Day 168: NT Galatians C1-3: The Promise of God; Understanding the Law & Our Faith!

The Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians.

Saint Paul in this letter warns against those who would repudiate his authority and introduce in the Christian community Jewish practices like circumcision. He proves that his doctrine is of divine origin and then points out that the observances of the Jewish Law are useless to the Christian. The Epistle closes with a series of practical admonitions based on the doctrine he has just explained.

The Second Epistle of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians written by Saint Paul is of a pure content in terms of a source of spiritual insight, understanding, and wisdom!

As such, it is presented verbatim in its entirety below with the day’s title, highlighted words and phrases that touch my heart, my soul and/or raised questions in my consciousness.

Here is my interpretation of this part of The New Testament. I start with transcribing and copying down key parts of each chapter. As noted above when it comes to the writings of Saint Paul the notes are verbatim. These notes, listed by chapter, are found at the very end at the bottom below. Words and phrases are highlighted (bold but not italicized) that touch my heart, my soul and/or raised questions in my spiritual consciousness.

Then I select key notes and weave them into a narrative to tell the story of how the Scriptures impacted me and/or expanded my biblical knowledge and spirit. These interpreted sections immediately are highlighted and italicized.

With gratitude that the Spirit of the Living God is in our hearts and impacting our world!

As in these times as in biblical times how we choose to act or react in times of great challenges and times of distress tell a lot about who we are spiritually. There is so much spiritual wisdom found here that most all of the Scriptures is included:

With gratitude that the Truth of Christ is within each of us!

The Promise of God; Understanding the Law & Our Faith!

Extracting Scriptures to tell the story as interpreted:

But we know that man is not justified by the works of the Law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ.

Hence we also believe in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by works of the Law; because by works of the Law no man will be justified.

But if, while we are seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore the minister of sin? By no means. For if I reconstruct the things that I destroyed, I make myself a sinner (I don’t understand this as I infer it to mean that making amends is not the right thing to do?)

For I through the Law have died to the Law that I may live to God.

With Christ I am nailed to the cross. It is now no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. I do not cast away the grace of God. For if justice is by the Law, then Christ died in vain.

Did you receive the Spirit in virtue of the works of the Law, or in virtue of hearing and believing?

Are you so foolish that after beginning in the Spirit, you now make a finish in the flesh?

Have you suffered so much in vain?

If indeed it be in vain. He therefore gives the Spirit to you, and works miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the Law, or by the message of faith?

But before the faith came we were kept imprisoned under the Law, shut up for the faith that was to be revealed.

Therefore the Law has been our tutor unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But now that the faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

For you are all the children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Upon our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus… that the truth of the gospel might continue with you…

Greeting to the Galatians:

Paul, an apostle, sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead, and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia.

Grace and peace be to you from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from the wickedness of this present world according to the will of our God and Father; to whom is glory forever and ever. Amen.

Surprise at their conduct:

I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you to the grace of Christ, changing to another gospel; which is not another gospel, except in this respect that there are some who trouble you, and wish to pervert the gospel of Christ.

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel to you other than that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema! As we have said before, so not I say again: If anyone preach a gospel to you other than that which you have received, let him be anathema!

For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I seeking to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I should not be a servant of Christ.

Paul’s doctrine not of human origin:

For I give you to understand, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not of man. For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it; but I received it by a revelation of Jesus Christ.

For you have heard of my former manner of life in Jerusalem; how beyond all measure I persecuted the Church of God, and ravaged it. And I advanced in Judaism above many of my contemporaries in my nation, showing much more zeal for the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased him who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles, immediately, without taking counsel with flesh and blood, and without going up to Jerusalem to those who were appointed apostles before me, I retired into Arabia, and again returned to Damascus.

Short contact with the other Apostles:

Then after three years I went to Jerusalem to see Peter, and I remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles, except James, the brother of the Lord.

Now in what I am writing to you, behold, before God, I do not lie.

Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ. But they had heard only that he who formerly persecuted us, now preaches the faith which once he ravaged. And they glorified God in me.

Later the apostles approved his doctrine:

Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking also Titus along with me. And I went up in consequence of a revelation, and I conferred with them on the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but separately with the men of authority; lest perhaps I should be running, or had run in vain.

But not even Titus, who was with me, Gentile though he was, was compelled to be circumcised, although it was urged on account of false brethren who were brought in secretly, who slipped in to spy upon our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into slavery.

Now to these we did not yield in submission, no, not for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

But from the men of authority (what they once were matters not to me; God accepts not the person of man)—the men of authority laid no further burden on me. On the contrary, when they saw that to me was committed the gospel for the uncircumcised, as to Peter that for the circumcised (for he who worked in Peter for the apostleship of the circumcised worked also in me among the Gentiles)—and when they recognized the grace that was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were considered the pillars, gave to me and to Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised; provided only that we should be mindful of the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

Paul reproves Peter:

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was deserving of blame.

