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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1721)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>G A L A T I A N S.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. III.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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The apostle in this chapter,
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I. Reproves the Galatians for their folly, in suffering themselves to
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be drawn away from the faith of the gospel, and endeavours, from
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several considerations, to impress them with a sense of it.
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II. He proves the doctrine which he had reproved them for departing
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from--that of justification by faith without the works of the law,
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1. From the example of Abraham's justification.
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2. From the nature and tenour of the law.
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3. From the express testimony of the Old Testament; and,
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4. From the stability of the covenant of God with Abraham. Lest
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any should hereupon say, "Wherefore then serveth the law?" he answers,
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(1.) It was added because of transgressions.
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(2.) It was given to convince the world of the necessity of a Saviour.
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(3.) It was designed as a schoolmaster, to bring us to Christ. And then
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he concludes the chapter by acquainting us with the privilege of
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Christians under the gospel state.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ga3_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ga3_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ga3_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ga3_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ga3_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Justification by Faith.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 56.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should
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not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been
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evidently set forth, crucified among you?
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2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the
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works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
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3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now
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made perfect by the flesh?
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4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if <I>it be</I> yet in
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vain.
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5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh
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miracles among you, <I>doeth he it</I> by the works of the law, or by
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the hearing of faith?
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The apostle is here dealing with those who, having embraced the faith
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of Christ, still continued to seek for justification by the works of
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the law; that is, who depended upon their own obedience to the moral
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precepts as their righteousness before God, and, wherein that was
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defective, had recourse to the legal sacrifices and purifications to
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make it up. These he first sharply reproves, and then endeavours, by
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the evidence of truth, to convince them. This is the right method, when
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we reprove any for a fault or an error, to convince them that it is an
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error, that it is a fault.</P>
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<P>
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He reproves them, and the reproof is very close and warm: he calls them
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<I>foolish Galatians,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Though as Christians they were Wisdom's children, yet as corrupt
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Christians they were foolish children. Yea, he asks, <I>Who hath
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bewitched you?</I> whereby he represents them as enchanted by the arts
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and snares of their seducing teachers, and so far deluded as to act
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very unlike themselves. That wherein their folly and infatuation
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appeared was that <I>they did not obey the truth;</I> that is, they did
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not adhere to the gospel way of justification, wherein they had been
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taught, and which they had professed to embrace. Note, It is not enough
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to know the truth, and to say we believe it, but we must obey it too;
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we must heartily submit to it, and stedfastly abide by it. Note, also,
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Those are spiritually bewitched who, when the truth as it is in Jesus
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is plainly set before them, will not thus obey it. Several things
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proved and aggravated the folly of these Christians.</P>
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<P>
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1. <I>Jesus Christ had been evidently set forth as crucified among
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them;</I> that is, they had had the doctrine of the cross preached to
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them, and the sacrament of the Lord's supper administered among them,
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in both which Christ crucified had been set before them. Now, it was
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the greatest madness that could be for those who had acquaintance with
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such sacred mysteries, and admittance to such great solemnities, not to
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obey the truth which was thus published to them, and signed and sealed
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in that ordinance. Note, The consideration of the honours and
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privileges we have been admitted to as Christians should shame us out
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of the folly of apostasy and backsliding.</P>
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<P>
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2. He appeals to the experiences they had had of the working of the
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Spirit upon their souls
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>);
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he puts them in mind that, upon their becoming Christians, <I>they had
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received the Spirit,</I> that many of them at least had been made
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partakers not only of the sanctifying influences, but of the miraculous
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gifts, of the Holy Spirit, which were eminent proofs of the truth of
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the Christian religion and the several doctrines of it, and especially
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of this, that justification is by Christ only, and not by the works of
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the law, which was one of the peculiar and fundamental principles of
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it. To convince them of the folly of their departing from this
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doctrine, he desires to know how they came by these gifts and graces:
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Was it <I>by the works of the law,</I> that is, the preaching of the
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necessity of these in order to justification? This they could not say,
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for that doctrine had not then been preached to them, nor had they, as
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Gentiles, any pretence to justification in that way. Or was it by the
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<I>hearing of faith,</I> that is, the preaching of the doctrine of
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faith in Christ as the only way of justification? This, if they would
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say the truth, they were obliged to own, and therefore must be very
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unreasonable if they should reject a doctrine of the good effects of
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which they had had such experience. Note,
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(1.) It is usually by the ministry of the gospel that the Spirit is
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communicated to persons. And,
