The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (206 page)

There Is No Other Gospel

6
 
I am astonished
that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and turning to a different gospel—
 
*
⁷
not that there is another gospel, but there are
some who trouble you
and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.
⁸
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be
accursed
.
⁹
As we have said before, so now I say again, If any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.

10
 Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I
trying to please men
? If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant
^a
of Christ.
 
*

Paul's Vindication of His Apostleship

11
 Brethren, I would have you know that the gospel which was preached by me is not man's
^b
gospel.
¹²
For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came
through a revelation
of Jesus Christ.
¹³
For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how
I persecuted the Church
of God violently and tried to destroy it;
¹⁴
and I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the
traditions of my fathers
.
¹⁵
But when he who had
set me apart
before I was born, and had called me through his grace,
¹⁶
was pleased
to reveal his Son
to
^c
me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood,
¹⁷
nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into
Arabia
; and again I returned to Damascus.

18
 Then
after three years
I went up to Jerusalem to visit Ce'phas, and remained with him fifteen days.
¹⁹
But I saw none of the other apostles except
James
the Lord's brother.
 
*
²⁰
(In what I am writing to you,
before God
, I do not lie!)
²¹
Then I went into the regions of
Syria and Cili'cia
.
²²
And I was still not known by sight to the churches of Christ in Judea;
²³
they only heard it said, "He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy."
²⁴
And they glorified God because of me.

Paul and the Other Apostles

2
  
Then
after fourteen years
I went up again to
Jerusalem
with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me.
²
I went up by revelation; and
I laid before them
(but privately before those who were of repute) the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, lest somehow I should be running or had run in vain.
³
But even Titus, who was with me, was not
compelled to be circumcised
, though he was a Greek.
⁴
But because of
false brethren
secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy out our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage—
⁵
to them we did not yield submission even for a moment, that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
⁶
And from those who were
reputed to be something
(what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who were of repute added nothing to me;
⁷
but on the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the
uncircumcised
, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised
⁸
(for he who worked through Peter for the mission to the circumcised worked through me also for the Gentiles),
⁹
and when they perceived the grace that was given to me,
James and Ce'phas and John
, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised;
¹⁰
only they would have us
remember the poor
, which very thing I was eager to do.

Paul Rebukes Peter at Antioch

11
 But when Cephas came to
Antioch
I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
¹²
For before certain men came from James, he ate with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and
separated himself
, fearing the circumcision party.
¹³
And with him the rest of the Jews acted insincerely, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their insincerity.
¹⁴
But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas
before them all
, "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?"
¹⁵
We ourselves, who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners,
¹⁶
yet who know that a man is not
justified
^d
by works of the law
 
*
but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
¹⁷
But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we ourselves were
found to be sinners
, is Christ then an agent of sin? Certainly not!
¹⁸
But if I build up again those things
which I tore down
, then I prove myself a transgressor.
¹⁹
For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God.
²⁰
I have been
crucified with Christ
; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
²¹
I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification
^e
were through the law, then Christ
died to no purpose
.

Law or Faith

3
  
O foolish Galatians
! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
²
Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit
 
*
by works of the law, or by
hearing with faith
?
³
Are you so foolish? Having begun with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?
⁴
Did you
experience
so many things in vain?—if it really is in vain.
⁵
Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?

6
 Thus
Abraham
"believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness."
⁷
So you see that it is men of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
⁸
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall
all the nations be blessed
."
⁹
So then, those who are men of faith are blessed with Abraham who had faith.

10
 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "
Cursed be every one
who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them."
¹¹
Now it is evident that no man is justified before God by the law; for "
He who through faith
is righteous shall live";
^f
12
but the law does not rest on faith, for "
He who does them
shall live by them."
¹³
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, "
Cursed be every one
who hangs on a tree"—
¹⁴
that in Christ Jesus
the blessing of Abraham
might come upon the Gentiles, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

The Promise to Abraham

15
 
To give a human example
, brethren: no one annuls even a man's
will
,
^g
or adds to it, once it has been ratified.
¹⁶
Now the promises were made to Abraham
and to his offspring
. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many; but, referring to one, "And to your offspring," which is Christ.
¹⁷
This is what I mean: the law, which came
four hundred and thirty years
afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.
¹⁸
For if the inheritance is by the law, it is no longer by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

The Purpose of the Law

19
 Why then the law?
It was added
because of transgressions, till the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made; and it was ordained by angels through an intermediary.
²⁰
Now
an intermediary
implies more than one; but God is one.

21
 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not; for if a law had been given which could make alive, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.
²²
But the Scripture
consigned all things to sin
, that what was promised to faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

23
 Now before faith came, we were confined under the law,
kept under restraint
until faith should be revealed.
²⁴
So that the law was our
custodian
until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith.
²⁵
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian;
²⁶
for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
²⁷
For as many of you as were
baptized into Christ
have put on Christ.
²⁸
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for
you are all one
in Christ Jesus.
²⁹
And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

4
  
I mean that
the heir, as long as he is a child, is no better than a slave, though he is the owner of all the estate;
²
but he is under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father.
³
So with us; when we were children, we were slaves to the
elemental spirits
of the universe.
⁴
But when
the time had fully come
, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
⁵
to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive
adoption
as sons.
⁶
And because you are sons, God has
sent the Spirit
of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"
⁷
So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir.

Paul Reproves the Galatians

8
 
Formerly
, when
you did not know God
, you were in bondage to beings that by nature are no gods;
⁹
but now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly
elemental spirits
, whose slaves you want to be once more?
¹⁰
You observe
days, and months, and seasons, and years
!
¹¹
I am afraid I have labored over you in vain.