Galatians 4

-8 1 3 2 -9 1 0 0 0 0 13 96 -9 2 0 0 2 0 1 RVStyle2 7 StyleNameNormal textFontNameArialUnicode Size Standard StyleNameDefaultFontNameTahomaUnicode Size Standard StyleNameJumpFontNameTahomaStylefsUnderlineColorclBlue HoverColorclMaroonHoverEffects rvheUnderlineUnicode Jump Size Standard StyleNameHeading - Module name SizeDoubleFontNameTahomaColorclMaroonUnicode SizeStandard StyleName"Heading small - Module descriptionFontNameTahomaColorclMaroonUnicode Size Standard StyleNameHeading - LinkFontNameTahomaColorclNavy HoverColorclPurpleUnicode Jump Size Standard StyleNameDefaultFontNameTahomaStylefsUnderlineColorclBlueUnicode Jump Size Standard StyleNameDefaultFontNameTahomaColorclBlue HoverColorclMaroonNextStyleNoUnicode Jump Size -9 2 0 0 2 0 2 RVStyle2 jBiDiModervbdLeftToRightTabs StyleNameCentered Alignment rvaCenterTabsStandardTabs-9 2 0 0 2 0 4 RVStyle2 -9 0 0 0 0 0 7 1 14 2 8 0 0 CHAPTER IV) Chapter 4) Verses 1 11) Theme: The Gospel of Justification by Faith apart from Law-works Defended against its Detractors) II. Its Vindication: both Scripture i.e., the Old Testament and life (experience, past history) bear testimony to its truth) D. We used to be in bondage to ordinances, regulations. God sent forth his Son to redeem those who were in bondage, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba! Father!

Do you then wish to exchange your former bondage to heathenism for bondage to Judaism? I am afraid about you, lest somehow I have labored among you in vain.) ) 4:1 11) D. Why exchange one bondage for another?) 4 1 What I mean is this, that as long as the heir is a child he differs in no respect from a slave though he is owner of all, 2 but is under guardians and stewards until the time fixed by the father. 3 So also we, when we were children, were enslaved by the rudiments of the world. 4 But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 in order that he might redeem them (who were) under law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba! Father! 7 So, no longer are you a slave but a son; and if a son then also an heir through God.) 8 However, at that time, since you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are no gods; 9 but now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how (is it) that you turn back again to the weak and beggarly rudiments by which all over again you wish to be enslaved? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years. 11 I am afraid about you, lest somehow I have labored among you in vain.) ) Paul has shown that as many as rely on law-works are under a curse, that by Jaw no one is justified before God, that no law was ever given that could impart life, and that the law served only in a preparatory way, namely, as a custodian to bring sinners to Christ. Here, so it might seem, the argument could have ended. Why is it that one entire chapter (ch. 4) is added to drive home the same central point: the sinners inferiority under law ?

The answer is probably this, that the apostle loved his Galatians so very much (see verses 19 and 20) that he wished to leave no stone unturned in order to deliver them from their grievous error. Besides, what he now presents is by no means mere repetition. Though here, too, as in chapter 3, there is an appeal to past history and experience (verses 1 20), as well as to Scripture (verses 21 31), there is material difference. In chapter 3 the argument from experience centered about the gifts which at their conversion the Galatians had received, and the question was asked, By what avenue did you receive them? In chapter 4 it is rather the joy or blessedness that had accompanied the reception of these gifts that is recounted. Again, in chapter 3 the argument from Scripture centered about Abraham, Habakkuk, and Moses.

In chapter 4 the reference is to Abraham s wife Sarah and her son versus Abraham s concubine Hagar and her son.) In driving home his point Paul (in time present paragraph, verses 1 11, and the next, verses 12 20) appeals to both heart and mind: to feelings, desires, and considerations which could be counted on to affect profoundly the members of the Galatian churches. Accordingly he appeals to their desire for freedom, a yearning that dwells in every human breast (verses 1 11), their sense of honor, by reminding them of their past nobility in attitude and action (verses 12 14), their presupposed nostalgia for former bliss (verse 15), their presumed sense of fairness (verse 16), and their dread of being duped (verses 17, 18). Last but not least he mentions the birth-pangs endured at this very moment by his own tenderly loving heart (verses 19, 20).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.*?id=42.12.42|AUTODETECT|” The immediate connection with the preceding paragraph is found in the word heir(s), which is found both in 3:29 and 4:1. Chapter 3 ended with the significant statement, filled with comfort for both Gentile and Jew, And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham s seed, heirs according to promise. Hence, Paul continues: 1, 2. What I mean is this, that as long as the heir is a child he differs in no respect from a slave though he is owner of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time fixed by the father. When a young father dies��112�� his minor child will have to wait for the inheritance until he is of age. Though this child is, accordingly, the legal heir and as such lord, master or, as here, owner of everything, yet with respect to taking possession of, and exercising control over, the estate that has been left to him he is no better off than a slave.

Until he attains to the age previously stipulated by the father, he is heir de jure (by right) but not as yet de facto (in fact). For the time being this child is under guardians, to whose care he has been personally entrusted, and under stewards (often slaves) to whom the oversight of his estate has been committed 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.12.42|AUTODETECT|” Luke 12:42) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.16.1|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.16.1|AUTODETECT|” 16:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.16.23|AUTODETECT|” ff.; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.16.23|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 16:23) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.3.3|AUTODETECT|” ). Continued: 3. So also we, when we were children, were enlsaved by the rudiments of the world. Just as an immature child is governed by rules and regulations, so also before the dawning of the light of the gospel, we were in bondage to the rudiments of the world. For a rather detailed study of this concept I refer the reader to N.T.C. on Colossians and Philemon, pp. 108 110, 130 137; especially to footnote 83 on pp. 135 137. The context in ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.3.3|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 3:3) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.3.9|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.3.9|AUTODETECT|” 9) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.2.8|AUTODETECT|” (see verse 10) and in ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.2.8|AUTODETECT|” Col. 2:8) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.2.20|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.2.20|AUTODETECT|” 20) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 (see verses 16, 18, 21 23), demands, as I see it, that we interpret these worldly rudiments as elementary teachings regarding rules and regulations, by means of which, before Christ s coming, people, both Jews and Gentiles, each in their own way, attempted by their own efforts, and in accordance with the promptings of their own fleshly (unregenerate) nature, to achieve salvation.��113��) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.1.17|AUTODETECT|” There was nothing wrong with the law given at Sinai, but when the Jews and the proselytes to the Jewish religion began to look upon law-observance as the way whereby salvation could be achieved, and when, with this in mind, the Jewish religious leaders began to add their own multitudinous rules and regulations to those previously received, that law became their tyrant, to which they became enslaved. The same was true with respect to the prescriptions and ordinances by which the worshipers of pagan deities sought to achieve redemption. By all such means, whether Jewish or pagan, men were putting themselves in bondage. This interpretation is also in harmony with Paul s previous statement in 3:23 (see on that verse). With the coming of Christ and the full light of special revelation which he brought 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.1.17|AUTODETECT|” John 1:17) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.1.18|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.1.18|AUTODETECT|” 18) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.2.20-51.2.23|AUTODETECT|” ) there was even less excuse than there had ever been for this servitude, this catering to false philosophy and empty deceit. To the Colossians Paul was going to say, If with Christ you died to the rudiments of the world, why, as though you were (still) living in the world, do you submit to regulations, Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch referring to things that are meant for destruction by their consumption according to the precepts and doctrines of men? Regulations of this kind, though to be sure having a reputation for wisdom because of their self-imposed ritual, humility, and unsparing treatment of the body, are of no value whatever, (serving only) to indulge the flesh 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.2.20-51.2.23|AUTODETECT|” Col. 2:20 23) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). Continued: 4. But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth his Son.& Christ s coming supplied the basis of freedom for man. He came, moreover, in the fulness of the time ; that is, he arrived upon the scene of human history at the time previously fixed by the Father (cf. the illustration, verse 2).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.1.1|AUTODETECT|” This is about all we can say with certainty about the phrase the fulness of the time. Other ideas, however, may have been included in the concept; for example, to mention but one, that of ripeness of opportunity for the scattering, far and wide, of the seeds of the gospel. In this connection think of: a. the spread of the Greek language throughout the civilized world, b. the presence of Jewish synagogues in many places, enabling Christian missionaries to reach both Jews and Gentiles (proselytes) simultaneously, and c. the help which these evangelists derived from the network of Roman roads and, to some extent, from the enforcement of Roman peace. But it is God alone who fully knows why, in his inscrutable decree, he had decided that the long period of time (chronos) in which all the preparatory events were to occur would run out at that specific moment. It was then that he sent out from himself his Son. We say that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and that is correct.

