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Gal.4:1. I will also say: the heir, while in childhood, is no different from a slave, although he is the master of all: Gal.4:2. he is subordinate to trustees and stewards until the term appointed by his father. That is, the father determined that he should not control anything until legal age, which he must obey. Gal.4:3. So we, as long as we were children, were enslaved to the material principles of the world; “In childhood” not by age, but by knowledge of God. And he calls the new moons and Saturdays “material principles” of the world, because these days come to us from the course of the moon and the sun. Therefore, those who now subject us to the law, thereby make us children and enslave us to the elements of the world, although we have already become perfect men, and sons of God, and stewards, and masters. We also learn that God from the beginning wanted to give this adoption (for this is the inheritance), but our immaturity prevented Him. Wanting to completely eliminate the law, he did not say: “we are enslaved to the days,” but: “to the material principles of the world,” in order to further shame those who still incline to obey the law. But do not be embarrassed that in the flow of speech, “beginnings” are thought of as rulers and overseers. For, firstly, you must think of the law as a ruler, as well as a teacher, and not them (beginnings), which is why he called new moons and Saturdays beginnings. In addition, he put it this way in order to completely distract them from the law and shame them, as he will reveal even more clearly in the future. Some understood the elements as natural, preparatory law. Gal.4:4. but when the fullness of time had come, God sent His (Only Begotten) Son, who was born of a woman, made subject to the law, Gal.4:5. to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption as sons. While we were young, we obeyed the new moons and Saturdays, but when the certain time of the incarnation of Christ came, when the human race, having gone through all kinds of evil, needed healing, then “God sent His Son” (that is, deigned to come), “Who was born” (γενόμενον), did not say: “through a woman,” so as not to give an excuse to those who they say that the Lord passed through the Virgin, as if through a canal, completely ghostly - but: “from the woman,” that is, he took a body from Her very being and was the fruit of Her womb. And he was under the law, received circumcision and did everything to deliver us from the oath to which He Himself was not subject. He points out two saving actions in the incarnation of Christ: freeing us from the curse of the law and granting adoption. And he said “to receive” in order to show that adoption was intended for us long ago according to the promise, although due to our immaturity it was not given to us. For the inheritance promised to Abraham was adoption. Because the son inherits. Gal.4:6. And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying: “Abba, Father!”: Gal.4:7. Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Jesus Christ. How can it be seen, he says, that we are worthy of adoption? Although he showed this before, when he declared that we have put on Christ, who is the Son, he proves it now by the fact that we have received the Spirit, who, divinely and extraordinarily touching our hearts, teaches us to call God Father. And this could not have happened if we had not been worthy of adoption. So, when we are children and heirs not of a mere inheritance, but of a divine one, and joint heirs of the Only Begotten, why do we again become slaves and, holding on to the law, reject the faith that granted us adoption? Gal.4:8. But then, not knowing God, you served gods who are not gods in essence. Here he addresses the pagan believers, showing that keeping days is idolatry and that they are sinning more than before. Previously, he says, you at least did not know God, since you lived in darkness and delusion and, as a result, served the sun and the moon, which are not gods by nature, but now, after knowing the truth, if you began to observe the days, it would be nothing more than serving the elements - wickedness is even worse. Gal.4:9. Now, having come to know God, or, better yet, having received knowledge from God, why do you return again to the weak and poor material principles and want to enslave yourself to them again? But now, he says, you have come to know God, however, rather, it was not you who found and came to know God through your labor (since you did not seek at all), but He found you, who lived in darkness, and accepted you. For “received knowledge” is said instead of “received from God.” How, after this, do you again turn to the poor and weak principles, that is, those who have no power to receive the promised benefits and cannot bring spiritual benefit? And together he calls them poor and weak because they are deprived of intelligence, feeling and life, even if the Hellenes did not like this. So, the false apostles, as defenders of the law, introduced the observance of days, and he very wisely calls this matter idolatry, which the law itself prohibits. So those who taught this were even opponents of the law. Gal.4:10. You observe days, months, times and years. From this it is clear that the false apostles preached not only circumcision, but also the observance of holidays and the new moon. Gal.4:11. I am afraid for you, whether I worked for you in vain. Look how sensitive the heart is: they hesitate, but Paul is afraid. The expression “is it not in vain” (μή πως) shows that they were still intact and had not yet suffered a complete collapse. And he gives them hope that if they wish to change their minds, then their labor was not wasted in vain. He seems to be saying to them: remember my efforts for you and do not make my labors in vain. Gal.4:12. I ask you, brothers, to be like me, because I am like you. To the Jewish believers he says this: imitate me. And I was very committed to the law, like you, but I left it and now I struggle for Christ and the faith. So be you too. He expressed this perfectly in conclusion. For people are more likely to be attracted by similar examples than by reasoning. You didn't offend me in any way: After strong reproaches, he again reveals meekness. Severe censure is just as unhelpful as extreme condescension. Therefore, he calls them brethren, recalling at the same time the grace of baptism, by which we all became brethren, as born of one Father - God. The reproaches expressed are also justified, namely that they did not occur out of hatred. After all, you did not cause me any injustice so that I would become hostile towards you, but much more, you even showed me countless signs of respect and favor. How then could I say this out of hatred? But I say, without a doubt, out of concern for you and out of strong gratitude to you. Gal.4:13. You know that although I preached the gospel to you the first time in the weakness of the flesh, Gal.4:14. but you did not despise my temptation in my flesh and did not abhor it, You know, he says, that in physical weakness, that is, in the midst of persecution and danger, I preached the gospel to you, and you, however, did not turn away from me; these trials of mine, that is, persecution, wounds and the like, did not lead you into temptation and did not force you to despise and abhor me. And at the same time, in an imperceptible way, he shames them, showing how much he endured for their sake from his opponents. but they received me as an Angel of God, as Christ Jesus. You, he says, honored me as if I were more than a man. Isn’t it strange, at a time when I was persecuted and persecuted, to accept me as an angel and Christ, and not be tempted, but now, when I advise what is due, consider me an enemy and not accept me? Gal.4:15. How blessed you were! In bewilderment and amazement, he says: what happened to your former bliss? That is, where did everything go that everyone pleased you for as being committed to the teacher? What is it now? What has your former pleasure become? Now I don't see it because you are hostile towards me. I testify about you that, if it had been possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me. Previously, for my preaching, you considered me more valuable than even your own eyes; What happened now that you suspect me as an enemy? It’s strange, isn’t it, for someone whom you honored so much to tell you this with a hostile thought? Gal.4:16. So, have I really become your enemy by telling you the truth? “I don’t know any other reason for the enmity, he says, except that I told you the truth and exposed those who were mistaken regarding dogmas. But for this you should rather love me even more, as a trustee who has fulfilled his duty. Gal.4:17. They are uncleanly jealous of you, but they want to excommunicate you so that you will be jealous of them. Jealousy is a praiseworthy thing when someone imitates the virtue of another, but it becomes bad when someone seeks to remove a virtuous person from perfection. And these are trying to exclude you, that is, to deprive you of a more perfect state and knowledge in Christ and to plunge you into a less perfect one, which is contained in the law, so that you would honor them as teachers, be jealous and imitate them as disciples. And I wanted you to be leaders towards perfection both for them and for everyone. That's how it was when I was with you. He points to the same thing below. Gal.4:18. It is always good to be jealous in good things, and not only in my presence with you. Do you not see that he implies that they competed with everyone in perfection when Paul was with them? It also makes it clear that his absence gave rise to this evil. It would be wonderful, he says, therefore, if not only in the presence of the teacher, but also in his absence, the students thought what they should. Gal.4:19. My children, for whom I am again in the throes of birth, until Christ is portrayed in you! Imitates a mother who trembles for her children. You, he says, have perverted the image of Christ, which you had in you from baptism, and demand a new rebirth and reconstruction, so that the image of Christ may again appear in you and His character be imprinted on you. Again I am in the throes of birth, again I revive you through teaching. But I don’t despair. That is why I call you children, so that you too do not lose hope. And this is against the Novatians: Paul revives and renews the Galatians, but they (the Novatians) do not accept correction through repentance. Gal.4:20. I wish I could be with you now and change my voice, because I am at a loss about you. I am not satisfied with letters, but I would like to be with you and change my voice, that is, turn it into lamentation and crying. I am at a loss what to say about you, how you, who were so exalted that you even ran into danger for the faith and performed signs through it, are now withdrawing into the lawful weakness. Therefore, I would like to lament about you in your presence. For when he was in difficult circumstances, he usually gave in to tears. Gal.4:21. Tell me, you who want to be under the law: do you not listen to the law? After he has softened them enough and attracted them to himself, he again enters into an argument, pointing out that the law itself does not want to be observed: answer, he says, to me. He also said perfectly: “those who wish,” because such a situation depended not on the demands of things, but on their inappropriate passion for disputes. And he calls the book of Genesis law, since it is his custom to call the entire Old Testament law. Gal.4:22. For it is written: Abraham had two sons, one by a bondwoman, and the other by a freewoman. Above he said that you are children of Abraham. But since the sons of the patriarch were not of the same dignity, but one was from a slave, and the other from a free woman, now he shows that you are not only children, but also such as the free and noble one was. This is how faith has ennobled you. Gal.4:23. But he who is of a slave is born according to the flesh; and the one who is free, the one according to the promise. Since his words that they were the sons of Abraham seemed incredible - are the children of Abraham really those who were not born of him according to the flesh, then Paul says that Isaac, Abraham’s own son, was not born of him according to the flesh - and how could this be when the nature became dead? - but the word of God and the promise formed it. And Ishmael was born according to the natural order. This is precisely what the expression “according to the flesh” means. But with all this, he who is born according to the flesh is a slave and a stranger to the inheritance, but he who is born not according to the flesh is a master and an heir. What then prevents you, even though you were not born in the flesh from Abraham, from being his sons? And you, through the utterance of words at the font, received a new way of being. Gal.4:24. There is an allegory in this. That is, this story not only tells about this, but also points to something else. That's why it's called an allegory. It was an image of the present. These are two covenants: one from Mount Sinai, who gives birth to slavery, which is Hagar, Gal.4:25. for Hagar signifies Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to what is now Jerusalem, because he and his children are in bondage; "This" . Which ones? These two wives represent allegorically the New and Old Testaments. How? Hagar - Old Testament. For the law was given from Mount Sinai. And Sinai is located in Arabia, and in Arabic it is called “Hagar”. Corresponds to Jerusalem, that is, it is in the neighborhood, touches, or is likened to the lower Jerusalem; is compared with it, transferred to it, since there are similarities between both. Just as Hagar was a slave and gave birth into slavery, so the law given from Mount Sinai, which is called Hagar and is likened to Jerusalem, gives birth to slavery of those who hold on to it. For in the law there is much that is unfree and slavish, because virtue was based on perishable rewards, on earthly goods, I say, and avoidance from evil was instilled through punishments and fear. Gal.4:26. and Jerusalem above is free: she is the mother of us all. This is a type of Hagar. See also the type of Sarah; after all, she prefigured the heavenly Jerusalem. He is the city of believers, whence comes our law: for the gospel is from heaven. This city is free from the supervision of the law, and everything in it is arranged freely and with noble dignity. For nothing is accomplished with us because of a visible reward, and we are not threatened with corporal punishment, but the promises are more divine, and the punishments are befitting of the noble - namely, excommunication from the sacramental meal and penance. Gal.4:27. For it is written: Rejoice, O barren, unbearable; shout and shout, you who did not suffer from childbirth; because the one who is abandoned has many more children than the one who has a husband. He is not content with these types, but refers to the testimony of Isaiah, who calls the pagan church barren and without a husband; and indeed, she was deprived of the knowledge of God and childless, since she did not produce a single prophet of God or teacher. And he calls the Jewish synagogue having a husband, either because it had a law that guided its actions, or because it had God Himself. “Shout” is used instead of: “shout with a voice of joy,” because you now have many children: prophets, teachers, and sons of God have come from you; You gave birth to the entire universe, and not just one people, like the Jewish synagogue. Gal.4:28. We, brothers, are the children of the promise according to Isaac. Gal.4:29. But just as then he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now. The Church, he says, being barren, like Sarah, not only became many children, like her, but also gave birth in the same way as the latter. Just as it was not nature, but the promise that made her a mother (for the One who said: “I will be with you again at this same time” (Gen. 18:10) entered into the womb and created the fetus), so with us, as said above, the divine words spoken at baptism accomplish a new creation. Then, lest anyone say: what kind of freedom is this when the Jews scourge believers, and those who think to be free are persecuted? – he says that it was the same then. Ishmael persecuted Isaac, but, nevertheless, this did not in the least prevent the persecuted one from being the legitimate son of Abraham and the master of the persecutor. So, from this very persecution of us by the Jews, our similarity to Isaac and kinship with Abraham is revealed. Gal.4:30. What does Scripture say? Cast out the slave and her son, for the son of the slave will not be an heir along with the son of the free woman. So that someone doesn't say: what from here? Is it any consolation for believers who are now being persecuted by the Jews that Isaac was then persecuted? - he says: listen to what the Scripture says, and you will receive admonition: for the temporary persecution to which Ishmael subjected Isaac, he is completely expelled. And as punishment he is not only expelled, but much more - he is deprived of participation in what is destined for his son. And this punishment is all the stronger because it has its origin not in persecution, but in the decision and determination of God. Note also that he called the one who was not worthy of the inheritance the son not of Abraham, but of a slave, indicating that he was of very low origin. So, look, he proved that the law itself indicates its abolition, since everything that was said, being a prototype of what is now happening, is written in the law, that is, in the books of the Old Testament. Gal.4:31. So, brothers, we are not the children of slaves, but of a free woman. All this aims to show that everything that has now happened to us was foreshadowed many years earlier. After this, how is it not strange, having received freedom so many years before, to voluntarily become slaves again? Blessed Theophylact does not have this word. You might be interested in: