The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 159

2 C<>r. -..i. JG). nnd diffused his gifts among who "were of the works of the Le.w" the its membe1·s diversely and to all appearance possession at all of Abrahe.mio privilege. 10diseriminl\tely (1 Cor.xii.13); stall events The cla.ss, "men of faith," did in fe.ot not in such wise discriminately as that include Jewish believers as well e.s Gentile· degrees of personal holiness and acceptable- but just here, as seems probable from what ness before God could at all be estimated is said in the next verse, the apostle has as Rtanding in proportion to the outward in view Gentile believers only. The writer's brilliancy of thaume.tnrgio gifts severally thoughts are hovering round the.t promise possessed. of God (" So she.ll thy seed be") which had Ver. 7.-Xnow ye therefore (-y,vwcrtt<Te been on that partioule.r occasion the object llpa) ; or, ye percei-oe then. Critics e.re of Abraham's faith. That this was the divided between the two renderings, the case we may infer from his citation of the imperative and the indicative, both here words in Rom. iv. 18, the explanation of !ind Me.tt. xxi-.. 43; 1 John ii. 29. In which had been prepared for by him in what Luke x. 11 ::i.nd Heh. xiii. 23 -yavwcrtt•T• is he has said before in var. 16,," To the end certainly imperative. The categorical im- that the promise may he sure to all the perative seems of the two the more suited seed: not to that only which is of the Law, to the apostle's impetuous temperament. but to that also which is of the faith of The verb -yavwcrtt"', like the Latin nosco, Abraham, who is the father of us all." It properly denotes "to come to know," "lee.rn," was this that led him to speak of being sons ""perceive," "get apprised;,, t"Y"'°"" or of Abraham. This train of thought is fy,,"'"• like no"Di, having more properly the pursued further in the next two verses. sense of "knowing." Bnt this distinction Ver. 8.-The substance of this verse, does not al ways hoid,as e.g. Rom. vii. 1. That taken in conjunction with the next, is this : they which are of faith (8.,-, o/ •K ..-£cr.,-,..,s); The announcement which the Scripture that the men of faith; that is, who derive their records e.s made to Abraham, that "in him position from faith, belong to faith, are a.hove all the nations should be blessed," that is, all things characterized by faith. Compare that by being like him in faith all nations the expressions, To'is •E ip,6,!tn," the men of should be blessed like him, did thus early fe.otioueness," i.e. •• factions men" (Rom. ii pree.ch to Abraham the.t which is the great 8); -rlw e,c ..-icrn"'s 'h1crou, "the man of faith cardinal truth of the gospel preached now: in J esns," taking his stand thereupon (Rom. it proceeded upon a foresight of the fa.et iii. 26). Closely affine to this usage of the n.ow coming to pass, the.t by faith slillply preposition, if not quite the same, is, 6 &v •rt God would justify the Gentiles. .As well -ri;s u/1.716,ias, "that is of the trnth" (John as the Scripture quoted before from Gen. xv., xviii. 3iT, ,o/ ert v&µov, " they which a.re of the so this announcement also ascertains to us Law" (Rom. iv. 14); Scro, I~ lp-ywv 11&µov the position that they that are of faith, ,icriv (ver. 10 of this chapter). The same and they alone, are blessed with the be- are the children of Abraham (or,-rol ,lcr,v viol lieving patriarch. Such appears to be the 'A{Jpa.&µ); these are scms of .Abraham. The general scope of the passage; but the verbal form of expression is precisely the same as details a.re not free from difficulty. And in Rom. viii. 14, "A.s many as are led by the Scripture, foreseeing ( 1rpo,lioiicra liE ;, the Spirit of God (or,.,.o( ,lcr,v viol 0,oii) -ypatf,11); and, again, the Scriptwre,foreseeing. these are sons of God." In both ea.see the The conjunction liE indicates transition to absence of the article before viol suggests another item of proof, as, e.g. in! Rom. ix. the feeling that the apostle is simply stating 27, 'Hcra.tas lit. 'l'he word "Scripture" in a predicate of the class before defined, but 2 Pet. i. 20, "no prophecy of Scripture," not now affirming that this predicate is certainly denotes the sacred writings e.s cor,fined to that class, al though, again in taken collectively, the.t is, what is frequently ea.eh case, he knew that it wa, so confined. recited by the plural, a./ -ypatf,a.f, "the Scrip- Just here, what he is concerned to affirm is tures." So probe.bly in Acts viii. 22, "the ~hat the possession of faith is a complete passage of t5cripture." We are, therefore, and sufficient qualification for sonship to warranted in supposing it possible, and Abraham. There is, perhaps, e. polemical being possible it is here also probable, thnt reference to the teaching of certain in this is the sense in which the apostle now Ge.latia, the.t, to be sons of .Abraham or uses the term as well a.a in ver. 22, re.ther interested in God's covenant with his people, than as denoting, either the one particular it Lehoved men to be circumcised 1md to pasB11ge cited or the particular book out of obBt:rve the ceremonial Law. This error which it is taken. This view better suits would be satisfactorily met by the affirma- the personification under which the Old tion of the present verse, that the being Testament is here presented. This per• believers, simply this, constitutes men sons sonification groups with that in Rom. ix. 17, of Abraham. In the tenth vertie the apostle "The Scripture se.ith unto Phare.oh, }'or thia goes further, aggressively deeying to those very purpose did I re.iae thee up." ID both OH, In, 1-29.] THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 125'