But in some respects his birth was not like that of any other child. Other children do not exist in any real sense before they are conceived in the womb. It is by means of conception and birth that they come into existence. But God s Son existed already from eternity with the Father 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.1.1|AUTODETECT|” John 1:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.8.58|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.8.58|AUTODETECT|” 8:58) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.17.5|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.17.5|AUTODETECT|” 17:5) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.8.3|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.8.3|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 8:3) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=47.8.9|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=47.8.9|AUTODETECT|” II Cor. 8:9) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.2.6|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.2.6|AUTODETECT|” Phil. 2:6) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.1.15|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.1.15|AUTODETECT|” Col. 1:15) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.1.3|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.1.3|AUTODETECT|” Heb. 1:3) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.1.14|AUTODETECT|” ). He existed and exists forevermore as to his deity. Accordingly, the fact that he was now sent forth must mean that he now assumed the human nature 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.1.14|AUTODETECT|” John 1:14) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.1.35|AUTODETECT|” ), which was wondrously prepared in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.1.35|AUTODETECT|” Luke 1:35) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=41.1.24|AUTODETECT|” ). Thus he now became, and would forever remain, the possessor of two natures, the divine and the human, united indissolubly in the one divine person. From the very beginning Christ s human (as well as his divine) nature was without sin and filled with positive holiness 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=41.1.24|AUTODETECT|” Mark 1:24) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.1.35|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.1.35|AUTODETECT|” Luke 1:35) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.4.34|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.4.34|AUTODETECT|” John 4:34) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.6.38|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.6.38|AUTODETECT|” 6:38) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.8.29|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.8.29|AUTODETECT|” 8:29) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.8.46|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.8.46|AUTODETECT|” 46) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.3.14|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.3.14|AUTODETECT|” Acts 3:14) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.22.14|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.22.14|AUTODETECT|” 22:14) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=47.5.21|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=47.5.21|AUTODETECT|” II Cor. 5:21) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.4.15|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.4.15|AUTODETECT|” Heb. 4:15) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.7.26|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.7.26|AUTODETECT|” 7:26) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=60.1.19|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=60.1.19|AUTODETECT|” I Peter 1:19) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=60.2.21|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=60.2.21|AUTODETECT|” 2:21) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=60.3.18|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=60.3.18|AUTODETECT|” 3:18) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.2.1|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.2.1|AUTODETECT|” I John 2:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.3.5|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.3.5|AUTODETECT|” 3:5) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). And so it will remain forever. Nevertheless, during the days of his humiliation it was oppressed by the effects of sin, for Paul continues: born of a woman.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.4|AUTODETECT|” Some have used this expression as a proof-text for the doctrine of the virgin birth, as if born of a woman meant born without human paternity. Now it is certainly true that the Holy Spirit has seen to it that Paul expressed himself in a way which causes ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.4|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 4:4) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.4|AUTODETECT|” to be in full harmony with the teaching elsewhere of the doctrine of the virgin birth. Nevertheless, direct evidence for the virgin birth a most important truth, to be sure is found not here in ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.4|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 4:4) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.1.18-40.1.25|AUTODETECT|” but rather in ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.1.18-40.1.25|AUTODETECT|” Matt. 1:18 25) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.7.14|AUTODETECT|” 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.7.14|AUTODETECT|” Isa. 7:14) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.1.34|AUTODETECT|” ) and ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.1.34|AUTODETECT|” Luke 1:34) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.1.35|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.1.35|AUTODETECT|” 35) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.11.11|AUTODETECT|” . The fact that Jesus was born of a woman does not in and by itself mean that he was virgin born. John the Baptist, too, was born of a woman, and so is everybody else, with the exception of Adam and Eve 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.11.11|AUTODETECT|” Matt. 11:11) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.14|AUTODETECT|” )��114�� J. G. Machen correctly observes: This passage [) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.14|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 4:14) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ] has sometimes been held to show that Paul did not believe in the virgin birth and sometimes also has been held to show that he did so. As a matter of fact both opinions are probably wrong; the passage does not enable us to draw any conclusion with respect to Paul s belief in the matter one way or the other (The Virgin Birth of Christ, New York and London, 1930, p. 259).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.9.1|AUTODETECT|” Fact is that in order to save us Jesus Christ had to be in one person both divine and human, divine in order to give his sacrifice infinite value, to deliver us out of the realm of darkness, and to transplant us into the realm of everlasting light 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.9.1|AUTODETECT|” Isa. 9:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.9.2|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.9.2|AUTODETECT|” 2) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.9.6|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.9.6|AUTODETECT|” 6) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.1.1-43.1.4|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.1.1-43.1.4|AUTODETECT|” John 1:1 4) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.1.13|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.1.13|AUTODETECT|” Col. 1:13) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.1.14|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.1.14|AUTODETECT|” 14) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.5.18|AUTODETECT|” ); and human because since it was man who sinned it is also man who must bear the penalty for sin and render his life to God in perfect obedience 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.5.18|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 5:18) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=46.15.21|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=46.15.21|AUTODETECT|” I Cor. 15:21) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.2.14-58.2.17|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.2.14-58.2.17|AUTODETECT|” Heb. 2:14 17) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=19.49.7|AUTODETECT|” ). It stands to reason that the Redeemer must be a sinless man, for one who is himself a sinner cannot satisfy either for himself or for others 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=19.49.7|AUTODETECT|” Ps. 49:7) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=19.49.8|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=19.49.8|AUTODETECT|” 8) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.7.26|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.7.26|AUTODETECT|” Heb. 7:26) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.7.27|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.7.27|AUTODETECT|” 27) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=60.3.18|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=60.3.18|AUTODETECT|” I Peter 3:18) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=18.14.1|AUTODETECT|” ). There is, accordingly, something special and something common about Christ s birth. That which is special is stressed in the words: God sent forth his Son. That which is common is brought out in the phrase: born of a woman, meaning: like any other human being, born to affliction, pain, trouble, etc. Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=18.14.1|AUTODETECT|” Job 14:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.4.15|AUTODETECT|” ). Truly, Christ was in every respect tempted as we are, yet without sin 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.4.15|AUTODETECT|” Heb. 4:15) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 1 2 8 0 0 Continued: born under law, and this in the sense not only of being under personal obligation to keep that law, but also of being duty-bound (with a duty to which he voluntarily bound himself!) vicariously to bear the law s penalty and to satisfy its demand of perfect obedience.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=47.5.21|AUTODETECT|” The altruistic nature of Christ s coming is stressed in the purpose clause: 5. in order that he might redeem them (who were) under law. Essentially we have here the same thought that was expressed previously in 3:13: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. Even the verb redeem is the same. Hence, see the explanation of 3:13, and for the thought compare ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=47.5.21|AUTODETECT|” II Cor. 5:21) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.5|AUTODETECT|” . Yet, there is a difference, for here in ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.5|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 4:5) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.2.8|AUTODETECT|” emphasis is placed on the fact that we (Gentiles, Jews; the addressed, the addressor, everybody destined to be redeemed) were under law, and this not only in the sense of being subject to the moral law, which by nature we were unable to fulfil and whose curse we were unable to carry so as to get out from under it; but also 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.2.8|AUTODETECT|” Col. 2:8) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.2.14|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.2.14|AUTODETECT|” 14) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.2.20-51.2.23|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.2.20-51.2.23|AUTODETECT|” 20 23) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.8.15|AUTODETECT|” ) in the sense that we regarded strict obedience to the ceremonial law and all its man-made additions to be necessary for salvation. Accordingly, the Father s object in commissioning his Son was that, in the most comprehensive sense, the latter might purchase those free that were under law; and not only that but also: that we might receive the adoption as sons. Cf. ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.8.15|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 8:15) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.8.23|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.8.23|AUTODETECT|” 23) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.9.4|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.9.4|AUTODETECT|” 9:4) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.1.5|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.1.5|AUTODETECT|” Eph. 1:5) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.4|AUTODETECT|” . Plainly, then, the purpose of the Father in sending his Son, and of the Son in condescending to be born of a woman, under law, was that we might not only be delivered from the greatest evil but might also be crowned with the choicest blessing. The best interpreter of Paul s statement in ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.4|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 4:4) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.5|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.5|AUTODETECT|” 5) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=47.8.9|AUTODETECT|” is Paul himself: For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=47.8.9|AUTODETECT|” II Cor. 8:9) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.3.14|AUTODETECT|” Rich, indeed, we become, for we are made members of the Father s Family 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.3.14|AUTODETECT|” Eph. 3:14) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.3.15|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.3.15|AUTODETECT|” 15) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.8.29|AUTODETECT|” ). With respect to this adoption it is rather useless to look for human analogies, for it surpasses anything that takes place on earth. It bestows upon its recipients not only a new name, a new legal standing, and a new family-relationship, but also a new image, the image of Christ 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=45.8.29|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 8:29) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). Earthly parents may love an adopted child ever so much. Nevertheless, they are, to a certain extent, unable to impart their spirit to that child; but when God adopts, he imparts to us the Spirit of his Son, as Paul indicates by continuing: 6. And because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba! Father! The redeemed are now sons, not minors but majors.

They have reached maturity and with it freedom. It is remarkable that the apostle is saying this to the Galatians! He says, as it were, You, Galatians, weak, foolish, erring, must consider that you, yes even you, are sons of the heavenly Father, the Father of your Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, he is not giving up hope with respect to them, even though he is baffled about their present behavior (4:11).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.8.15|AUTODETECT|” Now because they are sons, God, the Father, having adopted them as sons, has sent forth the Spirit into their hearts. They are sons; hence they receive the Holy Spirit. They receive the Spirit; hence they become conscious of their sonship 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.8.15|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 8:15) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.15.26|AUTODETECT|” ). All three persons of the Holy Trinity are indicated in this passage, and their harmonious co-operation as the one true God is beautifully set forth. Moreover, the third person is called the Spirit of his (God the Father s) Son. He is the Spirit of the Son because he proceeds from the Son 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.15.26|AUTODETECT|” John 15:26) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.16.14|AUTODETECT|” ), as well as from the Father, and because he glorifies the Son, causing men to ponder the Son s teaching, love unto death, heavenly intercession, and constant care 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.16.14|AUTODETECT|” John 16:14) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.10.10|AUTODETECT|” God sent forth his Son (verse 4); God sent forth the Spirit of his Son (verse 6). The same word is used with reference to the sending of the Spirit as was previously used in connection with the sending of the Son. The two are equally real, and also equally important. In fact, the salvation that was bought for God s people by the Son will not avail except it be also wrought in their hearts by that Son s Spirit. The heart, moreover, controls the entire personality. It is the core and center of man s being, man s inmost self. It is the hub whence radiate all the spokes of his existence, the fulcrum of feeling and faith as well as the mainspring of words and actions 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.10.10|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 10:10) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.12.34|AUTODETECT|” ; cf. ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.12.34|AUTODETECT|” Matt. 12:34) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.15.19|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.15.19|AUTODETECT|” 15:19) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.22.37|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.22.37|AUTODETECT|” 22:37) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.14.1|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.14.1|AUTODETECT|” John 14:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=20.4.23|AUTODETECT|” ). Out of it are the issues of life 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=20.4.23|AUTODETECT|” Prov. 4:23) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.1.3|AUTODETECT|” In dwelling on the great mysteries of salvation, matters in which he himself has become intensely and lastingly involved, Paul frequently changes from the second to the first person plural 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.1.3|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 1:3) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.1.4|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.1.4|AUTODETECT|” 4) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.2.14|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.2.14|AUTODETECT|” 2:14) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.2.15|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.2.15|AUTODETECT|” 15) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.1.17|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.1.17|AUTODETECT|” Eph. 1:17) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.1.19|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.1.19|AUTODETECT|” 19) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.2.1|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.2.1|AUTODETECT|” 2:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.2.5|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.2.5|AUTODETECT|” 5) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.2.8|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.2.8|AUTODETECT|” 2:8) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.2.10|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.2.10|AUTODETECT|” 10) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.2.13|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.2.13|AUTODETECT|” 2:13) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.2.14|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.2.14|AUTODETECT|” 14) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.5.1|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.5.1|AUTODETECT|” 5:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.5.2|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.5.2|AUTODETECT|” 2) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.6.11|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.6.11|AUTODETECT|” 6:11) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.6.12|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.6.12|AUTODETECT|” 12) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.3.2|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.3.2|AUTODETECT|” Phil. 3:2) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.3.3|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.3.3|AUTODETECT|” 3) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.3.15|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.3.15|AUTODETECT|” 3:15) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.3.16|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.3.16|AUTODETECT|” 16) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.1.11-51.1.13|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.1.11-51.1.13|AUTODETECT|” Col. 1:11 13) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.2.13|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.2.13|AUTODETECT|” 2:13) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.8.32|AUTODETECT|” ; etc.). So also here: And because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. About such marvelous realities he is unable to write in an abstract, detached manner; hence not you & your, but you & our. And why is his soul thus lost in wonder, love, and praise? The very contents of verses 4 6 clearly shows why. First, the Father had sent the Son, sent him from his very heart, as it were: he spared not his own Son! 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.8.32|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 8:32) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.3.16|AUTODETECT|” ), his only Son 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.3.16|AUTODETECT|” John 3:16) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=45.8.15|AUTODETECT|” ). He sent him into a world of sin and ruin, where for our sake and in our stead he was to suffer innumerable reproaches. And what did we (all those who were to be redeemed) do? We (that is, our sins) nailed him to the cross! This we did to him who came to dwell with us. Yet, instead of casting us away forever from his presence of love, the Father then sent the Spirit of his Son, in order that this Spirit (and in him also the Father and the Son) might draw even closer to us, dwelling not just with but within us, in our very hearts, and transforming these hearts from being hateful to being loving, from being rebellious to being obedient, from being distrustful to being faith-filled, and from being despondent to being exuberant with praise and adoration.

Within these hearts the Spirit speaks peace, assurance. He bears witness with our spirit that we are God s very children, his adopted sons and heirs. Is it any wonder that such hearts begin to respond to the Father s love, so that love answers love, and a blessed interchange takes place? Is it not natural that the Spirit, dwelling within these hearts, impels them to address their Benefactor jubilantly, calling him Father ? The text reads: crying, Abba! Father!

In reality the outcry of joyful recognition, sweet response, appropriating love, overwhelming gratitude, and last but not least, filial trust, is ascribed to the Spirit. Nevertheless, this must be understood mediately, meaning that it is the Spirit whereby we cry Abba! Father! 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.8.15|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 8:15) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=66.22.17|AUTODETECT|” ). Similarly, in connection with the church s yearning for Christ s return we read, And the Spirit and the bride say, Come 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=66.22.17|AUTODETECT|” Rev. 22:17) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.8.16|AUTODETECT|” ). Here, too, the bride is moved by the Spirit. Spirit and bride always work together 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.8.16|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 8:16) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.3.5|AUTODETECT|” It is a well-known fact that those who have acquired proficiency in more than one language will at times give preference to their native tongue as a vehicle for the expression of their deepest emotions. Being a Hebrew of Hebrews 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.3.5|AUTODETECT|” Phil. 3:5) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.21.40|AUTODETECT|” ), a Hebrew son of Hebrew parents, Paul must have been fond of the language spoken by the Jews as they returned from the lands of the captivity, namely Aramaic, akin to Hebrew 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.21.40|AUTODETECT|” Acts 21:40) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=41.14.36|AUTODETECT|” ). Aramaic, in fact, was a very important language in those days, being spoken not only by the Jews but by many others besides, even far outside the borders of Palestine. Jesus, too, spoke Aramaic, and it is altogether probable that in his frequent teaching about the Father, he had often used the term Abba. His disciples, therefore, relished the use of this word. Thus it passed into the vocabulary of the primitive church. Naturally, in writing to churches consisting for the greater part of people who were non-Jews, the word Abba had to be translated into the Greek p�ter, as Paul does here.

