ACC ~ Galatians 6 v11 - 18

OVERVIEW:

Paul writes in his own hand (JEROME), revealing his deep personal concern for the Galatians (CHRYSOSTOM). The Judaizers please people, not God (AMBROSIASTER), fearing to be oppressed by either the Romans (JEROME) or the Jews. The circumcised, who glory in proselytes (AUGUSTINE), cannot keep the law, because they forget its promises (EPIPHANIUS). They are too weak to observe its moral precepts (JEROME) and cannot even rightly perform its ceremonies (THEODORET). Paul glories in the cross, which incorporates the faithful in Christ’s passion (MARIUS VICTORINUS) and unbinds fixation on worldly affairs. The cross has taught Paul to transcend his Jewish heritage. Christians are the new Israel (CHRYSOSTOM). A foretaste of the new creation is seen in the resurrection (THEODORET). Though some may continue to provoke Paul (AMBROSIASTER), he is not troubled inwardly (CHRYSOSTOM). He shares Christ’s lacerations (JEROME), for the perfection of his virtue (GREGORY OF NYSSA) and as an example to the rest (MARIUS VICTORINUS). He invokes a blessing upon the faithful (CHRYSOSTOM), tacitly recapitulating his case against the law (JEROME).

6:11 | Letters Written in Paul’s Hand

WITH MY OWN RECOGNIZABLE HAND I WRITE. JEROME: Those who wanted the Galatians to be circumcised had put it about that Paul preached one way and acted another, destroying his words by his own deeds, since he who proclaimed the abolition of the law was found to be obeying the law. Because Paul could not refute their opinions in person in the sight of all (being prevented by the chains that he bore as a testimony to Christ), he acts as his own lawyer through his letter. So that no suspicion that the letter was false might arise, he himself has written it from this point right to the end, showing that the preceding part was copied by another’s hand. … It is not that the letters were larger (though indeed the word would bear this sense in Greek) but because the marks of his own handwriting were known to them. So when they recognized the angles and contours of his own letters, they would feel that they had encountered him. … Paul wrote his letter in great characters because the meaning of the characters was great and had been traced out by the Spirit of God, not merely by pen and ink. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.6.11.

TO STOP THE SLANDER. CHRYSOSTOM: Observe what great grief occupies that blessed soul [Paul]. … Having said a little about morals, he now returns to the things that were causing the greatest disturbance to his soul, saying “See in what large letters I have written to you.” Here he hints at nothing except that he himself wrote the whole letter, which is a sign of the greatest authenticity. For in the other epistles he may have composed, but another wrote. … By “so large” he seems to me to be indicating not the size but the poor form of the characters, all but saying, “Although I do not write well, I have nonetheless been compelled to write for myself, so as to silence those who slander me.” HOMILY ON GALATIANS 6.11.

6:12a | Those Who Would Compel You

TO MAKE A GOOD SHOW IN THE FLESH. AMBROSIASTER: To please “in the flesh” means to please human beings. For those he calls false apostles, in order that they gain the approval of the Jews or at least not elicit their hostility, were preaching Christ in such a way that they also taught the necessity of observing the law. Paul was never intimidated by his opponents. He consistently refused to keep silent about the truth. He constantly was attentive to what he was teaching and how he was living. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 6.11.

6:12b | Avoiding Persecution for the Cross of Christ

THE PLOY OF EVADING ROMAN PERSECUTION BY BECOMING CIRCUMCISED. JEROME: Caius [Julius] Caesar and Octavianus Augustus, and Tiberius, the successor of Augustus, had published laws that permitted the Jews scattered throughout the whole sphere of the Roman Empire to live by their own code and observe their ancestral ceremonies. Whoever was circumcised, therefore, even if he was a Christian, was reckoned as a Jew by the Roman authorities. But anyone who was not circumcised and by his uncircumcision proclaimed himself no Jew became liable to persecution, both from Jews and from Gentiles! So those who were leading the Galatians into evil, wishing to evade the persecution, were persuading the disciples to circumcise themselves for protection. This the apostle calls “making a good show” in the flesh. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.6.12.

PERSECUTION ALSO FROM THE JEWS. AUGUSTINE: The Jews were inflicting great persecution on those who seemed to be deserting their traditional observances such as circumcision. Paul’s lack of fear has been demonstrated through his composing such a letter in his own handwriting. In this way he shows that those who force the Gentiles into circumcision are operating under fear’s control, as though they were subject to the law. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 62 [1B.6.11-14].

6:13a | Receiving Circumcision, Not Keeping the Law

CHRIST’S MORE PERFECT LAW AND MORE PERFECT CIRCUMCISION. EPIPHANIUS: The former circumcision was not inappropriate in its own time. But the law announced that Christ would come to dispense the law of freedom. Then the circumcision in the flesh would no longer be of service in the time of Christ. For through Christ came the true One of which the law was a shadow. From now on those who have been sealed with circumcision, even if they keep the whole law, would no longer gain any credit from their keeping this part of the law. … Nevertheless, the law is good and in its time so is circumcision, since through both we know Christ, who is the more perfect law and the more perfect circumcision. PANARION 42.12.3, EIGHTH REFUTATION OF MARCION.

FAILURE TO KEEP THE LAW. JEROME: Because of the weakness of the sin nature, Paul says, the law cannot be fulfilled. Hence the Jews keep the commands and traditions of the elders rather than God’s commands, performing neither the whole body of the law (which is impossible) nor the spirit of the law, which they did not understand. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.6.12.

THE LAW CANNOT BE KEPT A LONG DISTANCE FROM JERUSALEM. THEODORET: For how can they totally keep the law while they are traveling far from Jerusalem? How can they perform the feasts; how can they offer the sacrifices; how can they be cleansed after touching impure things? No, it is obvious that they have conspired to have you circumcised in their desire to boast of having made you change. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 6.13.

6:13b Glorying in Your Flesh

THE UNWORTHY MOTIVES OF THE JUDAIZERS. AUGUSTINE: Not only did [the Judaizers] wish to avoid persecution from the Jews, who were absolutely unwilling to let the law be given to the uncircumcised, but they desired to boast to the Jews about the number of proselytes they made. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 62 [1B.6.11-14].

6:14a | Glorying in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ

FAR BE IT FROM ME TO GLORY EXCEPT IN THE CROSS. CHRYSOSTOM: Now indeed [the cross] appears to be a reprehensible thing, but only to the world and to unbelievers. In heaven and for believers it is the highest glory. For poverty too is reprehensible, yet it is a cause of boasting to us. Many mock simplicity, but we are disciplined by it. In this way the cross ironically is also a cause of boasting for us. Paul did not say “I do not boast” or “I do not wish to boast” but “God forbid,” as though he were deprecating something absurd and calling on the aid of God to set this right. But what is this boasting in the cross? That on my behalf Christ took the form of a slave and suffered what he suffered on account of me the slave, the enemy, the ingrate. HOMILY ON GALATIANS 6.14.

6:14b | The World Crucified to Me and I to the World

THE WORLD DEAD TO ME AND I TO THE WORLD. CHRYSOSTOM: By “world” he means not heaven nor earth but the affairs of life, human praise, distinguished positions, reputation, wealth and all things that have a show of splendor. All such things are dead to me. Such should be the case for all Christians. Nor is he satisfied only with the former ordinary mode of dying, but he also introduces another kind of death: dying to the world itself. HOMILY ON GALATIANS 6.14.

THE WORLD CRUCIFIED THROUGH CHRIST SINCE HE SUFFERED FOR ALL. MARIUS VICTORINUS: When Paul writes that the cross is glory, he means obviously “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” When in that mystery his body hung from the cross and in it crushed the power of this world, the whole world was crucified through him. In the cross he identified with every person in the world. In doing so, he made everything that he suffered universal, that is, he caused all flesh to be crucified in his death. Therefore I too am fixed to the cross and to the world. I means the one who was living carnally, whose thoughts were of the flesh. Such a one is now “nailed to the world,” that is, the worldly things in him are subjected to death. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.6.14.

6:15 | Neither Circumcision nor Uncircumcision but a New Creation

THE SOUL RENEWED BY BAPTISM. CHRYSOSTOM: Do you see the power of the cross, to what a height it has raised the apostle? For not only has it made all the things of the world dead to him, but it has set him far above the older way of life. What equals the strength of the cross? Paul at one time was willing to be slain and to slay others for the cause of circumcision. Now he has been persuaded by the cross to let circumcision fall to the level of uncircumcision. Now he seeks new and strange things which are above the heavens. By the new creation he means our own new way of life, both on account of what is past and what is to come. We are renewed by what is past, because our soul, having grown old in sin, has been immediately renewed by baptism. It is as if recreated again that we seek a new and heavenly way of life. We are being renewed by what is to come, because the heaven and the earth and all creation will be changed into incorruption along with our own bodies. HOMILY ON GALATIANS 6.15.

A NEW CREATION. THEODORET: Paul also mentions a new creation in his letter to the Corinthians. … The strict meaning of new creation is the transformation of all things which will occur after the resurrection from the dead. For then the creation will be freed from sin’s burden and redeemed. Paul demonstrates that saving baptism is an image of things to come. In it we put off the old nature and put on the new. And we, ridding ourselves of sin’s burden, receive the grace of the Spirit. Yet neither the most holy baptism nor the life to come recognizes any difference between circumcision and uncircumcision. By world he means the affairs of life—honor, glory and wealth. To these he declares himself dead. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 6.15.

6:16 | Peace and Mercy upon the Israel of God

WHO ARE THE ISRAEL OF GOD. CHRYSOSTOM: Those who pursue this new creation will enjoy peace and goodness, and truly deserve to be called by the name of the true Israel. But those who oppose it, even if they have been born of Israel and carried Israel’s name with them, have fallen away from Israel and from that name and family. For those who can truly be Israelites are those who keep this rule, abstain from the old ways and pursue what belongs to grace. HOMILY ON GALATIANS 6.16.

THOSE WHO WALK BY THIS RULE. AUGUSTINE: Paul means those who are truly prepared for the vision of God. These are distinguished from those who are called by this name [Israel] and in their carnal blindness refuse to see the Lord, spurning his grace, still desiring to be enslaved by temporal things. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 63 [1B.6.15-16].

6:17a | Let No One Trouble Me

CASE CLOSED. AMBROSIASTER: He does not wish to be annoyed any longer by people advocating circumcision—people who would force him to write another letter. He wants the Galatians to respond quickly to his letter and get rid of their mistakes. This hard work will result in genuine rest. If, however, they show themselves to be reluctant and stubborn, refusing to change, Paul wants to be left alone. Let the Galatians spend their time and effort trying to please the Judaizers in an empty search for temporary reward. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 6.17.

HENCEFORTH. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul does not write these things because he is tired or demoralized. How could one chosen by God to bear and do all things for his disciples give up now? … Why does he say this now? To give direction to lazy Christians by helping them see how serious their situation is, to reinforce the teachings he has given and to refuse to let them abandon it. HOMILY ON GALATIANS 6.17.

6:17b | I Bear on My Body the Marks of Jesus

READINESS TO SUFFER FOR THE TRUTH. MARIUS VICTORINUS: Paul’s point is this: “All that Christ experienced on the cross—the imprint of the nails, the spear thrust in his side, the other marks of the crucifixion—I bear in my own body. I too have suffered. Therefore you too ought to endure much—indeed all—adversity, since you will be with Christ if you suffer with Christ and begin by your own act, in the face of adversaries, to suffer what Christ suffered.” Through these words Paul reveals what he himself was suffering, how much he shared with Christ and what we also ought to suffer if we wish to live in Christ. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.6.17.

BEARING THE MARKS OF JESUS. JEROME: Anyone who after Christ’s coming is circumcised in the flesh does not carry the marks of the Lord Jesus. Rather he glories in his own confusion. But the one who was flogged beyond what the law required, frequently was in prison, was beaten three times with rods, was once stoned and suffered all the other things that are written in his catalog of boasting—this is the one who carries on his body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Perhaps also the ascetic today who keeps his body under control and subjects it to servitude so that he will not appear reprobate as he preaches to others may in some way carry the marks of the Lord Jesus on his own body. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.6.17.

GOD’S STRENGTH PERFECTED IN WEAKNESS. GREGORY OF NYSSA: “Rejoicing in these lacerations,” Paul says, “I bear the marks of Christ in my own body.” He readily yields to his weakness in all these misfortunes, through which the power of Christ is being perfected in virtue. ORATION 12 ON SONG OF SONGS 5.7.

6:18 | The Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ

WITH YOUR SPIRIT. CHRYSOSTOM: By this final word he has sealed the argument of the letter. For he does not say simply “with you,” as in the other letters, but “with your spirit.” He is leading them away from corrupted things and pointing everywhere to the benevolent work of God and reminding them of the grace that they have enjoyed. By this he is able to lead them away from the legalistic error in its entirety. For the receiving of the Spirit was not for the poverty of legalism but for righteousness according to the Spirit. … The concluding prayer and teaching work together, serving as a double fortress. The teaching reminds them of all the gracious benefits they have enjoyed and holds them all the more firmly in the teaching of the church. And this prayer, by invoking grace and persuading them to stand fast, does not allow their spirit to fall away. HOMILY ON GALATIANS 6.18.

THE GRACE OF OUR LORD. JEROME: How does the blessing refer to the letter? Not discord, not slavery to the law, not biting and railing, but the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is asked to be “with your spirit.” Not with the flesh only; not with the soul only. For having been made spiritual they have ceased to be cheaply embodied. In the Spirit both body and soul are embraced. The grace of the Lord Jesus is not given indiscriminately to all but to those who are ready to be called brothers by the apostle—faithful brothers and intimate brothers, as the word amen signifies in Hebrew. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.6.18.

THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS