to which ^ /SXtTTfTfj seu (f)v\dTT€ade jxfj ttju (\(v6fpUiv fXV"^' seu Tp«\/^»;rf (is d(f)op- firjv K. T. X. More fuUy by Camcrarius : puvov Sparf ij (^vKaTrtaOf pfj napaXd- (irjTf Tr)v f\fv6f plau T(ivTr]v rrpus d(poppi)v tjj aapKi {jyovv rai ^v Kara (xdpKa. TovTf(TTiv vnj)p(TovvT(s Tols (rapKiKGis Tuiv fTTidvpicbi'. — Notat. Figtir. p. 91. 1 Pot. ii. 16 is a parallel passage. '•' Rom. vii. H. ' diovi (iv6[ju>Trovs Tlrjfiatvd, oTf Ktv ris (K(ov iniopKov ufju'mar]. — lIi'SiOD, Tlifoj. 226-232. How much more concentrated the inspircil writer, James iii. 10: — " ottov yap ^tjKoi Kai epidfla, (Kf'i dKaraaTntrui Km miv cpavXov npayfia. r. VI. § 3.] MOTIVES TO " SERVE ONE ANOTHER IX LOVE." 291 individual Christians generally set about the performance of this duty in the spirit of faith, and humility, and perseverance, glo- rious results may be expected. " How delightful," to borrow the beautiful words of Robert Hall, " could we behold in the church a peaceful haven inviting us to retire from the tossings and perils of this unquiet ocean to a sacred enclosure, a seques- tered spot, which the storms and tempests of the world were not permitted to invade. Intus aquse dulces vivoque sedilia saxo, Nympharum domus. Hie fessas noii vincula naves Ulla tenent, unco non alligat ancora morsii." ^ Or in the more beautifiTl imagery and language of the inspired poet, — " Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities : thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down ; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken : but there the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams ; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king ; he will save us." ^ " The Lord hasten it in his time." SECT. III. — A GENERAL EXHORTATION TO " WALK IN THE spirit" AS THE BEST MEANS OF OBTAINING DOMINION OVER THE LUSTS OF THE FLESH. The best security against abusing the doctrines of grace is really to understand and believe them. It is on this principle that the apostle prescribes to a Christian evangelist a clear, full, and constant exhibition of the peculiarities of Christ's doctrine as the best method for securing that they who believe in Christ should maintain good works. " Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost ; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ onr Saviour ; that being justified by his grace, we should be made ^ Virgil, Aen. i. 173. ^ Isa. xxxiii. 20-22. 2*)2 EPISTLE TO TTIE GALATIANS. [CHAr. V. 13-VI. 10. heirs according to the liope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that^ they which have believed in God might be careful to main- tain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men." It is on this principle, also, that, in the passage Avhicli follows, he recommends tlie yielding of the mind up to the practical influence of the grand peculiarities of Christian truth as the best preserva- tive from those immoral dispositions and practices in Avhich, from the remaining depravity of their natures, even true Christians are in constant danger of indulging. " This I say then. Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil ^ the lust of the flesh." « The word " Spirit " here does not seem to denote the Holy Spirit, that Divine person who, along with the Father and the Son, exists in the iinity of the Godhead, and to whose operation all that is rio;ht in thouoht and feelino- in created beinG;s is traced in the Holy Scriptures ; but that frame of thought and affection which is produced by his agency through the belief of " the truth as it is in Jesus." ^ It is contrasted Avith " the flesh," which is a general term for that frame of thought and affection which is habitual to man unchanged by Divine influence. The introductory formula, " This I say,"" is obviously intended to mark the apostle's sense of the importance of the sentiment he was about to utter. " To walk" " is a common figurative expres- sion for conduct. To " walk in the laAv of the Lord " is to regu- late our conduct according to its precepts. To " walk in the Spirit," is to act like spiritual , persons — to follow out to their fail" practical conse({uences those views and afl'ections to which, through the faith of the gospel, by the agency of the Holy Spirit, * Some interpreters — Beza, for example — render tlie second as well as the first clause in the imperative ; but the apostle obviously means to represent TO TTVfvpLaTi TveinnaTflv as the antidote to to TtKdv emOvfilav a-apKos. Our translation follows the Vulgate ; Luther and Erasmus, deserting Beza, which they do not often do. ^ Gal. V. 10. * " ' The Spirit' denotes the renewed nature." — Calvin. " Perhaps here, as at Rom. xii. 3, and Matth. xxiii. 3, Atyw is equivalent to ' I command.' * irfpinnTflu, descriptive of a course of life — active, regular, progressive, continued exertion. — Rom. vi. 4; 2 Cor. ix. 2; 1 Thess ii. 12. Tlpfifxan TttpinaTUTf equivalent to KaTa nvfvfxn rrfpinaTt'iTf. — Rom. viii. 4. I\ VI. § 3.] EXHORTATION TO " WALK IN THE SPIRIT." 293 they were fonned — to live habitually under the influence of the faith of Christ, and those dispositions which it naturally inspires. ' Deliver yourselves up to the native force of those new views and affections, and ye will not fulfil the lusts of the flesh.' " The flesh," as we have just remarked, is the mode of think- ing and feeling which is natural to man in the present state of human nature; and "the lusts of the flesh" are the desires which naturally rise out of this mode of thinking and feeling. From experience and observation, as well as from Scripture, we know that this mode of thinking and feeling is depraved — wholly depraved. Every man may truly adopt the apostle's language, " In me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing." ^ The de- su'es of the flesh then are foolish and criminal desires ; and to " fulfil " ^ these desires is to endeavour to gratify them, to adopt the course of conduct to which they naturally lead. The apostle's statement, then, is this, ' The best way of op- posing the criminal biases of our depraved nature, is to yield ourselves up to the practical influence of that new and better mode of thinking and feeling into which we are brought by the faith of the gospel. This will put a more effectual check on the desires of the flesh than the most rigid observance of Mosaic ceremonies. Nothing mortifies pride, malignity, and impure desire, these lusts of the flesh, like walking in the Spirit.' Clear views of Christian truth, accompanied by corresponding affec- tions, followed out to their obvious practical results, will do more to deliver a man from the power of vicious habits than the most minute, laborious series of external services or ritual ob- servances. It is probable that the Judaising teachers endeavoured to recommend submission to the Mosaic law as a piece of moral discipline — an excellent method of " mortifying the flesh with its affections and lusts;" but Paul shows them " a more excellent way." If their " conversation was oidy such as became the gospel of Christ Jesus," they would find no want of the law as a means of nullifying sin. If they would but commit themselves ^ Rom. vii. 18. 2 reXetj/, " rem perficere," — ' to do a thing thoroughly and exactly.' reXeii/ fTTiOvfiiav crapKos, equivalent to noulv to. 6f} " hatred," — enmities, whether concealed in the heart, or made manifest in language and conduct. — lAike xxiii. 12. «/ni, " variance," — a fondness for quarrelling. — rhil. i. 15 ; 1 Cor. i. 11. C^Aot, " emulations," ardours, in a bad sense, — a bitter spirit of rivalry and contention. — James iii. 14-1(5; Acts v. 17. Bvpoi, " wrath," a high degree of anger, producing high breathing. It diffcTS IVoin opyt], which iiuiicales the imi)ul.se to act which anger gives. €pi6futi, r. VI. § 3.] EXHORTATION TO ""WALK IN THE SPIRIT." 301 The word rendered " witchcraft" ^ is of ambiguous meaning. It is used to signify the preparation and administration of poison, and also the magical use of herbs and other substances for pro- ducing love, or hatred, or indifference. It is probable that it is in the last sense that it is employed here. The employment of such terms is no proof of the reality of magical influence. It merely establishes the fact, that magical arts were then practised, and that the practice of such arts was a work of the flesh. "Sedition,"^ in the modem usage of the English language, denotes a political crime, the endeavouring to excite disturbances and change in a government. There can be no reason to doubt that in very many cases this is criminal — a work of the flesh ; but the meaning of the word used by the apostle is much more extensive, and describes all divisions which originate in other principles than a regard to truth and justice, whether in families, or states, or churches.^ " Heresies,"^ though the English word is little more than the Greek word in English characters, does not convey to an Eng- lish mind anything like an exact idea of the apostle's meaning. Heresy in English means an .error with regard to some funda- mental principle of religion. We call Socinians and Pelagians heretics. In the apostle's usage of the term heresy it is nearly equivalent to sect, and, as used here, is very nearly sjmonymous with seditions, unreasonable and unnecessar}' divisions. This seems the ordinary sense in which the word is used in the New Testament, and it enables us to explain a passage which in the English sense of the term " heresy" is not easily explained. The apostle says that "a heretic is condemned of himself." '' Now, certainly, every man who errs even on a fundamental doctrine of Christianity is not " self-condemned " in the ordinary meaning of these words. I have no doubt that many men have been perfectly sincere in maintaining what are commoidy called " strife," a rather uncommon word, from eptOos, a mercenary, and signifies 'factions.' (f)66voi, "envyings;" (povoi, "murders." — There is a natural connection between the things : (pdovos often produces (povos. There is also a napavofjiaaia, of which the apostle seems fond, fiedm, " drunken- ness," and Kajxoi, " revellings," are naturally connected : Koifioi were luxurious feasts on days sacred to their divinities, especially Bacchus. ^ (l)app.aKeia. ^ 8ixo(rraa[ai. ^ Rom. xvi. 17; 1 Cor. iii. 3, * alpeaeis. * Tit. iii. 11. o02 EPISTLK TO THE GALATIANS. [ciIAP. V. l.i-VI. 10. lieresies. The apostle's meaning is, — ' The man wlio unreason- ahly leaves the communion of the church condemns and punishes liimself. By leaving the church he executes upon himself the severest sentence she can denounce against him, that of excom- munication. These particular immoral practices are mentioned by the apostle probably because they were very prevalent in the age and among the people to whom he was writing. He closes his catalogue, however, by the veiy general expression, " and such like."^ The substance of his statement is obviously this, — ' The flesh, that mode of thinking and feeling wliicli is common to all men in their unregenerate state, naturally produces eveiyform of impiety and malignity, impurity and intemperance.' What a humbling view of human nature ! But is it more luimiliating than it is just ? In eveiy age has not " the wicked- ness of man been great on the earth'"? and is there any man who knows himself that is not ready to say with the apostle, " in me, that is in my flesh, dwells no good thing " ? There is ])lainly something radically wrong with human nature. It stands in need not merely of improvement but renoAation. We " must be born again." " Old things must pass away, and all things must become new." To his enumeration of the works of the flesh, the apostle ap- pends a very solemn declaration in reference to them, — " Of the •which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." The importance of the statement appears from the solemn manner in which it is introduced : " in reference to these things I tell you before ;" that is, 'I forewarn you,' — his declaration referring to something that is fiitiu'e, — " as I also in time past," when among you, warned you. When we look at such de- clarations as that before us, we are apt to suppose that, if once made, they would never need to be I'epeated — it seems that they would strike so deep into the heart, as to influence every future th()u<;lit and feelinri — and that, if once known, thev could never be forgotten. But how difleroiit is the truth ! The plainest and most interesting truths of religion need to be very often re- peated. " Precept must be on ])rece])t, and line upon line ;" ' KiH T(i ofxaia TovTois. V. Vr. § 3.] EXHORTATION TO " WALK IN THE SriRIT." 303 and the minister who is more anxious to save his people's souls tlian to tickle their imaginations and gratify their curiosity, will, like the apostle, find it requisite to tell them again what he has often told them before. For him to say the same things ought not to be grievous to him, for it is not~ only safe but useful — aye, necessary for them. The declaration is one that justifies the solemnity with which it is introduced, — " They which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." " The kingdom of God," or " of heaven," is a phrase of frequent occurrence in the New Testament. It is plainly used in tw^o ways, in the one of which Christians are viewed as the subjects, in the other as the possessors, of the kingdom. The first w^ay of using the phrase naturally rose out of the mode of thinking common among the Jews, and produced by the phraseology of the prophets. The Messiah, or promised deliverer, is very often spoken of by them as a Prince ; and the order of things to be introduced by him is naturally spoken of as his kingdom. In this view of the figure, the ^lessiah is the king, and all true Christians are his subjects. This is perhaps the most ordinary way in which the phrase is employed ; and it is sometimes used with a reference to the laws, and sometimes to the privileges, of this spiritual kingdom, — sometimes in reference to its imperfect state on earth, and some- times to its perfect state in heaven. In the second way of em- ploying the phrase, it is used on the general principle of figur- ative language. To denote the dignity and happiness which await true Christians in their ultimate state, it is termed " the kingdom prepared for them." The figure is used in this way when the Apostle James speaks of poor Christians being " heirs of the kingdom which God has promised to them who love Him." When Christians are represented as " made kings," and when it is promised to such as overcome that they shall " sit down with Christ on his throne, even as he also overcame, and is set down wdth his Father on his throne," — wherever, indeed, the jihrase before us occurs, " inherit the kingdom of God," — the phrase is obviously used in this last way ; and to " inherit the kingdom of God " is just equivalent to ' obtain possession of that state of dignity and happiness, which is figuratively represented as a kingdom — a divine kingdom.' The apostle's assertion, then, is that no man who does the works 304 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. V. 13-VI. 10. of the flesh shall be. a partaker of the celestial blessedness. The assertion is a most solemn and important one. The man who is habitually characterised by any one of the habits above men- tioned, or by any similar habit, cannot, if he die in this state, be saved. Let us all look inward, lest we come short of the heavenly kingdom. Eternal happiness is at stake. If we habitually indulge in any immoral habit, it matters not what it is ; if we are habitiially ungodly, or impure, or unjust, or intemperate, we cannot be saved. And let us remember that exclusion from that state of celestial royalty is but part of the evil. There are but tAvo states in the eternal world, and they who do not " inherit the kingdom " must be " cast into outer darkness, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth." There is no intermediate sentence between, — " Come, ye blessed, in- herit the kingdom," and, " Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire." It would be well if all who are living to the flesh would seriously consider these truths, — " If ye live after the flesh, ye must die." " If ye sow in the flesh, of the flesh ye must reap corruption." While men are " after the flesh," they will " mind the things of the flesh." The only way of secui'ing abstinence from the works of the flesh, which end in perdition, is to be "born of the Spirit;" for " except a man be born again," he will not abstain fi*om the works of the flesh, which must ruin him. Tiie tree must be made good that the fruit may be good. " Ye must be born again," " not of conniptible seed, but of incorruptible, even of the word of God, Avhich liveth and abideth for ever." The apostle having thus stated the practical results of that mode of thinking and feeling wlilch is common to all men in their unregenerate state, and which he terms " the flesh," goes on to give a contrasted view of the practical results of that new and better mode of thinking and feeling, to which men are formed by the Holy Spirit, through the faith of the gospel, and which he terms " the Spirit." " But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance : against such there is no law." ^ " The Spirit" here, as throughout the whole context, is the new way of thinking and feeling to which a man is formed by ' Gill. V. 22, 23. p. Vr. § 3.] EXHORTATION TO " WALK IN THE SPIRIT." 