Galatians 3:27Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

"As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal 3:27). Christ is the garment of salvation. You have put on the robe not to cover bodily nakedness, but to become untouchable by the violence of death.

The prophet rightly says "robe," because we were naked, inglorious, disobedient, foolish, wandering, and serving many passions. Sins made us naked, and Satan, to whom we gave a place among ourselves, made us inglorious.

Therefore Christ came, clothed us, and showed us the understanding by which we can easily put off the old man with his deeds and put on the new, created according to God.

And because it is in our power to put him off, He therefore commands, saying, "put on," so that the garment may always remain with us. "He has clothed me with the garment of righteousness."

There is a health that we can attain after illnesses, thanks to physicians and the counsels of advisers. But this health is acquired together with joy and the greatest blessings, and it never subjects us to dishonor.

"As upon a bridegroom He has set a crown." Aquila says: "As a bridegroom adorned with a crown." "And as a bride He has adorned me with ornaments."

The mitre is a crown adorned with necklaces and precious stones, which bridegrooms place on their head during the wedding. "And as a bride," he says, "He has adorned me with ornaments."

Truly, there was a wedding feast, but a spiritual one, in which souls became partakers of God. See the poverty of the bride, who receives clothing and adornment from the bridegroom. No one else could adorn her with these garments.

When a man who is king wishes to take as wife a maidservant who has pleased him, but who lacks clothing worthy of the wedding feast and cannot provide such garments for herself, he gives her all this and adorns her.

In the same way Christ bestowed all the adornments of the Church and adorned her. "For as the earth brings forth its plants." By these words the abundant fruit of virtue is shown.

"So the Lord God will make righteousness and glory spring forth before all nations." It is rightly said, "before all nations," so that they may see, bear witness, and imitate her (Isa 61:10-11).

"As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal 3:27). If someone has sinned after baptism, he has sinned against heaven. Therefore let him approach and say: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son."

Why? State the cause. "My heart, sprinkled with the blood of Jesus and blooming like a rose, I have defiled with lusts. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

I have angered You and grieved Your Holy Spirit. I have soiled the shining garment of faith with sin. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

My soul, freed by baptism and made white as snow by illumination, I have enslaved and darkened with sin. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Receive me among your hired servants.

My bodily senses, weighed down by drunkenness, like mad maidservants, handed over my soul, their own mistress, to wantonness. Now, having trained them by abstinence, I shall restore chastity to my soul. Receive me among your hired servants.

I know the enemy's wandering. I know his stumbling blocks against me. I know the arrows of his gluttony. I shall flee drunkenness, by which the power of chastity is destroyed. I shall keep the fast, which gave me sobriety. Receive me among your hired servants.

I too shall labor in Your vineyard. I too shall cut away with the knife of the Spirit the superfluous shoots of my inward spiritual vine, or rather, the vices. Receive me among your hired servants.

I too shall cultivate the sweetest vine of love. I shall set up the commandments of the Lord as props for my soul, so that, if it is drawn down to the earth, it may not be seized by the serpent. Receive me among your hired servants.

I shall strive that it look toward heaven and stretch out the hands of love for mankind. I shall strive that it carry in its embrace the poor who are drawn down to the earth. Receive me among your hired servants.

Give me again, Father, the plow of the Cross upon my shoulders. I shall cultivate the furrow of my soul. I shall pull out the thorns and harmful grass of the evil one. I shall sow heavenly seed in it.

When You rain mercy from above, the furrow of my soul will bear fruit thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold. Receive me among your hired servants.

Do not thrust me away, Father. Though the enemy weakened me, he has not yet completely stripped off the garment of faith. If he has soiled the beauty of my chastity, still he never inclined me to serve his idols.

I have not denied You, my Lord. Though I sinned in the flower of my youth, I trampled the fat of idols. I overthrew the images of demons. I put the idols to shame. I breathed upon the devil. I spat upon the demons.

Now I fall down at Your feet, my Lord and my God. Receive me among your hired servants."

If you repent in this way, and if you confess in this way, behold, the heavenly Father hastens to you while you are still far from Him. In spirit He falls upon the neck of your soul.

He lays upon you the yoke of grace and binds the neck of your heart with the yoke-strap of truth. By a kiss He ends His enmity toward you and says to His servants, the priests: "Bring out the first robe" (Lk 15:22).

He did not say, "Bring only a robe," but "Bring the first robe," to show that the first dignity of baptism is given to you. "Bring him the first robe and clothe him. Give him a ring, a sign of wealth, guardian of the treasure, pledge of grace, seal of the Spirit.

And put shoes on his feet," that is, bind the feet of his soul with the word of the Gospel, so that the serpent may not again bite his heel and draw him back to the former wandering of sin.

"And bring the fatted calf." Who is this, if not Christ, Who is given to the worthy after baptism, as the Apostle says: "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col 2:9)?

"Bring it. While eating, let us rejoice." Who among Jews and Greeks believes that the calf has been slain and peace established? O calf of the virgin heifer, holy Child of an untilled womb!

O calf slain and living, always eaten by us and never consumed! Therefore, beloved, having cast the anchor of our word into a safe and quiet harbor, we shall entrust you to the intercession of the Holy Spirit.

He, cutting through the sea of divine Scripture with His ordered tongue, will bring you into the heavenly city, in Christ Jesus our Lord. To Him be glory and dominion, with the Father and the Holy and worshiped Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

"As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal 3:27). There it is, "Dust you are, and to dust you shall return" (Gen 3:19). Here He Who renews the earth makes man heavenly, promising not earth, but the Kingdom.

There is the fiery sword holding Adam back. Here are fiery tongues from heaven enlightening Adam. There they drive him out of Paradise. Here they entrust to him the keys of heaven.

God foresaw the future before the present. Now, before water is drawn, a conduit is prepared. Before the waters flow, a reservoir is arranged, not for water already flowing, but for the water that will flow.

So also God determined beforehand what was to be formed in Christ, and knew that in Christ all things would be renewed.

If anyone receives only this bodily washing with water, visible to bodily eyes, he has not put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, the Simon known from the Acts of the Holy Apostles received the washing with water. Yet because he did not have the Holy Spirit, he was not clothed in Christ (Acts 8).

So too, heretics, hypocrites, and those who lead an impure life may seem to have received baptism. Yet I do not know whether they possess the garment of Christ.

Let us then take careful heed that no one among us be found not to have received baptism. For he who has once received the garment in Christ, and is placed in the flame for testing, will shine with the fiery light of the Holy Spirit. Then he will cause no doubt whether he is gold or silver.

While the heat thus embraces the whole mass, massam, one fiery brightness is seen. Every distinction of kind and bodily characteristic is hidden by this garment.

“For there is neither Jew nor Greek.” By Greek we must understand Gentile, because the word Ελλην means both Greek and Gentile at the same time. The Jew is not better because he is circumcised, nor is the Gentile worse because he has a foreskin. Both Jew and Greek are better or worse according to the quality of their faith.

Slave and free are likewise distinguished not by the conditions of life, but by their faith. A slave can be better than a free man, and a free man can stand higher than a slave. All this depends on the quality of faith.

In the same way, male and female differ according to the comparative weakness and strength of the body. Yet faith is determined by the strength of spiritual disposition. It often happens that a woman becomes the cause of salvation for a man, and a man precedes a woman in faith.

When this is so, every distinction of origin, social condition, and bodily difference is abolished by baptism into Christ and by putting Him on. Then we all become one in Christ Jesus. As the Father and the Son are one in Themselves, so we are one in Them.

If someone has once put on Christ and, cast into the flame, has been kindled with the fire of the Holy Spirit, it will be unclear whether he is gold or silver. While the heat thus embraces the whole substance, only one fiery brightness is visible. Every distinction of kind and bodily characteristic is hidden by this garment.