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(2.) Those are very unwise who suffer themselves to be turned away from
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the ministry and doctrine which have been blessed to their spiritual
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advantage.</P>
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<P>
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3. He calls upon them to consider their past and present conduct, and
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thence to judge whether they were not acting very weakly and
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unreasonably
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:3,4"><I>v.</I> 3, 4</A>):
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he tells them that <I>they had begun in the Spirit,</I> but now were
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seeking <I>to be made perfect by the flesh;</I> they had embraced the
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doctrine of the gospel, by means of which they had received the Spirit,
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and wherein only the true way of justification is revealed. And thus
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they had begun well; but now they were turning to the law, and expected
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to be advanced to higher degrees of perfection by adding the observance
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of it to faith in Christ, in order to their justification, which could
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end in nothing but their shame and disappointment: for this, instead of
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being an improvement upon the gospel, was really a perversion of it;
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and, while they sought to be justified in this way, they were so far
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from being more perfect Christians that they were more in danger of
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becoming no Christians at all; hereby they were pulling down with one
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hand what they had built with the other, and undoing what they had
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hitherto done in Christianity. Yea, he further puts them in mind that
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they had not only embraced the Christian doctrine, but suffered for it
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too; and therefore their folly would be the more aggravated, if now
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they should desert it: for in this case all that they had suffered
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would be in vain--it would appear that they had been foolish in
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suffering for what they now deserted, and their sufferings would be
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altogether in vain, and of no advantage to them. Note,
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(1.) It is the folly of apostates that they lose the benefit of all
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they have done in religion, or suffered for it. And,
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(2.) It is very sad for any to live in an age of services and
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sufferings, of sabbaths, sermons, and sacraments, in vain; in this case
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former righteousness shall not be mentioned.</P>
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<P>
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4. He puts them in mind that they had had ministers among them (and
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particularly himself) who came with a divine seal and commission; for
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they had <I>ministered the Spirit to them, and wrought miracles among
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them:</I> and he appeals to them whether they did it <I>by the works of
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the law or by the hearing of faith,</I> whether the doctrine that was
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preached by them, and confirmed by the miraculous gifts and operations
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of the Spirit, was that of justification by the works of the law or by
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the faith of Christ; they very well knew that it was not the former,
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but the latter; and therefore must needs be inexcusable in forsaking a
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doctrine which had been so signally owned and attested, and exchanging
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it for one that had received no such attestations.</P>
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<A NAME="Ga3_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ga3_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ga3_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ga3_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ga3_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ga3_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ga3_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ga3_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ga3_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ga3_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ga3_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ga3_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ga3_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Justification by Faith.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 56.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for
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righteousness.
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7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are
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the children of Abraham.
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8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the
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heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham,
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<I>saying,</I> In thee shall all nations be blessed.
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9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful
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Abraham.
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10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the
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curse: for it is written, Cursed <I>is</I> every one that continueth
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not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do
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them.
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11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God,
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<I>it is</I> evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
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12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them
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shall live in them.
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13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being
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made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed <I>is</I> every one
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that hangeth on a tree:
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14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles
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through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the
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Spirit through faith.
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15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though <I>it be</I>
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but a man's covenant, yet <I>if it be</I> confirmed, no man
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disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
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16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith
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not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed,
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which is Christ.
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17 And this I say, <I>that</I> the covenant, that was confirmed
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before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and
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thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the
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promise of none effect.
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18 For if the inheritance <I>be</I> of the law, <I>it is</I> no more of
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promise: but God gave <I>it</I> to Abraham by promise.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The apostle having reproved the Galatians for not obeying the truth,
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and endeavoured to impress them with a sense of their folly herein, in
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these verses he largely proves the doctrine which he had reproved them
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for rejecting, namely, that of justification by faith without the works
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of the law. This he does several ways.</P>
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<P>
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I. From the example of Abraham's justification. This argument the
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apostle uses,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+4:1-25">Rom. iv</A>.
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<I>Abraham believed God, and that was accounted to him for
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righteousness</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>);
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that is, his faith fastened upon the word and promise of God, and upon
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his believing he was owned and accepted of God as a righteous man: as
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on this account he is represented as the father of the faithful, so the
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apostle would have us to know <I>that those who are of faith are the
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children of Abraham</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
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not according to the flesh, but according to the promise; and,
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consequently, that they are justified in the same way that he was.
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Abraham was justified by faith, and so are they. To confirm this, the
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apostle acquaints us that the promise made to Abraham
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:3">Gen. xii. 3</A>),
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<I>In thee shall all nations be blessed,</I> had a reference hereunto,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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The scripture is said to <I>foresee,</I> because he that indited the
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scripture did foresee, that God would justify the heathen world in the
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way of faith; and therefore in Abraham, that is, in the seed of
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Abraham, which is Christ, not the Jews only, but the Gentiles also,
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should be blessed; not only blessed in the seed of Abraham, but blessed
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as Abraham was, being justified as he was. This the apostle calls
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<I>preaching the gospel to Abraham;</I> and thence infers
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>)
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that <I>those who are of faith,</I> that is, true believers, of what
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nation soever they are, <I>are blessed with faithful Abraham.</I> They
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are blessed with Abraham the father of the faithful, by the promise
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made to him, and therefore by faith as he was. It was through faith in
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the promise of God that he was blessed, and it is only in the same way
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that others obtain this privilege.</P>
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<P>
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II. He shows that we cannot be justified but by faith fastening on the
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gospel, because the law condemns us. If we put ourselves upon trial in
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that court, and stand to the sentence of it, we are certainly cast, and
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lost, and undone; <I>for as many as are of the works of the law are
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under the curse,</I> as many as depend upon the merit of their own
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works as their righteousness, as plead not guilty, and insist upon
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their own justification, the cause will certainly go against them;
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<I>for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all
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things which are written in the book of the law, to do them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:10,De+27:26"><I>v.</I> 10,
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and Deut. xxvii. 26</A>.
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The condition of life, by the law, is perfect, personal, and perpetual,
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obedience; the language of it is, <I>Do this and live;</I> or, as
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>,
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<I>The man that doeth them shall live in them:</I> and for every
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failure herein the law denounces a curse. Unless our obedience be
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universal, continuing in all things that are written in the book of the
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law, and unless it be perpetual too (if in any instance at any time we
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fail and come short), we fall under the curse of the law. The curse is
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wrath revealed, and ruin threatened: it is a separation unto all evil,
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and this is in full force, power, and virtue, against all sinners, and
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therefore against all men; for all have sinned and become guilty before
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God: and if, as transgressors of the law, we are under the curse of it,
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it must be a vain thing to look for justification by it. But, though
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this is not to be expected from the law, yet the apostle afterwards
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acquaints us that there is a way open to our escaping this curse, and
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regaining the favour of God, namely, through faith in Christ, who (as
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he says,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>)
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<I>hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,</I> &c. A strange
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method it was which Christ took to redeem us from the curse of the law;
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it was <I>by his being himself made a curse for us.</I> Being made sin
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for us, he was made a curse for us; not separated from God, but laid
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for the present under that infamous token of the divine displeasure
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upon which the law of Moses had put a particular brand,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+21:22">Deut. xxi. 22</A>.
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The design of this was <I>that the blessing of Abraham might come on
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the Gentiles through Jesus Christ</I>--that all who believed on Christ,
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whether Jews or Gentiles, might become heirs of Abraham's blessing, and
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particularly of that great promise of the Spirit, which was peculiarly
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reserved for the times of the gospel. Hence it appeared that it was not
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by putting themselves under the law, but by faith in Christ, that they
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become the people of God and heirs of the promise. Here note,
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1. The misery which as sinners we are sunk into--we are under the
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curse and condemnation of the law.
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2. The love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ towards us--he has
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submitted to be made a curse for us, that he might redeem us from the
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curse of the law.
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3. The happy prospect which we now have through him, not only of
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escaping the curse, but of inheriting the blessing. And,
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4. That it is only through faith in him that we can hope to obtain
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|
this favour.</P>
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<P>
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III. To prove that justification is by faith, and not by the works of
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the law, the apostle alleges the express testimony of the Old
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|
Testament,
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|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
The place referred to is
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Hab+2:4">Habak. ii. 4</A>,
|
|
|
|
where it is said, <I>The just shall live by faith;</I> it is again
|
|
quoted,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+1:17,Heb+10:38">Rom. i. 17, and Heb. x. 38</A>.
|
|
|
|
The design of it is to show that those only are just or righteous who
|
|
do truly live, who are freed from death and wrath, and restored into a
|
|
state of life in the favour of God; and that it is only through faith
|
|
that persons become righteous, and as such obtain this life and
|
|
happiness--that they are accepted of God, and enabled to live to him
|
|
now, and are entitled to an eternal life in the enjoyment of him
|
|
hereafter. Hence the apostle says, <I>It is evident that no man is
|
|
justified by the law in the sight of God.</I> Whatever he may be in the
|
|
account of others, yet he is not so in the sight of God; for <I>the law
|
|
is not of faith</I>--that says nothing concerning faith in the business
|
|
of justification, nor does it give life to those who believe; but the
|
|
language of it is, <I>The man that doeth them shall live in them,</I>
|
|
as
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+18:5">Lev. xviii. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
It requires perfect obedience as the condition of life, and therefore
|
|
now can by no means be the rule of our justification. This argument of
|
|
the apostle's may give us occasion to remark that justification by
|
|
faith is no new doctrine, but what was established and taught in the
|
|
church of God long before the times of the gospel. Yea, it is the only
|
|
way wherein any sinners ever were, or can be, justified.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. To this purpose the apostle urges the stability of the covenant
|
|
which God made with Abraham, which was not vacated nor disannulled by
|
|
the giving of the law to Moses,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c. Faith had the precedence of the law, for Abraham was justified by
|
|
faith. It was a promise that he built upon, and promises are the proper
|
|
objects of faith. God entered into covenant with Abraham
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
and this covenant was firm and steady; even men's covenants are so, and
|
|
therefore much more his. When a deed is executed, or articles of
|
|
agreement are sealed, both parties are bound, and it is too late then
|
|
to settle things otherwise; and therefore it is not to be supposed that
|
|
by the subsequent law the covenant of God should be vacated. The
|
|
original word <B><I>diatheke</I></B> signifies both a covenant and a
|
|
testament. Now the promise made to Abraham was rather a testament than
|
|
a covenant. When a testament has become of force by the death of the
|
|
testator, it is not capable of being altered; and therefore, the
|
|
promise that was given to Abraham being of the nature of a testament,
|
|
it remains firm and unalterable. But, if it should be said that a grant
|
|
or testament may be defeated for want of persons to claim the benefit
|
|
of it
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
he shows that there is no danger of that in this case. Abraham is
|
|
dead, and the prophets are dead, but the covenant is made with Abraham
|
|
and his seed. And he gives us a very surprising exposition of this. We
|
|
should have thought it had been meant only of the people of the Jews.
|
|
"Nay," says the apostle, "it is in the singular number, and points at a
|
|
single person--<I>that seed is Christ,</I>" So that the covenant is
|
|
still in force; for Christ abideth for ever in his person, and in his
|
|
spiritual seed, who are his by faith. And if it be objected that the
|
|
law which was given by Moses did disannul this covenant, because that
|
|
insisted so much upon works, and there was so little in it of faith or
|
|
of the promised Messiah, he answers that the subsequent law could not
|
|
disannul the previous covenant or promise
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>If the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise; but,</I>
|
|
says he, <I>God gave it to Abraham by promise,</I> and therefore it
|
|
would be inconsistent with his holiness, wisdom, and faithfulness, by
|
|
any subsequent act to set aside the promise, and so alter the way of
|
|
justification which he had thus established. If the inheritance was
|
|
given to Abraham by promise, and thereby entailed upon his spiritual
|
|
seed, we may be sure that God would not retract that promise; for he is
|
|
not a man that he should repent.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ga3_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ga3_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ga3_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ga3_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ga3_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ga3_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ga3_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ga3_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ga3_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ga3_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ga3_29"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Design of the Law; The True Children of Abraham.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 56.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>19 Wherefore then <I>serveth</I> the law? It was added because of
|
|
transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was
|
|
made; <I>and it was</I> ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
|
|
20 Now a mediator is not <I>a mediator</I> of one, but God is one.
|
|
21 <I>Is</I> the law then against the promises of God? God forbid:
|
|
for if there had been a law given which could have given life,
|
|
verily righteousness should have been by the law.
|
|
22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the
|
|
promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that
|
|
believe.
|
|
23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up
|
|
unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
|
|
24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster <I>to bring us</I> unto
|
|
Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
|
|
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a
|
|
schoolmaster.
|
|
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
|
|
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have
|
|
put on Christ.
|
|
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor
|
|
free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in
|
|
Christ Jesus.
|
|
29 And if ye <I>be</I> Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and
|
|
heirs according to the promise.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The apostle having just before been speaking of the promise made to
|
|
Abraham, and representing that as the rule of our justification, and
|
|
not the law, lest they should think he did too much derogate from the
|
|
law, and render it altogether useless, he thence takes occasion to
|
|
discourse of the design and tendency of it, and to acquaint us for what
|
|
purposes it was given. It might be asked, "If that promise be
|
|
sufficient for salvation, wherefore then serveth the law? Or, Why did
|
|
God give the law by Moses?" To this he answers,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The law <I>was added because of transgressions,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
It was not designed to disannul the promise, and to establish a
|
|
different way of justification from that which was settled by the
|
|
promise; but <I>it was added</I> to it, annexed on purpose to be
|
|
subservient to it, and it was so <I>because of transgressions.</I> The
|
|
Israelites, though they were chosen to be God's peculiar people, were
|
|
sinners as well as others, and therefore the law was given to convince
|
|
them of their sin, and of their obnoxiousness to the divine displeasure
|
|
on the account of it; <I>for by the law is the knowledge of sin</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+3:20">Rom. iii. 20</A>),
|
|
|
|
and <I>the law entered that sin might abound,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+5:20">Rom. v. 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
And it was also intended to restrain them from the commission of sin,
|
|
to put an awe upon their minds, and be a curb upon their lusts, that
|
|
they should not run into that excess of riot to which they were
|
|
naturally inclined; and yet at the same time it was designed to direct
|
|
them to the true and only way whereby sin was to be expiated, and
|
|
wherein they might obtain the pardon of it; namely, through the death
|
|
and sacrifice of Christ, which was the special use for which the law of
|
|
sacrifices and purifications was given.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The apostle adds that the law was given for this purpose <I>till the
|
|
seed should come to whom the promise was made;</I> that is, either till
|
|
Christ should come (the principle seed referred to in the promise, as
|
|
he had before shown), or till the gospel dispensation should take
|
|
place, when Jews and Gentiles, without distinction, should, upon
|
|
believing, become the seed of Abraham. The law was added because of
|
|
transgressions, till this fulness of time, or this complete
|
|
dispensation, should come. But when the seed came, and a fuller
|
|
discovery of divine grace in the promise was made, then the law, as
|
|
given by Moses, was to cease; that covenant, being found faulty, was to
|
|
give place to another, and a better,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+8:7,8">Heb. viii. 7, 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
And though the law, considered as the law of nature, is always in
|
|
force, and still continues to be of use to convince men of sin and to
|
|
restrain them from it, yet we are now no longer under the bondage and
|
|
terror of that legal covenant. The law then was not intended to
|
|
discover another way of justification, different from that revealed by
|
|
the promise, but only to lead men to see their need of the promise, by
|
|
showing them the sinfulness of sin, and to point them to Christ,
|
|
through whom alone they could be pardoned and justified.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
As a further proof that the law was not designed to vacate the promise,
|
|
the apostle adds, <I>It was ordained by angels in the hand of a
|
|
mediator.</I> It was given to different persons, and in a different
|
|
manner from the promise, and therefore for different purposes. The
|
|
promise was made to Abraham, and all his spiritual seed, including
|
|
believers of all nations, even of the Gentiles as well as the Jews; but
|
|
the law was given to the Israelites as a peculiar people, and separated
|
|
from the rest of the world. And, whereas the promise was given
|
|
immediately by God himself, the law was given <I>by the ministry of
|
|
angels, and the hand of a mediator.</I> Hence it appeared that the law
|
|
could not be designed to set aside the promise; for
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>A mediator is not a mediator of one,</I> of one party only; <I>but
|
|
God is one,</I> but one party in the promise or covenant made with
|
|
Abraham: and therefore it is not to be supposed that by a transaction
|
|
which passed only between him and the nation of the Jews he should make
|
|
void a promise which he had long before made to Abraham and all his
|
|
spiritual seed, whether Jews or Gentiles. This would not have been
|
|
consistent with his wisdom, nor with his truth and faithfulness. Moses
|
|
was only a mediator between God and the spiritual seed of Abraham; and
|
|
therefore the law that was given by him could not affect the promise
|
|
made to them, much less be subversive of it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The law was given to convince men of the necessity of a Saviour.
|
|
The apostle asks
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>),
|
|
|
|
as what some might be willing to object, "<I>Is the law then against
|
|
the promises of God?</I> Do they really clash and interfere with each
|
|
other? Or do you not set the covenant with Abraham, and the law of
|
|
Moses, at variance with one another?" To this he answers, <I>God
|
|
forbid;</I> he was far from entertaining such a thought, nor could it
|
|
be inferred from what he had said. The law is by no means inconsistent
|
|
with the promise, but subservient to it, as the design of it is to
|
|
discover men's transgressions, and to show them the need they have of a
|
|
better righteousness than that of the law. That consequence would much
|
|
rather follow from their doctrine than from his; <I>for, if there had
|
|
been a law given that could have given life, verily righteousness would
|
|
have been by the law,</I> and in that case the promise would have been
|
|
superseded and rendered useless. But that in our present state could
|
|
not be, <I>for the scripture hath concluded all under sin</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>),
|
|
|
|
or declared that all, both Jew and Gentile, are in a state of guilt,
|
|
and therefore unable to attain to righteousness and justification by
|
|
the works of the law. The law discovered their wounds, but could not
|
|
afford them a remedy: it showed that they were guilty, because it
|
|
appointed sacrifices and purifications, which were manifestly
|
|
insufficient to take away sin: and therefore the great design of it was
|
|
<I>that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to those
|
|
that believe,</I> that being convinced of their guilt, and the
|
|
insufficiency of the law to effect a righteousness for them, they might
|
|
be persuaded to believe on Christ, and so obtain the benefit of the
|
|
promise.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The law was designed for <I>a schoolmaster, to bring men to
|
|
Christ,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
In the
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:23">foregoing verse</A>,
|
|
|
|
the apostle acquaints us with the state of the Jews under the Mosaic
|
|
economy, that <I>before faith came,</I> or before Christ appeared and
|
|
the doctrine of justification by faith in him was more fully
|
|
discovered, <I>they were kept under the law,</I> obliged, under severe
|
|
penalties, to a strict observance of the various precepts of it; and at
|
|
that time they were shut up, held under the terror and discipline of
|
|
it, as prisoners in a state of confinement: the design of this was that
|
|
hereby they might be disposed more readily to embrace <I>the faith
|
|
which should afterwards be revealed,</I> or be persuaded to accept
|
|
Christ when he came into the world, and to fall in with that better
|
|
dispensation he was to introduce, whereby they were to be freed from
|
|
bondage and servitude, and brought into a state of greater light and
|
|
liberty. Now, in that state, he tells them, <I>the law was their
|
|
schoolmaster, to bring them to Christ, that they might be justified by
|
|
faith.</I> As it declared the mind and will of God concerning them, and
|
|
at the same time denounced a curse against them for every failure in
|
|
their duty, so it was proper to convince them of their lost and undone
|
|
condition in themselves, and to let them see the weakness and
|
|
insufficiency of their own righteousness to recommend them to God. And
|
|
as it obliged them to a variety of sacrifices, &c., which, though they
|
|
could not of themselves take away sin, were typical of Christ, and of
|
|
the great sacrifice which he was to offer up for the expiation of it,
|
|
so it directed them (though in a more dark and obscure manner) to him
|
|
as their only relief and refuge. And thus it was their schoolmaster, to
|
|
instruct and govern them in their state of minority, or, as the word
|
|
<B><I>paidagogos</I></B> most properly signifies, their <I>servant,</I>
|
|
to lead and conduct them to Christ (as children were wont to be led to
|
|
school by those servants who had the care of them); that they might be
|
|
more fully instructed by him as their schoolmaster, in the true way of
|
|
justification and salvation, which is only by faith in him, and of
|
|
which he was appointed to give the fullest and clearest discoveries.
|
|
But lest it should be said, If the law was of this use and service
|
|
under the Jewish, why may it not continue to be so under the Christian
|
|
state too, the apostle adds
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>)
|
|
|
|
that <I>after faith has come,</I> and the gospel dispensation has taken
|
|
place, under which Christ, and the way of pardon and life through faith
|
|
in him, are set in the clearest light, <I>we are no longer under a
|
|
schoolmaster</I>--we have no such need of the law to direct us to him
|
|
as there was then. Thus the apostle acquaints us for what uses and
|
|
purposes the law served; and, from what he says concerning this matter,
|
|
we may observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The goodness of God to his people of old, in giving the law to them;
|
|
for though, in comparison of the gospel state, it was a dispensation of
|
|
darkness and terror, yet it furnished them with sufficient means and
|
|
helps both to direct them in their duty to God and to encourage their
|
|
hopes in him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The great fault and folly of the Jews, in mistaking the design of
|
|
the law, and abusing it to a very different purpose from that which God
|
|
intended in the giving of it; for they expected to be justified by the
|
|
works of it, whereas it was never designed to be the rule of their
|
|
justification, but only a means of convincing them of their guilt and
|
|
of their need of a Saviour, and of directing them to Christ, and faith
|
|
in him, as the only way of obtaining this privilege. See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+9:31,32,10:3,4">Rom. ix. 31, 32; x. 3, 4</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. The great advantage of the gospel state above the legal, under which
|
|
we not only enjoy a clearer discovery of divine grace and mercy than
|
|
was afforded to the Jews of old, but are also freed from the state of
|
|
bondage and terror under which they were held. We are not now treated
|
|
as children in a state of minority, but as sons grown up to a full age,
|
|
who are admitted to greater freedoms, and instated in larger
|
|
privileges, than they were. This the apostle enlarges upon in the
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:26-29">following verses</A>.
|
|
|
|
For, having shown for what intent the law was given, in the close of
|
|
the chapter he acquaints us with our privilege by Christ, where he
|
|
particularly declares,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) That <I>we are the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
And here we may observe,
|
|
|
|
[1.] The great and excellent privilege which real Christians enjoy
|
|
under the gospel: <I>They are the children of God;</I> they are no
|
|
longer accounted servants, but <I>sons;</I> they are not now kept at
|
|
such a distance, and under such restraints, as the Jews were, but are
|
|
allowed a nearer and freer access to God than was granted to them; yea,
|
|
they are admitted into the number, and have a right to all the
|
|
privileges, of his children.
|
|
|
|
[2.] How they come to obtain this privilege, and that is <I>by faith in
|
|
Christ Jesus.</I> Having accepted him as their Lord and Saviour, and
|
|
relying on him alone for justification and salvation, they are hereupon
|
|
admitted into this happy relation to God, and are entitled to the
|
|
privileges of it; for
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+1:12">John i. 12</A>)
|
|
|
|
<I>as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of
|
|
God, even to those that believe on his name.</I> And this faith in
|
|
Christ, whereby they became the children of God, he reminds us
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>),
|
|
|
|
was what they professed in baptism; for he adds, <I>As many of you as
|
|
have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.</I> Having in
|
|
baptism professed their faith in him, they were thereby devoted to him,
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and had, as it were, put on his livery, and declared themselves to be
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|
his servants and disciples; and having thus become the members of
|
|
Christ, they were through him owned and accounted as the children of
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|
God. Here note, <I>First,</I> Baptism is now the solemn rite of our
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|
admission into the Christian church, as circumcision was into that of
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|
the Jews. Our Lord Jesus appointed it to be so, in the commission he
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|
gave to his apostles
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+28:19">Matt. xxviii. 19</A>),
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and accordingly it was their practice to baptize those whom they had
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|
discipled to the Christian faith; and perhaps the apostle might take
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|
notice of their baptism here, and of their becoming the children of God
|
|
through faith in Christ, professed therein, to obviate a further
|
|
objection, which the false teachers might be apt to urge in favour of
|
|
circumcision. They might be ready to say, "Though it should be allowed
|
|
that the law, as given at mount Sinai, was abrogated by the coming of
|
|
Christ the promised seed, yet why should circumcision be set aside too,
|
|
when that was given to Abraham together with the promise, and long
|
|
before the giving of the law by Moses?" But this difficulty is
|
|
sufficiently removed when the apostle says, <I>Those who are baptized
|
|
into Christ have put on Christ;</I> for thence it appears that under
|
|
the gospel baptism comes in the room of circumcision, and that those
|
|
who by baptism are devoted to Christ, and do sincerely believe in him,
|
|
are to all intents and purposes as much admitted into the privileges of
|
|
the Christian state as the Jews were by circumcision into those of the
|
|
legal
|
|
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+3:3">Phil. iii. 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
and therefore there was no reason why the use of that should still be
|
|
continued. Note, <I>Secondly,</I> In our baptism we put on Christ;
|
|
therein we profess our discipleship to him, and are obliged to behave
|
|
ourselves as his faithful servants. Being baptized into Christ, we are
|
|
baptized into his death, that as he died and rose again, so, in
|
|
conformity thereunto, we should die unto sin, and walk in newness of
|
|
life
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+6:3,4">Rom. vi. 3, 4</A>);
|
|
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|
it would be of great advantage to us did we oftener remember this.</P>
|
|
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<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) That this privilege of being the children of God, and of being by
|
|
baptism devoted to Christ, is now enjoyed in common by all real
|
|
Christians. The law indeed made a difference between Jew and Greek,
|
|
giving the Jews on many accounts the pre-eminence: that also made a
|
|
difference between <I>bond and free,</I> master and servant, and
|
|
between <I>male and female,</I> the males being circumcised. But it is
|
|
not so now; they all stand on the same level, <I>and are all one in
|
|
Christ Jesus;</I> as the one is not accepted on the account of any
|
|
national or personal advantages he may enjoy above the other, so
|
|
neither is the other rejected for the want of them; but all who
|
|
sincerely believe on Christ, of what nation, or sex, or condition,
|
|
soever they be, are accepted of him, and become the children of God
|
|
through faith in him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(3.) That, <I>being Christ's, we are Abraham's seed, and heirs
|
|
according to the promise.</I> Their judaizing teachers would have them
|
|
believe that they must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses, or
|
|
they could not be saved: "No," says the apostle, "there is no need of
|
|
that; for <I>if you be Christ's,</I> if you sincerely believe on him,
|
|
who is the promised seed, in whom all the nations of the earth were to
|
|
be blessed, you therefore become the true <I>seed of Abraham,</I> the
|
|
father of the faithful, and as such <I>are heirs according to the
|
|
promise,</I> and consequently are entitled to the great blessings and
|
|
privileges of it." And therefore upon the whole, since it appeared that
|
|
justification was not to be attained by the works of the law, but only
|
|
by faith in Christ, and that the law of Moses was a temporary
|
|
institution and was given for such purposes as were only subservient to
|
|
and not subversive of the promise, and that now, under the gospel,
|
|
Christians enjoy much greater and better privileges than the Jews did
|
|
under that dispensation, it must needs follow that they were very
|
|
unreasonable and unwise, in hearkening to those who at once endeavoured
|
|
to deprive them of the truth and liberty of the gospel.</P>
|
|
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