305 the faith of the truth. Now " the fruit "^ of this is just the dis- position and habits that grow out of it. " Love " ^ is enhghtened benignant affection toward God and man ; "joy "^ is holy cheer- fulness ; " peace "^ is a peaceful disposition, rising out of " the peace of God keeping the mind and heart ;" " long-suffering"^ is patience under ill-treatment long continued;® " gentleness " '^ is kindness — readiness to forgive and relieve ; ^ " goodness " ^ is a disposition to obhge ; ^^ " faith " ^^ is fidelity ; ^^ " meekness " '^ is lenity, or a disposition to bear, forbear, and forgive;^* " temper- ance"^^ is continence — moderation, in our estimate, desire, and pursuit, of worldly good. He who, through the belief of the truth, has the mind in him which was in Christ, is, in the degree in which he has this mind in him, good' and happy — filled with benevolence — happy in himself, and rejoicing in the happiness of all around him — at peace with God and himself, and disposed to be at peace with all men — not easily provoked, even by continued ill usage — mild in his temper and manners — distinguished by unbending in- tegrity and inviolable fidelity — gentle to the infirmities of others — and, if severe in anything, severe to himself, in guarding against every approximation to sinful indulgence. Such is the kind of character which naturally grows out of that new and better mode of thinking, to which men are formed by the faith of the truth. It would not be difficult to show how every one of these holy amiable dispositions grows out of the new mind, — how the faith of the truth, or, in other words, the truth believed, naturally leads to these results. To do this with all of ^ KapTTos, is in sense equivalent to epya : but the apostle seems to delight to speak of salutary and praiseworthy results under this beautiful figiure. — Rom. i. 13 ; vi. 22 ; vii. 4; xv. 28 ; Eph. v. 9 ; Phil. ii. 22 ; iv. 17. In one place he speaks ironically of the fatal eflfects of sin as friuts, Rom. vi. 21. It is an ingenious remark of Bishop Sanderson respecting the effects of the flesh being termed " works," and those of the Spirit, " fruit : " — " Where the flesh rules all, the work exceeds the fruit ; and therefore, without mentioning the fruit, they are called ' the works of the flesh.' But where the Spirit rules, the fruit exceeds the work ; and therefore, without even mentioning the work, it is called ' the fruit of the Spirit,' " ^ ayoKT). ^ X^P^' * etprjvrj. * paKpoBvpia. ^ Rom. ii. 4 ; Eph. iv. 2 ; Col, iii. 12. ^ XP^^'^^'^^^- ' 2 Cor. vi. 6; Col. iii. 12, ® ayaBaxrivrf. ^^ 2 Thess. i. 4. " TTt'o-Ttj. 12 Matth. xxiii. 23 ; Rom. iii. 3 ; Tit. ii. 10. " TrpavTTjs. " 1 Cor. iv. 21 ; Col. iii. 12. ^^ eyKpdreia. U 306 EPISTLE TO TUE GALATIANS. [CHAP. V. 13-VI. in. them would occupy too much room. I shall content myself with showing how one of these tempers is " the fruit of tlie Spirit " — gentleness or meekness, — and I shall borrow my illustration from the apostle's own writings. Christians are exhorted to be " gentle, showing all meekness unto all men ; " for" adds the apostle, " we onrselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, sci'ving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kind- ness and love of God our Saviour toAvard man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renew- ing of the Holy Ghost ; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour ; that, being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of etei'nal life."^ It will be a veiy edifying exercise, in our retirements, to go over the whole of the passage, and to consider how the faith of the grand peculiarities of Christian truth is calculated to pro- duce all the various graces and virtues of the Christian character. It is quite evident that the fruit of the Spirit and the works of the flesh — the practical results of the umvgencrate and the re- generate frame of mind — are directly opposite, and that in the decree in which a man is under the influence of the latter will he be delivered from the influence of the former ; and that of course " walking in the Spirit" is the best way of guarding against " fulfilling the lusts of the flesh." It is ])lainly morally impossible that the man full of " love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance," should indulge in the works of the flesh, as specified in the preceding verses ; and that the shortest and only offc'ctual method of be- coming truly holy, and truly happy, is just to have the mind completely imbued with the grand distinguishing peculiarities of Christian truth. Particular precepts, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, are very useful in their own place in promoting true holiness ; but their place is, comparatively spcakiug, a subordi- nate one. What is chiefly wanted is a living spring of holy dis- position— a habitual dislike of sin in all its forms — a habitual love of holiness ; and this is nowhere to be olitaincd but in that " new ' Tit. iii. 2-7. p. VI. § 3.] EXHORTATION TO " AVALK IN THE SPIRIT." 307 mind," which is indeed "the mind of Christ," and which becomes ours when, and just in the proportion in which, under the influ- ence of tlie Holy Spirit, we believe " the truth as it is in Jesus." As it is " the Spirit," the new mind, alone which can produce these fruits ; so, on the other hand, wherever there is the Spirit, the new mind, these effects will be produced. Whatever profes- sion we mav make, it is certain that Ave do not understand and believe the gospel, if we do not feel a happy, holy, transforming influence. " The Spirit" is an active principle. Wherever it exists it operates. If we are habitually strangers to the disposi- tions above enumerated, we have not " the Spirit of Christ ; " and " if we have not the Spirit of Christ, we are none of his." Alas ! have not many who bear Christ's name reason to fear that they are altogether destitute of his Spirit ; and even tliose who have something like satisfactory evidence that in them is the mind which was in Him, have they not much ground of regret and self-condemnation that they have it in so limited a measure. The only way of obtaining it by those who want it, is the belief of the truth under the influence of the Holy Ghost ; and the only way of obtaining larger measures of the Spirit, is to grow in the knowledge and faith of this truth ; and in order to the growth, and continued and increased operation, of this knowledge and faith, Divine influence is necessary ; and this continued and increased operation is promised to sincere, be- lieving, and persevering prayer. The apostle adds, "Against such there is no law." This is one of those passages in which, though the words are perfectly plain, there is some difficulty in perceiving their reference, or the particular purpose for which the apostle employs them. " Against such," ^ that is, not against such tempers and dispositions, but against persons characterised by such tempers and dispositions there is no law. Some have supposed that the apostle's meaning may be thus expressed, ' If all men were' of this description, there would be no need of law.' These are not at all the class of people against whom " law " is du^ected.^ We rather think that the following statement comes at least nearer his object in in- troducing this clause, ' The Judaising teachers, to gain their end, not only talked much of the advantages of submitting to ^ ToiovToiv, not ToiavTcov. ' I Tim. i. 9-11. 308 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. V. 13-VI. 10. the law of Moses, but also of the danger of not submitting to it. Now, says the apostle, * these thrcatenings need not alarm you if ye thus walk in the Spirit. That law approves of such characters and corresponding conduct, that law has no curse for you.' ^ The apostle then proceeds to state that all true Christians do, under the influence of the Spirit, endeavour to mortify the flesh — under the influence of their new mode of thinking and feeling endeavour completely to abandon their old mode of tliinking and feeling ; and calls on the Galatians who professed to be spiritually alive to prove this by a corresponding course of conduct in avoid- ing the works of the flesh, and displaying the fiTiits of the Spii'it in their behaviour to each other. " And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." ^ " They who are Christ's " is a phrase just equivalent to the appellation Christians, when understood in its true extent of meaning. It is a word often employed in a very extenuated sense. Every man who makes a profession of Christianity — who pays some regard to its external offices — who has been baptized, and who has not formally renounced his baptism — eveiy man, in a word, who is not a Pagan, or Mohammedan, or Jew, or infidel, is usually called a Christian. But there are many such Christians who are not Christ's. By their w^orldly, and often wicked, conduct, they dishonour His name and injui*e his in- terest ; and on the great day of final reckoning he shall say to them, " Depart from me, I never knew you, ye workers of iniquity." The general idea suggested by the expression is intimate connection — " They are Christ's," as " Christ is God's." They are his peculiar property, given to Him by his Father, redeemed by his blood, animated by his Spirit, subject to his authority, conformed to his image, devoted to his honom'. They 1 It is but right to state that I do not distinctly understand the reference or dcsifjn of these words, " Against sucli there is no law." Rosenniiiller's scholion is as good as any interpretation I know : — " Est Meiosis. Tantum abest ut iis Icgis Mosaicaj tcrrorcs sint nietucndi, ut potius Deo sint grati, et accepti licet non circunicisi." Some would render Kara ' concerning,' q. d. ' These qualities, these dispositions of mind and heart, are not the proper subject of law.' Law refers to overt acts. This is true of human laws ; but the remark cannot be extended to that law which is TrvtvuariKos, whose two cardinal commands are, The supreme love of God, and The sincere love of our nei''hbour. ' Gal. v. 24. r. Vr. § 3.] EXHORTATION TO " WALK IN THE SPIRIT." 309 call no man master or proprietor — one is their master and pro- prietor, Christ. They are not their own, bnt his — his only — wholly — for ever. Now, all who are thus Christ's " have cruci- fied ^ the flesh with the affections and lusts." "The flesh" is, as I have so often had occasion to remark, a general name for that mode of thinking and feeling which is natural to man so long as he continues a stranger to the regene- rating power of Divine influence ; and "the affections and lusts" are just those dispositions and desires which naturally grow out of this frame of thought and affection. The flesh and its attend- ing lusts are here personified, spoken of as living beings ; and true Christians are represented as putting them to death by crucifixion. The figm*e is bold, and to our comparatively cold and tame occidental imaginations may appear harsh ; but it is highly significant, and its meaning is obvious. Crucifixion was a punishment appropriated to the worst crimes of the basest sort of criminals, and produced death, not suddenly, but gradually. This seems to have been the idea present to the apostle's mind : True Christians regard with disapprobation and loathing that mode of thinking and feeling which is common to all till they are renewed ; and they earnestly desire, and constantly seek, its complete extinction. They do not succeed in completely de- stroying it while here below ; but they have fixed it to the Cross, and they are determined to keep it there till it expire. The phrase is similar in its meaning — but more emphatic — to the phrases, "mortifying our members which are on the earth" — " putting off the old man who is corrupt in his deeds." Some have considered this passage as parallel with the follow- ing passage in the Epistle to the Romans, — " Our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." ^ But the two passages refer to two completely distinct, though very closely connected, subjects. The passage in the Epistle to the Romans refers to 1 ea-Tavpaa-av, in the aorist : " Crucify," equivalent to ' have crucified, are crucifying, habitually crucify.' " Actio solita, vel studiose exercita per aoristos vel preterita, exprimi solet: ut et per presentia interdum." — E. Schmid. We express what is customary in the present. ^ Rom. vi. 6. The true parallel to the passage before us is Col. iii. 5. The vfKpoiiv TCI ixfXrj there, is equivalent to (xravpovv Tfjv uapKa, k. r. X. here. 310 EPISTLE TO TLIE GALATIANS. [CIIAI'. V. l.J-VI. 10. somethinn; done for tlie Christians — the piissa<:;e before us to something which the Christian does for himself. Tlie one de- scribes the Christian j)rivilege — the other delineates his character. The statement in the Epistle to the Romans is, ' The atonement secures the sanctification of all interested in it. What Christ suffered on the cross laid a secure foundation for the deliverance of his people from all immoral principles.' The statement before us is, ' Every true Christian regards with disapprobation and hatred that wrong way of thinking and feeling which is natural to him, and is engaged in endeavouring to root it out completely. He is treating it in a way analogous to that in which the basest criminal is treated.' It deserves notice that the expression is unlimited — " the flesh, with the aflPection and lusts." It is not merely with some of the more unsightly products of the fle^ that the Christian is dis- pleased, it is with the flesh itself. It is not the pruning of the old stock which will serve his purpose, it must be dug up by the roots. It is not the improvement of " the old man," it is the putting him off. What the Christian is determinedly seeking after is complete deliverance from a mode of thinking and feeling at variance with the mind and Avill of God. This crucifixion of " the flesh, with its affections and lusts " — the habitual desire and endeavour to master that wrong way of thinking and feeling, which is natural to us all, is peculiar to the time Christian, and it is characteristic of the true Christian. None but true Christians do so, — all true Christians do so. None but those who are Christ's " crucify the flesh, with its affections and lusts." Many who are not Christians dislike peculiar vices, and carefully avoid them. Many who are not true Christians set about a partial self-reformation, and for a time are very zealous in prosecuting it ; but none but a true Christian makes war habitually with " the flesh," the worldly mode of thinking and feeling, in its root as well as in its fi*uit — in its most reputable as well as in its most disgracefid forms. Other men may chastise " the flesh," but it is only they that are Christians that crucify it. And as it is peculiar to Christians, so it is common to them to " crucify the flesh, with its affections and lusts." Some of them are more successfid than others in mortifv'ing and crucifying their depraved modes of thinking and feeling ; but they are all p. VI. § 3.] EXHORTATION TO " WALK IN THE SPIRIT." 311 honestly thus engaged ; and it is just in the degree in which they are successful that they give evidence to themselves and others that they are indeed belonging to Christ. The apostle's statement is not what many commentators have represented it. They who are Christians ought to " crucify the flesh, wdth its affections and lusts," though that is a truth too ; but it is they who are Chris- tians do crucify — ^a declaration which plainly impKes, that if men do not " crucify the flesh, wdth its affections and lusts," they are not Christ's. The man who habitually indulges any of the affec- tions or lusts of the flesli, makes it evident, whatever he calls himself, he is not in reality a Christian. He has not the Spirit of Christ, and therefore he is none of his. The apostle proceeds now to exhort the Galatians to prove the reahty of their religion by producing its fruits. The ex- hortation, we should have naturally expected, would have been, — ' If, then, ye are Christ's, crucify the flesh, with its affections and lusts.' To be " m Christ," and to be " in the Spirit," are descriptive of the same persons. Not to " walk after the flesh," and to " walk after the Spirit," are but different views of the same kind of character and conduct ; so that, to a person who is familiar with the apostle's mode of thought and expression, there is nothing unnatural in the phraseology of the exhortation that foUoAvs. " If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." 1 To " live," in the phraseology of the apostle, is often equiva- lent to ' be happy.' " Now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord."^ " If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live."^ It is plain, however, that the word is not used in this sense in the passage before us. To " live in the Spirit " is just ' to be spmtually alive ' — to be animated and actuated by the Spirit. " The Spirit," as I have endeavoured to show, is, in the whole of this context, that new mode of thinking and feeling to which a man is formed by the Holy Spirit, by the instrumen- tahty of the faith of the truth as it is in Jesus ; and to " Kve in the Spirit " is just to possess this mode of thinking and feeling. To " walk" is, in Scripture language, descriptive of a course 1 Gal. V. 25. 2 1 Thess. iii. 8. ' Rom. viii. 13. 312 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [ciIAr. V. 13- VI. 10. of conduct. To "walk in the Spirit"^ is habitually to act spiritually — to behave like spiritual men — like men who think and feel in that new and better way to which the Holy Spirit forms all who are under his influence. The force of the exhortation is obviously this, — ' If w^e are Christians, let us prove ourselves to be so, by acting like Chris- tians. If we are spiritually alive, let us show that we are so by being spiritually active. If we really think and feel as all do who are believers of the truth, under the influence of the Spirit, let us make this evident by embodying our convictions and feel- ings in our behaviour.' ^ There are two important general principles obviously implied in this exhortation, — the one, that we must " live in the Spirit," in order to our "walking in the Spirit;" and the other, that " walking in the Spirit" is the natural result, and the only satisfactory evidence, of " living in the Spirit." " Living in the Sf)irit " is necessaiy in order to " walking in the Spirit." A man must be a Christian before he can act christianly. The tree must be good in order to the fruit being good ; the fountain must be cleared that the streams may be pure. Clu'istian conduct can spring only from Christian principle. Are we anxious to get to heaven, and, for this purpose, to obtain that " holiness, without which no man can see the Lord"? The only way of obtaining it, is to be thus " transformed by the renewing of our mind ; " and this can only be brought about by the operation of the Holy Spirit, through the instrumentality of Christian truth understood and believed. The other principle is equally important, — * Walking in the Spirit is the natural result and only satisfactory evidence of living in the Spirit.' The state of the mind and heart is closely connected with that of the conduct. Whatever a man's profession be — however ingeniously ho may speculate, and how- ever plausibly and fluently he may talk about Christianity, — if, in his temper and conduct, he does not exhibit the native results ^ (TToixflv, equivalent to irfpiTrarflv, verse 16. — Acts xxi. 24 ; Rom. iv. 12 ; Phil. iii. 16. " a-roixf'iv significat ordinate incedere et intra limites suos continere." — Estius. ' Bauer's paraphrase is good (Rhct. Paul. ii. 672) : — " Si vivinius (interne qua sensum et conditionem) spiritu ; spiritu et aganius, incedamus more cx- tcrno : vitam internam probemus factis externis." p. VI. § 4.] PARTICULAR EXHORTATIONS. 313 of Christian principle and feeling, he makes it evident that he is not a Christian. " By their fruits," says our Lord, " ye shall know them." The Spirit is not there when his fruits are not there. SECT. IV. — PARTICULAR EXHORTATIONS TO CERTAIN VARIETIES OF " WALKING IN THE SPIRIT." The apostle follows up this general exhortation by a variety of particular ones, all of them included in it. 1. Caution against vain-glorying. The first is contained in the 26th verse, — " Let us not be desirous of vain-glory, provoking one another, envyang one an- other."^ The English words, " Be not desirous of vain-glory," natui'ally signify, ' Do not eagerly desu'e, do not supremely seek after, a high reputation for quahties which are really not valuable in themselves, or are valuable in the estimation of those only whose good opinion is of little value.' True glory consists in being justly esteemed by good men for really good qualities. " Vain-glory" is to have the reputation of qualities which we do not possess, or to be praised for qualities which, though we do possess them, do not deserve praise ; or to be highly esteemed by men whose esteem is of little value. To " be desirous of vain-glory," in any of these senses, is a very foolish and a very unchristian thing ; but it does not seem to be the evil against which the apostle is here guarding the Galatians. We apprehend the apostle's meaning is this, ' Let us not be vain-glorious.' ^ To be " vain-glorious " is to boast of what we do not possess, or of what, though we do possess it, is of no value, or is of far less value than we attach to it For the mean- ing of the word, consult Phil. ii. 3; 2 Cor. x. 17 ; xii. 1-10; Phil. iii. 3-10. The Galatian chui'ch was divided into two parties — the Judaising party, and their opponents. The first boasted of their circumcision, and their superior sanctity in keep- ing the Mosaic observances ; and of their honours, as connected ^ " The sixth chapter ought to have begun here ; for v. 26 stands in strict connection with what follows it down to vi. 6, and is separated from the foregoing by the exhortation making a transition from its entirely general character to the special." — Olshausen. ' Kfvoho^oi. Newcome. 314 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CIIAP. V. 13-VI. 10. with Abraham, the father of the faithful. This was to glory in what was not really valuable. All tliese things, under the gospel, are utterly useless. The other party was in danger of glorying in their freedom from the restrictions of the ISIosaie law, and to look down on their brethren as men of contracted minds. This liberty was in itself a good thing, but it was not a thing to glory in. It was not their chief blessing. The kingdom of God consists "not in meats and di*inks," but in "justification" — in "peace" with God — in " joy in the Holy Ghost." ^ These were the blessings to glory in. This w^as true glory. 'Now,' says the apostle to both parties, 'be not vain-glorious.' Let not the Jew or the Judaiser boast of his subjection to the law ; and let not the Gentile boast of his freedom fi.*om the law, as if either the one or the other was the great benefit by which, as Christians, they were distinguished.^ The natural consequence of indulging in this vain-gloriation was mutual quarrelling and mutual hatred, — " Provoking one another," — ' Calling out one another to the field of controversy.' When one said, ' I am better than you, because I submit to the ^losaic law,' and another, ' I am better than you, because I walk at liberty,' these statements naturally led to disputations and vain-janglings about the law, and these as naturally tended to strenothen mutual dislike into mutual hatred. " Envying one another." The word " envy," in its most ap- propriate meaning, denotes a malignant uneasiness arising from perceiving the superiority of another. I do not see how, in this strict sense, it is very applicable to the case in the apostle's view. The word is sometimes employed to signify hatred, — as when it is said that Pilate knew that " through envy " — that is obviously malignity — "the Jews had delivered Jesus to him."^ In this way we understand the word here. Controversies on such sub- jects generally end in setting the combatants farther than ever from each other, as to kindly affection. He, who in the com- ^ Rom. xiv. 17. * Jerome, considering the words as equivalent to Phil. ii. 3, " Let nothing be done through vain-glory," very forcibly remarks, " Elcemosyna si ob laudem fiat inanis gloria est: longa oratio, pallor ex jtjunio, ipsa quoque castitas in matrimonio, viduitate, virginibus, ssepe plausuin qua>rit humanimi ; et quod dudimi timeo dicere. scd diceudum est. martyrium ipsum, si ideo fiat ul admiratioiii c( laudi habeanuir in fratribus, frustra .sanguis eliiisus est." ' Matth. xxvii. 18. r. VI. § 4.] PARTICULAR EXHORTATIONS. 315 mencement of such a coutroversy, only suspected the Chris- tianity of his brother, generally ends with denying it. If he dis- liked him then, he hates him now. This is not to " walk in the Spirit," but in " the flesh." It would be consolatory could we think that the exhortation in the text, though necessaiy in the apostle's time, had become un- necessary in ours. But alas ! how different is the truth ! How much vain-glorying is there among the professors of the name of Christ, even among those of whom charity obliges us to hope that their profession is genuine ! How do they glory in their distinctions ! One boasts of his connection with a rich and powerful, ancient and venerable establishment ; another glories in his being a Dissenter. One boasts of the imposing splendour, and another glories in the primitive simplicity, of their respective modes of worship. Even far less discernible marks of distinc- tion become grounds of gloriation : and this provokes to angry controversy ; and this again produces strife, jealousy, enmity, malignity. Were we more sj)iritual it would be otherwise. We should glory chiefly in the grand principles of Christian truth, in which all really good men are agreed ; and our attachment to these Avould produce attachment to all who really believe them. Wliile every man sought after, and endeavoured to communicate to his brother those views of truth and duty, which he conceived he had obtained from his Bible — " speaking the truth in love," — there would be no " provoking one another," except " to love and good works ; " and instead of " envying and hatmg one another," there would be general edification of the body in love. This state of things is to be brought about by the minds of men being brought more and more under the influence of Chris- tian truth by the operation of the Holy Ghost. We may be able to do but little in the way of forwarding such a state of things, but we do something if we yield up ourselves to the enlightening, sanctifying, softening, influence of the truth as it is in Jesus. 2. Duty of'''- the Spiritual" to those " overtaken in a fault." The passage which follows is obviously so closely connected with what goes before, that it ought not to have been disjoined fi'om it. It is the continued amplification of the general injunc- tion to Christian duty contained in the 25th verse of the preced- ing cha})ter. '' If we live in the Spirit let us also walk in the 816 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIAJs^S. [CIIAP. V. 13-VT. 10. Spirit." Under the influence of the new and better spirit to which we are formed by the agency of the Holy Spirit through the instrumentality of the faith of the truth, let us not be vain- glorious, provoking one another to useless and mischievous con- tentions which have a direct tendency to produce mutual aversion and malignity. This was to walk after the flesh and not after the spirit ; this was to cherish instead of to crucify the flesh in its affections and lusts. Instead of seeking each his own glory, let us seek one another's true happiness ; instead of triumphing over a fallen brother, and endeavouring to elevate ourselves by his depression, let us cherish a deep sense of deficiency and weakness; and in that meek disposition .which such a feeling naturally pro- duces, let us endeavour to reclaim the wandering, to strengthen the weak, and to raise the fallen. Such is the general import of the paragraph which follows, and to the more particular examina- tion of which our attention must now be directed. " Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness ; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." ^ It is plain that though the apostle's language be indefinite, " if a man be overtaken in a fault," the injunction does not refer to mankind generally, but to the members of a Christian church. It is just equivalent to, * if any of you ' — " any man that is called a brother."^ The phrase translated, " be overtaken in a fault," ^ is some- what ambiguous. For a man to be surprised or taken in a fault, or to be overtaken by a fault, is to fall into error or sin. The phrase seems to have been selected for the purpose of conveying the idea that the person referred to is not a habitual sinner — is not a person who lives in sin — who habitually does what is in- consistent with the will of Christ. He is not the person whom John describes as "a doer of sin."* A person of this descrip- tion has no right to a place in Christ's church. If he has been admitted into communion with a scripturally organised church, it must have been by mistake ; and when ever his real cliarac- » Gal. vi. 1. M Cor. V. 11. ' TTi)o\r)(p6i] fu Tivi Traparrrco/xnri, ' caught in a fault,' — or rather, ' caught by a fault, Trpo — before he had time to observe its approach, to see its bearings, to muster resistance.' npo^rjcpOi} = avvunapnaxOrj — CiiinsosT. * 6 afxapraviav — 6 noitdv ttjv apafniav. — 1 John iii. 0, 8. p. VI. § 4.] PARTICULAR EXHORTATIONS. 317 ter manifests itself, it is their imperative duty to " put away from among them such a wicked person." The fault here referred to is obviously occasional ; the man is " overtaken " mj or hy it. From the force of temptation, the want of prayerful vigilance and humble dependence, every Christian, even the most eminent, may fall into error and commit sin. Now, what is the duty of his fellow Christians to such a person ? Is it immediately to expel him from their society ? No ; it is their duty to restore him, and to restore him in the spirit of meekness. The word rendered " restore" ^ properly signi- fies to put a dislocated member of the body into its proper place.^ Wlien a professed Christian falls into error or sin, he becomes, as it were, a dislocated member of the mystical body of Christ, incapable of properly performing its own functions, and occasion- ing pain and inconvenience to the other members of the body. To " restore such an one," is to use the appropriate means of convincing him of his error and sin, and bringing him back to the path of truth and righteousness. He was not to be immedi- ately excommunicated — that is the last resort ; but neither was he to be allowed to continue in a state dangerous both to himself and his fellow church members. When a member of the human body is dislocated, amputation is not immediately resorted to. But neither is it allowed to remain in a state of luxation. Means are immediately employed to have the dislocation reduced. Whenever a Christian man is "overtaken in a fault," means should without delay be used to " restore " him. And what are these means ? By faithful, but at the same time friendly, state- ments of the truth, let him be led to see that he is in error and in fault. Show him the inconsistency of his opinion or his conduct with the doctrine and the law of Christ. Point out to him the bad consequences which are likely to result from it, both to himself and others. And when he is thus brought to a just sense of his fault, and in danger of being swallowed up of over- much sorrow, turn his mind to the gracious promises made to ^ " KarapriCeTe, id est, nitimini eum, quasi luxatum membruni, suo loco reponere et adaptando rursum compingere." — Beza. 2 Vide Suicer. Generally, mend, repair. — Matth. iv. 21 ; Mark i. 19. The KaTapTia-fJibs rav ay'imv — ' the putting into, and keeping in joint, the various members of Christ's body' — is represented by the apostle as the great end of the gospel ministry, Eph. iv. 12. /ilS EPISTLE TO THE OALATIANS. [cHAT, V. 13-Vl. 10. the returning backslider, and receive him, as in that case there is reason to beheve that Christ has received him. All this mnst be done "in the spirit of meekness."^ "The spirit of meekness " ^ is a Hebraism for ' a meek spirit.' The offending brother is not to be addressed in a tone of aiTogant superiority, or angry rebuke. He is not to be "treated as an enemy, but admonished as a brother." Eveiy thing that is done must be done in such a manner as to make it evident that there is no wish to give unnecessary pain, and that the ultimate objects in view are the honour of the Saviour, the prosperity of his church, and the best interest of the individual himself. In performing this most important part of Christian duty, it is peculiarly necessary to be " gentle, apt to teach," " patient," " in meekness instructing those who oppose themselves."