For before certain persons came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and to separate himself, fearing the circumcised. And the rest of the Jews dissembled along with him, so that Barnabas also was led away by them into that dissimulation.

But when I saw that they were not walking uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all: If thou, though a Jew, livest like the Gentiles, and not like the Jews, how is it that thou dost compel the Gentiles to live like the Jews?

Works of the law do not justify:

We are Jews by birth, and not sinners from among the Gentiles.

But we know that man is not justified by the works of the Law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ.

Hence we also believe in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by works of the Law; because by works of the Law no man will be justified.

But if, while we are seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore the minister of sin? By no means. For if I reconstruct the things that I destroyed, I make myself a sinner.

For I through the Law have died to the Law that I may live to God.

With Christ I am nailed to the cross. It is now no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. I do not cast away the grace of God. For if justice is by the Law, then Christ died in vain.

Galatians justified by hearing and believing:

O FOOLISH Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been depicted crucified?

This only I would learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit in virtue of the works of the Law, or in virtue of hearing and believing?

Are you so foolish that after beginning in the Spirit, you now make a finish in the flesh?

Have you suffered so much in vain?

If indeed it be in vain. He therefore gives the Spirit to you, and works miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the Law, or by the message of faith?

Even thus “Abraham believed God, and it was credited in him as justice.”

The example of Abraham:

Know therefore that the men of faith are the real sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, announced to Abraham beforehand, “In thee shall all the nations be blessed.” Therefore the men of faith shall be blessed with faithful Abraham.

The nature of the Law:

For those who rely on the works of the Law are under a curse. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not hold to all things that are written in the book of the Law, to perform them.”

But that by the Law no man is justified before God is evident, because “he who is just lives by faith.”

But the Law does not rest on faith; but, “he who does these things, shall live by them.”

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, becoming a curse for us; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a gibbet”; that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, that through faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

The promise of God:

Brethren (I speak after the manner of men); yet even a man’s will, once it has been ratified, no one annuls or alters.

The promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. He does not say, “And to his offsprings,” as of many; but as of one, “And to thy offspring,” who is Christ.

Now I mean this: The Law which was made four hundred and thirty years after does not annul the covenant which was ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.

For if the right to inherit be from the Law, it is no longer from a promise. But God gave it to Abraham by promise.

The temporary nature of the Law:

What then was the Law?

It was enacted on account of transgressions, being delivered by angels through a mediator, until the offspring should come to whom the promise was made.

Now there is no intermediary where there is only one; but God is one.

Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? By no means. For if a law had been given that could give life, justice would truly be from the Law. But the Scripture shut up all things under sin, that by the faith of Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.

The Law led us to Christ:

But before the faith came we were kept imprisoned under the Law, shut up for the faith that was to be revealed.

Therefore the Law has been our tutor unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But now that the faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

For you are all the children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

For all of you have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor freeman; there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

And if you are Christ’s, then you are the offspring of Abraham, heirs according to promise.

Day 168: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; The Promise of God; Understanding the Law & Our Faith!

Read and inspired by the New Testament, The Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians, Chapters 1-3.

Bible Notes:

Saint Paul in this letter warns against those who would repudiate his authority and introduce in the Christian community Jewish practices like circumcision. He proves that his doctrine is of divine origin and then points out that the observances of the Jewish Law are useless to the Christian. The Epistle closes with a series of practical admonitions based on the doctrine he has just explained.

Galatians Chapter 1:  Greeting to the Galatians; Surprise at their conduct; Paul’s doctrine not of human origin; Short contact with the other Apostles.

Greeting to the Galatians:

Paul, an apostle, sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead, and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia.

Grace and peace be to you from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from the wickedness of this present world according to the will of our God and Father; to whom is glory forever and ever. Amen.

Surprise at their conduct:

I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you to the grace of Christ, changing to another gospel; which is not another gospel, except in this respect that there are some who trouble you, and wish to pervert the gospel of Christ.

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel to you other than that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema! As we have said before, so not I say again: If anyone preach a gospel to you other than that which you have received, let him be anathema!

For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I seeking to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I should not be a servant of Christ.

Anathema—a person or thing detested or loathed; a person or thing accursed or consigned to damnation or destruction; a formal ecclesiastical curse involving excommunication.

Paul’s doctrine not of human origin:

For I give you to understand, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not of man. For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it; but I received it by a revelation of Jesus Christ.

For you have heard of my former manner of life in Jerusalem; how beyond all measure I persecuted the Church of God, and ravaged it. And I advanced in Judaism above many of my contemporaries in my nation, showing much more zeal for the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased him who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles, immediately, without taking counsel with flesh and blood, and without going up to Jerusalem to those who were appointed apostles before me, I retired into Arabia, and again returned to Damascus.

