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(1)
The faith of Jesus Christ, of the Son of God (2: 16, 20; 3: 22), where
justification, life now in the flesh, and the receiving by the Gentiles of the
promise of the Spirit are the associated themes.
(2)
The hearing of faith, they which be of faith, the household of faith (3: 2, 5, 7, 9;
3: 12; 6: 10).
(3)
Faith as a medium "Through or by faith" ek, dia, (3: 8 11, 14, 24, 26; 5: 5).
(4)
Faith as a power and a fruit (5: 6, 22).
(5)
The faith, the substance of what is believed. "The faith which once he destroyed."
"Before faith came." "Shut up to the faith." "After that faith is come" (1: 23;
3: 23, 25).
As the reader weighs the statements that are made concerning the utter failure of man
under law, the curse that must inevitably fall, the righteousness so unattainable and yet so
necessary, and then contrasts this with the glorious triumph of faith; first the faith OF
Christ, and then that faith which rests upon Him; finding blessing instead of cursing,
justification instead of judgment, and then on new ground, to discover that "faith"
`worketh' by love; who could contemplate without deep feeling the attempt to lead these
emancipated slaves back to the bondage of legalism? Not the Apostle Paul, and not any
believer who has drunk of the same life-giving fountain. In this comparison, and Paul
even wished that they were even cut off that troubled the church in this vital matter
(Galatians 2: 6; 5: 12). It is not our intention to pursue these contrasted features to their
limits; to do so would demand a series of articles upon each of these antonyms. We
hope to impress the reader with the value of this method, and to bring to light actual
examples from the writings of Paul, which will provide a starting-place for those of our
readers who may desire to carry these studies a stage further as a matter of private study
and from personal interest. To all who are in any way engaged in teaching or preaching
we would most earnestly commend this subject because it gives a clearer conception of
the contrasted themes, and because such themes are most evident very near the basis of
the faith. The fight is clearly a fight for `liberty', and this liberty is one that concerns
`faith'. This faith is no product of the flesh, but is of the `Spirit' and is the expression of
a `son' not of a servant. The whole controversy is summed up by the fact that such are
not under `law' but under `grace'. To appreciate these distinctions therefore is to make
for appreciation of the great epistles to the Galatians.