Analysis
The Greek words used in Galatians and Ephesians in which we will be studying are as follows:
ἅγιος: 1. as adjective pertaining to being dedicated or consecrated to the service of God
- in the cultic sense dedicated to God, holy, sacred, i.e. reserved for God and God’s service:
ἁγιασμός: personal dedication to the interests of the deity, holiness, consecration, sanctification. Kittle: sanctifying, i.e. a process.
ἁγιωσύνη: Holiness. Kittle: “This rare word, formed from the adjective ἅγιος by extension of the o to ω after a short syllable as an abstract term of quality, in the same way as δικαιοσύνη is formed from δίκαιος, is not found in pre-biblical Greek. It means ‘sanctification’ or ‘holiness’ rather than ‘sanctifying’, but as a quality rather than a state.”
ἁγιάζω: 1. set aside something or make it suitable for ritual purposes, consecrate, dedicate of things. 2. include a person in the inner circle of what is holy, in both cultic and moral associations of the word, consecrate, dedicate, sanctify. 3. to treat as holy, reverence. 4. to eliminate that which is incompatible with holiness, purify
Inferred Holiness Passages
The most surprising thing about Paul’s letter to the Galatians is that not one of our words appear in his letter! The letter represents Paul’s argument that a christian can’t complete his/her salvation by performing the works of the Jewish law. Holiness is inferred throughout the letter. We will look at a few of the passages.
Galatians 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!
10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant (slave) of Christ.
We will find out later that these people were from the church in Jerusalem and they were telling the Galatians that they had to start observing the Jewish law. Paul calls this “a different, perverted gospel” and the ones who teach such a thing should be accursed and it doesn’t matter who it comes from!
Galatians 3:1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? 4 Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?
One of my favorite Pauline expressions is Ὦ ἀνόητοι Γαλάται (O foolish Galatians), but what we call foolish here really means “unintelligent” or even “dull-witted” as the word is derived from νοῦς (the mind/intellect/understanding). With the alpha in front of the word, we get the opposite of “the mind/intellect/understanding”. I hate to say this, but this expression fits many Christians today! Why would anyone think that by “doing things”, they can complete salvation? Of course, one must obey what God has given us to obey, but the contrasts between observing the Jewish law and living in the Spirit can’t be overlooked! The Galatians received the Spirit by what they heard, and not by performing the Jewish law. Paul’s point is that no one can complete their own salvation by doing “stuff”. We can only do what we first did when we received the Spirit, that is to walk in the Spirit. The argument here is that the Galatians didn’t receive the Spirit by performing the law, so why would they think that performing the law now affects their salvation in any way?
Galatians 3:10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” 11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”
In this passage, Paul quotes four OT passages. The first one is from Deut. 27:26. The second one is from Hab. 2:4. The third one is from Lev. 18:5. The last one is from Deut. 21:23.
Paul’s point is that no one under the law could keep the law. Therefore, the ones who try to keep the law are under a curse because they couldn’t keep it. This goes back to the teaching in Romans chapter 7 where the sinful nature of people turned God’s holy law into a curse. The law enticed people to sin. In other words, when Paul heard the law say “don’t covet”, he then started “coveting everything”! The only way out of this was the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus, who because a curse for us so that we could be redeemed from the curse. Trying to keep the law only leads to death because no one can keep it fully.
Galatians 4:8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10 You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11 I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.
This precedes Paul’s allegory on the “free woman” and the “slave woman” where Sarah represents the “Christians not under the law”, or “the Jerusalem above” who is free from the “law”, who had Isaac by way of God’s promise. Hagar represents “Jews under the law”, or the “Jerusalem now”, who gave birth Abraham’s son Ismael, who was not by the promise. This is important to understand in order to understand Paul’s “set-up” here.
Paul refers to the Galatians’ pagan past and how they were “slaves” in that life-style to idols that were not really gods at all. Now that they know the one true God, Paul wants to know why they would want to go back to being slaves under the same “weak and miserable forces”, thus being slaves again to something much like the paganism which they came out of. As indicated in the holiness studies in Romans and 2 Corinthians, Paul places Judaism in the same boat as paganism. Here it is the same. The Galatians are so embedded into Judaism that they had started keeping the Jewish calendar which makes me wonder why some of us hold to that tradition.
Galatians 4:12 I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong. 13 As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you, 14 and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. 15 Where, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
When Paul first came to the people in Galatia, he had some type of illness, possibly in his eyes. The Galatians looked past this and completely accepted Paul in spite of his illness. But now, the Galatians are doing something quite different. They have let their “flawed theology” stand in the way of how they should treat Paul. And yes, “flawed theology” is appropriate here. The Galatians have become so convinced that the law will complete their salvation that they are now opposing Paul! When they first were “living by the Spirit”, the Galatians loved Paul for who he was, but now while “living by the law”, they see Paul as the enemy! This really hits home that a little perversion can turn people so quickly.
Galatians 5:13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
As was stated in the 2 Corinthians Study, we can’t make ourselves holy, but we can stand in the way of the Holy Spirit’s refining work in us. Paul warns the Galatians that their freedom from the law doesn’t give them the freedom to do whatever they want to. He goes through a long lists of “do nots” that represent their pagan past. He makes it very plain that people who do such things, can’t inherit the kingdom of God.
Life in the Spirit, on the other hand, produces fruit in a person. The passions and desires of the past have been crucified with Jesus. Paul then reminds the Galatians that they shouldn’t be conceited or as BDAG defines κενόδοξος: “pertaining to having exaggerated self-conceptions, conceited, boastful”. When my wife was growing up, the young people had coined a phrase for such people. They would say “that girl thinks herself yeah!” The same is true today. God is the one at work in us and deserves all of the glory for it. We are only his tools in the kingdom.
Galatians 6:1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4 Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5 for each one should carry their own load. 6 Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.
The final passage that we will look at is found in Chapter 6. Paul now shows the biggest difference between the Jewish law and the Christ’s law. To put this perspective, one must compare what Paul says here about what to do if someone is caught in sin to what would have happened if they were caught in sin under the Jewish law. Let’s just look at one:
Leviticus 20:10 “ ‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.’ ”
What should be obvious from 6:1, is that Christians who live in the Spirit should not treat people caught in sin the same way that the Jewish law did. Where under the law, an adulterer was killed, under Christ’s law, one is corrected and restored “gently”. That is, don’t outcasts the ones who have sinned, but help them to overcome it and to get back on the right track. All people can fall under temptation, so help the ones caught in sin as you would want to be helped if you were to fall to temptation!
A theme throughout Paul’s letters is to “put other peoples’ interest above your own interests”. That is to help the ones around you and don’t think that you are “the man”. By doing so, you are only fooling yourself. In other words, those things that you do can’t lead you to salvation, nor should they be compared to what others do. Remember, we are all part of the body of Christ and every part is of equal value in the Kingdom (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12). You are responsible for that God has given you to exercise it. This is your “load” in the kingdom. If what God has given you helps someone in the kingdom, it’s ok for you to be proud of what God is doing through you, but you are just one cog in the wheel of the body.
Final Thoughts
So what resembles the Jewish law today? There are many things that christians do today that resemble that Old Covenant Law. Probably the greatest one is how we treat fellow christians who have been caught in sin. Although we will not physically put them to death, we are guilty at time of putting them to death spiritually. The body of Christ is to encourage, not destroy.
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