Interpretation of Galatians

… the nation of the Galatians … and these showing that the crop was deep, some of those who had believed from among the Jews were eager to sow the superfluous parts of the law alongside it, boasting that they had John and all the other teachers … teaching, and [that Paul was] a disciple of the apostles … to corrupt the rule of the teaching, and to transgress the law contrary to their definition. Saying these things and things like them, they persuaded many of the Galatians to embrace the way of life according to the law and to accept circumcision. Learning this, then, the divine Apostle wrote this letter, refuting the falsehood of the slanders made against him and showing the way of life according to the law to be superfluous after grace. First he explained his own affairs, teaching that he too received his calling from above, persuaded not by men but by the Master's voice. He says this not to belittle the affairs of the apostles, but … For that he calls himself an untimely birth, and the least of the apostles, and the first of sinners, and names himself a blasphemer, a persecutor and an insolent man, those who [read] his writings know. But here [he deals with] the harm that has occurred, refuting the false talk of those who were trying to corrupt the gospel and healing the affliction of those who had submitted to them.

“Paul, an apostle, not from men nor through a man.” At once the opening refutes the slander that had arisen. For he said that he had been granted the apostolic grace without men having given him this gift; for none of the divine apostles appointed him, but the Master himself [called him from] heaven. For this is what he meant by “not through a man.” Then he shows the one who called him: “But through Jesus Christ.” And lest anyone, finding “through” placed before [his name], suppose the Son to be a servant of the Father, he added: “And God the Father, who raised him from the dead.” For he put “through” with each person, teaching that this preposition signifies no difference of nature. And “who raised him from the dead” does not hint at weakness in the Godhead of the Only-begotten, for the suffering did not concern the Godhead; it shows the harmony of the proclamation: that the mystery of the divine incarnation was not administered by the Son alone, but the Father himself too shares in this providence. For since the advocates of the law supposed that they served God through keeping the law, the divine Apostle shows that not only the Son but also the Father is the provider of the New Covenant.

“And all the brothers who are with me.” He showed that he has many fellow workers in the proclamation. “To the churches of Galatia.” For he writes not to one city but to the whole nation; for everywhere had crept … “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins.” He showed that the way of life according to the law could not free from sins, but Christ the Master, who accepted death for us and freed the race from the debts of sin. “That he might deliver us from the present evil age.” By “evil age” he did not mean the elements, as the Manichees in their crazed bluster say, but the present life, that is, this temporary sojourn of men, in which wrongdoing has room. For while we are still clothed in mortal nature, some of us venture the greater sins, others the lesser; but when we have passed into that immortal life, freed from the present corruption and clothed with incorruption, we shall be beyond sinning. This hope Christ the Master has given us, having accepted death for us, and having himself risen first from the dead and promised the resurrection to us all. He delivered us from the present evil [age], that is, from the sojourn of the present life, in which the things of wickedness have room. That this life is not harmful to all, the Apostle himself taught. He speaks thus: “If living in the flesh, this is fruit of work for me, then what I shall choose I do not know”; and he sets living before being with Christ because of the gain that springs from it. And concerning Epaphroditus he says: “God had mercy on him,” granting him life. The present age, then, is not evil by nature, but in it wickedness is ventured by some. He showed also its temporary character, for he called it “present.” Yet Christ the Master did not administer our salvation alone, but has the Father consenting with him. For this is what he added: “According to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory to the ages of ages. Amen.” Everywhere he ranks the Father with Christ, teaching that it is the Father's pleasure too that we live not by the law but by the gospel. Having thus … the preface, and taught the aim of the proclamation in summary, he begins the charges thus: “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of God for a different gospel, which is not another; only there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.” He filled the accusation with great wisdom: for he showed that keeping the law is a denial of the lawgiver. For he did not say, You are deserting from this teaching to that, but “from him who called you.” Who the caller is, what follows teaches: “in the grace of God.” The Father himself, he says, who gave the law, has called you into this gospel. Having left this, then, and run back to the law, you have deserted the very one who called you. And having left this gospel you will find no other. For the Master does not proclaim one thing through us and another through the other apostles; but we all proclaim the same, as many as are lovers of the truth. Those who think the opposite bring you nothing divine, but try to corrupt divine things. Then, heated by the memory of the opponents and boiling with righteous anger, he calls the one who tries to preach other things alien to true religion, and cries:

“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we preached to you, let him be accursed.” Since those men said that the divine apostles kept the law, the divine Apostle left them aside, lest he seem to do this out of envy and ill will, and went on to the greater, including all through the greater; and before the others he subjected himself to the curse. He mentioned angels, not because he suspected that any of the holy angels might teach contrary to the divine proclamation, for he knew that this was impossible, but by this every …