® This injunction to restore an offending brother in " the spirit of meekness is addressed to " those who are spiritual." The appellation " spii'itual " ■* is often used to denote converted men in contrast to unconverted men, who are denominated " car- nal," ^ " sensual." ^ But the word is also applied to Chris- tians of a high order of attainment, to distinguish them from Christians of a low order of attainment. Enlightened, consistent Christians, as distinguished from their brethren of narrow pre- judiced views and irregular and doubtful habits. This is plainly the meaning in which the apostle employs the term when he says to the Corinthians, whom he yet considered as Christian brethren, — " I could not speak unto you as unto spii'itual, but ^ It is well remarked by Basil, that, in performing this duty, " spirituales debent imitari probos medicos qui fcgris non irascantur, sod advcrsus morbum ipsum pugnant." Augustine's golden rule well deserves to be cited : " Salsi- tudinem correptionis amor Christi temperet, et dilectioneni proximi sal justitiffi condiat." • In 1 Cor. iv. 21, ayi'mr] and irvevyia ■rrpavT7]Tos are represented as syno- nymous. It is a phrase of the same kind as Isa. xxix. 10 ; Rom. xi. S, — " a spirit of slumber." ^ " The duty of watching over each other, so frequently inculcated on the disciples, may be perverted, and become the source of strife, confusion, and every evil work. There is no part of Christian duty which requires us to look more carefully to our own spirit than administering reproof to our brethren ; and the more we are impressed witli a sense of our own weakness and proneness to fall, the better shall Ave be able to hold uj) our brother when he stumbles." — J. A. IIalda.ne. * TTVfVfiaTiKni. ■' crnpKiKi)i. " \f/v)(iKni. r. Yl. § 4.] TARTICULAR EXHORTATIONS. 319 as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ," ^ etc. " The spiritual " here are obviously the same class as the apostle in the Epistle to the Romans, chapter xv. 1, calls " the strong." ^ " We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves." It is then the peculiar duty of enlightened Christians who are enabled to act so as to " adorn the doctrine of God their Saviour in all things," to restore such of their less enlightened and consistent brethren as have fallen into error or sin. And if, instead of this, they are disposed to treat their offending brother with arrogance and bitterness, it is proof that they are not so spiritual, nor so strong, as they ought to be, or, as they think they are. " For the fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness." The apostle enforces the exhortation by a powerful motive — "considering thyself lest thou also be tempted."^ But the apostle changes the manner of his address from the plural to the singular, to give it more force and point, — "each one" — "con- sidering thyself lest thou also be tempted."'* These words may either be considered as referring to the duty of restoring the offending brother, or the manner of performing the duty " with meekness." The spii-itual were not to allow the offending brother to continue in error and sin, but were to take all proper means to restore him, to bring him back to tnith and duty. They were to do this from the consideration that error and sin, if allowed to pass unnoticed in a religious society, are likely to be hurtful not only to the individual but to the society, and not only to the reputation of the society, but to its real spiritual interests. " A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." If first one brother and then another, when he falls into a fault, be ^ 1 Cor. iii. 1-4. ^ ^j ^vvaroi 2 eKaaros must be supplied. This is, as to meaning, eqmvalent to uKon- ovvres (reavrovs fxfj Koi vixels TTetpaaSfJTe. * Such changes from the plural to the singular sometimes occur in the apostle's writings, as above, chap. iv. 7, and l Cor. iv. 2. Jerome and Le Clerc note this change of person as a solecism ; Blackwall and Doddridge remark it as a beauty. Such changes are to be found in the best authors, e. g. Horace : — " Nescios fari, pueros Achivis Ureret flammis, etiam latentem Matris in alvo."— Od. lib. iv. 6, 8. " o T« naOoyv 28 EriSTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [cHAJ'. V. 13-VI. 10. such as are thus at case in Zion. Such sinners have cause to be afraid. Fearfuhiess may well surprise these hypocrites. It will be well if they abandon their refuges of lies ere the over- flowing flood of vengeance overtakes them. But the words admit of another interpretation, which we are rather disposed to think the just one, ' If any man think himself to be something, seeing he is nothing, he deceiveth himself,' or ' If any man think he is something, he deceiveth himself, for he is nothing.' The apostle is cautioning the Galatians against a vain-glorious disposition ; and in this verse I apprehend he means that the habitual indulgence of vain-glory is utterly inconsistent with the possession of genuine Christianity. Humility is a lead- ing trait in the character of every genuine Christian. He knows and believes that he is guilty before the God of heaven exceed- ingly, and he feels that he is an ignorant, foolish, depraved creature — that of himself he is nothing, less than nothing, and vanitv. Feelinj^ thus his insignificance as a creature, and his demerit and depravity as a sinner, he is not — he cannot be — vain-glorious. Whatever he is that is good he know's God has made him to be. Whatever he has that is good he knows God has given him. The falls of others excite in him not self-glorification, but gratitude. " Who maketh me to differ ?" " What have I that I have not received ?" " By the grace of God I am vyhat I am." The gi'eater advance a man makes in true Christianity, the more humble he becomes. He gets better acquainted with himself, more emancipated from the dominion of self-love, and obtains higher and juster ideas of that holiness, which is the object of his ambition. How humbly does the Apostle Paul speak of himself! How far was he from thinking highly of himself! " In me, that is my flesh, dwelleth no good thing." " When I would do good, evil is present with me." " Less than the least of all saints" — " the chief of sinners." ' A man, who had spent a considerably long life in very active labours for the honour of God and the salvation of mankind, and who, in the estimation of those who knew him best, had reached an uncommon height of Christian excellence, uses the following language in a paper obviously never intended for the public eye, " Lord, I am now entering ' lv V , » - 3 , , , , . o anfijioyv fir Ttfv napKa (nvrnv. n mifipuiv fiy t<» Tri'fi/id. p. VI. § 7.] CAUTIOX AGAINST DELUSION. 339 vated.^ He who cultivates the field of " the flesh " has a harvest of "corruption ;" he who cultivates the field of " the Spirit" has a harvest of " life everlasting." For a man to " sow to his flesh," and to cultivate the field of " the flesh," is the same thing as " to live after the flesh " — " to walk after the flesh "—to " do the works of the flesh "—to " fulfil the desires of the flesh." " The flesh " is just human nature unchanged by Divine influence — the mode oiP thinking and feel- ing which is natural to man. The man who is characterised by any of the enormities mentioned in the close of the fifth chapter of this epistle, is one who " sows to the flesh ;" but he is not the only cultivator of the field " which bringeth forth nothing but briars and thorns, and the end of which is that it shall be burned." The man who is entirely occupied with sensible and present things, though he should not be what is ordinarily termed im- moral— nay, the mauAvho is strictly honest, and honourable, and punctiliously religious, so far as external morality and religion go, — who yet does not look at " things unseen and eternal," that man, too, sows in tlie flesh. And both of these classes of cultivators of this field which the Lord has cursed, shall reap the same kind of harvest. Both shall "reap corruption." "To reap corruption" is a phrase which, had we met with it by itself, we should have said naturally signifies to obtain, as the result of our exertions, that which is corruptible and perishable. In this light it is strikingly true of the man who sows in the flesh. Let him be as successful as his heart can desire in the attainment of the pleasures, honours, and wealth of the world, what has he got ? nothing but corruption. Short-lived, transitory, perishing are the leading characters of all things natural and earthly. But when we notice that "corruption" is contrasted with " life everlasting," and we compare the passage before us with the passage in the Epistle to the Romans, chap. viii. 13, with which it is obviously parallel. " If ye live after the flesh. ^ It is well remarked by Scliott, " o"«p^ et nvevfia comparantur agris qui conseruntur, frugesque proferunt diversissimas indoli seminis convenientes." He adds, " Non dixerim cum Ruckerto imaginem seminis jam prorsus cedere imagini agrorum : soleut quippe pro varia agrorum indole diversa seminum genera adhiberi." Ruckert, notwithstanding, is right. To mix the two figures produces inextricable confusion. To " sow in," is just equivalent to ' cultivate.' 340 EPISTLE TO THE CALATIANS. [CIIAP. V. 1.3-\ I. 10. ye shall die : but if ye through the Si)irit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live," we cannot doubt that "corruption" is here equivalent to death or misery — the second death, ever- lasting misery. ' The man who cultivates the field of the flesh shall find his labours end in his own ruin ; a carnal life, whether spent in the grossest pollutions of open and unrestrained pro fanity, or in the strictest observances of a merely worldly religion and morality, must end in the destruction of the soul.' As he who cultivates the field of the flesh shall have a harvest of everlasting ruin, so he who cliltivates the field of the Si)irit, who " sows in the Spirit," shall have a harvest of everlasting happiness. " The Spirit," as opposed to the flesh, is the new mode of thinking and feeling produced by the Holy Spirit, through the instrumentality of the gospel, undei'stood and be- lieved. To sow in the Spirit — to cultivate this field — is just to use the appointed means of improving and perfecting this new mode of thinking and feeling, the yielding ourselves up to its influence, the following it out to its fair results on our behavioui*. He sows in the Spirit who " lives by the faith of the Son of God," and abounds in all those holy dispositions and habits, which are enumerated in the end of the preceding chapter, as " the fruits of the Sj)irit." Such a person shall have a harvest of everlasting bliss and ha]ipiness, tliat is, he shall be everlastingly happy, and his haj)piness will be the result of his having sown to the Spirit. The language of the apostle in both clauses deserves attention, and is very instructive. He who sows in the field of the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. He who sows in the field of the S])irit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. That very cor- rupted nature which the one has indulged shall be the source of his misery — the various carnal dispositions which he has cherished shall be, as it were, the fiends which shall torment him for ever. Lust, avarice, ambition, reigning with unabated, ]KMhaps in- creased, force in the soul, while no means of gratifying them in any degree are afforded, nnist make the irreclainiably wicked inconceivably miserable in their final state. I do not deny, I do not even doubt, that in the regions of final punishment there are direct inflictions of wrath from the hand of a righteously offended divinity ; but it siuvly deserves notice that, in very many ])as- sages of Scripture, the misery of the irreclaimablv inipeniti-nt is p. VI. § 7.] CAUTION AGAINST DELUSION. 341 represented as the native, necessary, result of their own conduct. The whole economj' of God's moral government would need to be altered, the constituent principles of man's nature Avould need to be changed, before those who live and die " carnal" can be really happy in another world. On the other hand, He who cultivates the field of the Spirit, shall of that Spirit reap life everlasting. That new and better mode of thinking and feeling which he has carefolly cherished shall be to him the source of everlasting happiness. It shall be to him "a w^ell of living water springing up to everlasting life." We are too apt to think of final happiness as something quite distinct from that holy frame of feeling and thought to which the gospel, as " the ministration of the Spirit," forms the human soul, while in reality it is just the perfection of it. Holiness is heaven. The spiritual mind — the mind of the Spirit^ — the mode of thinking and feeling produced by the Holy Spirit through the belief of the truth — not only leads to, but is " life and peace." We should not look on the cultivation of the Christian, the spiritual, character as in itself a hard, disagreeable task, hy which — for which — we are at last to be compensated with an exceed- ingly great reward in heaven ; but we ought to consider every attainment as bringing its owti reward wnth it, every spi- ritual view, every spiritual feeling, as a part of the heavenly felicity. The Spirit is the " earnest" of the inheritance. It is a part of a whole — the beginning of what is to be perfected in eternity. The Christian is not like a labourer in the mines, who must look to the upper regions for nourishment and supjsort, and who cannot turn to immediate use the results of his toilsome operation ; but, like the agriculturist, all whose labour goes directly to the production of what is nourishing, and who is sup- ported by tlie very same kind of material as that in the cultiva- tion of which he is engaged. Every just view of Christian truth — every holy disposition — is a source of enjoyment opened to the Christian in this waste and howling wilderness ; and it is per- fect knowledge and perfect holiness which form " the river of life, clear as ciystal, issuing forth from beneath the throne of God and of the Lamb," along whose banks all the nations of the saved repose, " and drink their fill of its pure immortal streams." TO (ppovrjfxa tov Trvevfiaros. 342 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [ciIAP. V. 13-VI. 10. Tlie ])assage Avliich we have attempted to illustrate is con- sidered by many interpreters as having a particular reference to the disposal of pecuniary substance. They understand the apostle as saying, he who expends his money in gratifying the flesh sliall have a poor return — he shall purchase to himself no- thing but ruin ; but he who lays it out in accordance with the views and desires of a spiritual mind, that man shall be richly com])ensated in the treasures of eternity. This is no doubt a truth ; but we do not apprehend that the words of the apostle so much embody that truth as the more general one which we have illustrated, and which im[)lies this particular truth as well as a thousand others of the same kind. SECT. MIL— EXHORTATION TO WELL-DOING, AND CAUTION AGAINST BECOMING WEARY IN IT. In the verses that follow the apostle warns against becoming weary in Christian well-doing, and enforces his warning by a very powerful motive. " And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." ^ "Well-doing"^ is a phrase which may be understood, either in a more restricted, or in a more extended, sense. In the first case, it is equivalent to beneficence ; in the second, to dutiful conduct generally. It is a good general rule of interpretation, that when a word or a phrase occurs which admits of a more restricted and more extensive sense, the more extensive sense is to be preferred, if there is nothing in the passage or its context to fix it to tlie more restricted meaning. Applying this principle to the passage before us, we consider " well-doing" as a Avord of equal extent with " sowing to the Spirit" — as a jihrase descriptive of the whole duty of a Christian. The Christian's business is, to "do good" — to perform all the duties that rise out of the various relations in which he stands to God and his fellow men. These duties are numerous ; they are, many of them, arduous ; they are constantly recurring ; and their performance must be coeval with the Christian's life. ' Gill. \i. V, 10. ' To xdXoi' noiiiiii/Tfii. r. Vr. § «.] WELL-DOING ENJOINED AND ENFORCED 343 Owing to the number, the difficulty, and the never-terminat- ing, never-remitting obhgations of these duties, even genuine Christians are in danger of " becoming weaiy of well-doing." They become backward to undertake them, and languid in per- forming them. They multiply and magnify obstacles. The}'- are ingenious in devising excuses. They leave them half done, and are strongly tempted to abandon them altogether. It ought not to be so. It would not be were Christians what they should be — what thev mioht be. The great cause of weariness in well- doing is a deficiency in faith, and a corresponding undue in- fluence of present and sensible things. To the man who has, through the faith of Christ, overcome the world, none of the commandments of God are grievous. On tlie contrary, " In keeping them he finds a great reward." But whenever the Christian walks by sight, and not by faith, he becomes weak as another man, eveiy duty is a burden. It is when in the exercise of faith he realises to himself the unseen realities of religion and eternity, that he " renews his strength, mounts up on wings as an eagle, runs and does not weary, walks and does not faint." Against this spiritual languor, which makes the discharge of duty tiresome, and strongly tempts to its utter abandonment, the apostle here warns the Galatian Christians, "Be not weary ^ in well-doing." . We have here a beautiful exemplification of the extent and spirituality of the law of Christ. It prohibits the neglect of well-doing, as well as positive evil-doing, and it reaches to the very spring of actions. It not only prohibits the neglect of well- doing, but that weariness in well-doing which is likely to lead to this neglecti_ It is not satisfied with the thing enjoined being done ; it must be done in a right temper. The Lord loves a cheerful doer as well as a cheerful giver. The motive which the apostle employs, for the purpose of guarding the Galatian Christians against weariness in well- doing, is at once appropriate and powerful. Nothing is so much calculated to produce languor as a suspicion that all our exertions are likely to be fruitless ; and nothing is better fitted to dispel it than the assurance that they shall assuredly be ^ eKKOKeo}, ' to turn a coward, to be faint-hearted, to despond.' — Epli. iii. 13; 2 Cor. iv. 1, 16; Luke xviii. 1; 2 Thess. iii. 13. Lacli. and Tisch. rtjaJ eyfcaKeo) in all these passages. 344 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. V. 13-VI. 10. crowned with success. " In clue season," says lie, " ye shall reap, if ye faint not." " Ye shall reap^ The language is figurative, but not obscure. Indeed it is far more expressive than any literal description could have been. It implies in it the idea of reward — of reward na- turally rising out of, and proportioned to, the dutiful exertion. The Christian shall be rewarded for his well-doing. Every act of Christian duty, every sacrifice made, every privation sub- mitted to, every suflPering endured, fi-om a regard to Christ's authority, with a view to Christ's honour, shall assuredly be recompensed. This reward is often — usually — granted in part, even in the present state, and shall be most certainly conferred in the future. This reward shall grow out of, and correspond to, the dutiful exertions of the Christian. It shall be his har- vest. The happiness of a Christian, both in this world and the next, is, in a great measure, the natural result of his confonnity to the will of God. Every holy temper is a capacity of enjoy- ment, and a source of enjoyment at the same time. The cul- tivation of holy dispositions, and the perfonnance of commanded duty, are necessary to the true happiness of the Christian, not only from the Divine appointment, but from the very nature of the case. The happy results of well-doing are not, however, in every case immediate — in no case are all the happy results of any act of well-doing at once and completely developed — and therefore the apostle adds. Ye shall reap " in due season." ^ Christians frequently act like children in reference to this harvest. They would sow and reap in the same day. When children sow the seeds of flowers in their little gardens, they are apt to be- come impatient for their appearing above ground ; and then for their yielding blossoms ; and by this impatience are often not merely disquieted, but induced to do what must retard, and may altogether prevent, the eagerly desired event. Like ' The iliflcrcnce between dcatpos and XP^'""? is illustrated in the following words of Demosthenes : '■' (rvfi^aivei ttoWwu TTpayfxaTwv Ka\ fj.fyd\ Kaipov iv iipnxti XP"*"? yiyvtdOai," — (19, G) ; and in the verses of Ausonius, (/e sapientibus: — " Pittacum dixissc fania est Lesbiiim riyvcoa-Kf Kctipov. Tenijiiis lit noris jiibet, Sed Kaifuiv iste TtMrEsnvrM temits est." — rALAHlET, p. 43G. r. VI. § 8.J WELL-DOING ENJOINED AND ENFORCED. 345 " the husbandman" who " waiteth for the precious fruit of the eartli, and hath long patience for it, till he has received the former and latter rain," the Christian must also " be patient and stablish his heart." Our time is always ready; but it is not for us either to know or to regulate the times and the seasons. The Father has kept them in his own power. The harvest is certain. This we are assured of, and, moreover, that if our own fault prevent not, it will be abundant and joyful. Whether it is to be an early or a late one depends entirely on the arrangements of Him who is " wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working." And is it not right that it should be sol Is it not enough to be assured that in due season — at the period fixed by infinite wisdom and kindness — our objects shall be completely gained, our exertions abundantly rewarded "? The concluding clause deserves particular notice, " if we faint not," literally "not fainting."' This phrase, "not fainting," may, so far as construction is concerned, be connected with either clause of the verse. It may be considered as describing either the nature of the dutiful exertion, or of the gracious reward. They who take the last view consider the apostle as saying. Unweary- ing labour or Christian duty will terminate in unending reward. We shall never cease to reap if we but persevere in well-doing. There will be satisfaction without satiety, and that for ever. This is truth, important truth, but we rather think the more ordinary way of connecting the phrase brings out better the apostle's exact meaning. The saint's reaping is suspended on his not fainting, that is, his reward is suspended on his " constant continuance in well- doing." The words obviously imply, ' If we faint we shall not reap.' No true saint will so faint as to abandon altogether the onward course of well-doing ; but just in the proportion in which he does so shall he not reap; just in this proportion shall he come short of "obtaining a full reward:" and if a man who has exhibited all the appearances of saintship, who has been reckoned a saint by himself, and by those who were best acquainted with him, if that man should so faint as to habitually neglect the per- formance of Christian duty, no doubt he shall reap, but it will be " of the flesh, corruption," and not " of the Spirit, life everlast- 1 iicKvfcrSni, ' to be unstrung— relaxed, to be weakened, fatigued, to faint.' — Matth. ix. 36 ; xv. 32: Heb. xii. 3, 5; Deut. xx. 3. fj-rj e.-cXvo/ifi/oi, equi- valent to e'av fir) fKkvu)fif6a. 346 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [ciIAt', V. 1.}-Vr, in. ing." A great deal of the false and dangerous notions enter- tained in reference to a most important Christian doctrine, that of the perseverance of the saints, would be prevented were men but to remember that the perseverance of the saints is a per- severance in holiness, and that, though " eternal life is the gift of God through Jesus Christ oiu' Lord," it is on those only who, " through a constant continuance in Avcll-doing, seek for glory, honour, and immortality," that eternal life is confeired. It has been finely said, " He Avho becomes a Christian in the true sense of that word becomes such for eternity. He has enlisted for life — for immortal life — never to withdraw. He becomes pledged to do good, and to serve God always. No obstacles are to deter him, no embarrassments are to drive him off the field. With the vigour of his youth, and the influence and wisdom of his riper years, with his remaining powers when enfeebled by age, with the last pulsations of life here, and with the immortal en- ergies of a higher life in a better world, he is to do good. For that he is to live. For that he is to die. And when he awakes in the resurrection with renovated powers, he is to awake to an everlasting service of doing good, as far as he may have oppor- tunity, in the kingdom of God." ^ No man who is habitually neglectful of, or allowedly languid and careless in, the discharge of Christian duty, can have satis- factory evidence of his being an object of Divine favour ; and if, in these circumstances, he cherishes a confidence in the good- ness of his state, and in the security of his salvation, his con- fidence is presumptuous. From the consideration that oxery dutiful exertion of the Christian shall in due time receive its recompense, the aj)ostk' takes occasion to exhort the Galatians to act a consistent and dutit\il part in reference to all men, and especially in reference to their Christian brethren. " As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the house- hold of faith ."=^ The ])hrase, " doing good,"'' like woll-doing, may either be ' Barnes. ' (Jal. vi. 10. The apostate Julian owns that Christians acted out the apostle's injunctions: " Tp*(^ovfri," says lie, *' oi fivaa-t fif'n ya\t\moi npns Tovs favrwv ku\ Toi'i rjixfTtpniis. ' Cjiyn^urfiiu to ilyitOov. V. VI. § 8.] WELL-DOING ENJOINED AND ENFORCED. 347 considered as expressive of benevolent exertion, or of dutiful con- duct generally. In the passage before us it has almost univer- sally been interpreted in its restricted sense. It is the Christian's duty to " do good;" to endeavour to lessen the amount both of moral and physical evil, of sin and of suffering ; to add to the amount both of moral and physical good, of worth and happi- ness, in our world. To enlighten the ignorant and prejudiced ; to rouse to consideration the inconsiderate ; to lead the guilty to the blood of atonement, and the depraved to the laver of regeneration ; to make the bad good, and the good better ; to comfort the disconsolate ; to relieve the poor and the miserable, — are so many varieties of the general duty of Christian benefi- cence. In the performance of this duty, the Christian knows no limits except those which are fixed by his power and oppor- tunity of doing good. He is not to be confined by relationship, or neighbourhood, or sect, or even religion. The possession of a common nature is claim enough on his good wishes and good offices. Every Christian is as really, though not quite in the same way as the apostle, a " debtor to the Greek and the Barbarian, to the wise and the unwise." Whether a man be " a Jew or a Gentile, bond or free," learned or illiterate, good or bad, if he labours under evils from which we can relieve him, it is our duty as Christians to do so. But while Christians are bound " to do good to all men," they are peculiarly bound to do good " to those who are of the house- hold of faith." Jerome refers this appellation to Christian minis- ters, who are, in a peculiar sense, "the domestics" in the family of God ; but it is better to refer it to Christians generally ^ — the believing family. The application is admirably expressive. All genuine Christians are bound together by a very powerful and a very tender tie. That tie is the faith of the same truth. It is this which unites them to God, " the Father of whom the whole family in heaven and earth are called;" to Jesus Christ, the elder brother ; and to one another, as children of God and brethren of Christ, — " heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ." They love one another " in the truth, for the truth's sake, which is in them, and will abide with them for ever." Duty ^ Theodoret interprets the appellation as equivalent to S/jLonia-Toi. Strabo speaks of ot/celot ^iXoaotplas (i. 1, 11); and Diodorus Siculus of otVeTot oXiyapxias (13, 91). 348 EPISTLE TO TUE GALATIANS. [ciIAr. V. 13-VI. 10. corresponds with relation. Christians, therefore, are particularly bound to do good to one another. Every poor and distressed man has a claim on nic for pity, and, if I can afford it, for active exertion and pecuniary relief. But a poor Christian has a far stronger claim on my feelings, my labours, and my property. He is my brother, equally interested with myself in the blood and love of the Redeemer. I expect to spend an eternity with him in hdaven. He is the representative of my unseen Saviour, and HE considers ever}i;hing done to his poor afflicted brother as done to himself. For a Christian to be unkind to a Chris- tian, is not only wrong, it is monstrous. The obligation to do good to our fellow-Christians extends both to their external and spiritual necessities. It is an import- ant duty, " if we see a brother or sister naked, or destitute of daily food, to give them those things which are needful for the body." But it is not a less important duty, when we see a Chris- tian brother or sister labouring under mistake, or in danger of falling into sin, to endeavour to undeceive them, and to warn them of their danger. Spiritual evils are the worst evils, and spiritual blessings are the best blessings ; and we do good to our brethren in the most important way, when we deliver them from these evils, and put them in possession of these blessings. We are to love our brethren as Christ loved us, and do good to them as he does good to us. Christians are to " do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith, as they have opportimity." The idea commonly attached to these words is, that Christians are bound to seize every opportunity of doing good, both to man- kind generally, and to their fellow-Christians in particular. This is an important truth, but we doubt if it is exactly the truth which the apostle here expresses. The word " season " ^ in the 9th verse, and the word " opportunity " in the lOth, are the same in the oriirinal. That word is the link which connects the two verses. " In due season ye shall reap." While we have the " season" let us do good ; as if he had said, ' The season of reaping will come in due time. Now is the season for sowhig. While ye have the season, improve it. In a short time the objects of your beneficence will be beyond your reach, or you will bo taken from /t/)(n-. p. VI. § ».] WELL-DOING ENJOINED AND ENFORCED. 349 them. The eternal harvest depends on the short seed-time. There is no time to be idle, for " whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." ^ While I have explained the phrase " doing good," in the way in which it is ordinarily understood, as referring directly to be- nevolent exertion, I am strongly disposed to think that the word is employed by tlie apostie in its most general sense. ' Work that which is good in reference to all men, but especially in reference to the household of faith.' It seems to us to refer to the duties of justice as well as mercy. "Render to all their due ;" " wrong no man ;" and, in reference to your brethren, let your conduct be scrupulously upright and dutiful. We find the apostle warning Christian servants against using improper ft'eedoms with their Christian masters, as if their common privileges as Christians brought them nearer a level in civil society ; and using the Christianity of their Masters as a powerful superadded reason why they should be obedient to them. " Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour ; and they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren ; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit."^ And we find him representing the Christian char- acter of a person injured by another Christian as a great aggra- vation of the offence, — " Ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren."^ This gives unity to the whole paragraph, — " sowing to the Spirit," " well-doing," and " doing good," all of them being terms of nearly equivalent import. The practical improvement to be made of this passage is not far to seek. Let us turn it to the use of serious self-inquiry. ^ The following epigram from the Greek of Posidippus, by the celebrated Sir Thomas More, on a figure of Kaipos, is striking : — " Tu quis ? Kaipos ego omne domans. Cur summis instas pedibus ? Semper rotor. Alas Cur plantis gestas? Ut levis aura ferar. DextrjB cur inserta novacula? Siguum homini hoc est, Vis conferri acie quod mihi, mdla potest. Cur coma fronte jacet? Venientem ut premiere possis. Parte est cur calvum posteriore caput ? Quod postquam levibus prseceps efiugero pennis, Ne valeat tergo quis revocare velit." 2 1 Tim. vi. 1, 2. " M Cor. vi. 8. 350 EPISTLK TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. V. 13-VI. 111. Let US ask, Have we never been, are we not now, " weary in well-doing'"? Are we " doing good to all, as we have oppor- tunity, especially to the household of faith "? If we press these questions honestly home, deep self-humiliation will be the result. But let us not, however, despair. The more languid we are, the greater is the necessity for earnest prayer and increased exertion. The less good we have done in the past, the more diligent should we be in doing good in the future. The season of doing good will soon close for ever. " What our hand lindeth to do, let us do it with our might." The season of reward will soon come to those who, " by a patient continuance in well-doing, are seek- ing for glory, honour, and immortality." " Be steadfast, im- moveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as your labour is not in vain in the Lord." And if the harvest seems long in coming — if the reward seems long delayed — still " faint not." " Cast not away your confi- dence, which has great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience" — that is, you must persevere — "that after ye have done the will of God, ye may receive the promise." ^ This seems to be the conclusion of the epistle, properly so called. What follows has all the ordinary marks of a Postscript. 