ἐξ ἔργων νόμου ἢ ἐξ ἀκοῆς πίστεως ; 6. καθὼς ᾿Αβραὰμ ἐπίστευσε
τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην.
7. γινώσ-
κετε ἄρα ὅτι οἱ ἐκ πίστεως, οὗτοί εἰσιν υἱοὶ ᾿Αβραάμ. 8. προϊδοῦσα δὲ ἡ γραφὴ ὅτι ἐκ πίστεως δικαιοῖ τὰ ἔθνη ὁ Θεὸς, προευηγγελίσατο τῷ ᾿Αβραὰμ, ὅτι Ἐνευλογηθήσονται ἐν σοὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη.
9. ὥστε οἱ ἐκ πίστεως εὐλογοῦνται σὺν τῷ πιστῷ ᾿Αβραάμ.
forces or powers. Here accordingly it cefers to the supernatural powers imparted by the Spirit to Christians.
Ver. 6. The faith of the Galatians is likened to that of Abraham, in that it found the same acceptance with God.
The quotation of Gen. xv. 6 was reckoned follows the LXX, whereas our version, following the Hebrew text, refers to God, he counted it. This passage is repeatedly commented on by Philo as well as inthe N.T. Paul bases his argument upon it in Rom. iv. 3 by way of proof that God imputes righteousness on the ground of faith, not of works, and James guards it against misinterpretation by teachers who degraded faith into a barren assent of the intellect (James ii. 17-23). Obviously Jewish teachers had already concentrated attention on this passage on account of the explicit testimony which it bears to the faith of Abraham and to God's acceptance of that faith; and stress had been laid upon its authority in their schools of theology.
Vv. 7-14. By FAItH MEN BECOME SONS OF ABRAHAM AND INHERIT HIS BLESSING, WHEREAS THOSE WHO CLAIM IT ON THE SCORE OF OBEDIENCE TO Law ARE SUBJECT TO THE CURSE OF A BROKEN LAW; FROM WHICH CHRIST REDEEMED us, GENTILES AS WELL AS JEWS, BY BEARING THE CURSE HIMSELF.—Ver. 7. Γινώσκετε: Ye perceive. The emphatic admonition, Know ye, adopted in our versions, would require an aorist impera- tive γνῶτε, as in Heb. viii. τα. This verse contains a deduction from the former, as is suggested by the inferential Gpa. Since faith was the ground of Abraham’s justification, it follows that those who inherit his faith are his true sons.—ol ἐκ πίστεως, sc. viol ὄντες. The form of the Greek sentence suggests the insertion of these words to complete the ellipsis. With this addition the verse carries on the previous argument to its natural sequel. The faith of Abraham was there declared to be a fundamental condition ofthe divine acceptance. Those therefore who inherit his faith are his sons indeed and heirs of his blessing. The discourse of Christ recorded in the
1Ο. ὅσοι
Gospel follows the same line of argument: If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham (John viii. 39). Both alike urge that resemblance in life and character is the true test of sonship. Gentiles therefore who prove themselves sons of Abraham by exhibiting like faith are his sons indeed, and inherit the blessing promised to his seed. The antithesis in ver, 10, ὅσοι ἐξ ἔργων νόμον εἰσίν, sc. υἱοί, presents a like ellipsis: the exclusive claim of Jews to be sons of Abraham in virtue of their observance of the Law is there disposed of on corresponding grounds. Ver. 8. δικαιοῖ: justifieth. The ogee tense is used because justification y faith, though not revealed to the Gentiles till Christ came, was an eternal truth of God's dealings with man, to be revealed in due time. There were in Genesis anticipations of this truth, and Abraham himself, the father of the faith- ful, was a kind of firstfruits of the Gentiles (Rom. iv. 10-12). The quotation here given contains the substance of promises recorded in Gen. xii. 3, and xviii. 18 with slight verbal alteration. These were an earlier Gospel, but not (as our versions intimate) the Gospel.
Ver. 9. οἱ ἐκ πίστεως. See note on ver. 7. Ver. 10. The Apostle here proceeds
to deal with the rival claim to a special blessing on the score of obedience to Law. Jews maintained that their knowledge of the Law entitled them to the blessings attached to the sons of Abraham. He urges on the contrary that this entailed on them the curse of a broken Law: for no flesh could keep the whole Law (cf. ii. 16). The failure of men to satisfy the requirements of the Law is not limited to the Mosaic Law, but is incidental to the idea of righteous Law in the abstract. Hence the expression νόμου rather than τοῦ νό The Roman Epistle accordingly pronounces sentence of guilt on the Gentile as well as the Jewish world for breach of the Laws of natural or revealed religion. Here, how- ever, the object is to meet claims founded on the Mosaic Law, so the curses of that