4 and when the fulness of time did come, God sent forth His Son, come of a woman, come under law,
And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of an only begotten of a father, full of grace and truth.
and saying -- `Fulfilled hath been the time, and the reign of God hath come nigh, reform ye, and believe in the good news.'
for God did so love the world, that His Son -- the only begotten -- He gave, that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during.
and she brought forth her son -- the first-born, and wrapped him up, and laid him down in the manger, because there was not for them a place in the guest-chamber.
The sceptre turneth not aside from Judah, And a lawgiver from between his feet, Till his Seed come; And his `is' the obedience of peoples.
and enmity I put between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he doth bruise thee -- the head, and thou dost bruise him -- the heel.'
For a Child hath been born to us, A Son hath been given to us, And the princely power is on his shoulder, And He doth call his name Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. To the increase of the princely power, And of peace, there is no end, On the throne of David, and on his kingdom, To establish it, and to support it, In judgment and in righteousness, Henceforth, even unto the age, The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts doth this.
Come ye near unto me, hear this, Not from the beginning in secret spake I, From the time of its being, there `am' I, And now the Lord Jehovah hath sent me, and His Spirit.
`Seventy weeks are determined for thy people, and for thy holy city, to shut up the transgression, and to seal up sins, and to cover iniquity, and to bring in righteousness age-during, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies. And thou dost know, and dost consider wisely, from the going forth of the word to restore and to build Jerusalem till Messiah the Leader `is' seven weeks, and sixty and two weeks: the broad place hath been built again, and the rampart, even in the distress of the times. And after the sixty and two weeks, cut off is Messiah, and the city and the holy place are not his, the Leader who hath come doth destroy the people; and its end `is' with a flood, and till the end `is' war, determined `are' desolations.
And thou, Beth-Lehem Ephratah, Little to be among the chiefs of Judah! From thee to Me he cometh forth -- to be ruler in Israel, And his comings forth `are' of old, From the days of antiquity. Therefore he doth give them out till the time She who bringeth forth hath brought forth, And the remnant of his brethren return to the sons of Israel.
For thus said Jehovah of Hosts: After honour He hath sent me unto the nations who are spoiling you, For he who is coming against you, Is coming against the daughter of His eye. For lo, I am waving my hand against them, And they have been a spoil to their servants. And ye have known that Jehovah of Hosts hath sent me. Singe, and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, For lo, I am coming, and have dwelt in thy midst, An affirmation of Jehovah. And joined have been many nations unto Jehovah in that day, And they have been to Me for a people, And I have dwelt in thy midst, And thou hast known that Jehovah of Hosts hath sent me unto thee.
and hast spoken unto him, saying: Thus spake Jehovah of Hosts, saying: Lo, a man! A Shoot -- `is' his name, And from his place he doth shoot up, And he hath built the temple of Jehovah.
of him whom the Father did sanctify, and send to the world, do ye say -- Thou speakest evil, because I said, Son of God I am?
In this was manifested the love of God in us, because His Son -- the only begotten -- hath God sent to the world, that we may live through him; in this is the love, not that we loved God, but that He did love us, and did send His Son a propitiation for our sins.
And we -- we have seen and do testify, that the Father hath sent the Son -- Saviour of the world;
Lo, I am sending My messenger, And he hath prepared a way before Me, And suddenly come in unto his temple Doth the Lord whom ye are seeking, Even the messenger of the covenant, Whom ye are desiring, Lo, he is coming, said Jehovah of Hosts.
`Lo, the virgin shall conceive, and she shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,' which is, being interpreted `With us `he is' God.'
and lo, thou shalt conceive in the womb, and shalt bring forth a son, and call his name Jesus;
And the messenger said to them, `Fear not, for lo, I bring you good news of great joy, that shall be to all the people -- because there was born to you to-day a Saviour -- who is Christ the Lord -- in the city of David,
And when eight days were fulfilled to circumcise the child, then was his name called Jesus, having been so called by the messenger before his being conceived in the womb. And when the days of their purification were fulfilled, according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present to the Lord, as it hath been written in the Law of the Lord, -- `Every male opening a womb shall be called holy to the Lord,' and to give a sacrifice, according to that said in the Law of the Lord, `A pair of turtle-doves, or two young pigeons.' And lo, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name `is' Simeon, and this man is righteous and devout, looking for the comforting of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him, and it hath been divinely told him by the Holy Spirit -- not to see death before he may see the Christ of the Lord. And he came in the Spirit to the temple, and in the parents bringing in the child Jesus, for their doing according to the custom of the law regarding him,
because I have come down out of the heaven, not that I may do my will, but the will of Him who sent me.
Jesus then said to them, `If God were your father, ye were loving me, for I came forth from God, and am come; for neither have I come of myself, but He sent me;
whose `are' the fathers, and of whom `is' the Christ, according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed to the ages. Amen.
And I say Jesus Christ to have become a ministrant of circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises to the fathers,
who, being in the form of God, thought `it' not robbery to be equal to God, but did empty himself, the form of a servant having taken, in the likeness of men having been made, and in fashion having been found as a man, he humbled himself, having become obedient unto death -- death even of a cross,
having blotted out the handwriting in the ordinances that is against us, that was contrary to us, and he hath taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross;
and, confessedly, great is the secret of piety -- God was manifested in flesh, declared righteous in spirit, seen by messengers, preached among nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory!
only in victuals, and drinks, and different baptisms, and fleshly ordinances -- till the time of reformation imposed upon `them'.
Wherefore, coming into the world, he saith, `Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not will, and a body Thou didst prepare for me, in burnt-offerings, and concerning sin-offerings, Thou didst not delight, then I said, Lo, I come, (in a volume of the book it hath been written concerning me,) to do, O God, Thy will;'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Galatians 4
Commentary on Galatians 4 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 4
The apostle, in this chapter, is still carrying on the same general design as in the former-to recover these Christians from the impressions made upon them by the judaizing teachers, and to represent their weakness and folly in suffering themselves to be drawn away from the gospel doctrine of justification, and to be deprived of their freedom from the bondage of the law of Moses. For this purpose he makes use of various considerations; such as,
And in all these, as he uses great plainness and faithfulness with them, so he expresses the tenderest concern for them.
Gal 4:1-7
In this chapter the apostle deals plainly with those who hearkened to the judaizing teachers, who cried up the law of Moses in competition with the gospel of Christ, and endeavored to bring them under the bondage of it. To convince them of their folly, and to rectify their mistake herein, in these verses he prosecutes the comparison of a child under age, which he had touched upon in the foregoing chapter, and thence shows what great advantages we have now, under the gospel, above what they had under the law. And here.
Gal 4:8-11
In these verses the apostle puts them in mind of what they were before their conversion to the faith of Christ, and what a blessed change their conversion had made upon them; and thence endeavours to convince them of their great weakness in hearkening to those who would bring them under the bondage of the law of Moses.
Gal 4:12-16
That these Christians might be the more ashamed of their defection from the truth of the gospel which Paul had preached to them, he here reminds them of the great affection they formerly had for him and his ministry, and puts them upon considering how very unsuitable their present behaviour was to what they then professed. And here we may observe,
Gal 4:17-18
The apostle is still carrying on the same design as in the foregoing verse, which was, to convince the Galatians of their sin and folly in departing from the truth of the gospel: having just before been expostulating with them about the change of their behaviour towards him who endeavoured to establish them in it, he here gives them the character of those false teachers who made it their business to draw them away from it, which if they would attend to, they might soon see how little reason they had to hearken to them: whatever opinion they might have of them, he tells them they were designing men, who were aiming to set up themselves, and who, under their specious pretences, were more consulting their own interest than theirs: "They zealously affect you,' says he; "they show a mighty respect for you, and pretend a great deal of affection to you, but not well; they do it not with any good design, they are not sincere and upright in it, for they would exclude you, that you might affect them. That which they are chiefly aiming at is to engage your affections to them; and, in order to this, they are doing all they can to draw off your affections from me and from the truth, that so they may engross you to themselves.' This, he assures them, was their design, and therefore they must needs be very unwise in hearkening to them. Note,
Gal 4:19-20
That the apostle might the better dispose these Christians to bear with him in the reproofs which he was obliged to give them, he here expresses his great affection to them, and the very tender concern he had for their welfare: he was not like them-one thing when among them and another when absent from them. Their disaffection to him had not removed his affection from them; but he still bore the same respect to them which he had formerly done, nor was he like their false teachers, who pretended a great deal of affection to them, when at the same time they were only consulting their own interest; but he had a sincere concern for their truest advantage; he sought not theirs, but them. They were too ready to account him their enemy, but he assures them that he was their friend; nay, not only so, but that he had the bowels of a parent towards them. He calls them his children, as he justly might, since he had been the instrument of their conversion to the Christian faith; yea, he styles them his little children, which, as it denotes a greater degree of tenderness and affection to them, so it may possibly have a respect to their present behaviour, whereby they showed themselves too much like little children, who are easily wrought upon by the arts and insinuations of others. He expresses his concern for them, and earnest desire of their welfare and soul-prosperity, by the pangs of a travailing woman: He travailed in birth for them: and the great thing which he was in so much pain about, and which he was so earnestly desirous of, was not so much that they might affect him as that Christ might be formed in them, that they might become Christians indeed, and be more confirmed and established in the faith of the gospel. From this we may note,
As further evidence of the affection and concern which the apostle had for these Christians, he adds (v. 20) that he desired to be then present with them-that he would be glad of an opportunity of being among them, and conversing with them, and that thereupon he might find occasion to change his voice towards them; for at present he stood in doubt of them. He knew not well what to think of them. He was not so fully acquainted with their state as to know how to accommodate himself to them. He was full of fears and jealousies concerning them, which was the reason of his writing to them in such a manner as he had done; but he would be glad to find that matters were better with them than he feared, and that he might have occasion to commend them, instead of thus reproving and chiding them. Note, Though ministers too often find it necessary to reprove those they have to do with, yet this is no grateful work to them; they had much rather there were no occasion for it, and are always glad when they can see reason to change their voice towards them.
Gal 4:21-31
In these verses the apostle illustrates the difference between believers who rested in Christ only and those judaizers who trusted in the law, by a comparison taken from the story of Isaac and Ishmael. This he introduces in such a manner as was proper to strike and impress their minds, and to convince them of their great weakness in departing from the truth, and suffering themselves to be deprived of the liberty of the gospel: Tell me, says he, you that desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? He takes it for granted that they did hear the law, for among the Jews it was wont to be read in their public assemblies every sabbath day; and, since they were so very fond of being under it, he would have them duly to consider what is written therein (referring to what is recorded Gen. 16 and 21), for, if they would do this, they might soon see how little reason they had to trust in it. And here,