1 ileb. X. 3G. PART VII. POSTSCRIPT. Galatians VI. 11-18. — "Ye see how large a letter I have Avritten unto you with mine own hand. As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised ; only lest they should sufier per- secution for the Cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law ; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. From henceforth let no man trouble nie : for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen." SECT. I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. In an age like the present, in which infidel principles are ex- tensively entertained and zealously propagated, it is a matter of high importance, both to the satisfaction of his own mind, which may be disturbed by the hardy assertions or sly insinuations of unbelievers, and to the credit of his religion, which is apt to suffer when its supporters appear perplexed or silenced by the cavils of its opponents, that every professor of Christianity should be so well instructed in the grounds on which he has embraced that religion, as true and divine, as to enable him " to hold fast the profession of his faith without wavering," and " to give an answer to eveiy one who asketh him a reason of the hope that is in him, with meekness and fear." The evidence of the genu- ineness, the authenticity, and the inspiration of the Holy Scrip- ture, ought to be familiar to his mind. To the questions, Why do I believe the books, received by me as sacred, as the composi- 352 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CIIAP. VI. 11-1«. tions of the persons whose names they bear? Why do I give credit to tlieir statements, and wliy do I consider these state- ments as not only characterised by strict truth, but possessed of Divine authority ? he ought always to be ready to give an answer which is satisfactoiy to his own mind, and wliicli is likely to be so to every candiil inquirer. A man may have a great deal of this kind of knowledge with- out being a Christian at all, in the true sense of that word. It is to be feared that some have most ingeniously and satisfactorily defended the truth and divinity of Christianity, who have lived and died strangers and enemies to all that is most distinctive and valuable in the doctrine of that religion, and utterly destitute of all those invaluable blessings which, when understood and be- lieved, these doctrines uniformly convey to the soul ; and, on the other hand, many genuine Christians are extremely deficient in this kind of knowledge, and still more deficient in the capacity of using with advantage that limited portion of it which they possess. This is deeply to be regretted. " I take it," says the great and good Richard Baxter — " I take it to be the greatest cause of coldness in duty, weakness in grace, boldness in sinning, and unwillingness to die, tliat our faith in the divine authority of Scripture is either unsound or impure. Few Christians among us have anything better than an implicit faith in this point. They have received it by tradition. Godly ministers and Chris- tians tell them so ; it is impious to doubt it, and therefore they believe it ; and tliis worm, lying at the root, causeth the lan- guishing and decaying of the whole." It is surely, then, the duty of the Christian teacher frequently to turn the attention of those whom he instructs in the numer- ous, varied, and })ovverful arguments which prove that, in re- ceiving Christianity, " we have not followed a cunningly de- vised fable," but that we have embraced what is enq)hatically " the truth ;" and to do this, not merely in presenting to them a complete systematized view of the evidence of revelation, but by seizing every opportunity of fixing their minds on those signatures of truth and divinity, which become apparent as we study the difierent doctrines, and duties, and institutions of Christianity, and the variayKd(ov(ri, in sucli a eomioction. lias iilrccidv been explaineii, chap. ii. .1, 14. p. VII. § 3.] THE JUDAISERS UNPRINCIPLED. 359 according to Jerome, allowed the Jews throughout the empire to exercise their religion ; and it has been supposed that circum- cised Christians were considered as Jews, but if they were uncircumcised they were liable to persecution, as the professors of a " religio illicita." This supj^osed fact — for it is not authenticated ' — has been considered as throwing light on this passage ; but we cannot perceive this : for it was not by their own circumcision, but by the circumcision of others, these men sought security fi'om persecution, so that the persecution here referred to was not fi'om Pagans, but Jews, from whom, indeed, the principal per- secutions of Christianity, directly and indirectly, in the earlier times proceeded.^ The Cross of Christ here, and in the 14th verse, is by many interpreters considered as equivalent to sufferings on account of Christ, as " the sufferings of Christ" is, in 2 Cor. i. 5, obviously expressive of sufferings in the cause of Christ, and accordingly they render the words,^ ' lest tliey should be persecuted with the Cross of Christ, lest they should be called on to bear the Cross, which eveiy true disciple, according to the declaration of our Lord, must bear.' Though, however, every true disciple must bear his own Cross, yet I do not know that the phrase, ' Cross of Christ,' is ever used in this sense in the New Testament. So far as I have been able to form an opinion, the expression, when used as in the case before us, always signifies the fact of the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross, as the expiation of human guilt — the only ground of human hope, superseding everything else as the foundation of acceptance with God.* It was this' doctrine which was peculiarly unpalatable to the unbelieving Jews, — leading, as it plainly did, to a renunciation of all the expiatory rites of the Mosaic law as utterly useless, and indeed impious and criminal, if used as affording a method of obtain- ^ The Jews were cruelly oppressed by the emperors, and the most degrading- means employed to extort from them what was called the Judaicus fiscus, the tax originally imposed on them by Titus, when he commanded them to pay annually, for the support of the temple of Jupiter in the Capitol, the half shekel they were accustomed to pay for the support of the temple of Jehovah, — a tax not only cruelly harassing to their feelings, but oppressive to their consciences. - Acts viii. 1 ; xiii. 50; xiv. 5, 6; 2 Tim. iii. 11. '' iva fii] Tw aravpu) tov Xpicrrov Stco/cwj/rai. * 1 Cor. i.'l7, 18;' Phil. iii. IS. 360 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAT. VI. 11-18. ing till.' Divine favour. They could not bear that Gentiles should be recognised as of the household of God, merely because they believed in Christ, and trusted in his death on the Cross as the procuring cause of their salvation, and therefore nothing 'svas so well fitted to moderate their antipathies as to throw this into the shade by continuing to observe the rites and ceremonies of the law. Now, these time-serving men tliought the best way of rebutting the cliarge, that by becoming Christians they had be- come enemies to the law, was by yiehling external conformity to its riteSj and insisting that all Gentile converts to Christianity should also, by doing so, seem to have become proselytes to Judaism. This tampering with truth and duty, even when it originates in a mistaken but sincere wish to serve the interests of Christian- ity, joined with dangerously lax notions as to expediency, is highly criminal ; but when, as it often is, as it was in the case before us, a mere cloak for low selfishness, it is peculiarly detest- able. That it was so in the case of these Judaising teachers is plain fi'om what is stated by the apostle in the next verse. "For neither they themselves wlio are circumcised keep the law ; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh." ' It is not easy to say whether these words in the first clause refer to the Judaising teachers or to those among the Galatian converts whom they had prevailed on to submit to the initiatory rite of Judaism. They state what was probably the truth with regard to both; all that they wished was to save appearances. The Judaisers insisted on the Gentile converts being circumcised: for to associate in a religious way, and in the ordinaiy ofiices of life, with persons known to have been heathens, and never to have submitted to the initiatory rite of Judaism, was something which could not be hid, and would have outraged the ])ivjudices of the unbelieving Jews ; but entire submission to the law in eveiy case does not seem to have been required. The circumcised (ientile convert was not even by them, it would seem, required in eveiything to " live as a Jew." And even of themselves, it was probable that what Paul says of Peter was true, that though .Jews, they lived in many things " as the Gentiles did." Their object was to iii;ike :i fair show ; and \\]\vn jt'gal ()l>st'rNances ' (ial. vi. i:i. r. VII. § 3.] THE JUDAISEUS UNPRINCIPLED. 361 Avere not necessary to serve tlieir purpose, they could easily dis- pense with them. Now, either of these courses of conduct on the part of the Judaising teachers was a proof that they had no really con- scientious conviction of the obligation of the Mosaic law. If they had, they would have been consistent. Their object was to have, in the fact of having induced Gentiles to submit to the initiatory rite of Judaism, something that they might use as a defence against the persecutions of the unbelieving Jews. They could point to these circumcised Gentiles, and say, * See the proof of our reverence for the law.' Connected with this was the mean, unworthy motive of wish- ing to have substantial evidence of their power over the minds of the converts. There is no power which, by men of a certain cast of mind, is so much coveted as power over other men's minds — the being able to say, ' they embraced doctrines just because we taught them, and submitted to usages just because we prescribed them.' Nothino; can be more absurd than this — as if their own res])onsibilities were not enough when called to " give account of themselves to God," they must ultroneously undertake other men's responsibilities, adding to their own bmxlen, sufficiently heavy already, without at all lightening that of their dupes. For of every one of them it must still continue true : " Every one must give account of himself to God."^ Such a principle is utterly unworthy of a Christian teacher ; and whenever the slightest symptom of it appears, it is the duty and interest of the Christian people to watch it with the utmost care, and to resist it with the utmost pertinacity. Let us bear on our souls the indelible mark of subjection of mind and heart to Christ ; but let us bear neither on our bodies nor on our sovils the brand of subjection to human authority. " One is our master, even Christ." " Be not the servants of men." The fact that merely external conformity, and that to a certain length only, satisfied these false teachers — and, it would seem, served their purpose, also, in quashing the persecution of the unbelieving Jews, — is striking and important. Like cases are })y no means rare. In almost every variety of corrupted Christianity we find materially the same thing. If a man will 1 Rom. xiv. 12. 362 EPISTLE TO THE GALATLVNS. [CIIAP. VI. 11-18. but profess his faith in the infallibihty of the Roman Catholic church, and |)erforni its rites reguhirly, he will be allowed almost any latitude he pleases, both as to opinion and conduct. Wliere there is nothing but an external religion, great uneasiness is often produced in families when some of the members, from conscientious principle, go not to the usual p/ace of worship, or observe not the usual form of worship; — it does not matter whether the persons belong to the Established Church, or to a Dissenting body — to the Episcopalian or Presbyterian persuasion. The great matter is not the conviction of the mind, but the brinmnff them back to the orthodox place of worship. If they can be got back again to the church, or to the chapel, or to the meeting-house — if the external conformity be but yielded, all is gained. And, indeed, what else can be expected ? Where a person's own re- ligion is all of this external professional kind, how should he seek for anything more in another ? Let us learn from this passage to beware of bye-ends in re- ligion. Let it be our constant object to maintain " a conscience void of offence to God and man," and to be able to say, " Our rejoicing is this, the testimon}'- of our conscience, that in sim- plicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world." ^ Let us also be warned against taking up with a mere outside religion — a thing of time, and place, and circumstance, lieal Christianity is a religion as extensive as the nature of man as a being capable of thought, feeling, and action. Let our religion be the religion of the mind, the religion of the heai-t, the religion of the life, — not a theory of doctrine, however ingenious, or even correct, — not a feeling casually, though it may be strongly, ex- cited,— not an external and ritual service, however simple or how- ever imposing, — not an assumed garb, however splendid, and gracefully worn ; but a constituent — the governing — element of our intellectual and moral nature : not speculation — not enthu- siasm— not superstition — not formalism — not h^'pocrisy : not ex- clusivcly doctrinal, or experimental, or litiu'gical, or j)rofessional, or practical ; but all these in due ])roportion and degree, — the natural efllect of the truth understood, and believed, and loved,— " faith purilVing the heart, working by love, and overcoming the ' 2 Cor. i. 12. r. VII. § 4.] THE apostle's DETERMINATION. 363 world." Let this be the religion which we cultivate in ourselves, and let this be the religion we endeavour to propagate among oiu' brethren of mankind. SECT. IV. — THE apostle's DETERMINATION TO GLORY ONLY IN THE CROSS OF CHRIST. The sentiments of the apostle in reference to the cross, so directly opposed to those of the Judaising teachers, — the change produced on his views and feelings in reference to the world, and on the views and feelings of the world in reference to him, in consequence of his entertaining and avowing these sentiments, — and the influence of this faith and profession in producing these changes, — are very strikingly expressed in the following verse :® — " But God forbid^ that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I mito the world." ^ The connection of this passage with what goes before, indi- cated by the particle " but,"^ may be variously stated. The particle " but " usually intimates contrast. The words before us may be considered as directly connected with the words immedi- ately preceding. As if the apostle had said, * Your false teachers glor}' or boast in their influence over you, proved by your sub- mitting to the initiatory rite of Judaism in consequence of their urgency ; but I have a more solid ground for my boasting. I glory not in the blind submission of men to my authority ; I glory in the Cross of my Saviovir.' The contrast in this case is between the two different grounds of the glorying of the Judais- ing teachers and the apostle. The words may, however, be viewed as connected, not with those which immediately precede them, but with the close of the 12th verse, while the 13th is viewed as a parenthesis. Li this case, the contrast is between the light in which the Juda- ising teachers and that in which the apostle viewed the Cross of Christ. They greatly underrated its importance ; they wished to conceal it ; they were ashamed of it ; and were afraid of suffering persecution on account of it. But, instead of this, the apostle «• See Note E. 1 "The efiol firi yevoiTf) answers to the i;^ "''■? nV^n, Gen. xliv. 7; Josh. xxiv. 16."— Olshausen. ^ (jal. vi. 14. ' 8i. 364 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. VI. 11-18. gloried in it, and was determined to glory in nothing else. It does not matter which of these tw^o views of the connection we adopt, though I am disposed to prefer the latter. The meaning of the whole passage depends on the sense we affix to the phrase, " Cross of Christ." Some judicious inter- preters understand " the Cross of Christ" here, of sufferings in tiie cause of Christ ; and they consider the expression in the text as just synonymous with his declaration in 2 Cor. xii. 5, " Of myself I will not glory, save in mine infirmities." " Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake : for when I am weak, then am I strong." ""We glory in tribulations also."^ The same senti- ment was strongly felt by the apostles, wdien they " departed from the presence of the " Jewish " council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name."^ It is strikingly stated, when suffering for Christ is represented to the Philipi)ians as a privilege, on the possession of which the apostle congratulates them, " Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ to suffer for his sake."