4 - Paul's view of the law

Summary

In the previous chapter certain aspects of the law were delineated in the discussion of Paul's view of justification by faith. In the present chapter we consider the specific issue of Paul's view of the law in relation to the ‘elements of the world’ (τὰ στοιχєĩα τοῡ κόσμου). After reviewing some key interpretations of the meaning of this phrase and its use in the context we will reinterpret the passage in terms of Paul's view of the inclusion of uncircumcised Gentiles into the kingdom of God. It will be our contention that Paul looked upon that version of Christianity propagated by the judaizers as synonymous with paganism since it made Yahweh into the national God of Israel only. The gospel as Paul preached it demanded a continued ethnic distinctiveness between Jews and Gentiles in order that Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, could be conceptualized by both Jews and Gentiles as the God of all nations.

In Gal. 4: 3 Paul says: ‘Thus also we, when we were babes were enslaved to the elements of the world.’ Just what Paul means by ‘the elements of the world’ is problematic and has been the source of endless debate. Without entering into a lengthy discussion of the derivation and history of the word ‘elements’ (στοιχ∈ĩον), since this has been done often and well in the past, it is sufficient to say that originally στοιχ∈ĩον meant ‘what belongs to a series or a row’.