The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians
Gal 1:11a Paul Acts 7:58; 8:1, 3; 9:1-30; 11:25, 30; 13:1-4, 7, 9, 13; 15:2
The books of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians form a cluster of Epistles that make up the heart of the divine revelation in the New Testament. The essential subject of these four books is Christ and the church. Galatians reveals that Christ is versus religion with its law; Ephesians reveals the church as the Body of Christ; Philippians concerns the experience, the living out, of Christ; and Colossians unveils the all-inclusive and all-extensive Christ as the Head of the Body.
Gal 1:1b apostle Gal. 2:9; Rom. 1:5; 1 Cor. 9:1-2, 5; 15:9; 2 Cor. 11:5; 12:11
Gal 1:12c not Gal. 1:11-12
The purpose of this book is to cause its receivers to know that the gospel preached by the apostle Paul was not from man’s teaching (vv. 11-12) but from God’s revelation. Hence, in the very opening of this book Paul emphasized that he became an apostle not from men nor through man but through Christ and God.
Gal 1:1d through Acts 9:15; 20:24; 26:16
Gal 1:13e raised Acts 2:24
The law dealt with man as the old creation, whereas the gospel makes man the new creation in resurrection. God made Paul an apostle not by the law according to his natural man in the old creation but through the resurrection of Christ according to his regenerated man in the new creation. Hence, Paul did not say here, “God the Father, who gave the law through Moses,” but “God the Father, who raised Him [Christ] from the dead.” God’s New Testament economy is not with men in the old creation but with men in the new creation through the resurrection of Christ.
Gal 1:21a brothers Phil. 4:21; Acts 11:12
The apostle considered all the brothers who were with him co-writers that they might be a testimony and a confirmation of what he wrote in this Epistle.
Gal 1:22b churches 1 Cor. 7:17; 11:16
Galatia was a province of the ancient Roman Empire. Through Paul’s preaching ministry, churches were established in a number of cities in that province. Hence, churches, not church, was used when the apostle referred to the churches in Galatia collectively.
Gal 1:2c Galatia Acts 16:6; 1 Cor. 16:1; Gal. 3:1
Gal 1:31a Grace Gal. 1:6, 15; 2:9, 21; 5:4; 6:18; John 1:14; Rom. 5:2
See notes 21 in Eph. 1 and 72 in Rom. 1.
Gal 1:32b peace Gal. 6:16; John 14:27; 16:33; 20:19, 21, 26; Phil. 4:7
See note 22 in Eph. 1.
Gal 1:3c our John 20:17; Eph. 1:2
Gal 1:4a gave Gal. 2:20; Matt. 20:28; Eph. 5:2, 25; Titus 2:14
Gal 1:4b sins 1 Cor. 15:3; 1 Pet. 2:24
Gal 1:41 rescue
Lit., pluck us out of, draw us out of, extricate us from.
Gal 1:42c age Eph. 2:2; Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 4:4
An age is a part of the world, which is the satanic system (see note 21 in Eph. 2). According to the context of this book, the present evil age here refers to the religious world, the religious course of the world, the Jewish religion. This is confirmed by 6:14-15, where circumcision is considered a part of the world—the religious world, which to the apostle Paul was crucified. Here the apostle emphasized that the purpose of Christ’s giving Himself for our sins was to rescue us, to pluck us, out of the Jewish religion, the present evil age. This is to release God’s chosen people from the custody of the law (3:23), to bring them out of the sheepfold (John 10:1, 3), according to the will of God. Thus, in his opening word Paul indicated what he was going to deal with: he wanted to rescue the churches, which were distracted by Judaism with its law, and bring them back to the grace of the gospel.
Gal 1:4d will Rom. 12:2; Eph. 1:5
Gal 1:5a glory Rom. 11:36
Gal 1:61 removing
Here Paul came to his subject. Because the churches in Galatia were deserting the grace of Christ and backsliding to the observance of the law, Paul was burdened to write this Epistle.
Gal 1:6a called Eph. 1:18; Rom. 8:30
Gal 1:62 in
Or, by.
Gal 1:63b grace Gal. 2:21; 5:4
The grace of Christ is the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—processed to become our enjoyment. This grace is versus the law of Moses (John 1:17 and note 1).
Gal 1:64c different Gal. 1:8, 9; 2 Cor. 11:4
This was the Judaic observance of the law. Paul’s gospel, which is outside the Judaic law, includes all the major items of the four Gospels. Moreover, it covers many more items so that the revelation of the word of God in the New Testament might be completed (Col. 1:25) with crucial items such as Christ in the believers as the hope of glory (Col. 1:27); the Spirit of God as a seal and a pledge (Eph. 1:13-14); God’s Son being revealed in us (v. 16), being formed in us (4:19), making His home in us (Eph. 3:17), and filling us unto all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19); and Christ as the mystery of God (Col. 2:2) and as the One in whom the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily (Col. 2:9). The focal point of Paul’s gospel is that the Son of God, God’s anointed One (the Christ), has entered into our being to be our life today (Col. 3:4) and our glory in the future (Col. 1:27) that we may be the members (Rom. 12:5) of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:16), of which Christ is the Head (Eph. 4:15).
Gal 1:71 not
The observance of the law could never be a gospel that could set sinners free from the bondage of the law and bring them into the enjoyment of God; it could only keep them as slaves under the bondage of the law, entangling them with the yoke of slavery of the law (5:1).
Gal 1:72 some
The Judaizers, whom the apostle Paul considered false brothers (2:4).
Gal 1:7a trouble Gal. 5:10, 12; Acts 15:24
Gal 1:73 pervert
The Judaizers troubled the churches by perverting, distorting, the gospel of Christ, thus misleading the believers into going back to the law of Moses.
Gal 1:8a angel 2 Cor. 11:14
Gal 1:8b accursed Rom. 9:3; 1 Cor. 16:22
Gal 1:101 trying
Or, persuading men or God; seeking to conciliate, to satisfy, men or God.
Gal 1:10a please 1 Thes. 2:4
Gal 1:11a brothers Gal. 3:15; 4:12, 28, 31; 5:11, 13; 6:1, 18
Gal 1:11b gospel Rom. 2:16; 16:25; 1 Cor. 15:1-2
Gal 1:121 neither
Neither…from man corresponds with not from men in v. 1.
Gal 1:12a received 1 Cor. 15:3
Gal 1:122b revelation Gal. 1:16; 2:2; 2 Cor. 12:1; Eph. 3:3; Rev. 1:1
The revelation given to the apostle Paul by the Lord Jesus Christ concerning the gospel.
Gal 1:13a formerly Acts 26:9-11
Gal 1:131 Judaism
I.e., the Jewish religion, which is in contrast to the Son of God and the church (vv. 13-16).
Gal 1:13b persecuted Acts 22:4; 1 Cor. 15:9; Phil. 3:6; 1 Tim. 1:13
Gal 1:13c church Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 10:32
Gal 1:13d ravaged Gal. 1:23; Acts 8:3; 9:21
Gal 1:14a advanced cf. Acts 22:3
Gal 1:14b zealot Acts 22:3; Phil. 3:6
Gal 1:141c traditions Matt. 15:2-6; Col. 2:8
Traditions in the sect of the Pharisees, of which Paul was a member. He called himself “a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees” (Acts 23:6). The Jewish religion was composed not only of the God-given law and its rituals but also of manmade traditions.
Gal 1:14d fathers 2 Tim. 1:3
Gal 1:15a pleased 1 Cor. 1:21; Eph. 1:5, 9
Gal 1:151 set
I.e., designated or distinguished for a purpose.
Gal 1:152 from
I.e., before he was born.
Gal 1:15b womb Isa. 49:1, 5; Jer. 1:5; Luke 1:15
Gal 1:153c called Rom. 1:1
After he was born, at his conversion.
Gal 1:154d grace Eph. 3:2, 8; 1 Tim. 1:14; 1 Cor. 15:10; 3:10; Rom. 12:3
Paul was called to be an apostle through the grace of Christ, not through the law announced by Moses.
Gal 1:161a reveal Gal. 1:12; Matt. 16:17
Not to teach but to unveil, to give a vision of, to show.
Gal 1:162b Son Gal. 2:20; 4:6
The Son of God, as the embodiment and expression of God the Father (John 1:18; 14:9-11; Heb. 1:3), is life to us (John 10:10; 1 John 5:12; Col. 3:4). God’s heart’s desire is to reveal His Son in us that we may know Him, receive Him as our life (John 17:3; 3:16), and become the sons of God (John 1:12; Gal. 4:5-6). As the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16), He is far superior to Judaism and its traditions (vv. 13-14). The Judaizers had bewitched the Galatians into considering that the ordinances of the law were above the Son of the living God. Hence, in the opening of this Epistle the apostle testified that he had been deeply involved and had become far advanced in the realm of Judaism, but that God had rescued him out of that course of the world, which was evil in God’s eyes, by revealing His Son in him. In his experience he realized that there was no comparison between the Son of the living God and Judaism with its dead traditions handed down from his forefathers.
Gal 1:163 in
[ par. 1 2 ]
Gal 1:163 [1] God’s revealing of His Son to us is in us; it is not outward but inward, not by an outward vision but by an inward seeing. It is not an objective revelation but a subjective one.
Gal 1:163 [2] God made the apostle Paul a minister of Christ by setting him apart, calling him (v. 15), and revealing His Son in him.
Gal 1:164 Him
The apostle Paul did not preach the law but announced Christ, the Son of God, as the gospel; he announced not merely the doctrine concerning Him but the living person Himself.
Gal 1:165c Gentiles Acts 9:15; 22:21; 26:17-18; Eph. 3:8; Gal. 2:8-9
The heathen Gentiles.
Gal 1:166 not
This confirms that the apostle did not receive the gospel from man (v. 12).
Gal 1:167d flesh Matt. 16:17; Eph. 6:12
I.e., man, composed of flesh and blood.
Gal 1:17a Neither Acts 9:19-22
Gal 1:171b Arabia Gal. 4:25
It is difficult to trace where in Arabia Paul went and how long he stayed there after his conversion. However, the place must have been away from the Christians, and the time of his stay there must not have been short. His purpose in referring to his stay in Arabia was to testify that he did not receive the gospel from man (v. 12). In Arabia he must have received some revelation concerning the gospel directly from the Lord.
Gal 1:17c Damascus Acts 9:2, 3, 19, 22
Gal 1:18a Jerusalem Acts 9:26, 28; 22:17
Gal 1:181 visit
The Greek word implies to visit in order to become acquainted with.
Gal 1:18b Cephas John 1:42; Gal. 2:9, 11, 14; 1 Cor. 1:12
Gal 1:191 except
This indicates that James, the brother of the Lord, and Cephas (v. 18), who was Peter, were at that time the leading ones among the apostles.
Gal 1:19a James Gal. 2:9, 12; Matt. 13:55; Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; 1 Cor. 15:7; James 1:1
Gal 1:20a not Rom. 9:1; 1 Tim. 2:7
Gal 1:211a Syria Acts 15:23, 41
Arabia (v. 17), Syria, and Cilicia were all regions of the Gentile world. By mentioning his journeys to all these places, Paul testified that the revelation he received concerning the gospel was not from any men, that is, from any Christians, who at that time were mainly in Judea (v. 22).
Gal 1:21b Cilicia Acts 6:9; 21:39; 22:3; 23:34; 27:5
Gal 1:221 unknown
Paul said this to strengthen the point that he did not receive the gospel from any who were believers in Christ before him.
