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is ready for the argument which develops with the opening words of Gal. 3: 2 "This
only would I learn of you", which must be the subject of our next article.
No.59. (17) GALATIANS.
Galatians 2: 21 - 3: 7.
"Spirit" 5: "Flesh".
pp. 113 - 116
The apostle having quickened the interest of the Galatians by the various ways in
which he has already approached the main issue before them, now begins to show to
them the folly of their actions and the evil they had permitted, by a series of closely
reasoned arguments. As we said earlier, there are some who would ban all "reasoning"
as evil, but such would have to ban the apostle himself, and incidentally ban their own
"arguments" that "reasoning" is evil. It is discoverable upon the surface of the Scriptures
that Paul often "reasoned" with his hearers, for the reader of the A.V. can find four such
statements in the Acts of the Apostles, there are, however, nine such passages, some
hidden from the English reader under the translation "preach", as though the translators
themselves wished that Paul had not used logic so freely. Let us see this series of
references, for if Paul be our pattern, then to hide, or disguise any one of his accredited
methods cannot be tolerated.
Dialegomai
"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned
with them out of the Scriptures" (Acts 17: 2).
"Therefore disputed (reasoned) he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the
devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him" (Acts 17: 17).
"And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the
Greeks" (Acts 18: 4).
"He himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews" (Acts 18: 19).
"And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months,
disputing (reasoning) and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God"
(Acts 19: 8).
"He separated the disciples, disputing (reasoning) daily in the school of one
Tyrannus" (Acts 19: 9).
"And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread,
Paul preached (reasoned) . . . . . and continued his speech until midnight . . . . . and as
Paul was long preaching (reasoning), . . . . ." (Acts 20: 7, 9).
"And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance and judgment to come, Felix
trembled" (Acts 24: 25).
It will be remembered from these passages that Paul's method persisted even though
circumstances changed. The first set of references are confined to the synagogue, and we
might at first sight have felt that "reasoning" was perhaps a limitation under which the
apostle laboured. But upon separating the believers from the synagogue, the apostle
"disputed daily" in the school of one Tyrannus--consequently, the change of ground did