Galatians 3:27-28: All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free man; there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. We live in a feminized culture, and that feminization began . . . . Continue Reading »
The Son is sent to redeem (Galatians 4:5). He comes under the law to redeem those under the law. Redemption is manumission language. To redeem is to deliver from bondage, or to buy from bondage. Those under the law are in bondage (cf. 4:1), still under the probationary regulations that apply to . . . . Continue Reading »
According to Paul, the Son and Spirit come at the fullness of time, when the son (Israel) has reached majority. Has Israel reached majority? It might seem not. But, following up on the previous post, we can view the exile and restoration as the climax of Israel’s maturation. Israel failed in . . . . Continue Reading »
According to Galatians 4:17, the Judaizers seek to arouse the Galatians to see association with them by shutting them out. They shut the Galatians out so that those outside will clamor to get in. A clever and recurring ploy in all sorts of groups. Paul uses the verb ekkleisai (“shut . . . . Continue Reading »
What does Paul mean by the phrase stoicheia tou kosmou , “elementary principles of the world”? We get a clue by looking at the meaning of related Greek works. Stoicheion is related to a set of words that carry the connotation of “rank” or “series” or . . . . Continue Reading »
In the Old Testament, “flesh” physically describes the musculature of the body; the skin is the boundary between the world and the flesh, and there is a distinction made between the flesh and the heart or internal organs. Both in animals and men, “flesh” denotes the . . . . Continue Reading »
At the beginning of Galatians 3, Paul reminds the Galatians of his first visit to them and says that Christ was “publicly portrayed” before them. This was before their eyes; now, someone has laid an “evil eye” on them. This verse is sometimes taken as a reference to the . . . . Continue Reading »
J. Louis Martyn ( Galatians (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries) ) notes Paul’s fourfold use of “apocalypse” in Galatians (1:12 15-16; 2:2; 3:23). Paul received his gospel “when God apocalypsed Christ to him,” and this gospel was about the . . . . Continue Reading »
Paul claims to have been separated by God’s good pleasure from his mother’s womb (Galatians 1:15; Gr. koilias metros ), so that the Son could be unveiled ( apokalupsai ) in him. There’s a rich Old Testament background. Most obvious is the link with Jeremiah, who is also . . . . Continue Reading »
The verb for “rescue” that Paul uses to describe the effect of Christ’s self-gift (Galatians 1:4) is the same word Jesus uses for plucking out eyes (Matthew 5:29; 18:9). It is an exodus term: Stephen uses it to describe Yahweh’s rescue of Joseph from his afflictions . . . . Continue Reading »
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