^ If this be the apostle's meaning, he contrasts his own feelings with those of the Judaising teachers. * These men are afraid and ashamed of bearing the Cross after Christ : I count this my highest honour ; and through the means of these sufferings " the world is cnicified to me " — the pleasures, and honours, and riches of the world have become, in my esti- mation, things contemptible and valueless ; and, on the other hand, these sufferings have made me an object of contempt and dislike to the men of the world,* so that I am under no tempta- tion to court their favour, as these Judaising teachers are, by doctrines fashioned to their taste.' There is no doubt that this is plausible. The sense thus given to the words is quite self-consistent. It agrees well enough with the context, and the obvious design of the writer, and it is per- fectly agreeable to the analogy of faith ; but it labours under one very important defect, — it gives the phrase, " Cross of Christ," a sense which, though not unnatural, nor inconsistent with the •Tenius of the liinguago or the analogy <>f' Scriptuiv expression, ' Rom. V. :i. ' Acts V. 11 ' Philip, i. 29. * 1 Cor. iv 0. p. VII. § 4.] THE apostle's DETERMINATION. 365 is yet altogether unsupported; for, as we have just observed, wherever the phrase, " cross of Christ," occurs in the New Testament, and does not express the instrument of our Lord's death, it signifies the fact that Jesus Christ expiated the sin of men by dying on a cross. ^ This, then, is the sense in which we understand it here. In the fact that the incarnate Son of God had expired on a cross as the victim of human guilt — that he was "delivered for our offences" — that he was "made sin for us" — that he "gave himself for us, the just One in the room of the unjust, that he might bring us to God," — the apostle gloried, and declares that, in comparison with this, he will glory in nothing else. . Now, what is meant by his thus glorying or boasting in the cross of Christ ? This will be best understood by contrasting the apostle's sentiments on this subject with those of the Juda- ising teachers, who were ashamed of it. They did not place their dependence for salvation on the cross of Christ, or, at any rate, not wholly there. They concealed it : they thought that this concealment was necessary in order to the success of Chris- tianity ; and they shrunk from suffering on account of it. In all these ways they shoAved the low estimate they had formed of the cross of Christ ; and just in an opposite way did the apostle show the high estimate he had formed of it. It is difficult to say exactly what views these teachers had of the cross of Christ. It is plain, however, that they did not look to Christ's death as the price of then' salvation — the ground of their hope. They did not submit to God's method of justifica- tion, but went about to establish a way of their own, " as it were, by the law." They depended, at least in part, for accept- ance with God on circumcision, and the performance of ritual observances. But, on the other hand, tlie finished work of Christ was the sole ground of the apostle's confidence : — " For we are the cir- cumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more : cir- cumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of 11 Cor. i. 17, 18: Phil. iii. IS. 366 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CIIAP. VI. 11-18. Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee ; concerning zeal, persecuting the church ; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I coimt all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord : for whom I have suf- fered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 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 bv faith." ^ The Judaising teachers showed their low estimate of the doc- trine of the cross by concealing it, or, at any rate, casting it into the shade. The apostle, on the contrary, showed his high esti- mate of it by giving it the greatest possible prominence in his exhibitions of Christian truth. Kead his epistles, and you will find how closely he kept to his determination to " know nothing," among those to whom he made known the gospel, " but Jesus Christ and him crucified;" that Jesus was " delivered for our offences;" that " Pic died in our room;" that "we have re- demption in Him, through His blood, who is set forth a propitia- tion ;" that " we are bought with a price ;" that " He was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him ;" that " we who are i'ar oft' were brought nigh by the blood of Christ;" that " He gave himself for us, a sacrifice and an oftering, that He might bring us to God;" — these were the con- stant themes of the apostle's discourses.- " I declare unto you the gospel," says he, " which I preached mito you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand ; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain : for I delivered unto you Jirst of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for om' sins ac- cording to the Scriptures."^ " The Jews," says he, " require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom : but we preach Christ * Phil. iii. 3-y. The words which Chrysostom puts in I'aul's mouth are very appropriate : — " Kav\doixai eV tw a-Tavpco tov Xpicrrov- ort 6 \pi(TT6s 8i e'|X€ 8ov\ov iJiop(\>riv avtKa^fv Koi tiradfv antp tnadtv 8i tpi tov 8ov\oi> tov f^Bp^i' TOV uyvmpova." ' Rom. iv. 25; v. 8; iii. 24. 25: Eph. i. 7 : 1 Cor. vi. 20; 2 Cor. v. 21 ; Eph. ii. ].-{; v. 2. '' 1 Cor. xv. 1-3. r. VII. § 4.] THE apostle's DETERMINATION. 367 crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness ; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." ^ The Judaising teachers considered the doctrine of the Cross as a great obstacle in the way of the spread of Christianity. The apostle was of opinion that when the doctrine of the Cross was not received, Christianity was not received ; and that that doc- trine, opposed, as it is, to the pride and prejudices of men, is yet the di\dnely appointed and divinely adapted method for triumph- ing over that pride and these prejudices. It was the grand weapon of his warfare, and though not " carnal," he found it " mighty through God to the pulling down of strong-holds ; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." ^ The Judaising teachers shrunk from suffering on account of the Cross. The apostle, on the contrary, would not purchase life at the price of denying, or even of concealing, this doctrine. On the contrary, he thought shame honour, and suffering hap- piness, in such a cause. " Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God." ^ But why did the apostle thus glory in the Cross of Christ ? He saw, in the fact of the expiation of the sins of men by the death of the Son of God on the Cross, such a glorious display of the wisdom and power, the holiness and benignity, of the Divine character, as destroyed the native enmity of his own heart, quelled the jealousies of guilt, sweetly constrained him to love God, filled his mind with holy peace and joyful hope, delivered him from " the bondage of corruption," and brought him into " the glorious liberty of the children of God ;" and he was persuaded that what the Cross of Christ was to him it was calculated to be to eveiy one of the children of Adam, who, like him, understood and be- lieved the truth respecting it. Therefore he gloried in the Cross — in Christ — in Christ crucified.'* 1 1 Cor. i. 22-24. ^ 2 Cor. x. 4, 5. ^ Acts xx. 24, * " The apostle had reason to glory in the cross of Christ, had it been no more than that his suffering on the cross was his entrance into glory, — a 368 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. VI, 11-18. " The doctrine of the Cross," as lias been finely remarked by John Glas, in his " Testimony on the King of Martyrs," one of the most valuable theological treatises produced in this countr}- during the eighteenth century — " The doctrine of the Cross is the distinguishing truth of Christianity, whereby it is differenced fi-om mere natural religion, and from all the religions of the Avorld, that anv may compete with it. All' the parts of the Scriptural revela- tion depend on it, and are connected with it, so that, take away this truth out of the gospel, it will become another gospel, and the whole of the prophets and apostles will be utterly made of none effect as to eternal life and salvation. This truth is the great means wdiereby the power of God is put forth to save sinners and to subject them to him in his kingdom. It w^as by the revelation of Christ's righteousness in the gospel that Christ's kingdom was first set up and advanced in the world, and it was by the renewal of this great truth, after it had been bound under antichrist's reigr., that the Lord began to " consume that wicked one." At the Eeformation Luther said, " This article reigns in my heart, and with this the church stands or falls." Without this great truth all other means for promoting or defending the kingdom of Christ will be altogether ineffectual : yea, on the contrary, serve to advance the kingdom of Satan. The strength of Christ's kingdom, and its safety, lies all in this truth. So they who would advance this kingdom in the world must bear it about with them in theii' hearts, in all their preaching, and in all their conversation in the ministry ; and truly this would be a spring of daily refreshment to themselves, and of great liberty circumstance which will weigh much with every true lover of Jesus : so him- self says to his disciples, ' If ye loved me, ye would rejoice because I go to the Father.' But there was more, greatly more. The cross of Christ sets forth the great High Priest ' ollcring himself a sacrifice for the sins of the world,' and by that one sacrifice doing what all the sacrifices offered according to the law of IMoses could never do : a sacrifice which had not only the pro- mise of pardon, but of eternal life, annexed to it. By the cross of Christ, the terms on which the grant and promise of that life which was made (o man were completely fulfilled, and the grant comes to us free as grace itself. On the cross, also, a throne of grace is erected, to which the worst of sinners may come, not only with safety, but with the fullest assurance of success, that they shall obtain « mercy and grace to help in every time of need;' insomuch that the least doubting or wavering is a shameful afl'ront offered to the faithfulness both of God, the promiser, and liis cvtr-blesscd Son.'" — lllCCALTOUN. p. VTI. § 4.] THE apostle's DETERMINATION. 809 and boldness in all the labours of the gospel ministry, and in all the sufferings that attend it.^ In this glorying in the Cross of Christ, the apostle sets an example which should be followed by every Christian, and espe- cially by every Christiau minister. Indeed, we are not Chris- tians at all, in the true sense of that word, if we are not glorying in the Cross — in the Cross alone — as the ground of our hope. It is to be feared that multitudes are deceiving themselves on this all-important point. They say they are depending on Christ ; but, in many cases, if they would but " examine themselves," they would find that they are depending on themselves. They expect pardon and salvation, not solely because Christ, the just One, died in the room of the unjust, but entirely, or in part, on the ground of their not being so bad as others, or of their re- pentance, their reformation, their good intentions, their alms deeds. If they think of the Cross as a ground of reliance at all, it is only as something to have recourse to in order to supply the deficiencies of other grounds of hope. This is not to glory in the Cross ; it is to do it foul dishonour. " Other foundation can no man lay, save that which is laid." From the beginning to the end of Christ's religion, the weight of our eternal hopes must rest solely on the Cross.^ ^ Glas' Testimony/ of the King of Martyrs, chap. iv. sect. iii. It may be an act of supererogation, but I cannot help taking this opportunity of earnestly recommending my readers to study a sermon on the passage under consideration by M'Laurin, the greatest of our Scottish Theologians, in which the glories of the Cross of Christ are exhibited with a depth of spi- ritual understanding and feeling, and a force of argument and eloquence seldom equalled, and still more seldom combined. The words of Augustine deserve to be quoted: — " Poterat apostolus gloriari in sapientia Christi et verum diceret; poterat in majestate, poterat in potestate et verum diceret; sed dixit. In cruce. Ubi mundi philosophus erubuit ibi apostolus the- saurum reperit ut qui gloriatur in Domino glorietiu". Quo Domino ? Christo crucifixo. Ubi humilitas ibi majestas, ubi infirmitas ibi potestas, ubi mors ibi vita." — De Verbis Apost. Ser. xx. 2 a Where should the guilty, who has lost Jehovah's favour by his sin, Find worth that he may safely trust, A righteousness to glory in ? " Behold the Cross ! the blood divine That there for sinful man was spilt ! Here's worth enough to glory in, Enough to cleanse the foulest guilt. 2 A 370 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. VI. 11-18. The example of the apostle deserves to be sedulously followed by the ministers of the gospel. Every Christian minister should himself be a Christian — should, for himself, as a poor, guilty hell-deserving sinner, glory in the Cross ; and if he does so, the Cross is sure to occupy its proper place in his pubhc ministra- tions. It is thus only that he can be faithful to his Master — it is thus only that he can gain the great object of his ministry in making men good and happy. Let a man preach with the greatest ability and zeal eveiything in the Bible but the Cross, he shall, as to the great end of preaching, preach in vain. While, on the other hand, the honest preaching of the Cross — though in great weakness, and even when accompanied with great deficiencies as to a full declaration of the counsel of God on some other subjects — has usually been accompanied with the divine blessing. The doctrine of the atonement ouo;ht not to be the sole theme of the Christian ministry, but every doctrine, and every precept, of Christianity should be exliibited in their connection with this great master principle ; and the leading object of the preacher should be to keep the mind and the heart of his hearers steadily fixed on Chi'ist Jesus — Christ Jesus crucified. SECT. V. — THE CRUCIFIXION OF THE WORLD TO THE APOSTLE, AND OF THE APOSTLE TO THE WORLD, BY THE CROSS OP CHRIST. The influence which Paul's views of the Cross had on his views of the world, and the influence which his boastful mani- festation of these views of the Cross had on the views of the men of the world respecting him, are powerfully expressed in the close of the sentence, — " By whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." ^*" It was because Paul gloried in the Cross of Christ that the world was crucified to him, and he to the world ; and it was because the Judaising teachers did not glory in the Cross of " Wlien false foundations all arc pone, l']ach lyini; refuge blown to air, The Cross remains our hoast alone : The righteousness of God is tliere." — OIhskUc /fjjiuii. > (ial, vi. 14. f See Note F. p. VII. § 5.] THE WORLD CRUCIFIED TO THE APOSTLE. 371 Christ that the world was not crucified to them, nor they to the world. The relative which connects the two parts of the verse/ may either refer to Christ, or to Christ's Cross. From the way in which our translators have rendered it, it is plain they referred it to Christ — "by whom," that is, by Christ. With a large proportion of the best interpreters, I think it more natural to refer it to the Cross of Christ, and would render it " by wdiich." The apostle's declaration then is, by the Cross of Christ ^ " the world is crucified nnto me, and I unto the world." Such is the con- struction of the passage : let us inquire into its meaning. " The world " ^ is a term that very often occurs in the New Testament in a somewhat peculiar sense. It designates present sensible things^ viewed as exercising a malignant influence over the minds of men — directly opposed to the influence which future and spiritual things should exert over them.* It includes in it the external frame of nature — mankind — and their institutions, honours, pleasures, and wealth — disgrace, pain, and poverty — all that originates in this material system, and interests us, as be- longing to it. It is plain that one man's world may be very different from another man's world. The world of the peasant and of the prince, of the theologian and of the statesman, of the Jew and of the Gentile, are very different worlds, but they are composed of the same sort of elements ; and " the world " in each case means just the various earthly, external, influential objects, whether persons or things, objects or events, by which the individual is surrounded. In the passage before us, and in many others, these sensible present things are personified, and termed " the world." Now, the apostle represents this figurative personage as crucified " to him;" that is, in his estimation. It deserves notice that the Apostle Paul is peculiarly attached to the word " crucify." He often uses it, when another word would nearly at least have ex- pressed his idea, and when a person, whose mind and heart were less ^ By giving, as a marginal rendering, " whereby," our version indicates the ambiguity of the original ^ o KoafMos. * 1 Cor. vii. 31, 33; 2 Cor. vii. 10; James iv. 4; 1 John ii. 15, 16. Theodoret's note is good : " Koa-finv Se em'Kfn-f ra ^icoTiKfi TTpdynara, rrj!