Short contact with the other Apostles:

Then after three years I went to Jerusalem to see Peter, and I remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles, except James, the brother of the Lord.

Now in what I am writing to you, behold, before God, I do not lie.

Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ. But they had heard only that he who formerly persecuted us, now preaches the faith which once he ravaged. And they glorified God in me.

Galatians Chapter 2:   Later the apostles approved his doctrine; Paul reproves Peter; Works of the law do not justify.   

Later the apostles approved his doctrine:

Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking also Titus along with me. And I went up in consequence of a revelation, and I conferred with them on the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but separately with the men of authority; lest perhaps I should be running, or had run in vain.

But not even Titus, who was with me, Gentile though he was, was compelled to be circumcised, although it was urged on account of false brethren who were brought in secretly, who slipped in to spy upon our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into slavery.

Now to these we did not yield in submission, no, not for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

But from the men of authority (what they once were matters not to me; God accepts not the person of man)—the men of authority laid no further burden on me. On the contrary, when they saw that to me was committed the gospel for the uncircumcised, as to Peter that for the circumcised (for he who worked in Peter for the apostleship of the circumcised worked also in me among the Gentiles)—and when they recognized the grace that was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were considered the pillars, gave to me and to Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised; provided only that we should be mindful of the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

Paul reproves Peter:

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was deserving of blame.

For before certain persons came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and to separate himself, fearing the circumcised. And the rest of the Jews dissembled along with him, so that Barnabas also was led away by them into that dissimulation.

But when I saw that they were not walking uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all: If thou, though a Jew, livest like the Gentiles, and not like the Jews, how is it that thou dost compel the Gentiles to live like the Jews?

Reprove—to criticize or correct, especially gently; to disapprove of strongly; censure.

Works of the law do not justify:

We are Jews by birth, and not sinners from among the Gentiles.

But we know that man is not justified by the works of the Law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ.

Hence we also believe in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by works of the Law; because by works of the Law no man will be justified.

But if, while we are seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore the minister of sin? By no means. For if I reconstruct the things that I destroyed, I make myself a sinner.

For I through the Law have died to the Law that I may live to God.

With Christ I am nailed to the cross. It is now no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. I do not cast away the grace of God. For if justice is by the Law, then Christ died in vain.

Galatians Chapter 3:  Galatians justified by hearing and believing; The example of Abraham; The nature of the Law; The promise of God; The temporary nature of the Law; The Law led us to Christ.

Galatians justified by hearing and believing:

O FOOLISH Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been depicted crucified?

This only I would learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit in virtue of the works of the Law, or in virtue of hearing and believing?

Are you so foolish that after beginning in the Spirit, you now make a finish in the flesh?

Have you suffered so much in vain?

If indeed it be in vain. He therefore gives the Spirit to you, and works miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the Law, or by the message of faith?

Even thus “Abraham believed God, and it was credited in him as justice.”

The example of Abraham:

Know therefore that the men of faith are the real sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, announced to Abraham beforehand, “In thee shall all the nations be blessed.” Therefore the men of faith shall be blessed with faithful Abraham.

The nature of the Law:

For those who rely on the works of the Law are under a curse. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not hold to all things that are written in the book of the Law, to perform them.”

But that by the Law no man is justified before God is evident, because “he who is just lives by faith.”

But the Law does not rest on faith; but, “he who does these things, shall live by them.”

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, becoming a curse for us; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a gibbet”; that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, that through faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

Gibbet—a gallows with a projecting arm at the top, from which the bodies of criminals were formerly hung in chains and left suspended after execution.

The promise of God:

Brethren (I speak after the manner of men); yet even a man’s will, once it has been ratified, no one annuls or alters.

The promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. He does not say, “And to his offsprings,” as of many; but as of one, “And to thy offspring,” who is Christ.

Now I mean this: The Law which was made four hundred and thirty years after does not annul the covenant which was ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.

For if the right to inherit be from the Law, it is no longer from a promise. But God gave it to Abraham by promise.

The temporary nature of the Law:

What then was the Law?

It was enacted on account of transgressions, being delivered by angels through a mediator, until the offspring should come to whom the promise was made.

Now there is no intermediary where there is only one; but God is one.

Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? By no means. For if a law had been given that could give life, justice would truly be from the Law. But the Scripture shut up all things under sin, that by the faith of Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.

The Law led us to Christ:

But before the faith came we were kept imprisoned under the Law, shut up for the faith that was to be revealed.

Therefore the Law has been our tutor unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But now that the faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

For you are all the children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

For all of you have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor freeman; there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

And if you are Christ’s, then you are the offspring of Abraham, heirs according to promise.