Bible Verses and Early Church Commentary | Historical Christian Faith

¹ O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? ² This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? ³ Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? ⁴ Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. ⁵ He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? ⁶ Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. ⁷ Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. ⁸ And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. ⁹ So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. ¹⁰ For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. ¹¹ But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. ¹² And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. ¹³ Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: ¹⁴ That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. ¹⁵ Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. ¹⁶ Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. ¹⁷ And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. ¹⁹ Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. ²⁰ Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. ²¹ Is 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 to bring us 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 be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:1

They bear in mind how the churches were rebuked by the apostle: "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you? " and, "Ye did run so well; who hath hindered you? " and how the epistle actually begins: "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him, who hath called you as His own in grace, to another gospel.

Source: The Prescription Against Heretics

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:1

"O foolish Galatians who did bewitch you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth, crucified?"

Here he passes to another subject; in the former chapters he had shown himself not to be an Apostle of men, nor by men, nor in want of Apostolic instruction. Now, having established his authority as a teacher, he proceeds to discourse more confidently, and draws a comparison between faith and the Law. At the outset he said, "I marvel that you are so quickly removing;" [Galatians 1:6] but here, "O foolish Galatians;" then, his indignation was in its birth, but now, after his refutation of the charges against himself, and his proofs, it bursts forth. Let not his calling them "foolish" surprise you; for it is not a transgression of Christ's command not to call one's brother a fool, but rather a strict observance of it. For it is not said simply, "Whosoever shall say to his brother, You fool," [Matthew 5:22] but, whosoever shall do so, "without a cause." And who more fittingly than they could so be called, who after so great events, adhered to past things, as if nothing else had ever happened? If on this account Paul is to be called a "reviler," Peter may likewise, on account of Annanias and Sapphira, be called a homicide; but as it would be wildness to do so in that case, much more in this. Moreover it is to be considered, that this vehemence is not used at the beginning, but after these evidences and proofs, which, rather than Paul himself, might now be held to administer the rebuke. For after he had shown that they rejected the faith, and made the death of Christ to be without a purpose, he introduces his reproof, which, even as it is, is less severe than they merited. Observe too how soon he stays his arm; for he adds not, Who has seduced you? Who has perverted you? Who has been sophistical with you? But, "Who has cast an envious eye on you?" thus tempering his reprimand with somewhat of praise. For it implies that their previous course had excited jealousy, and that the present occurrence arose from the malignity of a demon, whose breath had blasted their prosperous estate.

And when you hear of jealousy in this place, and in the Gospel, of an evil eye, which means the same, you must not suppose that the glance of the eye has any natural power to injure those who look upon it. For the eye, that is, the organ itself, cannot be evil; but Christ in that place means jealousy by the term. To behold, simply, is the function of the eye, but to behold in an evil manner belongs to a mind depraved within. As through this sense the knowledge of visible objects enters the soul, and as jealousy is for the most part generated by wealth, and wealth and sovereignty and pomp are perceived by the eye, therefore he calls the eye evil; not as beholding merely, but as beholding enviously from some moral depravity. Therefore by the words, "Who has looked enviously on you," he implies that the persons in question acted, not from concern, not to supply defects, but to mutilate what existed. For envy, far from supplying what is wanting, subtracts from what is complete, and vitiates the whole. And he speaks thus, not as if envy had any power of itself, but meaning, that the teachers of these doctrines did so from envious motives.

Ver. 1. "Before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth, crucified."

Yet was He not crucified in Galatia, but at Jerusalem. His reason for saying, "among you," is to declare the power of faith to see events which are at a distance. He says not, "crucified," but, "openly set forth crucified," signifying that by the eye of faith they saw more distinctly than some who were present as spectators. For many of the latter received no benefit, but the former, who were not eye-witnesses, yet saw it by faith more clearly. These words convey both praise and blame; praise, for their implicit acceptance of the truth; blame, because Him whom they had seen, for their sakes, stripped naked, transfixed, nailed to the cross, spit upon, mocked, fed with vinegar, upbraided by thieves, pierced with a spear; (for all this is implied in the words, "openly set forth, crucified,") Him had they left, and betaken themselves to the Law, unshamed by any of those sufferings. Here observe how Paul, leaving all mention of heaven, earth, and sea, every where preaches the power of Christ, bearing about as he did, and holding up His cross: for this is the sum of the Divine love toward us.

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:1

Having established himself as a trustworthy teacher, he speaks from now on with greater personal authority, drawing a comparison between the law and faith. Earlier he had said: “I am amazed that you have so quickly departed.” Now he says: “O foolish Galatians.” Then he was pregnant with indignation. Now, having made his defense of what pertained to him, he lets it burst into the open and brings it forth afterward for demonstration. And if he calls them fools, do not be surprised. In doing this, he does not transgress Christ’s law, which forbids one to call his brother a fool, but rather is protecting them. For who could have more justly deserved this term, when after so many great things they held to the former ways as though nothing had happened?

Source: HOMILY ON GALATIANS 3.1

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:1

Since Christ was crucified not in the Galatians’ territory but in Jerusalem, what does he mean by this phrase “before whose eyes?” He is illustrating the power of faith, which is able to see even things far off. And he said not “crucified” but “portrayed as crucified,” showing that with the eyes of faith they saw more accurately than those who were there and witnessed the events.… And he says this both to reprimand and to commend them. He commends them for having received the facts with such enthusiasm. He blames them because, having seen Christ stripped, crucified, nailed, spat on, mocked, drinking vinegar, insulted by thieves, pierced with a spear … they have forsaken this man and run back to the law, showing no awareness of Christ’s sufferings.

Source: HOMILY ON GALATIANS 3.1

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:1

We must expound what follows—“Who has bewitched you?”—in a way worthy of Paul, who even if rough in his speech is not so in his understanding. It must not be interpreted in such a way as to make Paul legitimize the witchcraft that is popularly supposed to do harm. Rather he has used a colloquial ex-pression, and as elsewhere so here he has adopted a word from everyday speech.… In the same way as tender infants are said to be harmed by witchcraft, so too the Galatians, recently born in the faith of Christ and nourished with milk, not solid food, have been injured as though someone has cast a spell on them.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 1.3.1

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:1

Christ is rightly said to be portrayed before us, since the whole chorus of Old Testament prophets spoke of his gallows and passion, his blows and whippings.… Nor was it a small number of Galatians who believed in the crucifixion as it has previously been portrayed for them. It was of course by this means that, reading the prophets continually and knowing all the ordinances of the law, they were led in due course to belief.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 1.3.1

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:1

(Chapter III - Verse 1) O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? This place can be understood in two ways. Either the foolish Galatians are called so because they have come from greater things to lesser things, having begun in the spirit and are now being consumed in the flesh. Or it is because each province has its own peculiarities. The Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons, truly spoken of by the poet Epimenides, confirmed by the Apostle. The vain Moors and the fierce Dalmatians are struck by the Latin historian. Timid Phrygians, all poets tear apart. They say that more talented people are born in Athens, and philosophers boast about it. Cicero criticizes the Greeks, calling them either frivolous or cruel barbarians before Caesar. And for Flaccus, he says: 'Ingeniousness is innate, he says, and educated vanity.' The true Israel, with a heavy heart and a stiff neck, accuses all the Scriptures. Therefore, I think that the Apostle Paul also rebuked the Galatians for their regional customs. Although some, inserting profound questions as if under the guise of avoiding heresy, which introduces diverse natures, may say that even the Tyrians and Sidonians, Moabites and Ammonites, and Idumaeans, Babylonians and Egyptians, and all the Nations mentioned in the Scriptures, have certain languages for preceding reasons, and deservedly for their prior actions, so that the justice of God may not come into doubt: since it is asserted that every nation has either good or evil, which another does not have. We will pursue those declining heights: either accusing them of foolishness, saying that they cannot judge the spirit of the Law and the letter; or blaming the fault of the nation, that they are unteachable and foolish, and slower to wisdom. But what follows - 'Who bewitched you?' (1 Corinthians 11) - we should explain according to Paul (who, although unskilled in speech, is not lacking in knowledge): not that he knows that there is a bewitching power, which is commonly believed to be harmful; but he uses the word as a trite expression, and as in other things, so also in this place, he takes up the phrase of everyday conversation. We read in Proverbs: The gift of the envious tortures the eyes. The envious person among us is more significantly called a fascinator in Greek, and in the Wisdom of Solomon it is written: The fascination of wickedness obscures good things (Wis. 4:22). With these examples we are taught that the envious person is tormented by the happiness of others, or that someone in whom there is some good is harmed by another person who fascinates, that is, envies. It is said that the fascinus properly harms infants, young children, and those who have not yet firmly set foot. Where and some of the Gentiles:

I do not know who bewitches the tender eyes of my lambs. (Virgil. Eclog. 3.) Whether this is true or not, God knows: because it is possible that even demons may serve this sin; and they may turn away from the good works anyone has learned or achieved in the work of God. Now this is in question, because we consider this example to be taken from the opinion of the common people: just as it is said that a tender age can be harmed by a spell, so too it seems that the Galatians, who were recently born and raised in the faith of Christ, and nourished by milk and not solid food (1 Corinthians 3), have been harmed by some sort of spell, and the spirit of the Holy One has made them vomit the food of faith, causing a nausea in their spirit. But if someone contradicts, let him explain how the ideas of the Titans' valley in the Books of Kings (2 Kings 23), the sirens and centaurs in Isaiah (Chap. 34), Arcturus and Orion, and the Pleiades in Job (Chap. 9), and the like, which are certainly terms borrowed from the myths of the Gentiles, have been taken from common opinion. Let us therefore ask Marcion, who rejects the prophets, how he interprets what follows.

Before whose eyes Jesus Christ was proclaimed, among you he was crucified. For Christ was rightly proclaimed to us, from whose gallows and suffering, slaps and whips, the chorus of all the prophets foretold: that his cross was not only from the Gospel, in which he is said to be crucified; but long before he deigned to descend to the earth and take on the form of a crucified man, we have known. And it is no small praise of the Galatians that they have believed in the Crucified One, as it was proclaimed to them before: namely, by reading the prophets and knowing all the sacraments of the old Law, they have come to believe in the way and order. It is read in some codices: Who bewitched you to not believe the truth? But because this is not found in the exemplars of Adamantius, we have omitted it.

Source: Commentary on Galatians

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Galatians 3:1

This indicates their previous zeal for piety and manifests the fatherly affection of the apostle. He grieves over them for their loss of wealth accumulated.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.1

[AD 384] Ambrosiaster on Galatians 3:2

He sets forth a tenet that could not at that time be denied: the Holy Spirit dwells in believers. This gift was manifested by God to recollect the rudiments of the faith, as it was at the beginning when it was practiced among the apostles and the other disciples. … On these the Holy Spirit descended and gave the capacity to speak in many tongues, with the gift of interpretation, so that no one dared deny the presence of the Spirit of God in them.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.3.3

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:2

Ver. 2. "This only would I learn from you, Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by the hearing of faith?"

As you do not attend, says he, to long discourses, nor are willing to contemplate the magnitude of this Economy, I am desirous, (seeing your extreme ignorance,) to convince you by concise arguments and a summary method of proof. Before, he had convinced them by what he said to Peter; now, he encounters them entirely with arguments, drawn not from what had occurred elsewhere, but from what had happened among themselves. And his persuasives and proofs are adduced, not merely from what was given them in common with others, but from what was especially conferred on themselves. Therefore he says, "This only would I learn from you, Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by the hearing of faith." You have received, he says, the Holy Spirit, you have done many mighty works, you have effected miracles in raising the dead, in cleansing lepers, in prophesying, in speaking with tongues — did the Law confer this great power upon you? Was it not rather Faith, seeing that, before, you could do no such things? Is it not then the height of madness for these who have received such benefits from Faith, to abandon it, and desert back to the Law which can offer you nothing of the same kind?

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:2

Paul says, in effect, “For since you do not pay heed to high-flown words and will not consider the greatness of God’s gift, I want to persuade you through a concise argument with a very swift proof, since you seem to be utterly unaware.”

Source: HOMILY ON GALATIANS 3.2

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:2

(Version 2.) This is the only thing I want to learn from you: did you receive the Spirit by works of the Law or by hearing with faith? Indeed, are there many things that can force you to prefer the Gospel to the Law: but because you are foolish and cannot hear those things, I speak to you in simple terms, and I ask about what is obvious: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by works of the Law, by observing the Sabbath, circumcision, and the superstition of new moons, or by hearing with faith, through which you believed from the Gentiles? But if it cannot be denied, it is evident that the Holy Spirit and the virtues that followed the received Spirit at the beginning of faith were given not by the works of the Law, but by the faith of Christ. It is clear that you have begun from better things and fallen into worse. However, let us consider carefully, because he did not say, 'I want to learn from you whether you received the Spirit from works,' but he added, 'from the works of the Law.' For he knew that even Cornelius the centurion had received the Spirit from works (Acts 10), but not from the works of the Law, which he did not know. But if, on the contrary, it is said: therefore, the Spirit can be received without hearing faith. We will respond that indeed the Spirit is received, but through the hearing of faith and the natural law, which speaks in our hearts, the good things to be done and the evils to be avoided: through which we have already mentioned that even Abraham, Moses, and the other justified saints have received it, and the observation of works and the righteousness of the Law can furthermore increase it, not the carnal law, which has passed, but the spiritual law, for the Law is spiritual. Nor indeed do we destroy the works of the Law because we prefer faith (Rom. III), nor do we say, according to some, Let us do evil, so that good may come (whose condemnation is just), but we give preference to grace over slavery. And we say that what the Jews do out of fear, we do out of charity. They are slaves, we are children: they are compelled to do good, we willingly embrace it. Therefore, it is not from the faith of Christ that the license to sin arises; rather, the desire for good works is increased by the love of faith, as we do good not because we fear judgment but because we know that they please the one in whom we believe. Let someone inquire, if faith comes only from hearing, how can those who are born deaf become Christians? Indeed, one can understand God the Father from the magnitude and beauty of creation, and the Creator is consequently recognized from His works. But the birth, cross, death, and resurrection of Christ cannot be known except through hearing. Therefore, either deaf people are not Christians, or if they are Christians, it is false what is said elsewhere by the Apostle: 'So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.' To which, he who is content with a simple response, says, that he did not speak generally; faith comes from hearing; but faith comes from hearing, which can be understood both in part and in whole: namely, the faith of those who hear, who believe. However, whoever attempts to satisfy this doubt, will first try to assert that even the deaf can learn the Gospel through nods, daily conversation, and, so to speak, gestures of the whole body; then also that the word of God, to whom nothing is deaf, speaks more to those ears, about whom he himself says in the Gospel: He who has ears to hear, let him hear (Luke 8:8). And in the Apocalypse: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches (Rev. II, 11). And Isaiah: The Lord has given me an ear (Isa. VI, 33 and 35). This is another man, to whom God speaks in secret, who cries out in the heart of the believer: Abba, Father (Rom. VIII, 15): and (as we have often explained) just as the body has all its members and senses, so the soul also has all its senses and members, including ears: whoever has them will not greatly need the ears of the body to know the Gospel of Christ. Moreover, also consider this, that here the Holy Spirit is understood without any addition, whom we obtain as a gift from God, and not from man: of which it is written elsewhere: The Spirit is incorruptible in all things (Wis. 12:1). And: The Spirit himself gives testimony to our spirit (Rom. 8:16). And in another place: No one knows the things that are in man, except the spirit of man that is in him (1 Cor. 2:11). And in Daniel: Bless the Lord, spirits and souls of the righteous (Dan. 3:86).