Paul, then, is giving expression to his own inner devotion as well as to the deepest feelings of the early church when he tells us that now that freedom has arrived, through the redemption accomplished by Christ, and the way of access to the throne of God has been opened wider than ever, redeemed humanity, both Jew and Gentile, takes hold on God by crying, Abba! Father! By means of this expression of filial trust and closeness to the Father believers echoed the words of their Lord, spoken at a time when, in order to obtain this closeness of fellowship for us, he himself was being driven into isolation, was losing this very sense of nearness to his Father. It was in Gethsemane that Jesus, in deep anguish, said, Abba, which by the evangelist Mark is similarly rendered into the Greek equivalent for Father 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=41.14.36|AUTODETECT|” Mark 14:36) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=5.7.7|AUTODETECT|” 7. At this point there is a change in the form of address which Paul uses. He has been addressing the Galatians as a group. He now turns to each one individually, saying: So, no longer are you a slave but a son.& Once a man has accepted Christ s sacrifice as the only ground of his salvation, and has drawn near with confidence to the throne of grace, addressing God as Abba! Father!, the shackles of bondage to law have been thrown off. No longer is man a slave.

He not only is a son now (4:1, 2), but knows that he is. For him the way to the Father s heart is no longer blocked. Every valley has been raised, every mountain and hill made low, the crooked turns have been straightened, and all rough places have been made smooth. There are no longer any obstructions. Grace has removed them all. Continued: and if a son then also an heir & , as was stated previously (3:29).

For the comforting implications of heirship see on 3:18. The very word heir already implies that the son s salvation is not his own achievement but the gift of God s marvelous grace. But since this is hard for man s proud heart to admit, and since salvation by self-effort and not by grace was the very error against which Paul is here directing his attack, he adds: (according to the best reading) through God. Soli Deo Gloria! The sovereign, divine, nature of the work which made a man a son and an heir is stressed throughout Scripture 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=5.7.7|AUTODETECT|” Deut. 7:7) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=5.7.8|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=5.7.8|AUTODETECT|” 8) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.48.11|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.48.11|AUTODETECT|” Isa. 48:11) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=27.9.19|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=27.9.19|AUTODETECT|” Dan. 9:19) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=28.14.4|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=28.14.4|AUTODETECT|” Hos. 14:4) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.15.16|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.15.16|AUTODETECT|” John 15:16) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.5.8|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.5.8|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 5:8) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.1.4|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.1.4|AUTODETECT|” Eph. 1:4) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.4.10|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.4.10|AUTODETECT|” I John 4:10) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.4.19|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.4.19|AUTODETECT|” 19) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). This doctrine gives a person a sturdy foundation to stand on. It spells eternal security, without in any way violating personal responsibility.) 1 5 2 8 0 0 The glory, Lord, from first to last,) Is due to thee alone;) Aught to ourselves we dare not take,) Or rob thee of thy crown. ) Augustus M. Toplady) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.2.14|AUTODETECT|” 8, 9. Assurance of full redemption through Christ, sonship, the blessed indwelling of the Spirit, freedom of access to the Father, heirship are the Galatians now ready to sacrifice all these? Are they really going back to their former state of slavery, with this difference that they will be exchanging one type of bondage (to heathenism) for another (to Judaism)? It is evident that the apostle is here returning to the very occasion that had led him to write this letter. There is thunder in the sky, and the lightning flashes again, as it had done in 1:6 10 and 3:1 ff. Paul writes: However, at that time, since you did not know��115�� God, you were slaves to those who by nature are no gods.

Formerly the Galatians, then mostly pagans, had been without saving knowledge of God. It is not denied that by virtue of the manner in which God created man there is a certain kind of knowledge of God and of his law inherent in man s mind. Even the heathen show the work of the law written in their hearts 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.2.14|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 2:14) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.2.15|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.2.15|AUTODETECT|” 15) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.1.19|AUTODETECT|” ). Nor is it denied that all men including, therefore, non-Christians derive from general revelation a certain amount of knowledge of God s attributes 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.1.19|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 1:19) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.1.20|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.1.20|AUTODETECT|” 20) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.1.21|AUTODETECT|” ). That all of this knowledge is indeed important is plainly taught in the passages referred to. But saving knowledge is not found outside of Christ. Though the heathen have knowledge of God, they fail to render to God the glory and the thanksgiving that is his due 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.1.21|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 1:21) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.46.1|AUTODETECT|” ). They do not acknowledge him but instead, in their perversity, serve the creature rather than the Creator, and for the glory of God they substitute the likeness of an image of corruptible man and of birds and of four-footed beasts, and of creeping things, and make these the objects of their worship.��116�� This foolish and wicked failure to acknowledge God results in slavery for those who are guilty of it, slavery to the products of their own wicked invention: gods which in reality are no gods at all, as is clear from their very nature, for they are but objects of wood, stone, etc. They have no breath, no power, no wisdom, and no concern for man. Instead of carrying man through his difficulties, they themselves must be carried 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.46.1|AUTODETECT|” Isa. 46:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.63.9|AUTODETECT|” ; contrast ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.63.9|AUTODETECT|” Isa. 63:9) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). Idolatry always spells slavery, not only the slavery of fear but also that of moral and spiritual degradation of every variety. Such, then, had been the former condition of most of those whom Paul here addresses.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.10.14|AUTODETECT|” A great change had occurred however, as Paul indicates by continuing: but now that you have come to know God.& In his marvelous grace it had pleased God to send Paul, Barnabas, etc. to preach the gospel to these wretched ones. And through the work of the Holy Spirit the Galatians had come to acknowledge the true God as he stands revealed in Christ. With respect to the dramatic and basic experience which these Galatians had undergone Paul is going to say more in verses 12 15. Here in verse 9 he adds one important point, however: or rather to be known by God.& This is an expression full of glorious significance. It means far more than that God would have a bare, factual knowledge with reference to them, or would simply be acquainted with them. In the case of the Galatians it indicates at least this, that God had visited them in his mercy (thus John Calvin).

In view of what the apostle says in verse 6 is it not possible that also in the present passage the words are rich with such meaning as this: that they had been acknowledged as God s own; that, accordingly, God had set his love upon them and had chosen them to eternal life? This would certainly not have to apply to each and every one of them, but it could well apply to most of them, if we may assume that God blessed this letter to their hearts. We are reminded of such passages as: I am the good shepherd, and I know my own 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.10.14|AUTODETECT|” John 10:14) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=55.2.19|AUTODETECT|” ); The Lord knows those who are his 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=55.2.19|AUTODETECT|” II Tim. 2:19) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.18.19|AUTODETECT|” ). See also ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.18.19|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 18:19) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=2.33.12|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=2.33.12|AUTODETECT|” Exod. 33:12) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=2.33.17|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=2.33.17|AUTODETECT|” 17) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=34.1.7|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=34.1.7|AUTODETECT|” Nah. 1:7) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.10.28|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.10.28|AUTODETECT|” John 10:28) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.8.28|AUTODETECT|” ; and ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=45.8.28|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 8:28) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 , in all of which the statement that God knows or has known (or foreknown) a person is rich in meaning toward salvation. When Paul says, & but now that you have come to know God or rather to be known by God he is clearly stressing the fact that We love him because he first loved us. Here, as at the close of verse 7 (see on that passage), there is, accordingly, a renewed emphasis on God s sovereignty in the effectuation of man s salvation. And that was exactly the lesson which the Galatians needed, and which, in a sense, we all need.) 1 1 2 8 0 0 Right at this moment these Galatians were guilty of backsliding, so that Paul continues: (in view of these facts) how (is it) that you turn back again to the weak and beggarly rudiments by which all over again you wish to be enslaved? The apostle was shocked to learn that men who had been so enriched with the gospel of God s free and bounteous grace in Jesus Christ would now, under the influence of false teachers, be turning back again to those rudiments of the world (verse 3), which here, in verse 9, are described as being weak and beggarly. What makes matters worse is that they are doing this by choice. Formerly they had been enslaved by the childish teachings of pagan priests and ritualists. They had been taught to obey all kinds of prescriptions regarding the discovery of the will of the gods by means of omens, the benefit of afflicting the body and of submission to fate. See on 5:1.

There had been moral stipulations derived from nature, custom, and arbitrary will. Having been delivered from all this folly, do they now wish to become enslaved all over again, this time by Judaistic regulations? Paul calls these rudiments weak and beggarly because they have no power to help man in any way. Luther, commenting on this verse and applying the lesson to his own day, tells us that he had known monks who zealously labored to please God for salvation, but the more they labored the more impatient, miserable, uncertain, and fearful they became. And he adds, People who prefer the law to the gospel are like Aesop s dog who let go of the meat to snatch at the shadow in the water.& The law is weak and poor, the sinner is weak and poor: two feeble beggars trying to help each other. They cannot do it.

They only wear each other out. But through Christ a weak and poor sinner is revived and enriched unto eternal life. ) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.*?id=48.4.11|AUTODETECT|” The apostle then gives an illustration which sheds much light on what he meant when he spoke about turning back to the weak and beggarly rudiments: 10. You observe days and months and seasons and years. Since Paul in the entire preceding argument has made it abundantly clear that he is mainly attacking the false doctrine that law-works are the road to salvation (2:16, 19; 3:2, 5, 10 13, 17, 21; 4:5), and since by law he is referring specifically to that of Sinai, which came into existence four hundred and thirty years after the promise had been given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, it follows that here in 4:10 he is not referring to days, months, etc., that pertained to this or that pagan system of religious worship, or even to some mixed cultus, but definitely to the sabbathdays, days of the new moon, festival seasons belonging to the Jewish cycle, and either a. the sabbath and jubilee years, or b. the New Year (Rosh Hashana) on the first day of the month Tishri (September or October).��117�� Paul is saying that strict observance of such days and festivals has nothing whatever to do with securing the divine favor. As a foundation upon which to build one s hope of being justified in the sight of God such a superstition is utterly futile, nothing but sinking sand! In fact, though deep down in his heart Paul certainly has not given up hope regarding the eternal welfare of the Galatians, as he indicates again and again (1:11; 3:4, 15; 4:6, 7, 9, 15, 16, 19; 5:10), he, as it were, shakes his head in utter disgust when he reflects on the fact that rigid, painstaking, adherence to the Mosaic law regarding sacred days, and to all kinds of man-made rules and regulations with respect to such celebrations, was actually beginning to be substituted for the simplicity of faith in Jesus Christ unto salvation full and free. Such folly staggers him.

Have these Galatians learned nothing then? That seems to be the meaning of the words: 11. I am afraid about you, lest somehow I have labored among you in vain. Note the word somehow or perhaps, strangely ignored in several translations,��118�� yet of some importance, as it shows that the apostle has not definitely decided that all his efforts in the interest of the Galatians have been a waste of time. In fact, though admittedly this verse is one of Paul s gloomiest utterances in the entire epistle, so that, as some see it, the pendulum of his emotions, which is swinging between hope and fear, has here swung all the way to the latter, even here the door of hope has not been shut. ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=48.4.11|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 4:11) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 is not really in conflict with the somewhat similar 3:4. And the noble purpose of 4:11 as well as of 3:4 is to rouse the minds of the Galatians to the exercise of repentance. ) 1 10 2 8 0 0 Chapter 4) Verses 12 20) Theme: The Gospel of Justification by Faith apart from Law-works Defended against Its Detractors) II. Its Vindication: both Scripture i.e., the Old Testament and life (experience, past history) bear testimony to its truth) E. Become as I am as I also became as you are. Where is now that blessedness which you experienced on that former occasion when you welcomed me so warmly? Those (perverters of the true gospel) who pay court to you do so selfishly. I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone of voice, for I am perplexed about you.) ) 4:12 20) E.

