Вероучительная часть (3–5, 12)

In the first part, Saint Paul cleared himself of some criticisms and restored his Apostolic dignity. Having thus disposed the Galatians to listen again with obedience to their word, he begins to admonish them what a great mistake they made in bending to the law. “Above he only shows that he became an Apostle not from men or through men and that he had no need for teaching from the Apostles, but here, after presenting himself as a trustworthy teacher, he already talks with authority, comparing the law and faith with each other” (St. Chrysostom). The subject revealed here by the Apostle is the uselessness of the law for the Galatians as pagans. And the speech ahead, although it was all directed at the Jews, was of such a nature that throughout its entire length it gave the most intelligible lessons to the Galatians. The general impression from her was this: if the Jews must leave the law that was given for them, then why should we bind ourselves to them? Saint Paul now takes up this idea, proves it, justifies it from objections and applies it to the Galatians with conviction. This is the order of St. Paul's thoughts. A) he proves that for the Galatians, as pagans, the law is not needed (Gal. 3, 1 – 14); 1) he takes the first proof from the Galatians receiving the Holy Spirit without the participation of the law in this (Gal.3, 1-5); 2) the second - from an indication of the Divine law about the human race of providence, according to which it was ordained from the beginning that the pagans should enter God's property through the faith of Abraham, as was promised to Abraham (Gal. 3: 6-14). B) refutes objections (Gal.3, 15 – 29). The thought about the meaning of Abraham's faith could be shaken by perplexity and undermine the strength of evidence; 1) let the promise be given to Abraham's faith, but then the law came and changed the conditions. Before the law, faith was in force, but under the law, the law became a condition for receiving the promise. No, says the Apostle, the law did not cancel the power of the promise for faith (Gal. 3:15-18); 2) but if so, then why the law? He is a preparer for Christ. Why, when Christ the Lord came, must he cease. Now we (Jews) and you are one (Gal.3:19-29). C) convinces the Galatians to return to the truth, persuading them to submit to it with various ideas that are usually used by everyone for this purpose (Gal. 4: 1–5, 12). The main goal of the holy Apostle is not to show that righteousness does not come from the law, but that the law is not needed for the pagans, that the road to Christ the Lord is open to them apart from the law. The whole flow of speech is directed towards this. The law is only for Jews, and only for a time. That time has ended - and for them he was no longer needed, and for them the same path to the Lord is the path of faith exclusively. In this they and the pagans are equal. A) Evidence of the uselessness of the Jewish law for the Galatians as Gentiles (Gal. 3: 1-14) 1) The first is from their receipt of the Holy Spirit apart from the law (Gal. 3: 1-5) The distinctive advantage of Christianity, which places it above all other faiths and exclusively presents it as true faith, is the bestowal of the grace of regeneration and other gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is not just the height of knowledge of God and the purity of moral laws that distinguishes him; but that in it, for the sake of faith in the Lord, through the sacraments the grace of the Holy Spirit is given, making man a new creature: which no faith, except truly Christian, gives and cannot give. Christian revelation is now available in almost all languages. Anyone who is curious can read and assimilate the concepts contained in it; but he will not be a Christian until he receives the grace of the Holy Spirit in a known, God-established way. It is possible for a whole society of such leaders of the Gospel to form, and even to appropriate the name of evangelists for themselves, but to be graceless and, therefore, Christians only in name. And this is the subject which Saint Paul chiefly explains in all his Epistles. It is unfair to say that the main thing for the Apostle Paul is the opposition of faith to works. No, his main thing is to preach about the grace of the Holy Spirit, without which there is no salvation; everything else is a means to this. And in the Epistle to the Galatians he refers to this subject more than once. He also places him at the head of the truths with which he wants to enlighten the Galatians. He does not prove that without the Holy Spirit everything is nothing. This is considered proven and accepted by everyone. And he asks: how did you receive the grace of the Holy Spirit? Law? No. – So what do you need the law for? A short speech, which ultimately, however, ruins all of Judaism. Gal.3:1. O foolish Galatians, who deceived you into not submitting to the truth? “Before your eyes, Jesus Christ was ordained to be, crucified in you.” The appeal expresses sorrow, indignation of love, and amazement. It could have emerged by itself after the previous discussion about the power of faith in Christ Jesus the Lord and about the great perfection and bliss that is given to those who live in Christ and have Christ within them. After this, turning his thoughts from himself to the Galatians, the Apostle says with amazement and pity: O foolish ones! After all, this is all you had, how did you allow yourself to be deceived? “Note,” says Saint Chrysostom, “that he did not use such severity at the beginning (of the Epistle), but after the accusations and evidence, so that they would accept this reproach not as from him, but as a necessary consequence of previous reasoning. For he proved in advance that they reject faith and consider the death of Christ unnecessary; then he makes this reproach, however, still small and light; for they were worthy of even the strictest reproaches.” Blessed Jerome attributes imprudence to the natural properties of the Galatians. “The Cretans,” he says, “are deceitful, the Dalmatians are hard-hearted, the Phrygians are fearful, the Greeks are vain and frivolous, and the Galatians are unreasonable. Only a few things seem probable; without thinking it through properly, they rush into it.” Present experience justifies this opinion. With what enthusiasm did they accept the sermon about Christ the Savior?! And suddenly they turned their backs to Him. But in the holy Apostle one cannot see the indignation of contempt and disgust, but the indignation of love and jealousy for their salvation—the cry of paternal regret for them, the voice of an intense desire to lead them quickly to self-correction. This is what parents do, wanting to correct their children. This fatherly tenderness is heard in the question: “Who have you deceived?” Doesn’t say directly: why did you do that? But he turns to third parties who acted villainously with them. By this he softens the fatherly reproach, attributing their deviation from the truth not so much to their arbitrariness as to the fascinating deception of false teachers. This is the word of a father full of love, who both reprimands and inserts into the reprimand itself words that in some way excuse the guilty person, so as not to prick, but to heal and inspire to return to the truth, pointing out the action of the hostility of malicious people in evading it. Why did he use this verb: who deceived? To deceive means to cause others to begin to see things that are not their own, to see what is not there, and not to see what everyone else sees. The Greek word: εβασκανε, – from: βασκαινω, – means: to look at something with an envious, unkind eye, with a desire for harm, and then, with the eye, to damage, or, as they usually say, to jinx it. The apostle seemed to want to express: your change is so incomprehensible that I am ready to attribute it to some kind of charm. Of course, the Apostle did not have such a thought. He only wanted to soften the reproach, pointing out that their seduction depended more on the intrigues and cunning of the seducers than on them. They were jealous of your good success in Christianity and arranged such feats for you that you were seduced and are deprived of what you acquired in such abundance. Blessed Jerome dwells somewhat on this meaning. “Deceived, he says, charmed, jinxed. It is necessary, however, to interpret these words worthy of the Apostle. He didn’t say that because he recognized enchantment as something, but he used a common expression. They say that the eye of an envious person harms those he envies, especially children. Whether this is true or not, God knows. Perhaps demons serve this sin. “But what is obvious to us is that the Apostle took a word from popular popular speech to show that just as, according to the usual saying, the evil eye harms tender children: so the Galatians, recently born again by faith in Christ and still fed on milk, and not meat, as if they had been jinxed by someone, suffered harm.” But Eastern interpreters mean envy here. Saint Chrysostom says: “having said: εβασκανε,” he was envious, “the Apostle connects praise with reproach. By this he shows that their first deeds and actions were worthy of envy and that what happened to them happened through the cunning of the devil, who was greatly annoyed at their well-being. When you hear the word here - “envious eye”, as well as in the Gospel: “evil eye” (Matthew 20:15), which means the same thing, then do not think that one aspiration of the eyes can harm those at whom we look. But just as in the Gospel Christ the Lord called envy that way, so here the Apostle means those who were envious; The job of envy is to harm. And he says this not because envy in itself has the power to harm, but because those who seduced them did this out of envy.” In the same sense, Blessed Theodoret writes: “reproach combines with praise. For they envy the rich and not the poor, the prosperous and not the unfortunate. Why does the Apostolic word make it possible to see their former zeal for piety; He also shows fatherly love in the Apostle; because he laments about them as having lost their collected wealth. What envious and malicious demon, says the Apostle, stole your wonderful wealth? “Do not submit to the truth.” They had already submitted, but could not resist. The Greek word: πειθεσθαι means: both to be convinced and to stand your ground stubbornly. The Apostle expresses his amazement at how it happened that they did not persist in the conviction they had once accepted, did not remain submissive to the truth of the Gospel, which was handed down to them, but, abandoning it, succumbed to the false assurances of teachers who did not know the truth, while the work of salvation by the cross was so clearly presented to them and was so vividly accepted by them. “Whose presence Jesus Christ was ordained to be, was crucified in you.” “Ordained by the sermon writer. The sermon depicted the cross for you; but with the eyes of faith you saw him as present” (Ecumenius). The mutual action expresses both how powerful the sermon was and how vividly they internalized its power. Faith raised them to contemplation in the mind of the Lord of the crucified and the work of salvation accomplished by Him. The word: “in you” means: or among you, as if the Lord was crucified among you and each of you saw Him crucified before your eyes; or “in you” - in your hearts, in the feeling, in the thought that they entered into sympathy with the suffering of the Lord and with their hearts suffered for Him. The power of speech is this: therefore, you understood the power of the Lord’s death, you realized that this is a sacrifice of propitiation for the sins of the whole world, and therefore yours. At that time, legal sacrifices did not even occur to you. How did it happen that you now want to rely on them? The Lord's death on the cross is the focus in the economy of our salvation and the support of all the hopes of those being saved. Hence, deviation from faith, or life according to faith, is always a consequence of inattention to the death of the Lord on the cross and an inappropriate attitude towards it. But the Galatians had a sin directly against this death; for by accepting the law they made it less valuable. Hence a very important lesson for everyone: not only by faith, but also by thought, do not deviate from the cross: always contemplate the Lord crucified and thereby nourish your faith and zeal for life by faith. Saint Chrysostom depicts the meaning of these words this way: “before my eyes...”. “But He was not crucified in the country of Galatia, but in Jerusalem. Why does he say: “in you”? By this he points to the power of faith, which can see even distant things. That is why he did not say: crucified, but: “he was ordained” to be crucified, showing by this that they saw events with the eyes of faith better than some of those who saw them with bodily eyes. For many of those, having seen them with their own eyes, did not receive any benefit; and these, although they did not see them with their own eyes, but through the power of faith they saw them even more clearly. Saying this, he both reproaches them and praises them at the same time. He praises the fact that they accepted everything told about Christ with full confidence in the truth; but reproaches for the fact that they left the One who was seen naked for them, tied to a pillar, nailed to a cross, spat on, mocked, soldered by a father, reviled by a robber, pierced (for he embraced all this with the words: “it was ordained to be crucified in you”), and, leaving Him, they turned to the law, not at all ashamed of His suffering. – Notice how he, leaving heaven, earth, sea and everything else, preached the power of Christ, carrying the cross of Christ everywhere; for this is the height of the Lord’s providence for us.” If we take the word “ordained” apart from the Galatians, then for us Christians, Christ is ordained in the Old Testament. This idea was expressed by Blessed Jerome. “And for us, he says, Christ is ordained, because the entire choir of Prophets predicts His suffering, spitting and strangling, so that we learn about His cross not only from the Gospel, which tells about His crucifixion, but also from what is written in the Divine Scripture before He deigned to descend to earth and take on man to be crucified in it.” Gal.3:2. I only want to take this away from you, whether by the works of the law of the Spirit, or by the hearing of faith? The apostle gets straight to the point and settles the dispute with one question. He puts forward this indisputable position: for the sake of which the Holy Spirit was given, that is what we must hold on to exclusively. If He was given for the sake of the works of the law, then the works of the law must be adhered to, and if for the sake of faith, then faith. The basis of this position is something else - that the main good for us is the reception of the Holy Spirit. Whichever side the Holy Spirit is on, that’s where we must stand. No solution is offered to the issue; for it is self-evident. This is a self-resolved question. Everyone knew, saw and felt that they had received the Holy Spirit; and everyone also knew that they had received Him apart from the law through faith alone; and everyone was also convinced that the main thing in the matter of salvation is the grace of the Holy Spirit. The question brought all this to mind and evoked the solution that the Apostle desired. “This is the only thing I want to take away.” “I’m not starting a speech from afar and I’m not laying out lengthy arguments: maybe you don’t want to follow all this. I cannot imagine to you the full greatness of the economy of our salvation: perhaps you will not want to delve deeper into the contemplation of this. I will combine everything in a short and simple question” (Blessed Theophylact). “There are many questions by which I could induce you to prefer the Gospel to the law; but since you are weak of hearing, I speak to you in simple speech and ask about what is obvious to everyone” (Blessed Jerome). “Have you partook of the works of the law of the Spirit?” By works of the law here we mean the Old Testament church rites of worship and worship. “We must pay attention to the fact that the Apostle did not simply say: “from works,” but with the addition: “from the works of the law.” For we know that Cornelius the centurion did not receive the Spirit without works (meaning prayers and alms that arose before God), but not by works of the law, which he did not know” (Blessed Jerome). “You need to know,” writes Blessed Augustine, “that there are two types of works of the law: sacred rites and sacraments and moral acts. Sacred rites include: circumcision, Saturday, new moons, sacrifices and all such countless church rites. To moral acts: do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not bear false witness (Ex. 20: 13 – 16). Here the Apostle speaks of sacred rites.” By the Spirit we mean not only internal rebirth and sanctification, but especially the visible gifts of the Holy Spirit. For the Apostle wanted to point out something obvious and tangible. Although moral rebirth and sanctification could not help but be conscious and felt, they are not so obvious and tangible. Saint Chrysostom says: “Above he admonished them with a conversation addressed to Peter; and now he turns his speech to them and borrows everything that serves to convince them from what happened to them; and not only from those talents that they had in common with others, but also from those that were specifically communicated to them, convinces and assures them. You, he says, received the Holy Spirit, performed many miracles, performed signs, raising the dead, cleansing lepers, prophesying and speaking in different tongues. Has the law given you such power? “At that time those who were worthy of spiritual grace spoke in different tongues, prophesied, and performed miracles. Therefore, the Apostle said here the following: Did the law give you the effectiveness of the Divine Spirit, or faith in the Lord alone? (Blessed Theodoret). “Or from the hearing of faith?” Hearing of faith - both hearing the Gospel preaching and obeying it, subduing the mind to faith, accepting the Gospel. “You didn’t do anything legal,” he says; Meanwhile, as soon as they heard the word about faith and submitted to it, accepted it with their hearts and clung to the Lord, they immediately received grace in baptism and the laying on of hands. It was not just hearing the Gospel that attracted such mercy of God to them, but the fact that, having heard, they submitted to it - that, having believed that salvation was in Christ, they clung to Him and were baptized. He said, I came to you, offered you a word, you believed, were baptized, and behold the grace of the Spirit. You did not do any works of the law, neither circumcision, nor sacrifices, nor washings, nor the Sabbath. Faith alone has granted you this. Judge for yourself, “isn’t it extreme madness to abandon faith, which has given you such blessings, and turn to the law, which has given you nothing of the kind?” (Saint Chrysostom). Gal.3:3. Are you so foolish in nature that you began in spirit and are now finished in the flesh? Having raised the question, the Apostle does not give a solution to it. The decision immediately echoed itself in his thoughts: no, we did not receive the Spirit by works of the law, but by faith. The Apostle takes this decision and draws a conclusion from it: and so, having begun in the Spirit, are now finished in the flesh. What could be more meaningless than this? How did you get to such nonsense? “He called grace spirit, and life under the law flesh; because in the law everything primarily concerned the body: circumcision, keeping the Sabbath, sprinkling, and all the like were related to the body” (Blessed Theodoret). “Again he reproaches them in a timely manner. It would behoove you, he says, to increase your progress in faith over time; and not only did you not add anything, but you also went back. Others, starting small and succeeding little by little, finally rise to greatness; and you, having started with the great, moved on to the opposite. Even if you began from the carnal, then even then you would have to rise to the spiritual; and you, having begun with the spiritual, returned to the carnal. To perform signs is a spiritual matter, but to be circumcised is a carnal matter. But you passed from signs to circumcision; Having perceived the truth, you turned to images, in the light of the sun you look for a lamp, after solid food you turn to milk. And he did not say: you continue in the flesh, but: “you are finished in the flesh” (επιτελεισθε - you can be finished by nature - they finish you, kill you or finish you, complete you), showing that the false teachers, having caught them, killed them like dumb animals, and they themselves voluntarily agreed to endure everything that was pleasing to them; just as if some general and at the same time a brave warrior, who had already won numerous trophies and victories, having fallen into the hands of the rebels, allowed them to brand his body without any resistance” (St. Chrysostom). “You finish the flesh” - you complete. Having received the Spirit, you internally accepted a spiritual well-being; they began the moral and religious edifice within themselves in spirit and have already built it to some extent. No matter how much they build, everything is spiritual. Now you begin to build on top of that the carnal. This upper part does not correspond to the lower one, and the whole building becomes worthless. No sensible owner does this. Their mistake is not that they did something carnal in the matter of salvation and pleasing God. A person cannot do without this. But the fact is that they considered this carnal thing a condition for salvation and thereby spoiled the whole matter. This trait of reproach can apply to all of us. We all begin by the Spirit, being regenerated in the baptismal font. In the Church of God it is necessary to kindle this spirit of grace with all church rites, especially by fasting with due confession and communion of the Holy Mysteries. But all this has both an internal and an external side, and the latter is an expression of the former; and it has a price as much as it is imbued with it. Let us assume that someone stopped at this one external side, then we can say about him: having begun in the spirit, you end in the flesh. The flesh here has no meaning of sin; but out of context, this place can also be applied to those who, after a good life, blessed an unkind one; to those who, having received spiritual life in baptism, do not remember what it requires throughout their entire lives, but live according to the demands of the flesh and carnal thoughts; equally to those who, having come to their senses, turned to the Lord in repentance, sincerely united with Him in holy communion and having labored somewhat in walking the path of the commandments, again relaxed and, having cooled towards the Lord, turned to matters of self-indulgence and man-pleasing. And all such, having begun in the spirit, end in the flesh. But these are only the applications of this place, but its direct thought is that the Galatians, having begun by faith, which gave them the grace of the Holy Spirit, now turned to carnal justifications, which give only external purity without internal sanctification. Gal.3:4. Will you suffer too much? also tochiu and tuna. St. Paul poses question after question; and although he leaves them unanswered, these answers themselves responded in the minds of those who read them and pressed them more and more, leading them to realize how unreasonably they acted in leaning toward the law. Ahead he remembered the gifts of grace, what faith produced in their spirit; now focuses attention on their external position due to faith. Then everyone suffered for their faith; The Galatians probably also suffered, although this is not clearly stated in the Epistle. The Apostle says to them: behold, you have suffered for the faith; suffering for faith unites us more closely with Christ, who suffered for our sake, and multiplies the influxes of grace, and through this even more elevates the inner spiritual perfection in Christianity. By elevating in this regard, they elevate in the opinion of all believers, they attract God’s favor and prepare crowns for eternity. How many benefits suffering brings! But by turning to the law, you lose all this: your suffering no longer has any value, you have suffered in vain. How can you allow all this to go to waste? And aren’t you sorry that you make your suffering futile? “This should touch them even more than what I said above. For the remembrance of signs could not influence them so much as an indication of the exploits and sufferings they endured for Christ; for everything, he says, that you have suffered for Christ, they want to take away from you and thereby deprive you of the crown that belongs to you” (St. Chrysostom). “Tochiyu ashche tune”, ειγε και εικη - if, of course, for nothing (let them go to waste). All the ancient commentators believe that with these words the holy Apostle expresses the hope that they will not allow their suffering to be wasted, precisely by abandoning the law and again fully embracing the one, unalloyed faith. “In our opinion, we would say: but maybe it won’t be in vain; I hope it won’t be in vain.” Saint Chrysostom says: “but so as not to shock their souls too much and not weaken their strength at all, without waiting for an answer from them, he immediately added: “if only tune.” For if you become chaste, he says, and correct yourself, then it will not be in vain. What will those who reject repentance say now? So the Galatians received the Holy Spirit, and performed signs, and were confessors, and endured countless sorrows for Christ’s sake—and after such gifts they fell from grace. However, the Apostle says that if you want, you can return everything.” - Here is the judgment of Blessed Jerome: “in vain, he says, you suffered for the faith if you retreat from the grace of Christ, for the sake of which you endured. But at the same time, the idea is also presented here that if someone suffers for the faith of Christ, and then falls into sin, then just as he is considered to have suffered in vain when he falls into sin, so he will not lose any of this if he again returns to his former faith and to his former zeal to live by faith.” But some of our interpreters understand these words this way: is it only in vain? Whenever in vain! “Isn’t it still harmful? In vain, means neither to gain anything nor to lose: but, having begun in the spirit and for this being subjected to great temptations, and then changed, he not only suffered what he had endured in vain, but also suffered loss, losing what was set aside for him as a reward for sorrows and hardships for the sake of Christ” (Ecumenius). St. Augustine says: “What is called done in vain neither harms nor benefits. But it is necessary, he says, to see that what has been done does not lead to destruction. Not rising is not the same as falling by rebellion. Although they have not yet fallen, they are already inclined to fall. For the Holy Spirit was still active in them, as the next verse shows.” - And Jerome, after his judgment already given, adds: “or so: it will be a great harm to you if, inclining to circumcision, you lose only the previous work of faith; but this harm may also be accompanied by punishment for treason; so you suffered the past in vain, and in the next century you will be tormented for it (unless, of course, you correct yourself).” This understanding of the last words gives reason to look at the first words differently and attribute “suffering” not to suffering, but to the fact that they imposed the yoke of the law on themselves. “Too much suffering” - you placed such bonds on yourself that the Jews themselves could not bear: circumcision, Sabbath, new moon, washing, sacrifices, etc. - And all this you bore or began to bear, do you think, tuna? Whenever it's time! otherwise with harm; for you fall from grace. Nowadays the Greeks say, for example: τι επαθες? – in the sense: what’s wrong with you? what happened, what happened to you? Applying this to the present place, we get: did this happen to you for nothing? Or will it be in vain for you? This understanding is evident in Blessed Jerome. “Let us imagine,” he says, “the unfortunate Jews, with what labor they live among other nations, trying to keep their regulations: do not touch, do not taste, do not touch, and you will see, as it is rightly said: “too much will suffer.” - The idea is visible that the Galatians, bowing under the yoke of the law, impose a painful burden on themselves. That’s why he adds further: “Think about the former freedom of grace and the present yoke of observance of the law, and you will see how much labor you are doing in vain.” It seems as if such a thought is more natural, especially given the fact that in the entire Epistle there is no direct indication of the suffering of the Galatians for the faith. But the authority of the many Fathers must prevail. Gal.3:5. Give you therefore the Spirit, and make power work in you, whether by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? This verse contains the same idea as the second: only there the Apostle focused on them themselves, who had received the Spirit, but here he raises their minds to the giver of the Spirit and the one who acts in them, God. “God, who gives you the Spirit, so that you both prophesy and speak in tongues; God, who works in you, showing signs and wonders, does it for the sake of the works of the law, - for the sake of this, that is, that with them you greatly pleased Him, - or for the sake of faith in Christ? (Blessed Theophylact). However, the same thought here receives a special connotation, menacing and terrifying: for, whereas in the first form of expression it encouraged the Galatians only to feel sorry for themselves, as causing harm to themselves, here it frightens us with the danger of fighting against God. This question is close to the following: so what? Do you want to drive out God from yourself, Who now works in you for the sake of faith and will depart if you remain stubborn in your adherence to the law? The words “give” and “act” show that they have not yet lost God’s favor, as those who erred through ignorance. But after the error was pointed out by such an authoritative person as the Apostle, the sin of ignorance would turn into stubborn resistance to the truth, the consequence of which should be anger at God and the deprivation of all gifts. This is what the Apostle wanted to convey by repeating this question. He seems to be saying to them: after everything that has been said, how can you judge: for the sake of the works of the law or for the sake of faith, God has come so close to you? Of course, for the sake of faith. So be careful; for if for the sake of faith God drew near to you, then for the sake of your inclination to the law He will withdraw. Thus this verse is the conclusion of the previous speech; but not so much words as the series of thoughts that those words should have aroused. The Apostle sets out his positions in questions like miles on a highway, and with them he leads to cautious thinking; In fact, our state in grace is bright, which we were granted without any participation in the law: how could we not lose it by mixing the works of the law with faith? Or: we’re about to lose. Let us hasten to cleanse ourselves of this impurity as quickly as possible. According to St. Chrysostom, the Apostle wanted to lead them to the idea that “if the law is added, then faith will not bring any benefit: for faith is only strong when nothing is added to it from the law.” It is impossible not to notice how the Apostle’s entire attention is on the grace of the Holy Spirit. The difference between Christians is grace. Lose grace - you are nothing. And nothing in the world can give you grace than faith in the Lord through the holy sacraments, with your strong decision to always be faithful to the faith in word, deed, and thought. 2) The second proof of the uselessness of the law for the Galatians, as pagans: so from the beginning, in the promise to Abraham, God ordained that the pagans should enter into the inheritance of God by faith (Gal. 3: 6-14) Gal.3:6. Like Abraham, faith was in God, and imputed to him as righteousness. The grammatical connection of this verse with the previous one is as follows: the grace of the Holy Spirit is promised to believers; God also promised that He would dwell in them and walk for the sake of faith. The Galatians believed and received grace and were honored that God was working in them. The Apostle raised this evidence, obscured by false teachers, in the minds of the Galatians with questions, the content of which can be expressed as follows: were you worthy of such promises for the sake of works or for the sake of faith? The answer came naturally: no, for the sake of faith. The Apostle continues this thought: yes, for the sake of faith, without the works of the law, just as “Abraham believed in God, and it was imputed to him as righteousness.” These words became the transition to the next speech, in which he reveals new evidence that for the Galatians, as pagans, there is no need for the law. Its content can be expressed as follows: this is the will of God, expressed in the promise to Abraham. Abraham pleased God by faith, and because of his faith he received the promise that for his sake all nations would be blessed. This is even before the command to be circumcised. Whoever now believes like Abraham spiritually enters into his descendants and for the sake of this single faith is also worthy of Abraham’s blessing. Saint Chrysostom says here: “he brought another proof, moreover, the most difficult and controversial one, presenting Abraham as an example, and very opportunely, and with greater benefit, saying: “Like Abraham believed in God, and impute to him the truth.” They prove, he says, the power of faith and the miracles you have performed; but, if you like, I will try to convince you of this with examples from ancient history. since they had great respect for this patriarch, he presents him as an example, proving that he, too, was justified by faith. If he, who lived before grace and was so adorned with good works, was justified by faith, then how much more are you. What damage did he suffer from not being under the law? None; and faith alone was enough to justify him.” These words were spoken about Abraham after the promise of descendants to him, countless as the stars of heaven (Gen. 15: 5 - 6). In his old age, Abraham believed that he would have a descendant and then offspring; I believed it only because God, who was mighty to do this, promised so; believed that he would do it: “faith has greater hope than hope” (Rom. 4:18). This expresses complete confidence in God and complete devotion to His will, which constitute the spirit of true piety. Believing in hope is a great feat of faith. Faith was first demonstrated by Abraham, when, at a voice from above, he came out of his land; but there was a very likely opportunity to meet a fruitful country ahead; here there was nothing to rely on except hope. The same is the spirit of faith in Christ the Lord. The subject is different, but the feat of faith is the same. It is offered on behalf of God: the crucified man, called Christ, is God incarnate, Who offered Himself on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Believe, and you will receive remission of sins and the grace of the Holy Spirit, with the help of which, having lived well, you will be worthy of eternal bliss with the Lord after death. And here there is nothing to rely on except the word of the true God, and here, too, hope is greater than hope. Therefore, the believer enters into God's favor and sincerely appropriates Him to himself, becomes God's, like Abraham, and is filled with God's blessings and gifts. The Galatians had already experienced this, and they should have been very clear about this relationship to Abraham. But at the same time, they could not help but be inspired by the determination to throw away this law, which Abraham, their father in spirit, did not know. “And impute justice to him.” Δικαιοσυνη - righteousness, holiness. It was considered valuable that at this righteous and holy Abraham had feelings, showing a godly mood of spirit. This is how it should be, this is what God wants, this pleases him, and on those who are such, he rests all His favor. Abraham did not do anything special this time, but only believed the promise, not seeing in himself any support for the possibility of its fulfillment, but only completely relying on the word of God. And for this alone, God secured for him the spoken promise - “Impaled” - not something that did not happen, but something that was considered great, worthy of all favor and the most abundant rewards. Abraham's act of faith was a feat of extremely high dignity Gal.3:7. Understand, therefore, that these are of faith, these are the sons of Abraham. He said before that by faith they became like Abraham; now it suggests that this is what puts you in kinship with Abraham, this is what makes you his sons. But he does not say this to their face, but puts it forward as a general proposition that those are the sons of Abraham who believe. You value being Abraham's: know that you already have this through faith alone, and there is no need for you to look for another way to enter into kinship with him. St. Chrysostom says, “since they were afraid that they would lose their kinship with Abraham (“which they valued highly” 1 ), if they left the law, then St. Paul dispels this fear, showing that faith predominates and affirms kinship with him.” “They that are of faith”—those who have the same mood of spirit as Abraham had, the mood of faith in hope more than hope—constitute his promised tribe, his sons are according to the promise. Abraham was promised countless descendants. It was so. But it is not just this carnal descent from Abraham that makes him a descendant, but especially to be of one spirit with him: so that carnal descendants who do not have this spirit are not descendants, as the Lord spoke to the Jews to their face (John 8:39), on the contrary, not carnal descendants who are full of this spirit are descendants. Saint Damascus writes: “The pagans who believed, for the sake of faith, should boast more about Abraham, as the father (or fatherland of Abraham), than they themselves, who are from circumcision. It was faith, not circumcision, that made Abraham a friend of God. Circumcision was already a seal and a sign of faith. The sign is less than what it serves as a sign; so that those who are of faith should with more right be called sons of Abraham than those who are of circumcision.” Jerome explains this in more detail and completely. “The apostle says here that these are the sons of Abraham who believe in the same spirit in which Abraham, the uncircumcised, believed. Why did the Lord speak to the unbelieving Jews: “Even though the children of Abraham were quicker, the works of Abraham were quickly done” (John 8:39). What kind of deeds did the Lord expect from them, saying this, besides faith, as He had already told them before: “That you believe in Him whom God has sent” (John 6:29)? And in another place, the Jews, who trusted in their origin and the antiquity of their family, were told: “And do not begin to say within yourself: the father of the Imam Abraham: for God is able from this stone to raise up a child for Abraham” (Matthew 3:9). Stone, as no one will doubt, signifies the wild and rough hearts of the pagans, which were then softened and accepted the seal of faith. So, intelligent reader, list the virtues with which Abraham pleased God before he was circumcised, and whomever you find like him in this, call him the son of Abraham, justified in uncircumcision.” Gal.3:8. Having foreseen the Scripture, that by faith God would justify the tongues, He first preached the gospel to Abraham: for through you all the nations shall be blessed. According to this law of God’s truth, which determined the only valuable spiritual relationship of Abraham in the eyes of God, the promise to Abraham took place that all nations would be blessed through him. - God foresaw (for by Scripture the provident means God, who gives the Scripture), how the pagans, separated from the people