Word Pictures in the New Testament - David Cox

Word Pictures in the NT [Galatians: Chapter 3].
spoken of in verse 23) having come." {Under a tutor} (\hupo
paidag•gon\). The pedagogue is dismissed. We are in the school of
the Master.
3:26 {For ye are all sons of God} (\pantes gar huioi theou
este\). Both Jews and Gentiles (3:14) and in the same way
"through faith in Christ Jesus" (\dia t•s piste•s en Christ•i
I•sou\). There is no other way to become "sons of God" in the
full ethical and spiritual sense that Paul means, not mere
physical descendants of Abraham, but "sons of Abraham," "those by
faith" (verse 7). The Jews are called by Jesus "the sons of the
Kingdom" (Mt 8:12) in privilege, but not in fact. God is the
Father of all men as Creator, but the spiritual Father only of
those who by faith in Christ Jesus receive "adoption"
(\huiothesia\) into his family (verse 5; Ro 8:15,23). Those led
by the Spirit are sons of God (Ro 8:14).
3:27 {Were baptized into Christ} (\eis Christon ebaptisth•te\).
First aorist passive indicative of \baptiz•\. Better, "were
baptized unto Christ" in reference to Christ. {Did put on Christ}
(\Christon enedusasthe\). First aorist middle indicative of
\endu•\ (\-n•\). As a badge or uniform of service like that of
the soldier. This verb is common in the sense of putting on
garments (literally and metaphorically as here). See further in
Paul (Ro 13:14; Col 3:9f.; Eph 4:22-24; 6:11,14). In 1Th 5:8
Paul speaks of "putting on the breastplate of righteousness." He
does not here mean that one enters into Christ and so is saved by
means of baptism after the teaching of the mystery religions, but
just the opposite. We are justified by faith in Christ, not by
circumcision or by baptism. But baptism was the public profession
and pledge, the soldier's _sacramentum_, oath of fealty to
Christ, taking one's stand with Christ, the symbolic picture of
the change wrought by faith already (Ro 6:4-6).
3:28 {There can be neither} (\ouk eni\). Not a shortened form of
\enesti\, but the old lengthened form of \en\ with recessive
accent. So \ouk eni\ means "there is not" rather than "there
cannot be," a statement of a fact rather than a possibility, as
Burton rightly shows against Lightfoot. {One man} (\heis\). No
word for "man" in the Greek, and yet \heis\ is masculine, not
neuter \hen\. "One moral personality" (Vincent). The point is
that "in Christ Jesus" race or national distinctions ("neither
Jew nor Greek") do not exist, class differences ("neither bond
nor free," no proletarianism and no capitalism) vanish, sex
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