Let us first speak about the vows of baptism and of reception into the Church. The vows of baptism consist in "renouncing the devil and being united to Christ" (Gal. 3:27). In both cases they are pronounced three times. This means insistently, with such firmness that a man declares eternal enmity against the devil and the works of the devil. In relation to Jesus Christ, he lays down a promise to serve Him throughout his whole life, and unchangeably to be a Christian.

It is worth pronouncing these vows with all decisiveness and sincerity. It is like a drowning man who makes many promises before God, if only he may be saved. Or it is like a man who, in moments of special joy, is ready for many good promises.

Why is it worth it? Before baptism, man is under the influence and authority of the devil, because the devil defeated and took captive the first human beings in paradise. Remaining, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, as in infancy, in such closeness to the devil and under liability for ancestral sin, man shares the same lot as the devil after death, that is, eternal torment. The same is true if, in mature years, he freely permits demonic and sinful deeds.

But after baptism he is freed from this autocratic dominion of the devil, and by the very font he becomes heir of the kingdom of heaven (Rom 8:16-17). Before baptism, the devil and sin lived within him, while the grace of Christ acted only from without, calling him to itself, as with adults, through various promptings. After baptism, another order comes forth. Grace takes up its dwelling in the heart of man, while the devil and sin act from without. The enemy departs from the heart. Hence the words in the exorcism prayers at baptism: "Drive out from him," that is, from the one being baptized, "every evil and unclean spirit hidden and nesting in his heart."

This is like an ordinary enemy or robber being driven out from the inner rooms of a house. After this, the enemy, the devil, is no longer the autocratic master over man, but only a tempter who troubles him. Yes, holy baptism is such a treasure in life, such happiness for man, that there are no words to express it. Hence its vows are also precious. They are the very first vows in a person's life, the first and lifelong, lasting to the end of life.

Although the Apostle here gives his speech another turn, addressing only the Galatians, "you are sons of God," and "you who were baptized into Christ," while placing himself aside, he continues to speak of the same subject.

Namely, he explains his preceding words, why we are no longer under the direction of the child-guide. This is because we have already become mature children. As such sons of God, we no longer need either the Law's protection or its instructions.

Faith in Christ Jesus makes a man a child of God, one who fulfills the Law already from filial love alone. It returns people to that beautiful period of innocent childhood which the Lord Himself sets as the pattern for all adults who wish to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt 18:2-3).

The truly believing man, like a good son, gives himself wholly over to the will of his heavenly Father. For Him, there is no longer need to humble the disobedient spirit of His children by strict discipline.

The word "put on" does not refer to some simple and external garment, but to something deeper, something essential and inseparable. Through our faith in Christ and through our baptism, we put on Christ Himself. We become children of God, dwellings of the All-Holy Spirit, temples of God, holy and perfect, gods by grace. Thus we have cast off corruption and put on incorruption. We have put off the man of sin and put on the man of righteousness and grace. We have driven out death and put on immortality.

Yet have we understood our great obligations, which through baptism we have taken upon ourselves before God? Have we realized that we must conduct ourselves as children of God and as brothers of our Lord? Have we realized that we must identify our will with the will of God? Have we realized that, as His children, we must remain free from sin? Have we realized that we must love Him with all our strength, from the depth of our soul and heart? Have we realized that we must worship Him and eagerly await union with Him forever?

Have we considered that our heart must be filled with love so that it overflows toward our neighbor? Do we have the sense that we are obliged to become holy and perfect, the image of God, children of God, and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven? For all this we must struggle, lest we prove unworthy of God's calling and be rejected.

Yes, brothers and sisters, let us struggle zealously and selflessly so that we may conquer. Let none of us lose courage, neglect his duty, become cowardly, or grow confused before the difficulties of spiritual warfare. For we have God as our helper, Who strengthens us on the difficult path of virtue.