of God and living without being subject to the law, would believe in Christ the Lord, who had come in the flesh from Abraham, and through this they would enter into a spiritual relationship with Abraham and come under the currents of blessing that rested on Abraham, he foresaw all this and spoke the promise that all nations would be blessed in him. “About you” - either for being likened to you by faith (St. Chrysostom, Ecumenius, St. Cyril of Alexandria), or about you - for the sake of the seed that had to come from you, that is, Christ (the same, Blessed Jerome and others). The Apostle did not have a precise definition of this here. He does this below (in verses 15-16). There is therefore no need to dwell on this. The main thing for the Apostle here is to convey the conviction that believers, apart from the law, by the power of faith alone, are already Abraham’s and are contained in the promise given to Abraham. “What does this mean (that is, the spoken words)?” - asks Saint Chrysostom. And he answers: “that the Lawgiver himself, before he gave the law, determined justification for the pagans through faith. And he did not say: opened, but: “gospel” - so that you know that the patriarch himself rejoiced about this method of justification and really wanted it to be carried out as quickly as possible.” It is not only now that we began for the first time to proclaim the power of faith: “God has long since determined and foretold this” (Blessed Theodoret). This is the order of the Divine Providence predestined by God from the beginning for people! And now it is being fulfilled in you! God's favor and blessing, all grace and salvation are acquired only by faith, as in Abraham. God set apart a people for Himself and clothed them with law for a time for His providential purposes. And he left the tongues to walk in their own wills, also for a time: for they are His people, and for them He has reserved the blessing that they had to receive in due time. The law for receiving this blessing is still the same - faith, just like in Abraham. That time has come. The tongues are called to accept Abraham's blessing from God, and to accept it, apart from the law, directly by faith. This is the meaning of the present tense! This is the meaning of the faith devoted to you! The thought that had to be imprinted on the souls of the Galatians was: therefore, by leaning toward the law, we leave ourselves from under such a blessing of God, we deprive ourselves of a benefit that cannot be rewarded by anything else, and we create an unrequited loss for ourselves. Gal.3:9. Likewise, those who are of faith will be blessed with faithful Abraham. This is a direct conclusion from the previous one. Believers, becoming equal to Abraham in spirit, and in their evaluation by God Himself, become on the same line with Him and are awarded the same blessing that Abraham was awarded. “They were afraid (Galatians) lest they fall under an oath if they did not partake of the law. The Apostle shows that, on the contrary, those who will be blessed will be those who, in addition to the law, cleave to faith, just as faithful Abraham was blessed for his faith, not knowing the law” (Blessed Theophylact). “Those who are of faith” - “those who are united with Abraham by faith are due to his seed and are blessed with him” (Ecumenius) The word “faithful” should not be ignored. Abraham was a believer not with bare faith, but with one that was always accompanied by deeds. He believed and left his land, not knowing where he was going. He believed and began to sacrifice Isaac, without doubting that God’s promise of offspring would be fulfilled. He was always faithful to faith, and as he believed, so he acted. Why does God Himself explain His extreme and preferential favor towards him by the fact that “having obeyed,” says, “I have obeyed My voice, and kept My commandments, and My commandments, and My justifications, and My laws” (Gen. 26:5). Others say: faith, faith. They must be answered: yes, nothing like faith; but not otherwise than with unswerving fidelity to faith. It is also timely to make a point to understand the concept of justification. It is said ahead that God, foreseeing the justification of the tongues by faith, made a promise to Abraham about their blessing in him. Therefore, the justification foreseen is the promised blessing. Why, in the conclusion from this, did he not say: by the same token, those who are will be justified by faith, but: “they will be blessed.” Thus justification is explained as blessing; the blessing below, in verse 14, is identified with the reception of the Spirit by faith. – Consequently, justification is not a naked declaration of the right of the justified, but together its complete sanctification by the grace of the Holy Spirit, its internal change and renewal. In this same action, faith is a conditioning principle, and not a productive force. It comes to mind that this 9th verse is the end of the present proof and directly ties in with verse 14. Verses 10–13 contain an additional thought that relates indirectly to the proof; so that even if these verses did not exist, the proof would be complete without them. This remark is made because verses 10–13 are very difficult to understand both in their content and in their connection with the previous and subsequent flow of speech. Thus, if we do not understand them properly, this will, of course, be a detriment to our knowledge, but it will not in the least harm the strength of the evidence that St. Paul presents in this section (verses 6-14). The Apostle's speech is very condensed. He embraces many things in one position and between one and the other leaves a whole series of thoughts that must be reproduced in order to see their connection. What wonder is it if, not having an Apostolic mind, we do not succeed in this? Let’s try to understand the content of these verses (10–14). Here is not a new proof of the uselessness of the law, but an explanation of the power of Abraham's blessing by contrasting it with a legal oath, as can be seen from the end of this extra section in verse 14, where Abraham's blessing is again spoken of. This makes it clear that an explanatory speech has been started and again brought to the same point as was said before it began in verse 9. Why further, in verse 15, the objection is made not to the thought that is in verses 10 - 13, but to the one in verse 9. If we recognize in this section a special proof of the uselessness of the law from the properties of the law itself and the power of the atoning death of the Lord on the cross, then this will confuse the flow of the Apostle’s thoughts, without any need and without of any benefit to the understanding of the Message. Here is what we think is the current of thought in this section: The Apostle seems to be saying this to the Galatians: faith has made you partakers of the blessing of Abraham, and you have nothing more to look for. Just be faithful to what you have already received. But if you turn to the law, you will not only lose the blessing, but you will also be near an oath: see that you fall under the oath. Although the law says that “whoever created that person will live in them” (Lev. 18:5), no one is able to fulfill it (Acts 15:10). That is why everyone who rests on one law and rests on it alone is under a formidable oath protecting the law: cursed is everyone and so on. You say: what is this? It is as if the law was given in order to bring under an oath those who submit to it, and, moreover, at the command of God Himself. The whole people, through the imposition of the law on them, were brought under an oath and kept under it for so long. No; The law contains regulations on how to prevent the oath that falls on every violator of the law, namely, the victim. There are sacrifices for the sins of the whole people, there are sacrifices for the sins of kings, princes, high priests and every private person; for every sin there is its own sacrifice. Whoever makes a sacrifice corresponding to his sin is cleansed of sin and the oath no longer falls on him. You will say: ah! So, therefore, the law provides everything you need; indicates how to live, and when we sin, gives a way of cleansing by making a sacrifice corresponding to the sin. That's true; but do not forget that the cleansing power of the sacrifices lies not in themselves, but outside them, in the power of the sacrifice that the one who was expected by everyone to come (and now the One who has already come) had to make (and has now already brought). The sacrifices were purified through the connection with them of faith in this Blessed One who is coming in the name of the Lord. And without it they themselves are nothing. This is why it is written: “The righteous shall live by faith” (Hab. 2:4). If you remain with one law without faith, you will not escape the oath: “For there is no righteous man on earth, who will do good and not sin” (Eccl. 7:21). Turn now to the present tense. That longed-for coming for blessing, for the sake of faith in Whom and sacrifices cleansed sins, has already come and offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of all. Those who sinned under the law, He redeemed from the legal oath by His death on the cross. Now we do not need victims or any other cleansing and justifying actions of the law. We believe directly in Christ the Lord crucified and thereby prevent the oath and receive the blessing. Thus, we Jews, casting aside the law, are united by faith with Christ the Lord and restore within ourselves the blessing of Abraham, and you pagans, in addition to the law, directly believing in Him, assimilate this blessing to yourself. Both you and I accept the promise of the Spirit by faith alone. Why do you need the law now, when it is no longer needed for us? This is the current of thought excited by the words of the Apostle in this section. Having mastered it, we will more clearly understand the meaning of each verse and its connection with others. As to whether this is a new proof or an explanation of the previous one, there is no point in arguing. As anyone. In our opinion, here is an explanation consisting in solving the following bewilderment: you say, the blessing of Abraham comes from faith; but is it not from the law? No, he says, the law is more of an oath than a blessing if you remain alone with him. His oath hangs over the head of the lawmaker; faith in the crucified Lord alone delivers from the oath. After such clarification of the content of the said verses, let us turn to the necessary explanations of each verse in parts. Gal.3:10. For they are from the works of the law, they are under a curse: for it is written: Cursed is everyone that does not abide in all that is written in the book of the law, as I have done. “Those who are by the works of the law are” are those who seek to please God and be saved by the works of the law, strictly fulfilling the regulations of the law - about circumcision, the Sabbath, holidays, ablutions, sacrifices, and so on. That such, since they are such, are under an oath, this cannot be unconditionally accepted, otherwise it will turn out that the very law was given for the application of an oath. But you can’t reason like that: for the law is from God; God's institutions are all good and lead to salvation. This is why it is written: “Whoever created that man will live in them” (Ezek. 20:11). And to those who keep the law, great promises are given (Deut. 28). The history of the people of Israel shows that when they were faithful to the law, then God favored them, and when they retreated, then they were subjected to punishment from God. Under what conditions were subordinates subject to the oath? Before the coming of Christ, those who did not fulfill the law and, having violated it in some way, did not repent and did not rush to cleanse themselves in the law in the indicated ways were subject to an oath. The law itself foresaw violations and itself determined how to reconcile with itself. Those who did not use these means remained under an oath, both as a violator of the law, and as a persister in this violation, not in a hurry to correct themselves and make amends for their guilt in a legal manner. Further, since these means of atonement for guilt were powerful to do this not on their own, but by faith in that of which they served as a shadow and reflection; then he was under an oath, someone who used legal means, but without the proper faith. Finally, since the whole law was imbued with a foreshadowing of the Coming One and raised every lawyer to Him; then, in general, every faithful doer of the law, as soon as he did not sanctify his life by faith in this Coming One, was not completely faithful to the law, did not abide in everything that the law prescribed. The Holy Apostle Paul in this place could only mean these last ones. Ahead, he said that those who are of faith will be blessed with faithful Abraham, apart from the law, without knowing it, without joining it. Now he says: on the contrary, those under the law, as soon as they remain with the law alone without faith, are under an oath: for they do not fulfill what the law leads them to with its prescriptions. This idea satisfactorily explains the connection between the verses, if we take the law here abstractly, without regard to the case in which the law is being discussed. If we take this into account, then we must accept that the Apostle speaks about the law from the point of view of the New Testament, that is, after the coming of Christ the Savior, whose shadow the law served. Those against whom Saint Paul wrote were believers in Christ, but while believing in Him, they also demanded the fulfillment of the law written in the hay (old). Therefore, the thought expressed before this cannot amaze them and convince the Galatians of the wrongness of their new steps. It must, therefore, be assumed that Saint Paul wanted to say that those under the law are under oath after the coming of Christ the Lord. In this case, the position expressed by him is unconditional. And the Lord said that the law and the Prophets were until John, that is, until the coming of the promised Lord Himself. And this is predetermined in the law itself, understanding it as the Old Testament guidance of God. Consequently, whoever still adheres to the law as a condition of salvation, after the coming of Christ the Savior, goes against the law; and whoever is against the law is subject to an oath, and therefore the under-legalists are under an oath—the very same ones who seduced the Galatians. Saint Paul gives the reason that those who are under the law are subject to an oath is that anyone who violates anything written in the law is threatened with a curse. It is not difficult to see that the reason does not go directly to the stated position. The provision says: those under the law are under an oath, and the reason: because those who break the law are threatened with a curse. If it were said that those who adhere to the law are subject to damnation, there would be a direct reason for this, but here it is said about the violators of the law, who are, of course, apostates from it - then and when and in what way they violate it. If we directly accept that those who are of the law are under a curse because those who break the law are threatened with damnation, then in this respect the New Testament institution does not differ in any way from the Old Testament. And it contains threats even more formidable than the ancients. The same Apostle, writing to the Jews, says: “If the word spoken by the angels is known, and every crime and righteous disobedience receives a reward, then we will flee from the capital’s careless salvation, which began to accept the word spoken from the Lord, who heard it in us” (Heb. 2, 2 - 3). In another place: “Whoever rejects the law of Moses dies without mercy in the presence of two or three witnesses. How much do you think that the worst one will be worthy of torment, having trampled upon the Son of God, and having taken the sacred defilement of the Blood, by it he was sanctified, and rebuked the Spirit of grace? (Heb. 10, 28 – 29). And again: “the earth, for it has drunk the rain that falls upon it in abundance, and gives birth to good things, in the same way it is made, and receives a blessing from God: but it bears thorns and thistles, and it is indecent to eat oaths, even to its end by burning” (Heb. 6:7-8). And at the Last Judgment, what will the Lord say to the violators of the commandments of His New Testament? “Get away from Me, the curse” (Matthew 25:41). Putting these threats in parallel with the words of the Apostle in the place we are considering in the Epistle to the Galatians, we will come to a similar position, that those who are of faith are under a curse, because those who are unfaithful to the faith are threatened with damnation, and, moreover, eternal. How can we be here? It is necessary to allow additional implied thoughts in the speech of the holy Apostle. Not only that no one could fulfill the law; for even in the new grace, “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). But especially that the law, in case of its violation, in itself does not represent anything for the cleansing of the sinner. He had cleansing sacrifices; but they received strength from faith in the Lord, therefore, not in him, but outside him. Why is it that when he is left alone, he leaves those who adhere to him without any help in case of violation of it, and only he himself weighs down on them with the full weight of his judgment. And in the New Testament institution the power of sin is the same: it takes away blessing and attracts curse; but the very essence of the New Testament consists in the covering of all sins that happen to a believer through the intercession of Christ the Lord, who was crucified for us. “If anyone sins, Jesus Christ the Righteous will intercede with the Father” (1 John 2:1). The law does not have this intercessory covering of sins when one is left without faith or when, after the coming of the Intercessor, it is contained as a condition of salvation through faith; for in this case faith is not faith; whoever relies on the law in this way belittles the Intercessor and is therefore deprived of the power of intercession. Thus, the thought of the holy Apostle is that the law alone leaves those who adhere to it under all the severity of their oath without faith. That this is exactly the thought of the Apostle is evident from the following verse, in which the salvific nature of the law is made subject to the condition of faith. The law justified, but only by faith; but without faith and in the law no one was justified; There were righteous people in the Old Testament, but they all appeared like that for the sake of faith. Gal.3:11. And just as in the law no one will be justified by God, but the righteous will live by faith. The Apostle instills the idea that the law, even by its original institution, did not have the power to justify before God or to put anyone in such a state that he would be recognized by God as righteous. This is clear from what is written there: “the righteous shall live by faith” (Hab. 2:4). This would not have been said if the law, in itself, had the power to justify and live. And all the Old Testament righteous were saved not by the law alone, but also by faith. Blessed Jerome writes: “What then? And Moses, and Isaiah, and the other Prophets, who were under the yoke of the law, are also under the curse? To this we answer: the Lord Jesus Christ, with His priceless blood, redeemed us all from the legal oath, and Moses and Aaron themselves, and all the Prophets and Patriarchs. And do not think that I am saying this from my own mind: Scripture itself testifies to this, saying: “Christ alone died for all” (2 Cor. 5:14). If for everyone, then for Moses and for all the Prophets, none of whom could destroy the ancient manuscript written against us and nail it to the cross (Col. 2:14). And they were justified and saved by faith.” Before people, perhaps those who held the law seemed righteous, like the Pharisees, who justified themselves before men, but not before God. Before Him there is no one righteous without faith. Faith, both before the law and after the law was given, both blessed and justified (Blessed Theophylact). The law, as soon as it remained without faith, it became one of all the religions existing on earth, and did not give what those who held it hoped to find in it. The same dignity applies to everything that a person could come up with in his own justification and on anything that he would hope to rely on for his salvation, besides faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Work is needed; but they receive truly cleansing and life-giving power only from faith: without it they are nothing. Here are the words of Blessed Jerome that are remarkable for this thought: “It should be noted that the Apostle did not say: every person will live by faith, so as not to give a reason to despise works of virtue, but: “the righteous will live by faith”; so that he who has life by faith can only come to faith, or live in it, by becoming righteous in advance (or at the same time) and by purity of life, as by steps, ascending to faith. So, someone can be righteous and, however, not be alive until he receives the faith of Christ. Remember the words of the Apostle Paul about yourself - “in truth I was not blameless” (Phil. 3:6). Now Paul was then righteous in the law, but he could not yet be alive, because he did not have Christ in himself, Who says: “I am life” (John 11:25). He began to live after he had already believed. Let us apply this to ourselves, and just as it is said: “the righteous will live by faith,” we will say: the pure by faith will live, the wise by faith will live, the courageous by faith will live, and regarding all other virtues we will pronounce a judgment similar to these, in opposition to those who, not believing in Christ, think to be strong, and wise, and self-controlled, in general righteous. Let us know that no one can live without Christ, without whom no virtue is blameless.” The words: “the righteous will live by faith” are contained in the prophecies of Saint Habakkuk; but they are given there as a generally known position. Therefore, there is no need for the Prophet to explain their meaning from that place, especially since the place is rather dark, while these words are very clear and Saint Paul himself cites them more than once in his Epistles. From this it should be concluded that they often circulated in the mouths of those who understood the matter of the law, as it should be understood Gal.3:12. The law does not come from faith: but the man who created it will live in them (Lev. 18:5; Neh. 9:29; Ezek. 20:21). The law is not of the same quality as faith. Or: but the law does not promise life from faith, but says: do it and you will live. He says this about the law in itself, separately from faith. As before this he spoke about the law in its full establishment with the seed of faith hidden in it and filling it; So now he speaks about him alone without faith. The law itself “says one thing: keep the law and you will live. Those who do not comply are condemned; for he allowed what he knew should be avoided” (Ambrosiastes). This is the essence of every law. The same is required by civil law, the law of conscience, and the written law. And every law is a law because it requires fulfillment and imposes an obligation to do so. All external laws are attached to the law of conscience; God in creation inextricably combined conscience with consciousness and feeling, so that there is no person who would not feel the voice repeating within him: create and you will live. Just as there is no one who sincerely recognizes himself as right in everything, there is no one who does not look for justification outside of himself. Proof of this is the structure of all religions on earth. God has given such a structure to our spiritual nature, so that within ourselves we feel a constant urge to resort to the protection of the Lord, who justified us by death on the cross. The Apostle's attention is limited to one old law of Moses, because this is what we are talking about. This verse does not give a new thought, but only explains the previous one. The Old Testament economy of salvation, in its spirit, generally says: the righteous will live by faith; and the law, alone, separated from faith, repeats: create and you will live. No one has the power to create everything that is lawful; and thus remain holding to one law without the ability to reach the stomach. He seems to be saying to the Galatians: this is where you have ended up by bending over to obey the law! Gal.3:13. Christ has redeemed us from the legal oath, having become an oath for us: for it is written: Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. The apostle felt as if the law was pursuing him and was weighing him down everywhere with its oath. Having taken refuge in faith under the canopy of the cross of Christ, he freely takes a breath and cries out in joy: glory to God! Christ has redeemed us from the legal oath. Speaking about redemption from the legal oath, he makes it clear that his attention is on the Jews. For the legal oath, which he mentioned before this in verse 10: that everyone who sins against the law is cursed, lay only on the Jews. The Lord's Redemption embraces the entire human race, from the first man to the last, and its power extends to all eternity. The purpose of the speech—the uselessness of the law—forced the Apostle to confine himself to the Jews in this place. Ahead, he explained that the law, an Old Testament institution, did not justify or save by itself, but only by faith in the coming Lord; on his own, alone, he weighed only an oath over everyone. Now he says that the Promised One, in Whom the Old Testament institution was strong by faith, came and offered Himself as a sacrifice for all. We turned to Him and by faith in Him we are justified, we are sanctified and we prevent any legal oath. He once offered himself and, being forever alive, continues to intercede for us before the righteousness of God. Being under this intercessory cover through faith, we are safe from all the punishments of legal truth. This is precisely what made us leave the Old Testament institution and cleave to the new one in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is no longer necessary. Previously it was still valid under the condition of faith; now, even with faith, according to its former meaning, that is, in the coming Savior, it is nothing. For He who is coming has come, and to believe in Him who is yet to come when He has already come means to pervert God’s order, to go against God and the law itself, and to spontaneously keep oneself under a curse. But the Lord redeemed us, the believing Jews, both from the oath and from the obligations of the law. All that - away; we follow a new and living path, straight into the belly that is in Christ. With such speech we clarify the relationship of this place with the previous one. In itself it is clear. The oath was upon us; The Lord, having crucified himself on the cross, took upon himself this oath for us, not being subject to it, as holy and blameless: for he who hangs on a tree is cursed before God (Deut. 21:23). In Deuteronomy, in the indicated place, the son of a rebellious, voluptuous, drunkard is prescribed to be killed and hanged on a tree; take it down in the evening and bury it so that it doesn’t spend the night on the tree. For he who hangs in this way is cursed before God. This hanging was a sign of the extreme depravity of the one hanging, for the sake of which he was cursed before God. It was not the hanging itself that entailed the curse, but the sin that led to such execution. “Not everyone who hangs on a tree is cursed before God, but the one who sinned a sin worthy of death was killed and hanged on the tree. He is cursed not because he hangs on a tree, but because he fell into such sin that he deserved to be hanged” (Blessed Jerome). This passage is an educational prophecy; for just as everything in the Old Testament is a shadow of what is to come, this institution was also a prototype of the Lord’s death on the cross. And He was hanged on a tree, and taken down in the evening. There was no sin in Him; but just as in the law hanging actually meant sin and an oath, then the hanging of the Lord also meant that it had the same power, only not touching Him Himself, as immaculate, but all humanity. The oath itself was hung on the cross, so that it no longer exists for anyone who takes refuge in the shadow of the cross. Saint Chrysostom speaks about this: “whoever wants to destroy an oath must himself be free from the oath, must take upon himself an undeserved oath - instead of a deserved one: Christ took such an oath upon himself and with it destroyed the deserved one. And just as someone who is not subject to condemnation, deciding to die for someone condemned to death, thereby delivers him from death, so did Christ. since He was not subject to curse for breaking the law, He took upon Himself - instead of what we deserved - a curse that He did not deserve, in order to free everyone from what they deserved. “For He did not commit iniquity; flattery was found in His mouth” (Is. 53:9). But just as he who died for those condemned to death frees them from death, so he who took upon himself the curse freed them from the curse.” “No one should be embarrassed,” writes Blessed Jerome, “by the fact that Christ became a curse for us. God, who made Him a curse, Himself made Him sin for us (see: 2 Cor. 5:21). The Savior humbled Himself from the fullness of the Divinity until He assumed the form of a slave (Phil. 2:7). But the humiliation of our Lord is our glory. He died so that we could live; descended into hell so that we could ascend to heaven; became foolishness in order to become wisdom. He diminished Himself from the fullness of Divinity, taking on the form of a slave, so that the fullness of Divinity might abound in us and from slaves we would become masters. He hung on the tree so that the sin we had committed on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil could be destroyed by hanging on the tree. He also became an oath, so that blessing would descend upon us and rest in us.” Thank the Lord, we are all Christian believers sheltered under the canopy of the cross from all the oath-bearing threats of the law. However, this is not certain. “There is no condemnation for us today,” but how? if we do not walk in the flesh, but in the Spirit (Rom. 8:1), - in other words: if we distance ourselves from all sin and are zealous for the fulfillment of all the commandments of the Gospel, strengthened by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Without this, the oath hangs in full force on us. No one should think that since the Lord redeemed us from the oath and we believe, we can live as our heart desires. No, since we sin, we still have greater punishment. Our advantage is that when, zealous about fulfilling the commandments, we stumble and fall, then, having recognized, confessed and mourned sin, we immediately receive forgiveness and permission, for the sake of the eternal, standing before the righteousness of God, the intercession of the Lord who crucified for us and for the sake of our feasible labors to atone for sin, by which the power of that heavenly intercession is instilled in us, with faith in Him. A legal oath follows on the heels of every transgressor of the law. It is intertwined with the crime of the law, just as a blessing is intertwined with its fulfillment. In paradise it was said: “If you take a day, you will die” (Gen. 2:17). This is an oath, which came into force after eating. The written oath is known in the law. And the pagans were under an oath, only not through the written law, but through the law of conscience. For remorse of conscience is nothing else but the action of an oath, laid down by the righteousness of God for every transgression of the law? And those who are under the Gospel are not free from the oath, as long as they do not fulfill the commandments of the Gospel (Blessed Jerome, at length). True life is in the strict, complete and comprehensive fulfillment of the will of God, expressed in the commandments and prescriptions of the moral law (Matthew 7:21). all this is to fill the weakness of the law, and not to set it aside or relegate it to the background. All our attention, all our strength and all our worries must be directed to this. He who evades the attention of an inuda moves away from the main point, loses focus, takes a wrong direction. Here is faith, here are the sacraments, here are all the sanctifying and strengthening rites of the Church, here are all the exploits! Everything must be directed towards appearing to us as children of God, blameless at the coming of the Lord. Gal.3:14. Let the blessing of Abraham be upon Christ Jesus among the nations, that we may receive the promise of the Spirit by faith. How is the spread of Abraham's blessing in Christ Jesus to the pagans so closely connected with redemption from the legal oath that the latter is a direct consequence of the former? As has already been noted, the speech of the holy Apostle here is very condensed, and between the positions he expresses, in order to understand their connection, it is necessary to reproduce a whole series of additional thoughts. This needs to be done here too. Now, from afar, it is very clear to us how Abraham’s blessing passed on to the pagans. The institution of God through Moses was the only true faith on earth. But this institution was so organized that it separated the Jewish people from all languages. The law was a wall between the tongues and the Jews. This in itself is not that significant; but it is significant in that through such separation the pagans were also separated from the blessing that was hidden in the law through faith in the Coming One. With this hidden treasure the law was strong before God and people. Abraham was promised the blessing of the tongues through him, but this blessing was not to come to them through the air. It was hidden in the law, so that in due time it would be revealed and poured out on them. Thus the law both protected the pagans and contained a seed of blessing for them. How will they taste the blessing? No other way than through the abolition of the law as if it were the law. With this, the barrier of the law was destroyed, and the blessing hidden in it became accessible to tongues. The Lord's death on the cross accomplished this work. She made all the subordinate ranks unnecessary, because they were a shadow of the truth, now revealed in practice. But this death had such power because it was redemption from the legal oath (in fact, both the written and unwritten law, but in relation to the Jews - the written one, since this is what we are talking about). This is how it happened that with the redemption from the legal oath, the spread of Abraham's blessing to the pagans was combined. This atonement was accomplished by the death of the Lord on the cross - the death on the cross made all the legal rites of justification unnecessary, and with their abolition the entire Old Testament institution was ruined, and the blessing hidden in it in the faith of the Coming One became accessible through faith to the whole world. For the blessing of Abraham was about his seed, that is, about Christ Jesus, the Lord, who was in the flesh from his seed, faith in whom constituted the mysterious essence of the Old Testament. “Let us receive the promise of the Spirit by faith.” This explains the power of Abraham's blessing. Abraham was only told that through his seed all would be blessed. The prophets later explained that this blessing is not a carnal one, but a spiritual one and will consist in the outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh (Isa. 44:3; Joel. 2:28; Zech. 12:10). This was confessed and proclaimed aloud to all Jerusalem by Saint Peter, at the very hour of the descent of the Holy Spirit. The reception of the Holy Spirit and the tangible manifestation of His action in souls later became a distinctive feature of true believers in Christ. And generally speaking, the essence of Christianity consists in the renewal of our fallen nature by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Where there is no renewal, there is no Spirit; where there is no Spirit, there is no Christ; where there is no Christ, there is lies and destruction. This renewal should be the goal of Christians' pursuit. Faith in the Lord, with the determination to follow His will, is an exceptional condition for receiving the Holy Spirit through the sacraments. But this is only the seed of renewal; the very same renewal is accomplished by the Spirit through man’s labors in fulfilling the commandments and the feasible achievement of the feats at hand. There is no other way. Those who deviate from the latter condition cannot achieve renewal, no matter how wisely they talk about Christianity. As for the combination of these words with the previous one, then, how, when he spoke about redemption from the legal oath, the Apostle had in mind the Jews, and when he said about the extension of the blessing of Abraham to the pagans, he had these latter in mind, there will be no inconsistency in accepting that, speaking about the reception of the Spirit, he had in mind both of them, and with the word: “we will receive” - he meant: we are Christians from the Jews and pagans. The Holy Fathers do not pay attention to the grammatical flow of speech, but to one relationship of the truths expressed here. “Because,” writes Saint Damascus, it was impossible for the grace of the Holy Spirit to descend on someone who is unclean and under ill-will; then they are first blessed with the removal of the oath; then, having been justified by faith, they attract the grace of the Spirit: so the cross destroyed the oath, faith brought justification, and justification attracted the grace of the Holy Spirit.” For, “in order to receive the promise of the Spirit,” according to Theophylact, “one had to be justified by faith.” About the blessing of Abraham in tongues, Saint Chrysostom says: “It is clear that all this is said about Christ: for He was Abraham’s seed, and through Him all nations are blessed and receive the promise of the Spirit. Pointing to this, the Apostle says: let us receive the promise of the Spirit by faith. since the grace of the Spirit cannot be poured out on those without grace and under a curse, they are blessed first of all through the removal of the curse; then, those justified through faith, receive the grace of the Spirit. Thus the cross destroyed the oath, and faith introduced justification, and justification brought down the grace of the Spirit.” B) Refutation of objections about the exclusive significance for the Gentiles of faith apart from the law (Gal. 3, 15-29) From what the holy Apostle had said so far, the Galatians clearly saw that they were undoubtedly worthy of the blessing of Abraham by faith alone, apart from the law. And we can believe that this finally put the pagan Christians to rest. But among Jewish Christians, counter-thoughts could arise from this, strong to shake the formed convictions or prevent them from even forming. They might have thought: 1) The promises were given to Abraham for the sake of faith and their fulfillment was conditioned by faith, because then there was no law. But the law came and changed the conditions; so that after its establishment, the receipt of the promise began to be conditioned not by faith, but by law. The Apostle foresaw this objection and eliminates it. No, he says, the law did not cancel the power of the promise for faith (Gal. 3:15-18). But from here another bewilderment naturally arose: 2) if so, then why the law? He is a nurturer in Christ. Why, when Christ the Lord came, must he cease. Now both we (Jews) and you (Gentiles) are one in Christ Jesus (Gal.3:19-29). Eliminating such perplexities, St. Paul, one might assume, had in mind primarily the Jews, proving that the law was no longer needed for them either. But this further convinced the pagans that the law was unnecessary for them. 1) The law does not negate the promise given to Abraham (Gal. 3: 15-18) And so they could think: even though a promise was given to faith in Abraham, but then the law came and, perhaps, canceled that promise. Saint Paul dispels this bewilderment by comparing the promise with a testament common among people. Just as no one can cancel a will, legally made and legally confirmed, nor change it by adding or subtracting, so the promise given to Abraham, as a will approved by God before the law, could not be canceled by the law that came so long after. The power of persuasion lies in the word: “no one” - of course, an outsider, and the law is represented by a person. Agreeing with such a concept, we will not encounter bewilderment, especially since in comparison, as in the parable, one should not look for a complete correspondence of the compared objects, feature to feature. But one cannot help but see that in this case a new bewilderment is appropriate, namely: no one outside can change or cancel wills; but the same testator, while alive, can both change and revoke his will. The law given through Moses is also a testament (testament). It was given by the same Testamentator God, Who is always alive and has the power to make all sorts of changes in His promises of good to people. He made a covenant in Abraham, and it was in force; then he found it necessary to give a new testament through Moses, and perhaps this last one became valid with the removal of the first. This can be answered this way: one and the same testator can make different wills, and as long as the subsequent will, by a special clause, does not cancel all or part of the previous one, then it remains in full force, especially when in terms of objects, persons, and conditions they differ from each other. The Law of Moses is, exactly, another covenant of God relative to the covenant with Abraham; but there is no point in it that would sweep away this latter, as the word of the Apostle indicates: “The law that was made in advance with Abraham does not sweep away” - it does not say publicly that this law destroys the promise of Abraham (Gal. 3:17). In terms of content, the covenant with Abraham and the covenant through Saint Moses are different. The promise to Abraham embraces all humanity, but the law will exclusively contain the Jewish people; the goal of the first is to unite everyone by pouring out the blessings of Abraham on everyone, the goal of the latter is to separate the Jewish people from all nations, in order to preserve in them the blessing promised to all about the seed of Abraham, hidden until time; the condition of the first is true faith, the condition of the second is works, among other things, and as a means of separation (verse 18). Thus, the law neither publicly (that is, by a special clause) nor publicly (that is, by content) cancels the promise of Abraham, leaving it in all its power. We preface such a general overview of the entire reasoning of the holy Apostle Paul in verses 15–18, imitating the Holy Fathers, who limit the entire interpretation of this section to such an overview. So Saint Chrysostom says: “if a person, says the Apostle, makes a will, will anyone dare to change it later or add something (for this means the word: “commands”): much less should this be in the covenant of God. To whom did God make his will? “To Abraham,” he says, “the words were vows” and so on... And so God made a testament to Abraham, saying that the pagans would receive a blessing about his seed. How can the law destroy this blessing? since no example can express the object it depicts, that’s why I said: “I say according to man,” so that you do not deduce anything from the example given that is inconsistent with the greatness of God. Look at the above example from the highest point: God promised Abraham to bless the nations because of his seed. His seed according to the flesh is Christ. “And after four hundred and thirty years the law came.” So, if the law gives blessings, and life, and justification, then this promise is no longer valid. But how can this be? No one ever destroys a human will, but God’s will became invalid after 430 years? For if this testament does not give what is promised, but another in its place, then it is obvious that it has been rejected. But is there any reason here? – Theodoret and others have a similar review. This, however, does not make it unnecessary to make some comments on each individual text from 15–18. Gal.3:15. Brethren, I say according to man: no one rejects or commands the pre-established covenant of man. "Brotherhood". The Apostle's heart is softened; He moves from accusatory severity to fatherly persuasion. “By the way, he said: “brothers,” to those whom he had previously called foolish. Everyone should not address (those being corrected) with stern and reproachful speech; we need to sweeten it” (Ecumenius). “I speak according to man.” To explain his subject, he takes an example from ordinary affairs between people. He does not undertake lofty contemplations, but turns to experience everywhere in order to lead through it to those, for it is not possible for a young mind in the knowledge of Divine things to soar in those heights. “What I have to say, I do not speak according to the Divine, I do not speak according to hidden wisdom, and not as those who can eat solid food, but as those who, due to the tenderness of the stomach (stomach), still feed on milk, cannot hear about great things (1 Cor. 3:2)” (Blessed Jerome). “Both” – even, – that’s it, – after all. Thought: you know that and - “the pre-established covenant of man.” Not something approved by a person, but a human thing that takes place and happens between people. The thought is directed not at the fact that it was approved by man, but that it was approved, as happens between people, compiled according to all the usual requirements, and most importantly, came into force. “A will drawn up well, with a good purpose and in all order, is not allowed to be distorted” (Blessed Theodoret). Κεκυρωμενην - in others it reads: προκεκυρωμενην, - as in our Slavic (in the sense: long ago approved), gives the idea of a will, formally approved by legal authority, as, for example, with us, civil decrees approved by the sovereign receive the force of law to execution. “And “human”, which is incomparably less solid than the Divine. If a testator changes a will, he changes one that has not yet been approved. The death of the testator finally makes the will approved, because after this it is no longer possible for him to change his intention. With God this is replaced by the immutability of His definitions” (Blessed Augustine). “For the promise of God is great, in this is it, and in this is the amen” (2 Cor 1:20). "Nobody". In the course of speech, it’s as if, rather: no one else. And the law appears as a third party who came after. Or no one at all, that is, it does not happen between people that anyone changes the confirmed covenant. The goal of the holy Apostle is to convince by comparison of the immutability of God’s promises. The power of speech is: “approved”, in the sense of: having entered into force of law. All other adverbial terms are of little importance. “Dismisses or commands. “Dismisses” – completely cancels; “commands” - adds new clauses that change the meaning and significance of the first ones. This latter is presupposed by the purpose of the speech of the holy Apostle. Gal.3:16. And the vows were made to Abraham, and to his seed. He does not say: and by seed, as about many, but as about one: and to your seed, who is Christ. The holy Apostle has a complete conclusion in this place. The previous verse contains the main point, the major premise; present – ​​subordinating position, minor premise; the next one is the conclusion. Before this he said: no one can revoke a will that was approved long ago and entered into force of law. Now he says: but Abraham was given a testament. Then he will say: therefore, it is irresistible. But as a testament given to Abraham, it had a special form, it was given as a promise; then St. Paul speaks about it this way, explaining, moreover, exactly what subject the promise concerned, or what its essence was. Then and in conclusion he introduces these new explanatory concepts. “Vows were spoken to Abraham. “Vows” - stands instead of a will, as expected in the course of speech. In essence they are both one and the same. A will makes an heir, that is, the owner of certain benefits; and the promise promises benefits, of which the one on whom the promise is fulfilled becomes the owner. What vows were spoken to Abraham, this has already been said, namely, that about him and about his seed, or about him for the sake of his seed, all languages ​​will be blessed. How the promise is fulfilled through the seed, this word required the most precise definition in the Apostle’s speech. That's what he does. The seed, he says, here does not mean the whole people, not all the descendants of Abraham, but one Person from the descendants, namely Christ the Lord. But to explain this, the Apostle does not make further considerations, but takes the very letter of the promise and from it makes a point about it. “He does not say: and by seed, as of many, but as of one: and to your seed, which is Christ.” Although the Apostle attaches his explanation to the letter; but the letter itself here is of such a quality that even in its place, in the text of the promise, it cannot be understood otherwise. The promises to Abraham were expressed like this: “I will multiply your seed, I will give this land.” These are carnal promises. But to this was always added: “and through your seed all nations will be blessed” (Gen. 12:2 – 3, 7; Gen. 17:2; Gen. 18:18; Gen. 22:17 – 18). It couldn't be carnal. Although in the word to Abraham it is not clear how this could come true, the power of the speech is such that it itself suggested the thought of a certain Person from the seed of Abraham, coming out of the usual series, from Whom blessing would be poured out on all nations. The believing heart of the worthy descendants of Abraham felt this truth and prompted them to look forward to precisely such a Person; The prophets pointed to Him definitely; and all Israel in this seed saw the Messiah desired by all. The Holy Apostle in his explanation takes into account the common belief of all the most worthy by the Spirit acting in the Prophets, sanctified. Its word, in form, only clings to the letter; but in essence contains an all-sufficient explanation of the meaning of the promise given to Abraham. Blessed Theodoret writes: “The God of all promised to bless the nations with the seed of Abraham; and this seed is the Lord Christ Himself. For by Him this promise was fulfilled, and the nations received the blessing. All the others, even those who have achieved the highest virtue: Moses, Samuel, Elijah - in a word, all who descended from Israel by nature, although they are called the seed of Abraham, are not the seed that brought the source of blessing to the nations. This is what the Apostle says (in the words of this 16th verse). Not because they also descend from Abraham, as if they were the designated seed. In its proper sense, Christ has this name, as the One who had the promise to bestow blessings on the nations. God said: “All the nations of the earth will be blessed because of your seed” (Gen. 22:18). But the nations did not receive this blessing from anyone else.” Ambrosiastes expresses the idea that to understand this promise otherwise is the same as making a forgery in a will. “This promise,” he writes, “is fulfilled in Christ, in whose name all nations will be blessed through faith. By this reasoning, the Apostle shows that those who, with faith in Christ, expect something else from the law, make a kind of forgery in their will, as if salvation is not only promised in Christ, but is also in the law. That’s why he claims that the promise of blessing is given in the One Christ.” Gal.3:17. And this I say, the covenant that was foretold of God in Christ, which was four hundred and thirty years old, the law does not sweep away, so as to destroy the promise. Here is the conclusion from the two previous provisions. This is what I say - this is what I want to say - that the “pre-established covenant”, established long ago and entered into force of law, “from God in Christ”, is not about Christ, but in Christ: it rested in Christ with its entire object, purpose, power, and was given from God by foreknowledge, that the pagans were to be justified by faith in Christ, which is what the promised blessing of the tongues consists of, as the Apostle said above (verse 8), - the law that existed after so much time, 430 years, “does not sweep away”, ουκ ακυροι, - does not disaffirm, in contrast to προκεκυρωμενην, - pre-established - “to destroy the promise”, καταργησαι, - which, when applied to buildings, expresses our usual phrase: to raze to the ground, to destroy to the ground - in order to completely destroy the promise, to make it seem non-existent. In this conclusion, it was enough to just say: therefore, no one can cancel or change the promise to Abraham. But the holy Apostle surrounds it with all related concepts in order to present a completely rounded thought, in accordance with his goals. God Himself determined four hundred and thirty years when He made the promise about Isaac. How these years in history were fulfilled by deed itself is not an important matter. Exodus in chapter 12 (verse 40) this number of years determines the time the sons of Israel lived in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan (before moving to Egypt). Gal.3:18. For if the inheritance is from the law, no one is from the promise: but to Abraham was given by God the promise. Having affirmed that the testament given to Abraham in the promise cannot be revoked, the Apostle, to strengthen his conclusion, adds: and if you judge according to yours, that is, if you condition the receipt of the promise by submitting to the law of Moses, then the promise will be ruined. For if the receipt of what is promised as an inheritance depends on the law, then it is no longer by virtue of that promise; God gave this advantage to Abraham, so that all languages ​​would receive a blessing through his seed, in addition to all conditions, according to one providential promise. Here the term: “inheritance” is introduced in connection with the comparison of a promise with a will. What is received under a will is called an inheritance; The holy Apostle also calls inheritance what is obtained by promise, which he identified with a will. The pagans now, by the will of the providential God, enter through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ into the inheritance of what God bequeathed to them in the promise to Abraham. It is not at all appropriate for the law to have any participation or significance in this, it is contrary to the intentions of God. And whoever does this destroys the entire dispensation of God. “If the promise says that blessing will be through Christ, and yet, instead of Christ, the law will give blessing; then God’s covenant to Abraham is ruined - it is of no use” (Ecumenius). “How can the law cancel this covenant or promise, so that the nations may receive blessing not through Christ, but through the commandments of the law? This will be nothing less than the destruction of the promise; which is absurd” (Blessed Theophylact). Let us make two or three extracts from the patristic interpretations, which clarify everything set out in these verses, the reasoning of the holy Apostle. Saint Damascus writes: “The thought of the holy Apostle in these words is this: it was bequeathed to Abraham that through his seed all nations would be blessed. This seed is Christ according to the flesh. 430 years later, after this will, the law came. So, if this law gives blessing, life and justification, then the will will no longer be of any use. From this it follows that, while no one can revoke a human will, God’s will became invalid after 430 years. For if what the will promised is not given by it, but by someone else, that is, by the law, then the will is revoked. What does this mean?” Here are the words of St. Augustine: “When the promise was given, the law was not yet given and after so many years could not be given in the sense that the previous promise to Abraham would be rendered invalid. This forces us to admit that all the ancients (and those under the law), who were justified, were justified (not by the law itself, but) by faith (which was secretly active in it). We become saved by believing partly in the past, that is, in the first coming of the Lord, and partly in the future, that is, in the second coming of the Lord. And they believed in all this, that is, both in this and that coming, as in the future, according to the revelation of the Holy Spirit, that they might be saved. Hence the following saying of the Lord: Abraham desired to see My day; and he saw and rejoiced (John 8:56).” Ambrosiastes argues this way: “The Jews defend two contradictory positions. They cannot be convinced in any way that Abraham's promise has not been abolished by the law; but they themselves, in contrast to this, stubbornly assert that justification is impossible without the works of the law, knowing that Abraham, the example of justification, was justified by faith alone without the works of the law. Being blinded by some kind of jealousy, they do not understand and cannot comprehend that if justification depends on the law, then the promise is destroyed; and if the promise is destroyed, then without a doubt the very faith of Abraham becomes vain: which the Jews cannot even hear, knowing that the promise of Abraham is from faith. The heirs of Abraham's promise are the heirs of his faith, for which Abraham himself was blessed and justified. These successors are believers in Christ. The gift promised to Abraham was given to his children by faith in Christ.” Is it not because the law was given so long after the promise, so as to show by this very distance between them that there is another law, and another promise to faith? In the course of the matter, it is clear that the law serves faith: it was given so that the promise, conditioned by the faith of Abraham, or a faith similar to his, could in due time come to fulfillment. The law could not have independent meaning. 2) Why was the law given? (Gal.3, 19–29) “The question could arise: what was the need to give the law so long after the promise, when, on the one hand, the establishment of the law cast doubt on the power of the covenant of promise, and on the other hand, when the power of the promise was extended (and after this), the law could seem useless and thereby undermine the zeal to be faithful to it? The Apostle now decides this question” (Blessed Jerome). This is the most significant of all questions about the Old Testament, and the solution that the holy Apostle gives to it is the most luminous. It illuminates the entire Divine plan for the economy of our salvation; and through this, the high significance of the law and the beneficence for the entire human race of the people under the law become clear, as the keeper of the treasure, the only salvation for all mankind. But all this is only until the coming of Christ the Savior. After this, the law is destroyed, and the people who adhere to it are the villains of mankind (1 Thess. 2:15-16). The time determined for the appearance of the Savior to the world, according to God’s plans, was still far away. Meanwhile, a period of youth was approaching for humanity (the thought of His Eminence Metropolitan Philaret), when the excitement of vital forces and needs, both mental and physical, does not allow reason and conscience to keep a person within proper limits. There was to be a general outpouring of diverse passions. And at the same time, the loss of even the thought of having to heal everyone from the wound of the serpent, the Seed of the woman, is inevitable. To prevent this from happening, the good providence of God, leaving all nations to follow their natural path, chooses one tribe, organizes it so that it is curbed from lawless impulses and keeps faith that the Seed will finally come, which was promised to it. For this purpose the law was given and prophets were sent. The law curbed, imposing chains: do not touch, do not taste, do not touch... But it did not take away the inner urges of sinners, did not circumcise the hearts, did not revive them spiritually. By this external constraint without internal change, he caused the sub-legislators to crave deliverance, otherwise, to desire an internal change that would make external chains unnecessary. This is the essence of deliverance; and it could only be given “from the faith of Jesus Christ” (verse 22). Thus, the law, as if taking the subordinates by the hand, led them to Christ: it was a nurturer in Christ. In this regard, however, the pagans were not completely forgotten. In their spirit, the fear of God and the demands of conscience are left ineradicable. These two spiritual forces, extremely troubling for the sinful heart, were partly quenched by those under the law by the knowledge of the true God and the worship of Him and the satisfaction of the truth of God by God Himself in ways determined for the time being. The pagans were devoted to their full action, so that despite the fact that it was extremely paralyzed by passion and ignorance, it never disappeared among them at all and forced them - every nation in its own way - to look for different ways to quench these disturbing pathogens. Thus, these two spiritual forces were for the pagans the same as for the Jews the law with its formidable punishments. And they forced them to seek deliverance, leaving, however, the seekers in complete uncertainty regarding this quest. Only the Jews under the law had such certainty. And this is their exclusive advantage, which makes them a precious people for all mankind. The Law itself, in its spirit, pointed to Christ the Savior, then the Prophets sent by God announced everything in detail about Him. This was given so that when Christ the Lord comes, He would be recognized by the Jews and indicated to all nations by them. At this moment, both the Jews, who were definitely seeking, and the pagans, who were vaguely seeking, equally found the One they were looking for and all became one. And so it happened. Now neither Jew nor Greek are all one in Christ Jesus (verse 28). This is the flow of thoughts conveyed by the speech of the Holy Apostle Paul, expressing the meaning of the law for the Jews and for all people (Gal. 3, 19 - 29) Gal.3:19. What the hell is the law? Crimes for the sake of being added, Dondezh will come the Seed, which was promised to him, committed by Angels, by the hand of an intercessor. “For the sake of crime” - to curb crime, so that the people would be in fear, not indulge in vices, but live righteously and become worthy of manifesting the Promised One in themselves (see Ambrosiastes). “The law was given to motivate the people from whom the Seed of Promise was to arise in the flesh to care (about morality)” (Blessed Theodoret). And we see that, despite all the deviations of the people of God into the paths of wickedness and sin, among them there were always zealous keepers of the law, pleasing to God and known by Him alone. This holy seed was the standing of the people. Therefore, when the Lord came and all such clung to Him, the rest of Israel, although outwardly more prominent, was scattered over the face of the earth, to expose themselves and to confirm the truth of God. Saint Chrysostom speaks of the words: “crimes for the sake of”: “So, the law is not superfluous. Do you see how he (the Apostle Paul) agrees with everything and with how many eyes he looks at everything? since he exalted faith and showed that it is older than the law, so that no one would think that the law is unnecessary, he solves this bewilderment by saying that the law was given not in vain, but with great benefit, “for the sake of crimes”; that is, so that the Jews would not live without fear and would not reach extreme wickedness, for this purpose the law was given to them, instead of a bridle, to teach them, pacify and keep them from violating, although not all the commandments, at least some. So, there is no small benefit from the law.” “Add to” – to whom and to what? You can have neither one nor the other object in your thoughts and understand “attached” in the sense that the law is something subordinate, has no independent meaning, does not stand on its own. Ecumenius writes: “he said well: “add”, - to show that the law is not a primitive institution, but is given as something subordinate, and is not given for an infinite time, but until Christ comes, in Whom blessing is promised to all nations.” Or attach yourself to the promise in order to serve as a means to its fulfillment. This is the purpose of the law and the people organized according to it, so that in due time the promise given to Abraham could be fulfilled. Or be added to the people, in the sense: “laid on” the people or that the people were imposed by it: for just as a Jew in all manifestations of his life was imposed by the law, both at home, and in the church, and at work, and on the road. If the law were a healing plaster for morals, then it would be impossible to think of a more suitable treatment. But the first meaning is the most direct. “The Seed will come, to whom it was promised,” that is, the Seed about which it is said in the promise that all nations will be blessed about Him. He points out this limit deliberately to suggest that if he insists on repealing the law, he is doing nothing unjust. This is the fate of the law according to its original purpose. since the Seed of promise has come, it is obvious that the law has completed its work and must now cease. “If the law was given only before the coming of Christ, then why do you continue it further, beyond this time?” (St. Chrysostom). – “Angels are in charge” – Angels are not the creators of the law, but ministers in establishing it. They are on behalf of God, and Moses is on behalf of people. God inspired them, they passed it on to Moses, and Moses passed it on to the people. God, appearing at Sinai, showed that the law comes from Him; but the law had many details; it was more convenient to convey and interpret them through the Angels. Moses is told: “See, and create in the image shown to you on the mountain” (Ex. 25:40). since the Old Testament ministry was all figurative, then Moses had to see it in images. He saw images of everything on the mountain, and the Angels interpreted them, what they meant and why they were needed. Still from God. Before his death, Moses himself testified: “The Lord came from Sinai... and He came with thousands of saints, on His right hand the Angels with Him” (Deut. 33:2). And all the Jews believed that “Moses was God” (John 9:29), and together they maintained that the “law” was adopted by “the dispensation of Angels” (Acts 7:53), as the first martyr Stephen said in front of everyone and to everyone. Why, in another place, did Saint Paul, writing to the Jews, not think of saying anything repulsive, contrary to their beliefs, saying that the whole law is “the word spoken by the angels” (Heb. 2:2). Why did the Apostle mention this when, according to his goals, it was possible to do without it? He was prompted to this by the mediocre meaning of the law expressed before. The promise, he says, had a primitive, independent meaning, and the law was “added,” and, moreover, for a time, “until the end.” Having such a lower significance than the promise, he was inferior to it in terms of dispensation. The promise was given face to face by God to Abraham, and the law was “made by Angels,” and, moreover, “by the hand of the Intercessor.” Two authorities separated the people from God: Moses below and Angels above, and the promise was given personally by God Himself. From here there could be a hint about the superiority of the New Testament over the law, as the fulfiller of the promise. But the Apostle does not reveal it: he did this in the Epistle to the Hebrews. “By the Hand of an Intercessor” - through an intercessor. Jewish figure of speech; for the hand is the most convenient organ of the most extensive activity. But who is the intercessor here? Straight up, Holy Moses. For we are talking about the law, and when it was established on the part of Israel, according to God’s election, Moses was the mediator. He spoke to the people on behalf of God: the people themselves chose him for this (Ex. 20:19). Moses later confesses this in his dying speeches to the people: “And I stood between the Lord and you at the time to proclaim to you the words of the Lord” (Deut. 5:5). Why does Saint John the Evangelist compare the work of Moses with the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, saying: “The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). Gal.3:20. There is but one intercessor: there is one God. This verse should be considered one of those about which the Apostle Peter wrote that the Apostle Paul has incomprehensible passages. Each position is separately understandable. It is clear that there is only one intercessor; it usually happens between two parties or persons. It is clear that God is One, although worshiped in the Trinity of Persons. But how these provisions fit together here and with the course of the Apostle’s speech is unclear. Our ancient interpreters did not delve into this, but, having expressed the idea of ​​​​each position, they did not go further. The new ones began to wonder how to understand this place in its connection, and they guessed. One of them notes that by the beginning of this century, up to 250 guesses had already been made; but they still continue to guess there. And this is unlikely to end. What should we do? It’s best to say: we don’t understand and therefore we don’t undertake to understand what is incomprehensible. Whatever we come up with, most likely we will not come up with a satisfactory solution. It's better not to take it. There will be no damage from this to the understanding of the Apostle’s speech: for these words, like the previous ones: “made by Angels, by the hand of an intercessor,” represent subordinate clauses that, if understood, would enrich us with the clearest and most complete knowledge of what is being said, but, even if not understood, do not obscure the solution given by the Apostle to the question: “What is the law?” Gal.3:21. Is the law against the promise of God? Let it not be: if the law had been given so that it could be revived, there would truly be righteousness from the law. This verse directly fits with “crimes for the sake of addition”; The immediately preceding words are explanatory of the word “law,” and not of how the law is not against the promises. Having answered the question: “What is the law?” - with the words: “for the sake of transgressions be added” - and then asking a new question of his own, in which the answer is combined: “Is the law therefore contrary to the promises” - the Apostle said with this: if the law of transgressions for the sake of being added, then how can it be contrary to the promises? “against being a promise,” that is, to replace, cancel, destroy, as expressed above. How this consequence comes out of this situation is not visible. The holy Apostle immediately clarifies this: if a law capable of life had been given, it would have been against the promise; but since this cannot be said (verse 22), it cannot be said that he is against the promises. The power of thought of the holy Apostle is in the word: to revive. The promise promises quickening; the law does not give this revival; consequently, it does not cancel or replace the promises. If he had revived, then after him one would no longer expect the fulfillment of the promise. His power would turn into law. But just as this cannot be said about the law, the promise stands in force. That the promise definitely promised spiritual revival, the Apostle said about this above (in verse 14), expressing that the blessing of the tongues promised to Abraham is the acceptance of the life-giving Spirit of grace by faith. This is the essence of the entire economy of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ: in Him are concentrated all the promises and all the prophetic gospels. The Lord has come; By faith, those who cling to Him are spiritually quickened by the grace of the Holy Spirit and begin to live a new life. If the law did this, then there would be no need for the coming of the Lord, nor His suffering, nor the ascension and sitting at the right hand of the Father, nor the sending of the Holy Spirit and the establishment of the New Testament Church. All this took place because the law did not have the power to “revive”. To imagine this more clearly, let us remember what was said before, that the law only curbed, restrained from criminal deeds through fear, but did not extinguish inner passion, did not revive spiritually. Through this, he intensified the feeling of sinfulness and forced him to seek the promised Savior. From these two sides of the law it follows that not only is it not against the promises, that is, not only does it not replace or abolish them, but it requires their fulfillment. It is worth paying attention to the terms used by the Apostle. In the course of his speech it would be expected that the Apostle would say: if the law could live, it would be against the promises. But the Apostle says: if the law could live, then from the law would come righteousness. According to the principles of the holy Apostle, it turns out that the giving of righteousness is the fulfillment of the promise in all its power. The fulfillment of the promise (verse 14) is the reception of the Spirit of grace, quickening and regenerating. Consequently, it is true that the Apostle has a grace-filled rebirth, which gives inner righteousness to the entire structure of a person’s spiritual life, when, having been cleansed from sins and having acquired the strength to resist sin, they serve God with righteousness, in the exact fulfillment of His commandments, and have the boldness to look upon Him in a filial manner, with confidence in His good will and in the hope of eternal bliss in Him, in Christ Jesus the Lord, by the grace of the Spirit Holy Blessed Jerome writes: “one should not think that the law excludes the promise, only because, being given after it, it seems to cancel it. On the contrary, from the fact that he could not live, could not deliver what the promise promised, it is clear that he himself was given to protect the promise, and not to destroy it. If a law had been given that could bring life and fulfill (thus) what the promise promised, then the promise would certainly have been excluded by the law. But he, being given for the sake of crimes, rather denounces those sinners to whom, after the promise, he was given for protection; so that, since by their free will they did not want to wait in integrity for the Promised, then, although they were bound by the bonds of the law and, as it were, given into the slavery of the laws, they were preserved for the coming of Christ for faith in Him, in which is the fulfillment and end of the promise.” Let us also apply the words of the wise Photius. “If the law could give life, then others might rightly think that it is “against the promise” and delights in their right, presenting the power to justify. But since it is not able to do anything like that, neither to give life nor to justify, it is obvious that it was not given in exchange for promises. These latter retain their power, since they alone save and justify beings by faith. And not only was the law not contrary to the promises, but in some way it also assisted and served them. For by the fact that he did not save or justify, he directed to faith, by the same thing that he directed to faith, he contributed to the fulfillment of the promise” (in Ecumenia). Gal.3:22. But shut up the Scripture of all under sin, so that the promise of faith in Jesus Christ may be given to those who believe. “Shut the Scripture” - that is, Scripture decisively asserts that everyone is under sin, or Scripture calls everyone sinners, denounces everyone of sinfulness (Blessed Theodoret). If the law justified, gave inner righteousness, revived, then Scripture would not say so, but would only say that everyone is under sin, except those who are under the law. since it says that all are under sin, then those who are under the law are also under sin; and, therefore, the law did not live, righteousness did not come from the law. “All” – Greek: τα παντα; That’s right, it means: εθνη, – peoples, all peoples, all humanity. Or you can say vaguely: according to Scripture, everything is under sin. Or “shut up” - kept under sin, as if in chains, in some kind of prison. Then “Scripture” will be an Old Testament institution, handed down in writing by God and placed as a yoke on the Jews. For the center of the Old Testament Scripture is the law given through Moses; The Books that preceded it are the introduction to it; and the subsequent prophetic Scriptures are an explanation of it. Thus, “shut the Scripture” will be the same as the law shutting everyone under sin, everyone, that is, all those under the law without exception. This will directly correspond to the previous thought: if the law could live, it would replace the promise, it would give truth. But he, he says, not only does not do this, on the contrary, he keeps everyone under sin, as if in a seclusion. He demands: don’t do this, don’t touch that, or be like this and like that; but it doesn’t give me the strength to do it. Everyone recognizes the obligatory nature of his demands, but still sees that everyone around him is guilty; They are guilty through the law, but they cannot free themselves from guilt through the law. This is how the law, Scripture, locked everyone under sin, kept everyone in the consciousness of their sinfulness, therefore, jurisdiction and irresponsibility. But such a consequence of the law was not at all for evil and destruction, but for salvation. God Himself instituted this so that, through the sense of self-preservation, which God has implanted in our nature, we could lead those under the law to the true path of salvation. For who is your own enemy? Seeing that the law only leads to sinfulness and deepens the consciousness of all-round sinfulness, every law-giver was thereby encouraged to seek deliverance from sinfulness. How? Throw off the yoke of the law? But this is even worse. No, to fix your trusting gaze on Him to whom the law pointed, like the shadow of those to come, and Whom the Prophets depicted. So until the coming of this Promised One; and upon His coming, to cleave to Him alone by faith and receive life from Him, which the law did not give, but only irritated the thirst for it, leaving, of course, the law as well - as having already fulfilled its temporary ministry. This is precisely the meaning contained in the words of the Apostle: “that the promise of faith in Jesus Christ may be given to those who believe.” Then, he says, the law locked everyone under sin, so that when the Deliverer comes, everyone would rush to Him, so that everyone up to that moment would re-experience all possible methods of self-correction and self-justification and become tangibly convinced that nothing could give us this good, not even the law given by God. It is preserved for the faith of Jesus Christ and is given to believers through it alone. But this is the essence of the promise; therefore, the promise itself is fulfilled only by faith. The promise is the blessing of Abraham, which consists in receiving the Spirit of grace through faith in the Lord, regenerating grace, giving new life in Christ Jesus, sanctifying. The promise “of faith... will be given to those who believe.” There is not an identity here, but different meanings of faith. The words: “from the faith of Jesus Christ” mean the New Testament institution of everything, the entire economy of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, all the spiritual blessings obtained by Him for people and entrusted to His holy Church. He wants to say: the promise is fulfilled not by the Old Testament, but by the New Testament. The words: “it will be given to those who believe” indicate the personal faith of each Christian, with which he is awarded the blessings with which the Lord Jesus Christ enriches. He who hears the Gospel believes; the believer is baptized and in baptism with water and the Spirit is born for a new life in Christ Jesus, by which he begins to live in the undoubted