In the twelfth chapter, St. Paul defends his apostolic calling and proves it by pointing to his rapture to the third heaven, where he experienced the most blessed state and where he heard ineffable words that cannot be told to man. The Apostle speaks of himself as of another person: "I know a man"... St. John Chrysostom explains that St. Paul says this "in order to show how reluctant he is to get down to business," that is, how unpleasant it is for him to say anything in praise of himself, that he says this only out of a forced need to defend the height of his apostolic dignity from slanderers. By the "third heaven," as Blessed Theodoret argues, one should understand paradise. It was "before forty years." If the Epistle was written in 58 A.D., then the vision falls in the year 44, when St. Paul and Barnabas were carrying alms to Jerusalem and then were set apart by the Holy Spirit for the great ministry of preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 13:2-3 [1]). lest I should be puffed up." "It was customary to think," says Bishop Theodore. Theophan the Recluse: "What is a thorn in the flesh, angel of Satan," is something that confused and troubled St. Paul from the side of the flesh and was in the flesh itself. The new interpreters recognized that St. Paul was speaking here of the movements of carnal lust. But what is the peculiarity of carnal lust? It is experienced by everyone, and not only the celibate, but also the married. And St. Paul, by means of his expression, gives the idea that he has been given something special, which is not common to all. In addition, the foul "colaphysi" given to him, beats him on the cheeks, acts unmercifully, cruelly, and carnal lust is the most flattering and insinuating enemy. Therefore, this idea cannot be accepted.Our interpreters believe that St. Paul speaks here, as before, about external disasters and about hostility on the part of the enemies of the Gospel, who are the tools of Satan." St. John Chrysostom says that the words of the Apostle have the following meaning: "God did not deign that our preaching should spread unhindered, wishing to humble our high opinion of ourselves; but he allowed the opponents to attack us." It was from these slanders of the enemy that the Apostle prayed to be freed from his "trifolds," in the sense of "many times" (St. John Chrysostom), but he heard the Lord's answer: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness," that is: "It is sufficient for you that you raise the dead, heal the blind, cleanse lepers, and perform other miracles. Do not seek to live in safety, without fear, and to preach without difficulty. But do you grieve and grieve? Do not attribute to My weakness that many are deceitful against you, tormenting you, persecuting you, and scourging you. This very thing shows My power. "My power is made perfect in weakness," that is, when you who are persecuted gain the upper hand over the persecutors, when you who are persecuted defeat your persecutors, when you put those who are bound to flight (St. John Chrysostom). That is why the Apostle goes on to say: "Therefore I am happy in weaknesses, in offenses, in wants, in persecutions, in oppression for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong," for then the grace of God acts most of all. Finally, St. Paul proves his apostolic calling by pointing to the signs of his apostleship in Corinth, which were expressed in all kinds of miracles and powers. (vv. 1-13). In conclusion, the holy Apostle again repeats that when he comes to the Corinthians, he will make no use of them, just as Titus, whom he sent, did not use anything. The main goal of the Apostle is the moral correction of the Corinthians, to which he leads his speech. The Apostle fears lest, having come to them, he find them uncorrected (vv. 14-21).In the thirteenth chapter, the holy Apostle threatens that if he finds the Corinthians uncorrected, he will treat them with all severity: "When I come again, I will not spare them." "Ye seek proofs whether Christ says in me, He is not powerless for you, but is mighty in you" (vv. 1-3). Theophan the Recluse, "says to them, as it were: so you yourselves have raised the question that if I do not reform, I will inevitably not spare you, but manifest upon you the Apostolic authority given to me and the power of Christ, acting in me. You have begun to say of me, "He is weak in body, and his word is not strong," thus suggesting the very teaching which I teach, as if it were not Christ's. And so, since you speak of me in this way, then if I did not manifest among you the severity of the Apostles, you would indeed be confirmed in such thoughts, and this would be extremely harmful to the work of the Gospel and to your salvation. And so, one of two things: either reform yourselves, or I will have to spare you without mercy, powerfully cutting off the disobedient from the Church, or striking them down with some direct punishment, as I struck the sorcerer Elymas with blindness in Cyprus. And then you will see tangibly that Christ the Lord both speaks and acts in me." having no power when He was crucified, but at the same time He destroyed the power of death and destroyed hell, and then rose again with glory. In the same way, when we are persecuted and armed against us, we suffer no harm, but "we will live with Him," that is, we will be undefeated from enemies "in you," that is, for your spiritual benefit, your salvation (v. 4). The Holy Apostle invites the Corinthians to test and examine themselves better whether they are in the faith: "For us I hope you will know that we are what we ought to be" (vv. 5-6). But to these stern words he immediately makes an addition full of love and mercy: "We pray God that you do not do any evil... For this reason I write this in absence, lest in my presence I should use the severity of the power which the Lord has given me to build up, and not to destroy" (v. 7, 10). Here the holy Apostle Paul wishes his Corinthian children to rejoice, to be perfected, to be in peace and like-mindedness, by which they will attract to themselves the God of love and peace. Then he calls upon them to greet each other with a "holy kiss," that is, pure and sincere, serving as an expression of brotherly Christian love, and conveys the usual greeting from the Christians ("saints") among whom he himself dwells. The entire epistle ends with the usual Apostolic prayerful greeting, which we now always hear from presbyters and bishops celebrating the Divine Liturgy: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit with you all. Amen."As they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then they fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, and dismissed them. ^However, brethren, rejoice, be perfected, be comforted, be of one mind, be peaceful, and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit with you all. Amen. ^