"A tutor," says Blessed Jerome, "is neither a teacher nor a father. The one being brought up expects from him neither an inheritance nor higher knowledge. A tutor guards another man's son and withdraws from him as soon as he reaches the lawful age for receiving the inheritance.

"Thus the Law was given through Moses to an unformed people, like a tutor, to guard them and prepare them for the future faith. When that faith came, and we believed in Christ, we were no longer under a tutor.

"The steward and manager withdrew from us, and we entered lawful age. We are called true sons of God, for whom we are begotten not by the abolished Law, but by mother faith, which is in Christ Jesus.

"Who, after reaching mature age, having already become an heir, free and a son, would wish to be under a tutor? And now this is impossible, since the temple has been destroyed and the sacrifices have ceased.

"Whoever does this is neither under the father nor under the tutor. The Law cannot be fulfilled after faith has come, nor can faith be preserved when the tutelage of the Law is still desired."

Going more deeply into the meaning of our sonship to God, the Apostle shows its intimacy in the words, "you have put on Christ." "This expression," says John Chrysostom, "is powerful and majestic."

"If Christ is the Son of God, and you have put Him on and been made like Him, then through this you have been brought into one kinship with Him and into the same form."

"Birth from God, which in essence is the same as creation, necessarily brings the one born near to God as one being created. But he who has put on Christ, the Son of God, cannot be far from God.

"Becoming one with Christ, he is essentially united also with God. The baptized person receives a new life. Or, what is the same thing, the new life is the receiving of Christ's life, the organizing of our inward constitution according to the image of Christ the Lord" (Bishop Theophan).

Chrysostom says: "Why did he not say, 'As many of you as were baptized into Christ were born of God'? Because the expression he used is stronger and more majestic. For if Christ is the Son of God, and you have put Him on, have the Son within yourself, and have become like Him, then through this you have been brought into one kinship with Him and into the same form."

What does it mean to put on Christ? Let us compare two expressions: the baptized person receives a new life, and the baptized person puts on Christ. It follows that new life is the putting on of Christ. Or, what is the same thing, new life is the reception of Christ's life, the ordering of our inner constitution according to the image of Christ the Lord.

In other places St. Paul speaks exactly this way. In the Epistle to the Ephesians he says that the truth about Christ consists in this: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man, which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts. You are to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, created according to God, in righteousness and holiness of truth (cf. Eph 4:22-24).

In the Epistle to the Colossians he writes again: do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new, who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of the One who created him. There there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, but Christ is all and in all (cf. Col 3:9-11).

From all this it is evident that in baptism, which gives sonship to God, or the putting on of Christ, an essential change of man's whole inner moral constitution takes place. He becomes Christlike, and from this there then begins a life of imitation of Christ.

That this was exactly the change in those baptized was justified by the fact itself, with tangible clarity, in those baptized at mature age, and with full faith and full consciousness of the matter. We are baptized as infants, and afterward, not encountering in ourselves or in others what is promised to baptism, we find it difficult to appropriate the thought of baptism's power. But the gifts of God are irrevocable. The power of our baptism is the same. For it to unfold in due time in its full significance depends on upbringing. This is the chief thing toward which upbringing should be directed, though it is least of all kept in view.

Thus those baptized, putting on Christ, accept obligations and receive strength to live the life of Christ, to think His thoughts, desire His desires, feel His feelings, do His deeds, and manifest Christ in themselves in all things.

Together with Alleluia, this verse is sung in memory of the custom of the ancient Church to perform the Mystery of Baptism for new converts chiefly on the days mentioned. The Apostle's words, "As many of you as were baptized into Christ," have the following meaning: those who receive Christian baptism, established by Christ Himself, lay aside in the waters of baptism the old man as an unfit garment. They become new people, being transformed into the image of Christ the Righteous One and becoming like Him.