STUDIES IN GALATIANS

Copyright © Rosemary Bardsley 2003

STUDY FIVE: FURTHER CONTRASTS [3:15-4:12]

A. LAW VERSUS PROMISE (3:15-25)

Paul in this section enters into a discussion about covenants. His first point is that, in respect to human covenants it was not possible to set aside or add to what had been 'duly established.' He then turns to the Biblical covenants and contrasts them as follows:

Paul thus makes it clear that although Law and Promise are contrary and opposed to each other, this is only the case if one is using to the Law as a means of 'righteousness' or legal acquittal in the presence of God. They are not essentially opposed to each other, for the Law Covenant was added with the implementation and fulfilment of the Promise Covenant in mind. The Law Covenant draws its significance and role in God's economy from the Promise Covenant. With the coming of faith in Jesus Christ these roles of the law are made redundant. Its purpose has been fulfilled. It has done its job in driving us to faith in Christ.

B. SLAVES VERSUS SONS (3:26-4:7)

B.1 In affirming that the Galatian Christians are 'sons of God' Paul says (3:26-29):

• You are all sons of God - this is to emphasise that irrespective of any keeping or observing of the Law all of them are sons of God.

• This is because they are sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus - not by their own performance or efforts.

• He says this confidently because, when they were 'baptised into Christ' they 'clothed themselves with Christ'. This is not speaking of water baptism, but by the baptism by the Spirit into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13).

• All distinctions between Jew and Gentile, between person and person, between individual abilities to observe the law, are eradicated by this one fact: all believers are baptised into Christ by the Spirit. They are all clothed with Christ: his death is now their death; his righteousness is now their righteousness; his life is now their life. To continue to make distinctions on the basis of law is to have totally missed the point - to have totally misunderstood one's own relationship with God through Christ. As Colossians 3:3 puts it: 'you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.'

• This baptism into Christ, this belonging to Christ through the ministry of the Spirit, automatically identifies all believers as 'Abraham's seed' - irrespective of race, irrespective of ritual law.

• All who are thus 'Abraham's seed' are 'heirs according to the promise' - they are the ones to whom that promise originally given to Abraham pointed; they are 'the nations' who find the same blessing of an alien, credited righteousness that he enjoyed. All that was promised him, they inherit.

Because of the distinction being made by the false teaching between Jews and Gentiles and between those who observe the law and those who don't Paul attacks this issue from yet another perspective. In 4:1-5 he maintains that the Jews, before faith in Christ, although they might have identified themselves as God's children because they were the physical descendents of Abraham, were even so no better off than slaves, because, in the contemporary society even the heir had no liberty, but was under the authority and instruction of 'guardians and trustees' until he came of age. Paul therefore justifies himself in calling both Jews and Gentiles 'slaves' in their pre-Christian state.

B.2 This common state of pre-faith slavery, and the slavery embraced by the false teaching, consisted of (4:3-9):

• 'Slavery under the basic principles of the world'. This phrase refers to the mentality that views performance as meritorious. For the Jews in particular it was bondage to the Law.

• Being 'under the law' - under its authority, dominion, condemnation and penalty. As in Romans 8:2 Paul's statements that Christians have been set free 'from the law of sin and death' and in Romans 7:6, that they have been 'released from the law' assume a prior state of bondage under the law.

• Not knowing the one true God, but being slaves 'to those who by nature are not gods'.

• Being enslaved by 'those weak and miserable principles'. This includes both the false god-concept and the principle of law-based righteousness that go hand in hand in anything other than the true gospel.

B.3 Further description of 'sons' (4:5-9):

Paul has already drawn our attention to the promises given to Abraham, including the promise that through his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Now he tells us that 'when the time had fully come' - that is, the time that all of God's promises, not just this one, were to be fulfilled, were to reach their goal, when all of the Messianic prophecies were to be fulfilled, when the reality behind all the symbols and shadows in ritual, ceremony, history and law was to be revealed - when this time came - God sent his Son 'to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.'

This statement again points to the slave/son contrast [1] by using the term 'redeem' - that is, to set free from slavery/bondage, and [2] by speaking of receiving 'the full rights of sons' - which were not possessed before. Both the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians are involved here as the following verses indicate.

About the 'sons' Paul says:

• They have been redeemed from under the law
• They receive full rights as sons
• God sent the Spirit of his Son into their hearts
• This Spirit within them calls out 'Abba, Father'
• They are no longer slaves
• God has made them his heirs
• They now know God
• They are known by God.

All of this has become theirs when they believed in Jesus Christ, not by keeping the Law.

C. PAUL EXPRESSES HIS CONCERN

C.1 How is it that you are turning back ... ? (4:9)

They now know God - which they did not before - how can they possibly turn back?

They are now known by God - how can they possibly turn back?

What they are turning back to Paul describes as 'those weak and miserable principles' - why turn from God to these?

C.2 Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? (4:9)

They have been redeemed - set free from this slavery - why should anyone wish to return to it?

C.3 I fear for you - that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you (4:10,11)

Paul says this because they are submitting themselves to rules about special days, months, seasons and years - as though these things contributed to their salvation, whereas, in reality, such observances were an enslaving bondage. He had literally risked his life in bringing the Gospel of God's grace in Christ to them, and here they are turning back to what the Gospel had rescued them from.

C.4 I plead with you ... become like me, for I became like you (4:12)

Here Paul beseeches the Galatians to become like him - that is, free from bondage to the law. He gives as his reason 'I became like you' - that is, in accepting the grace of God in the Gospel he put aside all the righteousness he had previously thought he had on the basis of law, and became like a Gentile - without these laws. [Read Philippians 3:1-11.] Whereas they, in submitting to the law because of the urging of the false teachers, had become like he was before his encounter with Christ - giving saving/justifying significance to Jewish law and ritual.

Discussion Point #9: Analyse your own relationship with God. To what degree do these concerns of Paul speak to your current perception of your relationship with God? How much significance are you giving to your 'religious' activities and to your ability to keep God's laws? To what degree are you living as a 'slave' rather than a 'son'?

D. A PERSONAL PLEA (4:12-20)

Having urged them to become like he is - not under law but under grace - he says:

• When he first came to them he was in a state of physical weakness. [Verse 15 could be interpreted to mean that there was some problem with his eyes, which may have resulted form the blinding confrontation on the Damascus Road. In addition, certainly when he first came to some of these Galatian towns, he would have been bearing the marks of recent physical assault.]
• This physical weakness did not cause them to take offence or mistreat him. This is significant if his physical weakness was because he preached the Gospel: they weren't put off by the suffering, persecution, slander caused by identification with the Gospel.
• Rather they treated him as they would an angel or Christ himself.
• He wants to know where all their joy has gone. It seems here that he is in some measure referring to their joy in welcoming him and his message - verse 15 indicates that they were so happy to have him there and so caring that they would have given him their eyes if it were possible, and verse 16 indicates that Paul feels they are now treating him as an enemy.

Obviously the false teaching has eroded their joy - it has undermined their confidence in Paul and it has undermined their confidence in the message he preached to them. In pulling away from the message, which Paul here identifies as 'the truth', they have also pulled away from Paul, who is now aware of this severance.

He points out to them:

• The false teachers are 'zealous' to gain the allegiance/following of the Galatians.
• This zeal has two objects: [1] to alienate the Galatians from Paul, and [2] to make the Galatians 'zealous' for them - their disciples and followers. This would feed the pride and need for significance of the false teachers.
• Zeal is good, as long as its purpose is good.

Paul expresses his personal feelings:

• He is in agony over these Galatians
• He wishes he could be with them and change his tone
• He is perplexed about them.

E. THE CONTRASTS EXTENDED (4:21-31)

To hammer home the stark implications of the choice that the Galatians are making Paul contrasts law and promise, slave and free, the two covenants, and the physical Jerusalem and the spiritual Jerusalem. He says 'You who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says?' Have they really sorted out the implications of putting themselves under the law as a way of salvation?

To our modern, post-slavery ears some of these analogies seem rather coarse and heartless. Nevertheless they forcefully portray the contrast between salvation by law and salvation by grace which Paul wants his readers to come to grips with, and form the basis for the powerful passage that follows in chapter five.