Where is now your blessedness?) 12 Become as I (am), because I also became as you (are) brothers; (this) I beg of you. No wrong did you do me. 13 You know, moreover, that it was because of an infirmity of the flesh that I preached to you the gospel on that former occasion; 14 and though my physical condition was a temptation to you, yet you did not despise or loathe me, but as an angel of God you welcomed me, as Christ Jesus. 15 Where, then, (is) your (former) blessedness? For I testify to you that, had it been possible, your very eyes you would have plucked out and given to me. 16 Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17 These people are zealously courting you for no commendable purpose: on the contrary, they want to isolate you, in order that you may zealously court them. 18 Now (it is) commendable to be zealously courted in connection with a commendable cause (and this) always, and not only when I am present with you. 19 My dear children, for whom I am again suffering birth-pangs until Christ be formed in you, 20 I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone of voice, for I am perplexed about you.) ) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.2.16|AUTODETECT|” 12. It is characteristic of Paul, the tactful shepherd of souls, the warm-hearted master-psychologist, that his rather sharp reproof (verses 8 11) is followed immediately by tender, urgent, intensely personal appeal. This paragraph is one of the most gripping in all of Paul s epistles. The apostle implores and agonizes, because he cannot endure the thought that those whom he addresses and who at one time had treated him with such sympathetic consideration and had accepted his gospel with such enthusiasm would now continue to wander farther and farther away from home. Hence, lovingly, as a parent speaking to children, for such in a sense they are (see verse 19), he writes: Become as I (am), because I also became as you (are), brothers; (this) I beg of you. In the light of such stirring passages as ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.2.16|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 2:16) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.2.19|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.2.19|AUTODETECT|” 19) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.2.20|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.2.20|AUTODETECT|” 20) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.3.7|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.3.7|AUTODETECT|” Phil. 3:7) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=56.3.5|AUTODETECT|” 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=56.3.5|AUTODETECT|” Titus 3:5) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ) this must mean: Cast aside all thought of being able, by means of law-works, to become righteous in the sight of God, for that is exactly what I by grace was taught to do. At one time, I, a proud Jew, imagined that I would be able to achieve my own righteousness before God. But I became as you Gentiles are, by nature condemnable in his sight, with nothing of self to appeal to. ) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.13.0|AUTODETECT|” Because Paul, by Gods marvelous grace, has learned that this shedding of all self-righteousness is the only way to please and glorify God, he beseeches the Galatians to follow this course. They should return to the point from which they started out when they had accepted the gospel of salvation, full and free, on the basis solely of Christ s redemptive sacrifice. They should spurn once and for all the sinister teachings of the Judaizers. Let them, as his children, reveal their likeness to him. Let them return to that simple, childlike, faith which, in addressing the Savior, says, Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to thy cross I cling. Cf. 2:20; 6:14.

That the plea is very earnest and touching appears from the affectionate word of address, brothers (1:11; 3:15; 4:28, 31; 5:11, 13; 6:1, 18), and from the emphatic appeal with which the sentence ends: (This) I beg of you. ��119�� Continued: No wrong did you do me. At first glance this statement may surprise us because of its suddenness. Some have explained it as a response to an assertion made by the Galatians: We have not wronged you in any way. But there is no basis for this theory. Nor is there any need for it. Paul s soul was in a state of intense agitation, brought about by grave concern about the present disloyalty of the Galatians, especially as contrasted with their past enthusiasm.

Therefore, his abruptness is, after all, understandable. When he now says, No wrong did you do me, he is reflecting on the manner in which he had been received by the Galatians when he had met them for the first time and worked among them, as is clear from verses 13 15. Continued: 13. You know, moreover, that it was because of an infirmity of the flesh that I preached to you the gospel on that former occasion.& ��120�� Paul had visited the Galatians twice, that is, on two separate missionary journeys: the first 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.13.0|AUTODETECT|” Acts 13) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.15.40-44.16.5|AUTODETECT|” and 14) and the second 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.15.40-44.16.5|AUTODETECT|” Acts 15:40 16:5) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). He refers now to what had happened on the first of these two trips.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.13.50|AUTODETECT|” The apostle states that it was because of an infirmity of the flesh an illness so severe that on the part of the Galatians it might have given rise to contempt and disgust (verse 14) that he had preached the gospel to them on that former occasion. Some interpreters, however, do not look with favor on the rendering because of. They prefer or at least regard as worthy of very serious consideration a translation such as amid, or while suffering from or simply in bodily weakness.��121�� Reference to this difference of opinion was made earlier. See p. 11. In favor of the idea that the infirmity of which Paul speaks was not the cause of the apostle s preaching but rather the accompanying circumstance it might be stated that not only Luke 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.13.50|AUTODETECT|” Acts 13:50) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.14.5|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.14.5|AUTODETECT|” 14:5) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.14.6|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.14.6|AUTODETECT|” 6) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.14.19|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.14.19|AUTODETECT|” 19) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=55.3.10|AUTODETECT|” ) makes some remarks about the physical afflictions which Paul, and to some extent also Barnabas, had to endure while working in Galatia, but so does also Paul himself, many years later. These experiences were never erased from the latter s memory. Even in his very last epistle that has been preserved the afflictions suffered on that journey march in rapid procession before his mind s eye, as he writes to Timothy: You, however, followed my & persecutions, my sufferings, what kind of things happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, (and) at Lystra, what kind of persecutions I underwent; yet from them all the Lord rescued me! 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=55.3.10|AUTODETECT|” II Tim. 3:10) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=55.3.11|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=55.3.11|AUTODETECT|” 11) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). For this and other, more technical, reasons,��122�� the possibility that this was actually what the apostle had in mind, and that what he wrote should be rendered, & it was amid bodily weakness that I preached to you the gospel on that former occasion must be granted. Nevertheless, it must also be admitted that the far more usual sense of the phrase found here is because of an infirmity. It is so understood by the vast majority of exegetes.��123�� And on the basis of this interpretation of the phrase Ramsay s conclusion, that because of malaria with accompanying severe headaches Paul had been forced to leave the lowlands of Perga and vicinity for the considerably higher elevation of Antioch and the other cities of Galatia, has been accepted by many. It could be right. Yet, in reality we know nothing about the nature of the illness which, if the preferred rendering because of an infirmity of the flesh is accepted, caused the apostle to preach the gospel in Galatia and/or to continue his ministry there for a longer period than he had at first contemplated.

The idea that verse 15 (cf. 6:11) points to an affliction of the eyes is not well grounded, since in that passage the apostle is no longer speaking about his physical infirmity. And so it is with the other guesses that have been made. Those who immerse themselves in such matters sometimes miss the real intention of the passage, as when a Bible study group, spending several evenings on the first few chapters of the book of Genesis, instead of taking to heart the marvelous spiritual lessons taught there, how God is there revealed in all his power, wisdom, and love, wholly concentrates its attention on the question: How long were the days of the creation week? ) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.*?id=18.4.7|AUTODETECT|” By writing, You know that it was because of an infirmity, etc., the apostle causes the scenes and experiences of the not very distance past to flash vividly across the memory of the errant Galatians. Their thoughts are carried back to the events that had taken place at the time of the first meeting with the missionaries, and shortly afterward. The sentence continues: 14. and though my physical condition was a temptation to you, yet you did not despise or loathe me.& This is a very compressed statement. Literally, according to what is probably the best reading, this clause reads: And your temptation in my flesh you neither despised nor loathed. Two ideas are here combined: a. You did not despise or loathe me because of my physical condition ; b.

You did not yield to the temptation to do so. The resultant meaning is clear enough, just so also at this point we avoid wild conjectures. The first verb causes no difficulty: You did not regard (me) of no account, as good for nothing ; hence, You did not despise (me). There follows, if the verb is to be taken literally: or spit out (at me.). ��124�� On the basis of that literal rendering some have said that Paul was surprised because the Galatians had not expectorated when they first met him, for that was their custom when they saw a person who was having an epileptic fit. The conclusion drawn from the use of this verb is, accordingly, that Paul was an epileptic. But since from very early times this verb was also used in a metaphorical sense to loathe , and since after You did not despise, this secondary meaning or loathe completes the pair of synonyms, the latter translation is certainly to be preferred.

Besides, nowhere in Paul s epistles or in the book of Acts is there the slightest evidence to support the notion that Paul was an epileptic. Therefore, all we can really affirm is that when, during this first missionary journey, the Galatians saw Paul, they saw a man who was afflicted with a grievous physical illness. But even though such bodily infirmity was regarded by the Jews, and even more so by the Gentiles, as a token of God s displeasure 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=18.4.7|AUTODETECT|” Job 4:7) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.9.2|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.9.2|AUTODETECT|” John 9:2) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.28.4|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.28.4|AUTODETECT|” Acts 28:4) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.13.42|AUTODETECT|” ), so that the Galatians had been tempted to treat Paul with contemptuous scorn, they had done nothing of the kind. Continued: but as an angel of God you welcomed me, as Christ Jesus. So great had been their respect for Paul, so generous the welcome extended to him, as if his voice had been that of an angel of God, yes even that of Christ Jesus himself 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.13.42|AUTODETECT|” Acts 13:42) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.13.44|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.13.44|AUTODETECT|” 44) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.13.48|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.13.48|AUTODETECT|” 48) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.14.1|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.14.1|AUTODETECT|” 14:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.14.11-44.14.13|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.14.11-44.14.13|AUTODETECT|” 11 13) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.14.21|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.14.21|AUTODETECT|” 21) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.15.40|AUTODETECT|” The Galatians had experienced a season of thrilling discovery, of joy unspeakable and full of glory. What had become of it? How completely different was their present condition. Says Paul: 15. Where,��125�� then, (is) your (former) blessedness, the disposition of mind and heart in which, because of our presence, you blessed or congratulated yourselves? Continued: For I testify to you that, had it been possible, your very eyes you would have plucked out and given to me.��126�� In the original the words your eyes are, for the sake of emphasis, given a forward position: your eyes, having plucked (or: dug) out, you would have given to me.

My translation preserves this special stress. What the apostle evidently means is this: You thought so highly of me at that time, and felt so happy in our presence, that, had it been possible, you would have given me the most precious member of your body. Continued: 16. Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?��127�� To what does Paul refer when he asks this question? In which way does he assume that he might have become their enemy? The opinions given may be classified as follows: a. by means of a previous letter which he had written to them but which was not preserved; b. by means of warnings against the Judaizers which he had issued on his second journey through Galatia 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.15.40|AUTODETECT|” Acts 15:40) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=10.12.7|AUTODETECT|” ff.); c. by means of the strong language which he had used earlier in the very letter which he is now writing (1:6; 3:1 ff.; 4:11). For the first of these suggestions I see no need whatever, nor probability. The second is very well possible. The Galatians may not have taken kindly to these warnings. The third impresses me as being the most natural, though b and c may well be combined. What Paul is telling the Galatians by means of this question is that he has proved himself their real friend, for the mark of such a friend is that he tells those whom he loves the truth even though it may hurt. Nathan, for example, proved that he was David s genuine supporter when, in the name of his Sender, he rebuked the king, saying, You are the man! 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=10.12.7|AUTODETECT|” II Sam. 12:7) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.4.15|AUTODETECT|” ). Paul, then, is saying, You have heard what I have said. Now what is your reaction? Have I become your enemy by rendering this service to you, namely, telling you the truth? Are the Galatians unable to tolerate the truth? Are they like a foolish woman who breaks her mirror because it reveals the wrinkles on her face? Do they not realize that were the apostle, in this important matter, concealing the truth, he would be committing a crime? Do they resemble those fickle church-members who are always demanding that their minister says nothing but nice things to them? Paul s own stand on this matter is that one should always practice integrity in all his dealings, and that he should do so in the spirit of love 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.4.15|AUTODETECT|” Eph. 4:15) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). Said Lincoln: If it is decreed that I should go down because of this speech, then let me go down linked to the truth. This attitude gave him peace of mind. And as to his influence? Though defeated in his bid for the Senate, he became President two years later.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=47.11.2|AUTODETECT|” It is but natural that Paul, who has just asked whether he had possibly become the enemy of the Galatians by telling them the truth, now states who are their real enemies. In what he is about to say he probes into and exposes the motives of the Judaizers, without mentioning them by name: 17. These people are zealously courting you for no commendable purpose: on the contrary, they want to isolate you, in order that you may zealously court them. The Judaizers are trying to curry favor with the Galatians, ostensibly being deeply concerned about them. However, their purpose is not commendable, their motivation is not honorable. Literally Paul says not properly, not in the right way.