hope that He who began this work in him will bring him to the end, with all possible, of course, attention, diligence, labor and on his part. From everything that the Apostle said, it turned out that the law is in no way against the promise; on the contrary, he both kept the under-legalists for the promise and prepared them to receive it worthily. Saint Chrysostom expresses the Apostle’s thought as follows: “God gave the Jews a law that would open their wounds and encourage them to seek a doctor. The word: “shut up” means the same thing as having exposed them, and having exposed them, kept them in fear. Do you see that the law was not only given “against the promises of God,” but even in favor of the promises? If the law arrogated to itself the work and the power of justification, then it would rightly be said of it that it is contrary to the promises. But when he serves another and did everything for another, then how contrary is he to the promises of God? If the law had not been given, then everyone would have been mired in lawlessness and none of the Jews would have listened to Christ. Now, when the law was given, it brought a double benefit: firstly, it guided those who listened to it to feasible virtue, and secondly, it aroused in everyone the consciousness of their sins, which especially disposed them to seek the Son of God.” Gal.3:23. Before the coming of faith, under the law they were strictly locked into a willing faith to be revealed. There is not a new series of thoughts, but a further clarification and application of what has been said, that the law was given for the sake of crimes, that is, as Saint Chrysostom said above, on the one hand, to curb sin and teach feasible virtue and, on the other hand, so that, by revealing the consciousness of sinfulness, encourage one to seek the Savior, to whom the law itself and then more clearly the Prophets pointed. Having this in mind, one cannot help but realize that under the law, as under strict guards, we were guarded and protected for the faith that was about to be revealed. “Into the faith that wants to be revealed” - that is, the law did not protect us so that we would remain under it forever, but in order to transfer us to the faith that had to be revealed; for this faith he guarded us, so that when it came, we would accept it, leaving him as no longer needed and having completed his work. Or “into faith that wants to be revealed” represents such a thought: so that the faith that was to come could be revealed, so that it could be revealed in us, and through us, to the whole world. By keeping the law, we also kept the promise of faith, as a saving treasure for the whole world. Without him, there would be no faith. In this respect, the law has universal significance. We bore his yoke until the coming of faith, which, when it came, was born in us and is now taught to everyone by us. And this is the way in which the blessing of Abraham is now poured out on all nations. St. Augustine writes: “Who will ask: why did the law not benefit the Jews? I brought it, and it’s impossible to say how much. What made whole thousands of people suddenly sell everything and lay the price of what they sold at the feet of the Apostles? That they so rapidly approached God, selling everything, as the Lord commanded those who wish to be perfect (Matthew 19:21), this was done by the law under which they were imprisoned as if in custody in a willing faith to be revealed. The fear of the One God kept them in such a conclusion. And the fact that they turned out to be criminals of the law served not to harm, but to the benefit of those who believed; for knowledge of a most dangerous disease makes you desire the doctor more strongly and love him more passionately, because the one who is relieved more loves the more.” “The words: “keep guard” and “closed,” says Saint Chrysostom, “mean nothing more than the former protection of the Jews through the commandments of the law. For the law, keeping them in fear and living according to the law, as if within the walls, thereby kept them for the faith.” Theophylact further pursues the same thought: “the law gave great security and protection to those who were under it, holding them back from many sins; as if with a wall he closed people within himself and led them bound to faith. How is it? Convicting their sins and being unable to deliver them, he, against their will, turned their eyes to the justifying faith, which existed in ancient times, only in secret, but later was revealed when God appeared in the flesh. Now it has only been revealed to people through the incarnation of God the Word.” Gal.3–25. “The same law guides us to be in Christ, that we may be justified by faith. The faith that has come is no longer under the guidance of Esma.” “The same” - thus, or, from all that has been said, it follows that the law in relation to us corrected the position of nurturer, teacher, educator. And here is the final answer to the question: what is the law? He is a teacher to Christ. He demanded holiness and irritated our desire for it, but did not give it, only pointing out that only Christ, prefigured by the law, could give it. He led us to Him, as if taking us by the hand, so that we could be justified, become right and holy through faith in Christ, which, attracting the grace of the Holy Spirit, sanctifies everything within us. But if this is the purpose of the law, to only guide to faith, to bring to it; then when faith has come, the nurturing of the law must end; we should no longer be under it. The law had a temporary, transitory meaning. Having completed his task, he should stop. All our obligations to him ceased. Saint Chrysostom speaks in these verses: “the mentor does not oppose the teacher, but assists him, keeping the pupil from any vice and preparing him with all care to accept the teacher’s lessons; when (the pet) becomes capable of this, the nurturer leaves him. Therefore, the Apostle says: “the faith that has come,” which makes a person a perfect man, “is no longer under the guardianship of Esma.” So, if the law is a guardian and protected us when we were imprisoned by it, then it is not an opponent of grace, but a collaborator. But if even after the coming of grace he still holds him under his yoke, then he will be an enemy. For, holding back when we should move to grace, he will hinder our salvation. Just as a lamp that illuminates at night, while preventing the sun from being seen during the day, not only does not fulfill its purpose, but also does harm; so is the law, when it will hinder one from getting more. So, those who preserve it now greatly pervert it. For even a nurturer makes his pet ridiculous if he keeps him with him when, according to the demands of time, he should have left him. That is why Paul says: “Now that faith has come, it is no longer under the guardianship of us.” So, we are not under supervision.” Since this is the main thought of the Apostle, then, for greater clarification and imprinting it in memory, we will not be too lazy to write out, and for those reading to read, the words of Blessed Jerome: “a guardian is appointed for minors, to curb playful age and keep inexperience from vices, when youth is trained in science and prepared for higher philosophy or for government positions, being restrained by the fear of punishment. But the mentor is not a teacher or a father, and the one being educated does not expect from him either an inheritance or higher knowledge. The guardian of a stranger protects his son and lags behind him as soon as he reaches the legal age to receive an inheritance. So the law was given through Moses to an unsettled people, like a mentor, so that they would preserve it and prepare it for the future faith, which when it came and we believed in Christ, we were no longer under the mentor; the steward and steward fell behind us, and we entered into legal age and are called true sons of God, for whom we are born not by the abolished law, but by the mother faith, which is in Christ Jesus. Who, upon reaching adulthood, having already become an heir, a free son, would want to be under a mentor? Yes, this is impossible now that the church has been destroyed and sacrifices have stopped. Whoever does this is neither under a father nor under a mentor, when neither the law can be fulfilled, after the coming of faith, nor is faith contained, because the nurture of the law is still desired.” Gal.3:26. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. The Apostle's speech changes its direction. Then he spoke in such a way that he inserted himself into the ranks of those whom the speech concerned; now, putting himself aside, he turns his words to only those to whom he wrote; you are sons, and moreover, all of you, all to whom I am writing, of whom the Galatian Churches are made up, therefore, both Jews and Gentiles. From this it is obvious that both this and the following verses are the final conclusion from the previous discussions, for the admonition of the Galatians. The speech of the Holy Apostle here suddenly takes such a turn, and its connection with the previous one is not so clear. To see it, you need to insert a few explanatory thoughts. Having clarified the meaning of the law, the holy Apostle said before this: we Jews are no longer under the guard now that faith has come, the New Testament dispensation of salvation. He did his job, led us to faith, by which we were justified, we became right internally through the action of the grace of the Holy Spirit, in which is the power of the promise to Abraham. And the pagans, in addition to the law, clung directly to the Lord by faith and were worthy of the same promised good. I turn now to you, Galatians, who have received my gospel of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ by the grace of the Holy Spirit, don’t you see that all of you, both Jews and pagans, have equally become sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus; you have all equally become Christ's. If you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed and, according to the promise, heirs, that is, heirs of Abraham or heirs of the benefits promised to Abraham, according to the spirit of the promise itself. From here it came naturally: therefore, you already have everything through faith alone; There is no need for you to get involved with the law and bind yourself to it without any benefit. This is the content of this final section (verses 26–29). The speech itself presents no difficulty in understanding it. But as it relates to the most essential aspect in the matter of arranging our salvation, it is not superfluous to interpret about it. You are all sons of God, says the Apostle. Sonship to God, according to the image of the dispensation of our salvation, is so essential in the matter of salvation that it cannot but be: for the main thing here is birth from God in the image of the Creator, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ. Why does the Evangelist John write: “the little ones received Him” (the Word made flesh), “to give them the power to become children of God, who believe in His name: who were not born of blood, nor of the lust of the flesh, nor of the lust of men, but were born of God” (John 1:12-13). Without this new birth there is no salvation: “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God” (John 3:5). But those born in this way from God, of course, are for that very reason the sons of God. This is accomplished by the grace of the Holy Spirit under the condition of faith in Christ Jesus. The Apostle says: you are sons of God “through the faith that is in Christ Jesus.” Appearing in communities that did not know Christ the Lord, the Apostles announced the gospel to them, saying: we have all sinned in our forefather and have become angry with God. God showed His mercy to us, arranging for our salvation in His Only Begotten Son, Who, having become incarnate, blotted out our sins with His death and, ascending into heaven, sent down the Holy Spirit, Who, having been received in the sacraments by believers, kills sin itself in them and gives them new life. When those listening were inclined to believe in the gospel, they were told in the words of the Apostle Peter: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Those who did this were born into new life from God. And behold, the sons of God. Saint Paul explains how those to whom he wrote are all sons of God, and says: Gal.3:27. As many as you have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. Those who are baptized, by the very fact that in baptism they are born of God, are sons of God. But the Apostle deepens the thought and shows the sonship of those baptized to God in the most sincere words: “have you put on Christ.” Birth from God, which is the same in essence as creation, does not necessarily bring the one who is born closer to God, as the created one: he can remain very far from God. But he who has put on Christ, the Son of God, cannot be far from God. By becoming one with Christ, he is essentially united with God. Saint Chrysostom says: “Why didn’t he say: if you were baptized into Christ, you were born of God? Because the expression he used is stronger and more majestic. For if Christ is the Son of God and you have put on Him, you have the Son in yourself and have become like Him; then through this you are brought into the same relationship with Him and into the same image.” What does it mean to put on Christ? Let's compare two expressions: the one who is baptized receives new life; and: the baptized person puts on Christ. It will turn out that new life is putting on Christ or, what is the same, new life is receiving the life of Christ, organizing our internal structure in the image of Christ the Lord. In other places St. Paul says so directly. In the Epistle to the Ephesians, he says that the truth about Christ is this: “after the first life of your life, put off the old man, which is corrupting through deceitful lusts: and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, created according to God in righteousness and excellence of the truth” (Eph. 4:22-24). In the Epistle to the Colossians he writes again: “Do not lie to one another, having put off the old man with his deeds and put on the new man, being renewed in understanding, according to the image of Him who created him: where there is Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision... but Christ is all and in all” (Col. 3:9-11). From all this it is obvious that in baptism, which gives sonship to God or putting on Christ, a significant change takes place in the entire internal moral structure of a person. He becomes Christlike; and from this, Christ-like life begins. That this was exactly the change in those who were baptized was justified to the point of tangible evidence by the very deed of those who were baptized at an older age, and, moreover, with full faith, with full consciousness of the matter. We are baptized as infants and, not later encountering either in ourselves or in others what is promised to baptism, it is difficult for us to assimilate the idea of ​​the power of baptism. But God's gifts are unrepentant. And the power of our baptism is the same. So that it reveals itself in its full meaning in due time, this rests with education. And this is the main thing on which education should be directed, although it is least of all meant. - Thus, those who are baptized, putting on Christ, accept obligations and receive strength to live the life of Christ, think with His thoughts, desire with His desires, feel with His feelings, act with His actions, manifest Christ in themselves in everything. Gal.3:28. There is neither Jew nor Greek: there is neither slave nor free: there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus. When in this way all Christians, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, are created internally according to one model - the Lord Jesus Christ, then it is clear that they are all the same in spirit. Just as externally people have their own type that distinguishes them from all other creatures, so Christians internally have one type of moral and religious system that distinguishes them from all people. “Everyone has one appearance and one image of Christ” (St. Chrysostom). Appearance in Christianity is nothing. It deals with the soul. External advantages and disadvantages have no influence on Christian dignity itself. It all depends on the strength of faith, devotion to Christ the Lord and readiness to make all kinds of sacrifices to please Him. The measure of these dispositions determines in the soul the measure of acceptability of the grace-filled forces that create. From this we can see that a slave and a simpleton sometimes stands incomparably higher than the wise and kings, and a weak woman is higher than men. Blessed Jerome writes: “When someone puts on Christ and is enveloped in the fire of the Holy Spirit, you cannot discern whether someone is gold or silver. When the fire penetrates and embraces the entire mass, then everything becomes one fiery light and any difference in the kind and condition of bodies disappears under such a garment. So in Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor Greek. Neither a Jew is better because he is circumcised, nor a Greek is worse because he is not circumcised; but both Jew and Greek, if they are better or worse, then they are according to the quality and strength of their faith. Also, slave and free can differ in Christianity, but not in condition, but in faith. A slave may be superior to a free man, and a free man may be superior to a slave, but all by faith. In the same way, a man and a woman differ in the strength and weakness of the body, but faith is determined by the mood of the heart, and it often happens that the wife saves the husband, and the husband precedes the wife in faith. When in this way all differences in gender, condition, body, through the baptism of Christ and the putting on of Christ are destroyed, then we are all one in Christ, just as the Lord prayed that, just as He and the Father are one, we too would be one in them (John 17:21).” You are all one in Christ Jesus. “One” – in Greek it stands: εις, – one. The thought is that you are all like one, or that as one, so does the other: what is given to one is given to the other. Because of external differences, no one is deprived of anything that is due to him as a Christian. Gal.3:29. Even if you are Christ's, you are Abraham's seed, and according to the promise he is an heir. “If you are Christ’s” - you were appropriated to Christ and appropriated by Christ: you believed in Christ, and loved Him, and were accepted by Him into favor, protection, protection and sincere communication. "Christ's" - clothed in Christ, internally organized in the image of Christ by the grace of the Spirit of Christ and because they were generated by Christ and about Christ. “For Abraham is a seed.” The offspring promised to Abraham was not only carnal, but primarily spiritual, which was formed through likeness to Abraham by faith, when, that is, by faith, one entered into kinship with him. The Apostle says: behold, you have become Christ’s, you have believed in Christ. Know that through this you have entered the circle of Abraham's descendants. Or: you are Abraham's seed, because you were spiritually born of Christ, who in the flesh was descended from Abraham. Blessed Jerome writes: “Because the promises were given to Abraham and to his seed, which is Christ Jesus; it follows that those who are the sons of Christ are, that is, His seed, they are also the seed of Abraham, seed from seed. But when our Lord Jesus Christ is called the seed of Abraham, this must be understood in relation to the body, because He had to be born of his race; and when we, having accepted the word of the Savior, believed in Him and through this perceived the nobility of the family of Abraham, to whom the promise was given, then this must be understood spiritually. We are Abraham's seed - through receiving the seed of faith and the Gospel." "And according to the promise of an heiress". The descendants of Abraham were promised the inheritance of the land of Canaan, which later became known as the Promised Land. But just as his descendants are not only carnal, but also spiritual, so his inheritance is also not only carnal, but also spiritual. The spiritual heritage consisted of the blessings in Christ Jesus - justification, grace, holy life with victory over sin and, especially, the Kingdom of Heaven. The inheritance of the promised land was a type of this spiritual inheritance. Both Jews and pagans enter into it by faith in Christ Jesus and the grace of the Holy Spirit. This fulfills the blessing promised to Abraham by all about his seed. What came out of all this reasoning, the holy Apostle leaves it to the Galatians themselves to figure out. You have received the Spirit of grace, you have become the seed of Abraham, you have received his inheritance: what more can you desire and seek? And if you received all this, so lofty and precious, by faith alone in the gospel I delivered to you: what else is the need to turn here and there, looking for new ways to strengthen these benefits for yourself, as if the One who gave them to you forgot to condition the very receipt of them with everything necessary? So, having left everything, remain wholeheartedly in the same faith and life in the spirit of this faith, not allowing yourself to be wavered by anything in the fidelity of the path to salvation that you are pursuing. C) Convincing or persuading the Galatians to accept the proven truth about the needlessness of the law and not to bind themselves to the law (Gal. 4; Gal. 5: 1 - 12) Saint Paul proved that the law was no longer necessary even for the Jews, much less for the pagans, and, responding to objections, he clarified the temporary purpose of the law, although it was clearly necessary in its time. Now he begins to convince the Galatians not to bind themselves to the law and, if they have already accepted something, to give it up, to keep themselves away from it, to be free from it. The holy Apostle takes his convictions from such aspects of the matter from which the compilers of such speeches usually borrow them. At the same time, it acts primarily: 1) on the mind; then predominantly: 2) on the heart; then predominantly: 3) on the decision of the will. 1) Mental beliefs (Gal. 4, 1–10) Nothing persuades the mind to abandon its thoughts more than bringing them to the point of absurdity. St. Paul comes first and places convictions based on the idea of ​​​​the absurdity (ab absurdo) of keeping the law after the coming of the Lord Savior. He says, as it were: a) to the Jews: so, you see that the law is a pest to us. The father usually gives his son under fosterage until a certain time. This time is ending: nurturing is also ending; the son assumes the rights of a son. How absurd would it be if this son kept huddling under nurturing when he was already vested with the rights of a son?! So we too were under the guardianship of the law for a time. But the end of this time has come; God sent His Son and through Him brought us into sonship, into the rights of sons. How absurd is it now for us to huddle under the law and keep ourselves alongside slaves when we are already sons?! “And that you are sons, you have evidence of this in yourself: God has sent you the Spirit of His Son, who creates in your hearts feelings of sonship towards God, for which you dare to cry out to Him: Abba, Father!” (Gal.1–7); b) this is the speech to the Jews, which in the end spread to the pagans. But these latter could say: how come they converted us into Judaism before and became completely close only to those of us who completely obeyed the entire law?! Then it was a different matter, the Apostle answers them. Then Judaism was the only true faith on earth, and you did well by accepting it. Now, when God has appropriated you to Himself apart from the law, your appeal to the weak elements of the law makes no sense (Gal. 4:8-10). a) Valuable for the Jew (Gal. 4: 1–7) Comparing the law with nurturing very clearly expresses both the need, or the price of the law, and its temporary significance. Since such a comparison is very impressive, the holy Apostle dwells on it first of all to extract his convictions to the Galatians. Gal.4:1 – 2. “I say, at a certain time there is a young heir, a servant who is no better than anyone, who is the Lord of all, but he is under lords and guardians, even before the father’s command.” The holy Apostle takes on a significant face. He has a son. This son, by birth, is a son and heir; but while he is small, a boy, a youth, his father places him under the authority of his uncles and teachers, for upbringing and education, so that, upon becoming an adult, he can use both the rights of a son and the inheritance not just somehow, but properly, for the glory of his father. In this state of nurturing, a son is no better than a slave, because he depends on his father, cannot do anything on his own, but must do everything as his guards order or allow. Let us note that the comparison in the Holy Apostle primarily concerns this trait - lack of freedom, connection, as if undertaking. Another feature: before the father’s narok (appointed date) - this is not done forever, but until the time determined by the father. This time ends, and this connection ends. The son, already raised and trained, begins to act independently. Gal.4:3. Likewise, we, always in our youth, were enslaved under the elements of the world. The first line of comparison: so we Jews, according to the original election of God, are sons of God, as He Himself testifies through Isaiah: “I have begotten sons” (Is. 1:2). We were chosen for this, but we were not suddenly revealed as such. The true sons of God are those who are born of God; but such can only be in Christ Jesus, when those who receive the Lord are essentially born of God (John 1:12-13). But at that time the people were not able to receive the Lord. He should have been raised for this. The law is appointed as the educator. It is this inability to accept the Lord, in order to essentially become sons of God through Him, that the Holy Apostle calls the youth of the Jewish people, which made nurturing necessary, as an exercise. The main feature of the comparison is expressed by the holy Apostle with the word: “enslaved by the slaves”: we were like slaves, we were in a state of unfreedom, we were bound from everywhere: do not touch, do not taste, do not touch. A heavy hand led us, uneasy bonds lay upon us. The Apostle calls the law “the elements of the world”, as serving God primarily with things - material. All the justificatory, sanctifying and propitiatory rites of the law were accomplished through the elements, that is, material elements. These are: circumcision, sacrifices, washings, fragrances, ointments, new moons, Sabbaths, and so on. And everything here was defined in detail as an urgent law, the violation of which attracted the wrath of God. Whether you like it or not, do it; otherwise execution. This is enslavement. For all that, it was a kind of enslavement that educated and trained. Therefore, here we can also keep in mind the figurative meaning of the elements. Among the Greeks, elements are the letters from which words are composed, and then the initial education offered to children. This is very applicable to the law. He was, for sure, the initial training. We were enslaved, says the Apostle, to the law, in the forms of primitive teaching, which must end when the Teacher of true wisdom came. Blessed Jerome writes: “The Apostle here called the elements of the world the same ones whom he had previously called rulers and overseers. By them we can also understand the letters from which syllables and words are made and which are learned not for themselves, but for another purpose, that is, so that one can read complex speech, taking into account not the order of the letters, but the meaning expressed by the words. By letters we can understand the law of Moses and the sayings of the Prophets, because through them the fear of God is received - the beginning of wisdom and guidance to the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." Saint Chrysostom reduces his speech to the application of this comparison, or the conclusion from it. “The Apostle here speaks of youth not by age, but by mind, and shows that God from the very beginning wanted to bestow His blessings on us; but since we were still in a state of youth, he left us under the elements of the world, that is, depending on new moons and Saturdays, since these days depend for us on the course of the sun and moon. So, those who are now bringing you under the yoke of the law are doing the same thing as, having reached full age, they are again returning you to infancy. Do you see what it means to observe the days? It reduces the master, the household ruler, who has complete power over everything, to the state of a slave.” Gal.4:4 – 5. When the end of the summer came, God sent His Son (the Only Begotten), born of his wife, and was washed under the law: that he might redeem those under the law, that we might receive sonship. The second feature of the comparison: the father’s servant in relation to us has ended. God sent His Son, who removed from us the bonds of legal parentage and introduced us into the rights of sons. All the features and terms used here in themselves have the deepest meaning and can serve as the basis for guidance about the highest truths; but the Apostle’s goal is only to withstand the comparison and say that nurturing is over: we are sons. There is no need for us to be bound by the law. “When the end of summer comes. – Death” – execution; “summer” - a certain time The time has been fulfilled, the Father’s order has ended, the time determined for education has passed, and education itself has been completed as far as possible: the term appointed in the secrets of God’s providence for humanity has come closer. “What time did the death come? - asks Ecumenius and answers: - That into which Christ had to come. The time of the coming of Christ was previously determined by the prophet Daniel; it ended in the reign of Caesar Augustus, when the incarnation of God the Word was completed and Christ appeared.” Christ is the center of the movement of humanity in time. To Him - everything until His coming in the flesh; and from Him are all things after His coming. Apparently, for others it may not be so tangible; but in terms of inner life this cannot be otherwise. Everything spiritual, truly God, is from the Lord Jesus: external history can take its course; but among him the tribe of God is invisibly maturing, the only valuable one, outside of which everything is insignificant. "God hath sent his Son." He speaks of the sending of the Son for the sake of what he suggests about the introduction of the underlings into sonship. The Son was sent to dismiss the mentor and those who were under him, to introduce them into the rank of sons. - God sent the Son, therefore, the Son was before birth in the flesh; Therefore, only a person destined for something special is not. What is sent is not an intercessor, nor an Angel, but the Son, that is, neither from the circle of people, as an extraordinary ambassador by appointment, nor from the circle of Angels. Since, in addition to this, only the Persons of the Holy Trinity remain, then in our Slavic text it was naturally added: “Only Begotten” - which word is not in the Greek text - to mean that He is one with God the Father of nature, although this is already contained in the word: Son. For when God sends His Son, then, of course, the one sent is the Son of God. "Begotten from his wife". The sent Son is born from a woman, enters into the ranks of those born, and is thus not one with them in His Person. The same Son, who existed from eternity, is born as a man and is dual in nature, being one Person, the Only Begotten Son of God - incarnate. The word: “wife” is used here in the same sense as in the Evangelist Matthew: “Mariam’s wife” (Matthew 1:20) and Luke: “with his betrothed wife” (Luke 2:5). Blessed Jerome writes: “the word: γυνη, no property of the Greek language, means more a woman, a female person, and not a spouse.” - Born from a wife; therefore, without a father. There was no need for the holy Apostle to tell how one is born. But since it is sent by the Father, the thought is appropriate here that through His action He is born like a man. The Greek text does not contradict the translation: “being born,” which conveys the idea that the sent Son Himself arranged His birth according to humanity. If we remember the word of Saint Luke that what is born in the Ever-Virgin of the Spirit is Holy, then we will come to the conclusion that, according to the spirit of Scripture, the Son of God is incarnate, while the very action of incarnation or acceptance of human nature is performed by the Trinitarian Deity: for the actions of the Deity are inseparable in the Persons. For our salvation it was necessary that our Savior be a complete man, having all human nature except sin. He is born of a wife, like all people, but not in the same way that sin is transmitted, in order to be clothed in human nature, not involved in sin, although with all its infirmities. In the early times, it was of particular significance that the Apostle used the preposition εξ, and not δια. For this reason, the Apostle did not say: δια γυναικος, - through a wife, so that you would not think that the Son of God passed only through the Mother of God, but said: εκ γυναικος, - from a wife, in order to show that the Lord took from her the true body. This, without any special intention on the part of the Apostle, went against the docetes, which soon appeared. “We are under the law.” Consequently, He Himself was not subject to the law, but became under the law for the purposes of sending Him into the world, just as He was born of a wife. The Apostle’s thought: that this is how it was and was intended from time immemorial. He accepted the common nature of people: “born of a woman,” but outwardly he lived like a Jew; “we are under the law” - having been born among the Jews; and became the Redeemer not only of the Jews, but of everyone. Taking this entire speech into thought, we see that the word: “Son” defines the Divine height of the Redeemer’s Person, His inner glory, and the words: born of a woman, under the law - His arbitrary state of humiliation, through exposing Himself to human nature with its weaknesses, except for sin, and through subordinating Himself to the law. “Let those under the law redeem.” The Lord redeemed all people, but Saint Paul, for his purpose, stops at the Jews alone. We were, he says, under the nurture of the law, working for it, or bearing its yoke, like persons sold into slavery. The Son of God came, abolished the law and brought us to freedom, just as slaves are brought to freedom after ransoming them. The Son of God submitted to the law in order to destroy the law, to destroy its bonds, to make it unnecessary. For its whole purpose is in Christ the Lord. Christ the Lord has come, and the law must cease: his ministry has ended, just as the ministry of mentors ends when the entire course of education has been completed. Ambrosiastes wittily explains this, going back to the promise of Abraham: “The Savior had to be under the law, as the son of Abraham according to the flesh; so that He would appear to the circumcision, Who, according to the promise to Abraham, would come for the justification of tongues through faith, having, that is, on Himself the sign (circumcision) of the one to whom it was promised. After Him, no one should be circumcised; for until then the sign passed from generation to generation until the Promised Restorer of the Faith came, by which Abraham was justified in his uncircumcision, accepting circumcision only as a sign of faith (which justified him and had the power to justify everyone), so that believers would no longer need circumcision. Abraham then was circumcised, so that he believed that he would have a son in whom all nations would be blessed. That is why this sign had meaning until the Promised One came.” Circumcision, we add, is the root of the law. Where there is circumcision, there is the whole law. “Let us receive sonship.” The Apostle discusses here the benefits of the incarnation of the Son of God only in relation to the comparison he expressed - all with the idea that the law has ceased and has no binding force for those who believe, by the very purpose of God the Father. We are sons by God's election; but, until the Father’s command, we were placed under the law by our Father God, and lived under its yoke, like slaves. The drug ran out; The Father, who put us under this pestilence, sent the Son to leave the pestun aside and introduce us to the rights to freedom of our sons. “Having said: “Let us receive sonship,” the Apostle showed that it is a certain, due part of our inheritance from ancient times; We have not received it until now because of the infancy of our minds” (Ecumenius. The same with Saint Chrysostom and Saint Damascus). The Apostle seems to set forth only the external course of events in the economy of our salvation, feeding on milk and not meat. But the following words (verses 6 - 7) make it clear that he himself looked deeper here, as elsewhere, and invited those reading to enter into the same depths after him. The Son of God came and made us sons; He didn’t just declare, but did, he gave the region to be the children of God for the sake of the fact that in Him we are born of God. Here sonship is not nominal, but essential. Putting this thought in relation to the law, we get the following train of thought: the law, like a guy, calmed down the outside, restraining impulses to sin; but the Son of God, having come, gave the Holy Spirit, who, reviving believers to a new life in Christ Jesus, cut off the very impulses, destroying sin within with grace. After this, the external protection of the law itself disappears. The law ceases just as a chrysalis breaks when a butterfly has formed and come to life inside. The following words of the Apostle about the Holy Spirit show that in the essence of the matter the Apostle has this main thought hidden under the external history of the matter. Gal.4:6. And since you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying: Abba, Father! Here too, Saint Paul from: we - suddenly switches to: you, as in (Gal. 3, 25 - 26). And there is no doubt that the same addition of implied thoughts is appropriate here as was intended there. We (the Jews), as it were, says the Apostle, “in the course of God’s economy, who were hitherto under the nurturing of the law and nothing, because of this yoke, not different from slaves, are now introduced into the freedom of the sons of the Son of God, who came after the end of our period of nurturing and appropriated us to Himself for the sake of our faith in Him; but you are pagans, and not being under this yoke of slavery to the law, you directly clung by faith to the coming Son of God and received from Him not only the name, but also the essential quality of sons. Thus, both we and you, all believers, became sons. And that you are definitely sons, there is no need to go far to prove this. The evidence of this is in you - the Spirit who abides in you, by which everything within you is disposed to cry out to God: Abba, Father! For you could not have this Spirit if you were not sons. Therefore He is in you, because you are sons; just as you are sons, because He is in you. It was He who made you sons, regenerating you by His grace and placing you in the rank of those born of God, who are His sons. Having regenerated you, He dwells in you and keeps you in the feelings of sonship to God. The Apostle’s expression inspires the idea that since they are sons, God sent the Spirit. In fact, the Holy Spirit, through regeneration, makes us sons who believe in the Lord. But these moments cannot be distinguished: for they enter into each other. The Spirit of God makes sons - by regenerating - does it make everyone? Not everyone, but only those who believed in the Lord, decided to follow Him in everything, and for the sake of these dispositions were accepted into God’s favor, as if destined to be sons. After this, the Holy Spirit, coming through the sacraments, makes them essentially sons, and, having made them such, abides in them, and teaches them to ascend to God as to the Father. And in the course of the dispensation of our salvation, it so happened that the time had come to introduce, spiritually, into the sonship of Jews and pagans - the Son of God came, accomplished everything ordained in the Council of God for our salvation and, ascending into heaven, sent down the Holy Spirit from the Father. This Spirit then made sons of all who believed. The holy Apostle had that thought in order to inspire: now everything must be abandoned; you see, the expected time has come for men to be sons, as clearly you can see this from the Spirit working within you. There is a spirit; Don’t look for anything else, don’t rely on anything else, don’t bind yourself to anything. The Spirit cries out in our hearts: Abba Father! As if something mystical, hidden, apart from, or deeper than consciousness, acting in believers. No; this is the very fact and is recognized by true believers and those who have the action of the Spirit of grace within themselves. For such people, everything internal is so tuned that they deeply feel themselves to be sons of God and recognize God as their Father. This is the property of all Christians. And now those who have retained the grace of baptism, living continuously, as Christians should, feel themselves to be such. Those who have lost the grace of baptism cannot feel like that. They need to return this grace through repentance and then allow grace to prevail over them through feats of self-sacrifice, asceticism and good deeds. Then the same feeling of sonship to God will be revived in them. This is what all spirit-bearing fathers teach. That this happens, compare the feelings of a slave who has deeply offended his master and expected nothing from him except death, and yet, returning to him with repentance, is received by him graciously, treated kindly and introduced to his former rank. Such a servant cannot resist calling out from the depths of his soul to his master: “My dear father!” He will remain with this feeling later. This is what happens in our spirit towards God. This is so essential in Christianity that whoever does not have such a feeling for God has not yet become a true Christian; but either lives in negligence, or has not yet reached the point of the effectiveness of the Holy Spirit in the heart. As this is a subject of primary importance for us, I will cite the speeches of all the ancient interpreters who focused on it with their attention. Blessed Jerome writes: “The Apostle proves that we are sons from the Spirit Whom we have within us. We would never dare to cry out: Our Father, who art in heaven! if we were not aware of the living Spirit within us, Who cries: Abba Father! Hence, just as the one who has the Spirit of the Son of God is a son of God, so the one who does not have the Spirit of the Son of God cannot be called a son of God.” Ambrosiastes reasons as follows: “When he called the pagans who believed in Christ, who were previously enemies, sons, there is no doubt that he also calls the believing Jews, who, as is known, received this name a long time ago. But they received this name as if only in an image, so that it would later be established for them and essentially through Christ. Without the Spirit it was not complete, essential. So that we can have a test on ourselves that we are definitely adopted by God, He gave us His Spirit, which shows the sign of the Father on the sons; and He gives us boldness to say to God what we did not dare to say before, out of weakness and unworthiness, that is: Abba, Father.” This is what Blessed Augustine says: “The Apostle said that we, the Jews, were redeemed from under the law, so that we may receive sonship. It remained to show that sonship also belongs to the pagans who were not under the law. This is what he does, remembering the gift of the Holy Spirit given to everyone. Why does Peter defend himself before the believing Jews by baptizing the uncircumcised Cornelius the centurion, saying that he could not forbid water to those who had clearly already received the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:47). This most important proof was already used by Saint Paul above when he said: “Did you come from the works of the law of the Spirit, or from the hearing of faith?” (Gal.3, 2). So here he says: “Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying: Abba, Father!” " Ecumenium - for all the Eastern ones, for everyone says the same thing: “How can it be seen that we have been honored with sonship? From the Spirit of sonship. He overshadowed us and teaches us (for this means: “crying out”) to call God Father; which, of course, would not have happened if we had not been granted sonship.” Gal.4:7. The same is true of a servant, but a son: or even a son and heir of God, Jesus Christ. The Son of God came in the flesh, you clung to Him by faith and received rebirth from the Spirit of God, who now exists in you and assures you of sonship to God: “the same,” - thus it is obvious from here that you are not a slave, but a son. “Carry” – you; again a change in the person to whom the speech is addressed. First, “we,” that is, the Jews; then “you” - that is, the Galatian believers, from Jews and pagans; now “you”: it seems to be addressed to every believer from the Galatians, no matter who the believer you are, you are no longer a slave, but a son. But what was we talking about before this, if not that every believer who has received the Spirit of God is a son? Therefore, we can believe that the Apostle wants to inspire: you should no longer, it is indecent and impossible, to be a slave. Previously, enslavement to spontaneous law mattered; because this was ordained by God the Father, and, moreover, only for the Jews. Now the time appointed for this has ended - and moonlighting has no meaning even in a Jew, and not just in any other. For whom and why are you doing this? God now does not favor that old institution; it did its job and was cancelled. You cannot hope to receive anything through this labor and this humiliation to the level of a slave, with God’s displeasure; and there is nothing to hope to receive when you are already a son, and therefore an heir. You already have something for which it would be worth working under the yoke of the law. Why would you voluntarily put yourself under this yoke without any benefit or need! “If Jesus Christ is the son and heir of God.” The direct right is for the son to be the heir of the father: and for the one who became the son of God, to be the heir of God. Just as the sonship of God is received by those who believe through the Lord Jesus Christ, so the inheritance belongs to every believer through Him. Why in another place does the Apostle call believers, heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17). This is how it is destined for those who believe in the Lord, who put on Christ, to be where He is. This cannot be otherwise: this is the structure of our salvation. Elsewhere, St. Paul combines the inheritance provided to the believer with the Spirit of grace. The Spirit of grace, he says in the Epistle to the Ephesians (Eph. 1:13-14), is the deposit of the inheritance. The same idea applies here. You are heirs because you are sons; and sons because they were begotten according to God by the Spirit, who cries to you: Abba Father! Know that just as your sonship is substantial, and not nominal, for you feel within yourself the Spirit of sonship, so your inheritance is not in dispute, because in the same Spirit of sonship you have a pledge of it, a deposit that you will certainly receive it. The speech of the Holy Apostle in this section follows the same order as in (Gal.3:23-29). But there he brought it all down to the fact that those who believe in the Lord became Abraham’s seed and, according to the promise, an heir; heirs, that is, of what was promised to Abraham; and a blessing was promised to him concerning his Seed, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, of all nations, for the sake of faith. Consequently, there is meant the inheritance of all benefits only from the Kingdom of grace. Here, it is clear, the Apostle carries the thought further, beyond the boundaries of time, and, calling believers heirs of God, he means the bliss that awaits them in the Kingdom of glory, the guarantee of which is participation in the blessings of the Kingdom of grace. Let us conclude this section with the words of Saint Chrysostom: “if grace has made us from slaves free, from infants perfect, from strangers heirs and sons, then would it be unreasonable and extremely ungrateful to leave this grace and return to our previous state?” “Be of good cheer, man,” the Ecumenius cries. “You are no longer a slave, but the son of God and His heir. Through the Only Begotten Son of God, who became incarnate and bore all ours, you are no longer a slave, no longer under the yoke of the law. Take in the blessing of the Most Holy Trinity! The Father sends the Son, the Son becomes incarnate, the Holy Spirit assists and, having entered our hearts, teaches us to cry: Abba Father! How is it not senseless now for those who through Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit have become sons of God to turn again to the law?” b) Valuable to the Gentile (Gal.4:8-10) Thus the holy Apostle exposed the absurdity of turning to the law after receiving grace, taking into account the Jews as they were before; now he deduces the same thing, looking at the pagans as they were before (Gal. 4: 8 - 10). This, however, is a small section that is somewhat dark in the flow of speech and in its connection. In verse 8 the word is clearly addressed to the Gentiles who did not know God; but further, in verse 9, the speech seems to change and go to the Jews; for only about them can it be said that the packs return to the weak and bad elements. Moreover, it is not clear what the initial particle answers to: “but”, because it fits in awkwardly with the verses immediately preceding it. That is why, in understanding this place, there is no agreement between interpreters, both ancient and modern. Everyone agrees that the speech is addressed to the pagans, but not everyone is equally able to reduce all the terms used here to them. "But" . – This particle is responsive: what does it respond to? Others say: to the immediately preceding words, as it were: this is what grace and honor you have been honored with! became sons of the true God; and then you served gods who are not gods or who do not exist at all in reality. The first words definitely fit this combination well, but further speech does not fit with it at all. One can assume an implied or actual speech to the Apostle on the part of the pagans: how could they have previously converted us to Judaism with such zeal, and, moreover, entered into close relations only with those of us who accepted circumcision and everything else; and now teach that all this is completely unnecessary? The Holy Apostle answers them: but then you did not know God and served false gods; Then there was only one true faith on earth - the Jewish one, and you did well by converting to Judaism: from lies and error you moved to the truth. Now, when the true God Himself has called you into fellowship with Himself, apart from the law, as you see, why should you now turn to these weak elements, that is, to the material service required by the law? This combination of speech comes closer; Only one term doesn’t quite fit: pack – again, again. But it fits awkwardly with any other understanding. Others admit that here a new speech begins and the particle: “but” serves only as a transitional particle, as it were: but listen, I’ll tell you something else! Then, in paganism, you served false, dreamy gods, and served them with the elements, making sacrifices, performing ablutions, and the like. How can it be that now, when you have come to know the true God and when the true God has accepted you into such close communion, how now do you again turn to the same weak elements in order to serve God with them?! This combination is more direct. The fact that the pagan Galatian Christians turned not to pagan, but to Jewish ranks does not create any obstacle here. For the Jewish ranks were all spontaneous and outwardly did not differ from the pagan ones. What gave them a special value was the fact that they were established by God and contained transformative power. Now that they have lost their original meaning, they have become completely equal to pagan spontaneous service. The Apostle does not say: you are turning to the same thing, but: to a similar spontaneous, carnal service, inspiring, it is implied that their service should now be verbal. Saint Chrysostom says: “Here the Apostle turns to the pagan believers and says that serving idols is the same as observing the days, and that it now deserves greater punishment than before. The meaning of his words is this: then you were so chained to the earth because you spent your life in darkness and error; and now, having come to know God, or, better yet, been known by Him, don’t you deserve greater and more severe punishment when, having neglected so much care for you, you voluntarily expose yourself again to the same disease that you suffered before?” So are all the eastern ones - Saint Damascus, Ecumenius, Theophylact and Theodoret. Theodorit has a certain nuance in his words. He writes: “The apostle attempts to prove that keeping the days according to the law is idolatry. For before you were honored with a calling, he says, you served “not natural gods,” idolizing the elements. But the Lord Christ freed you from this error. Now, I don’t know why, you are returning to the same error. For by observing the Sabbath, the new moon, and other days, and being afraid to break this, you have become like those who idolize the elements.” This is the general idea in these three verses (8-10). Let us make some comments on them in parts. Gal.4:8. But then, since you do not know God, you do not serve as God by nature. “Then,” when you were in paganism, you did not know, he says, God, that is, the true God, Who is One. It is impossible to be without God: such is our nature that it requires God, and the atheists step out of the order of their nature. That is why all nations had and have God or gods; but not everyone knows the one true God. The Apostle says: you did not know the true God. And since it is impossible to be without God, you invented false gods and served them. “You serve not by nature as a real god. “Not by nature existing”, μη φυσει ουσι, - not by nature, not physically, not realiter (in reality), not actually existing, but fictitious, they served the dreams of their imagination. Or they served gods, who, although they existed in fact, were not gods by nature, but: either people who had somehow earned memory and were deified, or creatures of heaven or earth, or idols, or demons. The Apostle does not indicate what they served. To whom the speech was addressed, they knew what they served: there was nothing to say about it. We need to bring this to memory: through sacrifices, ablutions, festivals and the like. Religions all over the world naturally take the same form. Everywhere there are churches or special places, everywhere there are sacred faces, everywhere there are sacred actions, everywhere there are their own hours, days, months. Without all this there can be no religion. But only in true faith does all this express the truth and lead to true pleasing to God and communion with God; in faiths that are false or mixed with lies, and this is all false and does not lead to what is sought through them. Gal.4:9. Now, having come to know God, and, moreover, having been known from God, how do you return back to the weak and evil elements, which you want to serve from above? "Knowing God". “I came to you to preach, dispelled the darkness of your delusion, showed you the true God: now you know Him. The advantage is far from universal, as you know! But who brought me to you? Who gave me the word among you? Who gave this word such power that it overcame your long-standing, inveterate delusion and allowed you to understand the truth? Who converted you yourself and gave you the strength to leave behind the old lies and submit to the new truth? Everything is God. Therefore, it is more decent to say that you did not know God, but He knew you. He paid favorable attention to you and granted you such an indescribably high blessing. “You did not find God through your own efforts, for you lived in error; but He Himself found and drew you to Himself” (St. Chrysostom). God knows everything and provides for everything. But He is said to be especially knowledgeable of those whom He calls to the true faith, who contain this faith as it should. Why does the Apostle say in another place: “The present God knows Himself” (cf: 2 Tim. 2:19). In the same sense, the first psalm says: “The Lord knows the way of the righteous” (Ps. 1:6). This signifies God's special favor, attention, as if acquaintance. Blessed Jerome writes: “The Galatians are called known from God, not because God does not know anything, but because He is called knowing only those who have replaced error with true piety.” Such a reminder was very impressive for those who were honored with such mercy from God and then began to deviate from truly pleasing Him. It is like that for everyone. The Apostle brought him to mind as well (1 Cor. 13:12). And it is never superfluous for us to do the same, confessing the great mercy that we are born among Christians; and immediately upon birth we are born by grace in the waters of baptism, and then we are raised as Christians. What thanks shall we give to the all-merciful Lord for this? May He deliver us from a misfortune similar to the Galatian one - from turning to the weak and evil elements (of course, materialistic worldviews)! Indirectly, the words: “having been known by God” can also lead to the following thought: you have known God; but were not left without a response from God; and He knew you and even more. In true faith, it does not happen that there is searching and striving on the part of people, but nothing on the part of God. In false faiths, where they turn to non-existent gods, this is inevitable; for what can one expect from those who are not. In true faith, the true God always answers those who seek. They seek Him, and He approaches them - even more so, enriching them with spiritual blessings. And a mutual living union takes place, in which is the essence of faith. In Theophylact we read: “known..”. having been accepted by God (into fellowship).” "The weak and bad elements". Here the Holy Apostle makes the same point, which was previously expressed by the words: “the elements of the world.” This refers to the external ranks of subordinate institutions, all of which can be called spontaneous service to God; because all the elements had their part in it - fire, water, earth through plants and animals, air through birds and air changes, from the flow of the moon and sun, and the like. “Weak and bad,” poor, meager, this subordinate service became after the coming of Christ the Lord; and before this service was pleasing to God and gave what God was pleased to unite with it. He who brought, for example, a sacrifice for sin departed with mercy; he who received the anointing became a sacred person and so on. Pagan similar religious actions gave nothing; they were empty, like their entire religion. After the coming of Christ the Savior, the Jewish sacred actions also became empty, they no longer gave anything, and they became disgusting to God, because they were observed against His obvious will. Saint Paul understands this in his words: you return to the weak and evil elements. He seems to be saying to them: your former spontaneous ministry was empty - it gave nothing. But the Jewish spontaneous ministry became the same when the time appointed for its existence ended. Consequently, by now leaning toward accepting the Jewish law, you are doing the same thing as returning again to empty, spontaneous service that yields nothing. How can you allow yourself to do this after such great favor from God towards you? Blessed Jerome writes: “the weak and meager elements are the law. And this is how he became for those who turn to him now after the revelation of the grace of the Gospel. Before the coming of the time determined by the Father, before the preaching of the Gospel throughout the world, the legal statutes had their splendor. After the greater light of the grace of the Gospel shone and the sun of righteousness rose over the whole world, the light of the stars was hidden and their rays darkened. The Law of Moses, which before the Gospel was rich, abundant, bright, after the coming of Christ the Lord became weak, poor and completely destroyed by Him who is greater than Solomon, Jonah, and the church.” “Whom again from above” (again, again) “you want to serve. – Serve”, δουλευειν, – to work, to slave. The Apostle says: you turn to empty elements, which cannot give you anything, and meanwhile you surrender into slavery to them, become slaves. Everything was defined in the law down to the details; According to the legends of the elders, these details became so embarrassing that it was no longer possible to set foot without fear of disturbing something. By agreeing to accept the law, the Galatians would have to, willy-nilly, submit to all these restrictions and enter into the bonds of slavery. And this, the Apostle seems to remind us, is after the freedom with which the Lord invested you through adoption by the grace of the Holy Spirit?! He says: you want to slave again. This is because pagan elemental service was also completely determined and represented a kind of slavery to the elements. Although the Galatians were now turning not to pagan, but to Jewish spontaneous service; but as they now stood on the same line, they did the same thing: they returned again to their old, not the same, but the same in meaning and meaning. Gal.4:10. You look at the days, and the months, and the seasons, and the summers. This verse does not add anything to the expressed thought, but only gives an explanatory example of elemental service, slavery to the elements. “You look at the days” - you observe religiously “days”, for example Saturday, “months” - new moons, “times” - multi-day holidays, such as Easter, the feast of the canopy, which also resemble the seasons - “summer”, the Sabbath year or the fiftieth anniversary. Why did the Apostle touch only on religiously revered times, and not on anything else? Or because these times determine everything else; so, having said this, the Apostle said, as it were: observe the days and, of course, everything associated with honoring them, that is, the whole law. Or because the Galatians, leaning towards Judaism, only began to observe the days for now, without touching on other things. These words define the measure of seduction, which the seducers have already accomplished. Circumcision is not yet accepted; The Galatians lacked the courage to accept anything else. Observing the times did not present much difficulty. It is accepted. Although the Galatians had time, perhaps, to show religious honor in the Jewish way only on Saturdays and new moons or some other appropriate holiday; but the Apostle already lists the entire circle of religiously revered Jewish times. Blessed Jerome asks at this point: but how do Christians have their own days, which they honor - what then? And are they subject to the same reproach? And he answers: for Christians everything is spiritual, and everything is done in the spirit of freedom. Let us add to this that not only do Christians have religiously revered days, but they also have their own sacred rites, their own sacred persons and their own places of worship. And everything related to this is determined by the charter. Isn't this a connection, a bond, a slavery? Christians have all this, because without externality it is impossible to express our reverent relationship with God; Whether one person pours out his soul before God, or many gather for this in one place - churches. And the holy Apostle Paul rejected all external Jewish institutions, not because nothing external was needed in Christianity, but because the Jewish appearance no longer corresponded to the spirit of the new faith in Christ, which is why it had to be rejected. Saint Paul, like all the Apostles, rejecting the Jewish spontaneous worship, established his own Christian service everywhere - verbal, rational, spiritual. The destiny of our entire external order was given by the Apostles; the details were determined later: time has sanctified them. Here are the regulations! But it is still a connection; where is Christian freedom? She's here. Although the charter defines: act this way and that way, it does not say that having done everything as written, you have done the job, and that’s enough. On the contrary, it prescribes to enter into the spirit of the ordained, in order to act from the spirit, as if on one’s own, self-wisely, self-willingly and, therefore, freely. External action is one thing, precisely, connections and bonds; but when that for which this action is established is perceived by the mind and heart, then the action ceases to be binding - it freely develops from the spirit. And our entire Christian appearance came from the spirit. Judaism moved from external to internal. Christianity comes from within and is clothed in a beautiful appearance, just as a plant full of life is clothed with leaves and flowers. The fact that all this has been established in a certain form does not prevent it from being alive in every place and in every person, emanating from the spirit, free. You just need to adhere to one law: enter into the spirit of the prescribed, make it akin to your mind and heart, and, always fulfilling it, you will act freely from yourself, without feeling any connection with appearance. So the statute does not bind Christian freedom, obliging one to fulfill everything prescribed in the spirit. But he does not knit because in the Christian external rites there is nothing about which, as about the Jewish rites, one could say: without touching, below taste, below touch, excluding the unchangeable form of the seven Divine sacraments. We have externality because without externality we cannot be as people. We reverently honor the established external ranks because they are sanctified by antiquity and have testified their dignity or expediency by the fact that they formed and transported so many hosts of saints to the heavenly villages. But at the same time, the ranks that have been established among us are not of such a kind that the Church is bound by them, like bonds of slavery, and cannot change or abolish anything in them. The Church, Christianity, in relation to them, is completely free, and if it finds that something has ceased to be useful, it can either completely abolish it, or replace it with a new one, as well as reintroduce something that is not there, but which it recognizes as necessary. And whoever would argue that our rites are completely inviolable, except for the way of performing the sacraments, would fall into Judaism with it: do not touch it. The Church of God has always enjoyed and enjoys such freedom; It’s just not that today it’s one thing, tomorrow it’s another. Every statutory action must be performed reverently, with fear and trembling - reading, singing, movement, but not because such an action - there can be another in its place - but because it turns to God. He who does God's work carelessly is cursed. Whoever would argue that fear and trembling should be attached to the very actions, and perform them in this spirit, would discover a Judaizing spirit in himself. By reverently performing the statutory rites, we believe that we are attracting God’s care to us, God’s favor towards us; but not because they performed just such a rite: the power is not in the rank, but in the filial, full of faith and devotion to God, offering up the mind and heart. Whoever would begin to attribute special powers to the ranks themselves, since they, in addition to the Divine sacraments, would begin to Judaize. It is desirable for others (there are such sects) to strip Christianity of all appearances; and they think to justify this desire by the teaching of the Apostle Paul about the uselessness of the Jewish law for Christians. They did not pay due attention to the fact that the same Saint Paul, who removed all Jewish ranks, introduced his own Christian ranks everywhere. It seems to them that no matter what is external, it is already Judaism, and they cry out: Judaism, merit! But they do not want to understand that Judaism does not lie in the external, but in the fact that this external is performed and honored in a Jewish way. They themselves dream that they have been exposed from everything external and serve God in spirit, in a purely Christian way. Meanwhile, turning to God, they take a certain pose and lead a special speech to God. What is this if not rank? Chin, only self-inflicted. Such wise men cannot have general meetings: they do not recognize them as necessary and cannot accommodate the concept of the Church of God as a single body. It is remarkable that they will never cross their foreheads. Isn’t it obvious that the spirit that teaches them and lives in them fears the cross, which crushed all the power of the enemy? We, temporarily spatial, cannot be without external ranks. And the Angels have their own ranks. And in the next century there will be their own. And everything in them has its time, place and order. Only in the spirit can and should service to God be continuous, not limited by time, place, or position. 2) Heart-impressive beliefs (Gal. 4:11 – 20) Pointing out absurdity in a way of thinking causes the most stubborn mind to give up; and he, according to her consciousness, is always ready to lag behind his thoughts. But his heart can go against him. Therefore, for complete victory it is necessary to touch upon it too: this paves the way for the decisions of the will. This is what Saint Paul now begins, collecting various ideas that can erase from the heart the sympathy for Judaism that has formed in him and dispose him to alienation from the law. This was also necessary in order to soften the acute effect of the previous denunciation of the absurdity allowed by the Galatians. The act of reducing something to the point of absurdity is amazingly powerful; but it always responds with bitterness in the hearts of those whom it concerns, and thereby slows down the real, required change in life. St. Paul sweetens it now, causing encouraging feelings. Every verse here has a special feeling. Therefore, it is impossible to indicate any particular order in this department (Gal. 4: 11–20). Gal.4:11. I'm afraid of you, food, we labored in vain in you. “This is a fatherly voice, befitting one who remembers his labors and does not see the fruit” (Blessed Theodoret). "I'm afraid for you." “The Apostle seems to see that they have gone so far, deviating into the worst, that they can completely fall away from Christ” (Ambrosiastes). The evil has already begun, it has been accepted and has produced some fruits: “You look at the days.” What wonder is it that the descent into Judaism will continue? In others, the fall into Judaism could end with a fall into paganism. For Judaism, after the coming of grace, is the same superstition as paganism, without power and meaning. And it is a faith rejected by God. If something like this happens, my work will be lost. The Apostle seems to express himself even more forcefully: has my labor not been lost? Have you become such that you cannot even be called Christians, but must be converted again? I'm afraid it hasn't gone that far? He does not say this decisively because he definitely did not know what was going on with them and with them; he did not think about them (verse 20). The Apostle does not regret the work, but about them, that they will again be plunged into the same darkness from which it cost him so much labor to extract them, realizing that he owes everything to everyone, both far and near, he regrets at the same time that this stops the work of God. He would have turned his labor to others, but here he has to sweat again over the same ones who seemed to have already gotten back on their feet. A reminder of the labor over the Galatians, which Saint Paul bore in converting them and establishing their Churches, will greatly produce great contrition and tenderness, given the tested love of the Holy Apostle for them and their commitment to him shown before. He “seems to say this: remember how much sweat has been shed over you, and do not allow my labor to become in vain” (Blessed Theophylact). A needless loss is pitiful. Why did he first remember their loss when he said: you suffered in vain (Gal. 3:3-4). Now he talks about the loss of his work. Further (verse 19), he writes that he is again working, and the work is painful. Business people understand well how impressionable all such reminders are. Saint Chrysostom says: “Do you see the sincere participation of the Apostle? Those are overwhelmed; but he fears and trembles for them. That is why his words: “we labor in you” contain so much that is crushing. As it were, he said: do not make so much of my labor in vain. And with the words: “I’m afraid” - and: “what food” - arouses anxiety in them and at the same time breathes good hopes into them. For he did not say, “We labored in vain,” but said, “We labored in vain.” That is: this is not yet a shipwreck, but I see in this only a dangerous storm and therefore I am afraid, but do not despair. You can still fix everything and return to the former silence.” The same is true of Blessed Jerome with some special application: “If he wanted to decisively rebuke them, he would say: I labored in vain. Now (with this image of expression; “what kind of food”?), seeing that they have a zeal for God, but not according to reason, and in saving them, carried away into error due to the immaturity of faith (pro errore), he does not completely despair and again does not leave them without reproach, so as not to give them a reason to worrylessly remain in error, and for others to fearlessly fall into error like them. The teacher works in vain when he strives to raise them to the best and highest, and through negligence they fall into the worst and lowest.” Gal.4:12. Be like me, like you, like you, brothers, I pray. You won't offend me in any way. Having aroused regret about the labors lost on them, indicating the danger of their situation and the hope of liberation from it, “then, as if extending a helping hand to those in danger of shipwreck, he presents himself to them as an example, saying: “Be as I am” (St. Chrysostom). Everyone knew St. Paul's former ardent zeal for the law; and everyone also knows his current detachment from him. If sometimes he did something legal, it was as an indifferent matter, only in the form of peace and promoting the successes of the Gospel. That’s why he could safely talk about himself like that. He speaks here precisely, imitating the military leaders who, seeing how the soldiers stand in indecision or the Indians are evading, shout to them: follow me! Nothing is as inspiring as an example, and nothing is easier than following in the obvious footsteps of another. The words: “for I also am like you” are not entirely clear. For the Galatians, inclining towards the law, were no longer like him, and therefore he was no longer like them. Therefore, assumptions became inevitable; and the interpreters dispersed. Some think that Saint Paul, when he said this, had in mind mainly the Jews, as if thus: I too was like you. “Before, I too had this jealousy, I loved the law. But look how he has changed. Therefore, you also compete with me in this change” (Blessed Theodoret). Others think that Saint Paul had in mind mainly the pagans, as they were before, completely detached from the law - as it were: I am a Jew, but I have become like you pagans, alien to the law, abandoning everything that is lawful and appearing everywhere as a lawless one (1 Cor. 9:21). You see what a sacrifice was on my part to the truth of God; return to this truth and do not bind yourself to the law; For you, this is all the easier because here no sacrifice is required of you because you are not related to the law by nature and do not owe anything to it by faith. But it seems that Saint Paul did not take into account either the pagans or the Jews, but the Galatian Christians who were inclined towards Judaism. He convinces all Christians there to abandon their adherence to the law, and not just Jews or pagans. Having accepted the faith of Christ, they were all free from the law: the Jews abandoned it, and the pagans did not even know it. Then they leaned towards him, carried away by the false teachers. This is the state he has in mind and convinces them: abandon the law, as I abandoned it. For I, too, was committed to the law, as you are now, but I abandoned it. In this Epistle, Saint Paul has many places where the speech is fragmentary and left as if unfinished. That's how it is here too. To the words: “zane and az, like you” is the most natural addition and it will be like this: I was, like you now, a zealot, that is, of the law, but I fell behind it. Blessed Jerome writes: “I was like you now, when I strictly adhered to these (Jewish) customs and when, as a persecutor, I devastated the Church of Christ because it did not do the same.” Saint Chrysostom is primarily occupied with extracting from these words the entire sum of thoughts that are convincing to the Galatians. He says: “he (the Apostle) says this to the Jewish believers (we can put it instead: to those inclined towards Judaism) and by his example convinces them to abandon ancient customs. If, he says, you had no other example, then you only need to look at me to fearlessly decide on such a change. Look at me. And before I had the same thoughts as you and burned with great zeal for the law, but after that I was not afraid to leave the law and change my life according to the law. You are very well aware of the zeal with which I adhered to Judaism before, and how even more willingly I left it later. And it is very opportune that the Apostle offered this example after everything, for many people are more likely to be carried away by one example of one of their brethren than by countless proofs, no matter how fair they may be; and when they see someone else doing something, they rather bend over and do the same themselves.” "Brethren, I pray you." These words alone relate to the previous one: “be like me”; and others to the following: “You will offend me in no way.” Letter lovers spend a lot of time determining where it is best to assign it. Saint Chrysostom pays all his attention to finding out how much these two words mean for the purpose of the Apostle in this department. We'll limit ourselves to that. “See how he again calls them by a respectful name, and at the same time reminds them of grace (that is, “the grace of baptism, by virtue of which we are all brethren, as if born of one Father” 2). since hitherto he had attacked them from all sides - with strong reproaches, and severe torment of their deeds, and the exposure that they were criminals of the law, now he again weakens his speech and consoles them, speaking in a more kind and supportive language. For just as continuous caresses relax, so reproaches without relaxation harden. Therefore, proportionality and the middle are good everywhere. Look how he justifies himself in the denunciation he made, showing that whatever he said to them, he said it not out of hatred, but out of love for them. Having thus made a deep wound, he immediately pours the oil of consolation on it. And in order to assure them that everything that was said to them was not said out of hatred or enmity towards them, for this purpose, bringing to their memory his love for them (in the word: “brother..”), he adds his justification and praise for them, saying: “I pray you, you will not offend me in any way.” “You won’t offend me in any way.” He rejects the idea, which could be revived among the Galatians, that the Apostle speaks so strictly out of some grief, as Saint Chrysostom notes. And he rejects with the assurance that he did not see any offense from them, and, therefore, it is inappropriate for him to have any grief towards them. “And a vulgar person will hardly want to harm a person who has not done any injustice against him, or to offend him in vain and without guilt. And not only did you not offend me, but you also showed me great and extraordinary affection. Therefore, it cannot be that the one who received such consolation from you began to speak to you out of malice. So, I say this not in annoyance, but out of excessive love for you and concern for you. “I pray you will not offend me in any way.” What other soul is more benevolent, more compassionate and loving than this holy soul!” (Saint Chrysostom). While assuring that there was no reason for grief against them, the Apostle simultaneously hints that there will be a reason, and a very strong one, if they commit Judaism. Until now you have not offended me in any way, and now things have gone in such a way that you can offend me bitterly. You were always attentive to my suggestions, you always did whatever I commanded you: and everything went so peacefully with us. Do not disturb this peace, do not start discord, do not erect a mediastinum of Judaism among us. With the love of the Apostle, tested by the Galatians, and with their love for him, proven by deeds, this reminder is a very sharp osten (sting, needle), strongly goring and wounding. How well this suited the Apostle’s purpose! It seems that Blessed Jerome had this thought when he added: “a student offends a teacher if through negligence he forgets his lessons and thereby makes his work futile.” Someone will say: you didn’t offend, but you will offend. Did the Apostle really stand up for himself? Not for yourself, but for the Lord and His work. But he had the work of the Lord so closely intertwined with himself that it was the work of his life. Whatever harmed that cause struck the apple of his eye. Saint Paul was not indifferent to the preaching and to the successes of his disciples. The favorable things made him happy, the unfavorable things saddened him... But again: the fear of upsetting a loved one, by the excitement of which the Apostle wants to influence the Galatians, is an everyday, human feeling. Is it relevant to the work of God? This feeling is a good feeling and is put into our nature by God, as the ruler of our relationships, along with other feelings. Therefore, as God’s, it could be turned to God’s work. The holy Apostle’s methods of this kind boil down to one rule, which he always adhered to: “to all, that I might save some” (1 Cor. 9:22). Gal.4:13 – 14. Know that because of the weakness of the flesh, you were given more good news than the good news, and my temptations in my flesh, you did not despise or spit on me, but like the Angel of God you received me, like Christ Jesus. “Heartache for the Galatians forces the Apostle to often change his manner of speech, sometimes to reprimand, sometimes to beg, sometimes to accuse, and sometimes to mourn. Here too he tells them: I have not suffered any offense from you in any way; on the contrary, I have been rewarded with perhaps the greatest of your services. I have not forgotten the honor you showed me. Although I bore great dishonor on my body, being mocked, tormented and enduring thousands of troubles, you did not look at the dishonor, but honored me “like an Angel of God.” And what am I saying: like an Angel? - “like Christ Jesus”; because they thought, by serving me, to serve Christ” (Blessed Theodoret). Why does Saint Paul remind us of this? Partly in order to continue the thought he started and present it more fully, that is, that, having not received trouble from them, he could not speak so strictly to them out of a feeling of grief, but speaks to them out of love and desire for good, as if like this: “and what am I saying: “you will not offend”? On the contrary, you have shown great and heartfelt commitment to me. Because “news” and so on. Believe that what was said to you was not said out of reckless anger and passionate indignation of the soul, but out of pure concern for your souls” (St. Chrysostom). And moreover, he recalls this in order to restore in their souls how their first sermon went, how their souls changed, how, leaving everything, they clung to the Lord, and they accepted the Apostle himself as sent from above, and in his face they saw the Lord Himself, who sent him, as is usually the case with accepting ambassadors as one who sent. The holy Apostle knew that if the same (initial) fire of zeal for the pure faith of Christ kindled in their souls, it would expel from their souls everything alien to this faith, just as melted metal displaces all foreign substances. Then he wants to renew it, forcing the Galatians to go through with their hearts the entire history of their conversion, forgotten and obscured by subsequent events. There must have been something extraordinary in the conversion of the Galatians. For, when outwardly Saint Paul seemed so humiliated that one could even spit on him, he was received so highly, and such enthusiastic faith was shown in his word. The memory of this extraordinary manifestation of the power of God among them is strong to maintain and, truly, supported in the Galatians the same spirit of faith, both in strength and in content, just as the banner in the regiments always inspires soldiers. It’s true that this was the case, but then little by little it was forgotten. Oblivion made it possible for false teachers to creep into their souls. The holy Apostle is now restoring it in order to again throw them out of there and everything they brought there. The words: “for the weakness of the flesh,” which he immediately calls “and temptation in the flesh,” there is no great need to define with precision. The Holy Apostle only wants to say: remember what I looked like to you? Such is that it was possible to humiliate and spit on me, judging by human relations and concepts. But my teaching was luminous, sublime, Divine. Were you then able to discern the essence of a valuable matter under such a nondescript appearance of mine? And this essence of the matter - my Gospel - was it as you now understand it? Where has your sharp-sightedness gone, that what you saw so clearly in the darkness is now dimly visible in the middle of a bright day? Interpreters, however, try to determine what kind of weakness of the flesh the Apostle had. And some think that this is some kind of bodily illness, while others think that these are persecutions, reproaches, wounds, which are more appropriately called “temptations in the flesh.” Blessed Jerome writes: “We can guess that the Apostle fell ill when he came to the Galatians for the first time; but, despite the fact that he was obsessed with illness, he did not stop preaching the Gospel. There is a legend that he often suffered from headaches; and she was that angel of Satan who was given to him, let him do dirty tricks, but not be arrogant (2 Cor. 12:7). This weakness was a temptation for those to whom the Gospel was preached, whether they would despise the one who promises such high things, and yet is himself so weak in body. – It is also not inappropriate that, having come to the Galatians at the beginning, the Apostle was subjected to reproach, persecution, and wounds from those who opposed the Gospel. It must have been a great temptation for the Galatians when they saw the Apostle being struck.” Eastern interpreters give exclusively the latter meaning to the words “weakness” and “temptation.” Saint Chrysostom says: “What does he want to say? When, he says, while preaching to you, I was persecuted, scourged, threatened with thousands of deaths, even then you did not despise me. For this is what the words mean: “Do not despise my temptations, which are in my flesh, nor despise them.” At the same time, one can also understand here a hidden reproach to the Galatians, which could not remain insensitive to them. The thought must have immediately occurred to them: the Apostle suffered so much for us, and now we have turned our backs to him; And isn’t it strange that at the beginning they accepted and honored the humiliated one, and then left him behind? Shame on us! “With this the Apostle brings them to shame,” writes Theophylact, “reminding how much he suffered for their sake from those who resist the truth.” Saint Chrysostom says: “Do you notice the spiritual wisdom of the Apostle? In his very justification, he does not cease to reproach them when he presents to them how much he suffered for them; and when he says: however, this did not seduce you at all; you did not spit on me in these sufferings and persecutions. For by weakness and temptation he means suffering and persecution. “But like an angel of God you received me.” How is it now not strange to accept one who is persecuted and persecuted as an Angel of God, but not to accept one who teaches what is necessary?” “As an Angel, as Christ Jesus they received.” This was due to the impressionability of their preaching, by the power of which Christ Jesus was so vividly written in their minds that He seemed to hang crucified before their eyes. The word of the Apostles came from their mouths not according to their desire and consideration, but according to the movement of the Spirit of God. The extraordinary liveliness of speech among the Galatians remained memorable to Saint Paul. It could not help but be memorable to the Galatians. This is what the Apostle points to with these words. For they accepted it so highly for the power of the word preached. This was supposed to restore in their souls everything that happened in them at the first conversion, which, as indicated above, was very important for the goal of the holy Apostle. They also pay attention to the preposition δια, – δι ασθενειαν, – “for weakness.” It turns out that he preached because of the weakness of the flesh. I had no plans to preach; but the illness held me back, and I began to preach. Maybe so. But it’s better to translate it as we say: through strength or through tears. It will come out - despite the illness, if there was one; or: despite persecution and wounds or in the midst of illness and wounds: they continued, and I did my part, moving among them, through them, as someone goes through thorns, through thorns. Gal.4:15. What a blessing is yours! I testify to you that, even if it were powerful, your hair would have gone into overdrive quickly. “What is your bliss” - not everyone understands the same. Some: how blessed were you? Others: how did you please me then? Third: how were you pleased? In the course of speech, only the middle is appropriate here: how did you please me? Μακαρισμος; means: satisfaction. Visual evidence of this can be found in the church charter, where the famous verses about the beatitudes are called μακαρισμοι, - blessings: for there various virtues, the most essential in life, are blessed. And the Apostle’s speech, both before and after, is all about how he was received, how the Galatians treated him, and not about the Galatians themselves. “You accepted me,” he says, “as an Angel, as the Lord Himself.” And how you honored me then, magnified me, pleased me! You were ready to do everything for me, give everything to me, sacrifice everything for me. The parable expression: to gouge out (gouge out) your eyes and give it to someone means: to be ready for all sorts of donations for someone. The holy Apostle speaks about this in order to force them to judge where the change in them comes from, when he is still the same in himself and in his relationships towards them. The words of Blessed Theophylact can be translated as follows: “What has that (former) pleasure of yours turned into? Now I don’t see him, since you now treat me in a completely opposite way.” Saint Chrysostom says: “Here the Apostle is perplexed, amazed at their change, and tries to find out from them themselves the reason for it. Who seduced you, he says, and changed your disposition towards me? Didn't you serve me and heal my wounds and hold me dearer than your own eyes? What happened? Where does this hostility come from? Where does the suspicion come from? Is it really because I told you the truth? But for this you should honor and love me even more.” For the purpose of Saint Paul in this section, this thought serves to arouse shame in front of oneself or self-shame in inconstancy and makes them think about whether they are doing well in deviating from the lessons of such an enthusiastically received teacher of the faith, whom they did not know at all before his preaching. From here it is natural to move to suspicion of new teachers: are they really telling us the truth? Are they our well-wishers or the first teacher of truth? Is there anything bad about them? Why, after these words, the Apostle already directly tells them about the evil views of the false teachers on them. Understanding: How blessed were you then? - although it does not fit with the flow of speech, it is not unfavorable to the goal of St. Paul in this section - to disturb the feelings of the Galatians. Why is it accepted by some? The way of thinking does not remain without influence on the heart, much less belief, and even more so belief, accompanied by deeds. In true faith, the Lord combines with the heart and pleases it. The depth of the combination depends on the strength of faith, its purity and the associated determination to do the appropriate things. The purity of faith or the life corresponding to it is diminished, the rapprochement with the Lord is diminished, and to the extent that the blessedness of the hearts of the Galatians, who accepted the faith with such fervor, were in an apparently indescribable delight. This delight is not from a frivolous hobby, but from the fact that they definitely felt blissful; and they felt blessed because the Lord was in them, pleasing them for the sincerity of their clinging to Him and the purity of their faith. Now their faith was darkened by a tendency towards Judaism; and Judaism began to separate them from the Lord and the Lord from them (verse 19). The measure of this distance was certainly accompanied by a corresponding measure of diminishment of inner bliss in the Lord. Knowing that this is so, Saint Paul says to the Galatians: compare what is in your heart now with what was then, and you will see that you have taken the wrong step. Remember what bliss you felt then: where is it now? (Blessed Theodoret, Saint Damascus and others read: που μακαρισμος - where is bliss? The new ones accepted this reading too. But not for the better.) With this he said, as it were to them: remember from where you fell? Needless to say, how impressive and intelligible such a suggestion could be. For all that, in this place it should be considered only incidental and speculative, and not as required by the course of speech. These two understandings can be combined into one: the Galatians blessed St. Paul because they felt blessed by the bliss that was brought to them by the faith preached to them by St. Paul. The third understanding: how were you pleased? - does not fit either the flow of speech or the purpose of this section. It is, however, found among some of the ancients. Gal.4:16. Moreover, he would be your enemy, telling you the truth. In the Slavic translation and in St. Chrysostom, the speech here is positive; in modern Greek and in Russian the question is: am I really an enemy? This does not change thoughts; but the first form indicates it more closely than the second. Here is the conclusion from what was said before, as shown by: ωςε, - “the same, so.” The apostle says, as it were: this is what delight you have come from the truth I have communicated to you! You felt it and appreciated it; I was honored as God’s ambassador, so there can be no doubt about my goodwill to you. By speaking truthfully before you (αληθευων υμιν), sincerely, conscientiously, selflessly offering you the pure truth, I thereby proved to you my true love for you, for the sake of the truth you accepted. For this you also repaid me with your love and honor shown to me. And now you have a different attitude towards me, because the teachers of lies have told you differently. They turned the truth into a lie and turned your hearts away from me and from the truth. And it turned out that I became your enemy because I told you the truth, and they became your friends because they diverted you from the truth. What does this mean? Come to your senses, look at the matter as it is. Consider who these new teachers are, and you will see that they are jealous of you and so on. Gal.4:17. They are jealous of you in a bad way, but they want to excommunicate you, but you are jealous of them. In the previous verse, Saint Paul only led the Galatians to doubt the true goodwill of the false teachers toward them; and this directly speaks of their ill-intention. They don’t wish you well, he seems to say, but they are only trying to turn you away from me, so that you go over to their side and call them: teacher, teacher! “They are jealous of you” - they fuss so diligently around you, as if they were the most sincere friends, wishing only the best for you. But don't be fooled by appearances. Delve into their goal and you will find that they are jealous of you “unkindly” - not for your good and not out of good will towards you. They have not good, but evil jealousy. “Good jealousy attracts to good paths, and evil jealousy turns away from them” (St. Chrysostom). So they are jealous, but unreasonably. What kind of troubles are raised to acquire proselytes? But if it happens to acquire them, then they are not given good, but ultimate destruction, as the Savior said (Matthew 23:15). Judaism was the only true faith before the coming of the Lord, and after His coming, it is ungodly and destructive, and those who follow it are the sons of Gehenna. “They want to separate you,” - just as cunning wolves separate some of the sheep from the flock in order to then strangle them. It does not say from whom to excommunicate: for this is clear. From the Apostle Paul, from following his teaching, and through this from the Lord and from His flock, the holy Church of God, from salvation to destruction. “Yes, you are jealous of them.” It is not clear that the Apostle denounced them for selfish reasons, but only points to one seemingly teacher’s ambition: so that you go over to their side, honor them, stand for them, and be zealous for the law like them. “They are concerned,” says Saint Chrysostom, “trying to deprive you of perfect knowledge and lead you to the superficial and false. And they do this only so that they themselves can become the rank of teachers, and you, who are now above them, can be placed in the place of students; for the Apostle meant this when he said: “Yes, you are jealous of them.” But I, on the contrary, wish, he says, that you be better than them and serve as an example for the most perfect, which you really were during my stay with you.” – This speech can be supplemented this way: they attract to themselves, but I do not attract to myself, but to the Lord; They are looking for you to be jealous of them, and I for you to be jealous of the Lord and your salvation in Him; I seek nothing of yours, but of you, and not for myself, but for you, that you may be saved. Look closely and you will see where the truth is. At this reminder of the zeal of the false teachers, so that the Galatians would be jealous of them, a picture of true zeal for the faith and Christian life, which the Galatians presented in his presence, came to the mind of the holy Apostle. Remembering this, he says to them: I know that you were zealous for the Christian truth, in which alone is all our good. But: Gal.4:18. It is good to always be jealous of good things, and not to mention, always come to you. As if the Apostle heard the objection on behalf of the Galatians: weren’t we zealots for Christ? Aren't you a witness to this? Yes, yes! – answers the Apostle. You were ardently jealous, but I’m not talking about what was, but about what is. They became jealous and stopped. And there is nothing commendable in such a changeable way of acting. That is good, that jealousy is good and honorable, with which one is always jealous of what is good, and one is jealous because it is good in itself. You became jealous in front of me, and then weakened. Consequently, your jealousy flowed from human respect, and not from love of good. Why, when this respect ceased to excite you, you immediately turned away from it, as soon as the seducers came to you. Are you so not firm? Are you not kind-hearted - “my children!” The thought of the holy Apostle is on jealousy of good, insofar as it is good, and constant jealousy. This is an inaccurate beginning in the Christian life. In whom it is, he, clinging to the Lord and always carrying His Oneness in his heart, has one thing in mind - to always be faithful to Him in word, deed and thought. Through this, Christ, contemplated by faith, is imagined in believers not only mentally, but actually, in the manifestations of their spiritual life. The Galatians walked this way and towards this while they followed the instructions of St. Paul. But false teachers came and led them astray. The image of the worthy one was indignant in their minds, because the false teachers cast a shadow on the most important thing - the face of Christ the Savior. Having turned away the gaze of faith from Him, they destroyed His image in themselves, and then the most real imagination of Him in them through life ceased. Seeing such significant damage in the spirit of the Galatians, the Apostle, pained by this, extends parental compassionate speech to them: Gal.4:19. My children, even though I am sick, I will imagine Christ in you. Saint Paul gave birth to them with the gospel; and now, evading the essence of the gospel, they began to freeze. Why does he again intensify to raise the fire of new life in them and takes care of this with heart disease - not a mild one, but one that is equal to the disease of childbirth. The comparison is very expressive: it vividly represents the matter, and vividly depicts Apostolic zeal. What a close and living union did St. Paul enter into with his converts! And how fully their condition was reflected in his heart with consolation or sorrow! By calling himself, however, to be in the pains of birth, Saint Paul thereby expresses the hope that the Galatians will again be reborn in the same spirit, having abandoned the deadening elements they have accepted. The previous speech gave the holy Apostle a reason to pour out before the Galatians all his parental love for them. Remembering their zeal, I remembered the perfection of faith, and the good state in Christ Jesus the Lord in which they were and which they had now lost or began to lose. The heart sank, the spirit became sick, and a burning concern was kindled for their restoration to their former rank. So he cries out: children! "Dondezhe imagine". Through faith and baptism Christ was imagined in them. They clung to Him, vividly contemplating deliverance through His death and the granting of new life through His grace. By leaning toward Judaism, they allowed this brightly contemplated image of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ to become darkened and upset within themselves, and the very likeness of Christ given to souls in grace to diminish. In admonishing them, the Apostle leads them to their former contemplation of salvation in the Lord and the reflection of the likeness of Christ in their souls. Because of this, she works and, while working, gets sick, like a woman giving birth, assuring that she will not stop hurting like that until they again become as they were before. This is the limit to which zealots for the salvation of others should bring those led by them, and having brought them to which they can confidently say that they have put them on their feet! Images of such strong love as these words breathe should have had a victorious effect on the Galatians, which is what the holy Apostle is looking for in this chapter. “Look how embarrassed he is; “How worried,” says Saint Chrysostom. “My brothers,” he says, “I pray you: my children, in the same way I am sick.” This is the voice of a mother who fears for her children. “Dondezhe Christ will be imagined in you.” Do you see both fatherly love and sorrow worthy of an Apostle? Do you hear a cry, much more bitter than the cry of a woman giving birth? You have destroyed, he says, the image, you have lost your high affinity, you have changed your likeness; you need another revival, a new re-creation. However, I have not yet stopped calling you children, you premature babies and miscarriages. However, he does not say one way, but another; for he spares them and does not want to harden them, adding wounds to wounds. But just as skilled physicians treat those who have been subjected to a long illness not suddenly, but at intervals, so as not to lead them into cowardice and destroy them: so does Blessed Paul. And these torments of his were all the more painful than physical torments, the stronger his love was and the more important their sin was. However, as I have always said and will not stop saying, a small crime has damaged and disfigured all the beauty and image of God in man.” Gal.4:20. I would like to come to you now and change my voice, as if I am not thinking about you. This expresses the uncontrollability of love. Just as parents, hearing that some misfortune has happened to their children, cannot sit still, but anxiously rush to them in order to see with their own eyes the misfortune and the extent of it, and immediately with their advice and assistance, as much as possible, to correct the misfortune, and if not, to grieve along with full knowledge of what the misfortune is: so St. Paul, having heard that the Galatians, his spiritual children, had a misfortune in the matter of salvation, the most essential thing in life, feels compelled to rush to them personally, so as to see everything for himself and feel the misfortune in all its force; and immediately ward it off with improvised means. In fact, he was not with the Galatians this time; but he felt an urge to do so and spoke about it in order to inspire how he was not indifferent to what was happening with them. But this alone could have an effect. The Galatians did not know that he would not come, but they could not help but expect: he was about to come. This expectation should have calmed them down and stopped them from further evasions. For with him they were zealous for good, as it is without any foreign admixture. The personal presence of the Apostle was very influential. The anticipation of his arrival must have had its own measure of influence. What does it mean to “change your voice”? Change it in relation to what you would see with your own eyes. Perhaps I would not have found such a great evil among them as I imagined, and perhaps even greater. Moreover, it is likely that when some turned away to Judaism, others were firm in the faith, and, moreover, on both sides in different degrees and shades. Having arrived to them, the Apostle would have spoken in relation to all this. To whom is severity, to whom is reinforcement, to whom is consolation; sometimes joy, sometimes crying. Saint Chrysostom says: “Notice his impatience and uncontrollability, which he cannot hide in himself. For this is the property of love. She is not content with correspondence, but is also looking for dates. “And change my voice” - that is, change it into a mournful one and shed tears and make you all cry. But just as in a letter you can’t cry and sob, that’s why he ardently wants to see them. - “I don’t think about you.” I don’t know, he says, what to say, I don’t know what to come up with, why would you, having reached such a heavenly height, both through the grave calamities that you endured for your faith, and through the signs that were shown by your faith, now suddenly descend to such humiliation and such poverty that you turn to circumcision and the Sabbath and unite with the Jews? This very thing made the Apostle say at the beginning of the Epistle: “I marvel that you are so quickly changed” (Gal. 1:6) - and here: “I do not think about you.” How would he say: what should I say, where should I start speaking, what should I think? I'm perplexed. So all that's left to do is cry. This is what the Prophets did in hopeless cases. For this method of healing is important, that is, not only to exhort, but also to cry.” 3) Will-stimulating beliefs (Gal. 4:21 – 5:12) Mind and feeling, going over to the side of truth, bring with them the will. After them, she involuntarily gives in; but she can hesitate, postpone her decision, and immediately begin and act according to the instructions of the truth. In order to give her tension, to arouse her energy for this, the truth addresses her with special aspects, the vision of which will have a strong influence of this kind on her. This is what Saint Paul now approaches. He shows: a) how glorious it is to be free from the law (Gal. 4:21 – 5:1); b) how necessary it is (Gal. 5:2 – 6) and: c) how easy it is for them (Gal. 5:7 – 12). Three sides, which, once recognized, move both hands and feet to the task in which they are seen. Gloriousness attracts superiority; necessity forces hopelessness; lightness inspires ready-to-hand. In short, Saint Paul says - in the first respect: if you want to be children of the Jerusalem above, free, heirs of God, throw away the law; in the second: one of two things is inevitable, either to abandon the law and be with Christ in grace among those who are being saved, or, holding on to the law, to be without Christ and grace among those who are perishing; in the third: and what should you do? You have already walked as you should and have not yet become deeply entangled in orders alien to the truth. Take the old path again - and the matter is over. Are they being misled by false teachers? keep them away from you. And you will go right again without any quarrels. a) Gloriousness of the work (Gal. 4:21 – 5:1) Saint Paul represents the glory of life in the spirit of faith, explaining the superiority of faith over the law. These advantages are a child of the highest Jerusalem, birth according to Isaac into freedom and an inalienable inheritance of heavenly blessings. What is more glorious than such kinship? What is more attractive than freedom? What is more valuable than such a legacy? - that all this belongs to believers, he proved this above. Now, however, he only brings this into sharper relief before the consciousness of the Galatians, showing how all this was reflected at the very beginning of the division of God’s providential orders for the human race. He says, as it were, you want to be under the law, hoping to become children of Abraham. But get into the story. Abraham had two sons: one from Hagar, the other from Sarah; the first was born according to the flesh, the second according to promise; the first from a slave is a slave, the second from a free woman is free. There is a deep meaning hidden in this simple story: it depicts two covenants. Hagar with Ismail depicts the Old Testament, given at Sinai, near which the Hagarian family settled and gave it a name consonant with Hagar. Just as Hagar the servant gave birth to slaves, so the law of Sinai gives birth to work and slaves with her children, ruling in what is now Jerusalem, the center of legal life. And Sarah with Isaac depicts the New Testament of the Gospel, which comes from Zion about Christ Jesus and is preached by us. Just as free Sarah gave birth to a free one, so the Gospel gives birth to freedom and forms the highest Jerusalem with its children, the Kingdom of Christ. We, all believers, are His children. We are children according to Isaac, we are free, we are heirs. Those who hold to the law are children of the flesh, they are slaves, and, most importantly, they will not inherit with the sons of the free woman. These benefits are given to you all in Christ Jesus. - Stand still and do not submit yourselves to the yoke of slavery to the law. Gal.4:21. Speak to us, even though you want to be under the law, are you not listening to the law? “Having softened their hearts with his tears (in the previous words) and brought them closer to himself, he again begins the debate, offering an even more important subject for discussion, showing that the law itself demands that it not be observed. If you want, he says, to be obedient to the law, leave it, for he himself demands it. However, the Apostle does not directly say this, but leads to the same thing in a different way, using history” (St. Chrysostom). This unexpected question sharpened the attention of the readers. Then offering a simple story, well known to everyone, did not weaken, but even increased his tension, with the desire to unravel what it was, what he wanted to say with it. When the matter finally became clear and the comparison of things was presented so vividly, the impression from there could not help but be striking. Saying that they want to be under the law gives the idea that they are not yet completely entangled in it - they are bowing, but have not yet bowed down. At the same time, it gives hope that just as they wanted, they can no longer want; because if they attempt to do this, then it is not some reasonable demands that bring them to this, but one whim of desires. Saint Chrysostom says: “He said well: whatever you want. For the matter depended not on the demands of things, but on already inappropriate jealousy.” In the words: “Do you want to be under the law - and do you not listen to the law?” – the word: law – not only one thing matters. In the first case, it means the entire sub-legal structure of faith, and in the second - everything that happened during the sub-legal period by special orders of God and was included in Scripture for the teaching of subsequent generations. He takes the event from the book of Genesis because it was required; but he would have taken what he needed from any other Book, if something else had been required, and he would have expressed it all in the same way: “Do you not listen to the law?” Don’t you listen to what God Himself, who created the law, tells you through events? In this case, “you don’t listen” will mean: you don’t delve into the meaning and inner meaning, you don’t take lessons and admonitions from it and don’t follow it. Blessed Jerome writes: “According to the Apostle, the one who hears the law is not the one who sees only its surface, but who also sees into the core. He who, like the Galatians, dwells only on its bark, does not listen to the law.” Gal. 4:22 – 23 . It is written that Abraham had two sons: one by a slave, and the other by a free woman. But those who were born of a slave were born according to the flesh, and those who were born of a free woman were born according to a promise. The Apostle's previous question aroused only attention. This indicates the event itself, from which, if you delve into it, you can draw an intelligible lesson for yourself. This event is known to everyone. The Apostle does not tell it in detail. This, however, was not necessary. It was only necessary to highlight some features from this event, serving as the starting point for the subsequent conclusion. Saint Paul dwells on them, without distracting his attention with other circumstances. These traits are the following: of the two sons of Abraham, one is a slave by a bondwoman, the other is free by a freewoman; one according to the flesh, the other according to promise, that is, one was born naturally, the other was formed by a Higher Power, although from the elements of nature; that one is of lower, earthly origin, and this one is of higher, heavenly origin. Already with this one reminder, the Apostle inspired the Galatians: by bowing under the yoke of the law, you want to become through this the right of being a child of Abraham. The matter is good, worthy of concern and jealousy. But be careful not to make a mistake in the way you achieve this. After all, Abraham had two sons, completely opposite. And you must determine more precisely by the spirit of which of these sons you want to become children of Abraham. The error in choice is so significant that you, imagining to be the sons of Abraham, will in fact be nothing more than slaves. Saint Chrysostom says: “again points to Abraham; however, this is not an identity. But since this patriarch was held in great esteem by the Jews, the Apostle shows that the images in him received their beginning, and the real events were also destined in him. And firstly, he shows that they (the Galatians) are the sons of Abraham. But since the sons of this patriarch had unequal dignity, for one was born of a slave, and the other of a free woman, he further says that they are not only the sons of Abraham, but also such sons as his free and noble son was. Such is the power of faith!” What the story means and what it teaches, the Apostle then explains in detail. But the words cited in themselves, even before the interpretation of their mysterious meaning, could give rise to thoughts that were significant in the matter under consideration. According to St. Chrysostom, the question is resolved here: how do we become children of Abraham without descending from him in the flesh? Just as Isaac came from him, not according to the flesh, but according to promise, that is, by the power of God. “Before he said that faith unites us with Abraham. But since it seemed incomprehensible to those listening that he calls those who did not descend from Abraham his sons, he shows that the same extraordinary thing was already accomplished by God at the very beginning. For although Isaac was a natural son, he was not by the natural order, and not by the law of marriage, and not by the powers of the flesh; because he was born from withered bodies and a mature womb. It was not the flesh that made the conception, nor the seed that made the fruit, for the mother’s womb was dead both in age and in barrenness, but the word spoken from God formed it. On the contrary, the slave was not born this way, but according to the laws of nature and marriage. And the one born not according to the flesh was preferred to the one born according to the flesh. Therefore, do not worry, because you were not born in the flesh from Abraham. For this is why you are related to him, because you were not born of him according to the flesh. Being born according to the flesh does not increase, but decreases dignity. On the contrary, being born not according to the flesh is a wonderful and spiritual birth; So only those who are born again give birth. Ishmael was born according to the flesh, but was a slave, and not only a slave, but was even expelled from his parental home. But Isaac, born according to the promise, because he was the son of a free woman, remained lord of all.” Gal.4:24 – 25. The essence is allegorical: this is because there are two covenants: one from Mount Sinai, who gives birth to work, like Hagar. Hagar, because Mount Sina is in Arabia, is attached to the present Jerusalem, and works with his children. Having pointed to the event, he now interprets what it means and what it teaches. “Even the essence is allegorical.” So he says not in this meaning: this is an allegory, but in this: there is an allegory in this, or: this can be understood allegorically, or there is a hidden meaning here “The Divine Apostle said: “allegorical,” - that is, it can be understood in another way. For he does not reject the historical meaning, but explains what is represented by history” (Blessed Theodoret). “With these words, he wanted to say that this story depicts not only what is presented in it the first time, but also expresses something else; that’s why he called it an allegory” (Saint Chrysostom). The mysterious meaning is not necessary, because not everyone can see the light. The Holy Apostle beholds him; and others did not ripen, but only now, from his words, they will ripen. That's why you can't prove it to them. The Apostle does not prove here, but only clarifies what has already been proven. He proved his truth before; Now it only more clearly represents the advantages of those who adhere to it, indicating its reflection in the very first events that paved the way to subordinate legislation. This kind of turn of phrase is the same as a comparison, which does not prove, but gives the greater the power of conviction to the proven truth, the more striking the reflection of this truth in it. “For this there are two covenants.” First in: “even the essence is allegorical” - it stands: ατινα, - indefinitely or in general, this, this, this event. And here it stands: αυται, - that is, wives. He turns his attention to them because he intends to find out what the law produces and what the Gospel produces, what fruit comes from both. “Who is this “this” (αυται)? The mothers of the mentioned sons are Sarah and Hagar. What do they mean? Two covenants, two laws. And since in history these were the names of Abraham’s wives, the Apostle, adhering to the general meaning of these names, deduces an important and great consequence from the names” (St. Chrysostom). “Abraham had two wives and became the father of two sons; but one of them came from a slave, the other from a free woman. And this is in accordance with what is happening to us. For how is there one father, but two mothers and two sons; so here too there is one God, but two covenants and two peoples” (Blessed Theodoret). First, the meaning of Hagar is clarified, so that after the gloomy picture of legal slavery, called Hagar, the gaze of the mind rests all the more willingly and joyfully on the picture of the spiritual freedom of the Gospel, depicted by Sarah, and the more persistently clings to it with attention and attracts the heart there with disposition. Hagar depicts subordination. A clear feature of their similarity is slavery. Hagar the slave gave birth to a slave; the law given at Sinai also gives birth to slaves; that is, those on whom it was entrusted and who follow it, he binds like slaves who do not dare take a step without the will of the master, and, moreover, under mortal fear for violating anything. The word is expressive: “get to work.” Sub-legality produces individuals with the spirit of slavery, with which they are so imbued that freedom does not even occur to them. The law cannot give rise to anything else, as long as someone is wholeheartedly devoted to it, since that is what he is. The similarities are clearly reflected; so it could be left without further rapprochement. But the holy Apostle goes further and shows that this comparison is not arbitrary, but that the thought of Hagar necessarily leads to the Sinai legislation. To do this, he uses the name, as Sinai is called in Arabia, that is, between the Hagarites, and the topographical relationship between Sinai and Jerusalem - the focus of legal life and all the forces that govern it. How does the name Hagar bring to mind the law? This suggests that “Sinai in the language of the Arabs is called Hagar” (Ecumenius, Blessed Theophylact). “Hagar bo Sina is a mountain in Arabia.” Sinai, in Arabia, among the inhabitants of Arabia, the descendants of Hagar, bears the name Hagar. Therefore, remembering Hagar, you remember Sinai, and remembering Sinai, you remember the Sinai legislation. Saint Chrysostom explains this connection of names and combination of ideas as follows: “The slave was called Hagar; and Mount Sinai in the language of that country means slave.” The Vulgate and others do not read: “Hagar is the mountain of Sina”, but, without “Hagar”, – “There is a mountain of Sina in Arabia.” The idea is that Mount Sinai is located in Arabia, where the Hagarites, the descendants of Hagar, live. Why, when you think about Sinai, you think about Arabia, from it you move to its inhabitants, the Hagarites, and from them to Hagar; as well as back, along the same path from Hagar, thought by thought, you will reach Sinai and the Sinai legislation. No matter how one explains it, one must keep the thought that, according to the Apostle, the relationship between Hagar and Sinai is providential and that, therefore, indicating the reflection of the character of the Sinai law in the properties of Hagar, he acts in accordance with the intentions of God. As Sinai topographically points to Jerusalem, the center of legality. “It is added to the present Jerusalem.” – “Attached”, – αυστοιχει: “that mountain corresponds to this earthly Jerusalem” (Blessed Theodoret). “It is akin to it and closely points to it” (St. Chrysostom). It is possible and so stands against (vis-a-vis). About half a day's journey from Mount Sinai, a flat steppe begins and stretches to the very mountains of Judea, on which Jerusalem is immediately located - so that if you climb up above this steppe, then, looking to the south, you will stop with your gaze at Sinai, and turning to the north, you will meet Jerusalem. In the interval, nothing will stop the attention of Sinai, as if escorting him to Jerusalem, and Jerusalem to Sinai. In this regard, another word of Chrysostom is not alien to the truth: “Jerusalem, even in location, is not far removed from this mountain, the name of which means slave.” Their actual distance is twelve days' journey. This is how Sinai corresponds to Jerusalem! So God arranged that the Sinai legislation also found its seat in Jerusalem and reigns there. All of this needs, as the Apostle says, to come to their senses. All these are instructions to us from the finger of God. “He works with his children.” Who is it that works or slaves, is in a state of subjugation? One can understand Hagar with her offspring, and the law with those under the law, and Jerusalem with its inhabitants and the inhabitants of all Judea, for which Jerusalem is the metropolis or civil mother. In the original it is not clear what these words refer to exclusively; but since Jerusalem stands in front and the talk about Jerusalem will follow, although it is opposite to the present one, but about it, then it is closer to relate them to Jerusalem. The slavery of Jerusalem here, of course, is not civil, not that at that time it was under the rule of the Romans, but religious and moral slavery to the law, the oppression of which was most palpable in Jerusalem, full of such zealots of the law as the Pharisees and the Zealots. The Apostle himself more than once experienced this burden; and then he suffered because he did not want to slave like them. Gal.4:26. And the highest Jerusalem, freedom, is the mother of us all. Saint Paul said that these two wives, Hagar and Sarah, represent two covenants; then he explained in detail that Hagar depicts the Old Testament, given at Sinai, requiring slavery and giving birth to slavery, the implementation of which represents the present Jerusalem, working with its children. It would be expected that he would say: but Sarah depicts another covenant, the Gospel, requiring free service to God and giving birth to freedom, the full implementation of which is represented by the highest Jerusalem, the Church of Christ, free with all her children, that is, with all of us who believe in the Gospel of Christ. But Saint Paul decided to shorten this comparison, so simple and obvious that anyone can easily make it on their own; and stopped only at his last word about the present Jerusalem, the center of slave legality, in order to quickly contrast with it the highest Jerusalem, the holy Church, the seat of the freedom of the Gospel, without obscuring this opposition with other images, for the strongest impressionability of comparison. The Jerusalem above, in contrast to the present in St. Paul, evokes the concept of the future. Yet the bright things to come were then merged into one vision of the promised Kingdom of the Messiah. This is not what Saint Paul means by this word. This is his Kingdom of the Messiah, previously promised, and now realized and presented to the holy Church. “The highest Jerusalem is the Church, and those born in it are not slaves” (St. Chrysostom). She is the highest Jerusalem, not because she was in heaven, but because she is heavenly in her high perfections, in the heavenly forces acting in her, in her close union with heaven, with which she forms a single whole, because she has no earthly goals and because, being filled with heavenly elements, she forms in herself heavenly citizens. "There is freedom". By his very essence he is free, “that is, he does not have the yoke of the law on him” (Blessed Theodoret). If he is the opposite of the current slave, then he must be free and must be recognized as such by you, as well as by everyone. Or this: Jerusalem above, the Holy Church, is free. He, as if pointing to it, says: but the Holy Church is free. Look, look! That's how she should be. Not something mental, ideal, he contrasts with the real Jerusalem, but a real society of persons who freely serve God and are free from any coherence by legality. His thought is that this is how it should be, as appears from the comparison of covenants he presented. That such a society could be pointed out as real is witnessed by the Galatians themselves, who until now had been completely free and now only began to bind themselves, without any need, in defiance of all the instructions and signs of God. “Who is the mother of us all.” These words are opposed to the words: “works with his children.” The present Jerusalem, the synagogue, the law give birth to slaves and work with their children. And the Holy Church is free, gives birth to freedom and sets free with her children, begotten by her. These children are all of us believers. If we keep ourselves free from any connection with the law, it is because it cannot be otherwise. This is our mother, free, giving birth to free people. If we are bound by the law, we will become unfree, we will abandon the mother who gave birth to us. This together suggested: you are the same, and you were and are. Why do you need to knit yourself? Gal.4:27. For it is written: The barren one who does not give birth rejoices; break and cry without pain, for there are many more empty children than those who have husbands. What does this prophecy support? Not that the childless woman gives birth and that she has more children than the one who has a husband - these are secondary concepts - but that the children of the new Jerusalem, the Church, are born not carnally, but spiritually, by the power from above, as Sarah gave birth according to the promise. “The Apostle is not content with images alone, but in support of his words he cites the testimony of Isaiah (Isaiah 54:1). For, having said that Jerusalem above is our mother, and calling the Church by this name, he points to the Prophet, who says the same thing as he said” (St. Chrysostom). By this prophecy the Apostle explains how the Holy Church is our mother. She gives birth, according to this prophecy, without a carnal husband, without carnal seed (barrenness), without the diseases of birth and carnal birth itself (not giving birth, as they give birth according to the flesh): all this she is empty, she has nothing of this carnal; and yet she has more children than she who has all this, because spiritual birth is not hindered by time, place, or other contacts. It can happen always, everywhere, in an instant and in large quantities. Ambrosiastes writes: “The Apostle calls earthly Jerusalem having a husband, because it gives birth according to the flesh; and the heavenly Jerusalem, the mother of us all, calls it barren, because it does not give birth according to the flesh, does not suffer birth pains, but gives birth without suffering, spiritually.” Understanding this prophecy in this way, we do not need to definitely indicate who these unfruits are from actually existing religious societies. The prophet contemplated the spiritual Church of God, which has nothing carnal, and yet has many children. This is neither the Jewish Church, at least understand the best, hidden part in it, nor a pagan congregation, meager of all good and truth; but the future Church, which did not exist then, but which was promised and hoped for. It is not just some real mother, childless, who suddenly became pregnant with many children, but a new mother appears and gives birth to many children, not at all according to the laws of carnal birth. Here neither the Jew has an advantage, nor the Greek is rejected; but, no matter who one is, he is unenviously born again and becomes a child of the new Jerusalem. Both heaven and earth rejoice at this. That is why the Prophet contemplates this under the image of solemn joy. “Rejoice, break away,” burst into joyful exclamations, “cry out” from the excess of joy. He compares the state of a mother who has just given birth or a mother who has given birth to many children, who are all so good that she cannot get enough of joy looking at them. All true Christians are like this. And for themselves they are mutual joy, and for the Angels sent to serve for those who want to inherit salvation and rejoice at the conversion of sinners, and for God in the Trinity, who is worshiped, who rests in them with His favor, saying, as it were, to them: here is My rest, here I will dwell. On what occasion the prophecy was spoken, there is no need to dwell on that; for this will not help in the least to understand it in the present place. But we cannot help but pay attention to the interpretation of the Holy Fathers, who by barren mean the pagan church, and by having a husband, the Jewish Church, of which the former, under the influence of the grace of the Gospel, became more prolific than the latter. Saint Chrysostom says: “Who is this “unfruitful”? Who is this empty one? Is it not obvious that this is a church of pagans, previously deprived of the knowledge of God? And who has a husband? Obviously a Jewish synagogue. But the barrenness surpassed it in abundance. The synagogue embraced only one people; and the children of the Church filled Greece and the barbarian countries, the earth, the sea and the whole universe. Do you see how Sarah prophetically and the Prophet predetermined our future with a word? But look - Isaiah said that the formerly barren woman later became prolific. This educationally happened to Sarah; for she too, having been barren before, later became the mother of numerous offspring.” Blessed Theodoret adds: “just as Sarah gave birth in her old age beyond all human aspirations, so the pagans at the very end of their lives were honored with the knowledge of God, and the barren one surpassed the one who had many children of old with many children.” Here is another word of Ekumenia: “he calls the Jewish synagogue having a husband, either because it had the law, or because in ancient times it enjoyed the favor of God.” So did all the other ancient interpreters, with the exception, as they saw, of Ambrosiastes. The Church, which the Prophet rejoices, did not only consist of pagans; therefore, judging strictly, one cannot assume that the prophecy applies to them. But when applied, such an interpretation is not inappropriate. Firstly, due to ease of understanding; but more because of the clarity of the matter. The Church of Christ was definitely composed primarily of pagans, so that the Jews disappeared among them, both because of their small numbers and because, discarding their Jewish characteristics, they merged with others almost without a trace. The Holy Fathers, contemplating the Church indicated by the Prophet, contemplated her in this form, pure from everything Jewish, as if none of her children had previously been Jews at all. That is why the prophesied mother was pointed out outside Judaism. But that in the prophecy Saint Paul wanted to point specifically to the spiritual birth of the children of the Church, this is justified by the previous speech or the course of it and the following words: Gal.4:28. But we, brethren, according to Isaac, are the children of the promise. Having said that we are children of the new Jerusalem, then he brought a prophecy rejoicing the mother who gives birth to us; now he says that we are children of Isaac, that is, we are born as he was born; just as he was born not according to the flesh, but according to promise, by the action of the power of God, so we are born by the gracious action of the Holy Spirit. Isn’t it obvious that the prophecy placed among these indications points to nothing else but a spiritual birth? Saint Chrysostom sees in these words precisely the image of the spiritual birth of Christians. He says “to Saint Paul even this (prophetic instruction) is not enough; he also shows how matter became unfruitful, in order to show from here the proximity of the image to the truth in question. That’s why he adds: “We, brethren, are like Isaac’s child of promise.” For just as Sarah was made into matter, not by nature, but by the promise of God; for the One who said: “At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son” (Gen. 18, 10, 14), He Himself came and formed a child in Sarah’s womb: so in our rebirth nothing belongs to nature; but the Divine words pronounced by the priest, these very words in the font of water, as if in the womb of the mother, recreate and regenerate the baptized.” As for the combination of these words with the previous ones, with this verse the Holy Apostle begins the application of the indicated (verses 22 - 23) event and the proposed (verses 24 - 27) explanation of its mysterious sign - an application in which, as noted above, the advantage or glory of faith is shown over subordination, for attracting and inclining the will to it. The first feature of glory is the spiritual, supernatural birth of the children of faith. Why the turn of phrase: “we are” can also be understood as a consequence: so, that’s who we are! – and as a subsumption under the previous interpretation. He explained that Hagar, who gives birth according to the flesh, is an image of the Sinai covenant, the slave rule that now exists in Jerusalem; and Sarah, who gives birth according to the promise, is the image of the new, Gospel, covenant and complete spiritual freedom, quality in the new Jerusalem - the Church of Christ. Now it seems to solve the question: where should we belong, bend, cling? There, as we are by birth. By our birth in the Church, which each of you has accepted by deed and knows from experience, having been granted the Spirit of grace, we cannot in any way belong to the carnal, slave, Hagarin race and, therefore, be slaves in subordination, as is done in Jerusalem, from where the false teachers who troubled you came. We are the children of Isaac, Sarah's offspring, born by power from above, like Isaac. Consequently, there is no need for us to turn our eyes in that direction, being in such a glorious position and subject to the danger of losing it if we lean there. Gal.4:29. But just as then he was born in the flesh as a spiritual pursuer, so it is now. The second feature of the glory of faith and believers is the right to an undoubted inheritance, which is discussed in the next verse. This same verse, clarifying the parallel of believers with Sarah’s childhood, serves as a transition to that. The Apostle says, as it were: Hagar and Ishmael represent the underlaws; and Sarah and Isaac are believers. What was said before this should confirm you of this. But you can tangibly see this even now. Then the carnal Ishmael offended the spiritual Isaac. And now the same thing: the law-givers, represented by Ismail, spontaneously serving God, persecute us, depicted by Isaac, spiritually serving God, persecuting us because we, spiritually born of God, serve God spiritually, and not spontaneously. Therefore, you should not have any doubt that we, believers, are, like Isaac, children of the promise. And if we are like that, then the right of inheritance should belong to us, and not to the subordinates, just as it belonged to Isaac, and not to Ismail. Gal.4:30. But what does Scripture say? Marry the slave and her son: for the son of a slave should not inherit with a free son. Don't look at what they are driving. And Isaac was offended by Ishmael; but what of that? The inheritance still went in full to Isaac alone. So the law-enforcers persecute us and press us, but this does not mean anything. The inheritance prepared by the Heavenly Father for those whom He gives birth to spiritually, according to Isaac, belongs to us if we remain faithful to the principles of a new, grace-filled life placed in us. Lawmakers are excluded from it; They, the sons of the slave-synagogue, will not inherit with us, the sons of the free, grace-filled Church. Sarah demanded the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael, with the addition of the words that Saint Paul cites here. But when this word seemed harsh to Abraham, then God confirmed Sarah’s demand, and therefore her word about the inheritance (Gen. 21, 10 - 12). This word became the word of God. Why does the Apostle say: what does Scripture say? Saint Chrysostom puts both of these verses (29th and 30th) in the following relationship with each other and with the general flow of speech: “So, if we are children of a barren woman, then together we are free. But what kind of freedom is this, someone will say, when the Jews dominate everywhere and punish believers with whips, and those who consider themselves free are persecuted everywhere? Indeed, this was the case at a time when the faithful were persecuted everywhere. But this should not confuse you, says the Apostle. For this too was foreordained in the same image. Isaac, being free, was persecuted by the slave Ishmael. That’s why he says further: “but like then” - and so on. - What? Is the whole consolation really that the free people should know that they will (according to the foreshadowing) suffer persecution from the slaves? No, answers the Apostle. I don't stop there; but listen further, and then you will receive sufficient consolation and will not be faint-hearted in persecution. What's next? “Marry” the son of a slave: “not to inherit with the son of a free woman.” Do you see the reward for short-term tyranny and reckless insolence? The boy is deprived of his father's heritage, expelled from his parents' house and wanders with his mother. And you notice the wisdom of what was said: he did not say: he is expelled only because he persecuted, but so that he would not be an heir. He suffered punishment not for temporary persecution, for this is not important and does not concern the matter at all, but because God did not allow him to be a participant in what was prepared for his son, showing that this was predestined for him, even if he did not persecute Isaac, and depended not on his persecution, but on God’s determination.” Gal.4:31. Moreover, brethren, we are not the children of a slave, but free. This is both the conclusion of the previous speech and an indication of a special feature of the glory of faith, which consists in freedom from any coherence by external orders subordinate to the law - a feature that also passes through the previous two. Believers are free from all this because, having received a new spiritual birth from the Spirit, they serve God spiritually. They are heirs of the promised bliss of God, because they are sons; but since they are sons, they are free: they work in the house of God not under compulsion, like slaves under the whip and stick, but on their own, taking care of the house, like masters in the house, doing everything for the glory of God. This is the most attractive feature of the advantage of faith and the faithful; neither time, nor place, nor any other appearance binds them; always and in everything they have God and His glory. The turn of phrase used is as follows: so we are not the sons of slaves, so as to be under the yoke of work under the law, but sons of the free, so as to act freely in the house of God. This is how it was intended and prefigured from the beginning, as you can see from the given prototype. What is the point for you, having such dignity, to voluntarily put yourself under a useless yoke?! “Isn’t it crazy, having been chosen so many centuries ago and now having already received freedom, to voluntarily subject oneself to the yoke of slavery?” (Saint Chrysostom). “Therefore, what do you command?” (Blessed Theodoret). Gal.5:1. With the freedom with which Christ freed us, stand, and do not remain under the yoke of work. The thought of the previous verse continues with the addition of new ideas that make us value freedom. Freedom is so dear to everyone; it is worth pointing out that something takes away freedom in order to turn one away from that; and here it seems, in addition, that it is also a high gift of God, which not to appreciate would be even impious, and not only unprofitable, offensive, humiliating for oneself. Freedom from legality is granted by Christ the Lord. For all subordinate legislation, as to the final goal, was reduced to Christ the Savior. When the Lord Jesus Christ came, the course of life under the law must end. Those who believe in Christ Jesus the Lord do not look back at Christ, but, focusing on Him with the gaze of their minds by faith and all the desires of their hearts with love and submission to His will, they live by Him alone, a new life emanating from Him. In this, says the Apostle to the Galatians, stand, and do not go beyond Christ, going around Him and making a detour, in order to arbitrarily impose on yourself the aimless yoke of working for a law that has lost its force. “Don’t remain under the yoke of work. “Paki” - or indicates the Jews, who were among the Galatian Churches and, having accepted the faith of Christ, abandoned the law, and now, at the suggestion of false teachers, they again turned to the law; or expresses the following thought: the law has lost its force and subordinate legislation does not matter, but you are again reinstating both, again bringing law and subordinate legislation to the forefront. In this sense: “packs” means all persons who were part of the Galatian Churches. Saint Chrysostom speaks to this text: “By the freedom with which Christ freed you, stand. For have you yourself received freedom that you are again striving under the former despotism? Christ has redeemed you; another has paid the ransom price for you. Do you see how many means the Apostle uses to ward off the Galatians from Jewish error? Firstly, here he shows that it is extremely insane for those who have become free from slaves to want to become slaves again from being free; secondly, it makes them understand that, despising the Liberator, and loving the enslaver, they will turn out to be cruel and ungrateful against their Benefactor; thirdly, at the same time it inspires that it is impossible to come under the despotism of the law again, for the law lost its dominion when another bought us all from it once and for all. In a word: “stand” - he exposes their inconstancy and instability. In a word: “yoke” - depicts the severity of the law, and by saying: again, - exposes their great madness. If you yourself had not experienced this heaviness, he says, you would not have deserved such reproaches; But when you know from experience the full severity of this yoke and then again submit to it, then are you worth any apology? b) Necessity (Gal.5, 2–6) After the persistence of faith, which excites and attracts desires, Saint Paul points out its inevitable necessity, which compels you to decide on the proposed matter, whether you want it or not. What is absurd for the mind, this inevitability is for the will. Her consciousness is filled with a feeling of hopelessness, forcing her to immediately get down to business, no matter what sacrifices it may cost. When a house is engulfed in fire and the person trapped in it has only one window left to escape, he rushes through it without thinking. The obviousness of the fact that - either the abyss or act according to the proposed instructions - has such a strong and decisive effect on the tension of the will. The Apostle now begins to clarify this. He says, as it were, to the Galatians: one of two things is set before you, either Christ the Lord with salvation, or the law with destruction. You turned to the Lord Jesus Christ in the conviction that there is no other salvation but in Him. In Him it is given to you in full. When you turn to the law as a means of salvation, you already have a different savior, and thereby move away from the previously confessed one. Since this is the only true Savior, then, moving away from Him, you lose the salvation that is from Him, and that new savior of yours, the law, does not give it. Thus, when you approach the law, you are deprived of the salvation that you have sought and which was and is still in your hands, and you fall into the common destruction of all, everywhere outside of Christ and grace. Gal.5:2. This is why I say to you, Paul, that if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you for nothing. “Behold, I say to you Paul.” He wants to say a decisive and at the same time authoritative word, to pronounce a final verdict. At the beginning of the Epistle, Saint Paul already said that he was appointed an Apostle by God the Father Himself and the Lord Jesus Christ - to proclaim the truth of God to the people. This is what these words suggest, and should have persuaded the Galatians to make the following decision “not as Paul’s, but as the Lord Himself. For the Lord Himself determined: “They listened to you; He listens to Me” (Luke 10:16). And Paul himself realized that Christ not only lives in him, but also speaks (2 Cor 13:3). Therefore, this turn of phrase will correspond to the prophetic: “so” - or “this says the Lord” (Blessed Jerome, for short). What decision does he issue? If you become circumcised, then Christ will not benefit you, that is, the fact that you are called believers in Christ, Christians, will not serve you in any way. Reduces the sentence. He only says: you won’t get what you expect to get; but in the essence of the matter it is the same as that you died. For salvation comes from Christ. If Christ does not benefit those who are circumcised; This means that it will not give them salvation. Consequently, they will remain in the same destruction in which all those who exist outside of Christ the Savior remain. The false teachers probably explained to the Galatians, as they had previously explained to the Antiochians: you will not be saved unless you are circumcised (Acts 15:1). The Apostle puts his Apostolic definition directly against this; I, as an Apostle, in the name of the Lord, who gave me the power and strength to proclaim His truth, say that if you are circumcised, you are lost. Circumcision alone exhibits for the sake of what it began; it will necessarily be followed by everything else, as the next, third, verse, deliberately set for this purpose, explains. And for this reason, he mentioned circumcision rather to warn against it. The Galatians had already accepted some of Judaism, but had not yet been circumcised. As soon as they allow circumcision, they will inevitably become intertwined with everything else and become complete Jews. Seeing that such a misfortune lies ahead, but they have not yet plunged into it, the Apostle quickly shouts to them: do not be circumcised, do not be circumcised; otherwise you will be lost. If you are circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all. Those who cleave to Christ as to the only Savior are undoubtedly saved. And you did well to resort to Him; but if you are circumcised, Christ will no longer benefit you. Circumcision will destroy the benefits you have received in Christ. Everything that you hoped to receive in Christ and actually received will immediately disappear as soon as you are circumcised. There is no communication: either Christ and salvation, or circumcision and the ancient destruction in which you were. They interpreted: believe in Christ, but the main thing is to be circumcised. The Apostle says: no, there is no place for circumcision where Christ is; and the salvation of Christ is not included in those who rely on circumcision. Circumcision formerly served as a seal of God's election, but now it has become the cause of rejection. And healers have compositions that at one time (in illness) bring health; and at other times (when someone is healthy) they upset him. The same thing happened with circumcision: before the coming of the Lord to earth it was good, but after this indulgence it became harmful. It is not such in itself, but because of the hopes that are connected with it. When they rely on circumcision, believing that as soon as they were circumcised, they were included in the number of those saved, then they do the same thing: they lean on a crushed reed, which breaks, with little pressure on it, and wounds the hand of the one leaning on it. If under Christ circumcision is also necessary, then, according to their conviction, Christ is not the complete and only Savior. This poverty of conviction is due to the poverty of faith. An impoverished faith empties the soul of all the graces sent down to it through faith in Christ the Lord. “Christ does not benefit those who are circumcised if they believe in circumcision the hope of salvation” (Blessed Augustine) “He who is circumcised (in this spirit) despises the grace of Christ, believing to be saved from the law. Whoever does not believe in Christ (completely), cannot receive salvation from Him” (Ecumenius) “Because such a person rejects grace and resorts to the law as a benefactor; but he doesn’t believe in Christ at all, as if He had not benefited him at all. An unbeliever will receive nothing from Him in Whom he does not believe” (Blessed Theophylact). “Look,” St. Chrysostom calls, “what danger threatens! Therefore, he rightly anathematized the angels themselves (Gal. 1:8). How then does “Christ” “use nothing” for them? He did not prove this, but simply said it, because the dignity of his face is more convincing than any other evidence. Why did he first say: “Behold, I say to you Paul.” For it is characteristic of someone who is confident in the disposition of those to whom he speaks to speak like this. But if possible, we will offer something on our own to explain why Christ does not benefit the circumcised one at all. He who is circumcised is circumcised as if fearing the law; but he who fears the law does not believe in the power of grace; and he who is not a believer receives no benefit from grace which he does not believe. Also, whoever is circumcised makes the law his master, and whoever considers the law to be his master, although he breaks most of it, keeping only the lesser part, again exposes himself to damnation; being exposed to a curse and rejecting the freedom from the curse brought by faith, how can one be saved? And one can even say, although it is scary, that such a person does not believe in either Christ or the law, and has stood in the middle between one and the other, and, wanting to gain benefit both here and here, will receive nothing from anywhere.” In this (2nd) verse the Apostle’s main thought is expressed quite clearly. The next two verses (3–4) only more fully express what is said here. Verse three shows how wide the consequences of circumcision are; and the fourth tells in more detail how the circumcised is deprived of the salvation of Christ. Gal.5:3. I testify again to every man who is circumcised, that he must eat the whole law. When you are circumcised, then fulfill the whole law. For circumcision is the door to legality, it is an obligation to the whole law. This goes without saying and was known to everyone. But why does Saint Paul say this here, and moreover with such tension: “I testify again,” that is, I, Paul, again affirm with the same Apostolic authority? Or in order to explain that circumcision, of course, is not so difficult; but when you are circumcised, then you will fulfill the whole law, but neither we nor our fathers could fulfill it; Whoever does not fulfill the whole law is under a curse (Gal. 3:10). Thus, through circumcision you will go directly under an oath and, instead of benefit, you will receive harm from it. Or, perhaps, in order to contrast this truth with the assurances of false teachers, who, perhaps, said: just be circumcised, and you can leave everything else, just as we ourselves do not fulfill everything (St. Paul reproaches them for this (Gal. 6:13). No, the Holy Apostle speaks against this: this is not so. Whoever is circumcised, no matter who he is, is not only a Jew, but also a pagan, every a person must certainly fulfill the whole law. This is stated in the law itself; That's what he stands for. If they interpret it differently to you, it is to deceive you; they lie and hide the truth. And how much does circumcision itself require to complete it? And a special day, and ablutions, and sacrifices, and a special order of action, and the priest performing it. This warning had to be given to Saint Paul out of fear that the Galatians would be carried away by the smallness of the matter. They might have thought: It’s not a big deal, we’ll be circumcised. To be circumcised, the Apostle seems to tell them, is certainly not a great thing in itself, but look where it leads. To complete Judaism, and Judaism was put to a decisive end by the coming of Christ. Saint Chrysostom speaks to this place: “having said: nothing “uses””, then, although not directly and briefly, he gives proof of this, saying this: “I testify...”. and so on. So that you do not think that this was said out of hostility; then, he says, I testify not only to you, but also to everyone who is circumcised, as he ought to do the whole law. For the commandments of the law are closely connected with each other. And just as someone who, having been free, gave himself up to slavery, no longer does what he wants, but submits to all the laws of slavery: the same must be said in relation to the law. If you accept at least one part of it and even slightly submit to its yoke; then through this you will attract all his power to yourself. - And not only in this way, but also in others, you can still prove the truth of what has been said about the law. The commandments of the law are interconnected. For example, sacrifice and observation of days are connected with circumcision; sacrifice is also associated with the observation of days and places; a place with various types of purification, purifications are inseparable from many different rituals; and the unclean is not allowed to make sacrifices, or enter sacred places, or do anything else like that. Thus the law for one commandment requires a lot. So, if you were circumcised, but not on the eighth day, or on the eighth day, but without a sacrifice, or with a sacrifice, but not in the place that was determined, and not according to the prescriptions of the law, or in accordance with the prescriptions of the law, but unclean, or clean, but you were cleansed by unestablished rites: then all of your labors are lost. That’s why he says: “You must do the whole law,” that is, not part of the law, but the whole law; and if he no longer dominates, then there is no need for a part.” Gal.5:4. You have been abolished from Christ, even though you are justified by the law, you have fallen away from grace. It is explained here how “Christ profiteth nothing” from those who hold the law, with emphasis. It doesn’t benefit you because it moves away from you and leaves you idle, empty. The condition for the communication of Christ the Savior with souls is faith, expressed in the following dispositions: I am perishing through my own fault and I have no other hope of salvation except You alone, God incarnate and crucified for our sake; I therefore resort to You and cleave to You with all my thoughts and feelings and dispositions: save me too, O only Savior of all. He who runs to the Lord in this way is accepted by Him and in baptism receives the grace of rebirth and strength for a new life in Christ. Continuing clinging to the Lord and placing hope in Him alone supports and preserves such life, and the Christian flows in this way according to intention until he passes from death to the belly and is crowned with the crown of righteousness. In this order, nothing can be added or subtracted without upsetting everything. But the main thing here is the hope of salvation alone in Christ Jesus the Lord. This is the heart of Christianity. Whoever strikes him stops his life in Christ. It is only Christ the Lord who is like this. Whoever’s trust in the Lord alone weakens, his union with the Lord weakens. Whoever relies on something else other than Him, He departs from him as unnecessary, not required by the needs and sighs of a contrite heart. This is what happened to the Galatians. They had not yet been circumcised and had not become associated with the law, but their will had already bent towards it (Blessed Augustine) and the hope of salvation only in the Lord was shaken. For this reason the Lord departed from them. “You have been abolished,” he says, “from Christ,” emptied by Him, become empty, He is no longer in you. God's judgment will not touch you. The action had not yet followed, only internally in their thoughts they decided to Judaize; but God’s judgment has already taken place on them, and the punishment has been carried out by deed: Christ has departed from them. Or here the Apostle expresses only the general position that those who seek justification in the law are abolished from Christ, threatening that the same will happen to them if they rest their hopes on the law. “You have fallen from grace.” This can be considered both a consequence and a cause of the previous one. Christ, who formerly filled and held you, has departed from you; and you were left without Him; They fell away from Him and all the grace bestowed in Him. Or this: since you fell away from grace and began to hope to receive salvation apart from it, then Christ departed from you: for in Him is all grace. Grace is either God's favor, by which everything necessary for his salvation is poured out on the believer, or this very power for salvation, sent down into the heart and creating a saving system there and supporting it. Both are inseparable in reality; both are in the One Lord Jesus Christ. He who has become estranged from Christ loses both. By trusting in the law, the Galatians inwardly fell from grace, from that law of salvation, according to which it is given only to those who trust in God's favor in Christ Jesus; as a result of this, goodwill itself was taken from them, and with it the strength for salvation - and they were left with nothing. “This Apostle shows the extreme danger of their situation. If he who resorts to the law does not find salvation in it, and meanwhile falls away from grace, then what remains for him except the inevitable punishment, when the law has no force and grace does not accept him? (Saint Chrysostom). Gal.5:5. We wait by the Spirit from faith for the hope of righteousness. Having let the Galatians see the danger of their situation, he now shows how to get rid of it. It was not enough to say: see, there is fire all around; or your ship is broken; it was necessary to show a window where to rush from a fire, or a life-saving boat and a pier where to escape from drowning. This is what the Apostle does with these words. St. Chrysostom puts this verse in this relation to the previous ones: “Having strengthened in this way (that is, with the words: “become abolished from Christ, you have fallen away from grace”), the fear in them, shaking their thoughts and pointing out the threatening shipwreck, then opens to them the harbor of grace close to them, as he always does, promising here the surest and most reliable salvation: “we are,” he says, “By the Spirit from faith we expect the hope of righteousness.” That is, we do not need any regulations and rites of the law; for faith is sufficient to impart to us the Spirit, and through Him justification and other many and great benefits.” But one can see in these words the reason for the severity of the sentence pronounced. This has happened or will happen to you (that is, that you are deprived or will be deprived of grace and Christ), because through inclination to the law you cease to be what you should be. For “we,” true Christians, Christians according to the idea of ​​Christianity, this is what we are, this is what we rely on for our hopes. And you entered the society of Christians; and so should you be. As long as you are like this, you are partakers of all the benefits of true Christianity; If you stop being like that, you lose everything. What kind of people are we or should we be according to the idea of ​​Christianity? We do not rest our hope on anything, we do not base our salvation on anything other than faith in the Lord Savior, for our sake incarnate and suffered, who for faith through the holy sacraments sends down to us the grace of the Holy Spirit, making us right, holy, pleasing to God and worthy of eternal bliss. The words: “we are waiting for hope” do not point to the future, but to the present thing we are looking for and mean: we are undoubtedly sure that we will receive it. This undoubted confidence underlies the life of Christ, just as a trader’s confidence in the efficiency of his transactions is the basis of his efforts in trading. And truly, he who so hopes is the one who has found a treasure hidden in the village, or valuable beads. – What is he absolutely sure of? In what will be saved. For the hope of righteousness is the hope of righteousness, pleasing God, holiness and salvation. What are the productive forces of this in us and for us? Faith and the grace of the Spirit, as the words indicate: “By the Spirit of faith,” we await salvation. Faith is from us, the Spirit of grace is from God; heavenly and earthly, natural and supernatural, combining together in a way incomprehensible to us, make us right before God, pleasing to God, saved. Theophylact says: “it is necessary that faith precede; then, through the influx of the Holy Spirit in baptism, cleansing of sins and new life are obtained.” “It is well established,” adds Ekumeny, “from faith.” For we must bring in our faith and thus, through the medium of the Spirit, receive justification and salvation.” Western ancient interpreters see, moreover, in the word: “spirit” - the opposition of spirit to letter and spiritual service to elemental, carnal service. Blessed Jerome writes: “the word: “spirit” is put here as the opposite of the letter.” St. Augustine: “Our hopes rest on spiritual service, and not on carnal service.” Ambrosiastes: “In spiritual faith we serve God with reverence of mind and purity of heart. Why did the Lord say to the Samaritan woman: “The Spirit is God, and whoever worships Him is worthy to worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).” Such a thought is not contrary to the flow of the Apostle’s speech. Ahead he said that the Galatians were deviating towards the law, which commands spontaneous, carnal service; and for this they are deprived of grace and Christ. Now he says: and rightly so; for we, true Christians, spiritually serving God, through the inner dispositions and movements of the heart and the determination of the will, undoubtedly hope to be saved. But this understanding can easily be combined with the previous one, because spiritual service to God is impossible otherwise than under the influence of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Gal.5:6. In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision is able, nor uncircumcision, but faith is promoted by love. Continuation of the previous thought and the most precise definition of the essence of Christianity. It is as if Saint Paul, seeking understanding, hears the question of the Galatians, what is this spiritual service to God, as opposed to the spontaneous service under the law, or what is the inner mood that, for the sake of faith, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, is created in the spirit of a Christian. And he answers: in faith, aided by love. Have this and you are saved. Do not worry about anything else: do not think that you are closer to Christ the Lord, having been circumcised (before, that is, faith); and do not be embarrassed as if you lacked anything because you were uncircumcised. Both the one and the other have no meaning in the face of the Lord; He does not give any value or weight to either one or the other. He does not approach the circumcised any more favorably because he is circumcised, nor does He turn His face away from the uncircumcised because he is uncircumcised. With Him everything is decided by faith in connection with love. You approached the Lord, were enlightened by holy baptism, accepted the pledge of the Spirit who creates you: now keep faith and live in love - that’s all that is required of you. This way you will reach the end of your life safely and pass over to the Lord, so that, dwelling in His abodes, you will be eternally blissful with Him. Why do you need to bind yourself to these rules of regulated life? All away. Serve God in the Spirit and please Him spiritually, without being entangled in anything external. In a Christian, created by the Spirit of God, everything comes from a heart full of faith, breathing love. This internal thing is necessarily expressed externally; but this external thing in itself is nothing before God. Its price depends on the spirit with which it is done; so if you take your whole life as a whole, then, if you have only one internal thing, while it is impossible to act accordingly to it externally, you have everything; If you have only the external, by custom or imitation, without the internal, you have nothing. All your outward appearance, no matter how beautiful it may be in appearance, can be nothing in Christ Jesus. So this is who the chosen one of Christ is, this is who is God's saint in Christ Jesus: who is full of faith and breathes love. And circumcision and uncircumcision are nothing here. Saint Chrysostom says: “Look how he rejected circumcision, putting it along with uncircumcision. For only faith makes the difference. If anyone recruits fighters, then whether they are black or white does not make any difference in the selection; but we must look for them to be strong and experienced in their work. Likewise, it does not harm anyone who wants to enter into the New Testament if he does not observe all these bodily rituals; it will also not bring any benefit even if you observe them. Here everything is decided by faith with love.” “Faith is promoted by love” - ενεργουμενη. This word can mean: “acting and influencing.” The first meaning is given by the idea that faith leads to love, excites and revives it; the second is that faith is excited and enlivened by love. Both show that faith and love are inseparable in the life of a Christian. Love in faith, faith in love find revitalizing principles. Hearing the Gospel, they believe in the Lord; Having believed, they love Him and everyone for His sake; having loved, they believe and are confirmed in the faith; faith strengthened in turn elevates love. This is how the life of a Christian is finished. From the moment of their separation, true life will begin to fade away; and with perfect separation, life comes to a complete standstill. A Christian remains only in name Christian and in some external deeds; in fact, he became a Jew, hoping to be justified by external belonging to the Church of God. Ecumenius writes: “It is not enough just to believe in Christ, but it is necessary that this faith be influenced, preserved and, as it were, kindled by love for Christ. Those who believe in Christ, but are not filled with love for Him, turn to the law" (you can also do this: they become the rank of sublegalists)" Who is the love for here, of course? If it is not added - to someone, then we must understand love both for the Lord and for fellow Christians. By the Spirit of grace in faith, united with the Lord, a Christian draws from Him the fullness of love, which, by its nature, requires an outpouring, all proceeds to the members of the one body in Christ, the fraternal Christian community, with self-forgetfulness, or denial of oneself. Everything here is created and combined by itself. It is not external regulations that compel, but the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Saint Chrysostom speaks only about love for Christ, “what does it mean to be promoted by love?” With these words the Apostle greatly offends them, showing that their deviation from the truth occurred because they were not yet confirmed in their love for Christ. For here it is not only faith that is required, but also abiding in love. As if he had said this, if you loved Christ as you should, you would not have turned to slavery, you would not have abandoned the Redeemer, you would not have quarreled with the Liberator.” Blessed Theophylact also points to love for neighbors. “Or the Apostle instills in them love for their neighbors, saying, as it were, know that faith works through love, that is, it turns out to be alive through love. Faith that does not have love is not effective. This is the same with the words: “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26).” And Blessed Jerome understands by love the entire sum of virtues. “Those who want to live in Christ must seek all virtues and avoid all vices. The Apostle Paul says in another place: “For thou shalt not commit adultery, nor murder, nor steal, nor bear false witness, nor covet any other commandment, in this word it is perfected, that thou shalt love thy sincere man as thyself” (cf. Rom 13:9) So, if all the commandments are combined in one: “thou shalt love yours sincerely, as yourself,” then, inserting this concept into the words: “faith is promoted by love,” we will clearly see that this promotion of faith by love embraces the fullness of all the commandments. And vice versa, just as, according to the Apostle James, faith without works is dead, so good works without faith should be considered dead. Those who do not believe in Christ, but are good in morals, what do they have except works of virtue (that is, therefore, they are nothing before the Lord, like unbelievers)? An example of faith acting through love is the harlot of the Gospel, about whom, when in the house of a Pharisee she washed the Lord’s feet with her tears and, wiping her hair, anointed her with ointment, the Lord said: “Her sins, many of them, are forgiven, for she loved so much.” He himself sentenced her: “Your faith will save you; go in peace” (cf. Lk 7:47,50). Obviously, this shows that that wife had faith promoted by love: which alone has value in Christ Jesus.” c) Ease and convenience (Gal. 5, 7–12) The inevitability of a certain kind of action forces one to decide on it, no matter how difficult it may be. But if at the same time it turns out that it is very easy and at hand for us, then the determination for it becomes all the quicker and more vivid. This availability of the matter, in the case of moral necessity, must be clarified, because moral necessity, although sometimes conscious, acts, however, not as decisively and irresistibly as physical necessity. With her there is still room for reflection. Saint Paul now begins this technique. He says, as it were, here: you see how necessary it is to throw away the law and not touch it anymore: make up your mind. Make up your mind all the more willingly because there will be almost no sacrifices for you. You began life in Christ without connection with the law; therefore, you know this life free from the law. Why should you return to her, restoring your previous convictions? (verses 7 – 8). You haven't had time to get too confused yet. Some have just been accepted. But this is something that is dangerous to leave behind, because it spoils everything, but it is just as easy to throw away, for the very reason that it is small and insignificant (verse 9). Besides, I know you, I know the vivacity of your moral and religious feelings and your readiness for everything true and good. One has only to show you the straight path, and you are ready for it. Therefore, I am confident that you will give up false thoughts and strictly adhere to the truths I have set forth (verse 10). They are confusing you, assuring you that I preach circumcision. I don't preach; for otherwise why am I being persecuted? Oh, that these seducers would be cut off from you! (verses 11 – 12). This is the final means to calm them down and secure them for the future. Gal.5:7. Now it’s good: who can stop you from repenting to the truth? The proper course of life in Christ Jesus is indicated before this. This way, he says, you walked, and not only walked, but flowed, walked quickly, which signifies jealousy and zeal for the pre-depicted order of life, and at the same time, successes in it are lasting and obvious. “You worshiped the Father in spirit and truth and, having received the fullness of Christ, you knew that the law was only given to the people through Moses, and was not fulfilled. Grace and truth are not only given, but also perfected by Jesus Christ. So, when you walked so well, serving the truth rather than images of the truth, having been crucified by what depraved teacher, you began to follow the shadow of the law and abandoned the truth of the Gospel? (Blessed Jerome). “Who can stop you?” He seems astonished, as at the beginning he marveled that they were soon to be destroyed (Gal. 1:6-7). “Forbid”, ενεκοψε, - stopped your path, or cut you off while you were flowing. “Do not repent of the truth”, τη αληθεια μη πειθεσθαι, - not to believe the truth anymore, not to hold the previous convictions in it, not to stand in it with firm, unshakable constancy? “These are not the words of one questioning, but of one who is perplexed and grieving. How was such a procession abandoned? Who had so much power? You, who were above everyone else and at the level of teachers, did not even remain at the level of students. How did this happen? Who was so strong? This is the voice of a more perplexed and sorrowful one, which he expressed above with similar words: “Who are you who deceived?” (Gal.3, 1)" (Saint Chrysostom). The word: “Who will rebuke you” - this is not the only thought of the Apostle’s amazement that can convey. Ambrosiast sees in him the conviction that they should repent and no longer believe any of those who would persuade them to do the works of the law, contrary to the Gospel truth. Indeed, the Apostle knew who was rebuking; Of course, the Galatians also knew. Why the question? To instill the idea of ​​the insignificance of these spoilers. Who are these important people? Was it worth listening to them and changing the beliefs that were perceived and put into practice because of them? And if it was not worth it, then, having understood the matter from my explanation, you need to turn away from them and restore your previous convictions: which, of course, will not be difficult for you. It seems that the more direct idea in this question is the same as in our usual one: who is to blame here? Who is to blame for the fact that you stopped, changed or clouded your previous beliefs and went against the truth? No one is to blame. You yourself were convinced of the truth, you yourself betrayed those beliefs. You yourself must now return to them. For no one can impose a conviction by force. Those who persuade offer, explain, persuade, but the very persuasion and inclination do not come from them. It is a matter of freedom. Was your former conviction from Him who called (Gal. 5:8)? No, He called; you were convinced and agreed to follow the truth. And then they became dissuaded and the Inuds went. If, therefore, everything in this matter is from you, then what can keep you from lying? Give it up and return to the truth. Restore your previous convictions, and again start your mother-in-law in the same way, already tested. It is always good: what prevents you from entering the same good current again? Gal.5:8. Controversy is not from Him who called you. Controversy, πεισμονη, means: conviction, in accordance with the immediately preceding μη πειθεσθαι, - not to withstand conviction, not to continue to nourish conviction; the thought is this: the conviction is not from Him who called you, not from God, who called you into His grace. Blessed Jerome writes: “(in conversion) another is the work of God, but another is the work of the people themselves, God’s work is to call; It’s up to people to believe or not to believe. We lean towards the good or the bad, the reason for this is not God or the devil. Our conviction is always not from the one who calls, but from us, who ourselves agree or disagree with the caller.” Since conviction is put here in relation to the calling God, it should be understood as conviction in the truth of the Gospel; And it is not this false conviction that came later about the meaning of the law in the matter of salvation that the Apostle wants to instill in the Galatians: after all, you were convinced of the truth of the Gospel? It was not forcefully imposed on you. God sent me to you, I offered you the preaching of the Gospel, you listened, thought and were convinced. This was a matter of your freedom. Conviction is not from Him who called you. What followed from this? It followed: you yourself were convinced of the truth, you yourself were shaken in this conviction; now return to him yourself. There is no work or hindrance to this. Throw away the new lie, take the old truth completely, as it is and was taught to you; it is known to you, you have experienced it and your beliefs in it. Turning is easy. This thought is evident in Saint Chrysostom, who says: “He who called you did not call you so that you would hesitate so much, he did not give you the commandment to practice Judaism.” Gal.5:9. Little kvass leaves the whole mixture. To the reproach of the Apostle: you were convinced, why did you change your convictions? return to the former - the Galatians could say: yes, we are convinced even now, but is it great that, having listened to others, we accepted something Jewish? So little that it’s not worth talking about. The apostle answers this: a little kvass leavens the whole dough. They did not accept much of the Jews, but they stained everything with Judaism, damaged the integrity of the faith, and it can no longer bring you all salvation. Moreover, this will not lead to much more and will draw you into Judaism in all its breadth. Evil is contagious St. Chrysostom says to this: “so that no one says” why do you exaggerate the matter so much and present it as so grave? We have kept only one commandment from the law, and you are making such a noise? - then listen to how he frightens them not by their actual act, but by the consequences that arise from it: “the kvass is small,” he says, “every mixture is leavened.” Likewise, this small error, left uncorrected, can completely overcome you and draw you into Judaism, just as kvass leavens the whole dough.” So are all eastern ones; so do Western ones. Ambrosiastes says: “The Apostle added this so that they would not think that there would be no harm to the grace of faith if they kept a little of the law.” Blessed Jerome first expresses the same thought, saying, “The Apostle teaches with this parable that the spiritual bread of the Church, which came down from heaven, should not be damaged by Jewish rumors. The Lord Himself commanded His disciples to avoid the kvass of the Pharisees, which, explaining, the Evangelist added that He told them this about moving away from the teachings of the Pharisees (see Matthew 16:12). And what else is this Pharisaic teaching than about the urgency of observing the carnal law? But then he also remembers how a few people with false teaching can damage the entire local Church, when, first two or three, then dozens and so on, begin to become infected with their teaching. This evil acts like a spark falling into a flammable material, like gangrene acquiring fat. An obvious example of this is Arius. But this idea about the number of persons seducing and seduced can only be an appendage to the main one, according to which the Jewish teaching is understood here. But, putting this thought in connection with the following words: “I hope for you,” we must admit that the Apostle was also hinting at the ease with which they could get rid of Judaism. He says it’s as if they haven’t adopted enough”? The more convenient it is for you to quit. And quit, I hope you do so. Gal.5:10. I hope for you in the Lord, that you will understand nothing else, but whoever troubles you will bear sin, no matter who it is. This kind of hope both inspires and obliges us to correct ourselves. This is a common technique in human relations, the power of which, when it comes from a sincere heart, is experienced by everyone. It was used by St. Paul at the end, as an all-conquering weapon of the word. The power of words is in expressing hope for them. This is what interpreters are more concerned with. What did he expect from them, they did not pay attention to this. It is enough to note that the words: “you will understand nothing else” cannot be limited to the immediate preceding ones, that is, that you also judge as I do, that a little kvass leavens the whole mixture, and therefore hasten to remove this kvass. But this should lead to everything else that the Apostle explained. He tells them I hope that you will be wise as I am, that you will learn my way of looking at Judaism and act accordingly. As for hope, others think that it should naturally have been born from the Apostle, who knew the Galatians’ love for the truth and that they were carried away by deception, in the simplicity of their hearts accepting as truth what was not true. After the explanations he had made, he had no doubt that they would abandon the lie and return to the truth. Others believe that this hope of the Apostle flowed from his strong trust in God, who wants everyone to come into the mind of truth. Still others go higher: that the Apostle said so in the spirit of prophecy. The Spirit of God made him see the sobering of the Galatians, and he expresses this with hope for them. So Ambrosiast writes: “The Apostle hopes this from them because they, not of their own accord, but having been deceived, entered into the path of error. Why, having shown them the true path, expects them to easily return to it.” Saint Chrysostom says: “he did not say: you understand, but: “you will understand,” i.e. if you improve. How do you know this? But again he did not say: I know, but: I believe in God, he says, and with firm hope I call on His assistance for your correction. With boldness and not just said: “I hope for you”; but he added: “in the Lord” (he loves to dissolve reproaches with praise everywhere); as if he had said: I know my disciples, I know your ability to correct, however, I hope this through the Lord, Who does not want anyone to perish; and through Him I also hope for you, who can easily return to their previous state. But at the same time he convinces us to make our own efforts, since it is impossible to receive anything from God if we do not bring anything on our part.” Blessed Jerome reasons as follows: “Not by assumption, but in a prophetic spirit, Saint Paul said that the Galatians would return to the truth that they had abandoned. Foreseeing in spirit that they will believe no other way than as he teaches them in the Epistle, he says: “I hope..”. And the application of the name “Lord” means the same thing. For if he had only supposedly thought so, he would have said: I trust in you. But, adding: “in the Lord,” he showed that he was prophesying about what, led by the Spirit of God, he knew would happen.” The second half of this text: “whoever troubles you will suffer sin” - how does it fit in with the first? According to our usual course of speech, one should expect a threat to them, like this: I hope that you will improve, but if you do not improve, do not expect mercy. The Holy Apostle directs this threat not at the seduced Galatians, but at the seducers: for these knew the truth, and they, in the simplicity of their hearts, accepted their misinterpretation as the truth, not suspecting a lie. They are guilty only of not turning to Saint Paul, who was twice with them, teacher and father, who gave them birth to a spiritual life in Christ. But this could also happen due to inexperience, without any diminishment of love for the truth. Saint Paul does not direct his threat to them. But at the same time it makes it clear that if they remain stubborn in error, then together with the false teachers they will suffer the same punishment. Hitherto they were innocent; but after such a complete explanation of the truth as St. Paul gave them, they will no longer be innocent, but will be on the same level with their new teachers. Our interpreters, however, dwell mainly on the literal meaning of these words, without making reference to the Galatians themselves. So Saint Chrysostom says: “On both sides Saint Paul encourages them to revolt - both by relying on them, and by threatening, or predicting punishment for the troublemakers. But note that he did not name any of the attackers by name, so as not to make them even more shameless. And the meaning of his words is this: although you will not think differently, this will not save the perpetrators of deception from punishment; they will be condemned. For it is impossible for the piety of some to ease the fate of others - the evil ones. He says this so that false teachers will not make the same attack on others. And he didn’t just say: “embarrass,” but strengthened the expression by adding: “whoever it is.” This last addition gives the idea that among the false teachers there were, perhaps, persons of weight. He makes it clear that neither wealth, nor nobility, nor any other visible difference will save them from well-deserved punishment, as he said at the beginning: if we or an Angel from heaven preach the gospel differently, punishment will not escape. What was the threat? He will bear sin, in Greek: κριμα - judgment. To be judged means not only to be convicted, but also to suffer the punishment awarded for it. “He will bear judgment” is the same as in another place: everyone will bear his own burden” (Blessed Jerome). What kind of burden is this, or what is the essence of punishment? Perhaps he is threatened with punishment from God, as it were: God will not leave him without punishment. Such a threat was previously expressed by the Savior, so that, in His Kingdom, just as the one who converts another will deliver his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins (James 5:20), and vice versa, woe to him by whom temptation comes. “Whoever troubles and seduces anyone in the Church, it would be better for him to hang a millstone around his neck and throw himself into the sea, than to seduce one of those little ones to whom the Savior points (Luke 7:1-2)” (Blessed Jerome). But perhaps Saint Paul was also hinting at the kind of judgment that he, a little later, used in Corinth, that is, church court, excommunication, anathematization, as he had already spoken at the beginning of the Epistle. It sounds like: I’ll come and deal with them. Gal.5:11. But, brethren, even if I still preach circumcision, why do we still persecute us? For the temptation of the cross has been abolished. These words clear the way and remove the last obstacles to the action of the convictions proposed by St. Paul on the Galatians. This path could have been blocked by slander against the Apostle, that he himself adheres to the law and even circumcises. Having lingered in the memory, this criticism could take away the power of both threats, and hopes, and all the exhortations of Paul. At least everyone, thinking: why are you getting in trouble with the law, could stop in bewilderment. Saint Paul disperses this light fog with one question: why are they persecuting me? That the Jews were persecuting the Apostle was known to everyone. It was also not surprising for everyone to understand that if he had favored circumcision and the law, no one would have said a word to him. If they revile him, dishonor him, persecute him everywhere, then it is a clear sign that the teaching he set forth about the cessation of the power of circumcision and the law, and about their uselessness for believers, is a constant and everywhere subject of his preaching. Having heard enough slander against Saint Paul, the Galatians might have wondered: what is the Apostle doing? Having read his question, they should have exclaimed: indeed it is so; What did they tell us? They were the ones who deceived us. What wisdom is the Apostle! He does not send them for information to follow in the footsteps of his sermon, but with evidence alone he calms their minds, confused by complaints against him. Saint Chrysostom says in this place: “since they said about him that he himself often observes Jewish rites and preaches uncircumcision feignedly; then look how he showed himself clean from this slander, calling them themselves as witnesses. You yourself know, he says, that the reason for the persecution against me was that I taught to abandon the law. And if I preached circumcision, then why would they persecute me? The Judaizers, apart from this, cannot accuse me of anything else. And if I allowed them to believe according to their fatherly customs, then neither those who believed nor those who did not believe would have plotted against me, since I did not reject any of their customs. So what? Didn't he preach circumcision, didn't he circumcise Timothy? Trimmed. How does he say: “I don’t preach”? Note his caution here too. He did not say: I do not perform circumcision, but: I do not preach, that is, I do not teach to believe so. And you, he says, should not take my actions into the affirmation of dogmas; for although I circumcised (Timothy), yet I did not preach circumcision.” “For the temptation of the cross has been abolished.” If it were so, if I preached circumcision, then the cross would not be a temptation for the Jews. Circumcision is so dear to them that if I had not touched it, they would not have seen the temptation in the cross, but now they see it because the cross persecutes circumcision and the whole law. Ambrosiastes writes: “the preaching of the cross was a temptation for the Jews because it abolished the Sabbath and circumcision. If she had allowed circumcision, there would have been no temptation and the Jews would have been at peace with us. And about the Savior they said: “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath” (John 9:16).” Saint Chrysostom expounds the same thing in greater detail. “If what you say is true, then the barrier and enmity that separates us has been destroyed. For the Jews are not so much tempted by the cross as by the teaching not to follow the customs of their fathers. Having brought Stephen to the Sanhedrin, they did not say that this one honors the Crucified One, but that “he speaks of this holy place and the law” (Acts 6:13). And they accused the Lord Jesus Himself for allegedly destroying the law (John 5:18). This is why Paul says: if we allow circumcision, then your struggle with us has ceased, there is no more hostility against the cross and preaching. And if we are killed every day, is it really for no reason? You can see for yourself that they don’t antagonize us for anything so much as for circumcision. Was I so unreasonable as to expose myself to sorrow and lead others into temptation, without any reason? He said: “the temptation of the cross,” because the doctrine of the cross commands to abandon the customs of our fathers, which primarily tempted the Jews and kept them from accepting the cross.” Gal.5:12. O that those who corrupt you may be cut off. “Cut off” - completely separated (blessed Theodoret), so that you no longer have any communication with them and they with you. “Corrupting”, αναστατουντες, - raising you to the truth, stirring you up to rebel against the truth. The Apostle proved that he should no longer be bound by the law, convinced that all communication with him should cease, and he firmly hopes that the Galatians will do so. But the Apostle’s concern for them extends to the future. He is restless as long as there are false teachers among them, and expresses his desire that they be cut off. In Greek it reads: οφελον και αποκοψονται, - “so that they may also be cut off”! You are convinced, correct the error; but when you drove away the false teachers from you, then I would be completely at peace regarding you. As long as they are with you, I will not stop fearing for you. Why does the Apostle act so weakly? He does not cut off the seducers, but only expresses the desire that they be cut off by the Galatians themselves. Perhaps Saint Paul expected them to turn to the truth, which is why he said so hesitantly; in case of persistence and continuation of seduction, perhaps he left himself the freedom to make an order about it later. Or, perhaps, he was sure that the Galatians themselves would do this, drive them away from themselves, stop communicating with them, and would not allow them to approach them; with his appeal: “Oh, so that!” - he only wanted to show that this was not contrary to his wishes, that this was his Apostolic Prayer. In every way it is impossible not to see the law of life of the body of the Church - to reject and cast out those who do not submit to the truth and teach contrary to it. Saint Chrysostom sees Apostolic severity in these words: “Look at the severity the Apostle expresses here towards their seducers. At first he reproached the deluded, more than once calling them foolish. But, having sufficiently taught and enlightened them, he now turns to their seducers. And here you should notice the wisdom of the Apostle. He admonishes and convinces the Galatians as his children, and those who are still ready for correction; and he cuts off their seducers as aliens and terminally ill. He points to this last thing when he says: “Whoever it is will bear sin”; and firstly, when he threatens them, saying: “so that those who corrupt you may be cut off.” And he rightly said: “those who corrupt you” (that is, those who incite you to deviate from the order and order of the Church of Christ, which is a new fatherland for your spirit). For they forced them, leaving their fatherland and freedom, and heavenly kinship, to seek a foreign and unknown fatherland and, having expelled them from the heavenly and free Jerusalem, they forced them to wander as captives and strangers. That is why the Apostle rebels against them. The meaning of his words is this: I don’t care about them at all: “For a person is a heretic according to the first and second punishment” (Titus 3:10).” In the time of St. Chrysostom there were people who, using the word of the Apostle: “cut off,” attempted to justify the skoptism. For the eunuchs were also called αποκοποι; the Apostle says: οφελον και αποκοψονται. Saint Chrysostom does not strain to refute such an interpretation; because its falsity is self-evident after the opinion he expressed before this. But he takes this opportunity to denounce eunuchs for preventing eunuchs, which has no meaning. The thought glimmers through his mind that even if the Apostle were to see an indication of the skoptism, then this is punishment, execution, an oath; and those who dare to distort themselves bring upon themselves the oath of the Apostle. Then he says: “The Manichaeans only say that the body is malicious and composed of an evil substance, and these very actions give rise to their absurd rumors, cutting off a member as if hostile and malicious. It would be much better to gouge out the eyes, because through them lust enters the soul. But neither the eyes nor any other member are to blame for this; only evil will is to blame. And if you cannot abstain, then why don’t you cut off your tongue for blasphemy, your hand for theft, your legs for their desire for evil, and why, one might say, don’t you cut off the whole body? For the hearing, when the pipe sings, often relaxes the soul, and the nostrils, when sensing the incense, seduce the heart and lead to pleasure. So, let's cut off everything: ears, hands, and nostrils. But this is extreme wickedness and satanic instigation. It is only necessary to correct the disordered aspiration of the soul. An evil demon who always delights in murder, he could only suggest that the organ itself should be destroyed, as if the great artist had made a mistake. How does it happen, who will say, that lust is kindled by the fatness of the body? But here too is the sin of the soul. The fattening of the flesh does not depend on lust, but on the soul. If she wants to drain her, she has full power to do so. But you do the same thing as if someone, seeing someone putting a fire on fire and setting a house on fire, began to blame the fire not on the arsonist, but on the fire, because it allegedly flared up so much because it itself engulfed a lot of the logs of the house. It is not the fire that is to blame, but the arsonist. Fire is given for cooking, for lighting and for many other needs, and not for burning houses. Likewise, the desire is given for procreation and the preservation of the family, and not for adultery, fornication and voluptuousness; given so that you might be a father and not an adulterer; adultery depends not on natural desire, but on the fury of the unnatural.” It was not considered superfluous to write out this place because we also have these tares. You might be interested in: