Chapter Three

In proof that Christians are free from submission to the law of Moses, the Apostle appeals to the personal experience of his readers and to the example of Abraham (1–6). Believers become sons of Abraham through their faith (7–14). The temporary significance of the law of Moses in the history of God’s economy (15–29)

Gal 3:1-6. From the first verse of the third chapter through the twelfth verse of the fifth chapter is found the doctrinal-polemical section, in which the Apostle clarifies that Christians are free from submission to the law of Moses. First of all, the Apostle rebukes his readers for the inconstancy they are now displaying toward the Gospel preached to them by Paul. Namely, they who began by living through faith are now seeking justification through the fulfillment of the law of Moses, paying no attention to the fact that even the patriarch of the nation that received the law was himself justified by God through faith.

Galatians 3:1. O foolish Galatians! Who has deceived you from obeying the truth, you before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? Feeling anger toward his readers, the Apostle does not call them “brothers,” as in Gal 1:11, but simply “Galatians,” that is, inhabitants of the province in which various nations lived: Phrygians, Lycaonians, Celts, Roman colonists, and Jews. He calls them “foolish” because of their behavior toward the Gospel (cf. Gal 3:3). “Who has deceived you.” The action of the Galatians so struck the Apostle Paul that he sees in it something mysterious (“deceived” more precisely: bewitched—εβάσκανεν), some action of sorcery or dark demonic power (cf. 2 Cor 11:3 and 1 Thess 3:5). “From obeying the truth,” that is, the true teaching brought to Galatia by the Apostle Paul (these words, however, are not found in many manuscripts). “Was publicly portrayed,” that is, depicted with vivid clarity by Paul, so that he stood before the Galatians as if crucified among them (“before you,” that is, among you. This expression is not read in many manuscripts). The Apostle thus wishes to say that it is incomprehensible in the highest degree how the Galatians, having undergone such a strong impression from Paul’s preaching about the crucified Christ, and having understood the whole significance of Christ’s death, still fall away to another gospel...

Galatians 3:2. I want to learn only this from you: did you receive the Spirit through works of the law, or through the message of faith? Wishing to show the Galatians the absurdity of their course of action, the Apostle asks them only about this (τοῦτο μόνον—the most important point of the proof), from where they received “the Spirit,” which they still possess now, that is, the Holy Spirit along with all the variety of spiritual gifts (Rom 8:2-16; 1 Cor 12:13 and 1 Cor 1:7)—whether from the fact that they fulfilled works of the law, or from the fact that they heard with faith, that is, received Paul’s preaching (ακοῆς πίστεως—believing hearing). With these gifts the Galatians, of course, greatly treasured, and therefore the Apostle first of all appeals to them in order to prove the benefit of the Gospel by means of which they were obtained. Of course, the Galatians ought to have given to Paul’s question only an affirmative answer. Yes, they obtained spiritual gifts not through the law, but through the Gospel.

Galatians 3:3. Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being completed in the flesh? But since the Galatians began their life in the Spirit, it is absurd that they want to complete it in the flesh. In fact, their new Christian life has its foundation in spiritual, internal events of their life (cf. Gal 5:5; Rom 2:29; John 4:23), but the life they now live consists entirely of external actions and depends directly on material causes. Even a non-Christian, a hypocrite, and an impious person can fulfill works of the law...

Galatians 3:4. Have you suffered so many things in vain? If indeed in vain! Acts 13:50. It seems strange to the Apostle also that the Galatians can forget the sufferings they endured for the Gospel (undoubtedly the readers of the letter experienced the same as what is mentioned about sufferings of Christians in southern Galatia in Acts 13:50 and following; Acts 14:2; 2 Tim 3:11). “In vain”—more precisely: “pointlessly, without purpose.” The sufferings of the Galatians for Christ appeared pointless now that they were falling away from Christ and coming under the yoke of the law of Moses. “If indeed in vain”—more precisely: “if the matter—which I am not willing to concede—is really in such a condition” (cf. Gal 4:11: “I am fearful for you”)... The Apostle still does not wish to believe that the Galatians have seriously and finally gone down a new path. Galatians 3:5. The one who supplies you with the Spirit and works miracles among you—does he do this through works of the law, or through the message of faith? The gifts of the Holy Spirit still manifest themselves among the Galatians (this is indicated by the present tense of the participles επιχορηγῶν and ενεργῶν). God continues to send the Galatians the Holy Spirit or spiritual powers necessary for the development of the Church (cf. 1 Cor 1:4-7) and works miracles among them (cf. Matt 7:22 and following). “Through the message”—more precisely: through hearing with faith (ακοῆς πίστεως). In just this way Paul himself at that time healed the lame man in Lystra when the man heard Paul’s speech and Paul saw that the lame man had faith sufficient to be healed (Acts 14:9). The answer to the question posed is not given, but it could be only one and would consist of repeating the last words of verse 5.

