galatians-4:1-4-web

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Galatians 4:1

Verse 1 1.Now I say. Whoever made the division into chapters has improperly separated this paragraph from the preceding, as it is nothing else than the concluding section, ( ἐπεξεργασία,) in which Paul explains and illustrates the difference that exists between us and the ancient people. He does so by introducing a third comparison, drawn from the relation which a person under age bears to his tutor. The young man, though he is free, though he is lord of all his father’s family, still resembles... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Galatians 4:3

Verse 3 3.Under the elements of the world. Elements may either mean, literally, outward and bodily things, or, metaphorically, rudiments. I prefer the latter interpretation. But why does he say that those things which had a spiritual signification were of the world ? We did not, he says, enjoy the truth in a simple form, but involved in earthly figures; and consequently, what was outward must have been “of the world,” though there was concealed under it a heavenly mystery. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Galatians 4:4

Verse 4 4.When the fullness of the time was come. He proceeds with the comparison which he had adduced, and applies to his purpose the expression which has already occurred, “the time appointed by the Father,” — but still shewing that the time which had been ordained by the providence of God was proper and seasonable. That season is the most fit, and that mode of acting is the most proper, which the providence of God directs. At what time it was expedient that the Son of God should be revealed... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:1

Now I say ( λέγω δέ ). A form of expression usual with the apostle when introducing a new statement designed either to explain or elucidate something before said (of. Galatians 3:17 ; Galatians 5:16 ; Romans 15:8 , according to the Received Text; 1 Corinthians 1:12 . So τοῦτο δέ φημι , 1 Corinthians 7:29 ; 1 Corinthians 15:50 ). It is intended apparently to quicken attention: "Now I wish to say this." In the present case the apostle designs to throw further light... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:1-3

The Church of God in its minority. The apostle now passes to a new phase of argument. He has used the similitudes of a testament, a prison, a schoolmaster, to mark the condition of believers under the Law; he now uses the similitude of an heir in his nonage. The Galatians are here taught that the state of men under the Law, so far from being an advanced religious position, was rather low and infantile. Mark— I. THE HEIR 'S POTENTIAL POSITION . He is "lord of all." He is such by... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:1-7

Majority through the gospel. Paul, having spoken of the Law-school in the preceding sections, and of the participation of believing Gentiles in the privileges of the Abrahamic family, proceeds in the present section to speak of the times before Christ's advent as infantile, of the advent as the fulness of times, and of the majority which is realized by believers through the gospel. Four leading thoughts are thus presented. I. THE IMPERFECT TIMES . ( Galatians 4:1-3 .) The Old... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:1-11

Majority and minority. I. THE CHILD COMING TO HIS MAJORITY . Analogy. "But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he differeth nothing from a bond-servant, though he is lord of all; but is under guardians and stewards until the term appointed of the father." At the close of the preceding chapter Christians were described as Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise. It is with regard to this that the apostle now makes use of an analogy. It is a very simple and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:2

But is under tutors and governors ( ἀλλὰ ὑπὸ ἐπιτρόπους ἐστὶ καὶ οἰκονόμους ) but is under guardians and stewards. ἐπίτροπος is, in Greek, the proper designation of a minor's guardian; as, for example, is shown by Demosthenes's speeches against Aphobus, who had been his ἐπίτροπος . These speeches also show that the ἐπίτροπος was entrusted with the handling of the property of his ward. Yet, as οἰκονόμος more especially denotes one entrusted with the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:3

Even so we ( οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς ); so we also. This "we" represents the same persons as before in Galatians 3:13 , Galatians 3:24 , Galatians 3:25 (see notes), namely, the people of God; a society preserving a continuous identity through successive stages of development, till now appearing as the Church of Christ. The plural pronoun recites, not individuals, but the community viewed as a whole, having the now subsisting "us" as its present representatives. Individually,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:4

But when the fulness of the time was come ( ὅτε δὲ ἦλθε τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ χρόνου ); but when the completion of the term (Greek, time ) came. " The completion of the term" is the notion answering to "the time appointed of the father" in Galatians 4:2 . The "time" ( χρόνος ) here most probably corresponds to the period terminated by the προθεσμία : that is, it is the interval which God ordained should first elapse. So Acts 7:23 , ὡς δὲ ἐπληροῦτο αὐτῷ... read more

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Galatians 4:1

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Galatians 4:3

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Galatians 4:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:1

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:1-3

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:1-7

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:1-11

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:2

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:4

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