/ So^av, Tov liKovTOV. 372 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. VI. 11-18. occupied with the cross, and Hiin avIio hung on it, would naturally have employed another term, — " Our old man is crucified;" " They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh ;" and here, " The world is crucified to ine, and I am crucified to the world." But what is the apostle's meaning Avhen he says " the world " — that is, present sensible things, as possessing and exercising influence — is as a crucified person, in his estimation ? " The world," in the estimate formed of it by mankind in general, may be compared to a mighty prince, who has unlimited means of bestowing rewards and inflicting punishments, and whose favour, of course, it is of the highest importance to secure and retain. They conceive that happiness is to be found in present sensible things. To be rich and honourable, to have all the accommo- dation and pleasures of the present state, to enjoy the smiles of this potentate, is, in their estimation, to be happy. To be poor and despised, persecuted and afflicted, to be subjected to the frown of this potentate, is, in their estimation, to be miserable. This is the mode of thinking and feeling natural to man, and it was once the apostle's mode of thinking and feeling. He once counted worldly honour, and wealth, and pleasure, and power, gain ; but now, instead of viewing the world as a mighty poten- tate, he reo;ardcd it as a condemned malefactor nailed to a cross. He no longer looked to it for happiness ; he no longer regarded it either with admiration or fear ; he no longer courted its smiles ; he no longer dreaded its frowns. The wealth, and honours, and pleasures of the world could not seduce him, nor all its varied evils terrify him into an abandonment of the Saviour or of his cause — make him renounce or even conceal one of his doctrines — neglect one of his ordinances, or violate one of his laws. In his estimate, to do anything inconsistent with duty to his Lord, in compliance with " the course of this world," in order to attain its richest reward, or avoid its severest jninishment, would be as absurd as if to procure a favourable glance from the eye of a worthless expiring felon on a cross, a person were to subject him- self to the displeasure of an a(;com])li.shod and powerful sove- reign, Avho had every claim on his aflections and allegiance.* ' Erasmus happily expresses it, " Nee nialis illius territor, nee eomraodis titillor; nee odium metuo nee plaustim moror; mc ignoniiniani reforinido nee gloriani affceto." p. VII. § 5.] THE AVOKLD CRUCIFIED TO THE APOf^TLE. 373 The phrase probably intimates even something more than this. The apostle regarded " the world " viewed as man^s idol ; (for " covetousness " — -just another word for the supreme love of the world — " is idolatry,") — that from which he seeks for happi- ness,— that wdiich he substitutes in the room of God, and of his Son, with a species of horror similar to that \\ath which a Jew regarded a crucified person — as one accursed of God. He shrunk back from the idea of making that which is the object of God's curse the object of his supreme aft'ection. This complete revolution in the apostle's mode of thinking in reference to the world, was brought about by the Cross. It was by the cross of Christ that the world was crucified to him ; that is, ' It was the doctrine of the Cross, understood and believed by him, that led him into this way of thinking and feeling in refer- ence to the world.' How it did so it is not very difficult to explain. The death of the incarnate, only-begotten Son of God on a cross, in order to avert the miseries, and secure the happiness of eternity, is cal- culated so to impress the mind with the inconceivable import- ance of that eternity, as that the man brought under the " power of the world to come " is delivered from " the present evil world." Eveiy earth-born thing, in such a case, " grows dim and disap- pears— shrinks to a thing of nought." Besides, the doctrine of the Cross believed gives other and better sources of enjoyment, — it makes us acquainted with things far more to be desired than any worldly good, and things far more to be dreaded than any Avorldly evil ; and it necessarily leads us to view " the world " in the aspect in which all men naturally consider it, as our most dangerous enemy, leading the mind away from God, and tend- ing to form us to a character directly the reverse of that which Christ died on the cross for us to secure.^ But the apostle not only states that by the Cross " the world was crucified to him," but that by the Cross too " he was cnicified to the world." Some interpreters consider these words as just a repetition of the same sentiment, under a different form of ex- pression. ' I am crucified in reference to the world. I regard 1 " The apostle had commenced his epistle (chap. i. 4) by stating that Christ ' gave himself for the sins of his people, that he might deliver them from this present evil world;' and here, at the close, he shows how this was effected in his own experience, by; the cross.'" — IIaldaxe (J. A.) 374 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. VI. 11-18. the world as a crucified person does ; what are the riches, and honours, and pleasures of the world to one expiring on a cross 1 I see the world in the light in which he sees it.' In their way of understanding the phrase, it is equivalent to, " dead to the world." But I am not disposed to think this the right mode of inter- pretation. There is plainly an antithesis ; and the two parts of it must be explained on similar principles. If the first means, * The world is as a crucified person in my estimation,' the second must mean, ' I am as a crucified person in the world's estima- tion.'^ " The world," in the second clause, is not quite so exten- sive in its meaning as in the first. It plainly, from the nature of the case, refers to that part of " the world" which is intelli- gent— ' the men of the world.' To men of the world the apostle was a crucified person ; he was an object of contemjit, of hatred, and even of horror. There was a time when he was highly esteemed by his unbelieving countrymen — his living world — as a man of talent and Avorth. But it was now far otherwise. They reckoned him a wicked fool — a mischievous madman. His Jew- ish brethren regarded him w'ith peculiar terror as an apostate, and hated him nearly as intensely as they did his Lord;^ and the sentiments of the unbelieving Gentile world in reference to him were not materially different, — somewhat less of hatred — possibly somewhat more of contempt. What the apostle says generally of his apostolic brethren, was peculiarly applicable to himself: — " For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death : for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ : we are weak, but ye are strong : ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place ; and labour, working with our own hands : being reviled, we bless ; being persecuted, we suffer it ; being defamed, we entreat : we ai'e * The first clause is equivalent to, • Ego munduni daniiio et execrationi habeo;' the second is ctiuivalenl to, ' Mundus vicissim me anathema et catharma rcputat.' * The force of the two clauses is very well pivcn by Bauer, in his riiil. Thnciil. Paul. — " Ipse nil maj^ni facit niundi. et mundus ipsum con- temnit." r. VII. § 5.] THE APOSTLE CEUCIFIED TO THE WORLD. 375 made as the filth of the world, and are the ofF-scouring of all thhigs unto this day." ^ And as the world was " crucified to the apostle by the cross of Christ," so " it was by the cross of Christ that he was crucified to the world." It was the mode of thinking, and feeling, and acting, to which the faith of the doctrine of the Cross naturally led, that made him the object of the contempt and dislike of worldly men. It was this that led him to the bold avowal of the hated doctrine of the Cross, and of the doctrines connected wdth it, equally disliked by the worldly ; and to that course of active endeavours to overthrow the power of the world over the mind and heart of men, which formed the business of his life. The object of the apostle in making these statements is plain. It is as if he had said, ' Your Judaising teachers wish to keep Avell with the world ; but all this is over, completely over, with me. Through the Cross, what is the object of their admiration and fear, as it was once of mine, is the object of my dislike and contempt ; and indeed it were needless for me to attempt to court the world's favour, for I know that, through the Cross, I am be- come an object of its contempt and execration. But in the Cross I have infinitely more than the world ever gave me — ever could give me, — infinitely more even than I ever expected from it ; and I have also what far more than compensates for its contempt and hatred. I glory in the Cross. God forbid that I should not glory in it, and God forbid that I should glory in anything else.' What the apostle here expresses is not a sentiment and ex- perience peculiar to him as an apostle, it is a conviction and feeling common to him with all in Christ. His declaration ought to be employed for the purposes of self-inquiry. Is the world crucified to us by the Cross of Christ, and are we by that Cross crucified to the world ? We all naturally love and serve the world. In some of its forms it is the great subject of thought — the great object of afiection. True faith in the Cross, and in Him who hung on it, crucifies the world to us, and makes us cease to love and serve it. " This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." Men, to whom the world is not crucified, are certainly not believers ; and men professing Christianity, who are not " crucified to the world " — men whom the world loves 1 1 Cor. iv. 9-13. 376 EPISTLE TO THK GALATIAXS. [cHAP. VI. Il-IR. and hunours, — have cause to stand in doubt of themselves. Where the Cross holds the place hi the heart which it did in the apostle's, and exercises the influence over the character and conduct it did in him, it will be equally clear that the world is crucified to the individual, and he to the world. Christians do not need to be greatly concerned tlioutrh " they are crucified to the world," — though the world should strongly dislike them, and very clearly show its dislike. Its smiles are more formidable to their best interests than its frowns. It is not wise to provoke unnecessarily the ill-will even of the most de- cidedly worldly — this is fitted to do nothing but mischief; but Christians should do nothing inconsistent with their professed attachment to the Cross of Christ to secure the favour of the world. Either course of conduct throws obstacles in the way of their doing duty to the world, Avliich is, to endeavour to save it from itself. They ought esj)ecially to be desirous to have the world every day more crucified to them — to be every day more and more delivered fi'om its demoralising influence ; and they must never forget that it is the Cross which is the grand means of emancipation from the world's power. The thought — Christ the Son of God — " the just One died in the room of the unjust," for our sins, to deliver us from " the present evil world" — clearly apprehended, firmly believed — ought ever to be present to the mind. " Forasmuch as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh" — let us ann ourselves with this thought, — " lie that hath suf- fered in the flesh is free from sin, that we no longer live the rest of our time in the flesh, to the lusts of men, but to the will of God." It is the grace of God, manifested in the Cross of Cluist, that effectually teaches to " deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly ; and to look for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that lie might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar people, zeidous of good works." SECT. VI. — THE ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY AGAIN STATED.?? The apostle now, in this Postscript, repeats substantially, as of supreme importance, a statement which he had already made more than once in a former part of the epistle.' This double K Sl-o Note G. ' (jial. iii. US; v. 6, p. VII. § 6.] THE ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY AGAIN STATED. 377 repetition strongly marks at once his sense of the intrinsic value of the principle, and his conviction that the Galatians very much needed to have their attention directed to it. " For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircum- cision, but a new creature."^ The first thing requiring attention here, is the connection be- tween this and the preceding statements, indicated by the particle " for." ^ I apprehend the following is the apostle's train of thought : — ' I do not gloiy in Jewish peculiarities, such as cir- cumcision, for I know that in Christianity these are of no avail ; but I do glory in the Cross of Christ, through which that radical spiritual change is effected, which is all in all in Christianity. These Judaising teachers, calling themselves Christians, are a most inconsistent set of men. They glory in what has nothing to do with Christianity, and are ashamed of what is its very essence. I act a more consistent part : I care nothing for what I know to be nothing in Christ's estimation ; I care much for what I knoAvto be everything in his estimation. ^^ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." ' The phrase, " in Christ Jesus," may either be considered as signifying ' under Jesus Christ ' — that is, under the New Testa- ment economy ; or it may be viewed as an elliptical expression, equivalent to " to the being in Jesus Christ," — that is, to the being a true Christian, so related to Christ, as to be treated as if we had done what He did, suffered what He suffered, and deserved what He deserved, — so as to obtain a participation in all the blessings of his salvation, — so as to be partakers with Him of the divine special favour ; of the Spirit of truth, holiness, and consola- tion, which dwells in Him without measure ; and of all the dig- nities, immunities, and delights of the childi-en of the Lord God Almighty, whose only-begotten He is, yet " the first-born among many brethren." It does not matter much which of the two views you take ; both express important truth, and both express truths quite appropriate to the apostle's object. We are rather inclined to consider the first as exhibiting the apostle's meaning ; under Christ, as opposed to under Moses, " neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision." ^ Gal. vi. 15. * yap. 378 EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [CHAP. VI. 11-18. The term rendered "availeth"^ seems a false reading. The idea plainly is, ' Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is any recommendation to a man under the Christian dispensation. The proper signification of both phrases — " availeth," and " is " — is to have force, to be of importance, whether of a favourable or unfavourable kind. Under the law circumcision was something — it " availed," or was of force. It never secured salvation, but it opened the way to the possession of numerous important privi- leges ; and, on the other hand, uncircumcision precluded the enjoyment of these privileges. A Gentile, on being circumcised, was admitted to the participation in all the external privileges of the chosen nation ; and, on the other hand, a Jew, a descend- ant from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, if he did not submit to circumcision, was cast off from the people of the'Lord, and had no more interest than an uncircumcised Gentile in the blessing of the natural covenant. But under Christ it is otherwise : cir- cumcision is nothing ; it has no force in introducing a man into the enjoyment of its privileges : uncircumcision has no force in excluding him from them. Submitting to the initiatory rite of Judaism has nothing to do with Christianity. lie tliat has sub- mitted to it is not on that account the nearer the enjoyment of the blessings Christianity promises : he that has not submitted to it is not on that account the farther from the enjoyment of these blessings. The circumcised and the uncircumcised stand, in reference to them, on the same level. The words that follow — " but a new creature"^ — are equiva- lent to, ' But in Christ Jesus a new creature, or creation, is somethino; — a new creature availeth.' But what are we to understand by this " new creature," or new creation, which exists and avails in Christ Jesus? In the passage which is often quoted as parallel to that now before us, " If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature"^ — or, there is ' (