Galatians 3:8 - Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Bible Study & Commentary

Verse 8

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all the nations be blessed. So then they that are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham.

Justify the Gentiles by faith ... The New Testament meaning of the word "faith" has been grossly distorted by post-Reformation theologians. "Its meaning in the New Testament is most often faithfulness,"[15] which is the normal meaning of the word in the LXX, where the word never means trust/faith in the sense of the current usage of it.[16] "The normal meaning of faith in the Greek language is not trust/faith, but reliability, or fidelity."[17] Of course, anyone with a knowledge of Pauline teaching could not possibly believe that Paul here meant that the Gentiles were saved by trust/faith only. In the language in which Paul was writing, such a thought did not normally belong to the word at all.

The gospel unto Abraham ... The words "In thee shall all the nations be blessed," immediately following, identify what Paul meant by the gospel preached to Abraham. The word nations in the promise to Abraham means "Gentiles," who would be saved in exactly the same manner as Abraham, namely, by the "obedience of faith." Paul elaborated that in verse 16, below.

[15] George Howard, Article: "The Faith of Christ," in Expositor Times, Vol. 7, pp. 212-214, April, 1974.

[16] Ibid.

[17] Ibid.

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible

Be the first to react on this!

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible

James Burton Coffman was a prolific author, preacher, teacher and leader among churches of Christ in the 20th century.He was born May 24, 1905, in Taylor County to pioneer West Texans "so far out in the country it took two days to go to town and back." He became a Christian in 1923. In Texas, Coffman graduated from Abilene High School and enrolled in Abilene Christian College (now University), graduating in 1927 with a B.A. in history and music.After earning his degree, Coffman served as a high school principal for two years in Callahan County, then taught history and English at Abilene High School.In 1930, he was offered a position as associate minister and song leader in Wichita Falls, the beginning of his career as a minister. Then, he married Thelma "Sissy" Bradford in 1931. Coffman preached for congregations in Texas; Oklahoma; Washington, D.C.; and New York City. In his lifetime, Coffman received 3 honorary doctorates.While in Washington, he was offered the opportunity to serve as guest chaplain for the U.S. Armed Forces in Japan and Korea and served 90 days, holding Gospel meetings throughout both countries.Coffman conducted hundreds of gospel meetings throughout the U.S. and, at one count, baptized more than 3,000 souls.Retiring in 1971, he returned to Houston. One of his most notable accomplishments was writing a 37-volume commentary of the entire Bible, verse by verse, which was finished in 1992. This commentary is being sold all over the world. Many people consider the Coffman series to be one of the finest modern, conservative commentary sets written.Coffman's conservative interpretations affirm the inerrancy of the Bible and clearly point readers toward Scripture as the final basis for Christian belief and practice. This series was written with the thorough care of a research scholar, yet it is easy to read. The series includes every book of the Old and New Testaments.After being married to Sissy for 64 years, she passed away. Coffman then married June Bristow Coffman. James Burton Coffman died on Friday, June 30, 2006, at the age of 101.... Show more

One of the leading authorities in the Church of Christ, Dr. Coffman presents a verse by verse look at God's Word.... Show more

Scroll to Top

Group of Brands