The cross is the center of God's operation in His economy. In this Epistle Paul was bringing the believers who had been distracted to the law back to the cross and encouraging them to behold Christ crucified, that they would never again be distracted to the law. This Epistle provides a thorough view of Christ crucified (Gal. 1:4; 2:19-21; 3:13; 5:24; 6:14).

The crucifixion of Christ indicates that all the requirements of the law have been fulfilled by the death of Christ, and that Christ through His death has released His life that it may be imparted into us in His resurrection to free us from bondage under the law. This was fully portrayed before the eyes of the Galatians in the word of the gospel. How could they neglect this and be bewitched, drifting back to the law? How foolish!

When the believers believe into Christ, they receive the Spirit. It is a serious misunderstanding to consider Christ as separate from the Spirit. At the time of regeneration we believed into Christ, and we also received the Spirit and were sealed with the Spirit (Eph. 1:13). At that very moment an organic union took place — we were grafted into the Triune God (Rom. 11:17), and the Spirit as the pledge (Eph. 1:14) became the ultimate blessing of the gospel to us (v. 14). After this, receiving the Spirit is a lifelong, continuous matter. God is supplying the Spirit to us continuously (v. 5).

The Galatians, through the hearing of the gospel, believed in the crucified Christ, but they received the Spirit. The One who was crucified on the cross was Christ, but the One who entered into the believers was the Spirit. In His being crucified for the believers' redemption He was Christ, but in His indwelling the believers to be their life He is the Spirit. This is the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit, who is the all-inclusive and ultimate blessing of the gospel. The believers receive such a divine Spirit by the hearing of faith, not by the works of law. He enters into the believers and lives in them not by their keeping of the law but by their faith in the crucified and resurrected Christ.

In the first two chapters of this Epistle there is Christ in the divine revelation as the focal point of God's economy, but in the last four chapters there is the Spirit in our experience for us to have the divine life (ch. 3), to be born of God (ch. 4), to live and walk by the regenerated life (ch. 5), and to take the divine purpose as our goal (ch. 6). Thus, we enjoy Christ continually as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit (v. 5a).

The law was the basic condition for the relationship between man and God in God's Old Testament economy (v. 23); faith is the unique way for God to carry out His New Testament economy with man (1 Tim. 1:4). The law is related to the flesh (Rom. 7:5) and depends on the effort of the flesh, the very flesh that is the expression of the "I." Faith is related to the Spirit and trusts in the operation of the Spirit, the very Spirit who is the realization of Christ. In the Old Testament the "I" and the flesh played an important role in the keeping of the law. In the New Testament Christ and the Spirit take over the position of the "I" and the flesh, and faith replaces the law, that we may live Christ by the Spirit. To keep the law by the flesh is man's natural way; it is in the darkness of man's concept and results in death and wretchedness (Rom. 7:10-11, 24). To receive the Spirit out of the hearing of faith is God's revealed way; it is in the light of God's revelation and issues in life and glory (Rom. 8:2, 6, 10-11, 30). Hence, we must treasure the hearing of faith, not the works of law. It is by the hearing of faith that we received the Spirit so that we might participate in God's promised blessing and live Christ. The faith mentioned in vv. 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 23, 24, 25 of this chapter is this faith. (See note Gal. 1:23^2b.)

I.e., the faith.

In drifting back to the law, the bewitched Galatians clung to Moses, through whom the law was given; but Paul referred them to Abraham, who was the father of faith. Faith was of God's original economy; the law was added later because of the transgressions (v. 19). After Christ fulfilled the law through His death, God wanted His people to return to His original economy. With Abraham it was not a matter of keeping the law but of believing God. It should be so with all the New Testament believers.

In an attempt to frustrate God's economy, Satan, the enemy of God, uses the law — which was given by God to serve His purpose temporarily — to keep God's chosen people from His economy and to distract them from it. The law is misused when it is used to stir up man's fallen desire to exalt himself by keeping the law that he might have a self-made righteousness.

Lit., operates.

The all-inclusive compound Spirit, typified by the compound ointment in Exo. 30:23-25. This is the Spirit mentioned in John 7:39, who is the life-imparting Christ in resurrection. To the believers in God's New Testament economy, this Spirit is the bountiful supply. The supplying of this Spirit is altogether not out of the works of law but out of faith in the crucified and glorified Christ.

The Greek word means supplies fully, bountifully, and liberally. See Phil. 1:19. On God's side, He supplies the Spirit bountifully; on our side, we receive the Spirit. Day by day a marvelous divine transmission takes place: God supplies and we receive. The way to open ourselves to this heavenly transmission to receive the supply of the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit is to exercise our spirit to pray and call on the Lord.

The Galatians suffered persecution because of their faith in Christ, which had turned them to Christ from the Jewish religion and heathen customs.

The Spirit, who is the resurrected Christ, is of life; the flesh, which is our fallen man, is of sin and death. We should not begin by the Spirit and attempt to be perfected by the flesh. Since we have begun by the Spirit, we should be perfected by the Spirit and have nothing to do with the flesh. In 2:20 the contrast is between Christ and the "I"; here the contrast is between the Spirit and the flesh. This indicates that the Spirit is Christ and the flesh is the "I" in our experience. From ch. 3 to the end of the Epistle, the Spirit is Christ in our life experience. In revelation, it is Christ; in experience, it is the Spirit.

The flesh is condemned and repudiated throughout this book (Gal. 1:16; 2:16; 3:3; 4:23, 29; 5:13, 16-17, 19, 24; 6:8, 12-13), and from ch. 3 every chapter gives a contrast between the flesh and the Spirit (v. 3; 4:29; 5:16-17, 19, 22; 6:8). The flesh is the uttermost expression of the fallen tripartite man, and the Spirit is the ultimate realization of the processed Triune God. The flesh inclines to keep the law and is tested by the law; the Spirit is received and enjoyed out of faith. God's economy delivers us from the flesh to the Spirit that we may participate in the blessing of the riches of the Triune God. This cannot take place by the flesh keeping the law but by the Spirit being received out of faith and experienced through faith.

To begin by the Spirit is to begin by faith in Christ; to be perfected by the flesh is to be perfected by works of law (v. 2).

The law was the basic condition for the relationship between man and God in God's Old Testament economy (v. 23); faith is the unique way for God to carry out His New Testament economy with man (1 Tim. 1:4). The law is related to the flesh (Rom. 7:5) and depends on the effort of the flesh, the very flesh that is the expression of the "I." Faith is related to the Spirit and trusts in the operation of the Spirit, the very Spirit who is the realization of Christ. In the Old Testament the "I" and the flesh played an important role in the keeping of the law. In the New Testament Christ and the Spirit take over the position of the "I" and the flesh, and faith replaces the law, that we may live Christ by the Spirit. To keep the law by the flesh is man's natural way; it is in the darkness of man's concept and results in death and wretchedness (Rom. 7:10-11, 24). To receive the Spirit out of the hearing of faith is God's revealed way; it is in the light of God's revelation and issues in life and glory (Rom. 8:2, 6, 10-11, 30). Hence, we must treasure the hearing of faith, not the works of law. It is by the hearing of faith that we received the Spirit so that we might participate in God's promised blessing and live Christ. The faith mentioned in vv. 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 23, 24, and 25 of this chapter is this faith. (See note Gal. 1:23^2b.)

Faith in Christ had brought the Galatian believers into the blessing in Christ, causing them to enjoy the grace of life in the Spirit; but the Judaizers bewitched them and caused them to come under the curse of the law, thus depriving them of the enjoyment of Christ and causing them to fall from grace (Gal. 5:4).

Under God's dealing, Abraham was not working to please God but was believing Him.

Faith in Christ brings us into the blessing that God promised to Abraham, which is the promise of the Spirit (v. 14).

I.e., the faith.

The promise God gave to Abraham, "In you shall all the nations be blessed," was the gospel. It was preached to Abraham not only before the accomplishing of redemption by Christ but also before the giving of the law through Moses. What God promised to Abraham corresponds with what God accomplished through Christ, which is the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham. The New Testament economy is a continuation of God's dealing with Abraham, having nothing to do with the law of Moses. All the New Testament believers should be in this continuation and should have nothing to do with the law given through Moses.

Works of law make people disciples of Moses (John 9:28), a relationship that has nothing whatever to do with life. Faith in Christ makes the New Testament believers sons of God, a relationship altogether of life. We, the New Testament believers, were born sons of the fallen Adam, and in Adam, because of transgressions, we were under the law of Moses. But we have been reborn sons of Abraham and have been freed from the law of Moses by faith in Christ.

Lit., in; meaning "in the power of, in virtue of" (Darby's New Translation).

Lit., out of faith; in contrast to by law.

In the gospel we have received not only the blessing of forgiveness, washing, and cleansing; even more, we have received the greatest blessing, which is the Triune God — the Father, Son, and Spirit — as the processed, all-inclusive life-giving Spirit dwelling in us in a most subjective way for our enjoyment. Oh, what a blessing that we can enjoy such an all-inclusive One as our daily portion!

This verse indicates that the Spirit is the blessing that God promised to Abraham for all the nations and that has been received by the believers through faith in Christ. The Spirit is the compound Spirit, as mentioned in note Gal. 3:5^2b and actually is God Himself processed in His Trinity through incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and descension that we may receive Him as our life and our everything. This is the focus of the gospel of God.

The physical aspect of the blessing that God promised to Abraham was the good land (Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 17:8; 26:3-4), which was a type of the all-inclusive Christ (see Col. 1:12 and note Col. 1:12²). Since Christ is eventually realized as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17), the blessing of the promised Spirit corresponds with the blessing of the land promised to Abraham. Actually, the Spirit as the realization of Christ in our experience is the good land as the source of God's bountiful supply for us to enjoy.

Because the law was ordained through angels in the hand of a mediator and, unlike the promise, was not given by God directly to the people, it is not primary but secondary in God's economy.

The man Moses.

Christ is the seed, and the seed is the heir who inherits the promises. Here, Christ is the unique seed who inherits the promises. Hence, in order to inherit the promised blessing, we must be one with Christ. Outside of Him we cannot inherit the promises given by God to Abraham. In God's eyes Abraham has only one seed, that is, Christ. We must be in Him that we may participate in the promises given to Abraham. He is not only the seed who inherits the promises but also the blessing of the promises to be inherited by us. For the Galatian believers to turn back from Christ to the law meant that they would forfeit both the Heir and the inheritance of the promises.

Or, faith of Jesus Christ. See note Rom. 3:22¹.

This indicates that the promise God gave to Abraham became a covenant, which is more firm than a promise. The word, the promise, and the covenant are the gospel that was preached to Abraham. The gospel is the covenant, the covenant is the promise, and the promise is the word spoken by God. Although the gospel is a matter of the new testament, it is important to realize that the new testament is a continuation, or repetition, of God's promise to Abraham.

Lit., in; meaning in virtue of.

As our Substitute on the cross, Christ not only bore the curse for us but also became a curse for us. The curse of the law issued from the sin of man (Gen. 3:17). When Christ took away our sin on the cross, He redeemed us out of the curse of the law.

I.e., the cross.

The blessing promised by God to Abraham (Gen. 12:3) for all the nations of the earth. The promise was fulfilled, and the blessing has come to the nations in Christ through His redemption by the cross.

The law was not there in the origination of God's economy. It was added because of man's transgressions, while God's economy was proceeding, and was to be in effect until the seed, Christ, should come, to whom God's promise was made. Since it was added because of man's transgressions, it should have been deducted when those transgressions were taken away. And since Christ, the seed, has come, the law must be terminated.

With the law there is a mediator between two parties, God and the children of Israel. With the promise there is only God, who is directly related to the one who receives the promise, without a go-between. The responsibility with respect to the law depends not on one party but on two, whereas the responsibility with regard to the promise depends only on the giver, God. Hence, the law is inferior to the promise. The Galatians gave up the superior and went back to the inferior.

The law was able only to demand and condemn; it could not give life. (See note Rom. 7:10¹.) There is no life in the law; there are only commandments. Life is in Christ (John 1:4). He is the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45), the only One who is able to give life. The giving of life is the focal point of the apostle's revelation. We should take only the One who gives life.

There must be righteousness in order for life to be given. Righteousness, however, is not of law but in Christ (Rom. 5:17-18). Hence, the law is not able to give life. Furthermore, since the law cannot give life, it has no power to fulfill its requirements so that righteousness may be produced. Hence, in this sense also, righteousness is not of law.

As a jailer shuts up prisoners. The Scripture, personified here, has shut up all mankind under sin, not that the law might be kept by the imprisoned sinners but that God's promise might be given to the believers by faith in Christ. To be shut up under sin is to be shut up under law, as revealed in v. 23.

Lit., all things; i.e., all mankind.

God's promise to Abraham was given first. The law came 430 years later. The promise was permanent, but the law was temporary. The law, which came later and was temporary, cannot annul the promise, which was given first and was permanent. The Galatians left the first and permanent promise and went back to the later and temporary law.

Differences among races and nationalities.

Differences in social rank.

Differences between the sexes.

The believers are one in Christ by His resurrection life and His divine nature to be the one new man, as mentioned in Eph. 2:15. This one new man is absolutely in Christ. There is no room for our natural being, our natural disposition, and our natural character; in this one new man Christ is all and in all (Col. 3:10-11). This oneness in Christ is achieved through baptism, which terminates all the divisive distinctions and ushers the believers into the divine organic union with the processed Triune God, resulting in the believers' subjective assurance that they are one with one another.

Counted from the time God gave Abraham the promise in Gen. 12 to the time He gave the law through Moses in Exo. 20. This period was considered by God as the time of the children of Israel's dwelling in Egypt (Exo. 12:40-41). The four hundred years mentioned in Gen. 15:13 and Acts 7:6 is counted from the time Ishmael mocked Isaac in Gen. 21 to the time the children of Israel came out of the Egyptian tyranny in Exo. 12. This is the period during which Abraham's descendants suffered persecution from the Gentiles.

The law does not give; it only requires. Inheritance is not of law but of promise. Hence, the inheritance was graciously given to Abraham through promise.

Since faith in Christ has come, we do not need to be under the guarding law any longer.

Sons of full age, who have outgrown the custody of the slave guardian. Under the old testament, God's chosen people were considered infants. Now, under the new testament, they are considered sons of full age, who will inherit the promised blessing — the all-inclusive Spirit of Christ.

Faith in Christ brings us into Christ, making us one with Christ, in whom is the sonship. We must be identified with Christ through faith so that in Him we may be sons of God.

To believe is to believe into Christ (John 3:16), and to be baptized is to be baptized into Christ. By both faith and baptism we have entered into Christ, having thus put on Christ and become identified with Christ. Baptism practiced in a proper, genuine, and living way puts the believers into the name of the Triune God, the divine name (Matt. 28:19); into Christ, a living person (Gal. 3:27); into the death of Christ, an effective death (Rom. 6:3); and into the Body of Christ, a living organism (1 Cor. 12:13), that the believers may enter into an organic union not only with Christ but also with His Body. Furthermore, baptism brings the believers out of their old state into a new one, terminating their old life and germinating them with the new life of Christ that they may live in the Body of Christ, an organism, by the elements of the Triune God.

See note Col. 3:11².

See note Gal. 1:23^2b and note Gal. 3:2^3b. So also in v. 25. Faith was not revealed until Christ came (cf. John 1:12; 3:16, 18).

Kept in custody, kept in ward.

To be guarded under law by being shut up under law is to be like sheep enclosed in a fold (John 10:1, 16). In God's economy the law was used as a fold to keep God's chosen people until Christ came (see note John 10:1²). Since Christ has come, God's people should no longer be kept under the law (see note John 10:9²).

Or, with a view to. Indicating that shutting up has an object; i.e., it consummates in the faith, it brings the guarded people to the faith.

Or, escort, guardian, custodian; one who cares for a child who is under age and conducts him to the schoolmaster. The law was used by God as a custodian, a guardian, a child-conductor, to watch over His chosen people before Christ came, and to escort and bring them to Christ when He did come, that they might be justified by faith and participate in the blessing promised and covenanted by God.

Abraham has only one seed, Christ (v. 16). Hence, to be Abraham's seed we must be of Christ, be a part of Christ. Because we are one with Christ, we too are Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise, inheriting God's promised blessing, which is the all-inclusive Spirit as the ultimate consummation of the processed God, who is our portion. Under the new testament, the believers as God's chosen people, being sons of full age, are such heirs, not under law but in Christ. Like Ishmael (Gal. 4:23), the Judaizers, who remained under law and kept themselves apart from Christ, were Abraham's descendants according to the flesh; they were not like Isaac (Gal. 4:28), who was Abraham's heir according to promise. But the believers in Christ are such heirs, inheriting the promised blessing. Hence, we should remain in Christ and not turn to the law.

Since the law is unable to give us life (v. 21), it cannot produce the sons of God; but the Spirit, who is received out of faith (v. 2) and who gives us life (2 Cor. 3:6), can. The law kept God's chosen people under its custody until faith came (v. 23). Faith in Christ, who is the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit, makes God's chosen people Abraham's seed as "the stars of the heaven" (Gen. 22:17) according to God's promise.

This chapter reveals that God gave the promise to Abraham according to His eternal purpose. Before this promise was fulfilled, the law was given to serve as the custodian of God's chosen people. Then, at the appointed time Christ, the promised seed, came to fulfill the promise and brought in the promised blessing. This is grace. Hence, grace came with Christ and with the fulfillment of the promise. All this is on God's side. On our side, we need a way to apprehend, realize, and enjoy all that Christ, the seed, is and has accomplished. Therefore, there is grace on God's side, and there is faith on our side. Now, since we have grace, faith, and the seed that has fulfilled the promise, we no longer need the law to serve as our custodian. Hence, we must set aside the law and turn from the custodian to stay with Christ that we may enjoy the promised blessing by remaining in grace and faith. This blessing is nothing less than the processed Triune God as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit.