The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 167

however, to be without Law unto God; XpuM'cp); that upon "t11e ,uition," migl,t. only, the Law they are now under is a come the blessing of Abraham in Christ spiritual Law, one conformable to the Je-JJus. The phrase, ,ls .,.a (61171 ••• -yl,,,,n,, n11.ture of that dispensation of life and of is illustrated by the use of -yl-yv,o-6a, ,lr, the Spirit, to which through the Risen One "arrive at," or" accrue to," in Acts xxi. 17; they belong. With this view it agrees that xxv. 15; Rev. xvi. 2. For the preposition the execration which the Law pronounced ,1s we may also comp. Rom. iii. 22, "Unto upon the Son of God as crucified, and by (,ls) all and upon ('1rl) all." By .,.a (6v71, pronouncing which the Law itself perished, as the whole context shows, the apostle is to be regarded 68 a most significant and mea.n8 in particular "the Gen tiles," the impressive symbol of the spiritual import of non-Jews, as such. At the same time the .Jur Lord's death. It pronounces to the phrase is evidently used, as found ready at universe that, for those who by faith are one hand in the passage cited by him in ver. 8, with Christ, the v.Tath of Divine justice " In thee shall all the natious (f6V1J) be against them as sinuers is quenched- blessed," which passage also suggested th11 quenched in the infinite, Divine love and notion of " the blessing of Abraham." It righteousness of Christ. had therein been foretol<l that all the nations Ver. H.-Two results are here stated as should, by exercising the faith of Abraham having flowed from the abrogation of the obtain the same bleesing; and (says th; Mosaic Law which was effected by the apostle) we see now by what method the crucifixion of Jesus : one, the pe.rticipation benefit bas been brought to them. "In of Gentiles in "Abraham's blessing," to Christ Jesus;" not merely by him; the which they could not have been admitted blessing is, so to speak, immanent in Christ, as long as the Law was authorized to shut both procured by him and obtained by the them out from God's covenant as unclean ; nations through their coming by faith into the other, the impartation to God's people, union with him. Comp. Eph. i. 6, 7, "His upon their faith only, apart from acts of grace which he freely bestowed upon us in ceremonial obedience, of the promised gift the Beloved; in whom we have our redemp~ of the Holy Spirit. Are these stated as tion;" Col. ii. l 0, "In him ye are made co-ordinate results, in the same way as a full;" and the like. "The blessing of Abra- repeated ,va (" in order that") introduces ham." The expression, being drawn from co-ordinate results in Rom. vii. 13 ; 2 Cor. the passages in Genesis in which the Lord ix. 2; Eph. vi 19, 20? Or is the second a assure~ Abraham that "he would bless consequence of the first? In favour of the him," and that " in him all nations should first view, it may be said that, in point of be blessed," must be ta.ken to import the fact, Gentiles, as such, were not admitted Divine good will and whatever bendits would into a participation in Abraham's blessing therefrom result. Men arrive at t,,is" bene- till some time after the day of Pentecost. diction" by being justified; butjusUfication But on the other hand, it may be urged (1) is only the entrance into it, and not the that, though not as yet actwilly admitted, whole blessing itself. It is styled .Abp.:i- yet in the Divine purpose, and in the ham's blessing, as having been emphatic~ ordering of the conditions of the case, they ally declared to have been possessed by the might ho.ve come in,-the door was open, patriarch, "the father" of a.11 who should though the thresliold not actually crossed; thereafter receive it. That we might receive and (2) that their admissibility may be sup- the promise of the Spirit through faith posed to have been in the Divine connsels (1va T¾,v /,rayye>..lav 'Toii Dve6µ.aToS >.d./3.,µ.ev the prerequisite condition of the Holy 11,a T,is 1rlo--r,.,s). The pronoun" we" points, Spirit being imparted, it not being fitting not to the Israelites as such, nor to Israelite that the Spirit should be given so long as believers in particular, but to those who the Law was, so to speak, standing there, were ·dewed as God's covenant people. authorized to debar from this, the most These had hitherto been Abraham's natural essential portion of "Abraham's blessing," seed only ; and had also hitherto been uny who were partakers of Abraham's bless- under the Law. But the time had come ing. In the three passages referred to as when they were to receive the full" adoptiou favouring the construing of the two clauses of sons," and therewith the Spirit of God's as co-ordinate, we have not as here two Bon (eh. iv. 5, 6); which, however, coukl difterent results, but one and the same, only not come to pass until the Law, "the yoke in the second clause more fully described. of slavery," had been cleared out of the The second view seems, therefore, the more way, opening the gate to God's benediction probable one. That the bleaaing of Abra- to all believers, whether Jews or Gentiles. ham might come on the GentileB through The Law and the Spirit could not coexist. J e111S Chriat (1vo. ,ls -ra l61'1/ +, ,b>.,,-yla -roii Where the Law had swa,y, there was tutor- 'A/3pa.a.µ. -y•v11-ra, J v Xpu1-rrj) '1110-oii: so most ship (,ra11ia-y.,-,,!..) and slavery. Suoh, it is r"cent editors read, in place of '1110-oii true, was needed, so long 8S the Spirit Wll.ij (ltt, lit. 1-29.] T11E EPISTLE TO 'l'ElE GALATIANS. 138