Galatians 5:8 - Exposition

This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you ( ἡ πεισμονὴ οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ καλοῦντος ὑμᾶς ); this persuasion , or the mind to hearken to this doctrine, is not from him that calleth you. The exact force of the word πεισμονή , which so far as has been noted does not occur in any earlier writer, is disputed. We may group it with ἐπιλησμονή , forgetfulness; φεισμονή (sparinguess), clemency; πλησμονή , fulness, satiety; which are likewise verbal nouns formed from the perfect passive ( ἐπιλέλησμαι , etc.). And the comparison favours the conclusion that πεισμονή denotes the disposition, state, or habit of mind evinced in being persuaded in the way now thought of. So the Greek commentators (Ecumenius and Theophylact understand it of their having been persuaded to Judaize. The explanation of the noun as an active verbal, as if it were the persuasion which was soliciting them from without, does not seem to be so well berne out by its etymological formation, but appears nevertheless to be that accepted by Chrysostom. This noun, seemingly not often used, appears to have been selected by the apostle to brand the belief in the truth of Judaizing views which the Galatians were imbibing as being in nature diverse from the positive faith, which realizes the truth of the gospel; it is the product of over-persuasion, of cozenage even, rather than an acceptance of the plain setting forth of the simple truth, while "faith" is "the gift of God" ( Ephesians 1:19 , Ephesians 1:20 ; Ephesians 2:5 , Ephesians 2:8 ). As Chrysostom observes, " It was not men's persuasion ( πεισμονὴ ἀνθρωπίνη ), but the power of God, which persuaded the souls of these who believe." By "him that calleth you" is plainly meant God . "The present participle is preferred here to the aorist, because the stress is laid on the person rather than the act " (Bishop Lightfoot). That persuasibleness of the Galatians was not from God; at the best it was from the world (comp. Colossians 2:20 ); but was it not, rather, from Satan, whose emissaries those false teachers were? The apostle makes this assertion categorically, knowing it to be true. The gospel which he had brought to them had been sealed by the gifts of the Spirit accompanying its reception; while the doctrine they were now in danger of listening to was another thing altogether ( Galatians 1:6 )—a thing with an anathema upon it.