Galatians 3:11Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Can someone, then, be righteous and yet not live without faith in Christ? If a doubt arises in the reader, let him receive the words of Paul, who says of himself: “As to righteousness according to the Law, blameless.”

Paul, then, was at that time righteous according to the Law, but he could not yet live, because he did not have Christ in himself. Christ says: “I am the life” (Jn 11:25).

Believing in Him, Paul later began to live. Let us do something similar with the saying, “The righteous lives by faith.”

Let us say: “The pure lives by faith, the wise lives by faith, the strong lives by faith.” Let us pronounce a corresponding judgment concerning the other constituent parts of the virtues.

This refutes those who, not believing in Christ, think themselves strong, wise, temperate, or just. Let such people know that no one lives without Christ, without whom every virtue is deficient, in vitio est.

The present word of the Apostle may also be read thus: “that the righteous man by faith,” and then one may add: “lives” or “will live.”

In the Apostle’s words, “The Law is not of faith; but the one who observes its prescriptions shall live by them,” it is shown most clearly that he is not speaking of simple life, but of life related to something.

The righteous man truly lives from faith, and it is not added, “in this” or “in that.” But the one living in the Law, by fulfilling its prescriptions, lives in this.

That is, he lives in what he has done and what he considered good. The reward for his struggles is only the works he has done, or, according to the Jews, length of life.

It may also be avoidance of the punishment to which one who transgresses the Law is subjected.

We think that the words “but shall live by them” belong not to the Apostle, but to the prophet Ezekiel, who says: “And I brought them into the wilderness and gave them My commandments.

I showed them My judgments, that a man might do them and live by them” (Ezek 20:10-11).

Although he says that those who walk in the commandments and judgments will live, he nevertheless adds the following: “And I gave them commandments that were not good and judgments by which they would not live” (Ezek 20:25).

What caution in expression! When he said, “I gave them commandments and judgments by which they would live,” he did not add “good.”

But when he said, “by which they would not live,” he added: “I gave them commandments that were not good,” and so forth.

But this is treated more fully in the commentaries on Ezekiel. Now let us return to the order of the discourse in the Epistle to the Galatians.

After the coming of the Redeemer, St. Paul the Apostle teaches, those who wished, like the Galatians, to keep the Old Testament law as a condition of salvation alongside faith, would fall directly under the curse. For "in that case faith is not faith. He who relies here on the law diminishes the Mediator, and for that reason loses the power of mediation" (Bishop Theophan).

The reproach and rebuke of St. Paul the Apostle falls upon all Jews, not only those contemporary with him, but later ones also. Before the coming of Jesus Christ, the Jews could keep the law with faith and hope in the Messiah. Therefore they were not strangers to grace. But by rejecting their Messiah, the Jews remained only with their powerless and severe law, without faith and grace.

These punishments are spoken of with particular expressiveness in Deuteronomy. Through sacrifices, ways were also appointed for avoiding the penalty of the law.

For this reason many sacrifices were prescribed, in great variety. Yet the essence of the teaching concerning sacrifices lay in their typological relation to the sacrifice that Christ offered by Himself.

The one offering sacrifice was saved by believing in Him. Thus here also faith was saving, while the law was only the measure of recompense.

It was a heavy yoke laid upon the chosen people, not because of their faith, but because of their unbelief. In other words, it was imposed on account of their frequent experiences of apostasy.

Even now the power of sin is the same. It takes away blessing and brings punishment. Yet the essence of the New Testament institution is this: Jesus Christ, by being crucified for us, took upon Himself responsibility for the sins of believers.

Therefore sacrifices and all the rites connected with them are now unnecessary. Now, “if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous,” which the law did not give.

For this reason the law was formerly powerless, and now it is entirely unnecessary (1 Jn 2:1).

Blessed Jerome writes: “Christ alone died for all” (2 Cor 5:14). If for all, then also for Moses and for all the prophets.

None of them could destroy the ancient handwriting written against us and nail it to the Cross (Col 2:14). They too were justified and saved by faith.”

“One may be righteous and yet not be alive until he receives faith in Christ, who says, ‘I am the life’ (Jn 11:25).

Just as it is said, ‘The righteous shall live by faith,’ so also the pure shall live by faith, the wise shall live by faith, the courageous shall live by faith.

This stands against those who, not believing in Christ, think themselves strong, wise, temperate, and in general righteous. Let us know that no one can be alive without Christ, without whom every virtue is not blameless.”

“And no one should be troubled that Christ became a curse for us. From the fullness of the Godhead, the Savior humbled Himself to the taking of the form of a servant (Phil 2:7).

But the humiliation of our Lord is our glory. He died that we might live. He became a curse so that blessing might descend upon us and rest in us.”

And St. John Chrysostom says: “As someone not subject to condemnation, deciding to die for one condemned to death, thereby delivers him from death, so Christ acted.

He took the curse upon Himself and freed us from it. The law said, ‘Do this and you shall live.’ Yet because no one could fulfill everything prescribed in the law, all were subject to punishment.

Christ came to free them from this punishment through faith in Him, as the Savior sent by God the Father.”

To this we answer: the Lord Jesus Christ, by His priceless blood, redeemed from the curse of the law both all of us and Moses himself with Aaron, and all the prophets and patriarchs.

Do not think that I say this from my own reasoning. Scripture itself bears witness to it, saying: ‘Christ alone died for all’ (cf. 2 Cor 5:14).

If for all, then also for Moses and for all the prophets. None of them could destroy the ancient handwriting written against us and nail it to the Cross (cf. Col 2:14).

They too were justified and saved by faith.”

Before men, those who held to the law may have seemed righteous, like the Pharisees, who justified themselves before men. But they were not righteous before God.

Before Him no one is righteous without faith. Faith, both before the law and after the law was given, blessed and justified (cf. Blessed Theophylact).

As soon as the law remained without faith, it took its place among all religions existing on earth. It did not give what those who held to it hoped to find in it.

Of the same worth is everything a man might devise for his justification, and whatever he might hope to lean upon for his salvation, apart from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Labors are necessary. Yet they receive truly cleansing and life-giving power only from faith. Without it, they are nothing.

Here are the remarkable words of Blessed Jerome concerning this thought: “It must be noted that the Apostle did not say, ‘Every man shall live by faith,’ lest he give occasion to despise the works of virtue.

Rather, he said, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ Thus the one who is to live by faith cannot come to faith, or live in it, otherwise than by first becoming righteous, or by becoming so at the same time.

By purity of life he ascends to faith as by steps. Therefore one may be righteous and yet not alive until he receives the faith of Christ.

Recall the words of the apostle Paul about himself: ‘as to the righteousness of the law, I was blameless’ (cf. Phil 3:6). Thus Paul was then righteous in the law, but he could not yet be alive.

He did not have Christ in himself, who says, ‘I am the life’ (cf. Jn 11:25). He began to live only after he believed.

Let us apply this to ourselves. Just as it is said, ‘The righteous shall live by faith,’ let us say: the pure lives by faith, the wise lives by faith, the courageous lives by faith.

Regarding all the other virtues, let us pronounce a similar judgment. This is against those who, not believing in Christ, think themselves strong, wise, temperate, and righteous in general.

Let us know that no one can be alive without Christ, without whom every virtue is not blameless.”

The words “the righteous shall live by faith” are contained in the prophecies of St. Habakkuk. Yet there they are cited as a generally known proposition.

Therefore there is no need to explain their meaning from that place in the prophet, especially since that place is somewhat obscure, whereas these words are very clear in themselves.

St. Paul cites them more than once in his Epistles. From this one should conclude that they often circulated on the lips of those who understood the matter of the law as it should be understood.