The Great Commentary of Cornelius a Lapide: the Epistle to the Galatians
Ver. 6. — Even as Abraham believed God. This introduces the second argument, to prove that we are justified, not by the works of the law, but by faith ; not by Moses, but by Christ. Abraham received the Spirit when uncircumcised and before the law, and was justified by faith in Christ, not by the law, which at that time was not in existence. So, argues S. Paul, are you justified by faith.
And it was accounted to him for righteousness. By his faith he was justified. Cf. notes to Rom. iv. 3.
Ver. 7. — They which are of faith. A Graecism for they who are faithful, who imitate Abraham's faith.
The same are the children of Abraham. Not by blood, but by imitation; to them, therefore, belongs the blessing pronounced on Abraham.
Ver. 8 . — Preached before the gospel unto Abraham. Gave him this most joyful news of the blessing to be conferred by Christ on His descendants, i.e., on the faithful. In other words, the Gospel about Christ and His righteousness is not new, but is as old as the days of Abraham.
In thee shall all nations be blessed. Cajetan observes, in his notes on Genesis xii., that when God called Abraham from his home in Chaldea, and from his kindred, to go to a land to be shown him, He promised him a sevenfold blessing. Seven is the number of completeness . (1.) He promised him that he should be the head or father of a great nation, in the words, “ I will make of thee a great nation ; ” (2.) abundant riches, in the words, “I will bless thee ;” (3.) fame and wide renown, in the words, “ And make thy name great ;” (4.) the sum of all blessings and honours, in the words, “ Thou shalt be a blessing.” The exact force of the Hebrew here is that thou shalt be so filled with blessings as to seem to be a blessing itself, so that when men may wish to bless any one, they shall put you forward as an example, saying, “ May God bless thee as He blessed Abraham.” In a similar way the Romans saluted their Caesar : “ May you be more fortunate than Augustus, more virtuous than Trajan.” (5.) The Lord promised His blessing, not to Abraham only, but to his friends, in the words, “ I will bless them that bless thee.” (6.) He promised that He would avenge him on his adversaries, in the words, “ I will curse him that curseth thee.” (7.) The preceding six are temporal only, but the seventh and the chief is spiritual and eternal, “ In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
1. Observe that in thee , i.e ., in thy seed, as is explained in Gen. xxii. 17, is to be understood as in Christ , who was born of Abraham, according to the Apostle’s interpretation in Gal. iii. 16. Through thy seed, Christ, and through faith in Him, all nations shall be blessed, i.e., be justified and made sons and friends of God, and consequently heirs of God’s kingdom, and entitled to hear the blissful words, “ Come, ye blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Abraham’s blessing , therefore, was that he should be the father of the justified.
2. But in thee can be also rendered like thee . As thou art justified, so by faith shall all nations be justified, and not by the works of the law. So say Chrysostom, Augustine, Theophylact, Œcumenius, and S. Thomas.
Notice, too, that with God to speak is as efficacious as to do, for, “ He spake the word and they were made.”
Similarly, to pronounce a blessing with Him is the same as to confer a blessing (benedicere = benefacere). The greater the blessing promised, the greater the blessing given. But the greatest good we can receive is that grace by which we become sharers of the Divine nature, and the word blessing, therefore, denotes this great gift.
Hence the Fathers rightly interpret, they shall be blessed, as they shall be justified: they shall receive the blessing of justification, than which no greater gift can be given to man by God.
From this is evident the error of Pagninus, in rendering the phrase before us, In thee shall all nations bless themselves . The Hebrew voice of the verb is the Niphal, which is purely passive, not reflexive ; moreover, S. Paul’s use of the passage is against him.
Ver. 9. — So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. This is the conclusion from the premisses of the three preceding verses. God promised to Abraham that in him, i.e ., in his seed, i.e., in Christ, all nations should be blessed, i.e., justified. But the promise of God cannot fail ; therefore the consequence contained in this verse follows.
If the second sense of in thee, given above, is preferred, the argument is the same. In thee, i.e., like thee, all nations shall be blessed. But thou, O Abraham, wast justified by faith ; therefore, the Gentiles too shall be justified in the same way. And from this it follows that they who are of faith shall be blessed, i.e., justified with faithful Abraham. This last phrase rather favours the second rendering of in thee, and hints that the Gentiles shall be justified like faithful Abraham.
Observe again the Graecism, they who are of faith, i.e., who are faithful. Similarly, he speaks of those who are of the circumcision, i.e., the Jews, followers of the law. Elsewhere he calls them those who are of the works of the law, i.e., those who rely on it and hope for justification from it.
Ver. 10. — For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. He inquired in verse 5 whether righteousness comes from the law or from faith. He replied, “ From faith,” and then proved his answer by the example of Abraham. He now proceeds to a third proof, by destroying the alternative, viz., that it is not of the law.
So far from the law bestowing a blessing, those who are under it are under a curse — exposed to eternal damnation. This he argues thus : Whoever does not keep the whole law is cursed by the law. But no one keeps the whole law without the grace of Christ, as I suppose you know from your own experience ; for you know that the law teaches, threatens, and punishes only, but does not confer grace ; therefore, without faith no one is free from the curse of the law pronounced by it against those who transgress it. The law curses, faith alone blesses.
If any one wishes the argument put more in syllogistic form, it may be thrown into the mood barbara thus : Whoever breaks any law is cursed by it. But all who are under the law, and are shut off from the grace of Christ, break the law ; therefore, all who are under the law are cursed by it. The major is proved by Deut. xxvii. 26 ; the minor is supposed to be known by experience, and hence the conclusion follows. Of course the minor must be granted, else the Judaisers might say to the Galatians: We are as much under a blessing as a curse, for if the law curses those who break it, it also blesses those who keep it, as is said in Deut. xxviii. 2.
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. Though Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, the LXX., render the word we translate continueth somewhat differently, yet the sense is the same throughout. Whoever does not by his deeds establish, strengthen, settle the law, is accursed by it. This is the major of the syllogism just stated.
1. Observe that he passes over the minor, because it was admitted . Calvin, however, makes it to be this : But no one can fulfil the law ; therefore, the law imposes what is impossible, and consequently all are under its curse. But this is an impious proposition.
If modified thus : No one keeps the law without the faith of Christ, therefore all without that faith are under the curse of the law, then it becomes orthodox. God does not command impossibilities. Although by natural strength a man cannot keep the whole law, yet he can by supernatural, and this latter God gives to all that ask Him, whether Jews or Gentiles.
2. Observe, in the second place, that not all were accursed who broke any law. For some laws, though of Divine origin, obliged under venial sin only, because of the nature of their subject-matter, as, e.g., the law forbidding the mother to be taken in the nest with her young (Deut. xxii. 6.), and the law forbidding a vineyard to be sown with divers seeds (ver. 9), and the law forbidding a garment to be woven of flax and wool (ver. 11). It is evident, therefore, that Deut. xxvii., quoted by S. Paul, refers to the Decalogue, which contains commandments of great importance. It is because they oblige under mortal sin that he is cursed who breaks one of them. A reference to Deut. xxvii. will show this to be the case. The Apostle assumes that no one can keep the whole Decalogue without the grace of Christ, and he thence concludes that all who are under the law are cursed by it.
Ver. 11. — But that no man is justified. This is a fourth proof. S. Paul would fain convince the Galatians by an accumulation of proofs. After that based on the example of Abraham, and that on the condition of those under the law, he proceeds to another drawn from Habakkuk ii. 4, a text already explained in the notes on Rom. i. 17.