Information about the country called Galatia

Galatia was the name of the Asia Minor region, located almost in the middle of Asia Minor and surrounded on the north by Bithynia, Paphlagonia and Pontus, and on the south by Phrygia, Lycaonia and Cappadocia. This country was originally inhabited by Greeks, but in the third century B.C. it was settled by those who invaded Macedonia and Greece from the banks of the Rhine River, and then moved to Asia Minor (in 280). ancient Gauls (one of the Celtic tribes), who gave it their name Galatia, or Gallo-Greece. In 189 B.C., the Roman consul Manlius subordinated this country to Roman rule, leaving it his own administration. In 26 A.D. Augustus turned Galatia into a Roman province. Having settled here, the formerly warlike Gauls turned to peaceful occupations and arts and began to cultivate their fertile and prosperous country. Gradually, they mixed with the local Greeks, assimilating their customs and language. The rich country of Galatia began to attract Jews, who had been forced to leave Palestine for various other regions since the time of Alexander the Great. Uk. Augustus declared his special protection of the Jews migrating to Galatia, as reported by Jude. the historian Josephus Flavius.

The Founding of Christian Churches in Galatia

The first mention of the illumination of the Galatian country by the light of the Christian faith is found in Book II. Acts of the Holy Apostles, at the beginning of the story of the second Apostolic journey of the holy Apostle Paul. Having mentioned the sorrow, as a result of which the holy Apostle Paul parted from Saint Barnabas after the Apostolic Council, and, taking Silas as his companion, passed through Syria and Cilicia, the writer, having told about the addition to them of a new companion Timothy, says: "And as they passed through the cities, they (that is, Saint Paul with his disciples Silas, Luke and Timothy) delivered up to the faithful to observe the decrees, decreed by the Apostles and elders in Jerusalem. And the churches were established by faith and daily increased in number. And when they had passed through Phrygia and the country of Galatia, they were not permitted by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia," etc. (Acts 16:4-6). There is no doubt that at this very time the holy Apostle Paul laid the foundation of the Christian churches in the main cities of Galatia – Ancyra, Pessina, Tavia and Gordia. That the Galatian churches were founded by the holy Apostle Paul is clearly seen from the Epistle to the Galatians itself (see 1:6-9 [1]; 4:13 [2], etc.). There are no details about this book. Acts, it is true, does not report, but in describing the third Apostolic journey of the holy Apostle Paul, the writer notes that the holy Apostle Paul "went through the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, confirming all the disciples" (Acts 18:23). Of course, it is possible to affirm in the faith only those who have already been converted to the faith before. Acts does not give us any information about the circumstances of the conversion of the Galatians, we learn something about this from the Epistle to the Galatians itself. As can be seen from Gal. 4:13-15 [3], the holy Apostle Paul, while visiting the Galatian country, was subjected to some kind of disease of the flesh. Probably, this illness detained the Apostle at the Galatians for a longer period than he himself had imagined, and this served for the good of the Galatians, for it enabled the holy Apostle to prescribe Christ the Lord to them so vividly that they beheld Him as if crucified before them (Gal. 3:1 [4]). From this they believed with special fervor and extraordinary zeal, and they received the Apostle himself as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus, and loved him so much that they were ready to open their eyes and give them to him (Gal. 4:14-15). confusing you and wishing to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any other gospel than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so now I say again: Whoever preaches to you other gospel than that which you have received, let him be accursed. ^you know that, although in the weakness of the flesh I preached the gospel to you for the first time, ^yet you did not despise my temptation in my flesh, nor abhorred it, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. How blessed you were! I testify of you, that if it were possible, you would pluck out your eyes and give them to me. ^Oh, foolish Galatians! Who deceived you not to submit to the truth, you who had Jesus Christ predestined before your eyes, as if crucified? ^

