The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 63

Jeremiah, applied by the Spirit to his own hie apostle ; God, by a marvellous exeroiso particul1tr case (comp. Acts ix. 15). The of goodness, had Cl\lled him forth out of that apostle feels the.t all the while the.t he had evil state to bo his own: unworthy, no been pursuing that career of persecuting doubt, he had proved himself to be of euoh impiety and passionate Pharisaism, the mercy; but what God's grace Imd mo.de him, Almig~ty had kept his eye upon him as his that he we.s; for who should dal'0 to con- prcdestmcd apostle, and been waiting fo.1· the travene his hand (comp. I Cor. xv. 8-10)?" fitting hour when to summon him forth to bis Ver. 16.-To reveal his Son in me ( ,bro,ca- work. And called me by his grace (,cal ,ca.>-ens All,j,a, Tbv uiov ahov iv ,µal). The ren- µ• li,a ,-;j, xd.p,,-o, a.bTov). As the "setting ?e_ring "in me,'' i.e." in my soul," or, in the apart" mentioned in the previous clause uu. 1d1om of the New Testament," in my heart," questionably was a "setting apart" for the is quite borne out by the use of the same apostolic office, it might seem convenient to preposition in numerous passages; e.g. understand the "calling " likewise as a John ii. 25, " Knew what. was in man ; " calling to be an apostle. So most probably John iv.14," Shall become in him a well;'·' we are to take the words KA'1Tos a,r&<rToXos in Col. i. 27, "Christ in you the Hope of Rom. i. l as meaning '' called to be an glory;" :aom. vii. 17, 20, "Sin which apostle;" and in Heb. v. 4 the verb "called" dwelleth in me;" Rom. viii. 9, "Tl.ie Spirit is used of one called to be a priest. But the of God dwelletl.i in you;" Rom. viii. 10, prevailing sense of "being called," in St. "Christ in yon;" Phil. ii. 13, "God which Paul's writings, refers to the bringing of the worketh in you" (comp. also Eph. iii. 20; soul to Christ and into his 1..-i.ngdom ; and Col. .i. 29). Chrysostom writes, "But why in this defin.i te reference the apostle uses does he say, 'To reveal his Son in me,' .and the verb no less than twenty-fotll' times, not ' to me ' ? It is to signify that he had three of them in this Epistle (i. 6; v. 8, not only been instructed in. the faith by 13). And this, the regular use of the term, words, but that he was richly .e1:1dowed. with is quite in place here. It was quite natural the Spirit; that the revelation had enlight- that the writer, after so vividly portraying ened his whole soul, and that he had Christ his former life when unregenerate, should spe11,king within him"(' Comment. in Gal.'). now distinctly advert to the moral transform- Tl.iis exposition tallies remflrkably with the ation which by Divine grace he had been description which the apostle in 2 Car. iv. 6 the subject of. The word" grace" denotes gives of the process by which he.had received God's freely expanding unmerited goodness, the "treasure" of tl)e gospel : "Seeing it not as existing in hlmself, but as energi&i.ng is God, that so.id,, Light shall shiQ.e out of upon men. This is made clear by the in- darkness, who shined, in our hearts, to -give troduction of the preposition (li,it) "through" the light [or, illumination] of the knowledge or" by.'' It is tha.t" grace" whose" reign- of the glory of God in the face.of Jesus Christ." iug" power the apostle so exultingly extols The "veil" which, while he was yet in in Rom. v. 15-21 (comp. Eph. ii. 5, "By Judaism," had been upon his heart," was grace Lave ye been saved"). The notion of taken away; "with face unveiled" he was mercy shown to the utterly undeserving is enabled to " behold, as· i1.1 a mirror, tho a prominent element of the word, connected glory of the Lord" (2 Car. iii. 15-18). as it is here with the description of the 'lhis account of his spiritual illuminp.tion, writer's former wickedness (comp. the use written near .about the same time as the of the verb "obtained mercy (1JX"i81Jv)" in passage before us, shows the manner in l Tim. i. 13, 16). This clause, together whioh at that time the tre.nso.etion, pre- with the preceding one, is not .to be taker;i sented itself to his mind. l'his revelation as a part of the historical statement in con- of God's Son to him involved, we may feel junction wilh tl.ie next verse, as if tracing ce1tain, tho revelation of him , in the rela- the successive steps of the transaction, but tions which, as the once crucified and now as a periphrastic designation of Almighty exii,Ited Cl.irist, he bears to 1111 mankind, God adapted to the circumstances of tlie Gen tiles as well as J ewe, and in the rela- case. 'fhe one article prefixed in the Greek tions which he bears· to bis Church. to the two combined clauses shows this. We " Christ J esue " was then (to use th<il ne;ed not, therefore, perplex oursel vee to de- apostle's wot"ds in I Car. i. 30) "made unto termine the relation in point of time which him Wi~dom from God, . both Righteoua- the Divine acts here indicated bear to that ness and Sanctification a.nd Redemption; " described in the verse which follows., The and what Christ was then of .God made to tone of the verse is in a measure apologetic, be to Paul himself, that o.Jeo, o.e .the joyful rebutting the prejudice which, we may be recipient of the revelation. at thcHame time tiure, did in the view of many accrue to the learnt, Christ we.s through the recipient'13 writer from what he once had.been. Thua; own preaching of the Word to be of God "Nevertheless, God had all along, even from made to llll who should receive his mes, the dawn of his being, set him apart to be sage. The view of the po.se.ige above give:1 on. 1. 1-24-.] THE ·EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 27