DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS

Galatians 2:21-3:7        (9/15)         Epistle for Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week after Pentecost

 

The Spirit: Galatians 2:21-3:7, especially vs. 5:“Therefore He Who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?...”  Two grammatical elements shape this quoted verse : first, it is a question that asks us to select between two alternatives, “...the works of the law...” or “...the hearing of faith....”  Second, it is posed in rhetorical form, that is, it expects the answer, 'God supplies the Spirit to us by the hearing of faith.'  In reading through Galatians, take care to understand and take into account the circumstances that led him to use the language in which this verse is cast.

At the time Galatians was written, the Church was steadily separating from the greater Jewish community of which it was initially a part.  The separation not only affected congregations in Galatia, but touched the world-wide, Apostolic churches.  The division was painful and confusing for many, and some individuals and groups were trying to reverse the separation, or, like Saint Paul, they were following the lead of the Holy Spirit, at whatever cost.

The churches in Galatia were largely Gentile, composed of persons newly converted to Christ.  They understood clearly enough from Saint Paul, who first introduced them to the Christian message, that the Church was Jewish, yet, at the same time, they discovered an openness to Gentiles in him not previously found in Judaism.  Then, after the Apostle’s departure, conservative Jewish Christians arrived who sought to introduce the Galatians to the full practice of Judaism, including circumcision, the dietary food laws, and the holy days.

For Saint Paul, there was a fundamental reason for not requiring the traditional Jewish practices from Gentile converts.  He saw that returning to the practices mandated by the Mosaic Law effectively denied the essence of the Gospel.  It elevated obedience to the Law above the gift of the Spirit in Christ received by faith with reliance on God’s promises.  The traditionalists’ proposal was not an acceptable variant of the Gospel, but actually a covert denial of it.

The next four Epistle readings (today through Friday), reveal Saint Paul urging, pleading, and demanding that the Galatians stand fast in the Gospel he had taught and not to turn back to the alternative being proposed.  They had received “The Fulfillment” of Judaism, the true Faith of the true Israel.  His message is timelessly urgent, for we too can turn from the Good News of fulfillment in Christ and slide into legalism.  Read carefully what the Apostle teaches here.

Christian Faith is a radical alternative to legalism.  Follow Saint Paul’s thought: he would “...not set aside the grace of God...,” which provides “...righteousness...” through the death and resurrection of Christ, nor resort to a practice that substantially is a matter of obedience to a code of law (vs. 21 and vs. 1).  The Holy Spirit fulfills righteousness in the heart, not in human works of obeying the Law (vs. 2)!  Each of us begins with the gift of the Holy Spirit in Baptism and Chrismation (vs.3).  May we never shut off life in the Spirit - His leading, teaching, and guiding - in favor of obeying rules from a book (vs. 3).  Honestly, can one find Life without the Spirit?

Rules and ethical codes do have their source in God ultimately, and they can help in the effort and struggle to live righteously before God, but only with the strength and light that the Spirit of God supplies (vss. 4,5).  Should we revert to legalism, we will labor in vain, no longer depending on the fulfillment that the Spirit gives in Christ - we will abandon the transformation and miracles that the Spirit works within (vs. 5).  Trust in Christ, known in and through the Spirit within the Church, for our God fulfills all righteousness in us and for us, and He it is Who humbles and forgives us when we fail in the struggle to be righteous (vs. 5).

O Master, by Thy grace uphold inviolate in us the seal of Thy Spirit and grant us mercy.

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