“As we have said before, so now I say again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be accursed.” Let no one think, he says, that we said the former things in anger; for this very reason we have said the same things a second time. Here, however, leaving the angels aside, he spoke indefinitely: “If anyone preaches to you.” And teaching that, choosing the service of God above all things, [he says] these … “For am I now persuading men, or God? Or am I seeking to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” If I wished to court men, I would not be numbered with the persecuted, but would be ranked with those who war against the truth. Let no one, then, think that I hunt for glory from men and weave these words for that reason. From here on he relates how he was called by divine grace, and how [he conferred] with the leaders of the apostles about the … “For I make known to you, brothers, the gospel preached by me, that it is not according to man.” It is not, he says, composed by human reasonings. Where, then, does it come from?

“For I did not receive it from a man, nor was I taught it.” But whom did you have as teacher? “But through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” Very wisely he put “through a revelation.” For Christ the Master had been taken up and was no longer seen by all alike; but he was revealed to him on the road and counted him worthy of the ministry of the proclamation. These things again he set down against those men's slanders, teaching that in this respect too he falls short of none of the other apostles. For as they received the teaching from him, so he too had him as teacher. “For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, that I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; and I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.” None of my affairs is hidden from you. For though you are many stages distant from the Jews, yet the report ran everywhere and made my affairs plain to all: that I was long hostile to the church and an open enemy, aiming to tear up its foundations from the base, and that … more hotly than those of my age I was moved against [the heralds] of the truth; and I did these things as an advocate of the law, and to me, its advocate, the proclamation of the gospel was an adversary. “But when God, who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me, so that I might preach him among the Gentiles.” Again here he joined the Father to the Son, and said that the Father both foreknew his affairs before the ages and afterwards called him at the time he approved. He gave me a share of this grace, not so that I might proclaim the law, but so that I might reveal the Son to the Gentiles. “Immediately I did not consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me.” All this he says against those men's slanders; for they said that he had been granted the teaching of the apostles but transgressed what had been agreed. He is forced, then, to relate his own affairs, which he did in no other letter. He says: Having been counted worthy of that calling, I did not run up to Jerusalem at once, but was content with the grace given me by God. For it would have been very absurd for one who had [received] the teaching from God to consult men about it. “But I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.” At once I took up the proclamation, bringing the gos[pel] to those not yet granted the knowledge of God.

“Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Peter.” This again shows the virtue of his soul. For though he needed no human teaching, since he had received it from the God of the universe, he pays the fitting honor to the leader. For this reason he had gone to him, not to learn anything from him, but only to see him. He shows also his affection: “And I stayed with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the brother of the Lord.” He was called the brother of the Lord, but was not so by nature. Nor, as some have supposed, was he a son of Joseph born of an earlier marriage; he was the son of Clopas and the Lord's cousin; for he had as mother the sister of the Lord's mother. … “In what I write to you, behold, before God, I do not lie. Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea that are in Christ; they only kept hearing: He who once persecuted us now preaches the faith he once tried to destroy. And they glorified God in me.” For learning … of the sudden change, and that the wolf was doing the work of shepherds, [they made] my affairs [an occasion] of hymnody to God … “Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. And I went up according to a revelation.” Both of them spent a long time in Antioch and netted very many from the Gentiles, urging them to live by the law of grace. But some came from Judea, advocates of the law, and tried to persuade those from the Gentiles to embrace the way of life according to the law; but the great heralds of the truth, Barnabas and Paul, rejected the teaching they offered. Wishing to persuade the assembly of the faithful that the great apostles too thought so, they ran to Judea, informed the apostles of what those men had done, and brought back letters expressly charging that the yoke of the law should not be laid on the Gentiles, but that they should abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from sexual immorality, from what is strangled, and from blood. This, I think, is what the divine Apostle relates. “And I laid before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles, but privately before those of repute, lest somehow I should be running or had run in vain.” By “those of repute” he means the eminent. He laid it before them privately, since there were many who had zeal for the law, as the blessed James said. And “lest somehow I should be running or had run in vain” he did not put about himself, but about the others; that is, so that all might learn the harmony of the proclamation, and that what I [teach] pleases the others too …

“But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.” This is the greatest proof that the apostles too did not think that those from the Gentiles should keep the law. For Titus, who was uncircumcised and called from among the Greeks, [they] least of all [compelled] to be circumcised … For this he says: “But because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy out our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might enslave us.” The conjunction is superfluous for the construction of the sentence. For the sense of the words is this: Not even Titus, though he was a Greek, was compelled … what follows. He calls freedom the way of life outside the law.

“To whom we did not yield in subjection even for an hour, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.” For we did not bear their contentious opinion even briefly, but set the truth of the gospel above all things. These things he has said about those who serve the law by disposition. But since it was likely that the Galatians too would say that the first of the apostles keep the law, … the divine Apostle [knew] that they were compelled to do this in condescension to those who had believed from among the Jews and were still weak; caught in the middle, thinking it most absurd to accuse them and unwilling to lay bare their aim, lest … he presents himself as though displeased with what was happening, but, being reluctant to say anything about them, he refers the whole matter to the judgment of God.

“But from those who were reputed to be something (what they once were makes no difference to me; God does not accept the person of a man) …” … “And when they recognized the grace given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that they should go to the circumcision and we to the Gentiles; only that we should remember the poor, which very thing I was also eager to do.” … “But when I saw that they were not walking straight according to the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all: If you, being a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, why do you compel the Gentiles to Judaize?” About the others, he says, who make bad use of the law, I said those things; but I spoke as one displeased, as though his own disciples were being harmed by it; for this is why he said, “Why do you compel the Gentiles to Judaize?” The decree that these should not live according to the law is yours; and your actions contradict what has already been written. But the great Peter by his silence confirms what is said, all but saying to those who had believed from among the Jews and were present at the time: He rebukes justly, and it is not possible to contradict what is said. For that he approved what was said, providing for the benefit of the hearers, is surely plain to everyone. Since, then, the one rebuked and the other accepted it in silence, a beneficial remedy was prepared both for those from the Jews and for those from the Gentiles. The divine Apostle wrote this to the Galatians, teaching that even the great and first apostles sometimes allowed themselves to keep the law for the sake of the weakness of the Jews, but did not continue doing so always. He also states the other things that he said to the blessed Peter, providing for the Jews who were present: “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from the Gentiles; knowing that a man is not justified by works of law but through faith in Jesus Christ, we too believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and …

… not by works of law.” “Jews by nature” stands for: being so from of old and from our ancestors, tracing our descent from Abraham, and indeed boasting of this descent; since we have come to know that it is not possible to reap true righteousness from the way of life according to the law, we have believed in Christ the Master, gathering the righteousness that comes from faith and awaiting the promised good things. “Because by works of law no flesh will be justified.” The necessary things of the law nature too taught: that is, You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor, honor your father and your mother, and all such things. But the things about the Sabbath, circumcision, the leper, one with a discharge, sacrifices and sprinklings were peculiar to the law; for nature taught nothing about these. These, then, he calls works of the law. Of these the transgression was sin, but the keeping is not the accomplishment of perfect righteousness. For these were figures of other things; yet they suited the Jews at that time. About these the divine Apostle said, “Because by works of law no flesh will be justified.” Then he draws a conclusion from what has been said.

“But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also were found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? By no means.” But if, because [we left] the law … and expected to enjoy righteousness through faith in him, this is considered transgression, the blame will pass to Christ the Master himself; for it was he who showed us the New Covenant. But far be it from us to dare this blasph[emy] …

“For if I build up again the things I tore down, I prove myself a transgressor.” He said this not about himself only, but also about the apostles; for they too agreed that those from the Gentiles should not keep the law. We plainly transgress what was agreed, he says, by tearing down what we built; and we built the Gentiles not on the foundation of the law but on that of Christ. Very wisely he turned the accusation around: for while those men called not keeping the law a transgression, he has called keeping the law a transgression. Then he shows this more clearly.

“For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.” I, he says, persuaded by the law itself, made myself dead to the law. For the law foretold Christ to me; persuaded by it, I came over to him. And to the law I am dead, for I no longer live according to it, but I follow Christ's teachings. “I have been crucified with Christ.” For I was buried with him through baptism. … “And I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me.” I put off the former life, [passing] into another life. “And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Even in this mortal life I sketch beforehand the immortal life, and through faith I see it. For this reason Christ the Master accepted death for me, so that he might procure for me the immortal life. “I do not set aside the grace of God.” For he who lives according to the law dishonors grace, as not sufficient for salvation. “For if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for nothing.” For the Master's death is superfluous if the law is sufficient for acquiring righteousness. Having thus gone through these matters from the conversation with the thrice-blessed Peter, he now turns to them, and turns to them with deep vexation.

“O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you not to obey the truth?” The outburst comes with praise. For one casts an envious eye on the well-off, not the poor; on those who prosper, not those in misfortune. The saying, then, shows their former eagerness for true religion; and it displays also the Apostle's fatherly affection. For he laments over them as having lost the wealth they had gathered. What envious, evil-eyed demon, he says, has robbed you of your admirable wealth? “Before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified among you.” For you believed as though you had seen the very cross of Christ. Then he sets the law and grace side by side, and brings forward irrefutable proofs.

“This only I want to learn from you: did you receive the Spirit by works of law, or by the hearing of faith?” At that time those who were granted spiritual grace both spoke in various tongues and prophesied and worked wonders, receiving from the wonders the confirmation of the proclamation. So he says this here: Did the law give you the working of the divine Spirit, or faith in the Lord alone? “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being perfected in the flesh?” He called grace “Spirit,” and the way of life according to the law “flesh,” since the superfluous parts of the law were bodily. For circumcision concerns the body, as do the keeping of the Sabbath, leprosy, the sprinklings, and all such things. Then from the sufferings [he draws] the accusation …

“Did you suffer so many things in vain?” For the sufferings were not for the law, but for Christ. But … having left Christ and embraced the way of life according to the law, you have no gain left from the sufferings. But hinting at a good hope for them, he added: “If indeed it was in vain.” For if you are willing to remain in grace, you will receive the reward for the sufferings. Then he goes through the matter of the gifts more clearly.

“So does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works mighty works among you [do so] by works of law, or by the hearing of faith?” Having thus shown the fruit of faith, from what happened long ago he again … them …

“Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” He wrote of this more broadly in the letter to the Romans. Here too he teaches in summary that Abraham was justified by faith, and that the nurslings of faith are called sons of Abraham. For he added:

“Know, then, that those who are of faith, these are sons of Abraham.” He states also the manner: “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God justifies the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham: In you all the nations shall be blessed. So then those who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” God both determined and foretold these things from of old; for to Abraham he promised the blessing of the nations. If anyone, then, longs to be granted kinship with him, let him emulate his faith. Having thus praised faith and shown its fruits from the gifts of the Spirit, and shown also that it is older than the law, from the testimony of the law itself (for the Old Testament narrates the affairs of Abraham), he now sets the law side by side with it, showing the difference. “For as many as are of works of law are under a curse.” How is this plain? “For it is written: Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all the things written in the book of the law, to do them.” The law commands that all its injunctions be fulfilled, and subjects to curses those who transgress in any chance point.

“Now that no one is justified by the law before God is evident.” Whence evident? “Because the righteous shall live by faith.” By the prophetic testimony [he confirms] his own …

“But the law is not of faith; rather, the man who has done them shall live by them.” The law does not seek faith but demands action, and promises life to those who keep it. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.” He showed the law cursing all who do not keep all the things enjoined in it; and he showed again that no one could be justified according to the law. Since all, then, had come under the curse of the law, he shows Christ freeing us from this curse. He states also the manner: “For it is written: Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.” For since all were subject to the curses of the law, he himself accepted the death accursed according to the law, so that he might free all men from the curse and grant the blessing promised to all. For he adds: “So that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” For the blessing promised to the Gentiles through Abraham the grace of the Spirit gives to those who believe. Having thus shown that faith is older than the law, he teaches again that the law cannot become a hindrance to the divine promises.

“Brothers, I speak in human terms.” Instead of: I use human affairs [as an illustration]. “Even a man's covenant, once ratified, no one sets aside or adds to.” A covenant made by someone well and properly and quite consistently cannot be overturned, nor can anything be added to it. Then he passes from the image to the matter in hand. “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. It does not say, And to seeds, as of many, but as of one, And to your seed, who is Christ. This I say: a covenant previously ratified by God in Christ the law, which came four hundred and thirty years afterward, does not annul, so as to make the promise void.” The ancient Scripture too calls the promise made to Abraham God's covenant. It is not possible, then, that it should receive any addition, subtraction, or dissolution through the giving of the law, which came about a very long time afterward. And the God of the universe promised to bless the nations through the seed of Abraham. This seed is Christ the Master himself; for through him the promise reached its fulfilment and the nations obtained the blessing. All the others, though they attained the height of virtue, whether Moses or Samuel or Elijah, and in short all who trace their descent from Israel, are called his seed by nature, yet they are not that [seed] which brought the fountain of blessing to the nations. For this is what the divine Apostle says: It does not say, And to seeds, as of many, but as of one, And to your seed, who is Christ. It is not, then, because those too trace their descent from Abraham that they are named seed of Abraham; rather, he properly bears this title, since he alone, in accordance with the promise, granted the blessing to the nations. “For in your seed,” he said, “all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.” Through no one else did the nations share in this blessing. That is why the divine Apostle shows that the promise is stronger than the law, and says:

“For if the inheritance is from the law, it is no longer from a promise; but God granted it to Abraham through a promise.” For the law brought the curse on those subject to it, frightening them with the threat and wishing to guide those subject to it to what is right; but the promise brings the blessing to the nations. Then he resolves the objection lurking beneath. The lurking objection is this: that the law was given superfluously, since the promise holds the blessing. He teaches, then, the purpose of the legislation.

“Why then the law?” It is to be read as a question put in character. You want to learn this, he says: for what reason was the law laid down? I will teach you. “It was added because of transgressions, until the seed should come to whom the promise had been made, ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator.” It was laid down for the care of the race from which that seed was to spring according to the flesh. And it was laid down with angels ministering and Moses serving in its giving; for he called him the mediator. He mentioned the angels in the letter to the Hebrews too; he speaks thus: “For if the word spoken through angels.” For indeed the God of the universe set Michael over them, and the blessed Daniel taught us this. And to the great Moses he promised to send his angel with the people. “Now a mediator is not of one.” For he mediated between the people and God. “But God is one.” He who gave the promise to Abraham, and laid down the law, and has now shown us the fulfilment of the promise. For it was not one God who administered those things and another these. “Is the law then against the promises of God? By no means. For if a law had been given that could give life, righteousness would indeed be from the law.” This the God of the universe also said through Ezekiel: “And I gave them statutes that were not good, and ordinances by which they shall not live.” He says this of what the law had over and above, which nature did not enjoin: the things about sacrifices, lepers, those with a discharge, and things like these. For that the necessary things of the law give life he said again through the same prophet: “And I gave them statutes and ordinances, which if a man does, he shall live by them.” But since these, he says, were transgressed, “I gave them statutes that were not good, and ordinances by which they shall not live.” And not even these did he call …

… [not] bad, but “not good”: wholly unsuited to the perfect … Thus the milk of the breast is unpleasant to the full-grown but suitable for infants. This the divine Apostle said here too: “For if a law had been given that could give life, righteousness would indeed be from the law.” For the superfluous parts of the law … to admire … the divine temple … “But the Scripture shut up all things under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” For divine Scripture convicted both those before the law and those under the law, the former as having transgressed the law of nature, the latter the law of Moses. And as an antidote for both the one and the other … promised through faith … He has put “shut up” instead of “convicted.” “But before faith came, we were guarded under the law, shut up for the faith that was to be revealed.” For the Israelite race had to be guarded as by a wall, until the … “So the law has become our tutor unto Christ, so that we might be justified by faith.” So the law too was given of necessity. For it filled for us the office of a tutor; and from the former … it brings us, as to a wise teacher, to Christ the Master, so that we may be taught perfect lessons by him and acq[uire] the righteousness that comes through faith. “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.” For those in a settled state do not need a tutor's care. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” He showed the perfection of those who have believed. For what is more perfect than … of sons … manner of the title? “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Since he said, “You are all sons of God,” he teaches also how they obtained this, and says: You have put on Christ, the true Son of God; and having put him on, you are fittingly sons of God … “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” “One” stands for “one body.” For he is our head. That is why it is not fitting even to recognize a difference between servant and master, male and female. “And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to promise.” He called the believers sons of God; then he showed also the manner of the adoption. For having put on Christ, who is truly Son of God, fittingly … And since he is our head, and is called seed of Abraham, through him, then, we too have been joined to Abraham according to faith and have gathered the blessing of the promise. For it is not possible to consider the head his, and the body someone else's.

“I say that as long as the heir is a child, he differs in nothing from a slave, though he is lord of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time set by the father. So we too, when we were children, were enslaved under the elements of the world.” [Fathers,] when dying, … their very young children, bidding [guardians] care for them until they reach manhood. For this is what he means by “until the time set by the father”; and this is the full-grown age. In the same way, he says, we too, when we were … and imperfect, had the law as a kind of guardian and steward. For he called the legal observances “elements of the world,” since from the sun and moon night and day are completed, and from days weeks, months and years are made up. And the law commanded the keeping of Sabbaths, new [moons] … and weeks. For this reason he said, “We were under the elements of the world,” since time is made up through these. “But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, so that he might redeem those under the law, so that we might receive the adoption as sons.” At the fitting time, which God determined, he sent his Son, so as to fulfil the mystery of the incarnation; he took our nature, was born of a Virgin, lived according to the law, made those subject to the penalties of the law free, and granted us the [promised] adoption. But one must note … he applied to the incarnation. For he did not say, He sent him to come into being from a woman, which would make us take the sending to be of the Godhead, but “born of a woman”; and this is proper to the economy …

“And because you are sons, God sent forth the [Spirit of his Son] into your hearts, crying: Abba, Father.” For we would not have dared to address God as Father in prayer, had we not been granted the gift of adoption. And the proof is incontrovertible: for they saw the wonders worked through the divine Spirit.

“So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, also an heir of God through Christ.” For not every son is also an heir. But you are both son and heir; and you obtained these things through Christ, not through the law. “But then, not knowing God, you were slaves to those that by nature are not gods. 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 elements, to which you want to be slaves again anew?” And what is the manner of this slavery? “You observe days and months and seasons and years.” He tries to show that the legal observance of days is idolatry. For before you were granted the calling, he says, you served those that by nature are not gods, deifying the elements; but Christ the Master freed you from this error; and now, I do not know how, you are returning to the same error. For by keeping Sabbaths and new moons and the other days, and fearing to transgress them, [you resemble] those who deify the elements … “I fear for you, lest somehow I have labored over you in vain.” This voice too is a father's, of one who remembers his labors but does not see the fruit. “Become as I am, for I too [became] as you are.” I once had this zeal: I longed greatly for the law; but you see how I have changed. Emulate this change, then, you too. “Brothers, I beg you: you have done me no wrong.” The pain of his grief … [makes] him constantly change the form of his speech, now rebuking, now exhorting, at one time accusing, at another lamenting; here, then, he explains what he is writing. For I have suffered no wrong from you, he says, but have been granted the very greatest care. “You know that it was because of a weakness of the flesh that I preached the gospel to you the first time; and my trial, which was in my flesh, you did not despise or spurn, but received me as an angel of God.” I have not forgotten the honor you showed me. And yet I bore much dishonor in my body, being tortured and racked and enduring countless terrible things; but nonetheless you did not look at the dishonor, but honored me as an angel of God. And why do I say as an angel? “As Christ Jesus.” For you supposed that through me Christ himself was being cared for. “What then was your blessedness?” Where are the enviable achievements of faith? For he put “what” instead of “where.” “For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have dug out your eyes and given them to me.” So I have no private grief against you; on the contrary, I confess my gratitude to you; but for your sake I am pained. For he adds:

“So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?” For the sake of the truth I have used harsher words.

“They court you, not honorably; rather, they want to shut you out, so that you may court them.” He said this about those wicked teachers. Seeing you shining in faith, he says, they are grieved, and do everything to deprive you of those good things and bring you under their own authority. For this is what he meant by “so that you may court them.”

“It is good to be courted in a good thing always.” I want you to shine in all good things, so that others may be benefited by you. “And not only when I am present with you.” So that … Having said these things, he again imitates a mother lamenting bitterly and wailing, and cries:

“My little children, for whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you.” I endure even a second labor, since the first failed, you having become miscarriages. This also refutes the folly of the followers of Novatus, who [deny] the [remedy] of repentance …

“I wish I were present with you now and could change my tone, for I am at a loss about you.” Burning with emotion, I would wish to become winged and run, and see what is happening, and lament the turning aside of some and admire the steadfastness of others. For now, he says, being absent, I am at a loss what to say, what to utter, what to lament. Having gone through these things with them, he turns his speech to the evil advocates of the law, and says: “Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not hear the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman. But the son of the slave woman was born according to the flesh, the son of the free woman through the promise. These things are spoken allegorically.” The divine Apostle said “spoken allegorically” instead of: understood also in another way. For he did not do away with the history, but relates what was prefigured in the history. “For these women are two covenants: one from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery, which is Hagar. For Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.” Why, he says, do you who choose to serve the law not obey the teachings of the law? For it teaches you that Abraham had two wives and was shown to be the father of two children; but one sprang from a slave woman, the other from a free woman. These things agree with ours. For as there, there is one father, two mothers and two children, so here there is one God, two covenants and two peoples; but Hagar is the image of the first covenant, Sarah of the second. For the old law was given from Mount Sinai; and beside that mountain the race of Hagar has made its dwelling. That mountain corresponds to this earthly Jerusalem; but Sarah is a type of the heavenly city, whose children we are called. She is free, that is, not having the yoke of the law; but the other is a slave; and such too are those subject to the law. He shows also the prophecy agreeing … “For it is written: Rejoice, barren one who does not bear; break forth and shout, you who are not in labor; for many are the children of the desolate one, more than of her who has the husband.” For as Sarah gave birth in old age, against all human hope, so the Gentiles at the very end of the age obtained the knowledge of God, and the barren one has surpassed by the number of those born to her the one who of old had many children. “But we, brothers, are children of promise like Isaac.” For we were born not according to nature but according to grace. For as it was not the law of nature but the word of the promise that formed Isaac, so too the promise given to Abraham has begotten us. “But as then he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also.” Do not let this grieve you, that believers are driven out by unbelievers. For such a thing [happened] in the type too … “But what does the Scripture say? Cast out the slave woman and her son; for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” He called Sarah's words words of Scripture, showing the aim of Scripture: that it recorded these things for this reason, so that even after the truth the type might be shown.

“So then, brothers, we are not children of a slave woman but of the free woman.” What then do you command? “Stand firm in the freedom with which Christ has set us free, and do not be held again in a yoke of slavery.” He calls freedom the way of life outside the law, and the yoke of slavery the life according to the law. For so the divine Peter too said in the Acts: “Why are you testing God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able …”

“Behold, I, Paul, say to you that if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.” I say it to you openly and expressly, and I set down my own name: you will receive no benefit from faith in Christ if you submit to circumcision.

“And I testify again to every man who is circumcised that he is a debtor to do the whole law.” And very rightly; for the law curses those who do not fulfil all its injunctions. Besides, he who by his own choice has left freedom and chosen to be a slave is subject to all his master's commands.

“You have been severed from Christ.” How do you say this? “You who are justified by the law have fallen from grace.” He who gave the law promised to give this grace. Now that it has been given, then, the law has been shown idle and superfluous. Those who choose to live according to it, then, have been deprived of the gifts of grace.

“For we by the Spirit, from faith, await the hope of righteousness.” Having received the pledge of the Spirit and believing the promises, we await the expected life, which, adorned with immortality, has no … of sin …

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails anything nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love.” Are you a lover of the law? Keep the necessary things of the law: acquire love for your neighbor, for through it the whole law is fulfilled. But faith has abolished the difference between circumcision and uncircumcision. For in soldiers too, generals look not for white or black, but for experience in war.

“You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?” He praises the race and laments its halt.

“This persuasion is not from him who calls you.” To call is God's part; to be persuaded belongs to the hearers.

“A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” … I lament, but I fear the spreading of the disease. You …

“I am confident about you in the Lord that you will think nothing else.” He did not say, You do not think otherwise, but, You will think. For he blames what has already happened, but prays to see the change for the better. “But he who troubles you will bear the judgment, whoever he may be.” Again he has very well put “whoever he may be,” so that, even if they have great opinions of themselves, they may learn that they owe a penalty to God. And since these wicked advocates of the law said that the Apostle himself kept the law and did not preach the same things everywhere, he necessarily makes his defense on this point too. “But I, brothers, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished.” For why do the Jews hate me and openly war against me, if I preach circumcision and urge the keeping of the law? For if I do this, the proclamation of the cross is superfluous, and the stumbling block of the Jews too is removed. This he also said to the Corinthians: “But we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, to Greeks foolishness.”

“I wish those who unsettle you would even cut themselves off.” Would that those who offer you the deceit of circumcision would cut themselves off altogether! “For you were called to freedom, brothers.” You were freed from the slavery of the law. “Only do not use the freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.” He now passes to moral exhortation, and urges care for practical virtue as well. For we were not freed from the slavery of the law for this, he says, that we might sin without fear. And from this it is plain that, having cast out the superfluous parts of the law, he urges the keeping of the necessary ones, and first of all love; for he says: “But through love serve one another.” For he who loves sincerely [does not refuse] even to serve …

“For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” You can fulfil the whole law through this one commandment. “But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.” Here he hints that some, led astray, had been circumcised, while others remained firmly set upon the faith; but nevertheless they fought each other, the former praising the way of life under the law, the latter admiring the gifts of grace. That is why he offered them the exhortation to love first.

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not fulfil the desires of the flesh.” If you want to master the passions of the flesh, follow the spiritual counsels.

“For the flesh desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are opposed to each other.” By flesh he means the inclination of the mind toward the worse, and by spirit the indwelling grace; for it guides the soul toward the better. How then is it possible to overcome the passions of the flesh? “So that you do not do whatever you wish.” Do not follow absurd reasonings; that is: overcome them, having the grace of the Spirit as fellow worker. “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” For the law did not supply this. For even if some who lived under the law obtained spiritual grace, yet they were very few, those granted prophecy; but here all who [have received] saving baptism …

“Now the works of the flesh are evident.” Again he calls the fleshly mind flesh. “Which are adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, dissensions, factions, envyings, murders, drunkenness, carousings, and things like these.” It is plain that idolatry and sorcery and the like belong not to the flesh but to the soul. So he does not accuse the flesh, but the slothful mind. “Of which I tell you beforehand, as I told you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” The divine Apostle said this in the letter to the Corinthians as well. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control.” If those things belonged to the body alone, the works of the soul too would have had to be shown; but he did not set them down. It is plain, then, that he called the fleshly mind flesh, that is, the soul's inclination toward the worse; and he calls spirit the grace that has been given. For this reason he called love and joy and the rest fruit of the Spirit; for each of these is achieved with the Spirit working together with the soul. “Against such things there is no law.” For the law is superfluous for those who achieve virtue; for the law is not laid down for the righteous. “And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” That is, buried with Christ, they have made the body dead to sin. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” Not living according to the law, but following grace. “Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another.” That division produced the vainglory and the envy. For perhaps those firmly set on the faith … those who were shaken … whom he also exhorts to stretch out a hand to those [who had turned] to the law …

“Brothers, if a man is overtaken in some trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one.” Instead of: correct, support, fill up what is lacking. He teaches also the manner of the treatment: “In a spirit of gentleness.” Then he puts fear into the one who heals: “Looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted.” You are a man, with a changeable nature; share the pain of the one who is in a bad state.

“Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” You have this defect, but not that one; he the opposite; what you have he does not have, but something else. You bear his, and he yours; for so the law of love is fulfilled. For he called love the law of Christ; for his is the saying: “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another.” “For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he …” … by achievements he humbled his brow.

“But let each one test his own work, and then he will have his boast in himself alone and not in another.” And if you wish to take pride, … you find, take pride in yourself, if indeed you must do this.

“For each one will bear his own load.” Do not busy yourself with other people's affairs; for each of us will give account for his own sins.

“Let the one who is taught the word share in all good things with the one who teaches.” Here he urges that the teachers receive the fitting support from those being taught; and he calls the thing fellowship, and bids those who enjoy spiritual things to share their fleshly … “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” The God of the universe oversees all things; do not think that he does not know what happens. Know that the harvest will correspond to the seed, and whatever you sow, that you will also reap. “For he who sows to his own flesh will from his flesh reap corruption.” For he who indulges the flesh with luxury and pleasure will reap corruption from it; for the body is dissolved into corruption. “But he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” He who follows the aim of the Spirit and obeys his laws will gather eternal life.

“And let us not lose heart in doing good; for in due season we shall reap without growing weary.” Let nothing grievous cut off our eagerness for good things; for we shall reap what is sown without toil; for this is what he meant by “without growing weary.” With perceptible seeds both the sowing has toil and the harvest likewise; and often the heat of the season too exhausts the reapers; but that harvest is not of this kind, for it is free of toil and sweat …

“So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, and especially to those of the household of faith.” So too the Lord said in the holy Gospels: “Be compassionate, as your heavenly Father is compassionate, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.” But it is fitting especially to care for those who share … “See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand.” He wrote this whole letter himself, it seems, teaching that, when the truth is at stake, he pays no regard to the dignity of persons. As for “letters,” some have interpreted it as large, others as poor. For I, he says, wrote the letter, though I do not write beautifully. “As many as want to make a good showing in the flesh, these compel you to be circumcised, only so that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.” Hunting for glory from men and providing for their own safety, they offer you the teaching that compels circumcision, so that they may not, like us who preach Christ, be tormented …

“For not even those who are circumcised keep the law themselves, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh.” For how can they keep the law while living far from Jerusalem? How do they celebrate the feasts? How do they offer the sacrifices? How are they sprinkled when they touch unclean things? It is plain, then, that wishing to boast, as men who have re-taught you, they [urge] you to be circumcised … “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” But I pray to take pride in the saving cross alone. Because of it the whole of life is superfluous to me and like a dead thing. And not only is it so to me, but I also to it; for I await the immortal life. For he added:

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.” This he also said when writing to the Corinthians: “So if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” By new creation he properly means the change of things that will come after the resurrection of the dead. For then both creation is freed from the corruption that lies upon it, and the nature of men puts on immortality. But saving baptism shows a kind of image of the things to come. For in it we put off the old man and put on the new; and laying aside the burden of sins, we receive the grace of the Spirit. Neither the all-holy baptism, then, nor the life to come knows a difference between circumcision and uncircumcision. By “world” he called the affairs of this life: honor, glory, wealth; to these he said he was dead.

“And as many as walk by this rule, peace be upon them and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.” He called the teaching set forth a rule, as being adorned with straightness and having nothing lacking or superfluous; and on those who embrace it he prayed for mercy and peace. He named the faithful the Israel of God, as those who see God through faith. For this … [means] …

“From now on let no one cause me trouble; for I bear on my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Coming to remember the labors he endured in bringing them the divine gospel, he burst out with this cry as a kind of testimony. No longer, he says, will I bear to write anything again; instead of letters I show the weals and the marks of the tortures. Let these bear witness to the truth of the proclamation; for on its behalf I bear to suffer all things.

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.” He has set the customary blessing on the letter as a kind of seal. And he added the mention of the spirit, reminding them of the gift given, which they received not through the law but through faith. Let us too guard this grace, and not grieve the Holy Spirit, in whom we were sealed for the day of redemption; but let us bring good action, like oil, to this spiritual light, so that, enlightened, we may travel the straight road and reach the admirable end of the road, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and might, now and always, and to …