YOU RECEIVED THE SPIRIT BECAUSE OF BELIEVING WHAT WAS PREACHED

YOU RECEIVED THE SPIRIT BECAUSE OF BELIEVING WHAT WAS PREACHED

By Fr. Felix (African Times Guest Writer)

Having given a bit of historical background,

Paul now rounds on the Galatians themselves

with a volley of rhetorical questions, twice

calling them ‘stupid’ – not just ‘foolish’ but

brutally ‘stupid’. It is strong language and Paul

is fiercely angry.

The most striking element is that Paul appeals

to their own experiences of life in the Christian

community. This implies that the Spirit is

visible and perceptibly at work among them,

working ‘deeds of power’ among them. We have

plenty of information from Paul’s letters about

the workings of the Spirit in the community of

Corinth, both in the more ordinary ways of

generosity, that is, Wisdom, prophecy (in the

sense of seeing the spiritual significance and

true meaning of events), gifts of healing,

teaching, speaking and praying in tongues, as

well as of extraordinary works of power.

Now Paul tells us that this sort of thing

continued to go on among the Christians of

Galatia, and he demands an explanation for it.

Are we to suppose that there was a series of

‘works of power’ among them in the sense of

miracles and works that went against nature?

Not necessarily. Quite sufficient would be what

we would call miracles of generosity and

kindness. He could appeal to such a situation

as evidence that the Spirit of Christ was at work

among them.

All this, says he, is not because they had been

circumcised. He puts the neat little dichotomy,

using ‘flesh’ in two distinct senses: ‘are you so

stupid that, having begun in the Spirit you are

now ending up in the flesh?’ It is not all because

of a minor operation on the flesh and the

observance of the Law which this entailed. It is

rather from their faith in Christ and their

commitment to him.