Gal 1:22a churches 1 Thes. 2:14; Acts 9:31
Gal 1:231 only
The churches, which included all the believers in Christ in Judea, only heard the news of Paul’s conversion and glorified God because of him. They had nothing to do with his receiving the revelation concerning the gospel.
Gal 1:23a persecuting Gal. 1:13
Gal 1:232b faith Gal. 3:2, 5, 7, 9, 23, 25; 6:10; Acts 6:7; 13:8; 14:22; Rom. 16:26; 1 Cor. 16:13; Eph. 4:13; 1 Tim. 1:19b; 3:9, 13; 4:1, 6; 5:8; 6:10, 12, 21; 2 Tim. 3:8; 4:7; Titus 1:13; Jude 3, 20; Rev. 14:12
The faith here and in all the verses of reference 23b implies our believing in Christ, taking His person and His redemptive work as the object of our faith. The faith, replacing the law, by which God dealt with people in the Old Testament, became the principle by which God deals with people in the New Testament. This faith characterizes the believers in Christ and distinguishes them from the keepers of law. This is the main emphasis of this book. The law of the Old Testament stresses letters and ordinances, whereas the faith of the New Testament emphasizes the Spirit and life.
Gal 1:24a glorified Matt. 9:8; Acts 21:19-20
Gal 2:11 after
As recorded in Acts 15, this was after a number of churches had been raised up in the Gentile world through Paul’s ministry (see Acts 13—14). This indicates that Paul’s preaching of the gospel to raise up the Gentile churches had nothing to do with the believers in Jerusalem and Judea.
Gal 2:1b Barnabas Gal. 2:9, 13; Acts 4:36; 9:27; 11:22, 24-26, 30; 12:25; 13:1, 7; 14:20; 15:12, 22; 1 Cor. 9:6
Gal 2:1c Titus 2 Cor. 2:13; Titus 1:4
Gal 2:21a revelation Gal. 1:12
Not only Paul’s gospel but even his going up to Jerusalem were according to the Lord’s revelation, not according to any organization or system. Paul’s move and activity were according to the Lord’s instant leading. This again indicates that his preaching of the gospel was not according to man’s teaching but according to the Lord’s direct revelation.
Gal 2:2b Gentiles Acts 15:12
Gal 2:2d lest Gal. 4:11; 1 Thes. 3:5
Gal 2:2e running Phil. 2:16; 1 Cor. 9:24, 26; Heb. 12:1; Gal. 5:7
Gal 2:31 not
This indicates that in his move for the Lord’s testimony, Paul did not care for the observance of the law.
Gal 2:32a circumcised cf. Acts 16:3
Judaism was built upon the God-given law with its three pillars: circumcision, the Sabbath, and the holy dietary regulations. All three were ordained by God (Gen. 17:9-14; Exo. 20:8-11; Lev. 11) as shadows of things to come (Col. 2:16-17). Circumcision was a shadow of the crucifixion of Christ in its putting off of the flesh, as signified in baptism (Col. 2:11-12). The Sabbath was a type of Christ as the rest for His people (Matt. 11:28-30). The holy diet symbolized persons who are clean and persons who are unclean, those whom God’s holy people should contact and those they should not contact (Acts 10:11-16, 34-35). Once Christ had come, all these shadows should have been terminated. Hence, the observance of the Sabbath was abolished by the Lord Jesus in His ministry (Matt. 12:1-12), the holy dietary regulations were annulled by the Spirit in Peter’s ministry (Acts 10:9-20), and circumcision was counted as nothing in the revelation received by Paul in his ministry (5:6; 6:15). Furthermore, the law, the base of Judaism, has been terminated and replaced by Christ (Rom. 10:4; Gal. 2:16). Thus, Judaism in its entirety is finished.
Gal 2:41a false 2 Cor. 11:26
The Judaizers, who perverted the gospel of Christ by secretly bringing the observances of the law into the church and troubled the genuine brothers in Christ (1:7).
Gal 2:4b secretly 2 Pet. 2:1; Jude 4
Gal 2:42c freedom Gal. 5:1, 13
Freedom from the bondage of the law. This freedom in Christ Jesus includes (1) release from the bondage of the law, implying liberation from obligation to the law and its ordinances, practices, and regulations; (2) full satisfaction, with a rich, supporting supply; (3) the enjoyment of true rest, without being under the heavy burden to keep the law; and (4) the full enjoyment of the living Christ.
Gal 2:43d slavery Gal. 4:1, 9; Rom. 8:15
Slavery under the law.
Gal 2:51a truth Gal. 2:14; 4:16; 5:7; Col. 1:5
Not the doctrine or the teaching of the gospel but the reality of the gospel.
Gal 2:6b not Deut. 10:17; Acts 10:34; Rom. 2:11
Gal 2:7a entrusted 1 Cor. 9:17; 1 Thes. 2:4; 1 Tim. 1:11; Titus 1:3
Gal 2:7b uncircumcision Gal. 1:16
Gal 2:7c Peter Matt. 4:18-19; John 1:42; Matt. 16:16-19; Acts 1:15; 2:14; 1 Pet. 1:1
Gal 2:8a apostleship Acts 1:25; 1 Cor. 9:1-2, 5
Gal 2:8b Gentiles Acts 9:15; 22:21; 26:17-18; Rom. 11:13
Gal 2:9a grace Gal. 1:15; Rom. 1:5; 1 Cor. 15:10
Gal 2:91b James Gal. 1:19
When the apostles were listed, Peter was usually mentioned first (Matt. 10:2; Mark 3:16; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13). Here, however, James was mentioned first. This indicates that at that time Peter was not the foremost leading one in the church; rather, it was James, the brother of the Lord (1:19). This is confirmed by Acts 15:13-21, where James, not Peter, was the authority who gave the final, decisive word in the conference held in Jerusalem. It must have been because of Peter’s weakness in not holding the truth of the gospel, as illustrated by Paul in vv. 11-14, that James came to the forefront to take the lead among the apostles. Hence, both in v. 12 and in Acts 21:18 James was considered the representative of the church in Jerusalem and of the apostles. This is strong proof that Peter was not always the foremost leader in the church. Furthermore, this implies that leadership in the church is not organizational and perpetual; rather, it is spiritual and fluctuates according to the spiritual condition of the leading ones. This strongly rebuts Catholicism in its assertion that Peter was the only successor of Christ in the administration of the church.
Gal 2:9d John Matt. 4:21; Acts 3:1; 4:19; 2 John 1
Gal 2:9f pillars 1 Kings 7:21; Rev. 3:12; 1 Tim. 3:15
Gal 2:9h hand cf. 2 Kings 10:15; Ezra 10:19
Gal 2:9i fellowship 1 John 1:3, 7; Phil. 2:1
Gal 2:10a poor Deut. 15:7-8, 11; Esth. 9:22; Matt. 26:11
Gal 2:10b was Acts 11:29-30; 24:17; Rom. 12:13; 1 Cor. 16:1; 2 Cor. 9:1, 12
Gal 2:11b Antioch Acts 11:19; 13:1; 15:30, 35
Gal 2:121 from
I.e., from the church in Jerusalem. This is another indication that at that time James, not Peter, was the first among the apostles in Jerusalem.
Gal 2:122 continually
This was contrary to the customary practice of the Jews in their keeping of the observances of the law.
Gal 2:12b ate Acts 11:3; 10:28
Gal 2:123 fearing
This proves that at that time Peter was very weak in the pure Christian faith. In Acts 10 he had received an exceedingly clear vision from the heavens concerning fellowship with the Gentiles, and he took the lead to practice it. What weakness and backsliding to shrink from eating with Gentile believers out of fear of those of the circumcision! It is no wonder that he lost the leadership among the apostles.
Gal 2:12c circumcision Acts 11:2
Gal 2:131 rest
When the leading one backslid, the rest easily followed.
Gal 2:132 hypocrisy
That Peter, the leading apostle, practiced hypocrisy in relation to the truth of the gospel is almost incredible.
Gal 2:133a Barnabas Gal. 2:1
Barnabas participated in Paul’s first ministry journey to preach the gospel to the Gentiles and to raise up the Gentile churches. Even one who had so much fellowship with the Gentile believers was carried away in Peter’s hypocrisy. What a negative influence Peter exerted on others! Surely he deserved to lose his leadership.
Gal 2:141 walking
Lit., walking straight-footedly.
Gal 2:14a straightforward Heb. 12:13
Gal 2:14d before 1 Tim. 5:20
Gal 2:142e live Gal. 2:12
I.e., eat, live, and fellowship with the Gentiles.
Gal 2:143f live Acts 10:28
Lit., Judaize; i.e., live like the Jews, not eating or fellowshipping with the Gentiles.
Gal 2:16a law Acts 13:39
Gal 2:161b faith Rom. 5:1; 9:30; Phil. 3:9
Lit., faith of Jesus Christ. See note 221 in Rom. 3. Faith in Jesus Christ denotes an organic union with Him through believing. This is related to the believers’ appreciation of the person of the Son of God as the most precious One. The believers are infused with the preciousness of Christ through the gospel preached to them. This Christ becomes in them the faith by which they believe and the capacity to believe through their appreciation of Him. This faith creates an organic union in which they and Christ are one.
Gal 2:16c no Gal. 3:11; Rom. 3:20
Gal 2:162 flesh
Flesh here denotes fallen man, who has become flesh (Gen. 6:3). No fallen man will be justified out of the works of law.
Gal 2:171 minister
One who ministers sin to people, or who serves sin to people.
Gal 2:172b Absolutely Gal. 3:21; Rom. 3:4, 6, 31
Lit., May it not happen! So throughout the Epistle.
Gal 2:181 build
I.e., return to Judaism. This refers to Peter’s returning to the Judaic observance of not eating with Gentiles.
Gal 2:182 destroyed
I.e., counted loss, counted as dung (Phil. 3:7-8). Referring to Peter’s abandoning of the Judaistic practice of not eating with the Gentiles.
Gal 2:191 through
The law requires us, as sinners, to die, and according to that requirement Christ died for us and with us. Hence, through law we have died in Christ and with Christ.
Gal 2:192a died Rom. 7:4, 6
I.e., the obligation under the law, the relationship to the law, was terminated.
Gal 2:193b live Rom. 6:11
I.e., be obligated to God in the divine life. In Christ’s death our relationship with the law has been terminated; in His resurrection we are responsible to God in the resurrection life.
Gal 2:201a crucified Gal. 6:14; Rom. 6:6
This explains how it is that through law we have died to law. When Christ was crucified, according to God’s economy we were included in Him. This is an accomplished fact.
Gal 2:202 no
No longer I does not indicate an exchanged life, a life in which Christ comes in and we go out, for later in this verse Paul said, “I live.” As regenerated people, we have both the old “I,” which has been crucified (Rom. 6:6), concerning which Paul said, “No longer I,” and a new “I,” concerning which Paul said, “I live.” The old, terminated “I” was without divinity; the new “I” has God as life added to it. The new “I” came into being when the old “I” was resurrected and God was added to it. On the one hand, Paul had been terminated, but on the other hand, a resurrected Paul, one who was regenerated with God as his life, still lived. Furthermore, although Paul said, “No longer I,” he also said, “It is Christ who lives in me,” for it was Christ who lived, but it was in Paul that He lived. The two, Christ and Paul, had one life and one living.