Their real object is to exclude the Galatians, that is, to shut them out from all influences except their own; particularly, of course, to isolate them from any effect Paul and his associates might have upon them. But man cannot live in a vacuum. He is a social being. Once these opponents have succeeded in deluding the minds of the Galatians with an untrue image of Paul and of his message, the sadly deluded ones will then become wholly dependent upon these detractors of the only true gospel. Accordingly, the apostle states, They want to isolate you, in order that you may zealously court them. To zealously court someone (active voice), to be deeply concerned about that person, and to bestow much attention upon him, need not be a bad thing.

Good parents are deeply concerned about their children. The very idea that those so dear to them might succumb to the temptation of being led astray by evil companions, so that in that sense these parents might lose their children, fills them with dismay and incites them to earnest prayer and strenuous effort on their behalf. They are jealous for their children with God s own jealousy, as was, for example, Paul himself, with respect to the Corinthians 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=47.11.2|AUTODETECT|”

II Cor. 11:2) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=48.4.18|AUTODETECT|”

same verb in the original as here in ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=48.4.18|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 4:18) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). So also, says Paul, to be zealously courted (passive voice), diligently sought after, is not a bad thing in and by itself, no matter whom it concerns, provided, however, that it be in something good, that is, in connection with a commendable cause : 18. Now (it is) commendable to be zealously courted in connection with a commendable cause. Then suddenly the apostle rivets the mind of the Galatians upon the fact that this rule applies also to himself. On that unforgettable former occasion had he not been the object of their whole-souled attention, intense interest, unmistakable favor, and genuine respect, and this in connection with the noblest of all causes, namely, the proclamation of the one and only true gospel? Would that this had endured and were true even today!

Continued: (and this) always, and not only when I am present with you. That was the trouble. Their attachment to Paul had lost its warmth, to say the least. Their zeal for the truth had subsided. Their loyalty was in the process of being transferred from Paul to the proponents of dangerous error. Everything was fine, as long as Paul had been present with them.

But once he was gone and the distorters of the true gospel had arrived, the alienation of affection had begun, to their own hurt!) 1 1 2 8 0 0 This situation almost breaks Paul s heart. No wonder, for he knows so much better than they do what would be the result of such apostasy were it to run its full course. But this must not, this cannot be. So, in spite of the fact that their feelings toward him had cooled, he, still filled with the most tender love toward them, now addresses them in the language of warm, pastoral and we may well add: parental affection, as follows: 19, 20. My dear children,��128�� for whom I am again suffering birth-pangs.& ) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.2.7|AUTODETECT|” Paul compares himself to a mother who is giving birth to a child. Thus also in ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.2.7|AUTODETECT|” I Thess. 2:7) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.19|AUTODETECT|” ��129�� he says, employing a figure only slightly different: But we were gentle in the midst of you, as when a nurse cherishes her own children, meaning: as when a mother-nurse warms, fondles, cherishes the children that are her very own because she gave them birth. Here in ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.19|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 4:19) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.13.0|AUTODETECT|” note the word again: for whom I am again suffering birth-pangs. Once before he had endured these labor pains for them, as Luke so vividly portrays in ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.13.0|AUTODETECT|” Acts 13) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 and 14. At that time he, as God s instrument, had brought these children to the point where they loved him and trusted him; even better: where they loved and trusted Christ, placing their hope for salvation in him alone. And now, having been displaced in their affections by others, Paul s birth-pangs have returned. He hopes with all the ardor of his soul that, for the sake of their own salvation, the Galatians will renew their former attachment to him. O that they might be his children once more, as children imitating him! O that they might become as he is (verse 12), trusting solely in Christ for their salvation! O that they would cast aside all reliance on self, on law-works, as he, by the grace of God, had learned to do!) 1 1 2 8 0 0 The apostle is yearning for his children. He is afflicted. In his heartache also this element is included, that the Galatians are making the maternal heart of Paul suffer all the birth-pains a second time, something which no offspring ever does in nature.& Unnaturally they are causing Paul to suffer all these pains over again, even in a more severe way (Lenski, op. cit., p. 227).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=61.1.21|AUTODETECT|” Though, according to the entire preceding context, it was especially the acceptance of legalism by the Galatians that made Paul suffer and yearn as he did, nevertheless the danger of libertinism (immorality) can hardly have been absent from his mind, for in the very next chapter he earnestly warns the Galatians that they must not turn their freedom into an opportunity for the flesh (5:13, 16 24; cf. 6:7, 8). Hence, it is in that broad connection, reflecting on the situation in Galatia in is entirety, that he says: until Christ be formed in you, that is, until your whole inner being��130�� proclaims Christ s being and his ways, so that you will trust fully in your Savior, will be like him in your thoughts, wishes, and aspirations, and will reflect him in the common words you speak, in life s common looks and tones, in intercourse at hearth or board with your beloved ones, in brief: in the entire gamut of your existence and manifestation among men.��131�� Continued: I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone of voice, for I am perplexed about you. Though Paul was writing as a holy man of God who was being moved by the Holy Spirit 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=61.1.21|AUTODETECT|” II Peter 1:21) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=61.3.15|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=61.3.15|AUTODETECT|” 3:15) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=61.3.16|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=61.3.16|AUTODETECT|” 16) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ), he, nevertheless, was conscious of the manner in which he was restricted by the limitations of time and space. Right now he wishes that he could be with those whom he addresses. However, with his hands full of work in Corinth (if that supposition be correct), he finds it impossible right now to rush off to distant Galatia. Ah, if he could only be with them, then, perhaps by hearing and seeing them and conversing with them, the change in them for which he so yearns might be brought about more speedily. Then possibly he might no longer have to rebuke them as he has done in this epistle, might not have to call them foolish Galatians any longer, but might be able to change his tone of voice. As of now, however, he is perplexed about them, at a loss to know why they have yielded to temptation.

O that his dear children would return to the home from which they have wandered away! Yes, indeed, Paul is suffering birth-pangs & again!) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=46.13.0|AUTODETECT|” The passage is one of the finest practical applications of ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=46.13.0|AUTODETECT|” I Cor. 13) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 , written by Paul himself. Though the Galatians have failed Paul, his love toward them never fails, for love is longsuffering and kind, and even now hopes all things.) 1 4 2 8 0 0 Chapter 4) Verses 21 31) Theme: The Gospel of Justification by Faith apart from Law-works Defended against Its Detractors) II. Its Vindication: both Scripture i.e., the Old Testament and life (experience, past history) bear testimony to its truth) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.16.1-1.16.4|AUTODETECT|” F. History of the slave-woman (Hagar) and her son versus the free-woman (Sarah) and her son 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.16.1-1.16.4|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 16:1 4) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.21.8-1.21.12|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.21.8-1.21.12|AUTODETECT|” 21:8 12) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). Application: Cast out the slave-woman and her son. Not of a slave-woman are we children, but of the free-woman.) 1 10 2 8 0 0 ) 4:21 31) F. Instructive Allegory ) 21 Tell me, you who desire to be under law, do you not hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave-woman and one by the free-woman. 23 But the son of the slave-woman was flesh-horn; the son of the free-woman (was born) through promise. 24 Now things of this nature were spoken with another meaning in mind, for these two women represent two covenants: one from Mount Sinai, bearing children destined for slavery. She is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to the Jerusalem of today, for she is in bondage with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem (that is) above is free, and she is our mother; 27 for it is written:) Rejoice O barren one, you who do not bear;) Break forth and shout, you who have no birth-pangs;) For more are the children of the desolate than of her who has a husband. ) 28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But as at that time he (who was) flesh-born persecuted the one (who was) Spirit-born, so (it is) also now. 30 But what does Scripture say? Cast out the slave-woman and her son; for in no way shall the son of the slave-woman share in the inheritance with the son of the free-woman. 31 Wherefore, brothers, not of a slave-woman are we children, but of the free-woman.) ) The proposition that those those alone, all those who by a true and living faith accept God s promise are the children of God, is defended once more, and now for the last time, with an appeal to Scripture. Rigid adherence to law, as if this were the way to be saved, is exposed as being in reality nothing but bondage, spiritual slavery. Faith, on the contrary, spells freedom. Accordingly, this section, too, is true to the theme of the entire epistle, namely, The gospel of justification by faith apart from law-works defended against its detractors. ) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.*?id=1.16.1-1.16.4|AUTODETECT|” This time, however, the apostle makes use of a type of argumentation which he has not employed before. He avails himself of an allegory. It is not wrong to call it that, provided that the term allegory be interpreted in the most favorable sense (see on verse 24). Paul sets forth the spiritual meaning of a familiar story, that of two women that dwelt in Abraham s tents: a. his wife Sarah, b. Sarah s personal slave Hagar, whom she gave to Abraham in order that she, Sarah, might obtain children by her. Hagar bore Ishmael.

Several years later Sarah bore Isaac. Sarah and her son are now described as representing all those freedom-loving people who live by faith, as contrasted with Hagar and her son who are designated as representing those spiritually enslaved individuals who live by law. Cf. ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.16.1-1.16.4|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 16:1 4) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.21.1-1.21.12|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=1.21.1-1.21.12|AUTODETECT|” 21:1 12) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 .) 1 2 2 8 0 0 Those who suppose that by using this kind of an argument Paul arrives at an interpretation that is fallacious, far-fetched, and fantastic, betraying the influence of his own early training in worthless rabbinical methods of exegesis, do him an injustice, and are themselves guilty of misinterpretation, for they misinterpret the apostle. What his allegory really amounts to is an obvious lesson plus a self-invited comparison, both of them derived from the ancient narrative in a manner so natural that in a mood of surprise Paul says: 21. Tell me, you who desire to be under law, do you not hear the law? Those people the Judaizers and also the Galatians themselves to the extent in which they allow themselves to be influenced by these legalists are always talking about the indispensable necessity of keeping the Mosaic law (see on verse 10); nevertheless, they seem to forget that the law itself clearly contradicts their belief. In this second reference to law Paul uses the term in a wider sense: Torah or Pentateuch. With a lively Tell me, he calls his opponents to account.

Continued: 22. For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave-woman and one by the free-woman. As has been shown earlier (see on 3:6), Paul s adversaries and their Jewish followers prided themselves in the fact that they were the descendants of Abraham, as if that biological relationship were of paramount significance for salvation, of such superior value that even the non-Jewish converts to Christianity should, by being circumcised, strive to resemble their Jewish co-religionists as closely as possible. Paul s argument, then, is this: Those who are always boasting about their descent from Abraham are forgetting that Abraham had not one son but two sons��132��: Ishmael by Hagar as well as Isaac by Sarah. Accordingly, if physical descent from Abraham is so all-important, then they who are Jews by birth are not any better off than are the Ishmaelites.) Nevertheless, so runs Paul s argument, there is, indeed a marked difference between the son of Hagar, the slave-woman, and the son of Sarah, the free-woman, but that difference is not of a physical but of a spiritual nature. It represents the contrast between those who live by law and those who live by faith; in other words, between those who depend on that which they themselves are able to bring about and those who rely on the effectuation of God s gracious promise.

