Galatians 3:23-29

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• Reading the Text:
  • NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
  • Greek Interlinear Bible, ScrTR, ScrTR t, Strong, Parsing, CGTS, CGES id, AV.
  • The Bible Gateway: NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
  • The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Greek text with concordance, commentaries.
  • The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary, exposition and sermons.
• Historical References, Commentary and Comparative Texts:
  • Comparative World Scriptures from United Communities of Spirit"
    • "Moral Law"
    • "Unity and Community" 
    • "Equality" 
  • Comparative texts about Baptism: Water & Spirit from DSS, Josephus, Babylonian Talmud. At (Rutgers University Dept of Religion) Mahlon H. Smith's Into His Own: Perspective on the World of Jesus companion to the historical study of Christian texts.
  • "Two as One," The Jesus Database, an online annotated inventory of the traditions concerning the life and teachings of Jesus. Dr. Gregory C. Jenks, FaithFutures Foundation.
  • Chapter IV, The Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians, Ignatius of Antioch (c. 110). (Longer Version only - 4th cent interpolation)
  • IV.II.7, Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons. (c. 180)
  • Chapter XII, On Baptism,  Tertullian (c. 198)
  • Chapter XI, Exhortation to the Greeks, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
  • I.6, I.11, Paedagogus, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
  • I.5, I.26, II.7, Stromata, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
  • "Who is the Rich Man that Shall Be Saved?" (sermon on Mark 10:17-31), Clement of Alexandria (c. 200)
  • III.12, Against Marcion, Tertullian (c. 209)
  • V.3, Against Marcion, Tertullian (c. 212)
  • Chapter VII, Chapter XVII, On Monogamy, Tertullian (c. 215)
  • Chapter VI, On Modesty, Tertullian (c. 217)
  • V.II, The Refutation of all Heresies (Philosophumena), Hippolytus of Rome. (c. 225)
  • Epistle LIX -- Cyprian of Carthage (c. 253)
  • Epistle LXXIII -- Epistle LXXIV -- Cyprian of Carthage (c. 256)
  • Part 25, On the Incarnation of the Word, Athanasius of Alexandria, c. 318.
  • Commentary by St. John Chrysostom.
  • Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians (Galatians 3:20-29) by Martin Luther.
    • "The Law enforces good behavior, at least outwardly. We obey the Law because if we don't we will be punished. Our obedience is inspired by fear. We obey under duress and we do it resentfully. Now what kind of righteousness is this when we refrain from evil out of fear of punishment? Hence, the righteousness of the Law is at bottom nothing but love of sin and hatred of righteousness."
  • From the Geneva Notes.
    • "The Church must put on Christ, as it were a garment, and be covered with him, that it may be thoroughly holy, and without blame."
  • Christ is All in All, Jeremiah Burroughs (Puritan, c. 1650)
    • "It is absolutely necessary for you to know if you would have eternal life. It is possible to be ignorant of many other truths and still be saved, but there must be something of this or there can be no salvation."
  • From Matthew Henry's Commentary.
    • "Being baptized into Christ, we are baptized into his death, that as he died and rose again, so we should die unto sin, and walk in newness and holiness of life. The putting on of Christ according to the gospel, consists not in outward imitation, but in a new birth, an entire change."
  • From Wesley's Notes.
  • From the Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
    • "There is no distinction into male and female. Difference of sex makes no difference in Christian privileges. But under the law the male sex had great privileges. Males alone had in their body circumcision, the sign of the covenant (contrast baptism applied to male and female alike); they alone were capable of being kings and priests, whereas all of either sex are now "kings and priests unto God" (Re 1:6); they had prior right to inheritances. In the resurrection the relation of the sexes shall cease (Lu 20:35)."
  • From The People's New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
    • "In Roman families a trusted slave, a pedagogue, had charge of children, preserved them from harm, and took them to school. The law is such a tutor; not a schoolmaster, but a guide to lead us to the school of Christ."
• Contemporary Commentary, Studies and Exegesis:
  • "First Thoughts on Year C Epistle Passages in the Lectionary," Pentecost 4, William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
    • "Paul was declaring that you could leave large parts of the Bible aside and that you should see it as having its main meaning in what Jesus brought to us."
  • Comments (commentary) and Clippings (technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican Diocese of Montreal.
  • Commentary, Matthew 2:1-12; Galatians 3:23-38, Regina Langley, The African American Lectionary, 2009.
    • "The epiphany of Christ and our baptism in him is the death-nail on the head of a death-dealing kingdom and the ushering in of a new kingdom."
  • "The Death of One World and the Advent of Another," Mary Hinkle, Pilgrim Preaching: Keeping company with biblical texts and the people who hear and preach them.
    • "Most of us grace-centered Christians get confused on this point: we know that our worth comes solely from Christ and our being in Christ, but then we act like all sorts of other things matter tremendously."