Gal 2:203b Christ John 14:20; 15:4-5; 17:23, 26; Rom. 8:10
[ par. 1 2 ]
Gal 2:203 [1] We have died in Christ through His death, but now He lives in us through His resurrection. His living in us is entirely by His being the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). This point is fully developed in all the following chapters, where the Spirit is presented and emphasized as the very One whom we have received as life and in whom we should live.
Gal 2:203 [2] The “I,” the natural person, inclines to keep the law that it might be perfect (Phil. 3:6), but God wants us to live Christ that God might be expressed in us through Him (Phil. 1:20-21). Hence, God’s economy is that the “I” be crucified in Christ’s death and that Christ live in us in His resurrection. To keep the law is to exalt it above all things in our life; to live Christ is to make Him the center and everything in our life. The law was used by God for a period of time to keep His chosen people in custody for Christ (3:23) and eventually to conduct them to Christ (3:24) that they might receive Him as life and live Him to be God’s expression. Because Christ has come, the function of the law has been terminated, and Christ must replace the law in our lives for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose.
Gal 2:204 life
Not the physical life nor the soulish life but the spiritual and divine life.
Gal 2:20c live John 6:57; 14:19
Gal 2:205 faith
In contrast to the way we live the physical and soulish life, we live the divine life not by sight nor by feeling. The divine life, the spiritual life in our spirit, is lived by the exercise of faith, which is stimulated by the presence of the life-giving Spirit.
Gal 2:20d faith Gal. 2:16; 3:22, 26
Gal 2:207 Son
The title Christ denotes mainly Christ’s mission, which is to carry out God’s plan; the Son of God denotes Christ’s person, which is for the imparting of God’s life into us. Hence, the faith in which we live God’s life is of the Son of God, the life-imparting One.
Gal 2:208e loved Rom. 8:37; Eph. 5:25; 2 Cor. 5:14
The Son of God loved us and purposely gave Himself up for us that He might impart the divine life into us.
Gal 2:211a grace Gal. 5:4
The grace of God is that Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God, has imparted the divine life into us through the life-giving Spirit. Not to live by this Spirit is to nullify the grace of God.
Gal 2:212b righteousness Gal. 3:21; Rom. 9:31
Christ died for us that in Him we may have righteousness, through which we may receive the divine life (Rom. 5:18, 21). This righteousness is not through law but through the death of Christ.
Gal 2:21c Christ 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18
Gal 2:213 for
Or, without cause. If righteousness is through law, Christ has died without cause. However, righteousness is through Christ’s death, and Christ’s death has separated us from law.
Gal 3:11c crucified 1 Cor. 1:23; 2:2; Gal. 5:11
[ par. 1 2 ]
Gal 3:11 [1] The cross is the center of God’s operation in His economy. In this Epistle Paul was bringing the believers who had been distracted to the law back to the cross and encouraging them to behold Christ crucified, that they would never again be distracted to the law. This Epistle provides a thorough view of Christ crucified (1:4; 2:19-21; 3:13; 5:24; 6:14).
Gal 3:11 [2] The crucifixion of Christ indicates that all the requirements of the law have been fulfilled by the death of Christ, and that Christ through His death has released His life that it may be imparted into us in His resurrection to free us from bondage under the law. This was fully portrayed before the eyes of the Galatians in the word of the gospel. How could they neglect this and be bewitched, drifting back to the law? How foolish!
Gal 3:21 receive
When the believers believe into Christ, they receive the Spirit. It is a serious misunderstanding to consider Christ as separate from the Spirit. At the time of regeneration we believed into Christ, and we also received the Spirit and were sealed with the Spirit (Eph. 1:13). At that very moment an organic union took place—we were grafted into the Triune God (Rom. 11:17), and the Spirit as the pledge (Eph. 1:14) became the ultimate blessing of the gospel to us (v. 14). After this, receiving the Spirit is a lifelong, continuous matter. God is supplying the Spirit to us continuously (v. 5).
Gal 3:22a Spirit Acts 2:38; 10:47; 15:8; Eph. 1:13; Heb. 6:4; Gal. 3:3, 5, 14; 4:6, 29; 5:5, 16, 17, 18, 22, 25; 6:8
[ par. 1 2 ]
Gal 3:22 [1] The Galatians, through the hearing of the gospel, believed in the crucified Christ, but they received the Spirit. The One who was crucified on the cross was Christ, but the One who entered into the believers was the Spirit. In His being crucified for the believers’ redemption He was Christ, but in His indwelling the believers to be their life He is the Spirit. This is the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit, who is the all-inclusive and ultimate blessing of the gospel. The believers receive such a divine Spirit by the hearing of faith, not by the works of law. He enters into the believers and lives in them not by their keeping of the law but by their faith in the crucified and resurrected Christ.
Gal 3:22 [2] In the first two chapters of this Epistle there is Christ in the divine revelation as the focal point of God’s economy, but in the last four chapters there is the Spirit in our experience for us to have the divine life (ch. 3), to be born of God (ch. 4), to live and walk by the regenerated life (ch. 5), and to take the divine purpose as our goal (ch. 6). Thus, we enjoy Christ continually as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit (v. 5a).
Gal 3:23b works Gal. 2:16; 3:5, 10; Rom. 3:20, 28
The law was the basic condition for the relationship between man and God in God’s Old Testament economy (v. 23); faith is the unique way for God to carry out His New Testament economy with man (1 Tim. 1:4). The law is related to the flesh (Rom. 7:5) and depends on the effort of the flesh, the very flesh that is the expression of the “I.” Faith is related to the Spirit and trusts in the operation of the Spirit, the very Spirit who is the realization of Christ. In the Old Testament the “I” and the flesh played an important role in the keeping of the law. In the New Testament Christ and the Spirit take over the position of the “I” and the flesh, and faith replaces the law, that we may live Christ by the Spirit. To keep the law by the flesh is man’s natural way; it is in the darkness of man’s concept and results in death and wretchedness (Rom. 7:10-11, 24). To receive the Spirit out of the hearing of faith is God’s revealed way; it is in the light of God’s revelation and issues in life and glory (Rom. 8:2, 6, 10-11, 30). Hence, we must treasure the hearing of faith, not the works of law. It is by the hearing of faith that we received the Spirit so that we might participate in God’s promised blessing and live Christ. The faith mentioned in vv. 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 23, 24, and 25 of this chapter is this faith. (See note 232 in ch. 1.)
Gal 3:23c hearing Gal. 3:5; Rom. 10:16-17; John 5:24
See note 23.
Gal 3:2d faith Gal. 1:23; 3:5, 7, 9, 23, 25
Gal 3:31 begun
To begin by the Spirit is to begin by faith in Christ; to be perfected by the flesh is to be perfected by works of law (v. 2).
Gal 3:32 Spirit
[ par. 1 2 ]
Gal 3:32 [1] The Spirit, who is the resurrected Christ, is of life; the flesh, which is our fallen man, is of sin and death. We should not begin by the Spirit and attempt to be perfected by the flesh. Since we have begun by the Spirit, we should be perfected by the Spirit and have nothing to do with the flesh. In 2:20 the contrast is between Christ and the “I”; here the contrast is between the Spirit and the flesh. This indicates that the Spirit is Christ and the flesh is the “I” in our experience. From ch. 3 to the end of the Epistle, the Spirit is Christ in our life experience. In revelation, it is Christ; in experience, it is the Spirit.
Gal 3:32 [2] The flesh is condemned and repudiated throughout this book (1:16; 2:16; 3:3; 4:23, 29; 5:13, 16-17, 19, 24; 6:8, 12-13), and from ch. 3 every chapter gives a contrast between the flesh and the Spirit (v. 3; 4:29; 5:16-17, 19, 22; 6:8). The flesh is the uttermost expression of the fallen tripartite man, and the Spirit is the ultimate realization of the processed Triune God. The flesh inclines to keep the law and is tested by the law; the Spirit is received and enjoyed out of faith. God’s economy delivers us from the flesh to the Spirit that we may participate in the blessing of the riches of the Triune God. This cannot take place by the flesh keeping the law but by the Spirit being received out of faith and experienced through faith.
Gal 3:32a flesh Gal. 4:23, 29; 5:13, 16, 17, 19, 24; 6:8, 12, 13
See note 32.
Gal 3:41a suffered Heb. 10:32
The Galatians suffered persecution because of their faith in Christ, which had turned them to Christ from the Jewish religion and heathen customs.
Gal 3:51 bountifully
The Greek word means supplies fully, bountifully, and liberally. See Phil. 1:19. On God’s side, He supplies the Spirit bountifully; on our side, we receive the Spirit. Day by day a marvelous divine transmission takes place: God supplies and we receive. The way to open ourselves to this heavenly transmission to receive the supply of the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit is to exercise our spirit to pray and call on the Lord.
Gal 3:5a supplies Phil. 1:19
Gal 3:52b Spirit Gal. 3:2
The all-inclusive compound Spirit, typified by the compound ointment in Exo. 30:23-25. This is the Spirit mentioned in John 7:39, who is the life-imparting Christ in resurrection. To the believers in God’s New Testament economy, this Spirit is the bountiful supply. The supplying of this Spirit is altogether not out of the works of law but out of faith in the crucified and glorified Christ.
Gal 3:53c does 1 Cor. 12:10
Lit., operates.
Gal 3:54d works Gal. 3:2
In an attempt to frustrate God’s economy, Satan, the enemy of God, uses the law—which was given by God to serve His purpose temporarily—to keep God’s chosen people from His economy and to distract them from it. The law is misused when it is used to stir up man’s fallen desire to exalt himself by keeping the law that he might have a self-made righteousness.
Gal 3:61a Abraham Gal. 3:7, 8, 9, 14, 16, 18, 29; 4:22; Rom. 4:2
In drifting back to the law, the bewitched Galatians clung to Moses, through whom the law was given; but Paul referred them to Abraham, who was the father of faith. Faith was of God’s original economy; the law was added later because of the transgressions (v. 19). After Christ fulfilled the law through His death, God wanted His people to return to His original economy. With Abraham it was not a matter of keeping the law but of believing God. It should be so with all the New Testament believers.
Gal 3:6b believed Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:3; James 2:23
Gal 3:71a faith Gal. 3:2
I.e., the faith.
Gal 3:72b sons Gal. 3:29; Luke 19:9; John 8:39
Works of law make people disciples of Moses (John 9:28), a relationship that has nothing whatever to do with life. Faith in Christ makes the New Testament believers sons of God, a relationship altogether of life. We, the New Testament believers, were born sons of the fallen Adam, and in Adam, because of transgressions, we were under the law of Moses. But we have been reborn sons of Abraham and have been freed from the law of Moses by faith in Christ.
Gal 3:8a justify Gal. 3:24; Rom. 3:30
Gal 3:81 gospel
The promise God gave to Abraham, “In you shall all the nations be blessed,” was the gospel. It was preached to Abraham not only before the accomplishing of redemption by Christ but also before the giving of the law through Moses. What God promised to Abraham corresponds with what God accomplished through Christ, which is the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham. The New Testament economy is a continuation of God’s dealing with Abraham, having nothing to do with the law of Moses. All the New Testament believers should be in this continuation and should have nothing to do with the law given through Moses.
Gal 3:8b In Gen. 12:3; Acts 3:25
Gal 3:91a faith Gal. 3:7
I.e., the faith.
Gal 3:92 blessed
Faith in Christ brings us into the blessing that God promised to Abraham, which is the promise of the Spirit (v. 14).
Gal 3:93 believing
Under God’s dealing, Abraham was not working to please God but was believing Him.
Gal 3:101b curse Gal. 3:13
Faith in Christ had brought the Galatian believers into the blessing in Christ, causing them to enjoy the grace of life in the Spirit; but the Judaizers bewitched them and caused them to come under the curse of the law, thus depriving them of the enjoyment of Christ and causing them to fall from grace (5:4).
Gal 3:10c Cursed Deut. 27:26
Gal 3:111 by
Lit., in; meaning “in the power of, in virtue of” (Darby’s New Translation).
Gal 3:11b The Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:17; Heb. 10:38
Gal 3:11c live Gal. 2:20; 5:25
Gal 3:112 by
Lit., out of faith; in contrast to by law.
Gal 3:12a He Lev. 18:5; Rom. 10:5
Gal 3:121 because
Lit., in; meaning in virtue of.
Gal 3:13a redeemed Gal. 4:5; Rom. 3:24
Gal 3:13b curse Gal. 3:10; Gen. 3:17
Gal 3:131 become
As our Substitute on the cross, Christ not only bore the curse for us but also became a curse for us. The curse of the law issued from the sin of man (Gen. 3:17). When Christ took away our sin on the cross, He redeemed us out of the curse of the law.
Gal 3:13c Cursed Deut. 21:23
Gal 3:132d tree Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29; 1 Pet. 2:24
I.e., the cross.
Gal 3:141a blessing Gal. 3:8, 9; Rom. 4:9
The blessing promised by God to Abraham (Gen. 12:3) for all the nations of the earth. The promise was fulfilled, and the blessing has come to the nations in Christ through His redemption by the cross.
Gal 3:142c receive Gal. 3:2
In the gospel we have received not only the blessing of forgiveness, washing, and cleansing; even more, we have received the greatest blessing, which is the Triune God—the Father, Son, and Spirit—as the processed, all-inclusive life-giving Spirit dwelling in us in a most subjective way for our enjoyment. Oh, what a blessing that we can enjoy such an all-inclusive One as our daily portion!
Gal 3:14d promise Acts 2:33, 39; Eph. 1:13
Gal 3:143e Spirit Gal. 3:2
[ par. 1 2 ]
Gal 3:143 [1] This verse indicates that the Spirit is the blessing that God promised to Abraham for all the nations and that has been received by the believers through faith in Christ. The Spirit is the compound Spirit, as mentioned in note 52, and actually is God Himself processed in His Trinity through incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and descension that we may receive Him as our life and our everything. This is the focus of the gospel of God.
Gal 3:143 [2] The physical aspect of the blessing that God promised to Abraham was the good land (Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 17:8; 26:3-4), which was a type of the all-inclusive Christ (see Col. 1:12 and note 2). Since Christ is eventually realized as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17), the blessing of the promised Spirit corresponds with the blessing of the land promised to Abraham. Actually, the Spirit as the realization of Christ in our experience is the good land as the source of God’s bountiful supply for us to enjoy.
Gal 3:16a to Luke 1:55; Rom. 4:13, 16
Gal 3:16b promises Acts 13:32; 26:6; Rom. 9:4
Gal 3:16c to Gen. 13:15; 17:7-8
Gal 3:16d seed Gen. 22:18; Acts 3:25
Gal 3:161e Christ Gal. 3:27-29
Christ is the seed, and the seed is the heir who inherits the promises. Here, Christ is the unique seed who inherits the promises. Hence, in order to inherit the promised blessing, we must be one with Christ. Outside of Him we cannot inherit the promises given by God to Abraham. In God’s eyes Abraham has only one seed, that is, Christ. We must be in Him that we may participate in the promises given to Abraham. He is not only the seed who inherits the promises but also the blessing of the promises to be inherited by us. For the Galatian believers to turn back from Christ to the law meant that they would forfeit both the Heir and the inheritance of the promises.
Gal 3:171 covenant
This indicates that the promise God gave to Abraham became a covenant, which is more firm than a promise. The word, the promise, and the covenant are the gospel that was preached to Abraham. The gospel is the covenant, the covenant is the promise, and the promise is the word spoken by God. Although the gospel is a matter of the new testament, it is important to realize that the new testament is a continuation, or repetition, of God’s promise to Abraham.
Gal 3:172 law
God’s promise to Abraham was given first. The law came 430 years later. The promise was permanent, but the law was temporary. The law, which came later and was temporary, cannot annul the promise, which was given first and was permanent. The Galatians left the first and permanent promise and went back to the later and temporary law.
Gal 3:173a four Exo. 12:40-41; cf. Gen. 15:13; Acts 7:6
Counted from the time God gave Abraham the promise in Gen. 12 to the time He gave the law through Moses in Exo. 20. This period was considered by God as the time of the children of Israel’s dwelling in Egypt (Exo. 12:40-41). The four hundred years mentioned in Gen. 15:13 and Acts 7:6 is counted from the time Ishmael mocked Isaac in Gen. 21 to the time the children of Israel came out of the Egyptian tyranny in Exo. 12. This is the period during which Abraham’s descendants suffered persecution from the Gentiles.
Gal 3:181a inheritance Gal. 3:29; 4:1
The law does not give; it only requires. Inheritance is not of law but of promise. Hence, the inheritance was graciously given to Abraham through promise.
Gal 3:18b promise Heb. 6:13-17
Gal 3:191 added
The law was not there in the origination of God’s economy. It was added because of man’s transgressions, while God’s economy was proceeding, and was to be in effect until the seed, Christ, should come, to whom God’s promise was made. Since it was added because of man’s transgressions, it should have been deducted when those transgressions were taken away. And since Christ, the seed, has come, the law must be terminated.
Gal 3:19b transgressions Rom. 4:15; 5:20
Gal 3:192 ordained
Because the law was ordained through angels in the hand of a mediator and, unlike the promise, was not given by God directly to the people, it is not primary but secondary in God’s economy.
Gal 3:19d angels Acts 7:38, 53; Heb. 2:2
Gal 3:193e mediator Exo. 20:19; Deut. 5:5
The man Moses.
Gal 3:201a mediator 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 8:6; 9:15; 12:24
With the law there is a mediator between two parties, God and the children of Israel. With the promise there is only God, who is directly related to the one who receives the promise, without a go-between. The responsibility with respect to the law depends not on one party but on two, whereas the responsibility with regard to the promise depends only on the giver, God. Hence, the law is inferior to the promise. The Galatians gave up the superior and went back to the inferior.
Gal 3:20b one Deut. 6:4; Rom. 3:30
Gal 3:21a Absolutely Gal. 2:17
Gal 3:211 give
The law was able only to demand and condemn; it could not give life. (See note 101 in Rom. 7.) There is no life in the law; there are only commandments. Life is in Christ (John 1:4). He is the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45), the only One who is able to give life. The giving of life is the focal point of the apostle’s revelation. We should take only the One who gives life.
Gal 3:212b righteousness Gal. 2:21
There must be righteousness in order for life to be given. Righteousness, however, is not of law but in Christ (Rom. 5:17-18). Hence, the law is not able to give life. Furthermore, since the law cannot give life, it has no power to fulfill its requirements so that righteousness may be produced. Hence, in this sense also, righteousness is not of law.
Gal 3:221a shut cf. Rom. 11:32; Gal. 3:23
As a jailer shuts up prisoners. The Scripture, personified here, has shut up all mankind under sin, not that the law might be kept by the imprisoned sinners but that God’s promise might be given to the believers by faith in Christ. To be shut up under sin is to be shut up under law, as revealed in v. 23.
Gal 3:222 all
Lit., all things; i.e., all mankind.
Gal 3:22c promise Rom. 4:13, 16
Gal 3:223d faith Gal. 3:26
Or, faith of Jesus Christ. See note 221 in Rom. 3.
Gal 3:22e believe Acts 10:43
Gal 3:231a faith Gal. 3:2, 25
See notes 232 in ch. 1 and 23 in ch. 3. So also in v. 25. Faith was not revealed until Christ came (cf. John 1:12; 3:16, 18).
Gal 3:232b guarded Gal. 4:2
Kept in custody, kept in ward.
Gal 3:233d shut cf. Gal. 3:22
To be guarded under law by being shut up under law is to be like sheep enclosed in a fold (John 10:1, 16). In God’s economy the law was used as a fold to keep God’s chosen people until Christ came (see note 12 in John 10). Since Christ has come, God’s people should no longer be kept under the law (see note 92 in John 10).
Gal 3:234 unto
Or, with a view to. Indicating that shutting up has an object; i.e., it consummates in the faith, it brings the guarded people to the faith.
Gal 3:24a law Matt. 5:17
Gal 3:241 child-conductor
Or, escort, guardian, custodian; one who cares for a child who is under age and conducts him to the schoolmaster. The law was used by God as a custodian, a guardian, a child-conductor, to watch over His chosen people before Christ came, and to escort and bring them to Christ when He did come, that they might be justified by faith and participate in the blessing promised and covenanted by God.
Gal 3:24c faith Gal. 2:16; Acts 13:39
Gal 3:251 no
Since faith in Christ has come, we do not need to be under the guarding law any longer.
Gal 3:261a sons Gal. 4:6-7; Rom. 8:14
Sons of full age, who have outgrown the custody of the slave guardian. Under the old testament, God’s chosen people were considered infants. Now, under the new testament, they are considered sons of full age, who will inherit the promised blessing—the all-inclusive Spirit of Christ.
Gal 3:262b faith Gal. 3:22
Faith in Christ brings us into Christ, making us one with Christ, in whom is the sonship. We must be identified with Christ through faith so that in Him we may be sons of God.
Gal 3:26c in Gal. 3:14, 28; 5:6
Gal 3:27a baptized Rom. 6:3; Matt. 28:19
Gal 3:271 into
To believe is to believe into Christ (John 3:16), and to be baptized is to be baptized into Christ. By both faith and baptism we have entered into Christ, having thus put on Christ and become identified with Christ. Baptism practiced in a proper, genuine, and living way puts the believers into the name of the Triune God, the divine name (Matt. 28:19); into Christ, a living person (Gal. 3:27); into the death of Christ, an effective death (Rom. 6:3); and into the Body of Christ, a living organism (1 Cor. 12:13), that the believers may enter into an organic union not only with Christ but also with His Body. Furthermore, baptism brings the believers out of their old state into a new one, terminating their old life and germinating them with the new life of Christ that they may live in the Body of Christ, an organism, by the elements of the Triune God.
Gal 3:27b put Rom. 13:14; cf. Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10
Gal 3:281 cannot
See note 112 in Col. 3.
Gal 3:282a Jew 1 Cor. 12:13; Col. 3:11
Differences among races and nationalities.
Gal 3:283 slave
Differences in social rank.
Gal 3:284b male cf. 1 Cor. 11:11
Differences between the sexes.
Gal 3:285c one John 10:16; 17:11, 21-23; Eph. 2:14-16; 4:4
The believers are one in Christ by His resurrection life and His divine nature to be the one new man, as mentioned in Eph. 2:15. This one new man is absolutely in Christ. There is no room for our natural being, our natural disposition, and our natural character; in this one new man Christ is all and in all (Col. 3:10-11). This oneness in Christ is achieved through baptism, which terminates all the divisive distinctions and ushers the believers into the divine organic union with the processed Triune God, resulting in the believers’ subjective assurance that they are one with one another.
Gal 3:28d in Gal. 3:14, 26; 5:6; Eph. 3:6; 1 Cor. 1:30
Gal 3:29a Christ 1 Cor. 3:23
Gal 3:291 Abraham’s
[ par. 1 2 ]
Gal 3:291 [1] Abraham has only one seed, Christ (v. 16). Hence, to be Abraham’s seed we must be of Christ, be a part of Christ. Because we are one with Christ, we too are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise, inheriting God’s promised blessing, which is the all-inclusive Spirit as the ultimate consummation of the processed God, who is our portion. Under the new testament, the believers as God’s chosen people, being sons of full age, are such heirs, not under law but in Christ. Like Ishmael (4:23), the Judaizers, who remained under law and kept themselves apart from Christ, were Abraham’s descendants according to the flesh; they were not like Isaac (4:28), who was Abraham’s heir according to promise. But the believers in Christ are such heirs, inheriting the promised blessing. Hence, we should remain in Christ and not turn to the law.
Gal 3:291 [2] Since the law is unable to give us life (v. 21), it cannot produce the sons of God; but the Spirit, who is received out of faith (v. 2) and who gives us life (2 Cor. 3:6), can. The law kept God’s chosen people under its custody until faith came (v. 23). Faith in Christ, who is the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit, makes God’s chosen people Abraham’s seed as “the stars of the heavens” (Gen. 22:17) according to God’s promise.
Gal 3:29b seed Gal. 3:7; Gen. 21:12; Rom. 9:7-8; Gen. 22:17
Gal 3:29c heirs Gal. 4:1, 7; Rom. 8:16, 17; Eph. 3:6; Titus 3:7
Gal 3:292d promise Gal. 4:28
This chapter reveals that God gave the promise to Abraham according to His eternal purpose. Before this promise was fulfilled, the law was given to serve as the custodian of God’s chosen people. Then, at the appointed time Christ, the promised seed, came to fulfill the promise and brought in the promised blessing. This is grace. Hence, grace came with Christ and with the fulfillment of the promise. All this is on God’s side. On our side, we need a way to apprehend, realize, and enjoy all that Christ, the seed, is and has accomplished. Therefore, there is grace on God’s side, and there is faith on our side. Now, since we have grace, faith, and the seed that has fulfilled the promise, we no longer need the law to serve as our custodian. Hence, we must set aside the law and turn from the custodian to stay with Christ that we may enjoy the promised blessing by remaining in grace and faith. This blessing is nothing less than the processed Triune God as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit.
Gal 4:11 child
The same Greek word as for little children in Eph. 4:14, referring to a minor. So also in v. 3.
Gal 4:1b slave Gal. 4:3, 7, 8, 9, 24; 2:4; 5:1
Gal 4:21b guardians Gal. 3:23
Guardians are wardens, and stewards are administrators. These describe the functions of the law in God’s economy.
Gal 4:2c stewards Luke 12:42; 16:1
Gal 4:22d time Gal. 4:4
The time appointed by the father refers to the time of the New Testament, beginning with the first coming of Christ.
Gal 4:3a slavery Gal. 4:9, 24, 25; 2:4; 5:1
Gal 4:31b elements Gal. 4:9; Col. 2:8, 20
The same Greek word as for rudiments in Heb. 5:12. I.e., elementary principles, referring to the rudimentary teachings of the law (see note 83 in Col. 2). So also in v. 9.
Gal 4:41 fullness
The completion of the Old Testament time, which occurred at the time appointed by the Father (v. 2).
Gal 4:4a time Gal. 4:2; Mark 1:15
Gal 4:42d woman Gen. 3:15; Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23
The virgin Mary (Luke 1:27-35). The Son of God was born of her to be the seed of woman, as promised in Gen. 3:15.
Gal 4:43e law Luke 2:21-24, 27
Christ was born under law, as revealed in Luke 2:21-24, 27, and kept the law, as revealed in the four Gospels.
Gal 4:51a redeem Gal. 3:13; 1 Pet. 1:18-19
God’s chosen people were shut up by the law under its custody (3:23). Christ was born under law in order to redeem God’s chosen people from the custody of the law that they might receive the sonship and become the sons of God. Hence, they should not return to the custody of the law to be under its slavery, as the Galatians were seduced to do, but should remain in the sonship of God to enjoy the life supply of the Spirit in Christ.
Gal 4:52b sonship Rom. 8:15; Eph. 1:5
Christ’s redemption brings us into the sonship of God that we may enjoy the divine life. God’s economy is not to make us keepers of the law, obeying the commandments and ordinances of the law, which was given only for a temporary purpose. God’s economy is to make us sons of God, who inherit the blessing of God’s promise, which was given for His eternal purpose. God’s eternal purpose is to have many sons for His corporate expression (Heb. 2:10; Rom. 8:29). Hence, He predestinated us unto sonship (Eph. 1:5) and regenerated us to be His sons (John 1:12-13). We should remain in His sonship that we may become His heirs to inherit all that He has planned for His eternal expression, and should not appreciate the law and thereby be distracted to Judaism.
Gal 4:6a sons Gal. 3:26; Rom. 8:14
Gal 4:61c Spirit Gal. 3:2; Rom. 5:5; 8:9, 14, 16; 2 Cor. 3:17
[ par. 1 2 ]
Gal 4:61 [1] God’s Son is the embodiment of the divine life (1 John 5:12). Hence, the Spirit of God’s Son is the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2). God gives us His Spirit of life not because we are law keepers but because we are His sons. As law keepers, we have no right to enjoy God’s Spirit of life; as the sons of God, we have the position with the full right to participate in the Spirit of God, who has the bountiful supply of life. Such a Spirit, the Spirit of the Son of God, is the focus of the blessing of God’s promise to Abraham (3:14).
Gal 4:61 [2] Verses 4-6 of this chapter speak of the Triune God’s producing of many sons for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose. God the Father sent forth God the Son to redeem us from the law that we might receive the sonship. He also sent forth God the Spirit to impart His life into us that we might become His sons in reality.
Gal 4:62 hearts
Actually, the Spirit of God came into our spirit at the time of our regeneration (John 3:6; Rom. 8:16). Because our spirit is hidden in our heart (1 Pet. 3:4), and because the word here refers to a matter that is related to our feeling and understanding, both of which belong to our heart, this verse says that the Spirit of God’s Son was sent into our hearts.
Gal 4:63 crying
The parallel verse, Rom. 8:15, says that we who have received a spirit of sonship cry in this spirit, “Abba, Father!” whereas here it says that the Spirit of God’s Son is crying in our hearts, “Abba, Father!” This indicates that our regenerated spirit and the Spirit of God are mingled as one, and that our spirit is in our heart. This indicates also that the sonship of God is realized by us through our subjective experience in the depth of our being. In this verse, Paul appealed to such an experience of the Galatian believers for the supporting of his revelation. This appeal was quite convincing and subduing because it contained not only objective doctrines but also subjective, experiential facts.
Gal 4:64d Abba Rom. 8:15; Mark 14:36
Abba is an Aramaic word, and Father is the translation of the Greek word Pater. Such a term was used first by the Lord Jesus in Gethsemane while He was praying to the Father (Mark 14:36). The combining of the Aramaic title with the Greek title expresses a stronger affection in crying to the Father. Such an affectionate cry implies an intimate relationship in life between a genuine son and a begetting father.
Gal 4:71 no
The New Testament believer is no longer a slave to works under law but is a son in life under grace.
Gal 4:72 son
See note 261 in ch. 3.
Gal 4:73b heir Rom. 8:17; Titus 3:7
One who is of full age according to the law (the Roman law is used for illustration) and who is qualified to inherit the father’s estate.
Gal 4:74 through
The New Testament believers become heirs of God not through the law nor through their fleshly father but through God, even the Triune God—the Father, who sent forth the Son and the Spirit (vv. 4, 6); the Son, who accomplished redemption for sonship (v. 5); and the Spirit, who carries out the sonship within us (v. 6).
Gal 4:8a not 1 Cor. 1:21; 1 Thes. 4:5; 2 Thes. 1:8
Gal 4:8c gods Isa. 37:19; Jer. 2:11; 5:7; 16:20
Gal 4:81 nature
The gods, the idols, do not have the divine nature. They were considered gods by their superstitious worshippers, but by nature they are not gods.
Gal 4:9b known 2 Tim. 2:19; 1 Cor. 8:3
Gal 4:91 be
Lit., serve as a slave.
Gal 4:101a days Rom. 14:5; Col. 2:16
Sabbaths, new moons (Isa. 66:23).
Gal 4:102 months
Sacred months, such as the first, Abib, the ear month (Exo. 13:4); the second, Ziv, the flower month (1 Kings 6:1, 37); the seventh, Ethanim, the month of streaming rivers (1 Kings 8:2); and the eighth, Bul, the month of rain (1 Kings 6:38).
Gal 4:103 seasons
Festal seasons, such as the Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles (2 Chron. 8:13).
Gal 4:104 years
Perhaps sabbatical years (Lev. 25:4).
Gal 4:111 vain
Paul labored upon the Galatians to bring them into Christ under grace. Their turning to the Jewish religious observances could have caused Paul’s labor upon them to be in vain.
Gal 4:121 as
Paul was free from the bondage of Jewish observances. He besought the Galatians to become as he was.
Gal 4:122 as
Paul became as a Gentile was, for the truth of the gospel.
Gal 4:123 not
The Galatians had not wronged Paul in the past. Paul expected that they would not wrong him now.
Gal 4:131 because
In his first ministry journey Paul was detained in Galatia because of physical weakness. While there, he preached the gospel to the Galatians.
Gal 4:141 loathe
Lit., spit out.
Gal 4:14a received Matt. 10:40; Luke 9:48; John 13:20
Gal 4:14b angel 1 Sam. 29:9; Zech. 12:8; Mal. 2:7; 2 Cor. 5:20
Gal 4:151 your
The Galatians formerly considered it a blessing that Paul was detained in their place and preached the gospel to them. They were happy about this and boasted of it. That became their felicitation. However, now that they had departed from Paul’s preaching of the gospel, the apostle questioned them, “Where then is your felicitation, your happiness, your blessedness?”
Gal 4:152 eyes
The Galatians appreciated Paul’s preaching and loved him to such an extent that they would have plucked out their eyes and given them to him. This may indicate that Paul’s physical weakness (v. 13) was in his eyes. This can perhaps be confirmed by his use of large letters in his writing to them (6:11). This weakness may also have been the thorn in his flesh, a physical weakness, which he prayed would be removed from him (2 Cor. 12:7-9).
Gal 4:171a zealous Rom. 10:2
I.e., zealously court you.
Gal 4:172 not
Not in an honorable, commendable way.
Gal 4:173 shut
I.e., exclude you from the proper preaching of the gospel, the gospel of grace.
Gal 4:174 zealous
I.e., zealously court them.
Gal 4:181 not
It is always good to zealously court someone in a good thing or in the proper preaching of the gospel. However, this should have taken place not only when Paul was present with them. By this word Paul indicated that he was not narrow, i.e., he did not prohibit others from preaching the gospel to the Galatians; rather, he rejoiced in others’ preaching (Phil. 1:18).
Gal 4:191a children 1 John 2:1
Paul considered himself the begetting father and the Galatian believers his children begotten of him in Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 4:15; Philem. 10).
Gal 4:192b travail 1 Cor. 4:15; Philem. 10
Painful toil in childbirth. In this metaphor Paul likened himself to a mother who gives birth to a child. He had labored in this way to regenerate the Galatians when he first preached the gospel to them. Because they deviated from the gospel that he had preached to them, he was toiling again in travail until Christ would be formed in them.
Gal 4:193c Christ Gal. 2:20; 3:27-29; 5:2, 4, 6
Christ, a living person, is the focus of Paul’s gospel. Paul’s preaching, which differed greatly from the teaching of the law in letters, was to bring forth Christ, the Son of the living God, in the believers. Hence, this book is emphatically Christ-centered. Christ was crucified (3:1) to redeem us out of the curse of the law (3:13) and rescue us out of the evil religious course of the world (1:4), and He was resurrected from the dead (1:1) that He might live in us (2:20). We were baptized into Him, being identified with Him, and have put Him on, clothing ourselves with Him (3:27). Thus, we are in Him (3:28) and have become of Him (3:29; 5:24). On the other hand, He has been revealed in us (1:16), He is now living in us (2:20), and He will be formed in us (v. 19). To Him the law has conducted us (3:24), and in Him we are all sons of God (3:26). It is in Him that we inherit God’s promised blessing and enjoy the all-inclusive Spirit (3:14). Furthermore, it is in Him that we are all one (3:28). We should not be deprived of all profit from Him and thus be severed from Him (5:4). We need Him to supply us with His grace in our spirit (6:18) that we may live Him.
Gal 4:194 formed
When the Galatian believers were regenerated through Paul’s preaching of the gospel to them the first time, Christ was born into them but not formed in them. Here the apostle was travailing again that Christ might be formed in them. To have Christ formed in us is to have Christ fully grown in us. First, Christ was born into us at the time we repented and believed in Him, then He lives in us in our Christian life (2:20), and, finally, He will be formed in us at our maturity. Christ’s being formed in us is needed that we may be sons of full age and heirs to inherit God’s promised blessing, and that we may mature in the divine sonship.
Gal 4:19d in Gal. 1:16; 2:20; John 14:20; 15:4; Rom. 8:10; 2 Cor. 13:5; Col. 1:27
Gal 4:201 change
The apostle wished to change his tone from one of severity to one of affection, like the tone of a mother speaking lovingly to her children.
Gal 4:202 tone
Lit., voice.
Gal 4:203 perplexed
Paul was puzzled in dealing with the Galatians. He was searching for the best way to recover them from their deviation from Christ.
Gal 4:211 Tell
In vv. 21-31 there are two women, Hagar and Sarah; two Jerusalems, one earthly and the other heavenly; two covenants, one of the law and the other of promise; and two sons, one according to the flesh and the other according to the Spirit. The apostle wanted the Galatians to know that they were children of the Jerusalem above, children of the free woman, and he wanted them to appropriate the covenant of promise and, according to the Spirit, enjoy the all-inclusive Spirit as the blessing of the gospel (3:14). In this section Sarah, the free woman, symbolizes the covenant of promise, which is symbolized also by the Jerusalem above, who is our mother; the mother symbolizes grace, by which we are born to be the children of God, who is the very source of grace. Hence, the free woman, the covenant of promise, the Jerusalem above, and the mother all refer to God’s grace, which is the very means of our spiritual birth. It was from this grace—Christ—that the Galatians who had been distracted by Judaism fell away (5:4).
Gal 4:212a under cf. Gal. 3:23; Rom. 6:14
This book deals strongly with the matter of deviating from Christ by being under the law. Such deviation shuts the believers out from the enjoyment of Christ as their life and their everything.
Gal 4:213 law
According to the succeeding verses, the law here includes the book of Genesis. The entire Old Testament is called the Law and the Prophets (Matt. 22:40). The first part is the Law, and the second, the Prophets.
Gal 4:22a one Gen. 16:15
Gal 4:22b maidservant Gal. 4:30-31
Gal 4:231 according
According to the flesh means by man’s fleshly effort; through promise means through God’s power in grace, which is implied in God’s promise. Ishmael was born in the former way, but Isaac in the latter.
Gal 4:23a flesh Gal. 4:29; cf. John 1:13
Gal 4:23b promise Gal. 4:28; Rom. 9:8; Gen. 17:15-19; 18:10, 14; 21:1-2; Heb. 11:11
Gal 4:241 these
Referring to the two women in v. 22.
Gal 4:242 two
One is the covenant of promise given to Abraham, which is related to the new testament, the covenant of grace, and the other is the covenant of law given to Moses, which has nothing to do with the new testament. Sarah, the free woman, symbolizes the covenant of promise, and Hagar, the maidservant, the covenant of law.
Gal 4:243b Mount Exo. 19:11, 20; Deut. 33:2
Where the law was given (Exo. 19:20; 24:12).
Gal 4:244c slavery Gal. 4:3
Slavery under law.
Gal 4:245d Hagar Gen. 16:1, 3-5, 15; 21:9-10
Hagar, the concubine of Abraham, signifies the law. Hence, the position of the law is like that of a concubine. Sarah, the wife of Abraham, symbolizes the grace of God (John 1:17), which has the rightful position in God’s economy. Like Hagar, the law brought forth children unto slavery, such as the Judaizers. Like Sarah, grace brings forth children unto sonship; these are the New Testament believers. They are no longer under law but under grace (Rom. 6:14). They should stand in grace (Rom. 5:2) and not fall from it (5:4).
Gal 4:251b Jerusalem Luke 13:33-34
Jerusalem, as God’s choice (1 Kings 14:21; Psa. 48:2, 8), should belong to the covenant of promise, symbolized by Sarah. However, because it brings God’s chosen people into the bondage of the law, it corresponds with Mount Sinai, which belongs to the covenant of the law, symbolized by Hagar.
Gal 4:252 is
Lit., serves as a slave.
Gal 4:253c slavery Gal. 4:3
A slave under law. At the apostle’s time Jerusalem and her children were slaves under law.
Gal 4:261a Jerusalem Heb. 12:22; Rev. 3:12; 21:2, 10
The Jerusalem above eventually will be the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth (Rev. 21:1-2), which is related to the covenant of promise. She is the mother of the New Testament believers, who are not slaves under law but sons under grace. We, the New Testament believers, are all born of her from above and will all be in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth.
Gal 4:271 many
This indicates that Abraham’s spiritual descendants, who belong to the heavenly Jerusalem, to the covenant of promise under the freedom of grace, are far more numerous than his natural descendants, who belong to the earthly Jerusalem, to the covenant of law under the slavery of the law.
Gal 4:272 desolate
Denoting a woman without a husband; hence, a desolate one.
Gal 4:28a Isaac Gen. 17:19; 21:1-3, 12; Rom. 9:7
Gal 4:281 children
Children of promise are children born of the heavenly Jerusalem through grace under the covenant of promise.
Gal 4:28b promise Gal. 4:23; 3:29; Rom. 9:8
Gal 4:291 according
The two kinds of children brought forth by the two covenants are different in their natures. Those brought forth by the covenant of law are born according to the flesh; those brought forth by the covenant of promise are born according to the Spirit. The children born according to the flesh have no right to participate in God’s promised blessing, but the children born according to the Spirit have the full right. The Judaizers were children of the former kind; the believers in Christ are of the latter kind. For flesh and Spirit, see notes 32 in ch. 3 and 191 and 221 in ch. 5.
Gal 4:292b persecuted Gen. 21:9
This indicates that Ishmael persecuted Isaac (Gen. 21:9).
Gal 4:293c Spirit John 3:6
The children of promise (v. 28) are born according to the Spirit, God’s Spirit of life, who is the very blessing of God’s promise to Abraham (3:14).
Gal 4:29d so Gal. 5:11; 6:12; 1:13
Gal 4:294 also
The Judaizers, the descendants of Abraham according to the flesh, persecuted the believers, the descendants of Abraham according to the Spirit, as Ishmael persecuted Isaac.
Gal 4:30a Cast Gen. 21:10
Gal 4:30b maidservant Gal. 4:22
Gal 4:301 son
The Judaizers, who are under the slavery of the law, are the sons of the maidservant. They shall by no means inherit God’s promised blessing—the all-inclusive Spirit as the ultimate expression of the processed Triune God.
Gal 4:302 son
The New Testament believers, who are under the freedom of grace, are the sons of the free woman. They shall inherit the promised blessing of the Spirit.
Gal 4:311 not
We, the believers in Christ, are not children of the law under the slavery of the law but children of grace under the freedom of grace to enjoy the all-inclusive Spirit with all the riches of Christ.
Gal 5:11a freedom Gal. 5:13; 2:4; John 8:32, 36; 2 Cor. 3:17
Freedom from the slavery of the law. Christ has set us free through His redeeming death and life-imparting resurrection that we may enjoy this freedom in grace.
Gal 5:12b stand Rom. 5:2; 1 Cor. 16:13
I.e., stand fast in the freedom from the slavery of the law, not deviating from Christ, not falling from grace.
Gal 5:13 entangled
Or, held in a snare. To deviate from Christ to the law is to be entangled or held in a snare.
Gal 5:14c yoke Acts 15:10
The yoke of slavery is the bondage of the law, which makes the law keepers slaves under a binding yoke.
Gal 5:1d slavery Gal. 2:4; 4:3
Gal 5:21a circumcised Gal. 5:6, 11; 2:3; 6:13, 15; Acts 15:1
The Judaizers, the false brothers, made circumcision a condition of salvation (2:3-5; Acts 15:1). See note 32 in ch. 2.
Gal 5:22 nothing
If the Galatian believers had received circumcision, making it a condition of salvation, Christ would have profited them nothing, because by going back to the law they would have spontaneously relinquished Christ.
Gal 5:3a circumcised Gal. 6:13; Rom. 2:25
Gal 5:41 brought
I.e., reduced to nothing, separated from Christ; deprived of all profit from Christ and so separated from Him (Darby’s New Translation), making Him of no effect. To go back to the law is to be severed from Christ, to be brought to nought, separated from Christ.
Gal 5:4a law Gal. 2:21; 3:10-11; Rom. 9:31
Gal 5:42b fallen Heb. 12:15; 2 Pet. 3:17
To be brought to nought, separated from Christ, is to fall from grace. This implies that the grace in which we believers are is just Christ.
Gal 5:4c grace Gal. 2:21; 6:18
Gal 5:51a by Gal. 3:3
In contrast to by the flesh (3:3).
Gal 5:52b out Gal. 3:8, 11, 22, 24
In contrast to out of the works of law (3:2).
Gal 5:53d hope Col. 1:27; Titus 1:2; 2:13
The righteousness we hope for, which is Christ Himself (1 Cor. 1:30). It is not in the flesh out of the works of law but in the Spirit out of faith.
Gal 5:5e righteousness 1 Cor. 1:30; Phil. 3:9
Gal 5:6b circumcision Gal. 5:2; 6:15; 1 Cor. 7:19; Rom. 2:28-29
Gal 5:61 avails
I.e., has any force, any practical power.
Gal 5:6c faith Eph. 6:23; 1 Thes. 1:3; James 2:20, 22
Gal 5:62 operating
Living faith is active. It operates through love to work out the fulfillment of the law (v. 14). Circumcision is simply an outward ordinance, having no power of life. Hence, it avails nothing. Faith receives the Spirit of life (3:2); thus, it is full of power. It operates through love to fulfill not only the law but also God’s purpose, that is, to complete the sonship of God for His corporate expression—the Body of Christ.
