The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 274

and not to be meddled with by ,my who did cities of Greece, were compelled by a more not mean to become naturalized as fellow- po,verful adverse party to submit to exile· citizens with them. (For the use of o<Jm>..&.,s its correlative verb being l1</3d.>,.>,.o,, Th~ ,rrrtv, comp. Rom. viii. 14.) The noun more fact leads Bishop ~ightfoot, hsving an eye commonly points to a debt incurred, or to the l1</3a.>..• of eh. 1v. 30, to render /!.,r/cra.,.. guiltiness; but here it simply denotes here, " are driven fortl, and banished with obligation. Ha~ar your mother.". ~ut this very idio- Yer. 4.-Christ is become of no effect unto mat;c colour of meanmg 1t seems very pre- you ( "a-r.,py/ie.,-re &1rb -rou Xp,o--rov); or, ye carious to give to the word in the Greek of lwve disconnected yow·selves from Christ. St. Paul. The more gouernl sig11ification of The verb 1<a.-ra.pye,v is n favourite word with the term is amply sustained by its use in St. Panl, occurring t,rnnty-seven times in Plutarch as cited by Wetstein. his Epistles, including twice in the Hebrews, Ver. 5.-For we through the Spirit (~µ.•is whilst in the rest of 1he New Testament it -yctp ,rv,oµ.a.-r,); for we for our pints by tlia occurs only once, and that in the Pauline Spirit. "We" who abide in Christ, and St. Luke (xiii. 7). Its proper meaning is" to continue steadfast in the grace into which make inoperative," "make of no effect," as Christ has brought us; that is, we believers above ( eh. iii. 17). The phrase, "an,py,io-6a., in Christ, as such. Not, "I and those who u1ro, etc., occurs Rom. vii. 2, "If the husband go along with me," as e.g. in Phil. ill. 17. die ( "a.-rfipi"l-r"' u1ro), she is discharged from "By the Spirit." nveiiµ.a can hardly here the law of the husband;" it ceases to have mean, ns in eh. iii. 3, the element of spiritual any effect upon her; so ibid., ver. 6, ••Now life; but much more probably the personal we ham been discharged from the Law Spirit of God, referred to as inspiring and (,ca..,..,,p-yf,6.,µ.ev a,rb -rov voµ.ov);" it has ceased prompting the action of the believer's mind. to have any operation towards us. The The presence of this Spirit has been already phrase combines the two ideas-separation described &s the distinguishing blessing of suggested by the a1r& (comp. Rom. ix. 3), believers in Christ (eh. iii. 2-5, 14; iv. 6); and the ceBsation of a work (fpyov) or an while presently after (ver. 18, ,rve6µ.a-r,; effect til] then wrought by one upon the 22-25) the apostle dwells on the work of other of the two parties : the two parties the s,i,me· Divine Agent in regulating the have nothing more to do with each other. Christian's habits of feeling and action The sense given in the Authorized Version (the dative as in vers.16, 18; Rom. viii. 13). is perfectly justiftable; only, perhaps, here U is here referred to as evincing the Divine the pc.ssi ve takes, ae it sometimes does, the sanction which attaches to the particular reflective sense of the middle verb ; but it action of faith and hope now to be described may be that the apostle means simply to ( comp. Rom. viii. 15-17; Eph. i'. 13). exoress the result which has accrued. 'fhe Wa.it for the hope of righteousness by faith aorist te!l.Be of 1Ca.T.,py1,e.,.,.., as well as of ( '" ,r(o--reo,s l>..,riBa Oll<U.lOO'OJl'IS l,,r,1<6exoµ.e6a.); the E~•1rlo-a.T£, expresses the certainty and from the ground of faith do·waitfor tlie hope promptness with which the result followed of righteousnesa. The term which has the upon the (supposed) act. Whosoever of you principal accent in this clause is /,c 1rt.-.,.• .,., are jUBtmed by the L&w (oT-r,v,s i• voµ.'f "from the ground of faith." This appears, li,Kawiio-8e); such of you as go about to he jus- both from the preceding context, in which tified by the Law. "BytheL&w;" literally, the opposed idea of "justification by the in the Law; seek to find in the Law the Law" holds the foremost place, requiring means of justification ( cf. eh. iii. 11, &nd here the (',on fronting mention of "faith," not.e). The present tense is the present of and also from the next verse, which sub- design or endeavour; the result in this case stantiates the statement before us by affirm- being, in fact, unattainable (eh. iii 10, 21). ing the all-impo1'tance of "faith." In point Ye are feJ.len from gre.oe (T,is xap,-ros l(,,,.•- of construction, '" .,,.,.,.,.,.,s does not appear tra.n) ; ye ha1Je fallen from the state of grace. to qualify "righteousness," although, from "Grace" denotes the condition of acceptance the clastiical text Hab. ii. 4 (Septuagint), it with God into which faith in Christ brings is so often connected with lil1<a.1os &nd us. Cf. Rom. v. 2 : "Through whom we 611<a.wva6a.1; but rather the whole clause, have had our access by faith into this grace " wait for the hope of righteousness." wherein we stand." The verb /,,,,,(,,.,.., is What the apostle is now concerned to say is used as in 2 Pet. iii. 17," Lest-ye fall from that it is by virtue of our faith that we look (<K-ri.-.,.,.,) your own steadfastness." So forward to hereafter receiving the hope of ,r(..-n.,, Rev. ii 5, •• Remember whence thou righteousness. Thie, of course, includes our bast fallen [ .,,.,.,,..,...,,a., : Receptus, ,,,.,,...,,..,.,. being by faith justified. The word•• hope" Kas]." In cl.e.ssical Greek the verb was here design&tes the object hoped for, and frc,q uentl y used &B a set term to describe not the sentiment itself. So Uom. viii. 2i, those who, in the alternating success of " hope that is seen ; " Col. i. 5, " the hope ad verse factions in the sever&! independent which is laid up for you in the heavens ; " on. v. 1-26.J THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 241