not call for a change of method. At Troas where the disciples assembled together to

break bread, and where the company presumably was mostly made up of believers, Paul

occupied a "long time reasoning", and finally, when dealing with an individual sinner

needing salvation, Paul, the one who said of himself "woe is me if I preach not the

gospel", "reasoned" with Felix concerning righteousness, temperance, and judgment to

Instead, therefore, of banning the exercise of reason in the ministry of the Word, we

have every "reason" to see that its exercise and use is commended and blessed. The

apostle therefore, when he commenced to "reason" the matter of justification by works of

law, as over against justification by faith, adopted the best procedure that he knew, and

we who follow at a distance would do well to keep his method before us.

"This only would I learn of you" (Gal. 3: 2). He teaches them for the moment

nothing. He adopts what has been called the Socratic method of argument, namely, the

enforcement of the truth by the asking of questions. Paul is the one who would "learn"--

the Galatians are the ones who are to teach him!

Every argument, however it be pursued, consists of two parts (1) that which is

proved and (2) the means by which it is proved. The "means" varies from the strictly

syllogistic and formal, to the inductive and the appeal to common sense, experience and

authority. We shall no expect to find in the epistle to the Galatians, the argument

proceeding step by step from one proved syllogism to another, the apostle uses a variety

of means to the one end. Let us follow therefore the inspired penman as he endeavours

by the grace of God, to overthrow the false teaching that had descended like a blight and

a bewitchment upon the churches of Galatia, and let us observe the varying means he

adopt to bring them back to the only ground of their acceptance before God.

This is the first reference to "The Spirit" in Galatians, but it is evidently of such

importance that the apostle was willing to base his whole argument upon its reception and

continuance. "This ONLY would I learn of you." Omitting the two passages where "the

spirit of meekness" (Gal. 6: 1) and "your spirit" (Gal. 6: 18) refer to the spirit in a

different sense than that intended in Gal. 3: 2, we observe that in this epistle there are

fourteen occurrences of pneuma, in chapters 3:-5: of which seven passages use the

word with the article to pneuma, "The Spirit", and seven use the word without the article,

even though in every case the A.V. inserts the article for the sake of the English reader.

Let us set out these two sets of references, observing particularly any allusions in the

context to the controversy that prompted the writing of the epistle.

(The Seven Occurrences).