Galatians Quotes

“Whoever welcomes the action of the Spirit is assured of overcoming the flesh. Therefore, a Christian’s attitude can be positive. It is not a good strategy to be constantly preoccupied with avoiding sin—a gloomy outlook that only increases the likelihood of sinning. Rather, the wise path entails seeking to be attentive and obedient to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, trusting in his power, and availing oneself of the means that foster life in the Spirit. All of this is to live according to the Spirit, to set one’s mind on the things of the Spirit (see Rom 8:5–6 NRSV).”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“However, this positive result is not automatic but requires active cooperation. In this section (5:16–25) Paul describes”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“The first and fundamental effort of a Christian is not, therefore, to practice charity, as though one could do so in one’s own strength, but is rather to receive the divine †grace and action of the Holy Spirit that enable a person to love one’s neighbor as oneself. Consequently, although believers have renounced any attempt to practice the law, they will discover that they have de facto fulfilled it and have done even more than the minute prescriptions of the law require (Rom 8:4).”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“However, after initial justification, faith does not remain passive. Rather it manifests a powerful dynamism with which the believer must actively cooperate. Otherwise, his or her faith could suffocate and come to nothing. What counts for final justification is thus “faith working through love.”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“At the same time it is important not to overstate his position. Paul does not say that the non-Christian Jews are children of Hagar; he says only that they belong to the covenant of Sinai, which was prefigured in the person of Hagar.10”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“The law, Paul says, existed solely for the purpose of escorting Jews like himself to Christ, so that we might be justified by faith.”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“There exists a notable difference between the faith of Abraham and the faith of Christians. For Abraham the perspective was one of waiting. Abraham’s faith was faith in a promise about the future: “I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing” (Gen 12:2). But for Christians, faith rests on a foundation that has already been laid. Our faith entails entrusting ourselves to Christ, who has now been revealed, and accepting his redemptive work that is already accomplished. The blessing is now in effect for us. †Justification has been fully realized, thanks to the gift of the Holy Spirit. A great change has taken place, and Paul is conscious of living in a privileged era.”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“Paul has understood that righteousness is obtained this way and only this way (2:19–20). God’s promise of blessing to Abraham (3:14) was in the end a promise of resurrection—that is, the regeneration or re-creation of human beings who are righteous and blessed.”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“The boldest and most difficult point of Paul’s declaration is the way this freedom from the curse of the law comes: it comes through Christ himself “becoming a curse.” Paul offers scriptural proof from Deut 21:22–23, which concerns the practice of hanging the corpse of an executed criminal on a wooden pole in the sight of all to dissuade others from imitating his conduct: it is written, “Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree.”15 Deuteronomy did not originally refer to crucifixion since the Israelites did not inflict that torture. However, the final state of a person whom the Romans crucified was the same: a corpse hanging on “a tree” (in Hebrew the same word means both “tree” and “wood”), and Jews of Jesus’ day understood Deut 21:22–23 to speak of crucifixion.16”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“To demonstrate that “a person is not justified by the works of the law but through faith” (Gal 2:16), Paul shows that the gift of the Spirit is received by hearing with faith and not by works of the law. Then to confirm this he has recourse to a text that does not mention the Holy Spirit but speaks of “righteousness” (Gen 15:6). In this way Paul reveals his conviction that it is the Holy Spirit who justifies believers (made explicit in 1 Cor 6:11).6 Justification is not a merely judicial act by God; it entails the impartation of spiritual power that enables a person to live a new way of life that is pleasing to God.”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“demonstrate that “a person is not justified by the works of the law but through faith” (Gal 2:16), Paul shows that the gift of the Spirit is received by hearing with faith and not by works of the law. Then to confirm this he has recourse to a text that does not mention the Holy Spirit but speaks of “righteousness” (Gen 15:6). In this way Paul reveals his conviction that it is the Holy Spirit who justifies believers (made explicit in 1 Cor 6:11).6 Justification is not a merely judicial act by God; it entails the impartation of spiritual power that enables a”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“In Scripture “righteousness” is more than conformity to a standard of conduct: it describes a relationship between persons. One who is righteous before God is one whose attitude and actions make a harmonious relationship with God possible. Thus Gen 15:6 means that Abraham’s faith placed him in harmony with God. Although Paul greatly deepens the biblical teaching on the significance of faith, his teaching is firmly rooted in the Old Testament.5”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“The †grace of God” is the freely given favor of God offered to us in the mystery of Christ’s passion, which Paul has just spoken of. Through the redemptive love of his Son, God offers us the free gift of †justification. To seek justification in any other way constitutes disdain for this free gift, and therefore nullifies it. What unthinkable ingratitude!”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“This act of love of which the Apostle now speaks is even more impressive: “The Son of God . . . gave himself for me” (author’s translation). What disproportion there is in this exchange! What certainty we can have about its efficacy! What the Son of God has done is decisive for Paul’s life and for everyone who will accept this gift.”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“depths of generosity! What a mystery! The key to the mystery lies in another affirmation that appears for the first time here in the writings of the New Testament: Christ’s breathtaking initiative is a manifestation of love. The synoptic Gospels do not make this motivation explicit as Paul does.8 The past tense of “who has loved me” raises the question, Why does Paul not use the present tense and say “the Son of God who loves me” (see Rev 1:5)? The reason is in the connection between “has loved” and “has given himself up.” Paul is referring to the concrete past event in which the Son of God fully manifested his love: his death on the cross.”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“personal relationship that cannot be reduced to an abstraction. The result is a paradox: Who could have ever imagined that the Son of God could give himself up for me, a mere man and a sinner at that?”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“There are two reasons that Christ is a secure foundation for faith: on the one hand, his infinite greatness and power as the Son of God; on the other, the extreme love he has shown toward us. Christ’s love for us was demonstrated in his passion; his divine sonship was fully manifested in his resurrection (see Rom 1:4).”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“By means of †faith, the life of Christ permeates Paul. Christ does not impose himself on Paul but makes his divine life available to Paul, inviting a response of faith. The absolute trustworthiness of the Son of God opens up for Paul the possibility of a life of faith, which is the life of Christ in him and his life in Christ, a marvelous reciprocal interiority. Jesus’ farewell discourse in the Gospel of John has much to say about this mutual indwelling.7 Faith does not present itself as a mere assent of the mind to certain truths, but as the surrender of one’s whole being to the person of Christ (see the sidebar, “What Does Paul Mean by ‘Faith’?,” p. 100).”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“Paul’s affirmation that “Christ lives in me” introduces a claim that is completely new. Paul is saying that one person, Christ, lives in another, the believer, in such a real way that the life of the believer should be attributed to Christ rather than to the believer.”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“Col 2:12), and (2) this event goes beyond the bounds of historical chronology and is an ever-present reality. Paul uses the verb in the perfect tense, which in Greek expresses the enduring result of a past action: I was crucified, and I still am. This corresponds to the concrete situation of believers. As we continue to †live on earth, Christ’s passion is being actualized in our lives, which in turn affects our participation in the life of the risen Christ.”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“Paul, however, recognizes that these two foundations are incompatible. Whoever seeks justification through keeping the law aims at a righteousness of his or her own (Phil 3:9) and is thus engaged in a kind of self-justification. Whoever, on the other hand, puts his or her faith in Christ radically renounces self-justification and receives justification as a free gift from God, obtained through the passion of Christ, who suffered “for our sins” (Gal 1:4). This is the choice: to rely on works of the law or to believe in Christ.”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“Nevertheless, the doctrine of inspiration does guarantee the judgment on the issue firmly expressed by Paul in the text and explained more clearly in the verses that follow. Christians are not called to accept circumcision or other “works of the law” to be justified. Rather, they are free of impurity and full members of God’s †covenant people on the basis of the only valid foundation for relationship with God—namely, †faith in Christ, “who gave himself for our sins . . . in accord with the will of our God and Father” (Gal 1:4).”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“Peter was concealing his convictions and acting as though he shared the ideas of the strict party of Jewish Christians who were aligned with James. Paul speaks of hypocrisy, using a Greek word that refers to pretending something that is not true. Sincerity is an important Christian virtue commended in the writings of Peter, James, and Paul (1 Tim 1:5; James 3:17; 1 Pet 2:1), and Jesus himself denounces hypocrisy in the Gospels (e.g., Matt 23).”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“gospel was not simply an administrative division of labor. Rather, the proof that God had entrusted their respective fields of ministry to Peter and to Paul was God’s own operation in and through them to make their work effective. God had conferred on Paul an ability that corresponded to his mission, a capability that was not merely human. “Who is qualified for this?” Paul asks in 2 Cor 2:16. He answers, “Our qualification comes from God, who has indeed qualified us as ministers of a new covenant” (2 Cor 3:5–6). God worked in Peter to make him an apostle to the chosen people, and he worked also in Paul to make him an apostle to the Gentiles.”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“Titus is referred to as a Greek, a word Paul often uses interchangeably with “†Gentile.”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“including cousins.8 Paul’s word choice suggests that the expression had become a title of honor; he says not merely “the brother of Jesus” but “the brother of the Lord,” pointing to the relationship of James with the glorified Christ. Acts speaks of this James as a leader of the Jerusalem church (see Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18).”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“The importance of the meaning of Simon’s new name to the early Church is evident from the fact that Cephas is the only Aramaic name we know of that the New Testament authors chose to translate into Greek.”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“The independence of his vocation and of his gospel is thus proved. Paul owes nothing to human beings, not even to the apostles who preceded him. Instead of being merely a disciple of the apostles, as his opponents may have asserted, Paul found himself suddenly elevated to the rank of apostle by virtue of the revelation he received.”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“Although similar to the vocations of the greatest prophets, Paul’s vocation is greater since God did not reveal “his Son” to any of them. But Paul reports that God was pleased to reveal his Son to me. The word “pleased” emphasizes God’s affectionate favor toward Paul.”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians

“While Jeremiah does not speak of God “calling” him, Isaiah’s second Song of the Servant of the Lord does speak of being called: Before birth the LORD called me, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name. (Isa 49:1, italics added) This prophecy would have caught Paul’s attention because it declares God’s plan for the Gentiles: It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. (Isa 49:6) Acts records that Paul applied this text to his own apostolate to the Gentiles (Acts 13:47).”
― Albert Vanhoye, Galatians