Reason for writing

The reason for writing the Epistle to the Galatians was the invasion of the Galatian church by Judaizers, who inspired the Galatians with the idea of the need for salvation to observe circumcision and other rites and the institutions of the Old Testament Jewish religion. Continuing his third evangelistic journey, the holy Apostle Paul arrived in Ephesus from the land of Galatia (Acts 19:1 [1]). It was here that he soon heard rumors of the disturbances which had been sown among the Galatians by Judaizing heretics, who had apparently come from Palestine, since the local Jews, owing to their long association with the Gentiles, could hardly hold such fanatical narrow national Jewish views. These Judaizers of Paul's teaching about freedom from the Old Testament law were explained only by his desire to gain love among the pagans and pointed out that he was not called to the apostolic ministry directly by Jesus Christ Himself during His earthly life and was not a living witness to His works and a listener of His teaching. many of the Galatians succumbed to this corrupting preaching, soon "passed into another gospel" (Gal. 1:6 [2]) and grew cold to his person. Struck by such unexpected frivolity and recklessness of the Galatians (3:1), the holy Apostle Paul immediately decided to write them an epistle about their error and to denounce their seducers, and he wrote it with his own hand (Gal. 6:11 [3]), so as not to lose time from the scribes and to remove all suspicions about its authenticity. ^I wonder that you should pass so quickly from Him who called you by the grace of Christ to another gospel. ^See how much I have written to you with my own hand. ^

Time and place of writing

In the Epistle itself there is an indication of the first and second visits of the Apostle Paul to Galatia (Gal. 4:13 [1]). And since he expresses surprise that the Galatians so soon pass on to another gospel from Him who called them by the grace of Christ (Gal. 1:6), it means that the Epistle was written soon after the Apostle's second visit to Galatia. After his second visit to Galatia, the holy Apostle Paul spent about three years in Ephesus. From this it is clear that the Epistle to the Galatians was written by the holy Apostle Paul during his third Apostolic journey during the years of his stay in Ephesus. Counting the years of events from the life of the holy Apostle Paul, we can assume with a greater degree of probability that this epistle was written in the year 56 A.D. You know, although in the weakness of the flesh I preached the gospel to you for the first time. ^

Content

The Epistle to the Galatians contains six chapters. In the main subject of its content, it bears a great resemblance to the Epistle to the Romans, and, from beginning to end, is a strong, enthusiastic speech, breathing with zeal for Christ and love for the Galatians. Arguments that are convincing to reason are constantly mixed with suggestions that can touch the strings of the heart. The main idea of the entire Epistle is that all people, and not only Jews, are called by the Lord to the Church founded by Him, and they are saved in the Church not by the fulfillment of the rites of the Mosaic Law, but by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, manifested in works of love. The defensive part, in which the holy Apostle Paul explains and proves to the Galatians his apostolic dignity, shaken in their eyes by the Judaizers false teachers – chapter 1, verse 11 and the entire 2nd chapter (verses 1-21); The doctrinal part, in which the holy Apostle Paul powerfully and fully reveals the main idea of the Epistle — about the relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament and about the ceased meaning of the ceremonial Mosaic law, which lost its force after the coming of Christ the Savior — chapters 3 and 4; The moral part, in which the principles of the Christian life in freedom from the Old Testament law are revealed, are chapters 5 and 6, verses 1-10; A conclusion containing verses 11-18 of the 6th chapter, in which instructions are given on the attitude to circumcision and to the veneration of the cross of Christ, and the usual Apostolic blessing is given.

Exegetical analysis

The Epistle to the Galatians contains six chapters. In the main subject of its content, it bears a great resemblance to the Epistle to the Romans, and, from beginning to end, is a strong, enthusiastic speech, breathing with zeal for Christ and love for the Galatians. Arguments that are convincing to reason are constantly mixed with suggestions that can touch the strings of the heart. The main idea of the entire Epistle is that all people, and not only Jews, are called by the Lord to the Church founded by Him, and they are saved in the Church not by the fulfillment of the rites of the Mosaic Law, but by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, manifested in works of love. The defensive part, in which the holy Apostle Paul explains and proves to the Galatians his apostolic dignity, shaken in their eyes by the Judaizers false teachers – chapter 1, verse 11 and the entire 2nd chapter (verses 1-21); The doctrinal part, in which the holy Apostle Paul powerfully and fully reveals the main idea of the Epistle — about the relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament and about the ceased meaning of the ceremonial Mosaic law, which lost its force after the coming of Christ the Savior — chapters 3 and 4; The moral part, in which the principles of the Christian life in freedom from the Old Testament law are revealed, are chapters 5 and 6, verses 1-10; A conclusion containing verses 11-18 of the 6th chapter, in which instructions are given on the attitude to circumcision and to the veneration of the cross of Christ, and the usual Apostolic blessing is given.

Part I