The basic difference between Ishmael and Isaac, and between the two groups which they respectively represent, reveals itself in their contrasted birth (verses 23 28), their relation to each other (verse 29), and their lack of right, or right, to the inheritance (verse 30).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.1.13|AUTODETECT|” First, then, there is the contrast in birth: 23. But the son of the slave-woman was flesh-born; the son of the free-woman (was born) through promise. Meaning: Ishmael was the product of his parents natural power of procreation. He was born in accordance with that which Abraham and Hagar were able to accomplish in the ordinary course of nature 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.1.13|AUTODETECT|” John 1:13) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.9.7-45.9.9|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.9.7-45.9.9|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 9:7 9) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). Accordingly, he represents all those who base their hope for eternity on what they themselves are able to effectuate, that is, on their own works.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.16.1-1.16.4|AUTODETECT|” There are those who think that this conclusion, already obvious, gains added strength when the full story, as related in ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.16.1-1.16.4|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 16:1 4) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.23|AUTODETECT|” , is taken into account. According to that passage Ishmael s birth was the result not only of a physical act but also of sinful deliberation. Abraham and Sarah, unwilling to bide God s time for the fulfilment of the promise, took matters into their own hands, so that, on the advice of Sarah, Abraham went in to Hagar, Sarah s Egyptian maid, with the result that she conceived and bore Abraham a son, Ishmael. However, the purpose of this scheme was not thereby realized, for Ishmael was not the child of promise. As these interpreters see it, therefore, when Paul here in ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.23|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 4:23) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.16.2|AUTODETECT|” describes Ishmael as flesh-born, he attaches a double sense to this term, namely, born according to carnal deliberation 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.16.2|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 16:2) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.16.4|AUTODETECT|” ), and by virtue of the physical capacity of both Abraham and Hagar, which had not yet died 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.16.4|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 16:4) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). ��133�� Thus, in the opinion of these exegetes, it becomes even more strikingly evident how the son of the slave-woman could represent all those who, instead of trusting in Christ for their salvation, labor slavishly to attain it by their own cunning, and are doomed to bitter disappointment. This double sense theory is attractive, but whether or not it be correct cannot be proved. Moreover, the theory is not necessary. Ishmael, as a son born in the usual, natural, way, is even so a true representative of all those who have experienced only the natural birth, not the birth from above. And on either theory he remains a slave, a fit symbol of all those who labor slavishly to enter into the kingdom.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.4.19|AUTODETECT|” Isaac, on the other hand, was born as a result of Abraham s faith in God s promise. It was as a reward for the exercise of this faith that God intervened miraculously, enabling Abraham, though he had become as good as dead, to deposit seed, and making it possible for Sarah, heretofore barren, to conceive 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.4.19|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 4:19) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.11.11|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.11.11|AUTODETECT|” Heb. 11:11) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.11.12|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.11.12|AUTODETECT|” 12) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.24.63|AUTODETECT|” ). Isaac, then, was Spirit-born (verse 29), for it was the Holy Spirit who caused the promise to be realized. The conclusion, therefore, that Isaac is a symbol of all Spirit-born (now in the sense of regenerated) men is not far-fetched. It is all the more natural in view of the fact that he, in spite of his weaknesses, was going to manifest himself as a true believer, one who by faith rested in God s promise 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.24.63|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 24:63) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.26.18|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.26.18|AUTODETECT|” 26:18) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.26.22-1.26.25|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.26.22-1.26.25|AUTODETECT|” 22 25) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.28.1-1.28.4|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.28.1-1.28.4|AUTODETECT|” 28:1 4) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.4.23|AUTODETECT|” On the basis of the preceding it is not strange that Paul continues: 24. Now things of this nature were spoken with another meaning in mind, for these two women represent two covenants.& Such historical events were designed to convey a meaning other than in addition to the strictly literal. God has given us such narratives not only to teach us what happened in the past, but also to enable us to apply the lessons of the past to our present situation 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.4.23|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 4:23) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.4.24|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.4.24|AUTODETECT|” 24) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). Such things, then, are true as history and valuable as graphic pedagogy. It is in that sense that Paul is saying that things of this nature are an allegory (A.V.). The lesson here taught is derived as naturally from the narrative as an almond-kernel is picked out of an almond-shell. With this interpretation in mind we can understand that Paul was justified in saying, Tell me, you who desire to be under law, do you not hear the law? He meant, of course, that the lesson implied in the incident was so obvious that anyone who listened attentively to the narrative, when it was read, should have understood the deeper meaning immediately.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.24|AUTODETECT|” This shows that ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.24|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 4:24) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 provides no comfort whatever to allegorizers of the wild type; such, for example, as Rabbi Akiba, who was able to distil a mystical sense from the hooks and crooks of the Hebrew letters; Philo, who imagined that the cherubim placed at Eden s gates represented God s lovingkindness and his sovereignty; Origen, who on occasion tortured Scripture in every possible manner, turning it away from the true sense (Calvin); and the author of a certain very popular present day Bible which, though valuable in some respects, can hardly be considered a trustworthy guide when it pictures Asenath, the Egyptian wife of Joseph, as the type of the Christian church, called out from among the Gentiles to be the bride of Christ!) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.2.12|AUTODETECT|” These two women, says Paul, are (that is, represent) two covenants, two distinct affirmations of God s one and only covenant of grace. See N.T.C. on ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.2.12|AUTODETECT|” Eph. 2:12) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.3.19|AUTODETECT|” . These two were: the covenant with Abraham (verse 18; cf. 3:8, 16 18) and the covenant of Sinai 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.3.19|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 3:19) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.3.24|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.3.24|AUTODETECT|” 24) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.11.28|AUTODETECT|” ). Paul begins with the latter: one from Mount Sinai, bearing children destined for slavery. Though, as was shown earlier (see on 3:10, 25), God gave his law to Israel in a context of grace, that law was unable no save anyone. Besides, when it is, nevertheless, viewed as a force by means of which a person achieves deliverance and salvation, as the Jews and Judaizers actually viewed it, then it enslaves. In then not only leaves men in their bondage but more and more adds to their heavy burden. See on 2:4; 3:22, 23; 4:3, 7; 5:1; cf. ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.11.28|AUTODETECT|” Matt. 11:28) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.11.29|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.11.29|AUTODETECT|” 29) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.8.15|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.8.15|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 8:15) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.23.37|AUTODETECT|” . Paul adds: She is Hagar, for just as Hagar, being herself a slave, was able to bear only a slave-child, so also the law, as the Jews and Judaizers erroneously interpreted it, was able to bring forth none but drudges, whom it kept under its harsh dominion. Continued: 25. Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to the Jerusalem of today, for she is in bondage with her children.��134�� In the preceding verse Hagar and Mount Sinai have been linked. It was shown that, in the sense explained, both can produce nothing but slaves. Now the comparison is brought a step farther. What was implied right along is now clearly stated, namely, that in line with Hagar and Mount Sinai is also the Jerusalem of Paul s own day, earthly Jerusalem with her children 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.23.37|AUTODETECT|” Matt. 23:37) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=58.12.22|AUTODETECT|” ): all of carnal Israel that had rejected Christ and his glorious gospel. It is hardly necessary to add that here Paul is thinking not only of the Jews who had openly repudiated Christ, but definitely also of those Jews who were Christians only in name, the Judaizers. Now here in verse 25 the emphasis is entirely on the third element in the comparison: Jerusalem and her children. These, too, as well as Hagar and Ishmael, are now said to be in bondage. They have enslaved themselves to Sinai s law, for they imagine that by strict obedience to this legal code with emphasis on its ceremonial regulations, expanded by man-made additions they can work their way into the kingdom of heaven. But they are wrong.