Gal 5:63 love
Love is related to our appreciation of Christ. Without such an appreciation, faith cannot operate. The hearing of faith awakens our loving appreciation, and the more we love the Lord, the more faith operates to bring us into the riches, the profit, of the all-inclusive Spirit.
Gal 5:7a running Gal. 2:2; 1 Cor. 9:24
Gal 5:71c truth Gal. 2:5
Not the doctrine but the reality in Christ, as preached to the Galatians by the apostle.
Gal 5:81a persuasion Col. 2:4
The Judaizers’ persuasive teaching, which distracted the Galatians away from Christ to the observances of the law.
Gal 5:8b calls Gal. 1:6; Rom. 8:28
Gal 5:91a leaven 1 Cor. 5:6; Matt. 13:33; 16:6, 12
Leaven refers to the false teachings of the Judaizers (cf. Matt. 16:12), and the whole lump, to all the believers collectively, the church.
Gal 5:10a confident 2 Cor. 2:3
Gal 5:10c troubling Gal. 1:7; 5:12; Acts 15:24
Gal 5:111a circumcision Gal. 5:2
Circumcision foreshadowed the dealing with man’s flesh; the cross is the reality of that dealing (Col. 2:11-12). The Judaizers endeavored to bring the Galatians back to the shadow; the apostle Paul struggled to keep them in the reality.
Gal 5:11b persecuted Gal. 4:29; 6:12
Gal 5:11c stumbling 1 Cor. 1:23
Gal 5:12a upsetting Gal. 5:10; 2:4
Gal 5:121 cut
The apostle Paul wished that the Judaizers who upset the Galatians by insisting on circumcision would cut off not only their own foreskin but even themselves. Their upsetting, disturbing self needed to be amputated.
Gal 5:131b freedom Gal. 5:1
Freedom without limitation always results in the indulgence of the flesh. Freedom with limitation leads us to love others and, through love, to serve them as slaves (cf. v. 14).
Gal 5:13d freedom 1 Pet. 2:16; 1 Cor. 8:9
Gal 5:132 flesh
See note 32 in ch. 3.
Gal 5:13e love Eph. 4:2; Col. 3:14
Gal 5:133f serve 1 Cor. 9:19
Lit., serve as a slave.
Gal 5:14a law Matt. 7:12; 22:40; Rom. 13:8, 10
Gal 5:14b You Lev. 19:18; Matt. 19:19
Gal 5:161a Walk Rom. 8:4; Gal. 6:16
The Greek word here means to tread all around, to walk at large; hence, to deport oneself, move, and act in ordinary daily life, implying a common, habitual daily walk (cf. Rom. 6:4; 8:4; Phil. 3:17-18).
Gal 5:16b by Gal. 5:25, 18; 3:3; Rom. 8:13
Gal 5:162 Spirit
[ par. 1 2 ]
Gal 5:162 [1] According to the context of the chapter, the Spirit here must be the Holy Spirit, who dwells in and mingles with our regenerated spirit. To walk by the Spirit is to have our walk regulated by the Holy Spirit from within our spirit. This is in contrast to having our walk regulated by the law in the realm of our flesh. See note 32 in ch. 3.
Gal 5:162 [2] The flesh is the uttermost expression of the fallen tripartite man (Gen. 6:3), and the Spirit is the ultimate realization of the processed Triune God (John 7:39). Because of Christ’s redemption and the Spirit’s work of regeneration, we who have received God’s dispensing can walk by the Spirit, by the processed Triune God, instead of by the flesh, by our fallen being. Paul wrote this book not only to rescue the distracted Galatian believers from the law, on the negative side, but also, on the positive side, to bring them into the realization that the believers have the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit in their spirit that they may live, walk, and have their being in this Spirit.
Gal 5:16c fulfill Rom. 13:14; Eph. 2:3
Gal 5:171 flesh
For the flesh and the Spirit, see notes 32 in ch. 3 and 191 and 221 in this chapter.
Gal 5:17a against cf. Rom. 7:23; 1 Pet. 2:11; James 4:1
Gal 5:172 Spirit
See note 162.
Gal 5:173 oppose
See note 232 in Rom. 7.
Gal 5:17b desire Rom. 7:15, 19-21
Gal 5:181 Spirit
The law is related to our flesh (Rom. 7:5), and our flesh is against the Spirit (v. 17). Hence, the Spirit is in contrast to the law. When we walk by the Spirit, who is in our regenerated spirit, we will not fulfill the lusts of our flesh (v. 16); when we are led by the Spirit, we are not under the law. The Spirit of life, not the law of letters, is our guiding principle, regulating our Christian walk in our regenerated spirit.
Gal 5:191 works
The flesh is the expression of the old Adam. The fallen life of the old Adam is expressed practically in the flesh, and the works of the flesh, such as those listed in vv. 19-21, are different aspects of such a fleshly expression. Fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, bouts of drunkenness, and carousings are related to the lust of the corrupted body. Enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, divisions, sects, and envyings are related to the fallen soul, which is very closely related to the corrupted body. Idolatry and sorcery are related to the deadened spirit. This proves that the three parts of our fallen being—body, soul, and spirit—are all involved with the corrupted, evil flesh.
Gal 5:192 fornication
Fornication, uncleanness, and lasciviousness are of one group, concerning evil passions.
Gal 5:201 Idolatry
Idolatry and sorcery are of one group, concerning demonic worship.
Gal 5:20a sorcery Rev. 21:8; 22:15
Gal 5:202 enmities
Enmities, strife, jealousy, and outbursts of anger are of one group, concerning evil moods.
Gal 5:20b strife 1 Cor. 3:3
Gal 5:203 factions
Factions, divisions, sects, and envyings are of one group, concerning parties.
Gal 5:20c divisions 1 Cor. 1:10-13
Gal 5:204d sects Titus 3:10
The same Greek word as for heresies in 2 Pet. 2:1. Here it refers to schools of opinion (Darby’s New Translation), or sects.
Gal 5:21a Envyings Gal. 5:26; 1 Cor. 3:3
Gal 5:211 bouts
Bouts of drunkenness and carousings are of one group, concerning dissipation.
Gal 5:21b not 1 Cor. 6:9; Eph. 5:5
Gal 5:212 inherit
The inheritance of the kingdom of God refers to the enjoyment of the coming kingdom as a reward to the overcoming believers. It is not the same as a believer’s salvation; rather, it is a reward in addition to the believer’s salvation. See notes 53 in Eph. 5 and 281 in Heb. 12.
Gal 5:221a fruit Matt. 7:16; Rom. 7:4; Eph. 5:9
[ par. 1 2 ]
Gal 5:221 [1] What the flesh does is works without life (v. 19); what the Spirit brings forth is fruit full of life. Only nine items of the fruit of the Spirit, as different expressions of the Spirit, who is life within us, are listed as illustrations here. The fruit of the Spirit includes additional items, such as lowliness (Eph. 4:2; Phil. 2:3), compassion (Phil. 2:1), godliness (2 Pet. 1:6), righteousness (Rom. 14:17; Eph. 5:9), holiness (Eph. 1:4; Col. 1:22), and purity (Matt. 5:8). In both Eph. 4:2 and Col. 3:12, lowliness is mentioned as a virtue in addition to meekness, which is listed here. In Rom. 14:17 righteousness, peace, and joy are all aspects of the kingdom of God today. But only peace and joy, not righteousness, are listed here. In 2 Pet. 1:5-7 godliness and endurance are counted with self-control and love as characteristics of spiritual growth, but they are not listed here. In Matt. 5:5-9 righteousness, mercy, and purity are reckoned with meekness and peace as the requirement of the reality of the kingdom today. However, none of the three virtues is named here.
Gal 5:221 [2] As the flesh is the expression of the old Adam, so the Spirit is the realization of Christ. Christ is actually lived out as the Spirit. The items of the fruit of the Spirit listed here are the very characteristics of Christ.
Gal 5:22b love 1 Cor. 8:1; 13:4, 13; 14:1
Gal 5:22c joy Rom. 14:17
Gal 5:22d peace Rom. 16:20; Col. 3:15
Gal 5:23a self-control Acts 24:25; 2 Pet. 1:6
Gal 5:23b no Gal. 5:18; 1 Tim. 1:9
Gal 5:241 But
But in v. 22 introduces a contrast between the fruit of the Spirit in that verse and the works of the flesh in v. 19, whereas but in this verse introduces a contrast between the crucifying of the flesh here and the works of the flesh in v. 19.
Gal 5:24a of Gal. 3:29; 1 Cor. 3:23; 2 Cor. 10:7
Gal 5:242 have
[ par. 1 2 ]
Gal 5:242 [1] The crucifixion of the old man in Rom. 6:6 and the crucifixion of the “I” in Gal. 2:20 were not accomplished by us. But here it says that we have crucified the flesh with its passions and its lusts. The old man and the “I” are our being; the flesh is the expression of our being in our practical living. The crucifixion of our old man and the “I” is a fact accomplished by Christ on the cross, whereas the crucifying of our flesh with its passions and its lusts is our practical experience of the fact. This practical experience must be carried out through the Spirit by our executing of the crucifixion that Christ accomplished. This is to put to death by the Spirit the practices of our lustful body with its evil members (Rom. 8:13b; Col. 3:5).
Gal 5:242 [2] There are three aspects of the experience of the cross: (1) the fact accomplished by Christ (Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20); (2) our application of the accomplished fact (v. 24); and (3) our experience of what we have applied, by bearing the cross daily (Matt. 16:24; Luke 9:23).
Gal 5:243b crucified Gal. 2:20; 6:14; Rom. 6:6
This book unveils that the law misused is in opposition to Christ (2:16) and that the flesh lusts against the Spirit (v. 17). The cross has nullified the “I,” which inclines to keep the law (2:20), and the flesh, which lusts against the Spirit, that Christ may replace the law and the Spirit may replace the flesh. God does not want us to keep the law by the flesh; He wants us to live Christ by the Spirit.
Gal 5:24c flesh Gal. 5:16, 17, 18
Gal 5:251 live
To live by the Spirit is to have our life dependent on and regulated by the Spirit, not by the law. This equals the walk by the Spirit in v. 16 but differs from the walk by the Spirit in this verse (see note 2).
Gal 5:252a walk Gal. 5:16
[ par. 1 2 ]
Gal 5:252 [1] Lit., walk according to rules. The Greek word means to observe the elements, to walk according to the elements, e.g., to walk in line, to march in military rank, to keep in step; and, derivatively, to walk in an orderly, regulated manner (cf. 6:16; Acts 21:24; Rom. 4:12 and note; Phil. 3:16 and note 4).
Gal 5:252 [2] Both the walk in v. 16 and the walk in this verse are by the Spirit and are regulated by the Spirit. The former refers to a general, daily walk; the latter, to a walk that takes God’s unique goal as the direction and purpose of life, and a walk that follows the Spirit as the elementary rule, the basic principle. Such a walk is cultivated by living in the new creation (6:16 and note 2), by pursuing Christ in order to gain Him (Phil. 3:12 and notes), and by practicing the church life (Rom. 12:1-5; Eph. 4:1-16), thus fulfilling God’s intention in Christ for the church.
Gal 5:261 not
This is the result of the walk by the Spirit in v. 25. Vainglory, provoking, and envying are all of the flesh (cf. v. 24). Vainglory gives rise to provoking and envying. If we by the Spirit slay vainglory, provoking and envying will be terminated automatically, resulting in peace. These three matters test in a very practical way whether we are walking by the Spirit.
Gal 5:26a vainglorious Phil. 2:3
Gal 6:11a spiritual 1 Cor. 2:15; 3:1
I.e., living and walking by the Spirit (5:25).
Gal 6:1b restore James 5:19-20
Gal 6:12c spirit 1 Cor. 4:21
Our regenerated spirit, indwelt by and mingled with the Holy Spirit. A spirit of meekness is the issue of living and walking by the Spirit, as mentioned in 5:16, 25.
Gal 6:1d meekness 2 Tim. 2:25
Gal 6:1e tempted 1 Cor. 7:5; 1 Thes. 3:5
Gal 6:21a law John 13:34; James 2:8; Gal. 5:14
The higher and better law of life, which works through love (Rom. 8:2; John 13:34). Love is the issue and expression of the divine life (cf. 1 Cor. 13) and is an item of the fruit of the Spirit (5:22). The law of Christ, which is the law of love, must be substantiated by the law of the Spirit of life that we may be able to bear one another’s burdens.
Gal 6:31a thinks 1 Cor. 8:2
Those who think of themselves as something will not bear the burdens of others. Only those who do not regard themselves as anything will bear others’ burdens as a spontaneous result of walking in and by the Spirit.
Gal 6:3b deceives 1 Cor. 3:18
Gal 6:4a prove 2 Cor. 13:5
Gal 6:6a share 1 Cor. 9:11; 1 Tim. 5:17-18
Gal 6:61 good
Things that are good for this life, the necessities of daily living.
Gal 6:71a deceived 1 Cor. 6:9; 15:33
This refers again to the Judaizers’ false teachings, which caused the Galatians to deviate from the Spirit in their spirit to the keeping of the law by their flesh.
Gal 6:7c sows 2 Cor. 9:6
Gal 6:81 unto
With a view to, or, for. To sow unto one’s own flesh is to sow for one’s own flesh, with the desire and purpose of the flesh in view, to fulfill what the flesh covets. To sow unto the Spirit is to sow for the Spirit, with the desire and aim of the Spirit in view, to accomplish what the Spirit desires. Everything we do is a sowing either unto our own flesh or unto the Spirit, and all our sowing issues in a reaping either of corruption out of the flesh or of eternal life out of the Spirit.
Gal 6:82a flesh Gal. 5:16, 17
See notes 32 in ch. 3, and 191 and 221 in ch. 5.
Gal 6:8b reap Job 4:8; Prov. 22:8; Hosea 8:7
Gal 6:83c corruption Gal. 5:19
To sow for the fulfilling of the purpose of the flesh issues in corruption; to sow for the accomplishing of the aim of the Spirit issues in life, even eternal life. Corruption is of the flesh, indicating that the flesh is corrupted; eternal life is of the Spirit and is the Spirit Himself.
Gal 6:8d sows Prov. 11:18; Hosea 10:12; James 3:18
Gal 6:82e Spirit Gal. 5:16, 25
See note 82.
Gal 6:83g eternal Rom. 6:22
See note 83.
Gal 6:9a not 2 Thes. 3:13
Gal 6:91 do
Lit., are not relaxed.
Gal 6:101a good Prov. 3:27; 1 Tim. 6:18
This refers mainly to the ministering of material things to the needy (2 Cor. 9:6-9).
Gal 6:102b household Eph. 2:19; 1 Tim. 3:15; Heb. 3:6; 1 Pet. 4:17
The household of the faith refers to the children of promise (4:28), all who are sons of God through faith in Christ (3:26). All the believers in Christ together constitute a universal household, the great family of God. This is through faith in Christ, not through the works of law. This household, as the new man (Col. 3:10-11), is composed of all the members of Christ, with Christ as their constituent. Hence, we should do good, especially toward those of this household, regardless of their race and social rank (3:28).
Gal 6:103c faith Gal. 1:23
See note 232 in ch. 1.
Gal 6:111 large
Perhaps this was because of the disease in Paul’s eyes (4:13-15 and note 152 there).
Gal 6:121 good
[ par. 1 2 ]
Gal 6:121 [1] Lit., good countenance; hence, good appearance for making a good show, a fair display. It is used here in a negative sense.
Gal 6:121 [2] Circumcision, like the cross, is not a good show but an abasement. However, the Judaizers made it a good show as a boast in the flesh (v. 13).
Gal 6:122 in
I.e., outwardly in the sphere of the flesh, which is condemned and repudiated by God. To be in the flesh is to be in our natural and external being without the inward reality and spiritual value that are in our regenerated spirit.
Gal 6:12a circumcised Gal. 2:3; Acts 15:1
Gal 6:12b persecuted Gal. 5:11
Gal 6:12c cross Phil. 3:18
Gal 6:14a boast cf. 2 Cor. 10:17; Phil. 3:3
Gal 6:141b cross 1 Cor. 2:2
The cross was truly an abasement, but the apostle made it his boast.
Gal 6:142 whom
The world has been crucified to us and we to the world. This has taken place not directly but through Christ, who was crucified.
Gal 6:143 world
The next verse, being an explanation of this verse, proves that the world here is mainly the religious world. In this book Paul dealt with religious people who were concerned for the things of God but who were misguided and were in error and whose religion had become a world. By the cross we are separated from the religious world and are thus qualified to live in the new creation.
Gal 6:14c crucified Gal. 2:20; 5:24
Gal 6:151a circumcision Gal. 5:6; Col. 3:11
[ par. 1 2 3 ]
Gal 6:151 [1] The old creation is our old man in Adam (Eph. 4:22), our natural being by birth, without God’s life and the divine nature. The new creation is the new man in Christ (Eph. 4:24), our being that is regenerated by the Spirit (John 3:6), having God’s life and the divine nature wrought into it (John 3:36; 2 Pet. 1:4), having Christ as its constituent (Col. 3:10-11), and having become a new constitution. This refers to the nature, the inward and intrinsic organic constituent, of the church. Thus, the new creation is composed of sons; it is a corporate, divine sonship (3:26; 4:5, 7) brought forth through Christ’s redemption, the Spirit’s regeneration, and God’s dispensing of Himself into us, and through our entering collectively as this new man into an organic union with the Triune God.
Gal 6:151 [2] The old creation was old because it did not have God’s element; the new creation is new because it has God as its element. Although we are still the old creation, we experience the reality of the new creation when we walk according to the Spirit (5:16, 25). The main issue in this book is that we are the new creation and that we should live by the new creation through an organic union with the Triune God. This new creation fulfills God’s eternal purpose, which is to express Himself in His sonship.
Gal 6:151 [3] Circumcision is an ordinance of the law; the new creation is the masterpiece of life with the divine nature. The former is of dead letters; the latter is of the living Spirit. Hence, the new creation is what matters. This book exposes the impotence of both the law and circumcision. The law cannot impart life (3:21) to regenerate us, and circumcision cannot energize us (5:6) to live a new creation. But the Son of God, who has been revealed in us (1:16), can enliven us and make us a new creation, and Christ, who lives in us (2:20), can afford us the riches of His life that we may live the new creation. The law has been replaced by Christ (2:19-20), and circumcision has been fulfilled by Christ’s crucifixion (v. 14). Hence, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything, but a new creation with Christ as its life is what matters. To be the new creation is the reason for and result of sowing unto the Spirit (v. 8). The keeping of the law and the practicing of circumcision are a sowing unto the flesh; they do not change the old creation. But sowing unto the Spirit makes us a new creation, which is re-created by the Spirit, transformed by the divine life, and constituted with the rich element of the processed Triune God by His mingling of Himself with us.
Gal 6:151b new 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:15; 4:24; Col. 3:10
See note 151.
Gal 6:161 walk
See note 252 in ch. 5.
Gal 6:162a rule Phil. 3:16
The rule of being a new creation, of living by the Spirit through faith, having the Triune God as our life and living, in contrast to keeping the law by observing ordinances. To walk by this rule is to walk by the Spirit (5:25).
Gal 6:163b peace Psa. 125:5; 128:6
Paul opened this book with grace and peace (1:3), but he ended it with the mentioning of peace before mercy and grace (v. 18). Peace is the condition that results from grace. As we abide in a peaceful condition, we need to continue receiving mercy and grace.
Gal 6:164c Israel Rom. 9:6; Gal. 3:7, 29; Phil. 3:3
I.e., the real Israel (Rom. 9:6b; 2:28-29; Phil. 3:3), including all the Gentile and Jewish believers in Christ, who are the true sons of Abraham (Gal. 3:7, 29), who are the household of the faith (v. 10), and who are those in the new creation. They walk by “this rule,” express God’s image, and execute God’s authority, and are typified by Jacob, who was transformed into Israel, a prince of God and a victor (Gen. 32:27-28).
Gal 6:171a brands cf. 2 Cor. 4:10; 11:23-27
The marks branded on slaves to indicate their owners. With Paul, a slave of Christ (Rom. 1:1), the brands were physically the scars of his wounds received in his faithful service to his Master (2 Cor. 11:23-27). Spiritually, they signify the characteristics of the life that he lived, a life like the one the Lord Jesus lived on this earth. Such a life is continually crucified (John 12:24), does the will of God (John 6:38), does not seek its own glory but the glory of God (John 7:18), and is submissive and obedient to God, even unto the death of the cross (Phil. 2:8). The apostle followed the pattern of the Lord Jesus, bearing the brands, the characteristics of His life. In this he was absolutely different from the Judaizers.
Gal 6:181a grace Phil. 4:23; Philem. 25; 2 Tim. 4:22
The grace of Jesus Christ is the bountiful supply of the Triune God (who is embodied in the Son and realized as the life-giving Spirit) enjoyed by us through the exercise of our human spirit.
Gal 6:182 spirit
[ par. 1 2 3 ]
Gal 6:182 [1] Our regenerated spirit indwelt by the Spirit, who is the focus of God’s promised blessing stressed so much throughout this book. It is in this spirit of ours that we experience and enjoy the Spirit as the central blessing of the New Testament. Hence, we need the grace of the Lord, which is the bountiful supply of the all-inclusive Spirit (Phil. 1:19), to be with our spirit.
Gal 6:182 [2] Christ, the Spirit, the new creation, and our spirit are the four basic items revealed in this book as the underlying thought of God’s economy. Christ is the center of God’s economy, and the Spirit is the reality of Christ. When Christ is realized through the Spirit in our spirit, we become the new creation. Hence, our spirit is vital for us to live the life of the new creation for the fulfilling of God’s purpose.
Gal 6:182 [3] This book places strong emphasis on the cross and the experience of crucifixion, in order to deal with the negative items, such as the law, the flesh, the “I,” the religious world, slavery, and the curse, thereby bringing in the positive items that are revealed in this book: Christ, the Spirit, the sons of God, the heirs of promise, the household of the faith, the new creation, and the Israel of God. The summarizing thought in this book is that through the cross of Christ the law, the flesh, and religion are terminated that we may obtain the Spirit, the new creation, and our spirit, that through the Spirit, who is the realization of Christ, we may be the new creation in our spirit, bearing the brands of Jesus, and that we may enjoy the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ in our spirit.
Gal 6:183b brothers Philem. 7
The rebuked foolish Galatians(3:1) had already been addressed with this intimate term a number of times (1:11; 3:15; 4:12, 28, 31; 5:11, 13; 6:1). At the close of such a severe, rebuking, and warning Epistle, the apostle used this loving term again, placing it particularly at the end of the sentence, to express his unchanging love toward them, assuring them that they were still his brothers in the household of the faith (v. 10).