Galatians 3:6. Thus Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. To the presumed answer a subordinate clause is attached, of which verse 6 consists (in Russian translated incorrectly: “thus”—in Greek χαθώς like, just as). To that which the Galatians’ own experience speaks, the Apostle joins another historical fact that testifies to the fact that salvation or justification was obtained through faith generally. In this very way Abraham himself was justified. The example of Abraham, to whom faith, not works, was counted as righteousness (Gen 15:6 according to the translation of the Seventy) was to have special influence on the readers, whom the Judaizers, without doubt, had already succeeded in convincing that by fulfilling the law they would thereby become true children of Abraham, especially through the acceptance of circumcision, which Abraham himself first received. It is true that Abraham’s faith was not the same as the faith which Paul required: it was not faith in Christ as the Son of God, Who by His death was to save the entire human race. But nonetheless Abraham believed in the future blessed times that would come with the appearing of the Messiah promised to the fathers, saw His day (John 8:56), and for this faith received justification³. Gal 3:7-14. It would have seemed that it was sufficient if the Apostle had only proved that anyone, like Abraham, can obtain justification through faith. But this seemed insufficient to the Apostle. He wanted to prove that it is precisely only those of faith who can be children of Abraham and that those who rely on works of the law cannot be.

Galatians 3:7. Understand then that those of faith are sons of Abraham. “That those of faith”—more precisely: “that it is they (οῦτοι) who believe and are the sons (of course in a spiritual sense) of Abraham.” No one else deserves such a name.

Galatians 3:8. And the Scripture, seeing beforehand that God would justify the nations by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham: “In you all the nations will be blessed. Here the Apostle clarifies the thought of the previous verse. That is why he called believers the true sons of Abraham—because God’s Word itself, or God, preached beforehand (more precisely: “beforehand proclaimed as good news”—προευηγγελίσατο) to Abraham that in him “all the nations will be blessed,” or will receive salvation, not just the nation that would come from him. In his person all those who afterward would have the same faith in God as Abraham had would receive this promise.

Galatians 3:9. Therefore, believers are blessed with the faithful Abraham. From this, as a consequence, there follows the position that it is precisely those who believe in all countries and among all peoples who receive blessing with “faithful,” or distinguished by his faith, firm in faith, Abraham. This means that it is not the law but faith that saves people.

Galatians 3:10. But all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in everything written in the Book of the Law. Now the Apostle proves his thought “by way of contradiction.” Scripture—he says—curses every person as soon as he does not fulfill the law in its entirety and all its precepts (Deut 27:26). It is clear that a person standing under the law could no longer count on receiving the promises. On the contrary, he felt constantly over himself the curse hanging over him like the sword of Damocles. It is true that the curse fell only on the condition that the one subject to the law would not fulfill all the precepts of the law without exception—but one who fulfilled them all received even life (Gal 3:12). But, as the Apostle shows further, there was not a single person who would satisfy this last condition.

Galatians 3:11. And that no one is justified by the law before God is evident, because “the righteous person will live by faith. Galatians 3:12. But the law is not of faith; rather, “the one who does these things will live by them. Galatians 3:13. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole”), Galatians 3:14. in order that the blessing of Abraham might come to the nations through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. The Russian translation of verse 11 cannot be considered accurate, because the elliptical δῆλον (understood: εστίν) although sometimes it relates to the preceding thought, nowhere appears behind the particle ότι or ως governing this preceding proposition. Here this is all the more impossible in that after δῆλον there is yet another particle ότι, which must already necessarily be placed in dependence on δῆλον. Furthermore, if we accept that the second half of verse 11 presents proof of the thought contained in the first half, then this acceptance will be unfounded, because in the second half the discourse is about “life,” not about “justification”—these two moments do not coincide with one another. It will be more natural if we consider the second half of verse 11 and verse 12 as parenthetical propositions and, having isolated them, compose such a period from verses 11 and 13: “but since” (ότι δέ—in Russian: “that”) within the bounds of the law no one will be justified before God, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” The introducing propositions should then be begun with the particle δῆλον having here the meaning: “it is evident, it is self-evident,” and the following particle ότι should be translated in Russian as “that” (not “because,” as in the Russian text). The Apostle wishes to say: “for you it is now evident from what was said above (Gal 2:16 and following) that the righteous person will live because of his faith, not because he will fulfill works of the law (the Apostle speaks here in the words of the prophet Habakkuk Hab 2:4, to which he probably in conversations with the Galatians had repeatedly referred).” Now if the Judaizers insist that along with faith, which of course they could not deny as a condition of justification, the law still be observed, then the Apostle argues against such a joining of such heterogeneous elements: “the law is not of faith,” that is, cannot have faith as its guiding life principle. It primarily requires the fulfillment of its precepts so that a person may obtain life (Lev 18:5). In this way the Apostle has proved the correctness of the position set forth at the beginning of verse 11. Now it became perfectly clear and the conclusion which the Apostle draws in verse 13. Christ redeemed us, Jews, from the curse by which the law punished us, as its subjects, for non-fulfillment of its precepts. To do this He Himself suffered, took upon Himself the curse from God as the highest Judge of people. In doing this the Apostle appeals to the provision of the law of Moses in which there is an allusion to the meaning of the nailing of Christ to the cross (Deut 21:23). Among the Jews it was customary to hang certain especially serious criminals, after stoning them, on a tree as a warning to others. But by the onset of evening such criminals had to be removed from the tree so that the land of the Lord would not be defiled (cf. Josh 10:26; 2 Sam 4:12). If the Lord hung on the cross already dead, then in the consciousness of the Jews He appeared as “cursed,” rejected by the community of Israel and by God. But if Christ by His death redeemed the Jews from the curse, then He also had in mind that the nations too would receive the blessing of Abraham. How could this happen? Very simply. The redemption of Israel from the curse was at the same time a liberation from further subjection to the law of Moses, for “to be under the law” (Gal 4:4 and following) meant the same as “to be under a curse” (Gal 3:10). Only religion freed from the bounds of the law could become the religion of the whole world, because the law precisely isolated Israel and its religion from other peoples. Now, when the requirements of the law have been fulfilled by Christ, the law no longer holds Israel and the promises given to it in Abraham in its chains, and they can become the inheritance of all humanity. Now is fulfilled in particular also that cherished dream of all Christians from the nations to have the promised Holy Spirit with His gifts (Gal 3:2-5). In this reception of the gifts of the Holy Spirit we all—the Apostle understands here Christians of both Jewish and pagan origin—we all and receive those promises which were given to Abraham. For to the nations one cannot in the literal sense apply those promises which were given to Abraham (about numerous descendants, about the land of Canaan). Thus, in the final expression of verse 14 the Apostle gives a clear answer to the question posed by him in Gal 3:2: in what way did the Galatians receive the Spirit—through the fulfillment of works of the law or through faith? Obviously through faith, because the law itself from the time of Christ’s death on the cross ceased to have significance as a guiding principle of human life. Gal 3:15-29. Having thus established in the consciousness of the Galatians the thought that they became children of Abraham and achieved possession of Abraham’s blessings precisely through faith and not through the law, the Apostle now finds it necessary to show that the condition under which God promised Abraham to bless all his descendants, that is, faith, was not annulled with the making of the covenant at the time of Moses (the Apostle indeed needed to clarify this, because the Judaizers could say that with the appearance of the law of Moses the conditions for receiving God’s blessings changed). The law, having come many years after the promise, could not change it. But in that case why was it given? It had temporary significance as an educator of the Hebrew nation, preparing this nation for the acceptance of Christ. At the present time, when the law has already accomplished its task, it must leave its pupil. Now, in Christ, we have come out of the condition of being educated and have become sons of God, who no longer need such an educator as the law of Moses.

Galatians 3:15. Brothers! I speak in human terms: no one can set aside or add to a covenant that has been ratified by a man. “Brothers.” The Apostle’s anger has already subsided, and he again addresses his readers with an affectionate word: “brothers.” “In human terms,” that is, as is proper for an ordinary person to reason, not standing from the point of view of Scripture. “Covenant”—διαθήκη. The Apostle has in mind not God’s covenant with Abraham, but an ordinary “testament” of a dying father of a household. Such a testament, once it was properly drawn up, no one else, except the testator himself, had the right to set aside or in any way change through any additions.

Galatians 3:16. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. He does not say “and to offsprings,” as of many, but “to your offspring,” which is Christ. Now the Apostle is presented with the thought that the promise given by God to Abraham can be compared with an ordinary human testament (since he said that he speaks “in human terms,” he does not hesitate at this comparison of testators, one of whom is a dying person and the other is the eternal God...). But he does not develop this thought because he wishes to clarify rather to whom exactly the goods were bequeathed about which God spoke to Abraham. These goods were promised to Abraham and his offspring (καί τῶ σπέρματι σου). But the Apostle immediately, to avoid any confusion, asserts that of Abraham’s various descendants—from Hagar, from Sarah, from Keturah—one offspring was chosen as the heir of the promises—that which came from Sarah, namely Isaac, while other descendants were not deemed worthy of receiving these promises. Scripture speaks of this with clarity (Gen 17:18-21; cf. Gen 21:9-13), and the Apostle Paul himself in his letter to the Romans (Rom 9:7). To such an assertion the Apostle here now joins a new one: “and this heir is Christ.” This assertion does not stand in direct connection with what precedes as its conclusion, but occupies a completely independent position; it is better rendered thus: “and it (this offspring, in the name of which the divine testament was accomplished) is Christ.” Did the Apostle have grounds to understand the Hebrew word zera (σπέρμα—offspring) in the sense of “a separate descendant, a particular person”? Yes, we answer, he had such grounds, first, in the example of Old Testament writers, who sometimes use the word zera in precisely this sense (Gen 4:25; 1 Sam 1:11; cf. 2 Sam 7:12-15), and second, and this is the main point, he had such grounds in the very nature of the matter of which he speaks. In fact, concerning the content of the divine testament thus far only has been said that “in Abraham all the nations will be blessed” (Gen 18:18). If someone asked how this testament was to come to fulfillment, one could not indeed answer: “the Jewish nation proceeding from Abraham through Isaac in its entirety and multitude inherited this promise or blessing and transmitted it to other nations.” This was not what actually happened. One could answer the question posed above only thus: “Christ, son of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Matt 1:1 and following), is the unique heir, Who makes His own fellow heirs all others who were to receive a share in the goods promised to Abraham. They all become heirs in Christ (Gal 3:14).” Christ in this way God made heir in His testament. And this thought was expressed repeatedly in the Old Testament. For example, in the prophet Isaiah, Palestine is called not a Hebrew nation but the land of Emmanuel (Isa 8:8). This means that according to the prophet’s representation, Emmanuel, or the Messiah, was universally recognized as that offspring of Abraham which was to receive this land in its possession. And in the Apostle Paul himself in the letter to the Hebrews, the Messiah is called heir of all (Heb 1:2), so that according to his teaching we cannot become heirs of God in any other way except through the Messiah, Who makes us participants in the inheritance given to Him from God.

Galatians 3:17. I mean this: the covenant that was established in Christ before was confirmed by God, the law, which came four hundred thirty years afterward, does not annul so as to make the promise void. Thus the testament was as if drawn up in the name of Christ. No one could therefore take His place. In exactly the same way, the law, with its appearance among the people of Israel, changed nothing in the position of affairs and could not introduce new additions to God’s testament received by Abraham. And this is all the more certain in that the law appeared only four hundred thirty years after the giving of the promise to Abraham: as something that came later, it could not annul that which had already existed and been recognized by everyone for four hundred thirty years. “Covenant in Christ”—in the best manuscripts (Sinai, Vatican, and others) the words “in Christ” are not found. “Four hundred thirty years.” This number is apparently taken from the book of Exodus (Exod 12:40 and following). In the book of Genesis (Gen 15:13) and in the book of Acts (Acts 7:6) instead of it stands the round figure of 400. It is most likely that the Apostle counts here the time from the making of God’s covenant with Abraham (Gen 17) to the legislation at Sinai, and moreover according to the text of the Seventy, where it is said that the Hebrews dwelt four hundred thirty years in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan. In the Hebrew text the stay of Israel in the land of Egypt alone amounts to this sum of years. “So as to make the promise void.” Of course this was not desired by Paul’s enemies either. But the Apostle nonetheless points to the consequence to which their relationship to the law of Moses must necessarily lead, and at the same time gives an indication to his readers how dangerous it is to insist on the necessity of fulfilling the law in Christianity as well.

Galatians 3:18. For if the inheritance comes from the law, it no longer comes from the promise; but God gave it to Abraham through a promise. But the law could not and exist alongside the promise as some auxiliary means. One or the other of the two: either law or promise. For the law, as has been proved above (Gal 3:10-12), demands works from a person, while promise demands faith in God’s grace. Meanwhile, properly speaking, there is no choice to make here: God gave Abraham the inheritance precisely through a promise, without requiring the fulfillment of works of the law. “Inheritance” (κληρονομία)—in the Old Testament meant the land of Canaan (Deut 4:21), and in the New Testament—the kingdom of Christ (Acts 20:32; 1 Cor 6:9), eternal life with Christ (Titus 3:7).

Galatians 3:19. Why then was the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made; and it was delivered through angels by an intermediary. Romans 5:20. Now if the Apostle thus resolved the question about the relationship of the law to human salvation, his readers could ask: “then why was the law given?” The Apostle, as if anticipating this question, raises it himself and gives an answer. The law was “added afterward” (προσετέθη—this verb shows that the law had no independent significance in relation to the promise and in no way affected it—cf. Rom. 5:20) and given “because of transgressions.” The Greek expression παραβάσεων χάριν can indeed mean: “because of or on account of transgressions,” as can be confirmed by some passages in the New Testament (for example Luke 7:47; 1 John 3:12). But here this expression can hardly have such a meaning, first, because the Apostle used such a word—παράβασις, which can relate only to the violation of already existing precepts of the law, but he here refers to the time before the law (cf. Rom 4:15—“where there is no law, there is also no transgression”—ουδέ παράβασις); and second, if here only the occasion for the giving of the law were indicated, this would be insufficient as an answer to the question posed: “why then the law?” The occasion is not the same as the purpose, and the question is posed precisely concerning the purpose of the law. Furthermore, in that case one would need to suppose that before the law there were very many transgressions and sins, which contradicts Paul’s known understanding of the pre-law condition of humanity (Rom 7:9) and furthermore contradicts his view of the law as a means not at all achieving a reduction of transgressions (Rom 3:20 and others). Therefore it is better to accept another translation (of Fr. Galakhov and Tsane): “for transgressions,” that is, so that transgressions would appear or so that simple offenses would be revealed as true transgressions against God. In this sense the expression χάριν is sometimes used in the New Testament (Titus 1:5; Jude 1:16). “All the merit of the law thus expressed itself in the fact that with its appearance the sins of man received a definite character of transgressions” (Fr. Galakhov). “Until the offspring should come.” The law thus had only temporary purpose; it was to exist only until the coming of Christ (cf. Gal 3:16). It is clear that it cannot be placed on the same level as the eternal promise. “Delivered through angels, by an intermediary.” These two indications are made again by the Apostle with the purpose of showing how much lower the law is than the promise. The promise was given directly by God Himself to Abraham without any intermediary, while the law was given through angels (cf. Acts 7:53; Heb 1:1 and Deut 33:2—according to the Seventy). Besides, on the part of the nation there was yet another intermediary—Moses (Exod 20:19; Deut 5:19-25 and Acts 7:38). Thus, in the giving of the law between God and the people stood two intermediary authorities and, consequently, the law is lower than the promise given, so to speak, hand to hand.

Galatians 3:20. But an intermediary is not of one, but God is one. There are more than three hundred interpretations of this most difficult verse to understand, which can all be divided into three groups. Some say that the Apostle proves here the superiority of the promise over the law by the fact that the concept of mediation requires the recognition not of one but of two sides, whereas God characteristically appears as “one” side—deciding everything without any mediators... Others, seeing the same purpose in this verse, see in the giving of the law through an intermediary a contradiction to divine unity in the fact that at Sinai there was present a great multitude of people or, as others interpret, many angels, whereas it is characteristic of God to enter into a covenant with someone as the One. Still others quite arbitrarily explain the word ενός as the neuter gender. Finally, according to ancient patristic interpretation, here the Apostle points to the One intermediary—Christ (see details in Fr. Galakhov, pp. 224–232). But the thought of the passage seems quite clear. The Apostle says that an intermediary in general “for one” (the one making the covenant) is not needed at all. “The One” will explain everything He needs to and wants to. This means if “an intermediary” appears, then he is a representative of many, of a whole mass of people interested in concluding the contract. But on which side should an intermediary have appeared in making the covenant at Sinai? Here there appeared hundreds of thousands of Hebrews on one side, and on the other—the One God (“and God is one”). It is clear that the intermediary was needed by the people, not by God, Who as the One constituting the side concluding the contract could Himself express His requirements. Therefore Moses appeared as intermediary and representative not of God but of the people of Israel. This means the law was not received directly by the people from God but through an intermediary, which of course diminishes it compared to the promise given to Abraham, which Abraham received directly from God. The Apostle apparently wishes to say that the multitude of thousands of Hebrews was not capable of communion with God directly, whereas the one Abraham easily entered into communion with the one God and understood God’s will perfectly correctly, without bringing into it any of his own additions, which cannot be said of the law, into which were accepted some customs established in the people of Israel (for example the custom of blood vengeance, the custom of slavery). The law thus had an individual, narrowly national character and could not be adopted by all peoples, as could be the case with respect to the promise.

Galatians 3:21. Is the law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could make alive, then indeed righteousness would be from the law; Galatians 3:22. but Scripture has confined all things under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Can one after all that has been said speak of the “law of Moses being opposed,” that is, wanting and being able to replace God’s promises given to Abraham (κατά has the meaning of against)? In no case whatsoever. It could make such a claim if it could “make alive,” that is, renew a person morally (ζωοποιῆσαι—here, as in other letters of Paul—Rom 7:5 and following Rom 7:9-13; 2 Cor 3:6-9; Eph 2:1—means moral awakening, which can be compared to awakening the dead). But the Apostle has already shown (Gal 2:16) that the law is not capable of this. And if this is so, then it is clear that even in the Old Testament righteousness was acquired not because of the law and that, consequently, the law cannot compete with the promise and offer any path to justification and to receiving the promised inheritance as accessible as faith—which the promise required. On the contrary, “Scripture,” that is, the entire Old Testament, has confined all or enclosed as if in prison “under sin” or in other words all (πάντα), that is, both people and their deeds has declared, recognized as such that deserve to be called “sinful,” and has placed all of them as if into confinement from which there is no escape (cf. Rom 3:9-18). “So that the promise...” The Jews and Judeo-Christians to whom Scripture is most intimately given ought from the consistent testimony of this Scripture concerning the sinfulness of all people and all human deeds to learn that there was never in the history of the Hebrew nation such a time when there existed righteousness obtained from the law or through the law. From this they should come to such a conclusion that in order to receive justification all need to believe in Jesus Christ and through Him already receive the inheritance promised to Abraham and his descendants.

Galatians 3:23. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith that was going to be revealed. Now the Apostle finally transitions to explaining the positive significance of the law of Moses. The law “kept us under guard” until the time when faith was to be revealed. Although faith already had significance in the Old Testament (Gal 3:6-9; Rom 4; Heb 11), nevertheless the law, not faith, defined the entire religious life of a Hebrew, and faith became the defining principle of a person’s life and religiousness only from the time of Christ. Faith existed, so to speak, in hidden form, and through Christ it revealed itself in all its power. Remarkably, in this the Apostle calls the law the guardian of Israel. By this he wishes to show that it allowed no one to leave its hands, held all Hebrews as if locked up. Other people could escape subjection to their national law by moving to another state, but a Hebrew could nowhere feel himself free from the yoke of the law. Thus the law guarded the Hebrew from every step he might have wished to take independently in order to go free. The law did not allow freedom, as if leaving this to be done by the coming Christ.

Galatians 3:24. So the law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, so that we might be justified by faith; This verse represents the conclusion to the preceding thought. The law, according to the Apostle’s representation, can be called “guardian” or pedagogue, who led the Jews gradually so that they would receive justification through Christ by means of their faith in Him. A pedagogue was called a slave who in a Greek respectable house, as well as in a Roman one, watched over the master’s son when the boy was between 7 and 17 years old. He followed his charge’s every step, especially when the young man visited school and gymnasium, and was obliged to guard the young man from every conduct unworthy of his position. Although among the Romans the rank of this pedagogue was not highly regarded, among the Jews this term “pedagogue” had a high meaning (for example, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam in the Midrash are called “pedagogues of Israel”), and the Apostle here undoubtedly uses this term in the sense accepted among the Jews. The law educated Israel, but its activity was to continue for a certain time. It was to guard Israel from mixing with pagan nations so that the people could remain God’s chosen people.

Galatians 3:25. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. But just as a pedagogue was not intended to remain the guide of the master’s son after the boy had reached maturity, so the law also should not and did not strive to forever remain the ruler of the religious life of Israel. “We”—Jews, of whom not a few were among the Apostle’s readers of the letter.

Galatians 3:26. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus; Galatians 3:27. for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. Having fulfilled its duty, the law must leave its pupil. Further subjection of the Jews to the law would be inconsistent with their new high status—“sons of God,” with their new position which the Apostle calls “being clothed with Christ.” The Apostle here, however, begins to speak not only to the Jews alone but to all members of the Galatian church, as the expression “all of you” shows. Christians are called here “sons of God” because they have Christ, the Son of God, within themselves and become like Him, accept the same image with Him (Chrysostom). “Through faith in Christ Jesus”—the translation is incorrect, because after the word πίστεως (faith) there should stand Χριστοῦ Ιησοῦ (genitive), not εν Χρ. Ι. It is more correct to consider the expression εν Χρ. Ιησ. as independent, independent from the expression εκ πίστεως, and render the entire expression thus: “through faith you became sons of God, and you remain such as long as you are in Christ.” “All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” The Apostle speaks of the meaning of baptism as something well known to his readers. The image which he uses is that of clothing with a garment, found in the Apostle in the letter to the Romans (Rom 13:14). This garment for him is Christ: all believers, as a single body, are clothed in this garment.

Galatians 3:28. There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Along with being clothed with Christ among believers as members of the church, as persons standing in relation to God, national, social, and sexual differences cease to have any significance. In the ancient pre-Christian world, philosophers sometimes made solemn thanksgiving to the gods that they created them as men and not women, as Greeks and not barbarians (the saying of Thales in Diogenes Laertius 17), and Hebrew rabbis added to this gratitude that God created them not as pagans and not as slaves... Now in Christianity, as the Galatians themselves evidently feel, there cannot be any particular distress that someone, for example, does not belong to the male gender or to the Hebrew nation: through Christ all people of every condition now have access to God. “There is neither Jew...” One must add the expression “among you,” that is, in the Church. “For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” “All”—more precisely: all together (άπαντες)—according to Tischendorf. “One,” that is, one person, as having already constituted one body (Gal 3:27). This unity is acquired through the union of each individual, by nature striving toward separation and independence, with Christ.

Galatians 3:29. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise. From the fact that believing Galatians became Christ’s (see above Gal 3:26), belong to Christ (Rom 8:9; 1 Cor 3:23), there immediately (άρα) follows that they represent the descendants of Abraham and heirs of the promises given to him. Of course, the Apostle speaks here of the Galatians as part of the Church, composed of Jews and pagans, but nonetheless a part is within its bounds that which represents what the Christian Church in general is. In them is fully realized the divine promise to Abraham: the first and only rightful heir—Christ—is with the Galatians, accepted by them through faith. United with Him through faith, through baptism having become with Him one body, the Galatians constitute one unified person, one community united in Christ, in which—in idea—are erased all distinctions separating people and all opposites of nationality, state, and gender. The condition of the community as it was at the time of legislation at Sinai (cf. Gal 3:19 and following) has essentially changed. With this it is already said that the promise that through Abraham and his descendants salvation would be transmitted to the pagans has come to fulfillment, for the Galatians—in the majority pagans—like Christians from the Jews, have received the Spirit, as the beginning and pledge of all blessings from God (Gal 3:2-5) and together with the former have entered into possession of the promised inheritance (Gal 3:28). But of course one cannot suppose that a son who is recognized as capable of entering into paternal inheritance would still remain under the limiting supervision of a pedagogue. In exactly the same way it is inadmissible that—in the present state of the life of the Galatian community as the Apostle described it in Gal 3:2-5—those grown from subjection to the law, the Jewish Christians in Galatia as well as in other places, would still be subject to the law as a pedagogue and would want to subject Christians from the pagans to it. Note. In our time cosmopolitan tendencies have greatly increased toward establishing universal brotherhood in all areas of life. Thus the “peace conference” speaks about disarmament and wants through peaceful decisions to end the modern development of militarism and make all people brothers. “Religious Congresses” work on bringing various religions closer together so that gradually, through various corrections and concessions, they might form one universal world religion that would contain the best elements of now existing religions, would meet the demands of higher culture, and would suit the needs of every nation. Whether that religion will be Christian—that is still a question... Finally, contemporary “social democracy” wants that for the sake of a social ideal all national particular interests be sacrificed and that all nations constitute from themselves one society in which all members would have equal rights and obligations... But all these undertakings are destined for failure because the path they have chosen for themselves is completely false. The Apostle Paul speaks of universal brotherhood not as merely an idea but as a fact already existing before his eyes, although on a very small scale. He shows us new humanity in which national, social, and sexual differences do not constitute a dividing barrier. This new humanity is one family and all members of this family have equal rights and obligations. The principle of unity here is the same attitude of all toward God, unity of faith and the spiritual communion of love flowing from it. Christ is the head of new humanity, the forming power, the holding bond. The universal religion, consequently, already exists in Christianity. It needs only to be spread in the world. It does not destroy social distinctions but only deprives them of their warring and dividing character and even makes them institutions of reconciliation and mutual benefit. It does not strive for false equalization of both sexes but helps them reach complete revelation of their powers and realize their purpose through unconditional recognition of their religious and moral equal worth. It makes of different peoples of the earth not a shapeless mass devoid of plan but helps each individual people fully reveal its inner essence and binds them all with such a firm spiritual union that people of different lands begin to see brothers in each other. Such is the only path to achieving universal brotherhood: one must recognize that this brotherhood has already been realized in Christ, that Christianity is the world religion, and that people will then only become members of one family when they become conscious Christians. * * * For many contemporary theologians the proof brought here by the Apostle has no significance. They first of all look at Abraham not as a historical person but as a mythical image, and then say that the words of the Apostle Paul cannot be persuasive for our time, although perhaps he convinced his opponents with them. For—such are the grounds of the criticism—Abraham’s faith referred to the promise that numerous bodily descendants would come from him and, consequently, had nothing in common with the saving faith of the Apostle Paul. Then the words: “and it was counted to him as righteousness” mean only that “Abraham pleased God by this faith,” and this is altogether not the same as the justifying faith of the Apostle Paul... But it is strange, first, the assertion of contemporary critics that they understand the Old Testament better than the student of Gamaliel and at the same time the Spirit-enlightened Apostle. And then in this case what is important is not that in which Abraham believed but that he believed—the very fact of his faith, and that this faith, as firm confidence in the fulfillment of divine promises, was counted to him as righteousness... The essence of the saving faith of the Apostle Paul consists of nothing other than such confidence. Finally, there is no difference between the results of the faith of Abraham and Paul: in both cases one acquires “God’s favor,” that is, salvation or otherwise justification. Thus the cavils of contemporary criticism regarding the proof brought by the Apostle from the life of Abraham remain nothing other than completely empty, baseless cavils...