Mount Sinai is in Arabia, and Arabia is a desert. It is not the land of promise; it is not Zion 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.12.22|AUTODETECT|” Heb. 12:22) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=66.14.1|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=66.14.1|AUTODETECT|” Rev. 14:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). When a person bases his hope for eternity on his own endeavors he is engaged in a sterile business!) 1 6 2 8 0 0 The clause: & and corresponds to the Jerusalem of today, calls attention to the fact that Hagar, Mount Sinai, and Jerusalem of today all stand in the same row or line, the same stich (line of poetry); hence, the same category, for they all spell slavery, the bondage that results from trusting in works of the flesh. Their opposites spell freedom, the blessing which those enjoy who trust fully in Christ, their Lord, who will never put them to shame:) Hagar, Horeb, earthly Salem,) Works of flesh will not avail them.) Sarah, Zion, heavenly Salem,) Christ, their Lord, will never fail them.) Continued: 26. But the Jerusalem (that is) above is free, and she is our mother. Over against the Jerusalem of today we might have expected Paul to mention the Jerusalem of the future. But he cannot very well do this, for the church, as the sum-total of all believers, here contrasted with carnal Israel, is being gathered even now, though her glorious consummation belongs, indeed, to the future. Not until Christ s return will she have been brought to completion, to shine forth in all her beauty, to the glory of God Triune.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.1.3|AUTODETECT|” Now when Paul speaks about the Jerusalem (that is) above, he is thinking not only of the Church Triumphant but also of the many blessings which the exalted Christ lavishes upon this object of his love. And since from heaven these blessings also descend to the earth 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.1.3|AUTODETECT|” Eph. 1:3) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.3.3|AUTODETECT|” ), creating and strongly influencing the church here below, producing conditions on earth which in some measure reflect those in heaven, it is clear that the Jerusalem (that is) above becomes in a sense the mother of all God s true children on earth, be they Gentiles or Jews. Essentially the same idea is found in the book of Revelation (3:12; 21:2, 10). In a vision John sees the holy city, new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. That is happening now: whenever sinners are reborn born from above 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.3.3|AUTODETECT|” John 3:3) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.3.6|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.3.6|AUTODETECT|” 6) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.3.7|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.3.7|AUTODETECT|” 7) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.6.10|AUTODETECT|” ) ; whenever, in principle, God s will is done on earth as in heaven 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.6.10|AUTODETECT|” Matt. 6:10) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.7.14|AUTODETECT|” ); and whenever, as a result of Christ s coming and work 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.7.14|AUTODETECT|” Isa. 7:14) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.9.6|AUTODETECT|” ; cf. ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.9.6|AUTODETECT|” 9:6) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.11.6-23.11.9|AUTODETECT|” ), heaven s peace is reflected in the hearts and lives of God s children here below 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.11.6-23.11.9|AUTODETECT|” Isa. 11:6 9) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=24.23.6|AUTODETECT|” ; cf. ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=24.23.6|AUTODETECT|” Jer. 23:6) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=24.31.31-24.31.34|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=24.31.31-24.31.34|AUTODETECT|” 31:31 34) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). But this is only an anticipatory fulfilment of the prophecies. Perfection belongs to the day of the great consummation.��135��) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.3.20|AUTODETECT|” Heaven, then, is the church s mother, for it was heaven that gave birth to her children. Though many of them are still on earth, is not heaven their homeland 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.3.20|AUTODETECT|” Phil. 3:20) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.14.1-43.14.4|AUTODETECT|” )? Are not their lives governed from heaven in accordance with heavenly standards? Are not their names inscribed in heaven s register? Is it not there that their rights are secured, and their interests promoted? Is it not to heaven that their thoughts and prayers ascend and their hopes aspire? Their Savior dwells there, living evermore to make intercession for them. Some of their friends are there even now, and they themselves, if they place their trust in the heavenly Highpriest, will be there shortly, to receive the inheritance of which they have an earnest even now. See ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.14.1-43.14.4|AUTODETECT|” John 14:1 4) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.8.17|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.8.17|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 8:17) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.3.1-51.3.3|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.3.1-51.3.3|AUTODETECT|” Col. 3:1 3) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.4.14-58.4.16|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.4.14-58.4.16|AUTODETECT|” Heb. 4:14 16) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.6.19|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.6.19|AUTODETECT|” 6:19) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.6.20|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.6.20|AUTODETECT|” 20) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.7.25|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.7.25|AUTODETECT|” 7:25) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.12.22-58.12.24|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.12.22-58.12.24|AUTODETECT|” 12:22 24) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=60.1.4|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=60.1.4|AUTODETECT|” I Peter 1:4) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=60.1.5|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=60.1.5|AUTODETECT|” 5) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=66.7.9-66.7.17|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=66.7.9-66.7.17|AUTODETECT|” Rev. 7:9 17) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 .) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.8.36|AUTODETECT|” The Jerusalem (that is) above is free, says Paul. See ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.8.36|AUTODETECT|” John 8:36) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 . She has been delivered from every form of bondage and enjoys perfect peace in the presence of her Lord. She is, moreover, our mother, the mother not only of the Jews who have gone to the deeps of God s promise but also of the Gentiles who have done the same thing; 27. for it is written:) 1 3 2 8 0 0 Rejoice O barren one, you who do not bear;) Break forth and shout, you who have no birth-pangs;) For more are the children of the desolate than of her who has a husband. ) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.54.1|AUTODETECT|” Isaiah, by prophetic vision, sees Zion bereft of her children, who have gone into Babylonian captivity. Jehovah, through his prophet, brings her a message of cheer. She, though now barren, will be fruitful; more so, in fact, than ever before 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.54.1|AUTODETECT|” Isa. 54:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.17.16|AUTODETECT|” ). The promise given to Sarah, who also was barren, will be fulfilled 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.17.16|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 17:16) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.54.2|AUTODETECT|” ). God s church will be extended among the Gentiles. Large multitudes will thus be added to the company of the saved. Zion, the Jerusalem (that is) above, will have an abundant posterity on earth. Hence, she will have to make her tent more spacious by lengthening its cords. At the same time she will have to see to it that the stakes are strengthened, that is, that the tent-pins are fixed into the ground more firmly, because the dwelling-place of the church as God sees it will never be broken up 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.54.2|AUTODETECT|” Isa. 54:2) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.54.3|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.54.3|AUTODETECT|” 3) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=66.3.12|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=66.3.12|AUTODETECT|” Rev. 3:12) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=66.7.9|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=66.7.9|AUTODETECT|” 7:9) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.6.37|AUTODETECT|” ; cf. ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.6.37|AUTODETECT|” John 6:37) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.6.39|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.6.39|AUTODETECT|” 39) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.10.28|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.10.28|AUTODETECT|” 10:28) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.54.7|AUTODETECT|” Now all this is represented here as the work of the Lord, the result of the manifestation of his enduring lovingkindness 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.54.7|AUTODETECT|” Isa. 54:7) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.54.8|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=23.54.8|AUTODETECT|” 8) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.3.14|AUTODETECT|” ); not the product of human exertion but the realization of God s promise, the very promise that gave Isaac to Abraham and Sarah. This promise applies also to the Galatians if they accept it by means of a living faith: 28. Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. Here again we are pleased to take note of the affectionate manner in which Paul addresses those for whom the letter was intended. Again he calls them brothers (cf. 1:11; 3:15; 4:12, 28, 31; 5:11, 13; 6:1, 18). Are not all believers members of the same family, the Father s Family? See N.T.C. on ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.3.14|AUTODETECT|” Eph. 3:14) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.3.15|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.3.15|AUTODETECT|” 15) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 . They are brothers by grace, through the Spirit. Surely, if the Jerusalem (that is) above is their common mother (verse 26), then it follows that her children are brothers. Like Isaac, and by virtue of the promise realized in him but not in Ishmael, these Galatians who truly believe whether they be Gentiles or Jews by birth makes no difference are children of promise. They are Abraham s legitimate sons, the true heirs. Let them understand, then, that what the Judaizers and their followers are doing is this: they are opposing the very work of God which he is gloriously effectuating whenever Gentiles, on equal terms with the Jews, are gathered into the church. See on 3:16 18, 29; 4:22.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.21.8|AUTODETECT|” The basic difference between Ishmael and Isaac, and between the two groups which they respectively represent, reveals itself not only in their birth (slave or free), but also in their relation to each other: 29. But as at that time he (who was) flesh-born persecuted the one (who was) Spirit-born, so (it is) also now. The reference here is to ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.21.8|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 21:8) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.21.9|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.21.9|AUTODETECT|” 9) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.16.16|AUTODETECT|” , which informs us that on the day when Isaac was weaned which usually took place when the child was about three years of age Abraham celebrated this event by means of a great feast. It was then that Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking (translation of the Hebrew text). Though the original lacks the words: (mocking) her son Isaac, this object, added by the Septuagint and thus also by the Vulgate, etc., undoubtedly expresses what the writer had in mind, as the context clearly indicates. Since Ishmael was fourteen years older than Isaac 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=1.16.16|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 16:16) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 with 21:5), he must have been a lad of about seventeen at the time when this incident occurred.) 1 1 2 8 0 0 There are those, however, who interpret the Hebrew verb which describes Ishmael s conduct toward his brother as indicating nothing more serious than innocent play. Thus R.S.V. renders the Genesis passage: playing with her son Isaac. ��136�� On the basis of this rendering it is at times further assumed that the guilty one was Sarah, not Ishmael. When Isaac s mother sees the older boy and her own little child having a good time together, she is stricken with jealousy, as she considers the future. She begins to worry about the possibility that the two might some day become joint-heirs of Abraham s wealth. That must not be. Hence, she demands Ishmael s ejection, so that her own son Isaac may be the sole heir.

On the basis of this interpretation Paul s statement that Ishmael persecuted Isaac would, of course, be wrong. But the facts do not sustain this view of that which actually took place. Note the following:) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.19.14|AUTODETECT|” (1) The Old Testament does not support this meaning for the verb that is here used to describe what Ishmael was doing. That verb does not generally refer to innocent fun. There was, for example, nothing innocent in the jesting with which Lot s prospective sons-in-law greeted the announcement of Sodom s imminent doom 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.19.14|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 19:14) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.39.14|AUTODETECT|” ). That jesting was coarse ridicule, mockery. Again, Potiphar s wife was not at all in the mood to accuse Joseph of having been guilty of a little innocent play. On the contrary, by implication she charged him with insult, to put it mildly 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.39.14|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 39:14) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=2.32.6|AUTODETECT|” ). The unrestrained hilarity of the Israelites around the golden calf was by no means innocent merrymaking 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=2.32.6|AUTODETECT|” Exod. 32:6) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=7.16.25|AUTODETECT|” ), neither was the amusement of the Philistines in connection with their prisoner Samson 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=7.16.25|AUTODETECT|” Judg. 16:25) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). It is evident that in all these cases the word has an unfavorable sense, an acrid taste.��137��) 1 1 2 8 0 0 (2) A look at the historical and psychological background also favors the rendering mocking rather than playing with. It should be borne in mind that the birds of Isaac and, even more, the fact that the little one had survived the earliest and most critical stage of his life, had brought about an important change in Ishmael s prospects as an heir of Abraham s vast estate. Before Isaac s arrival Ishmael must have regarded himself as the sole heir of unassailable assets. He must have felt all the more secure because of his father s ripe old age. And now suddenly the ground gives way from under his feet. Someone else has replaced him.

Not only that, but at this particular feast everyone s interest is focused on this little brother, not on Ishmael. Seen in this light, it is not so strange that Ishmael, out of envy, mocked Isaac.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.16.4|AUTODETECT|” (3) Children often imitate their parents. Is it not possible, indeed rather natural, that the contempt with which Hagar had looked down upon Sarah was copied by Ishmael in his attitude toward Sarah s son? Cf. ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.16.4|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 16:4) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 and 21:9.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.5.11|AUTODETECT|” Paul, accordingly, was entirely correct in interpreting the Old Testament passage as he did. The one who was born in the natural way had persecuted the one who was born in a supernatural way, that is, born through special intervention of the Holy Spirit, who had enabled Abraham, though the latter had become as good as dead, to deposit seed, and had quickened Sarah s womb. Cf. verse 23. So also today, says Paul, himself formerly a legalist and persecutor, the flesh-born Judaizers are persecuting those who are Spirit-born (now in the sense of regenerated). The wicked world, whether represented by legalists or by libertines, begrudges believers their joy in the Lord. To be persecuted is therefore the lot of the Christian 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.5.11|AUTODETECT|” Matt. 5:11) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.15.20|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.15.20|AUTODETECT|” John 15:20) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.16.33|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.16.33|AUTODETECT|” 16:33) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=55.3.12|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=55.3.12|AUTODETECT|” II Tim. 3:12) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=66.12.13|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=66.12.13|AUTODETECT|” Rev. 12:13) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.26.13-1.26.22|AUTODETECT|” If there be any implied idea of relative innocence in this passage, it would be on the part of Isaac. If he complained at all, it is not mentioned. It was his mother who noticed that Ishmael was mocking. It is true that a child of three can do very little in the way of opposing a young man of seventeen. But it is characteristic of Isaac that also later on in life he bears persecution with admirable patience 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.26.13-1.26.22|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 26:13 22) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.26.23-1.26.25|AUTODETECT|” ), a virtue for which the Lord rewarded him 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.26.23-1.26.25|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 26:23 25) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). He was not a vengeful person.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.*?id=1.21.10|AUTODETECT|” But though vengeance is wrong, evil must be resisted. Moreover, it was the duty of both Abraham and Sarah to protect the son of promise. Ishmael and Isaac cannot live side by side. Hence, Paul continues: 30. But what does Scripture say? Cast out the slave-woman and her son; for in no way shall the son of the slave-woman share in the inheritance��138�� with the son of the free-woman.

The inheritance (see on 3:9, 18, 29) is not for mockers or persecutors. It is for believers, for them alone. This is the third item with respect to which the basic difference between Ishmael and Isaac reveals itself. For the others see on verses 23 and 29. Law (as interpreted by the Judaizers) and grace cannot dwell in one camp. Ishmael must be summarily ejected!

Sarah demanded it 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.21.10|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 21:10) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.21.12|AUTODETECT|” ). What is more, God himself supported this demand 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.21.12|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 21:12) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ), giving Paul the right to imply that the order for Ishmael s expulsion was based on divine authority: But what does Scripture say? ) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.3.19-48.3.29|AUTODETECT|” 31. With another, very affectionate, brothers (see on verse 28) the apostle closes and summarizes the argument. He says: Wherefore, brothers, not of a slave-woman are we children, but of the free-woman. We that is, Paul, the Galatians (as viewed by the judgment of love; cf. 4:6, 19; 5:10), all believers everywhere and throughout all time are children not of a slave-woman the definite article being omitted to emphasize her slavish quality but of the free-woman, Sarah, as the true representative of the Jerusalem (that is) above. We are the offspring of sovereign grace. Nevertheless, this in no way relieves us of responsibility, the very responsibility implied in the passage, namely, to guard the precious endowment which the Lord has bequeathed to us, and therefore to live by faith, in the joyful exercise of our freedom of access to the throne of grace.

This freedom is at the same time a deliverance from the curse of the law. Let us then, so argues Paul, cling to this freedom, for Jerusalem (that is) above is a city of free men 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.3.19-48.3.29|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 3:19 29) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.26|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.26|AUTODETECT|” 4:26) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.5.1|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=48.5.1|AUTODETECT|” 5:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 14 2 8 0 0 Summary of Chapter 4) This chapter can be divided into three sections under the headings: Recapitulation (verses 1 11), Reminiscence (verses 12 20), and Reasoning by means of an Allegory (verses 21 31). In the first section Paul, in close connection with the preceding argument,��139�� points out the folly of exchanging one type of slavery for another. Judaistic bondage is not any better than paganistic. God sent his Son to redeem men from every type of spiritual slavery. He changed slaves into sons. Moreover, he sent the Spirit into their hearts in order that those who were sons in position might also be sons in disposition, for adoption implies transformation.

Deliverance means freedom of access, so that the ransomed one cries out, Abba! .) In the next paragraph the apostle asks, Where is now your former blessedness? His affectionate concern for the Galatians reveals itself as he recalls the warm welcome with which they had received him at the occasion of their first meeting. How blessed had been the experiences then enjoyed, how unforgettable the fellowship! What a contrast between then and now. One is reminded of the lines:) Where is the blessedness I knew) When first I sought the Lord?) Where is the soul-refreshing view) Of Jesus and his Word?) What peaceful hours I once enjoyed!) How sweet their memory still!) But they have left an aching void) The world can never fill. ) William Cowper) In the case of the Galatians the former blessedness had been lost because Paul s earnest warnings had been left unheeded. The apostle exposes the motives of the enemies of the faith.

They make much of the Galatians in order that the latter may make much of them. Now making much of someone is not wrong if it be in connection with a good cause. Thus, the fact that the Galatians had previously paid special attention to Paul, and, far from treating him with contemptuous scorn because of his bodily infirmity, had been willing, if necessary, to give him their most precious possession, was not wrong, because he proclaimed to them the gospel of salvation. Would that this interest in Paul and his gospel had continued! With sadness of heart Paul asks, Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? Do the Galatians not realize that his warnings and criticisms were for their own good?

The apostle concludes this section by saying, My dear children, for whom I am again suffering birth-pangs until Christ be formed in you, I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone of voice, for I am perplexed about you. ) The chapter closes with a reminder in the form of an allegory that those who hear the law should take it to heart. When the Judaizers pride themselves in the fact that they are sons of Abraham, and the Galatians are influenced by this boast, let it be remembered that Abraham had two sons: one by the slave-woman, the other by the free-woman. Slavish law-observance, as if this were the pathway to salvation, makes one similar to Ishmael, slave-son of a slave-woman (Hagar). On the contrary, the exercise of one s freedom in Christ, basing one s trust in him alone, makes one a true son of Abraham, similar to the free-born son Isaac, born to the free-woman, Sarah.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.15.12|AUTODETECT|” 112 Several commentators point out that in the illustration here used it is not necessary to assume that the father has died, since sons would at times take active possession of their inheritance or allotment before the death of the father had occurred 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.15.12|AUTODETECT|” Luke 15:12) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.25.6|AUTODETECT|” ; cf. ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.25.6|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 25:6) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.9.17|AUTODETECT|” ). Nevertheless, normally a will or disposition to divide an inheritance does not go in to effect until the testator has died 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.9.17|AUTODETECT|” Heb. 9:17) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). We are safe, therefore, in making that assumption also in the present case. Besides, it is not the condition of the father but that of the son that is in the foreground in the present illustration.) 1 2 2 8 0 0 N.T.C. W. Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary) 113 In my definition of these rudiments to which men were in bondage the two most important items are: a. rules and regulations (the law) and b. fleshly nature. Essentially the same conclusion was reached independently by Dr. Andrew J. Bandstra, who on p. 71 (and elsewhere) of his doctoral dissertation states that the term stoicheia most probably refers to law and the flesh (for title of Bandstra s work see General Bibliography). Luther agrees, calling these the two feeble beggars. ) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.4|AUTODETECT|” 114 In the defense of the theory that ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.4|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 4:4) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.29|AUTODETECT|” is a proof-text for the virgin birth, some (Lenski, Orr, etc.) argue that the text should really be translated: & his Son, come to be from a woman (Lenski) or & His Son, become of a woman (James Orr, The Virgin Birth of Christ, New York, 1924, p. 119), instead of born of a woman, since the aor. participle of the verb ������� is used here, and not the aor. passive participle of the verb ������, as in ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.29|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 4:29) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.1.16|AUTODETECT|” (cf. forms of that same verb in 4:23, 24). But, in speaking of Christ s conception and birth the sacred writers do not hesitate to use forms of the latter verb 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.1.16|AUTODETECT|” Matt. 1:16) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.2.1|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.2.1|AUTODETECT|” 2:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.1.35|AUTODETECT|” ), not even in reproducing the message of Gabriel to Mary 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.1.35|AUTODETECT|” Luke 1:35) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.18.37|AUTODETECT|” ). In fact, Jesus himself, in speaking of his own birth, made use of this verb when he said to Pilate, For this purpose was I born, and for this purpose I am come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.18.37|AUTODETECT|” John 18:37) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.8.58|AUTODETECT|” ). Note, however, also a form of the verb ������� ultimately the two verbs can be traced to the same root in the sense of being born. It is used in connection with the birth of Abraham 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.8.58|AUTODETECT|” John 8:58) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.1.3|AUTODETECT|” , according to the best text), when Christ s Aramaic is rendered: Before Abraham was born I am. As to Paul s usage in connection with Christ see also ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.1.3|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 1:3) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.4|AUTODETECT|” . In the Apocrypha this verb has reference to being born in such passages as Esd. 4:16; Tob. 8:6; Wisd. 7:3; etc. To be born or to be begotten is, accordingly, a recognized meaning of the verb �������. Hence, no argument in favor of the doctrine of the virgin birth can properly be derived from its use here in ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.4|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 4:4) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 . See also L.N.T. (A. and G.), p. 157.) 1 5 2 8 0 0 115 There is a cause and effect relationship between ignorance of God and slavery; hence, �P� �0����� is probably causal as well as temporal, with emphasis on the former.) 116 John Murray gives an excellent explanation of the pertinent passages in Paul s Epistle to the Romans. See his book The Epistle to the Romans, Grand Rapids, Mich., 1959, Vol. I, especially pp. 34 42; 72 76.) 117 The fact that the reference to years is not entirely clear is one of several reasons why the attempt that has been made to found upon it a theory with respect to the date when the epistle was written must be considered a failure.) 118 Greek ���. Among those who do justice to this word in their translations are Beck, Berkeley Version, Goodspeed, Moffatt, N.A.S.B. (N.T.), Norlie, and Weymouth.) 119 This special emphasis is lost in most translations. It is retained, however, in N.E.B., and, in a way, also by Phillips.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.6.62|AUTODETECT|” 120 It is true that the Greek �x �������� at times simply means formerly, before, previously 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.6.62|AUTODETECT|” John 6:62) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.9.8|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.9.8|AUTODETECT|” 9:8) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=54.1.13|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=54.1.13|AUTODETECT|” I Tim. 1:13) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). However, in the present instance Paul, by his very emphasis and rather lengthy expatiation on what had happened on a definite earlier occasion, shows that he is here using this expression in the sense of on the former of two occasions. ) 1 1 2 8 0 0 121 Thus respectively Cole (op. cit., pp. 121, 122); Ridderbos (op. cit., pp. 13, 30, 166); and Bruce (The Letters of Paul, An Expanded Paraphrase, p. 31).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.13|AUTODETECT|” 122 The question may well be asked whether Koine Greek is so inflexible as never to allow ��� to be used even with the accusative to indicate attendant circumstance, as it certainly does at times when it is used with the genitive. At any rate prominent Greek fathers (Chrysostom, Theodoret, and Theodore of Mopsuestia) well-versed in Greek, seem to interpret ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.4.13|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 4:13) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 with this sense of ��� in mind.) 1 4 2 8 0 0 123 For example, by Burton (op. cit., pp. 238, 239); Duncan (op. cit., p. 139); Goodspeed (Paul, p. 42); Lenski (op. cit., pp. 217, 218); Lightfoot (op. cit., p. 174); and last but not least Ramsay (St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen, pp. 92ff.; Historical Commentary on Galatians, p. 424). Lightfoot states: No instance has been produced, until a much later date, which would at all justify one explaining ��� ��������, as if it were ��� �������� or � �������, as is frequently done. ) 124 At last, however, he [Odysseus] came up, and spat forth from his mouth the bitter brine that flowed in streams from his head (Homer, Odyssey V. 322, 323).) 125 The textual evidence is decidedly in favor of the reading as here assumed.) 126 I agree with Robertson (Word Pictures, Vol. IV, p. 305) that there is nothing unusual in the omission of � in this second class or contrary to fact conditional sentence, but I disagree with his suggestion: Did Paul not have at this time serious eye trouble? ) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.4.15|AUTODETECT|” 127 For ������ see N.T.C. on ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.4.15|AUTODETECT|” Eph. 4:15) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 , footnote 118.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.13.33|AUTODETECT|” 128 Whether with Grk.N.T. (A-B-M-W) on reads ������ ��� 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.13.33|AUTODETECT|” John 13:33) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.2.1|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.2.1|AUTODETECT|” I John 2:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.2.12|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.2.12|AUTODETECT|” 12) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.2.28|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.2.28|AUTODETECT|” 28) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.3.7|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.3.7|AUTODETECT|” 3:7) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.3.18|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.3.18|AUTODETECT|” 18) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.4.4|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.4.4|AUTODETECT|” 4:4) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.5.21|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.5.21|AUTODETECT|” 5:21) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ) or with N.N. ����� ��� , cannot the rendering My dear children be considered proper in either case?) 1 3 2 8 0 0 129 This resemblance between Galatians and I Thessalonians can be added to those mentioned earlier. See p. 16.) 130 The verb ������� points to a desired change in inner essence. See N.T.C. on Philippians, pp. 102 105.) 131 The hymn Fill Thou My Life by Horatius Bonar provides an excellent commentary.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.25.1|AUTODETECT|” 132 The sons of Abraham s concubine Keturah are not within the range of vision here 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.25.1|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 25:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=13.1.32|AUTODETECT|” ff.; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=13.1.32|AUTODETECT|” I Chron. 1:32) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=13.1.33|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=13.1.33|AUTODETECT|” 33) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 6 2 8 0 0 133 Greijdanus, Galaten (Korte Verklaring), p. 126.) A.V. Authorized Version (King James)) 134 The text here is somewhat obscure. There are many variants. Some of these are not very important. So, for example, whether one reads Now or For at the beginning of verse 25, the basic sense of the entire passage remains the same. The most debated question is whether or not the proper name Hagar belongs to the text.

Though lengthy arguments have been presented for its omission, that rejection does not rest on solid textual evidence but is an unsubstantiated conjecture. On the basis of the information supplied by N.N. s textual apparatus there would seem to be no good reason to accept any changes in the reading that is given in the text of both N.N. and Grk.N.T. (A-B-M-W).) 135 See my book More Than Conquerors, An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation (Grand Rapids, fifteenth edition, 1967), p. 237.) R.S.V. Revised Standard Version) 136 See also Strack-Billerbeck, op. cit., Vol. III, pp. 575, 576.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.*?id=1.26.8|AUTODETECT|”

137 In ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=1.26.8|AUTODETECT|”

Gen. 26:8) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=1.19.14|AUTODETECT|”

the verb is used in a different sense: of a man fondling his wife. In all these cases in which the word occurs in the Old testament the Hebrew uses a strengthened (Pi�l) forms of the verb �haq 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=1.19.14|AUTODETECT|”

Gen. 19:14) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=1.21.9|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=1.21.9|AUTODETECT|”

21:9) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=1.26.8|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=1.26.8|AUTODETECT|”

26:8) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=1.39.14|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=1.39.14|AUTODETECT|”

39:14) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=2.32.6|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=2.32.6|AUTODETECT|”

Exod. 32:6) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=7.16.25|AUTODETECT|”

; and ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=7.16.25|AUTODETECT|”

Judg. 16:25) 1 1 -1 9 0 0

the only instances of the Pi�l form).) 1 3 2 8 0 0 138 What we have here is a very strong negative, expressed by �P �� and the future indicative ������������ (the best reading).) 139 Cf. 4:1, 2 with 3:22, 25; 4:3, 8 10 with 3:23; 4:4 with 3:19; 4:5 with 3:13; 4:6 with 3:2, 3, 5, 14; 4:7 with 3:18, 29; and 4:11 with 3:4.) Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953-2001). Vol. 8: New Testament commentary : Exposition of Galatians. Accompanying biblical text is author’s translation. New Testament Commentary (153). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)