The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 232

denoting o.Jeo his having been spiritually where the " mystery " of the gospel· ia begotten by him (comp. Philem. 10; 1 Cot. summed up in the words, "Ohrist in you the iv. 15). Here the like sense l'lttc\ohes to the hope of glory." He oounot rest, he means, word, IL8 is clear from the following cllluse, till the image, thought, of Christ o.e tho "of whom I am again in travail; " but the Object of their sole and absolute trust, o.s diminutive form of the noun, ngreeing well the complete ground of their acoeptanoe with the notion of a child at its birth, with God and their sonship, shall be per• combines in this case apparently a tender fectly and abidingly formed in their hearts. allusion also to the extremely immature '£he hour in wllich a. perfectly formed character of their Christian discipleship "Christ," that fair Divine Child of joy and ( compare "be.bes (vf17rw1) in Christ," 1 Cor. hope, has come, to be there, in their hearts, iii. I )-so immature, in fe.ct,'.that the apostle will be the hour in which the o.postle's is travailing of them afresh, as if not yet travailing pangs have issned in their birth. born nt all. This particular she.de of mean- No doubt the apostle is writing to persons ing, however, must be sacriil.ced, if we baptized into Christ' and thus clothed with accept the reading •d1<va µov, "my chil- Christ ( eh. iii. 27); persons, in the langua"e dren," which is highly authenticated. The of the Church, "born again." But howev~r verb wo,va, cannot be understood as pointing straitly 1.0e choose to be restrained in the to gestation merely; it can only denote the use of such images, solidifying into rigid pangs of parturition. The apostle by this dogma similitudes used for such passing figure describes himself IL8 at this hour in illustration as the oocasion of the moment an anguish of desire to bring the souls of requires, the sacred writers themselves his converts both to a complete state of son- recognize no such restriction. As Chry- ship in Christ Jesus, and to e. complete sostom observes in his 'Commentary,'. the conscioumess of that state-now at length apostle's language in effect is, "Ye need a bring tl.tem thereto, though the.t former fresh new-birth, _a fresh remoulding (iiva;,,v- trarnilhe.dseemingly been in vain. In 1 Cor. ,nfo-ee&1s ITlpas Vµ,iv Bei' ,cal civa7rA&crews).'' iv. 15 and Philem. 10 he refers to him- Baptized into Christ as .those Galatians self as a spiri tnal father of his converts, were, they were, however, in his view no and this too with touching pathos. Great true sons of God, until Christ had been i.J tl1e pathos too of his reference to himself really formed in their hearts. e.s, in his fostering care of his Thessalonian Ver. 20.-I desire to be present with you com·erts, like a tender "nnrsing mother now ("78,>..011 oE 'll'ap,1110.1 'll'pds vµa.s lfpT1); 1 cherishing her own children," and also as could wish to be present with you this tJery of a '' father " of them ( 1 Thess. iL 7, 11 ). hour. The oE marks here simply a transition But neither of those passages equals the to another thought, and, o.s is not unfre- present in the expression of intense, even quently the case, and as our .Authorized anguished, longing to effect, if only he Version assumes, needs Iiot to be represented might be able to efiect it, a real transforma- in translation at all. Bishop Lightfoot, tion in the spiritual character of these writes, "But, speaking of my presence,• .l Galatian converts. "Until "-I cannot rest 1.0ould I had been pre8ent," etc. But this till then!-" Christ be formed in you." The explanation is not necessary.. The imperfect verb µopq,&w, form, occurs only here in the verb -1)6,>..011, like the lf,ov>..6µ1w of Acts xxv. New Testament in its nncompounded shape. 22 and the 11~x&µ71v of Rom. ix. 3, denotes A passage js cited from 'Const. Apost.,' iv, a movement as it were which had just been 7, in which it occurs in the phrase," formed stirring in the mind, but wh icb, for good me.n in the womb." In the Septuagint of reasons is now withdrawn: "I could almost Exocl. x.xi. 22 we have •!«1<av1crµ.!vov of the wish-- but long distance and pressure of unborn infant. It certainly seems a.a if the other duties make it .impossible." 'fhus apostle used the word as one belonging to much_in explanation of the withdrawal of the tue same region of thought as the ,l,liivw, wish. The wish itself was occasioned by bnt, with the like bold and plastic touch a.a the feeling that the yearning desire of his elsew Lere characterize.s his use of imagery, soul might perhaps be more likely to be refusiug to be tied to thorough-going con- achieved if, by being on the spot, he were sistency in its application. Compare for enabled to adapt hie treatment to a more example 2 Cor. iiL 2. When the hour of distinct consciousness of the circumstances .:.a.vu is come, the period of the " formation" than he can possibly now have. "To be of the be.be has expired. Further, as show- present with you;" the very words are ing the freedom of the writer's UBe of repeated from ver., 18,. It· was well bot]) imagery, the easiest way of taking J11 vµ'iv with you and with me when I was witb ill to suppose that " Christ" is here viewed you: would that I could be with you now I as " within " them, and not as a likeness ( On 1.tpT<," thui Vl3IY hour," see note 011 ch.,i. 9.) to which they are to be conformed; comp. eh. And to ohe.nge my voioe (1<al a>..>o.&.!a• Th~ iL l::2, "Christ liveth iu me;" o.nd Col i. 27, q,wvfw µov). 'l'ho ton.ae of the iuiinitive OH, IV, 1-31,] Tim EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 199