WORKS OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM. [CHAPTER I. Nay, verily, faith in Him enabled the very shadows of those who believed in Him to effect the resurrection of the dead. (Acts, v: 15.) Then believers in Him, though mortal, yet by the very shadows of their earthly bodies, and by the garments which had touched these bodies, could raise the dead, but He could not raise Himself ? Is not this manifest madness, a great stretch of folly ? Hast thou not heard Hissaying, " Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up?" (John ii : 19.) and again, " I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again? " (John x : 18.) Where fore then is the Father said to have raised Him up, as also to have done other things which the Son Himself did ? It is in honor of the Father, and in compassion to the weakness of the hearers. And all the brethren which are with me. Why is it that he has on no other occasion in sending an epistle added this phrase ? For either he puts his own name only or that of two or three others, but here has mentioned the whole number and so has mentioned no one by name. On what account then does he this ? They made the slanderous charge that he was singular in his preaching, and desired to intro duce novelty in Christian teaching. Wishing therefore to remove their suspicion^ and toshow he had many to support him in his doctrine, he has associated with himself "the brethren," to show that what he wrote he wrote with their accord. 1 "Unto the Churches of Galatia." Thus it appears, that the flame of error had spread over not one or two cities merely, but the whole Galatian people. Consider too the grave indignation contained in the phrase, "unto the Churches of Galatia: " he does not say, "to the beloved " or "to the sanctified," and this omission of all names of affection or respect, and this speaking of them as a society merely, without the addition " Churches of God," for it is simply "Churches of Galatia," is strongly expressive of deep concern and sor row. Here at the outset, as well as elsewhere, he attacks their irregularities, and therefore gives them the name of "Churches," in order to shame them, and reduce them to unity. For persons split into many parties cannot properly claim thisappellation, forthename of " Church " is a name of harmony and concord. " Grace to you and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 [Meyeragrees with Lightfoot and Ellicott in the view that rravref means not all the Christians of the place where he was (probably Ephesus), but only his traveling companions ; but he differs from them in holding that " the impressive effect of the epistle could not but be strengthened by indicating that these brethren collectively desired to address the verysame instructions, warnings and exhortations to the Galatians." G. A.] This he always mentions as indispensible, and in this Epistle to the Galatians especially; for since they were in danger of falling from grace he prays that they may recover it again, and since they had come to be at war withGod, he beseeches God to restore them to the same peace. "God the Father." Here again is a plain confutation of the here tics, who say that John in the opening of his Gospel, where he says "the Word was God," used the word 9eo? without the article, to imply an inferiority in the Son s Godhead ; and that Paul, where he says that the Son was "in the form of God," did not mean the Father, be cause the word f9so? is without the article. For what can they say here, where Paul says, aitb 0ou flarpn^, and not euro rno 6eou? And it is in no indulgent mood towards them that he calls God, "Father," but by way of severe rebuke, and suggestion of the source whence they became sons, for the honor was vouch safed to them not through the Law, but through the washing of regeneration. Thus everywhere, even in his exordium, he scatters traces of the goodness of God, and we may conceive him speaking thus: "O ye who were lately slaves, enemies and aliens, what right have ye suddenly acquired to call God your Father ? it was not the Law which conferred upon you this relation ship ; why do ye therefore desert Him who brought you so near to God, and return to your tutor?2 But the Name of the Son, as well as that of the Father, had been sufficient to declare to them these blessings. This will appear, if we consider the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ with attention ; for it is said, " thou shalt call His Name Jesus ; for it is He that shall save His people from their sins; " (Matt, i: 21.) and the appellation of " Christ" calls to mind the unc tion of the Spirit. Ver 4. " Who gave himself for our sins." 3 Thus it appears, that the ministry which He undertook was free and uncompelled ; that He was delivered up by Himself, not by another. Let not therefore the words of John, " that the FathergaveHis only-begotton Son " (Jo. iii: 16.) for us,lead you to derogate fromthe dignity ofthe Only-begotten, or to infer therefrom that He is j only human. For the Father is said to have ! given Him, not as implying that the Son s min istry was a servile one, but to teach us that it seemed good to the Father, as Paul too has shown in the immediate context: "according to the willof our God, and Father. He says not - [The wordis n-aiSayco-yds, thesame that is used in Gal. 3 : 24, 25, and translated school-master in the A. V., but tutor in the Rev. Ver. G. A.] 3 [" The Galatians had practically ignored the atoning death of Christ ; compare ii : 21 and v : 4." Lightfoot. G. A.]