  • Galatians 3:23-29, Opportunity to Do Good: The Letter to the Galatians, Craig Koester, Word & World Texts in Context, Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary, 1989.
  • "From Curse to Blessing," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources.
    • "Expand the notion that justification and the 'promise of the Spirit' equally reveal the substance of the blessing."
  • "Belonging to Christ," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources. Includes detailed textual notes.
  • "A Struggling Apostle," Expository Essay, Galatians 3:23-29, Dr. William R. Long. Part 2.
    • "...Paul, despite tying himself up in argument and being in his "black and white phase" of Christian faith, has managed to make even the most jaded person sit up and take notice."
  • "The Broken Walls of Galatians 3:28," E. Louise Williams, Word & World, 2000.
  • "Galatians 3:19-25 as an Argument for God's Faithfulness: Reading Paul's Rhetoric in Light of His Strategy," L. Ann Jervis, Word & World, 2000.
  • "The Contribution of the Mosaic Covenant (Galatians 3:19-29)," by Robert L. Deffinbaugh at the Biblical Studies Foundation.
    • "The Gentile Galatians had been persuaded by the Judaizers that to be truly spiritual they must place themselves under the Law. Paul counters this by showing that if living under the Law is no longer necessary for the Jews, surely it is not required of the Gentiles either."
  • Environmental & earth-centered reflections from the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota Environmental Stewardship Commission.
    • "In the wake of Christmas, then, the household of faith is freed from its self-preoccupations as it is sent forth into the world to participate in that grand process by which God works throughout Creation toward the energetic 'fullness of time.'"
• Articles & Background:
  • "Paul's Contestation of Israel's Memory of Abraham in Galatians 3," Philip F. Esler, Biblical Theology Bulletin, 2006.
    • "The audacity of Paul's enterprise is evident in his leaving no room for Judeans who had not found faith in Christ to be Abraham's descendants, a radical position from which he would later withdraw in Romans 4."
  • "Distinction and Function in the Church: Reading Galatians 3:28 in Context," Doug Heidebrecht, Direction, 2005.
    • "A careful reading of Galatians 3:28 within the context of Galatians and in relation to New Testament texts with similar themes suggests different conclusions than are often proposed by either egalitarians or complementarians in the current debate over women in church leadership."
  • "Paul - an Obituary," Gerd Ludemann, Bible and Interpretation.
    • "From the beginning, Paul had experienced in an almost intoxicating way the reality and the praxis of the unity of the church made up of Jews and Gentiles."
  • "Abraham and the Righteousness of God," Lloyd Gaston, at the Jewish-Christian Relations site.
    • "Every interpretation of Paul that is based on a misrepresentation of Judaism is to be rigorously excluded. Why should we assume "opponents," against whom Paul's words must be understood as "polemic", where none is indicated? (Paul had enough real problems in making himself understood to his churches without our conjuring up a fabricated Spätjudentum to be his enemy.) If it is possible to interpret Paul in continuity with the tradition before him, why should we not do so?"
  • "The One Who Calls," John B. Cobb, Jr. Radical freedom in Christ. Chapter 2 in God and the World. Full text at Religion On-Line.
    • "The Holy One is not the primordial sacred which transcends and annihilates all separateness and individuality through mysterious and dehumanizing cults, but the immanent-transcendent Ground of life and creativity which calls us ever forward in and through the ordinary events of daily life and the often terrifying occurrences of human history."
  • "Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry," Faith and Order Paper No. 111. World Council of Churches, 1982. Theological and practical commentary.
  • "Towards Sharing the One Faith," Faith and Order Paper No. 113. World Council of Churches, 1996. A study/discussion guide on the Nicene Creed.
  • "Is Paul the Father of Misogyny and Antisemitism?" Pamela Eisenbaum, CrossCurrents, Winter 2000-01.
    • "I do not believe the dictum in Gal. 3:28 as used by Paul was meant to articulate the destruction of human categories of existence so that people might share the same human essence. Rather, he articulated the construction of new human social relations based on the model of family."
  • "Pluralism and Christian Commitment," Lamin Senneh, Theology Today, 1988.
    • "In the early centuries, the new Christian religion moved forward like an oriental caravanserai, with its complex baggage of exotic teachings, baffling mysteries, and an eclectic ethical code. In the jumble and tumble of social encounter, Christians spoke a bewildering variety of languages... Christian missionaries assumed that since all cultures and languages are lawful in God's eyes, the rendering of God's word into those languages and cultures is valid and necessary... Far from suppressing indigenous cultures, the effect of missionary translation has been to stimulate indigenous renewal."
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  • Belleville, Linda L., "'Under Law': Structural Analysis and the Pauline Concept of Law in Galatians 3:21-4:11," Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 1986.
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  • Borchert, Gerald L., "A Key to Pauline Thinking - Galatians 3:23-29: Faith and the New Humanity," Review & Expositor, 1994.
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  • Boucher, Madeleine, "Some Unexplored Parallels to 1 Cor 11:11-12 and Gal 3:28: The NT on the Role of Women," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1969.
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  • Cousar, Charles B., "Paul and the Death of Jesus," Interpretation, 1998.
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  • Eisenbaum, Pamela, "Is Paul the Father of Misogyny and Antisemitism?" Cross Currents, 2000/01.
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  • Gaventa, Beverly Roberts, "Is Galatians Just a 'Guy Thing'? A Theological Reflection," Interpretation, 2000.
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  • Hanson, A.T., "The Origin of Paul's Use of PAIDAGOGOS for the Law," Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 1988.
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  • Harrill, J. Albert, "Coming of Age and Putting on Christ: The toga virilis Ceremony, Its Paraenesis, and Paul's Interpretation of Baptism in Galatians," Novum Testamentum, 2002.
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  • Harrisville, Roy A., III, "Before PISTIS CHRISTOU: The Objective Genitive as Good Greek," Novum Testamentum, 2006.
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  • Heidebrecht, Doug, "Distinction and Function in the Church: Reading Galatians 3:28 in Context," Direction, 2005.
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  • Hopko, Thomas "Galatians 3:28: An Orthodox Interpretation," St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly, 1991.
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  • House, H. Wayne, "A Biblical View of Women in the Ministry: 'Neither ... Male nor Female ... in Christ Jesus,'" Bibliotheca Sacra, 1988.
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  • Jervis, L. Ann, "Galatians 3:19-25 as an Argument for God's Faithfulness: Reading Paul's Rhetoric in Light of His Strategy," Word & World, 2000.
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  • Jones, L. Gregory, "Unity and Diversity in Christ," The Christian Century, 1992.
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  • Jones, Peter Rhea, "Exegesis of Galatians 3 and 4," Review and Expositor, 1972.
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  • Kahl, Brigitte, "No Longer Male: Masculinity Struggles behind Galatians 3.28?" Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 2000.
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  • Koester, Craig, "Opportunity to Do Good: The Letter to the Galatians," Word & World, 1989.
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  • Lienemann-Perrin, Christine, "The Biblical Foundations for a Feminist and Participatory Theology of Mission," International Review of Mission, 2004.
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  • Lowe, Stephen D., "Rethinking the Female Status/Function Question: The Jew/Gentile Relationship as Paradigm," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 1991.
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  • Lull, David J., "'The Law Was Our Pedagogue': A Study in Galatians 3:19-25," Journal of Biblical Literature, 1986.
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  • Marcus, Joel, "'Under the Law': The Background of a Pauline Expression," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2001.
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  • Martin, Troy W., "The Covenant of Circumcision (Genesis 17:9-14) and the Situational Antithesis in Galatians 3:28," Journal of Biblical Literature, 2003.
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  • Neyrey, Jerome H., S.J., "God, Benefactor and Patron: The Major Cultural Model for Interpreting the Deity in Greco-Roman Antiquity," Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 2005.
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  • Pentecost, J. Dwight, "The Purpose of the Law," Bibliotheca Sacra, 1971.
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  • Sanneh, Lamin, "Pluralism and Christian Commitment," Theology Today, 1988.
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  • Smith, Michael J., "The Role of the Pedagogue in Galatians," Bibliotheca Sacra, 2006.
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  • Stanley, Christopher D., "'Neither Jew nor Greek': Ethnic Conflict in Graeco-Roman Society," Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 1996.
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  • Williams, E. Louise, "The Broken Walls of Galatians 3:28," Word & World, 2000.
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• Reviews:
  • Review: Marc Rastoin, Tarse et Jérusalem: La Double Culture de l'Apotre Paul en Galates 3,6-4,7. Editrice Pontifico Istituto Biblico, 2003. Review (in English) by Stephan Witetschek, Review of Biblical Literature, 2005.
• Sermons:
  • "I Believe, I Believe," from a series of sermons on the book of Galatians by Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church in Des Moines, Washington.
  • "One in Christ Jesus," John Jewell, 2001.
  • "Baptized in the Storm," Terry Echelbarger, Pacific School of Religion, 2000.
  • "What Is Discipline?" the Very Rev. Samuel G. Candler, Day 1, 1998.
• With Children:
  • "Jesus by the Well," Jim Kerlin, childrensermons.com.
• Drama:
• Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
• Hymns and Music:
  • Hymns with Scripture Allusions: Galatians 3:26, 28. The Cyber Hymnal.
  • Hymnal Scripture References, The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship.
• Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
• Study Links and Resources for the Book of Galatians