Remembering these events, Ap. Paul proceeds to a direct exposition of his teaching on the justification of man.

62. Главная тема Гал.

Терминология: Закон, оправдание, вера, свобода

Смыслообразующий костяк той богословской лексики, которая используется в Гал., составляют следующие термины:

«Закон» — употреблено 32 раза (! — при том, что Гал. состоит всего из шести глав);

«Вера», «веровать», «верующий» — 26 раз;

"Justification", "to be justified", "righteousness" (in Slavic, sometimes rendered as pra1vda), "righteous"[415] – 13 times;

"Freedom", "free" – 10 times.

The following statistics will also be important:

"Pagan" — 11 times;

"Jews", "Jewish" – 6 times;

"Circumcision", "circumcision", "uncircumcision" – 16 times.

Moreover, we are talking about the central part of the epistle, in which Paul moves from biographical reminiscences to theological discussions. It is absolutely impossible to snatch out one particular passage, as we have done in the case of other messages. In order to fully understand Paul's thought, it is necessary to read the entire Apostle's reasoning, beginning with 2, 16 and almost to the end of the Epistle — before reading the proposed commentary further! The text of Gal. is extremely important for the perception of the essence of the Christian understanding of salvation in Christ. It would not be an exaggeration to say that in terms of importance and depth in Christian theology, there is hardly anything more powerful written on this central issue of soteriology (except perhaps Rome!).

Thus, the most frequently used key words of the epistle are "Law" and "faith." Moreover, these concepts in many cases go in pairs, and most importantly, in opposition:

Man is not justified by works of the Law,[416] but only by faith in Jesus Christ, and we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the Law; for by the works of the Law no flesh shall be justified (Gal. 2:16).

This verse can be considered a starting point. This is a thesis that is further explained and proved.

An important clarification right away: it is not the Law and faith that are opposed, but the works of the Law and faith. What does Paul mean by these and other equally important terms (e.g., "justification"), and why does he speak of such a sharp contrast? However, we can find such an opposition not only in Paul, but also in other New Testament writings, from which we can conclude about the specific New Testament meaning of such a formulation of the question:

The law was given through Moses; but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17).

The God-givenness, immutability and beauty of the Law

The Law is, of course, the God-given Law (Hebrew torah, Greek no/moj) that the chosen people received through the greatest (precisely for this reason) prophet Moses at the time of the conclusion of the Covenant at Mount Sinai (see Exodus 19ff.). Strictly speaking, the Law, as an instruction on the true path of life (cf. Deuteronomy 30:19), as the commandments of God, is the gift of God, thanks to which it is possible to speak about the concrete content of the concluded Covenant and about the happiness and joy of being in the Covenant with God, to be chosen by the people, to be the Church: