WORKS OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM. [CHAPTER IV. great and wonderful thing, he names also the mode of their adoption, Ver. 27. " For as many of you as were bap tized into Christ, did put on Christ." Why does he not say, " For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have been born of God ? " for this was what directly went to prove that they were sons ; becausehe states it in a much more awful point of view ; If Christ be the Son of God, and thou hast put on Him, thou who hast the Son within thee, and art fashioned after His pattern, hast been brought into one kindred and nature with Him. Ver. 28. "There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female : for ye all are one in Christ Jesus." See what an insatiable soul ! for having said, "We are all made children of God through Faith," he does not stop there, but tries to find something more exact, which may serve to convey a still closer oneness with Christ. Having said, " ye have put on Christ," even this does not suffice Him, but by way of penetrating more deeply into this union, he comments on it thus : "Ye are all One in Christ Jesus," that is, ye have all one form and one mould, even Christ s. What can be more awful than these words ! He that was a Greek, or Jew, or bond-man yesterday, carries about with him the form, not of an Angel or Archan gel, but of the Lord of all, yea displays in his own person the Christ. Ver. 29. " And if ye are Christ s, then are yeAbraham s seed, heirs according to promise." Here, you observe, he proves what he had before stated concerning the seed of Abraham, that to him and to his seed the promises were given. 3 CHAPTER IV. VERSE 1-3. " But I say, that so long as the heir is a child, he differ- eth nothing from a bond-servant, though he is lord of all; but is under guardians and stewards, until the term appointed of the father. So we also when we were children, were held in bondage under the rudiments of the world." THE word "child " in this place denotes not age but understanding; 1 meaning that God had from the beginning designed for us these gifts, but, as we yet continued childish, He let us be under the elements of the world, that is, new moons and sabbaths, for these days are regulated by the course of sun and moon.2 If then also now they bring you under law they do nothing else but lead you backward now in the time of your perfect age and maturity. And see what is the consequence of observing days ; the Lord, the Master of the house, the Sover eign Ruler, is thereby reduced to the rank of a servant. Ver. 4, 5. " But when the fulness of the time came God sent forth His Son, born of awoman, under the Law that he might redeem them which 1 ["This reference of I/JJTTIO? to mental immaturity is quite in opposition to the context. Meyer. " The heir in his nonage rep resents the Jewish people and the state of the world before Christ." Schaff. So Meyer: "The (c\TjpovofiO9 vrjirio<; represents the Christians as a body regarded in their earlier pre-Christian condition." G. A.] 2 [This interpretation is rejected by Schaff, Meyer, Ellicott,Light- foot et al. Schaff says : " Elements here represents the religion before Christ as an elementary religion full of external rites and ceremonies. * # Comp. v: 10, for a specimen." G. A.] were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." Here he states two objects and effects of the Incarnation, deliverance from evil and supply of good, things which none could compass but Christ. They are these; deliverance from the curse of the Law, and promotion to son- ship. Fitly does he say, that we might "receive," " [be paid,]" implying that it was due; 4 for the promise was of old time made for these objects to Abraham, as the Apostle has himself shown at great length. And how does it appear that we have become sons ? he has told us one mode, in that we have put on Christ who is the Son ; and now he mentions another, in that we have received the Spirit of adoption. Ver. 6, 7. "And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. So that thou art no longer a bond-servant, but a son ; and if a son, then an heir through God." Had not we been first made sons, we could not have called Him Father. If then grace hath made us freemen instead of slaves, men 3 [So Schaff: " Verse 16 must here be kept in view where Christ is declared to be the seed of Abraham. Union with Christ consti tutes the true spiritual descent from Abraham and secures the inher itance of all the Messianic blessings by promise as against inheri tance by law." Pop. Com. in loc. G. A.] 4 [ " The proposition here (dn-d) simply means to receive from or at the hands of anyone." Meyer. But Lightfoot holds that dn-o Ad^co/iei/ cannot be the same as Ad/Scu^ei , the simple verb. G. A.j