Source: Commentary on Galatians

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Galatians 3:2

Here he begins to demonstrate in what sense the grace of faith is sufficient for justification without the works of the law.… But so that this question may be carefully treated and no one may be deceived by ambiguities, we must first understand that the works of the law are twofold; for they reside partly in ceremonial ordinances and partly in morals. To the ordinances belong the circumcision of the flesh, the weekly sabbath, new moons, sacrifices and all the innumerable observances of this kind. But to morality belong “You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not bear false witness” and so on. Could the apostle possibly not care whether a Christian were a murderer and adulterer or chaste and innocent, in the way that he does not care whether he is circumcised or uncircumcised in the flesh? He therefore is specially concerned with the works that consist in ceremonial ordinances, although he indicates that the others are sometimes bound up with them. But near the end of the letter he deals separately with those works that consist in morals, and he does this briefly, but he speaks at greater length regarding the [ceremonial] works.… For nothing so terrifies the mind as a ceremonial ordinance that is not understood. But when it is understood it produces spiritual joy and is celebrated gladly and in due season. It is read and treated only with a spiritual sweetness. Now every sacrament, once understood in this way, is applied either to the contemplation of truth or to good morals. The contemplation of truth is founded in the love of God alone, good morals in the love of God and the neighbor, and on these two precepts depend the whole Law and the Prophets.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 19 [1B.3.1]

[AD 215] Clement of Alexandria on Galatians 3:3

Peccatun enim, cure sit "corruptio "non potest babere societatem cure incorrupt one "quae est justitia. "Adeo stulti "inquit, "estis? cure spiritu coeperitis, nunc came consummamini."

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:3

Ver. 3. "Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now perfected in the flesh?"

Here again he seasonably interposes a rebuke; time, he says, should have brought improvement; but, so far from advancing, you have even retrograded. Those who start from small beginnings make progress to higher things; you, who began with the high, have relapsed to the low. Even had your outset been carnal, your advance should have been spiritual, but now, after starting from things spiritual, you have ended your journey in that which is carnal; for to work miracles is spiritual, but to be circumcised is carnal. And after miracles you have passed to circumcision, after having apprehended the truth you have fallen back to types, after gazing on the sun you seek a candle, after having strong meat you run for milk. He says, "made perfect," which means not "initiated" merely, but "sacrificed," signifying that their teachers took and slew them like animals, while they resigned themselves to suffer what those teachers pleased. As if some captain, or distinguished man, after a thousand victories and trophies, were to subject himself to infamy as a deserter, and offer his body to be branded at the will of others.

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:3

What he means is, “Whereas the advance of time should bring increase, you not only have not improved but have actually been pushed backward. For those who have begun from small things gradually proceed to greater ones. But you, on the contrary, beginning from great things, have been carried back to less … from performing spiritual signs back to practicing fleshly circumcision.”

Source: HOMILY ON GALATIANS 3.3

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:3

(Verse 3.) So foolish are you, that having begun in the Spirit, you are now being perfected in the flesh? If the Galatians received the Holy Spirit, how were they foolish? But it is immediately resolved, that although they did receive the Spirit, they were deprived of it when they were being perfected in the flesh. Hence they suffered so much in vain. In order to avoid this happening to themselves after sin, David prays, saying: Do not take your Holy Spirit from me (Ps. 50:13). Pay careful attention to the fact that those who follow the Scriptures literally are said to be perfected in the flesh. Therefore, what is written to the Corinthians, 'Living in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh' (2 Cor. X, 3), can be better understood as meaning that those who humbly adhere to the Old Testament are said to wage war in the flesh. However, those who follow the spiritual understanding, though they are in the flesh because they have the same letter as the Jews, do not wage war according to the flesh but transcend from the flesh to the spirit. When you see someone who was the first to believe among the Gentiles, and extends his hand to the plow of Christ, having been preceded by a wise teacher, in such a way as to proceed from the path of the Law to the Gospel, so that he may understand all those things that are written there, about the Sabbath, about unleavened bread, about circumcision, about sacrifices, in a worthy manner for God, and afterwards, after the reading of the Gospel, be persuaded by a Jewish person or a fellow Jew, so that he may abandon the shadows and cloudy allegories and interpret the Scriptures as they are written: can you say of this person: 'Are you so foolish, that after beginning with the Spirit, you are now being perfected by the flesh?'

Source: Commentary on Galatians

[AD 370] Gaius Marius Victorinus on Galatians 3:4

Such a subtle comment requires patience to understand. It both negatively reprimands and positively admonishes. He reprimands them by saying “You have suffered so much in vain.” At the same time he admonishes them by saying “you have suffered so much,” aware that they withstood many things with fortitude when they received faith.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 1.3.4

[AD 370] Gaius Marius Victorinus on Galatians 3:4

Lest he should seem to despair needlessly, he has corrected his own reprimand by saying “if indeed it is in vain.” For they could be corrected. If so, what they have suffered will not be without meaning. The meaning they will have will be perseverance in faith, the prize and the confirmation of promises derived from faith in Christ.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 1.3.4

[AD 384] Ambrosiaster on Galatians 3:4

At that time believers were subject to reproach from others, whether at home or abroad, being pointed out as guilty of treason. Hence the Galatians, who had likewise suffered a great deal, were more perverse than those who had been spared, because they had lost the merit of their suffering by their resubmission to the law.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.4

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:4

Ver. 4. "Did you suffer so many things in vain? if it be indeed in vain."

This remark is far more piercing than the former, for the remembrance of their miracles would not be so powerful as the exhibition of their contests and endurance of sufferings for Christ's sake. All that you have endured, says he, these men would strip you of, and would rob you of your crown. Then, lest he should dismay and unnerve, he proceeds not to a formal judgment, but subjoins, "if it be indeed in vain;" if you have but a mind to shake off drowsiness and recover yourselves, he says, it is not in vain. Where then be those who would cut off repentance ? Here were men who had received the Spirit, worked miracles, become confessors, encountered a thousand perils and persecutions for Christ's sake, and after so many achievements had fallen from grace; nevertheless he says, if you have the purpose, you may recover yourselves.

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:4

(Verse 4) You have suffered so much without cause, if indeed without cause. Let us consider the unfortunate Jews, how they live among other nations in such superstition and the labor of observance, saying, do not touch, do not taste, do not handle, and we will prove that what is said is true: You have suffered so much without cause. But the judgment is not immediately applied to them, and there is doubt if indeed without cause, because this is said of those who can turn from the Law to the Gospel. However, this can be understood better in the following way: that the Galatians, believing in the Crucified One, have endured many reproaches from both the Jews and the Gentiles, and have endured considerable persecutions. These persecutions are in vain criticized, if they depart from the grace of Christ, for which they have endured so much. At the same time, there is the hope that whoever labors for the faith of Christ and afterward falls into sin, just as it is said that he suffered the former without cause while sinning, likewise does not lose it if he returns to the original faith and the former zeal. Otherwise: If you think that circumcision should be followed after grace, then all that you have suffered while living without circumcision up until the present time has been in vain. But it seems to me that you have not endured these things without purpose, for I know that the Law is no longer valid after the Gospel. Or at least this way: It would not be a small loss if, by following circumcision, you had lost so much of the previous effort of faith. But now, in addition to this loss, there is also the punishment of transgression, so that you have suffered in the past without cause and will suffer in the future as well. Some people understand it more forcibly as follows: Consider the former freedom of grace and the present burdens of observation in the Law, and you will see how many things you have done in vain: although the fruit of this error is not completely to be despaired of, since you have been led to this by the zeal of God. For ignorance can be forgiven to those who, if they are converted to better things, teach that the knowledge in you has fluctuated, not the zeal.

Source: Commentary on Galatians

[AD 202] Irenaeus on Galatians 3:5

But the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, announced beforehand unto Abraham, that in him all nations should be blessed. So then they which be of faith shall be blessed with faithful Abraham."

Source: Against Heresies Book IV

[AD 370] Gaius Marius Victorinus on Galatians 3:5

After confirming that they have suffered and consequently that the Spirit has been given to them, he rightly goes on to ask whether God worked virtues in them from the works of the law or from the hearing of faith. “Obviously not from works,” [he says], “for it was not from yourselves that any works proceeded, but you heard in faith and were attentive to faith. And for this reason God worked virtues in you; and if he worked, he gave you the Spirit.”

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 1.3.5

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:5

Ver. 5. "He therefore that supplies to you the Spirit, and works miracles among you, does he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?"

Have you been vouchsafed, he says, so great a gift, and achieved such wonders, because you observed the Law, or because you adhered to Faith? Plainly on account of Faith. Seeing that they played this argument to and fro, that apart from the Law, Faith had no force, he proves the contrary, viz., that if the Commandments be added, Faith no longer avails; for Faith then has efficacy when things from the Law are not added to it. "You who would be justified by the Law, you are fallen away from grace:" [Galatians 5:4] This he says later, when his language has grown bolder, employing the vantage-ground by that time gained; meanwhile while gaining it, he argues from their past experience. For it was when you obeyed Faith, he says, not the Law, that you received the Spirit and wrought miracles.

And here, as the Law was the subject of discussion, he moots another special point of controversy, and very opportunely and with much cogency introduces a notice of Abraham.

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:5

His opponents had turned this about and upside down by saying that faith is of no avail if the law is not added. He shows, on the contrary, that if the law’s precepts are added, faith will no longer be of any use.

Source: HOMILY ON GALATIANS 3.5

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:5

(Verse 5.) So then, does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? Not that the works of the Law should be despised, and without them a simple faith should be sought; but that the works themselves may be adorned by the faith of Christ. For that saying of the wise man is well known, 'The just shall live by faith, not by righteousness.' At the same time it is shown that the Galatians, after receiving the Holy Spirit by faith, had the gifts of virtues, that is, prophecy, kinds of tongues, healings, and other things that are enumerated in the spiritual gifts to the Corinthians (1 Cor. VII). And yet, after so many (because perhaps they did not have the grace of discerning spirits), they were ensnared by false teachers. It should also be noted that they claim to work miracles in those who do not hold the truth of the Gospel: just as in those who, not following the Lord, were performing miracles in His name, with John in particular complaining: Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him because he does not accompany us (Mark 9:37). Against heretics who believe that the proof of their faith consists in performing some miracle. Those who eat and drink in the name of the Lord (for they also have a sacrilegious altar) and boast of having performed many signs, calling upon the Savior, will deserve to hear on the day of judgment: 'I never knew you, depart from me, you workers of iniquity' (Matthew 7:23).

Source: Commentary on Galatians

[AD 202] Irenaeus on Galatians 3:6

But the Scripture, fore-seeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, declared to Abraham beforehand, That in thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which are of faith shall be blessed with faithful Abraham."

Source: Against Heresies Book V

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:6

But how are we children of faith? and of whose faith, if not Abraham's? For since "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness; " since, also, he deserved for that reason to be called "the father of many nations," whilst we, who are even more like him in believing in God, are thereby justified as Abraham was, and thereby also obtain life-since the just lives by his faith,-it therefore happens that, as he in the previous passage called us "sons of Abraham," since he is in faith our (common) father, so here also he named us "children of faith," for it was owing to his faith that it was promised that Abraham should be the father of (many) nations.

Source: Against Marcion Book V

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:6

Accordingly it is patience which is both subsequent and antecedent to faith. In short, Abraham believed God, and was accredited by Him with righteousness; but it was patience which proved his faith, when he was bidden to immolate his son, with a view to (I would not say the temptation, but) the typical attestation of his faith.

Source: Of Patience

[AD 258] Cyprian on Galatians 3:6

Also in the priest Melchizedek we see prefigured the sacrament of the sacrifice of the Lord, according to what divine Scripture testifies, and says, "And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine." Now he was a priest of the most high God, and blessed Abraham. And that Melchizedek bore a type of Christ, the Holy Spirit declares in the Psalms, saying from the person of the Father to the Son: "Before the morning star I begat Thee; Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek; " which order is assuredly this coming from that sacrifice and thence descending; that Melchizedek was a priest of the most high God; that he offered wine and bread; that he blessed Abraham. For who is more a priest of the most high God than our Lord Jesus Christ, who offered a sacrifice to God the Father, and offered that very same thing which Melchizedek had offered, that is, bread and wine, to wit, His body and blood? And with respect to Abraham, that blessing going before belonged to our people. For if Abraham believed in God, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, assuredly whosoever believes in God and lives in faith is found righteous, and already is blessed in faithful Abraham, and is set forth as justified; as the blessed Apostle Paul proves, when he says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Ye know, then, that they which are of faith, these are the children of Abraham. But the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles through faith, pronounced before to Abraham that all nations should be blessed in him; therefore they who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." Whence in the Gospel we find that "children of Abraham are raised from stones, that is, are gathered from the Gentiles." And when the Lord praised Zacchaeus, He answered and said "This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham." In Genesis, therefore, that the benediction, in respect of Abraham by Melchizedek the priest, might be duly celebrated, the figure of Christ's sacrifice precedes, namely, as ordained in bread and wine; which thing the Lord, completing and fulfilling, offered bread and the cup mixed with wine, and so He who is the fulness of truth fulfilled the truth of the image prefigured.

Source: Epistle LXII

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:6

Ver. 6. "Even as Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness."

Even the miracles done by themselves, he says, declare the power of Faith, but I shall attempt if you will suffer me to draw my proofs from ancient narratives also. Then, as they made great account of the Patriarch, he brings his example forward, and shows that he too was justified by Faith. And if he who was before grace, was justified by Faith, although plentiful in works, much more we. For what loss was it to him, not being under the Law? None, for his faith sufficed unto righteousness. The Law did not then exist, he says, neither does it now exist, any more than then. In disproving the need of the Law, he introduces one who was justified before the Law, lest an objection should also be made to him; for as then it was not yet given, so now, having been given, it was abrogated. And as they made much of their descent from Abraham, and feared lest, abandoning the Law, they should be considered strangers to his kin; Paul removes this fear by turning their argument against themselves, and proves that faith is especially concerned in connecting them with Abraham. He draws out this argument more at length in the Epistle to the Romans; however he urges it also here in, the words,

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:6

Since the argument was about the law, Paul develops another highly controversial argument, bringing Abraham to the fore, and most effectively.… “For the power of faith,” he says, “is shown by the miracles that occurred among you; but if you wish I shall also try to convince you from the ancient records.… There was no law then,” he says, “and now too there is no law.… Just as in Abraham’s time the law was not yet given, so now, having been given, it has ceased.” And since they thought it a great thing to be descended from Abraham and were afraid that if they abandoned the law they would be deprived of their kinship, Paul turns this argument on its head and dissolves fear by showing that it is faith above all that produces affinity with Abraham.

Source: HOMILY ON GALATIANS 3.6

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:6

(Verse 6.) Just as Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. From this place until where it is written: Those who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham, Marcion erased from his Apostle. But what profit was there in embracing this, when the other things he left behind, his insanities, are opposed to it? Yet Abraham believed God, going out from his country into a land he did not know (Gen. 12 ff.): trusting that Sarah, who was ninety years old and barren, would give birth; and hearing the promise of God that his offspring would be called through Isaac, he offered Isaac as a sacrifice, and yet did not doubt the promise of the Lord. The faith is rightly considered to contribute to justice, the one who, having gone beyond the works of the Law, has deserved God not out of fear, but out of love.

Source: Commentary on Galatians

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:7

For ye are all the children of faith," it becomes dear that what the heretic's industry erased was the mention of Abraham's name; for by faith the apostle declares us to be "children of Abraham," and after mentioning him he expressly called us "children of faith" also. But how are we children of faith? and of whose faith, if not Abraham's? For since "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness; " since, also, he deserved for that reason to be called "the father of many nations," whilst we, who are even more like him in believing in God, are thereby justified as Abraham was, and thereby also obtain life-since the just lives by his faith,-it therefore happens that, as he in the previous passage called us "sons of Abraham," since he is in faith our (common) father, so here also he named us "children of faith," for it was owing to his faith that it was promised that Abraham should be the father of (many) nations.

Source: Against Marcion Book V

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:7

For if" faith" is the source whence we are reckoned to Abraham as his "sons" (as the apostle teaches, saying to the Galatians, "You know, consequently, that (they) who are of faith, these are sons of Abraham" ), when did Abraham "believe God and it was accounted to him for righteousness? "I suppose when still in monogamy, since (he was) not yet in circumcision.

Source: On Monogamy

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:7

For albeit it is subsequently that he is called "a father of many nations," still it is of those (nations) who, as the fruit of the "faith" which precedes digamy, had to be accounted "sons of Abraham."

Source: On Monogamy

[AD 370] Gaius Marius Victorinus on Galatians 3:7

Every mystery which is enacted by our Lord Jesus Christ asks only for faith. The mystery was enacted at that time for our sake and aimed at our resurrection and liberation, should we have faith in the mystery of Christ and in Christ. For the patriarchs prefigured and foretold that man would be justified from faith. Therefore, just as it was reckoned as righteousness to Abraham that he had faith, so we too, if we have faith in Christ and every mystery of his, will be sons of Abraham. Our whole life will be accounted as righteous.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 1.3.7

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:7-8

Ver. 7. "Know therefore, that they which be of faith, the same are sons of Abraham."

Which he proves by ancient testimony thus:

Ver. 8. "And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the Gospel beforehand unto Abraham, saying, In you shall all the nations be blessed."

If then those were Abraham's sons, not, who were related to him by blood, but who follow his faith, for this is the meaning of the words, "In you all the nations," it is plain that the heathen are brought into kindred with him.

Hereby too is proved another important point. It perplexed them that the Law was the older, and Faith afterwards. Now he removes this notion by showing that Faith was anterior to the Law; as is evident from Abraham's case, who was justified before the giving of the Law. He shows too that late events fell out according to prophecy; "The Scripture," says he, "foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the Gospel beforehand unto Abraham." Attend to this point. He Himself who gave the Law, had decreed, before He gave it, that the heathen should be justified by Faith. And he says not "revealed," but, "preached the Gospel," to signify that the patriarch was in joy at this method of justification, and in great desire for its accomplishment.

Further, they were possessed with another apprehension; it was written, "Cursed is every one that continues not in all things that are written in the book of the Law, to do them." [Deuteronomy 27:26] And this he removes, with great skill and prudence, turning their argument against themselves, and showing that those who relinquish the Law are not only not cursed, but blessed; and they who keep it, not only not blessed but cursed. They said that he who kept not the Law was cursed, but he proves that he who kept it was cursed, and he who kept it not, blessed. Again, they said that he who adhered to Faith alone was cursed, but he shows that he who adhered to Faith alone, is blessed. And how does he prove all this? For it is no common thing which we have promised; wherefore it is necessary to give close attention to what follows. He had already shown this, by referring to the words spoken to the Patriarch, "In you shall all nations be blessed," [Genesis 12:4] at a time, that is, when Faith existed, not the Law; so he adds by way of conclusion,

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:7

(V.7) So you know, those who are of faith, these are the children of Abraham. He discusses more fully in the letter to the Romans that faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness, not in circumcision but in uncircumcision (Rom. 4). And carefully observing, he teaches that those who believed with this mindset are the children of Abraham, just as Abraham believed when he was uncircumcised, who rejoiced to see the day of the Lord, and saw it and was glad (John 8). And it is also said to the unbelieving Jews: If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham (Ibid. 39). But what other works was the Lord seeking from them at that time when these things were said, except faith in the Son of God, whom the Father had sent to speak: Whoever believes in me, does not believe in me, but in him who sent me (John XII, 44)? And in another place, when they were clapping and boasting about their ancient and noble lineage, the response is given: And do not say, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones (Matth. III, 9). By these stones, no one doubts that the hardened hearts of the Gentiles are signified, which were later softened and received the seal of faith. Enumerate the virtues of Abraham in which he pleased God before circumcision, diligent reader, and wherever you find them in a similar work, say that they are the children of Abraham, justified in the foreskin, who received circumcision not because of the merit of works, but as a sign of prior faith. For indeed Christ was to be born from his seed (in whom the blessing of all nations was promised, and from Abraham until Christ many centuries were to pass), God foreseen that the children of beloved Abraham might mix with other nations, and gradually his family would become uncertain, he marked the Israelite flock with a certain circumcision seal, so that they would be distinguished by this sign while living among the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Chaldeans. Finally, for forty years in the desert, no one was circumcised: for they alone lived without the mixture of another nation. As soon as the people crossed the banks of the Jordan and poured themselves into the land of Palestine, the circumcision, necessary for the future mix of nations, guarded against error. And that which is written a second time about the circumcised people (Joshua 5) signifies that the circumcision ceased in the desert, which was reasonably practiced in Egypt; and that believers are to be cleansed by the spiritual circumcision of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Source: Commentary on Galatians

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:8

And if of Abraham, how much more, to be sure, of David, as a more recent progenitor! For, unfolding the promised blessing upon all nations in the person of Abraham, "And in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed," he adds, "He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." When we read and believe these things, what sort of flesh ought we, and can we, acknowledge in Christ? Surely none other than Abraham's, since Christ is "the seed of Abraham; "none other than Jesse's, since Christ is the blossom of "the stem of Jesse; "none other than David's, since Christ is "the fruit of David's loins; "none other than Mary's, since Christ came from Mary's womb; and, higher still, none other than Adam's, since Christ is "the second Adam.

Source: On the Flesh of Christ

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:8

For since they were perturbed by the greater antiquity of the law and the fact that faith came after the law, he destroys this surmise of theirs, showing that faith is older than the law. That is obvious from Abraham, since he was justified before the appearance of the law.… “The one who gave the law,” he says, in effect “was the one who decreed before the law was given that the Gentiles should be justified.” And Paul does not say “revealed” but “preached the gospel” [beforehand to Abraham], so that you may understand that even the patriarch rejoiced in this kind of righteousness and greatly desired its advent.

Source: HOMILY ON GALATIANS 3.8

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:8-9

(Verse 8, 9.) But the Scripture, foreseeing that by faith God would justify the Gentiles, foretold to Abraham that all nations would be blessed in him. So then, those who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. Not that the Scripture itself, namely the ink and the parchment, which are insensible, can foreknow the future; but rather the Holy Spirit and the senses, hidden in the letter, have foretold things to come many centuries later. Moreover, the example taken from Genesis is contained in its own volume: 'And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed' (Gen. XXVI, 4). The apostle interpreted this concerning Christ, saying: 'It is not written of seeds, as if in many; but as in one, and in your seed, which is Christ.' However, we must observe in all the almost testimonies (as taken from the old books in the new Testament), which the evangelists or apostles believed in memory; and having only explained the meaning, they often changed the order, and sometimes removed or added words. But there is no doubt that all nations were blessed in Isaac and Jacob, or in the twelve patriarchs, and others who descended from the lineage of Abraham; but in Christ Jesus, through whom all nations praise God, and a new name is blessed on the earth. However, the apostle can also be understood to have drawn an example of the seed from another passage in Genesis, where it is written: 'And (no doubt Abraham) God brought him outside and said to him: Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.' And he said to him: Thus shall your seed be; and Abraham believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice (Gen. XV, 5, 6) . Therefore, whoever believes, shall be blessed with faithful Abraham, who is said to have believed in God first, for his remarkable faith in him. Just as Enos is said to have hoped in the Lord God, the principal hope in God, and above all the others, is written to have called upon the Lord God (Gen. IV, 26) . Not that Abel, about whom the Lord says: The voice of your brother's blood cries to me (Ibid. IV, 10) ; and the others afterwards, did not hope to call upon God; but each one may be called upon from the part that he has, to the greatest extent possible.

Source: Commentary on Galatians

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:8

God, providing that the descendants of Abraham should not be mixed with the other nations … marked off the Israelite people by a particular rite: circumcision.… After that for forty years no one was circumcised in the wilderness. They were living without any intermixing with other nations.… As soon as the people crossed the river Jordan and the host poured out onto the territory of Judea in Palestine, he made provision by a necessary circumcision against the future error from miscegenation with the Gentiles. But the fact that the people are said to have been circumcised a second time by their leader Joshua signifies that circumcision had ceased in the wilderness, though practiced in Egypt for a good reason. Believers now are cleansed by our Lord Jesus Christ through a spiritual circumcision.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.7

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Galatians 3:8

The greatest cause for triumph in Abraham was that, before his circumcision, faith was reckoned to him for righteousness. This is most correctly referred to the promise that “All nations shall be blessed in you,” meaning of course by the following of his faith, by which he was justified even before the ordinance of circumcision, which he received as a token of faith, and long before the servitude of the law, which was given much later.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 20 [1B.3.2-9]

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:9

Ver. 9. "So then they which be of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham."

Then, that they might not turn round, and object that, true it was Abraham was justified by Faith, for the Law was not then given, but what instance would be found of Faith justifying after the delivery of the Law? He addresses himself to this, and proves more than they required: namely, not only that Faith was justifying, but that the Law brought its adherents under a curse. To be sure of this, listen to the very words of the Apostle.

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Galatians 3:9

Paul has thus eulogized faith and shown what fruits it has from the gracious gifts of the Spirit. He also has shown that it is older than the law from the witness of the law itself—for the Old Testament describes the events concerning Abraham. Finally, he sets the law alongside faith, showing how it differs.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.7-9

[AD 370] Gaius Marius Victorinus on Galatians 3:10

From his saying “works of the law” we are to understand that there are also good works in the Christian life, especially those that the apostle frequently commends, such as that we should be mindful of the poor and the other precepts for living that are contained in this very letter. The fulfillment of all these works is the calling of every Christian. The cursed works of the law referred to here are therefore other things: obviously observations [of days,] sacrifices of lambs and other such works that they perform concerning circumcision and the choice of foods. But now the paschal feast has been consummated through Christ.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.10

[AD 380] Apostolic Constitutions on Galatians 3:10

For says He: "Cursed be he that does not continue in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them."

Source: CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES

[AD 403] Epiphanius of Salamis on Galatians 3:10

The words “they are under a curse” mean that in the law there was a curse against Adam’s transgression, until the advent of the one who came from above and who, clothing himself with a body from the mass of Adamic humanity, turned the curse into blessing.

Source: PANARION 42.12.3, FIRST REFUTATION OF MARCION

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:10

This dissolves the fear, cleverly and shrewdly turning it on its head.… For they said that the one who does not keep the law is cursed, while he shows that the one who strives to keep it is cursed and the one who does not strive to keep it is blessed. They said also that the one who adheres to faith alone is accursed, while he shows, on the contrary, that the one who adheres to faith alone is blessed.

Source: HOMILY ON GALATIANS 3.9-10

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:10-11

Ver. 10. "For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse."

This is what he lays down, before proving it; and what is the proof? It is from the Law itself:—

Ver. 10, 11. "For it is written, Cursed is every one that continues not in all things that are written in the book of the Law to do them. Now that no man is justified by the Law is evident."

For all have sinned, and are under the curse. However he does not say this yet, lest he should seem to lay it down of himself, but here again establishes his point by a text which concisely states both points; that no man has fulfilled the Law, (wherefore they are under the curse,) and, that Faith justifies. What then is the text? It is in the book of the prophet Habakkuk, "The just shall live by faith," [Habakkuk 2:4] which not only establishes the righteousness that is of Faith, but also that there is no salvation through the Law. As no one, he says, kept the Law, but all were under the curse, on account of transgression, an easy way was provided, that from Faith, which is in itself a strong proof that no man can be justified by the Law. For the prophet says not, "The just shall live by the Law," but, "by faith:"

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:10

We perceive that the apostle, as elsewhere, has written down the sense of the passage rather than the words. We consider it uncertain whether the seventy interpreters [of the Septuagint] have added “everyone” and “in all” or whether it was in the old Hebrew and deleted by the Jews. What makes me suspect this is that the apostle, a man skilled in Hebrew learning, would never have added these words everyone and all as if they were necessary to his meaning in the proof that all who perform the works of the law are accursed, unless they were in the Hebrew copies. Therefore, reading over the Hebrew copies of the Samaritans, I found the word kol written, which means “all” or “in all” and concurs with the Seventy.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.3

[AD 108] Ignatius of Antioch on Galatians 3:11

And be ye steadfast, "for the just shall live by faith; "

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:11

But where three are, a church is, albeit they be laics. For each individual lives by his own faith, nor is there exception of persons with God; since it is not hearers of the law who are justified by the Lord, but doers, according to what the apostle withal says.

Source: On Exhortation to Chastity

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:11

All have sinned and are under a curse. Yet he does not say this, lest he should seem to be running ahead of his own demonstration. He establishes it by a testimony that succinctly proves both that no one fulfills the law (and therefore they are accursed) and that faith justifies.… For the prophet did not say, “The just shall live from law” but from faith.

Source: HOMILY ON GALATIANS 3.11

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:11-12

(Vers. 11, 12.) But since no one is justified before God by the law, it is clear that the righteous shall live by faith. The law is not of faith, but the one who does them shall live by them. An example that proves the righteous live by faith and not by works is taken from Habakkuk, as the Seventy interpreters have rendered it: But the righteous shall live by my faith (Hab. II, 4). Aquila and Theodotion: But the righteous shall live by his faith, that is, by God's faith. Therefore, it must be considered that when it is said that a man or a person lives by faith, it is not to give occasion for the despising of virtuous works, but rather, that the just person lives by faith. So, whoever is faithful and lives by faith can only come to faith or live in it if they have first become just and ascended to faith through the purity of life as if by certain steps. Therefore, it is possible for someone to be just and yet not live without the faith of Christ. If someone reading is troubled, let them take the words of Paul, in which he says about himself: According to the righteousness which is in the Law, blameless (Philippians 3:6). Therefore, Paul was at that time righteous in the Law, but he could not yet live, because he did not have Christ speaking in him: I am the life (John 11:25). Believing in Him, he began to live. Let us also do something similar to this which is said, the righteous lives by faith; and let us say: the chaste lives by faith, the wise lives by faith, the strong lives by faith, and let us bring forth a similar sentence against those who, not believing in Christ, consider themselves to be strong, wise, temperate, or righteous: so that they may know that no one can live without Christ, without whom all virtue is faulty. The present testimony can be read as follows: the just person lives by faith, as is inferred afterwards. But when he says, 'The law is not of faith, but he who does it shall live in it,' it is very clear that not just any life is being spoken of, but rather one that is referred to something. For the just person lives by faith, and it is not added 'in them' or 'in those.' But the one who lives in the law and does it, lives in them, that is, in those things that he has done, which he considered to be good. He receives the reward of his labor, only those works that he has done, whether it be the length of his life (as the Jews believe) or its decline, which is the punishment by which the transgressor of the law is killed. However, we cannot consider these words to be those of the Apostles, but of the prophet Ezekiel, who said: 'I led them into the wilderness and gave them my commandments and showed them my statutes, which if a man does, he shall live by them.' (Ezek. 20:10-11).' And when he said that those who walked in the commandments and statutes would live, he added: 'I also gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live' (ibid., 25). What a consideration in these words! Where he said: I gave them precepts and justifications in which they could live, he did not add goods. But where he placed, in which they could not live, he added: And I gave them precepts that are not good, and justifications in which they will not live. But these things are explained more fully in Ezekiel: now let us return to the order of the Letter.

Source: Commentary on Galatians

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Galatians 3:11

The law leads to knowledge of sin and at length to the transgression of the law itself. It is thus with the knowledge and increase of sin that grace may be sought through faith.

Source: AGAINST TWO LETTERS OF PELAGIUS 1.14

[AD 215] Clement of Alexandria on Galatians 3:12

Whether, then, Egypt and the land of Canaan be the symbol of the world and of deceit, or of sufferings and afflictions; the oracle shows us what must be abstained from, and what, being divine and not worldly, must be observed. And when it is said, "The man that doeth them shall live in them"

Source: Clement of Alexandria Stromata Book II

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:12

Ver. 12. "And the Law is not of faith; but He that does them shall live in them."

For the Law requires not only Faith but works also, but grace saves and justifies by Faith. [Ephesians 2:8]

You see how he proves that they are under the curse who cleave to the Law, because it is impossible to fulfill it; next, how comes Faith to have this justifying power? For to this doctrine he already stood pledged, and now maintains it with great force of argument. The Law being too weak to lead man to righteousness, an effectual remedy was provided in Faith, which is the means of rendering that possible which was "impossible by the Law." [Romans 8:3] Now as the Scripture says, "the just shall live by faith," thus repudiating salvation by the Law, and moreover as Abraham was justified by Faith, it is evident that its efficacy is very great. And it is also clear, that he who abides not by the Law is cursed, and that he who keeps to Faith is just. But, you may ask me, how I prove that this curse is not still of force? Abraham lived before the Law, but we, who once were subject to the yoke of bondage, have made ourselves liable to the curse; and who shall release us therefrom? Observe his ready answer to this; his former remark was sufficient; for, if a man be once justified, and has died to the Law and embraced a novel life, how can such a one be subject to the curse? However, this is not enough for him, so he begins with a fresh argument, as follows:—

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 9999] Pseudo-Augustine on Galatians 3:12

This means the one who follows the law will live and not die for the present. But the righteousness which is from faith makes one righteous in God’s sight, so that one may be rewarded eternally in the age to come.

Source: QUESTIONS ON THE NEW TESTAMENT, APPENDIX 66

[AD 165] Justin Martyr on Galatians 3:13

Then I replied, "Just as God commanded the sign to be made by the brazen serpent, and yet He is blameless; even so, though a curse lies in the law against persons who are crucified, yet no curse lies on the Christ of God, by whom all that have committed things worthy of a curse are saved.

Source: Dialogue of Justin

[AD 202] Irenaeus on Galatians 3:13

And again: "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree."

Source: Against Heresies Book III

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:13

Concerning the last step, plainly, of His passion you raise a doubt; affirming that the passion of the cross was not predicted with reference to Christ, and urging, besides, that it is not credible that God should have exposed His own Son to that kind of death; because Himself said, "Cursed is every one who shall have hung on a tree." But the reason of the case antecedently explains the sense of this malediction; for He says in Deuteronomy: "If, moreover, (a man) shall have been (involved) in some sin incurring the judgment of death, and shall die, and ye shall suspend him on a tree, his body shall not remain on the tree, but with burial ye shall bury him on the very day; because cursed by God is every one who shall have been suspended on a tree; and ye shall not defile the land which the Lord thy God shall give thee for (thy) lot.

Source: An Answer to the Jews

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:13

On the subject of His death, I suppose, you endeavour to introduce a diversity of opinion, simply because you deny that the suffering of the cross was predicted of the Christ of the Creator, and because you contend, moreover, that it is not to be believed that the Creator would expose His Son to that kind of death on which He had Himself pronounced a curse. "Cursed," says He, "is every one who hangeth on a tree." But what is meant by this curse, worthy as it is of the simple prediction of the cross, of which we are now mainly inquiring, I defer to consider, because in another passage we have given the reason of the thing preceded by proof.

Source: Against Marcion Book III

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:13

You cannot establish a diversity of authors because there happens to be one of things; for the diversity is itself proposed by one and the same author. Why, however, "Christ was made a curse for us," is declared by the apostle himself in a way which quite helps our side, as being the result of the Creator's appointment.

Source: Against Marcion Book V

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:13

But yet it by no means follows, because the Creator said of old, "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree," that Christ belonged to another god, and on that account was accursed even then in the law.

Source: Against Marcion Book V

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:13

Nay, but you do blaspheme; because you allege not only that the Father died, but that He died the death of the cross. For "cursed are they which are hanged on a tree," -a curse which, after the law, is compatible to the Son (inasmuch as "Christ has been made a curse for us," but certainly not the Father); since, however, you convert Christ into the Father, you are chargeable with blasphemy against the Father.

Source: Against Praxeas

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:13

But when we assert that Christ was crucified, we do not malign Him with a curse; we only re-affirm the curse pronounced by the law: nor indeed did the apostle utter blasphemy when he said the same thing as we. Besides, as there is no blasphemy in predicating of the subject that which is fairly applicable to it; so, on the other hand, it is blasphemy when that is alleged concerning the subject which is unsuitable to it.

Source: Against Praxeas

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:13

The Lord Himself was "cursed" in the eye of the law; and yet is He the only Blessed One.

Source: Of Patience

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:13

Why, in this very standing of yours there was a fleeing from persecution, in the release from persecution which you bought; but that you should ransom with money a man whom Christ has ransomed with His blood, how unworthy is it of God and His ways of acting, who spared not His own Son for you, that He might be made a curse for us, because cursed is he that hangeth on a tree, -Him who was led as a sheep to be a sacrifice, and just as a lamb before its shearer, so opened He not His mouth; but gave His back to the scourges, nay, His cheeks to the hands of the smiter, and turned not away His face from spitting, and, being numbered with the transgressors, was delivered up to death, nay, the death of the cross.

Source: On Flight in Persecution

[AD 384] Ambrosiaster on Galatians 3:13

Since no one could obey the law, all were convicted by the curse of the law, so that it was right to punish them. But Christ, born as a man and offered for us by his Father, redeemed us from the devil. He was offered for those who were liable to the curse of the law. Jesus was made a curse in the way that under the law a victim offered for sin is said to be sin.… Thus he did not say “cursed for us” but “made a curse.”

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.13.1-2

[AD 390] Gregory of Nazianzus on Galatians 3:13

It is not that the Lord was changed into these things—for how could that be?—but because he underwent them, “taking up our transgressions and bearing our sicknesses.”

Source: LETTER 101.61

[AD 403] Epiphanius of Salamis on Galatians 3:13

The holy apostle, revealing again how the appearance in the flesh and the cross fulfilled the plan for the loosing of the curse and how this was written beforehand in the law and prophesied as coming, then fulfilled in the Savior, has clearly proved that the law is not alien to the Savior.

Source: PANARION 42.12.3, SECOND REFUTATION OF MARCION

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:13

Ver. 13. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree."

In reality, the people were subject to another curse, which says, "Cursed is every one that continues not in the things that are written in the book of the Law." [Deuteronomy 27:26] To this curse, I say, people were subject, for no man had continued in, or was a keeper of, the whole Law; but Christ exchanged this curse for the other, "Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree." As then both he who hanged on a tree, and he who transgresses the Law, is cursed, and as it was necessary for him who is about to relieve from a curse himself to be free from it, but to receive another instead of it, therefore Christ took upon Him such another, and thereby relieved us from the curse. It was like an innocent man's undertaking to die for another sentenced to death, and so rescuing him from punishment. For Christ took upon Him not the curse of transgression, but the other curse, in order to remove that of others. For, "He had done no violence neither was any deceit in His mouth." [Isaiah 53:9; 1 Peter 2:22] And as by dying He rescued from death those who were dying, so by taking upon Himself the curse, He delivered them from it.

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:13

For the people were liable to punishment since they had not fulfilled the whole law. Christ satisfied a different curse: the one that says “Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree.” Both the one who is hanged and the one who transgresses the law are accursed. Christ, who was going to lift that curse, could not properly be made liable to it yet had to receive a curse. He received the curse instead of being liable to it and through this lifted the curse. Just as, when someone is condemned to death, another innocent person who chooses to die for him releases him from that punishment, so Christ also did.… Just as by dying he snatched from death those who were going to die, so also when he suffered the curse he released them from the curse.

Source: HOMILY ON GALATIANS 3.13

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:13

(Verse 13.) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, becoming cursed for us. In this passage, Marcion sneaks in the power of the Creator, whom he slanders as bloody, cruel, and a punisher (or judge), asserting that we are redeemed through Christ, who is the Son of another good God. If he understood the difference between buying and redeeming (because one who buys buys someone else's, but one who redeems properly buys what was his own and ceased to be his), he would never twist the simple words of Scripture to the detriment of his own dogma. Therefore, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, which was established for sinners, whom He Himself reproaches through the prophet, saying: Behold, you are sold for your sins, and I have dismissed your mother for your iniquities (Isa. 50:1). And the apostle repeats this very thing, saying: But I am carnal, sold under sin (Rom. 7:14). The curses of the Law which are written in Leviticus and Deuteronomy are not fulfilled by the authority of God, but by the prophetic spirit, they are announced to those who were going to sin, the things that were going to happen to them. But if the apostles wanted to restrict us by their testimony, saying: Whoever of the works of the Law there are, they are under a curse, for it is written: Cursed is everyone who does not remain in all the things that are written in the book of the Law, to do them (Deut. XXVII, 26), and to assert that all those who were under the Law were cursed, let us ask him whether those who are under the Gospel of Christ and do not follow his commandments are cursed or not. If he speaks evil, he will have in the Gospel what we have in the Law. If he denies the cursed, therefore the precepts of the Gospel will be in vain, and those who fulfill them will be without reward. Both are solved in this way: just as Christ Jesus freed us from the curse of the Law, by becoming a curse for us, so he also delivers us from the curse of the Gospel which is imposed on those who do not fulfill its precepts, by becoming a curse for us himself, knowing not to withhold even the smallest portion of talent, and to demand the last quarter (Matthew 5 and Mark 12).

Source: Commentary on Galatians

[AD 202] Irenaeus on Galatians 3:14

For, as I have shown, it existed in Abraham antecedently to circumcision, as it also did in the rest of the righteous who pleased God: and in these last times, it again sprang up among mankind through the coming of the Lord. But circumcision and the law of works occupied the intervening period.

Source: Against Heresies Book IV

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:14

Ver. 14. "That upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham."

How on the Gentiles? It is said, "In your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed:" [Genesis 22:18; 26:4] that is to say, in Christ. If this were said of the Jews, how would it be reasonable that they who were themselves subject to the curse, on account of transgression, should become the authors of a blessing to others? An accursed person cannot impart to others that blessing of which he is himself deprived. Plainly then it all refers to Christ who was the Seed of Abraham, and through whom the Gentiles are blessed. And thus the promise of the Spirit is added, as Paul himself declares, "that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." As the grace of the Spirit could not possibly descend on the graceless and offending, they are first blessed the curse having been removed; then being justified by faith, they draw unto themselves the grace of the Spirit. Thus the Cross removed the curse, Faith brought in righteousness, righteousness drew on the grace of the Spirit.

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:14

It would not be right that the grace of the Spirit should come to one who was graceless or full of offense. We are blessed first by the taking away of the curse. Then, justified by faith, we receive the grace of the Holy Spirit. So the cross has dissolved the curse, faith has brought righteousness, and by God’s own righteousness the grace of the Spirit has been given.

Source: HOMILY ON GALATIANS 3.14

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:14

(Verse 14) Because it is written: Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, so that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. Before we discuss the meaning and words of the Apostle, it seems fitting to briefly respond to the testimony of Deuteronomy, from which the Apostle drew these words (Deut. 21:22-23), and to compare it to other editions. Therefore, the Seventy interpreters translated this passage as follows: But if there is any sin and deserving of death, and he is put to death, you shall hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day; for cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, and you shall not defile your land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance. Aquila: And when there is a sin in a man deserving the judgment of death, and he is killed, and you hang him on a tree, his dead body shall not remain on the tree overnight, but you shall bury him on the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God; so you shall not defile your land, which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. Symmachus: But if a man commits a sin deserving the judgment of death, and he is killed, and you hang him on a tree, his dead body shall not remain on the tree overnight, but you shall bury him on the same day, for he is hanged as a blasphemer against God; so you shall not defile your land, which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. Theodotio: And because there will be sin in a man, deserving of the judgment of death, and he will die, and you shall hang him on a tree, his dead body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God; so you shall not defile your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. Furthermore, Adama, which means earth or soil, is called in the Hebrew language. In the place where Aquila and Theodotio likewise translated it, saying, "for a hanged man is cursed by God," it is written in Hebrew as Chi Calalath Eloim Thalui. These words were interpreted by Ebion, the half-Christian and half-Jewish heresiarch, as meaning 'because it is an insult to God to be hanged.' I remember finding in the debate between Jason and Papiscus, which was written in Greek, the phrase 'the blasphemy of God who is hanged.' A Hebrew who taught me Scripture to some extent told me that it can also be read as 'because contemptuously God was hanged.' We have collected these things for this reason, because it is a very famous question, and we are often accused by the Jews of infamy, that our Savior and Lord was cursed by God. First of all, it must be understood that not everyone who hangs on a tree is cursed by God, but only those who have sinned and have been sentenced to death for their crime and been lifted up on a cross. He is not cursed because he was crucified, but because he has fallen into such guilt that he deserved to be crucified. Then it should be added, that lower down, the cause of the crucifixion is more fully explained, as Scripture testifies, because he was crucified for the blasphemy and curse against God. This was translated more clearly by Symmachus, who said: because he was suspended for the blasphemy against God. Finally, let us ask them, if Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, who refused to worship the idol of Nebuchadnezzar, were suspended on a tree (Dan. III); and also Eleazar, a ninety-year-old man, and the glorious mother with her seven sons under the reign of Antiochus, should they be considered cursed (II Mach. VII) or most worthy of all blessings? Certainly, if Haman had prepared the cross for Mordecai (Esther VII), I think that Mordecai would have ascended it not as a cursed man, but as a holy man. These and similar things prove that he is cursed who commits a worthy crime on the gallows: not he who is crucified by the injustice of judges, the power of enemies, the outcry of the crowd, the envy of virtues, or the anger of the king. And Naboth, formerly known as Nabutham, was condemned to death by the whole city of Jezrael upon Jezebel's letters (3 Kings 21); but his blood is avenged in the figure of Christ, many centuries later, as the Lord declares to Osec: Call his name Jezrael, because in a little while I will avenge the blood of Jezrael upon the house of Jeu. (Hosea 1:4). These things are against the Jews. However, in order to return to our discussion, I do not know why the Apostle, in that which is written: Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (Deuteronomy 21:2), would remove or add anything. For if he was following the authority of the Seventy Interpreters, he ought, as they had published, to have added the name of God. But if he thought fit to follow the Hebrew, written in Hebrew letters, only that which he read for most true, and which is not found in the Hebrew language from the sawn tree, he ought not to assume. Hence it appears to me that either the ancient books of the Hebrews were different from those which we have now: or the Apostle (as I have said before) retained the sense of the Scriptures, but not the words: or, what is most to be accounted of, after the Passion of Christ, some one added the name of God to the Hebrew and to our copies, to bring disgrace upon us, who believe that Christ was cursed of God. Therefore, I proceed with bold foot into this contest, that I may challenge the books, saying that nowhere is it written that anyone is cursed by God, and wherever a curse is placed, God's name is never attached. 'Cursed are you among all beasts,' it is said to the serpent. And to Adam: 'Cursed is the earth in your works.' And to Cain: 'Cursed are you upon the earth.' And elsewhere: 'Cursed be Canaan, a servant he will be to his brethren.' And also in another place: Cursed be their fury, for it is bold, and their wrath, for it is hard (Gen. XLIX, 7). It is too long if I were to enumerate all the curses, which are written in Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Joshua, and yet in none of them is the name of God added, to the extent that even Satan himself, when he promised concerning Job that if he were severely afflicted, he would blaspheme, indicated this from the better side, saying: Unless you bless him to his face (Job I, 11). And in the Books of Kings, Naboth (or Nabutham) is reported to have been stoned because he blessed God and the king (3 Kings 21). But nothing should move us that Christ was made a curse for us, because it was God himself who is said to have made him a curse, he who (as Christ did not know sin) made him sin for us, and the Savior, from the fullness of the Father, emptied himself, taking the form of a servant (Philippians 2): he died and the wisdom of God is called foolishness, so that what was foolish in the sight of God might become wiser to men (1 Corinthians 1). And in the sixty-eighth psalm, it says of Him: 'O God, you know my foolishness, and my sins are not hidden from you.' (Psalm 68:7) Therefore, the Lord's injury is our glory. He died so that we may live. He descended into hell so that we may ascend to heaven. He became foolishness so that we may become wise. He emptied Himself of the fullness and form of God, taking on the form of a servant, so that the fullness of divinity may dwell in us and we may become servants of the Lord. He hung on the wood, so that the sin which we committed on the wood of the knowledge of good and evil might be erased, hung on the wood. His cross turned bitter waters into sweet taste, and the lost axe, immersed in the deep, lifted up when thrown into the waters of the Jordan (2 Kings 6). In the end, he became a curse, yes, a curse: so that the blessings that were promised to Abraham might be transferred to the nations, with him as the author and forerunner, and the promise of the Spirit might be fulfilled through faith in him: which we ought to receive in two ways, either in spiritual gifts of virtues, or in the spiritual understanding of the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 9).

Source: Commentary on Galatians

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:15

"But," says he, "I speak after the manner of men: when we were children, we were placed in bondage under the elements of the world." This, however, was not said "after the manner of men.

Source: Against Marcion Book V

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:15

For (with respect to the latter clause of this passage), what child (in the sense, that is, in which the Gentiles are children) is not in bondage to the elements of the world, which he looks up to in the light of a god? With regard, however, to the former clause, there was a figure (as the apostle wrote it); because after he had said, "I speak after the manner of men," he adds), "Though it be but a man's covenant, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto." For by the figure of the permanency of a human covenant he was defending the divine testament.

Source: Against Marcion Book V

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:15

Ver. 15. "Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void or adds thereto."

"To speak after the manner of men" means to use human examples. Having founded his argument on the Scriptures, on the miracles wrought among themselves, on the sufferings of Christ, and on the Patriarch, he proceeds to common usages; and this he does invariably, in order to sweeten his discourse, and render it more acceptable and intelligible to the duller sort. Thus he argues with the Corinthians, "Who feeds a flock, and eats not of the milk of the flock? Who plants a vineyard, and eats not the fruit thereof?" [1 Corinthians 9:7] and again with the Hebrews, "For a testament is of force where there has been death; for does it ever avail while he that made it lives?" [Hebrews 9:17] One may find him dwelling with pleasure on such arguments. In the Old Testament God does the same thing in many instances, as, "Can a woman forget her sucking child?" [Isaiah 49:15] and again, "Shall the clay say to him that fashions it, What do you make?" [Isaiah 45:9] and in Hosea, He represents a husband set at nought by his wife. [Hosea 2:5 ff] This use of human examples frequently occurs in types also, as when the prophet takes the girdle, [Jeremiah 13:1-9] and goes down to the potter's house [Jeremiah 18:1-6] The meaning of the present example is, that Faith is more ancient than the Law, which is later and only temporary, and delivered in order to pave the way for Faith. Hence he says, "Brethren, I speak after the manner of men;" above he had called them "foolish," now he calls them "brethren," at once chiding and encouraging them. "Though it be but a man's covenant, yet when it has been confirmed." If a man, says he, makes a covenant, does any one dare to come afterwards and overturn it, or subjoin anything to it? For this is the meaning of "or adds thereto." Much less then when God makes a covenant; and with whom did God make a covenant?

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:15-18

(V. 15 seqq.) Brothers, I speak in human terms: yet no one rejects or adds to a man's covenant, which has been confirmed. The promises were made to Abraham and to his seed. It does not say, 'and to seeds,' referring to many, but referring to one, 'and to your seed,' who is Christ. Now I say this: the covenant, which was confirmed by God, the law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate the promise, so as to abolish it. For if the inheritance is based on the law, it is no longer based on a promise. But God gave to Abraham a promise. The Apostle, who became all things to all people in order to gain everyone, is a debtor to Greeks and Barbarians, to the wise and the foolish, even to the Galatians whom he had just called foolish. For he did not use the same arguments with them as he did with the Romans, but simpler ones; things that even fools could understand and almost from the street corner. And so that it would not seem that he did it out of ignorance and not skill, he appeases the wise reader beforehand, and he tempers what he is going to say with a preface: Brothers, I speak as a human being. For what I am about to say, I do not speak according to God: I do not speak according to hidden wisdom, and those who can eat solid food, but according to those who are nourished by the tender milk of the stomach, and are unable to bear great things. (1 Corinthians 5). Therefore, to the Corinthians, among whom fornication was heard, and such fornication that even among the Gentiles, he says: I speak, and not the Lord. (1 Corinthians 7:12). And to the same in the second [letter]: What I am saying, I do not speak according to the Lord, but as if in foolishness (II Cor. XI, 17). Some think that when he is about to discuss examples from the testament of a man and the death of the testator and other things of human similarity, he said: Brothers, I say according to man: although it seems to me, and for this reason indeed that they think, but especially because of what follows being stated (or promised), namely: He does not say 'and to seeds' as if in many, but as if in one, and to your seed, which is Christ. While traversing all the scriptures in meaning and memory, I have never found the seed of writing in the plural number, but whether in a positive or negative sense, it is always in the singular number. Furthermore, the following is inferred: But I say that this testament is confirmed by God, if anyone diligently compares the Hebrew volumes and other editions with the translation of the Septuagint interpreters, they will find where the testament is written, not to sound like testament, but a covenant, which is called 'Berith' in the Hebrew language. Therefore, it is clear that the Apostle did what he promised, and he did not use hidden meanings to the Galatians, but rather everyday and lowly things that could displease the prudent (I speak in human terms unless I add this). To calculate the years from the time when the Lord spoke to Abraham, saying, 'And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed' (Genesis 22:18), until the lawgiver Moses: whether they are four hundred and thirty, or how the Lord promises to Abraham in Genesis that his descendants shall come out of the land of bondage after four hundred years. For it is not a small matter, and sought after by many, I do not know if it was invented by someone else. Also, that which is read in the same book about Thamar and her two little ones (Genesis 38), that is, that the first one called Zara extended his hand, and the midwife tied a scarlet thread on it, and then, as he pulled his hand back inside, the hand of the one named Phares was extended in its place. It is fitting that this demonstrates how Israel, in the work of the Law, extended his hand and contracted it, polluted by the blood of the prophets and of the Savior himself. But afterwards, the people of the Gentiles burst forth, because of whom it is often said to have been destroyed, and the middle wall that had been between the Jews and the Gentiles was broken down, so that there would be one flock and one shepherd, and there would be glory, and honor, and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. However, the simple meaning that is hidden in this passage has this force, that the Apostle teaches that the promises that were made to Abraham cannot be destroyed by the Law, which was given afterwards, and that the later things cannot take priority over the earlier ones, since the promises were given to Abraham four hundred and thirty years before, so that all nations would be blessed in him. But the observation is, that whoever had done it, would live in it, after four hundred and thirty years Moses gave it on Mount Sinai. On the contrary, this could be said: Why then was it necessary to give the Law after so much time of promise, when even with the Law given, the suspicion of a broken promise could arise, and the Law given would not be profitable while the promise remained? The Apostle, foreseeing this question, poses and explains it to himself in the following, saying:

Source: Commentary on Galatians

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:15

The apostle, who was “made all things to all men” … is also made a fool for the Galatians, whom he a little while before called fools. For he does not employ the arguments that he used with the Romans but simpler ones and such as the stupid could understand.… [He means,] “What I am about to say I say not according to God. I do not speak with regard to the deepest wisdom and those who can eat solid food2 but with regard to those who feed on milk because of the tenderness of their stomachs.”

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.3. SEQ

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Galatians 3:15

The value that a testator’s death has for confirming his testament is final, since he cannot then change his mind. This is the value that the immutability of God’s promise has in confirming the inheritance of Abraham, whose faith was reckoned for righteousness.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 23 [1B.3.15-18]

[AD 202] Irenaeus on Galatians 3:16

Now He does not say, And of seeds, as if

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:16

For this fact-that Gentiles are admissible to God's Law-is enough to prevent Israel from priding himself on the notion that "the Gentiles are accounted as a little drop of a bucket," or else as "dust out of a threshing-floor: " although we have God Himself as an adequate engager and faithful promiser, in that He promised to Abraham that "in his seed should be blest all nations of the earth; " and that out of the womb of Rebecca "two peoples and two nations were about to proceed," -of course those of the Jews, that is, of Israel; and of the Gentiles, that is ours.

Source: An Answer to the Jews

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:16

"To Abraham were the promises made, and to his seed. He said not `to seeds, 'as of many; but as of one, `to thy seed, 'which is Christ." Fie on Marcion's sponge! But indeed it is superfluous to dwell on what he has erased, when he may be more effectually confuted from that which he has retained.

Source: Against Marcion Book V

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:16

So faith, illumined by patience, when it was becoming propagated among the nations through" Abraham's seed, which is Christ," and was superinducing grace over the law, made patience her pre-eminent coadjutrix for amplifying and fulfilling the law, because that alone had been lacking unto the doctrine of righteousness.

Source: Of Patience

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:16-18

Ver. 16, 17, 18. "Now to Abraham were the promises spoken and to his seed. He says not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of One, And to your seed, which is Christ. Now this I say, A covenant, confirmed before hand by God the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years after, does not disannul, so as to make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance is of the Law, it is no more of promise: but God has granted it to Abraham by promise."

Thus God made a covenant with Abraham, promising that in his seed the blessing should come upon the heathen; and this blessing the Law cannot turn aside. As this example was not in all respects appropriate to the matter in hand, he introduces it thus, "I speak after the manner of men," that nothing might be deduced from it derogatory to the majesty of God. But let us go to the bottom of this illustration. It was promised Abraham that by his seed the heathen should be blessed; and his seed according to the flesh is Christ; four hundred and thirty years after came the Law; now, if the Law bestows the blessings even life and righteousness, that promise is annulled. And so while no one annuls a man's covenant, the covenant of God after four hundred and thirty years is annulled; for if not that covenant but another instead of it bestows what is promised, then is it set aside, which is most unreasonable.

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:16

Passing my eyes and memory over all the Scriptures, I nowhere find offsprings written in the plural but everywhere the singular, whether in a good sense or a bad.… If anyone carefully collates the Hebrew Scriptures with the [Greek version of the] Seventy, he will find that where testament is written, what is meant is not “testament” but “covenant.” … Whence it is clear that the apostle has done as he promised, not using deeper meanings but everyday ones, and even trivial ones which (if he had not said beforehand “I speak humanly”) might have displeased the intelligent.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.3. SEQ

[AD 428] Theodore of Mopsuestia on Galatians 3:16

The words and to his offspring are found to be strictly fulfilled in Christ in their straightforward sense, since he is Abraham’s offspring by nature, as are all those who derive their stock from that source. We, believing in him, are therefore enrolled as children of Abraham and thereby receive fellowship in the blessing. The result is that what appears to be said to one can in fact be understood commonly of many, insofar as all who derive from that source are of Abraham. This promise is completely fulfilled in Christ in the light of the actual events.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Galatians 3:16

The promise made to Abraham is called a testament in the ancient Scripture and so cannot suffer addition, subtraction or dissolution through the imposition of the Mosaic law, which was given a very long time after Abraham. Now the promise was that the God of all would bless the nations through the offspring of Abraham. And this offspring is Christ the Lord, since the promise found its destination in him through whom the nations received a blessing. But all the others, such as Moses, Samuel, Elijah and in a word all who traced their descent from Israel, were called his offspring according to nature, but [this genetic fact] is not what brought the fount of blessings to the nations.… The fact that those men too trace their race to Abraham does not mean that they are rightly called his offspring, but this man has that appellation in the proper sense, as being the only One through whom, according to the promise, God has bestowed blessing on the nations.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.16-17

[AD 384] Ambrosiaster on Galatians 3:17

Once the promise had been established, the law was given subsequently, not so that it could undermine the promise but so that it might point to what was to be fulfilled and when it would come.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.17

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Galatians 3:17

If the law justifies, Abraham was not justified, since he lived long before the law. Since they cannot say this, they are forced to admit that a man is justified not by works of the law but by faith. And he compels us to understand that all the ancients who were justified were justified from the same faith. For as we are saved by believing partly in a past event, that is, the first coming of the Lord, and partly in a future one, that is, his second coming, they believed the whole of it, that is, both comings as events. The Holy Spirit reveals this for their salvation.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 23 [1B.3.15-18]

[AD 384] Ambrosiaster on Galatians 3:18

The Jews maintain two opposing tenets. For in no way and by no argument can they be persuaded that the promise to Abraham was rendered void by the law, and they are right. But in their short-sighted vanity they maintain another contrary principle, thinking that justification could not come without the practice of the law. They know that Abraham, who is the type [of justification], was justified through faith alone, without the practice of the law.… The heirs to the promise of Abraham are therefore those who are his successors in the adoption of the faith by which Abraham was blessed and justified. The testimony of the promise to Abraham is therefore called a covenant [to signify] that after his death there would be heirs in the promise, made sons of Abraham through faith.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.18.1-3

[AD 202] Irenaeus on Galatians 3:19

It was added, until the seed should come to whom the promise was made; .
This is the seed of which the apostle says in the Epistle to the Galatians, "that the law of works was established until the seed should come to whom the promise was made."

Source: Against Heresies Book III

[AD 215] Clement of Alexandria on Galatians 3:19

"Then, as if in explanation of his meaning, he adds: "But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up "manifestly through fear, in consequence of sins, "unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed; so that the law was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we should be justified by faith."

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:19

For he, too, says that the world was originated by those angels; and sets forth Christ as born of the seed of Joseph, contending that He was merely human, without divinity; affirming also that the Law was given by angels; representing the God of the Jews as not the Lord, but an angel.

Source: Pseudo-Tertullian Against All Heresies

[AD 235] Hippolytus of Rome on Galatians 3:19

And He has, he says, been liberated from the nature of the Good One likewise, in order that He may be a Mediator, as Paul states,

Source: Hippolytus Refutation of All Heresies Book VII

[AD 384] Ambrosiaster on Galatians 3:19

By “angels” he means God’s messengers—that is, Moses, [Joshua] son of Nun and the other prophets up to John the Baptist. … Through these, therefore, the Law and Prophets are ordained and disposed by God in the hand, that is, the power, of the Savior. For he is the Mediator, the reconciler of God and humanity, so that he may save whom he will out of those who have received the law from the angels.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.19.1-2

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:19

Ver. 19. "What then is the Law? It was added because of transgressions."

This remark again is not superfluous; observe too how he glances round at every thing, as if he had an hundred eyes. Having exalted Faith, and proved its elder claims, that the Law may not be considered superfluous, he sets right this side of the doctrine also, and proves that the Law was not given without a view, but altogether profitably. "Because of transgressions;" that is to say, that the Jews might not be let live carelessly, and plunge into the depth of wickedness, but that the Law might be placed upon them as a bridle, guiding, regulating, and checking them from transgressing, if not all, at least some of the commandments. Not slight then was the advantage of the Law; but for how long?

Ver. 19. "Till the seed should come to whom the promise has been made."

This is said of Christ; if then it was given until His advent, why do you protract it beyond its natural period?

Ver. 19. "And it was ordained through Angels by the hand of a Mediator."

He either calls the priests Angels, or he declares that the Angels themselves ministered to the delivery of the Law. By Mediator here he means Christ, and shows that He was before it, and Himself the Giver of it.

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:19

It was after the offense of the people in the wilderness, after the adoration of the calf and their murmurings against God, that the law came to forbid transgressions.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.3.19-20

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:19-20

(Verse 19, 20.) What then? The law was added because of transgressions until the seed should come to whom the promise was made; ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. For indeed the law was not given for the righteous but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners (I Tim. II, 9): and to go deeper, after the idolatry to which they were enslaved in Egypt, so that they forgot the God of their fathers, and subsequently said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt'; the ritual of worshiping God and the punishment of sinners was established by the hand of the mediator Christ Jesus, for all things were made through him, and without him nothing was made: not only the heavens, earth, sea, and all that we see, but also those things which were imposed on the stubborn people as the yoke of the Law through Moses (John I). And it is written to Timothy: For there is one God, and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus (I Tim. II, 5). After He deigned to be born for our salvation from the Virgin’s womb, He is called mediator of God and men, being a separate person. But before He assumed a human body, and when He was with the Father in the beginning, He is called the Word of God made flesh, to all the holy ones to whom the word of God was made, namely Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and later Moses and all the Prophets, whom Scripture relates, without the addition of man whom He had not yet assumed, He is called only mediator. But when he says: The law was ordained by angels, this is to be understood, that in every Old Testament, where an angel is first seen and afterwards introduced as speaking as God: The angel indeed among the many ministers who may have been seen truly, but it is in this mediator that he speaks who says: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Exodus 3:6). And it is not surprising if God speaks in angels, since He also speaks through angels who are in human beings, as Zechariah says. And the angel who was speaking with me said (Zech. II, 3); and afterwards adding: Thus saith the Lord almighty. For the angel who was said to be in the prophet did not dare to speak in his own person: Thus saith the Lord almighty. The hand of the mediator, we must understand, is the power and might of him. He, being one with the Father according to his Godhood, is understood to be distinct from him according to his office as mediator. But since the order of the reading is confused and disordered by a hyperbaton, it seems that it should be rendered to us thus: The Law was given through angels into the hand of the mediator, ordained by angels because of transgressions, until the seed should come to whom the promise was made. But there is no doubt that the seed signifies Christ, who is also proven to be the son of Abraham from the beginning of Matthew, as Scripture testifies: The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Source: Commentary on Galatians

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Galatians 3:19

Here arises a rather pertinent question: if faith justifies and even the former saints, who were justified before God, were justified through it, what need was there for the law to be given?… The law was given to a proud people, but the grace of love cannot be received by any but the humble. Without this grace the precepts of the law cannot possibly be fulfilled. Israel was rendered humble by transgression, so that it might seek grace and might not arrogantly suppose itself to be saved by its own merits; and so it would be righteous, not in its own power and might but by the hand of the Mediator who justifies the ungodly.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 24 [1B.3.19-20]

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Galatians 3:19

Now every dispensation of the Old Testament was given through angels, the Holy Spirit working in them and in the very Word of truth, though not yet incarnate, yet never departing from some true ordering of providence. This law was given through angels, sometimes acting in their own person, sometimes in that of God, as was also the way of the prophets.… The children [of Abraham] were put in the hand of [Christ] the Mediator so that he himself might liberate them from sin when they were forced by their transgression of the law to admit that they needed grace and mercy from the Lord.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 24 [1B.3.19-20]

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Galatians 3:19

This question should be read as a personification. “What you want to know,” he says, “is why the law was imposed. I shall tell you.… It was imposed for the tutelage of the race from which that offspring was going to sprout according to the flesh.”

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.19

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Galatians 3:19

It was imposed through the ministry of angels, and Moses assisted in this imposition. For Moses is the one that is called an intermediary. … For the God of all set Michael over them, as taught by the blessed Daniel. And to the great Moses he promised to send with him an angel to the people.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.19

[AD 384] Ambrosiaster on Galatians 3:20

Without doubt, a mediator, that is, arbiter, is not of one but two. For when two peoples were contending against one another, always at odds and enemies because of the disparity in their doctrines, the Savior came as their Mediator, taking from each people the cause of discord so that they might be at peace. So he took from the Gentiles the plurality of gods and cult of the elements, and he took from the Jews the works of the law, that is, new moons, circumcision, the keeping of the sabbath, the distinction of foods and other things that the Gentiles abhorred. And thus those who were formerly enemies came to be at peace. If then this is the case, how could the Galatians be so dull-witted as to violate this reconciliation by conversion back to Judaism?

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.20.1-2

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:20

Ver. 20. "Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one."

What can the heretics say to this? For as, according to them, the expression "the Only True God" excludes the Son from being true God, so here the phrase "God is One," excludes Him from being God in any sense. But if, although the Father is called "One God," the Son is nevertheless God, it is very plain that though the Father is called "Very God," the Son is very God likewise. Now a mediator, says he, is between two parties; of whom then is Christ the Mediator? Plainly of God and of men. Observe, he says, that Christ also gave the Law; what therefore it was His to give, it is His to annul.

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Galatians 3:20

For [Moses] mediated between God and the people. But God is the one who both gave the promise to Abraham and imposed the law, and he has shown us the destination of the promise. For it was not one God who dispensed the former and another who dispensed the latter.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.20

[AD 9999] Pseudo-Augustine on Galatians 3:20

Because this situation had made the Galatians turn to the law, so as to confess one God without the mystery, as if it were inimical to the law for Christ to be called God, he says: “An arbiter (that is, a mediator) is not of one but of course of two. You however, having turned to the law, have rejected the arbiter. God, however, is one.” By saying this, he bears witness that he is not preaching Christ in such a way as to make him another God or confess two but that there is one God, as the law itself attests.

Source: QUESTIONS ON THE NEW TESTAMENT, APPENDIX 80.2

[AD 370] Gaius Marius Victorinus on Galatians 3:21

Since God gave the law, it is not plausible that that same law should be seen as having been given against the promises. It is certainly against the promises if it embroils us in other things, namely, that we should fulfill the works required by the law and not expect from faith what is promised, that we should obtain through faith an inheritance in God. But let us see what is his answer to this. He first denies it unequivocally: “Certainly not!” That is, it is not right that God should make the giving of the law contrary to the promises.… And next he adds the reason.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.3.21

[AD 370] Gaius Marius Victorinus on Galatians 3:21

We have said that the law given by Moses teaches nothing but sins, admonishing us what sins are and how they are to be avoided. And Scripture draws no other conclusion but lays down all its precepts in the light of and with reference to sin.… It is not given so that life may be sought from it but is given so that by its written form it may both include all sins in its teaching and show that they should be avoided. Therefore righteousness is not from the law; that is, justification and salvation come not from the law but from faith, as is promised.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.3.21

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:21

Ver. 21. "Is the Law then against the promises of God?"

For if the blessing is given in the seed of Abraham, but the Law brings in the curse, it must be contrary to the promises. This objection he meets, first, by a protest, in the words,

Ver. 21. "God forbid:"

And next he brings his proof;

Ver. 21. "For if there had been a law given which could make alive verily righteousness would have been of the Law."

His meaning is as follows; If we had our hope of life in the Law, and our salvation depended on it, the objection might be valid. But if it save you, by means of Faith, though it brings you under the curse, you suffer nothing from it, gain no harm, in that Faith comes and sets all right. Had the promise been by the Law, you had reasonably feared lest, separating from the Law, you should separate from righteousness, but if it was given in order to shut up all, that is, to convince all and expose their individual sins, far from excluding you from the promises, it now aids you in obtaining them. This is shown by the words,

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:21-23

(v21 onwards) So is the law against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. Therefore, it should not be understood that the promise is excluded because what followed seems to abolish what came before; but rather, it is clear that it is given for the preservation of the promise, not for its overthrow, because it was not able to give life or to bestow what the first promise had pledged. For if a law had been given that could give life and bring about what the promise had promised, then the promise would truly be regarded as excluded by the law. Now, however, on account of the transgressions, as we have said above, it more strongly argues against those sinners to whom, after the promise had been made, custody, and, so to speak, imprisonment, had been given, so that because they had not wanted to await the promised ones while innocent through the freedom of the will, they were hindered by legal chains, and, reduced to the servitude of commandments, they might be guarded until the coming of the future faith in Christ, which would bring an end to the promise. Nor should it be thought that Scripture is the author of sin because it is said to have concluded all things under sin, since the commandment which is prescribed by law rather shows and condemns sin than is the cause of sin. In the same way, a judge is not the author of crime by condemning wicked men, but he concludes them and pronounces his sentence by the authority of his judgment, so that he may afterwards absolve the guilty if he wishes by the forgiveness of the penalty.

Source: Commentary on Galatians

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:22

Whose grace, if not of that God from whom also came the law? Unless it be, forsooth, that the Creator intercalated His law for the mere purpose of producing some employment for the grace of a rival god, an enemy to Himself (I had almost said, a god unknown to Him), "that as sin had" in His own dispensation "reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto (eternal) life by Jesus Christ," His own antagonist! For this (I suppose it was, that) the law of the Creator had "concluded all under sin," and had brought in "all the world as guilty (before God)," and had "stopped every mouth," so that none could glory through it, in order that grace might be maintained to the glory of the Christ, not of the Creator, but of Marcion! I may here anticipate a remark about the substance of Christ, in the prospect of a question which will now turn up.

Source: Against Marcion Book V

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:22

Ver. 22. "Howbeit the scripture has shut up all things under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe."

As the Jews were not even conscious of their own sins, and in consequence did not even desire remission; the Law was given to probe their wounds, that they might long for a physician. And the word "shut up" means "convinced" and conviction held them in fear. You see then it is not only not against, but was given for the promises. Had it arrogated to itself the work and the authority, the objection would stand; but if its drift is something else, and it acted for that, how is it against the promises of God? Had the Law not been given, all would have been wrecked upon wickedness, and there would have been no Jews to listen to Christ; but now being given, it has effected two things; it has schooled its followers in a certain degree of virtue, and has pressed on them the knowledge of their own sins. And this especially made them more zealous to seek the Son, for those who disbelieved, disbelieved from having no sense of their own sins, as Paul shows; "For being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God." [Romans 10:3]

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Galatians 3:22

For those who are proud it is useful to be more closely bound under sin, so that they would not presume on free will for the performance of righteousness, as though upon their own strength.

Source: ON THE GRACE OF CHRIST 9

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Galatians 3:22

Transgression of the law was needed to break the pride of those who, glorying in their father Abraham, boasted of having a sort of natural righteousness. They caused more harm to the Gentiles the more arrogantly they flaunted the merits of their circumcision. But the Gentiles could be humiliated very easily even without transgression of this sort of law, for the grace of the gospel found that these men, who knew that they had received no root of wisdom from their parents, were actually slaves to idols.… The law was therefore given not to take away sin but to include all under sin. For the law showed that to be sin which the Jews in their blindness deemed to be righteousness, so that by this humiliation they might know that their salvation was not in their own hands but in the hand of a mediator.… This very humility was fitted to the recognition of Christ, who is the paradigm of humility.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 25 [1B.3.21-22]

[AD 533] Fulgentius of Ruspe on Galatians 3:22

Law without grace, then, can expose disease but cannot heal. It can reveal the wounds but does not administer the remedy. But so that the law’s precepts may be fulfilled, grace provides assistance within.

Source: ON THE TRUTH OF PREDESTINATION 1.41

[AD 215] Clement of Alexandria on Galatians 3:23

Sal salvation of humanity, and that there is the same equality before the righteous and loving God, and the same fellowship between Him and all, the apostle most clearly showed, speaking to the following effect: "Before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed, so that the law became our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith; but after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster."

[AD 370] Gaius Marius Victorinus on Galatians 3:23

The law was not empty or against the promises. How does he say it was necessary? Because it looked forward to the faith that was to be, and the promise came through faith. “First,” he says, “before the law came we were under a tutor; that is, under the law as a sort of custodian and guardian we lived a life that was pure through the avoidance of and repentance for sins, so that when Christ came we, being as it were confined for the purpose of that faith which was to come, should expect his coming; and being prepared through the law, should have faith in him; and, as we avoided sin and did the works of the law, should easily be able to have what was promised from his advent, namely, faith in Christ.”

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.3.23

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:23

Ver. 23. "But before faith came, we were kept inward under the Law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed."

Here he clearly puts forward what I have stated: for the expressions "we were kept" and "shut up," signify nothing else than the security given by the commandments of the Law; which like a fortress fenced them round with fear and a life conformable to itself, and so preserved them unto Faith.

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Galatians 3:23

No person should be unwise enough to say here, “Why then was it no profit to the Jews that they were put in the hand of a Mediator through angels dispensing the law?” It was profitable to them beyond what can be expressed. For what churches of the Gentiles sold their possessions and put the price of them at the apostles’ feet, which so many thousands of people so quickly did? … And when he praises the church of the Thessalonians before all other churches, he says that they have become like the churches of the Jews, because they had suffered many things from their people on account of their faith, as the others had from the Jews. … And the consciousness of a greater sickness, that they were found to be transgressors of the law itself, worked not to the ruin but to the good of those who believed, causing them to desire more fervently a doctor and to love him with more ardor.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 26 [1B.3.23]

[AD 202] Irenaeus on Galatians 3:24

But he has also said, that the law was our pedagogue

[AD 215] Clement of Alexandria on Galatians 3:24

For the word which, in matters of doctrine, explains and reveals, is that whose province it is to teach. But our Educator.
And when, having senselessly filled themselves, they senselessly played; on that account the law was given them, and terror ensued for the prevention of transgressions and for the promotion of right actions, securing attention, and so winning to obedience to the true Instructor, being one and the same Word, and reducing to conformity with the urgent demands of the law. For Paul says that it was given to be a "schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.".
Perchance, too, philosophy was given to the Greeks directly and primarily, till the Lord should call the Greeks. For this was a schoolmaster to bring "the Hellenic mind "as the law, the Hebrews, "to Christ.".
As far as a sort of training with fear and preparatory discipline goes, leading as it did to the culmination of legislation and to grace.

Source: Clement of Alexandria The Instructor Book I

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:24

Ver. 24. "So that the Law has been our tutor to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."

Now the Tutor is not opposed to the Preceptor, but cooperates with him, ridding the youth from all vice, and having all leisure to fit him for receiving instructions from his Preceptor. But when the youth's habits are formed, then the Tutor leaves him, as Paul says.

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:24

A custodian is given to infants to rein in an age full of passion and to restrain hearts prone to vice until tender infancy is refined by growth.… Yet the teacher is not a father, nor does the one being instructed look for the custodian’s inheritance. The custodian guards another person’s son and will depart from him when the lawful time of inheritance arrives.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.3. SEQ

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:24-26

(Verse 24 onwards) Therefore the Law was our guardian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. The guardian is assigned to young children to restrain their unruly behavior and keep their hearts inclined towards vice, while their young minds are educated in studies and prepared, through fear of punishment, for the higher disciplines of philosophy and governing the republic. However, the pedagogue is not a teacher and father, nor does the one who is being educated by the pedagogue expect an inheritance and knowledge; but the pedagogue keeps the son's property, and will withdraw from him once he reaches the lawful age to take possession of the inheritance. Furthermore, the very name 'pedagogue' signifies this, and it is derived from the fact that he leads and guides the children. Therefore, even the Law of Moses, given to a disobedient people, was a type of a strict pedagogue, in order to watch over them and prepare them for the future faith, which came when we believed in Christ. Now we are no longer under a pedagogue; the guardians and trustees depart from us, and as we enter the proper age, we are called true sons of God, whom the abolished Law did not generate, but rather it is the mother, Faith, who is in Christ Jesus. But if someone, after the completion of the time of their age, when they are already called an heir and free and a son, wishes to be under a pedagogue, let them know that they cannot live by the laws of children. For where can that be fulfilled now: Three times a year all your males shall appear in the sight of the Lord your God (Exod. XXIII, 17), with Jerusalem overturned and the temple scattered to ashes? Where are the atoning sacrifices for sin? Where is the eternal fire of holocausts to the image of the heavenly stars, with the altar completely destroyed? But as for what punishment can be decreed for the wicked, Scripture says: Remove this evil from among you (Deut. XIII, 5), serving the Jews and the Roman rulers? And so it will be, that they will not live under a father or under a guardian: for the law cannot be fulfilled after the succession of faith, and while faith seeks the role of a guardian, it is not bound.

Source: Commentary on Galatians

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Galatians 3:24

Now it was necessary that the law be given, as it fulfilled our need of a custodian. And it freed us from our previous impiety, taught us knowledge of God and then brought us to Christ the Lord as though to some wise teacher, so that we might be instructed by him in perfect learning and acquire the righteousness that is through faith.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.24

[AD 370] Gaius Marius Victorinus on Galatians 3:25

“That faith has come” means that Christ himself has come—for then faith arose. There began to be a time for faith to fully come and for us to believe in him in whom is all salvation, in contrast to the Jews, who did not believe [in him].

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.3.25-26

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:25-26

Ver. 25, 26. "But now that faith has come which leads to perfect manhood we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus."

The Law then, as it was our tutor, and we were kept shut up under it, is not the adversary but the fellow-worker of grace; but if when grace has come, it continues to hold us down, it becomes an adversary; for if it confines those who ought to go forward to grace, then it is the destruction of our salvation. If a candle which gave light by night, kept us, when it became day, from the sun, it would not only not benefit, it would injure us; and so does the Law, if it stands between us and greater benefits. Those then are the greatest traducers of the Law, who still keep it, just as the tutor makes a youth ridiculous, by retaining him with himself, when time calls for his departure. Hence Paul says, "But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor." We are then no longer under a tutor, "for you are all sons of God." Wonderful! see how mighty is the power of Faith, and how he unfolds as he proceeds! Before, he showed that it made them sons of the Patriarch, "Know therefore," says he, "that they which be of faith, the same are sons of Abraham;" now he proves that they are sons of God also, "For you are all," says he, "sons of God through faith, which is in Christ Jesus;" by Faith, not by the Law. Then, when he has said this great and wonderful thing, he names also the mode of their adoption,

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:25

Now if the law was a custodian and we were confined under its direction, it was not opposed to grace but cooperated with it. But if it continues to bind us after grace has come, then it is opposed to grace.… Those who maintain their custody at this point are the ones who bring the child into the greatest disrepute. The custodian makes the child ridiculous when he keeps him close at hand even after the time has come for his departure.

Source: HOMILY ON GALATIANS 3.25-26

[AD 215] Clement of Alexandria on Galatians 3:26

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."

Source: Clement of Alexandria The Instructor Book I

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:26

What I say, then, is this, that that God is the object of faith who prefigured the grace of faith. But when he also adds, ".For ye are all the children of faith," it becomes dear that what the heretic's industry erased was the mention of Abraham's name; for by faith the apostle declares us to be "children of Abraham," and after mentioning him he expressly called us "children of faith" also.

Source: Against Marcion Book V

[AD 370] Gaius Marius Victorinus on Galatians 3:26

The metaphor of inheritance refers to receiving eternal life. But how does this come about? By faith in Jesus Christ, when we believe in him, that he is the Son of God and that he himself saves us and that he has accomplished every mystery on our behalf. All these things are reported in the gospel. But what should be noticed here is that, while Paul is stating this fact, he addresses it to their persons, offering incentives to persuade them more readily. “You all,” he says, “are sons of God.” Before, he had said, “We are under a custodian.” Now as it were he names them anew, saying “You are sons of God”—but sons from faith in Christ Jesus.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.3.25-26

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Galatians 3:26

He has illustrated the perfection of believers. For what is more perfect than to be called sons of God?

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 3.26

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:27

Now since Emmanuel is God-with-us, and God-with-us is Christ, who is in us (for "as many of you as are baptized into Christ, have put on Christ" ), Christ is as properly implied in the meaning of the name, which is God-with-us, as He is in the pronunciation of the name, which is Emmanuel.

Source: Against Marcion Book III

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:27

When, however, the prescript is laid down that "without baptism, salvation is attainable by none" (chiefly on the ground of that declaration of the Lord, who says, "Unless one be born of water, he hath not life" ), there arise immediately scrupulous, nay rather audacious, doubts on the part of some, "how, in accordance with that prescript, salvation is attainable by the apostles, whom-Paul excepted-we do not find baptized in the Lord? Nay, since Paul is the only one of them who has put on the garment of Christ's baptism, either the peril of all the others who lack the water of Christ is prejudged, that the prescript may be maintained, or else the prescript is rescinded if salvation has been ordained even for the unbaptized.

Source: On Baptism

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:27

Us, moreover, Jesus, the Father's Highest and Great Priest, clothing us from His own store -inasmuch as they "who are baptized in Christ have put on Christ"-has made "priests to God His Father," according to John.

Source: On Monogamy

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:27

On the ground of continence the priests likewise of the famous Egyptian bull will judge the "infirmity" of Christians. Blush, O flesh, who hast "put on" Christ! Suffice it thee once for all to marry, whereto "from the beginning" thou wast created, whereto by "the end" thou art being recalled! Return at least to the former Adam, if to the last thou canst not! Once for all did he taste of the tree; once for all felt concupiscence; once for all veiled his shame; once for all blushed in the presence of God; once for all concealed his guilty hue; once for all was exiled from the paradise of holiness; once for all thenceforward married.

Source: On Monogamy

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:27

And thus if, from the moment when it changed its condition, and "having been baptized into Christ put on Christ," and was "redeemed with a great price"-"the blood," to wit, "of the Lord and Lamb" -you take hold of any one precedent (be it precept, or law, or sentence,) of indulgence granted, or to be granted, to adultery and fornication,-you have likewise at our hands a definition of the time from which the age of the question dates.

Source: On Modesty

[AD 258] Cyprian on Galatians 3:27

For inasmuch as the Apostle Paul says again, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? " -even although love urged us less to bring help to the brethren, yet in this place we must have considered that it was the temples of God which were taken captive, and that we ought not by long inactivity and neglect of their suffering to allow the temples of God to be long captive, but to strive with what powers we can, and to act quickly by our obedience, to deserve well of Christ our Judge and Lord and God. For as the Apostle Paul says, "As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ," Christ is to be contemplated in our captive brethren, and He is to be redeemed from the peril of captivity who redeemed us from the peril of death; so that He who took us out of the jaws of the devil, who abides and dwells in us, may now Himself be rescued and redeemed from the hands of barbarians by a sum of money-who redeemed us by His cross and blood-who suffers these things to happen for this reason, that our faith may be tried, whether each one of us will do for another what he would wish to be done for himself, if he himself were held captive among barbarians.

Source: Epistle LIX

[AD 258] Cyprian on Galatians 3:27

Name avail in the imposition of hands, which, they contend, availed in the sanctification of baptism? For if any one born out of the Church can become God's temple, why cannot the Holy Spirit also be poured out upon the temple? For he who has been sanctified, his sins being put away in baptism, and has been spiritually reformed into a new man, has become fitted for receiving the Holy Spirit; since the apostle says, "As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.".

Source: Epistle LXXIII

[AD 258] Cyprian on Galatians 3:27

Moreover, what is the meaning of that which Stephen would assert, that the presence and holiness of Christ is with those who are baptized among heretics? For if the apostle does not speak falsely when he says, "As many of you as are baptized into Christ, have put on Christ,"20 certainly he who has been baptized among them into Christ, has put on Christ. But if he has put on Christ, he might also receive the Holy Ghost, who was sent by Christ, and hands are vainly laid upon him who comes to us for the reception of the Spirit; unless, perhaps, he has not put on the Spirit from Christ, so that Christ indeed may be with heretics, but the Holy Spirit not be with them.

Source: Epistle LXXIV

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:27

Ver. 27. "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ, did put on Christ."

Why does he not say, "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have been born of God?" for this was what directly went to prove that they were sons — because he states it in a much more awful point of view; If Christ be the Son of God, and you have put on Him, thou who hast the Son within you, and art fashioned after His pattern, hast been brought into one kindred and nature with Him.

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:27

Since he has said something great and remarkable, he also explains how one is made a son. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Why didn’t he say, “All you who were baptized into Christ have been born of God,” since that is the inference from showing that they were sons? Because what he says is more awe-inspiring. For if Christ is the Son of God and you put him on, having the Son inside yourself and being made like him, you have been made one in kind and form.

Source: HOMILY ON GALATIANS 3.27

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:27-28

(Verse 27, 28.) For whoever has been baptized in Christ has clothed themselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And how we are born as children of God through faith in Christ Jesus, he demonstrates by saying: For whoever has been baptized in Christ has clothed themselves with Christ. And that Christ is our clothing is proven not only in this passage, but also in another by the urging of Paul himself: Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. XIII, 14). Therefore, if those who have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ, it is clear that those who have not put on Christ have not been baptized in Christ. For it was said to those who were considered faithful and had received the baptism of Christ: Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. If anyone takes only the physical and visible water as a cleansing, they have not put on the Lord Jesus Christ. For even Simon, from the Acts of the Apostles, had received the cleansing of water; but because he did not have the Holy Spirit, he was not clothed with Christ (Acts 8). And heretics or hypocrites, and those who live sordidly, indeed seem to receive baptism, but I do not know whether they have the garment of Christ. Therefore, let us consider lest someone be found among us who, because he does not have the garment of Christ, is accused of not being baptized in Christ. However, when someone has once put on Christ and has been sent into the fire, becoming white with the burning ardor of the Holy Spirit, it is not understood whether it is gold or silver. As long as heat possesses matter in this way, it has a single fiery color, and all diversity of race, condition, and bodies disappears under this covering. For he is not a Jew, nor a Greek. We must understand the Greek as being a Gentile, because 'Ἕλλην' means both Greek and Gentile. Neither is a Jew better because he is circumcised, nor is a Gentile worse because he has a foreskin; but he is better or worse based on the quality of his faith, whether he is a Jew or a Greek. Greetings also to the free, for they are not separated by status but by faith. For a slave can be better than a free person in faith, and a free person can be surpassed by a slave in the quality of faith. Likewise, male and female are separated by the strength and weakness of their bodies. However, faith is considered a devotion of the mind, and it often happens that a woman becomes the cause of salvation for a man, and a man precedes a woman in religion. But when things are like this, and all the diversity of gender, status, and bodies is taken away by the baptism of Christ and his garment, we are all one in Christ Jesus: just as the Father and the Son are one in themselves, so may we be one in them.

Source: Commentary on Galatians

[AD 108] Ignatius of Antioch on Galatians 3:28

For there is one nature, and one family of mankind. For "in Christ there is neither bond nor free."

[AD 220] Tertullian on Galatians 3:28

With what consistency do we mount that (future) judgment-seat to pronounce sentence against those whose gifts we (now) seek after? For you too, (women as you are, ) have the self-same angelic nature promised as your reward, the self-same sex as men: the self-same advancement to the dignity of judging, does (the Lord) promise you.

Source: On the Apparel of Women Book I

[AD 235] Hippolytus of Rome on Galatians 3:28

For, says (the Naassene), Attis has been emasculated, that is, he has passed over from the earthly parts of the nether world to the everlasting substance above, where, he says, there is neither female or male,

Source: Hippolytus Refutation of All Heresies Book V

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:28

Ver. 28. "There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female: for you all are one in Christ Jesus."

See what an insatiable soul! For having said, "We are all made children of God through Faith," he does not stop there, but tries to find something more exact, which may serve to convey a still closer oneness with Christ. Having said, "you have put on Christ," even this does not suffice Him, but by way of penetrating more deeply into this union, he comments on it thus: "You are all One in Christ Jesus," that is, you have all one form and one mould, even Christ's. What can be more awful than these words! He that was a Greek, or Jew, or bond-man yesterday, carries about with him the form, not of an Angel or Archangel, but of the Lord of all, yea displays in his own person the Christ.

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:28

Do you see how insatiable his soul is? For having said that we have become sons of God through faith, he does not stop here but seeks out something more to say, which can make still more plain our closer unity with Christ. And having said, “You have put him on,” he is not content with this, but interpreting it he speaks of something more intimate than this association and says, “You are all one in Christ”—that is, you have one form, one character, that of Christ. What words could inspire more awe than these? The former Jew or slave is clothed in the form not of an angel or archangel but of the Lord himself and in himself displays Christ.

Source: HOMILY ON GALATIANS 3.28

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:28

When one has once put on Christ and, having been sent into the flame, glows with the ardor of the Holy Spirit, it is not apparent whether he is of gold or silver. As long as the heat takes over the mass in this way there is one fiery color, and all diversity of race, condition and body is taken away by such a garment.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.3.27-28

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Galatians 3:28

Difference of race or condition or sex is indeed taken away by the unity of faith, but it remains embedded in our mortal interactions, and in the journey of this life the apostles themselves teach that it is to be respected.… For we observe in the unity of faith that there are no such distinctions. Yet within the orders of this life they persist. So we walk this path in a way that the name and doctrine of God will not be blasphemed. It is not out of fear or anger that we wish to avoid offense to others but also on account of conscience, so that we may do these things not in mere profession, as if for the eyes of men, but with a pure love toward God.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 28 [1B.3.28-29]

[AD 1963] CS Lewis on Galatians 3:28

Lady Nunburnholme has claimed that the equality of men and women is a Christian principle. I do not remember the text in scripture nor the Fathers, nor Hooker, nor the Prayer Book which asserts it; but that is not here my point. The point is that unless 'equal' means 'interchangeable', equality makes nothing for the priesthood of women. And the kind of equality which implies that the equals are interchangeable (like counters or identical machines) is, among humans, a legal fiction. It may be a useful legal fiction. But in church we turn our back on fictions. One of the ends for which sex was created was to symbolize to us the hidden things of God. One of the functions of human marriage is to express the nature of the union between Christ and the Church. We have no authority to take the living and semitive figures which God has painted on the canvas of our nature and shift them about as if they were mere geometrical figures.

Source: God in the Dock: Priestesses in the Church?

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 3:29

Ver. 29. "And if you are Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise."

Here, you observe, he proves what he had before stated concerning the seed of Abraham — that to him and to his seed the promises were given.

Source: Homily 3 on Galatians

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:29

Whenever our Lord Jesus Christ is called Abraham’s offspring, this must be understood in the bodily sense of his generation from the stock of Abraham. But when it is applied to us who, receiving the Savior’s word, believe in him and assume the dignity of Abraham’s race, to whom the promise was made, then we should understand the offspring spiritually, as that of faith and preaching.… We must also note that, when the Lord is spoken of, Paul mentions promises in the plural—the promises are made to Abraham and his offspring—but when he speaks of those who through Jesus Christ are the offspring of Abraham, the promise is referred to in the singular, as in the present passage.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.3.29

[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 3:29

(Verse 29.) But if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise. For the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. However, as often as we, who have believed in him after receiving the message of the Savior, receive the nobility of the lineage of Abraham, to whom the promise was made, then we must spiritually receive the seed of faith and preaching. Furthermore, it should also be considered that when it speaks of the Lord, it pluralizes the promises made to Abraham and his offspring, that is, Christ Jesus. But when it speaks of those who are the offspring of Abraham through Christ, it designates the promise in the singular, as in the present passage: Therefore, you are the offspring of Abraham, heirs according to the promise. For it was fitting that what was said in the plural in Christ should be attributed to many individuals in the singular. It follows:

Source: Commentary on Galatians