As I said earlier, Paulo is developing the session called Probation, that is, the moment in which the arguments are presented and the discussion takes on a more intense tone.
If in the previous text Paul began his arguments with an appeal to the Galatian experience, now he moves on to theological reasons, using, in this block, the biblical argument. It should be noted that this step is chosen carefully. Paul stands on the ground of his opponents, who interpreted the Scriptures by emphasizing the validity of the law for Christians. Paul will use the same Scriptures to say just the opposite.
The text can be divided into two blocks and a conclusion. The first, from v. 6 to 9, uses the example of Abraham to discuss justification by faith. The second, from v. 10 to 13, discusses the presence of the Law in the Christian life. And the conclusion, in v. 14, relates to previous discussions with the Holy Spirit.
The starting point is the life of Abraham. The focus is on their experience of faith and the aftermath of it, which will be contrasted with the Galatians' fascination with life under the law.
It may seem, at first, that the apostle uses the example of Abraham to emphasize justification by faith. Not only that. He uses the example of the father of faith to emphasize the presence and action of the Holy Spirit among his readers (v. 14). Therefore, there is an unusual junction between Abraham and the Holy Spirit in this text.
Paul begins the first block with a statement: “Abraham believed in God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.” The topic of justification by faith has been addressed earlier (cf. 2:16). But now it returns on the new connection. The faith that leads to righteousness is presented as a model lived by Abraham, and, in such a way, historically connects all who are saved by faith with the elder (v. 7). In this way, those who believe are children of Abraham. Especially the Gentiles, to whom the gospel was preached already in Abraham (v. 8). Not only that, but it highlights that the blessing experienced by the patriarch falls on those who believe (v. 9).
Obviously, Paul's use of Abraham is intended to emphasize his act of faith rather than the covenantal circumcision made with him (cf. Gen 17) and required of the Galatians by the Judaizers (5:2). In the same way, the apostle intends to deflect the focus of the Mosaic law through the historical argument of the faith that was manifested before the law, and that, consequently, cannot be annulled by it (cf. 3.16-17). The act of faith that makes Abraham righteous not only precedes his other acts, such as the enactment of circumcision but also gives meaning to them. For this very reason, the apostle declares: "Know therefore that they of faith are the children of Abraham" (v. 7). It means, in other words, that circumcision does not make anyone a child of Abraham, as Paul's opponents would argue.
How does Paul argue about Abrahamic sonship by faith? He starts from the expression of Genesis 12.3: "... in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed", quoted in v. 8b, to confirm the announcement of justification to the Gentiles (v. 8a). In this way, he Christologically delimits the blessing of Abraham. The conclusion is that “those of faith are blessed with believing Abraham” (v. 9). Abraham, who for Judaism is the model of obedience to the Torah, becomes Paul the model of faith for Christians.
The second block, of a negative character, turns to the works of the law. Paulo works with binary thinking. If there are those who are walking in faith, following in Abraham's footsteps, what do the others follow? The law. In that case, if the former is blessed, the latter, by logic, is cursed (v. 10). It seems to be a simplistic and radical thought. Paul, however, again takes the Scriptures as proof of what he says. He quotes Deuteronomy 27:26 to remind him that he who tries to do the Law and fails to do so is cursed. This applies to both Jews and Jewish Christians. It could also include the Galatians.
Paul develops the argument from logic. If justification comes by faith, then no other way is needed. Therefore, the law justifies no one (v. 11). He broadens and deepens the argument by asserting that the Law cannot save because it does not come from faith (v. 12). Now we have not only a question of possibility, but of opposition. Faith and Law are opposites. A space is opened here to discuss themes related to the New Perspective on Paul, particularly with regard to the concept of the Law and its role in Pauline Christianity. Júlio has already addressed this topic in posts at the end of May, so I don't think it's necessary to go back to them.
in v. 13 Paul presents the way to escape the curse to which all who live under the Law are subject – Jesus Christ. In doing so there are two purposes. The first is to show the impossibility of those who profess Jesus Christ living under the Law. Jesus freed Christians from the curse of the Law and the Law itself by fulfilling the Law and dying on the cross. Therefore, the whole Law was fulfilled by him, leaving nothing for the Christians. Wanting to live under the Law means rejecting the fullness of Jesus Christ's sacrifice. The second objective is to prepare the Holy Spirit to enter the discussion (v. 14). Leave the curse and move towards the blessing.
The conclusion builds on what was said above. The blessing for the Gentiles, considered as justification by faith (v. 7-9), is now expanded to indicate that faith also leads to the receiving of the Holy Spirit (v. 14). This is the second great blessing for the Christian. The emphasis on faith as the basis for receiving the Spirit is a criticism of the Judaizers who understood the access or fullness of the Spirit as something that would be achieved through the works of the Law (cf. 3.2). Therefore, Paul is taking up the theme of the previous pericope. In it, he appealed to the experience of the Galatians. There is no doubt that they received the Spirit through the preaching of faith (3:2). Now, this same fact is highlighted from the angle of a scriptural witness. And Paul does it with even greater emphasis: The blessing for all peoples, given to Abraham, comes to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ and is consolidated and fulfilled with the presence of the Spirit in their lives.
As a reflection, I have some thoughts.
In the analysis of the previous text, I already wrote a little about the possibility of living under the Law today. Thinking about the text above, I think we can advance the reflection. The most terrible thing about life under the Law is not just the mistake of feeling safe and the often hidden experience of being disappointed in not being able to live up to the Law's standards. The biggest and main problem is that the search for the Law makes life under the Holy Spirit unfeasible. They are incompatible. All Christians live in this dilemma. Pentecostals, who give centrality to the Spirit, repress it with their many rules and norms that can be of a behavioral nature such as clothing, vocabulary; or even spiritual, such as the tyranny of evidence of spiritual gifts, speaking in tongues, of exercising or receiving healings. The traditional ones, in turn, put the Spirit in the background when they emphasize moral issues, which become moralistic, such as sexual behaviors, which are secretly violated, health issues, such as not smoking, not drinking, while at the same time they submit to the judgments of this world, seeking an aesthetic of masculine and feminine beauty that is not at all Christian; radicalize the tithe, while doing everything in their companies to evade the income tax. And much more.
Abraham's blessing, which is not only salvation by faith but also the gift of the Holy Spirit, was exchanged for the life we have under the Law. Consequence? Again we have no room for faith. We do not worship life of sensitivity to the voice of the Spirit who wants to mold us in holiness and make us return to the world and to our neighbor in love. We do not experience the power of the Spirit, whether in conversions, in sensitized hearts, or in healings and portents. We cannot live as a community of the last times, eschatological, inhabited and filled by the Holy Spirit.
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