The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 109

reference is made to the alien character of /f,pczv ,1~aµ,v). To whmn; i.e. to the false the te11ching spoken of. The o.poetle's feel- brethren; not the persons immediately re- ing is that men who do not accept the ferrecl to in ver. 3 as seekin"' to comP.el truth that through fo.ith in Christ we are Titus to be circumcisecl. Th~se last us~ justified, and through fo.itb only, have no acl vice and persuasion; the false brethre,n proper place in the Church of Christ (comp. demanded with clamonr (Ii,,, Acts xv. 5). eh. v. 4, 5). If the question be asked-Who The phrase rendered for an hour occurs brought them in? the parable of the tares also John v. 35; 2 Cor. vii. 8 ; Phil em. 15. suggests the answer-The devil (comp. There seems to be an underlying allusion to 2 Car. xi. 15; ii. 11). Who oame in privily those occasions on which the apostle did, as (o1TwES 1rczpE10'1Jl\8ov); a set of men who with- be so.ye, "to the Jews become as a Jew, to out wa"ant came in. The preposition ,rczpa. the weak, weak" (1 Cor. ix. 20, 22) ; but in the verb has the same force as it bas in this he would not do when dealing with ?TapE1ud1<Tovs, So also in 1rczp•1u,6uuczv(Jude4), false brethren, whose aim was in effect to To spy out our liberty whioh we have in turn gospel freedom into legal slavery, We; Christ J'eS118 (1<cz'TCZ0'1<0,riJO'cu T¾,v h,Ev8epiczv I, Bame.bas, Titus. The words of, oull" -1,µwv 'iv txoµe11 /11 XpcO''T<p 'h1uoii); to spy out most certainly belong to the original text. that liberty of ours which, etc. These men Not merely does only one uncial manuscript bad come into the Church prepared to detect omit them, bnt their omission would leave and to regard with the keenest dislike any- behind a sentence self-convicted of absur- thing, either in doctrine or in Church action, dity. For it would run thus: "But be- which would infringe upon their own cause of the fo.lse brethren without warrant legalism, and to wage war upon it. For brought in, e. set of men who without warrant this notion of hostile intent is strongly sug- came in to spy out our liberty, that they gested by the verb " to spy out " ( cf. 2 Kings might degrade us into slavery, we yielded x. 3; 1 Ohren. xix. 3; and 1<aTar;,co1r,iiui1., in for e. season with subjection, that the truth Josh. ii. 2). The infinitive (of purpose), of the gospel might lastingly abide with viewed in reference to the men themselves, you; "-yielded, i.e. by circumcising Titus; can be understood only of their disposed- for this is what this reading most probably ness to make this use of their membership; supposes St. Paul to have done. In this for they can hardly be supposed to have en- sentence the vituperative description of the tewd into the Church for that definite object; false brethren, so extended and so intensely but the apostle views them as emissaries emphatic, instead of being an implied argu- of the great enemy; Se.tan's design thus to ment in favour of the course of action wage war with our gospel liberty (comp. which the apostle states be adopted, namely, 2 Cor. xi. 13, 15) ie by e. bold figure ascribed concession to those men, both lacks nll in this infinitive to hie instruments. This motive for its introduction here, and works liberty means the whole spirit of freed'lm wholly in favour of the opposite course, of whicb faith in Christ imparts to the Chris- resistance to their wishes. The only suit- tian, including, for one thing, his em11nci- able and logical description of those for po.tion from the yoke of ceremonie.lism, but whose sake the concession would ha rn been conto.ining e.lso more. The.t they might me.de would have been that they were bring us into bondage (1vcz 11µ.ar 1<czTaliov- brethren meaning well, but weak in the A,I,uovuw [Receptus, 1<aTczliov,\,l,uowTa1]), The fo.ith, who should, by concession for a seo.son, reading of six of the uncial manuscripts be won 0\'er to more perfec& e.ccorcl with the is 1<cz-r"6ou,\,l,uovrrw ; of three, -uo,u,11; of one, gospel. (On this reading, see AlfC'rrl, and the -u,,w-r,u, The variation in the mood of the fuller discussion ofit in Bishop Lightfoot, pp. verb is imme.terio.l ; for the construction or 121-123.) By subjection (ry v1ro"Ta"/?l): in 1va: (of purpose) with an indicative, though the way of subjection. As l,,ro.,.a;-¾ in tbe etran ao to the eye of the student or classical other po.ssages in which it occurs meo.ns the Greek, is not foreign to the writers of the habit or spirit of subjection, and never ,:m New 'feste.ment; but the variation in the act of submission (cf. 2 Cor. ix. 13; l voice affects the sense, Ka-ra6ov,\,l,uwv.,.a;, Tim. ii. 11; iii. 4), it probably denotes would mean "bring into bondage to them- here subjection of spirit to those whe were eelves," which most probably is not tho so a.uthorite.tively 11\ying upon us their writer's meaning; be o.ppo.rently means injunctions. He might give way in a point rather "deplive us of our liberty by enslav- of tbis kind in a spirit of brotherly con- ing u~ to the Law" (cf. eh. iv. 25; v. 1). cession; but he would bow to no man's 'fhe simple verb liou,\6w, occurs repeatedly; imperntive injunction. The Rrticle before the compound 1<czTallou,\ow here and in lnro-ra-yfi is the o.rticle before on e.bstro.ot 2 Cor. xi. 20, intensifies the sense: degrade noun, as in .,.;,, u-yc!7r7J• ( eh. v. 13); .,.,; lAa• us into slavery. q,p(~ (2 Cor. i. 17). That the truth of the Ver. 5.-To whom we gave ple.oe by sub- gospel (Yva ;, a,,\-l,O«a. Toii •v11r,,•,\iov). The jeotion, 11.0, not for e.n hour (ofs oull• 1rpo• truth, the sure unadultemtetl doctrine,  THE EPISTLE TO 'l'HE GALATIANS. [en. n. 1-21.