Corpus-Paul

["Liz Fried" <lizfried AT umich.edu>]

Dear All,
 I have just started reading Paul, and am having trouble understanding his
letter to the Galatians. I thought I understood it until I reached 5:16-21.
There I read that all sorts of people who are Christians are not going to
inherit the kingdom of God.

 I deduce from 5:16-21, but especially vs. 18, that either you are under the
flesh/law/sin/devil/this world or under the Spirit/Jesus.  The latter go to
heaven (or participate in the Parousia, or something), the former don't.
Paul says,  "those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its
passions." Evidence of not belonging to Christ, of not having crucified the
flesh, are the behaviors listed in 19-21.

Paul says the whole law is "love your neighbor as yourself."   It seems to
me that those who are under the spirit are obligated by this version of the
"whole of the law" if they want to inherit the Kingdom of God.

This is not how I had interpreted justification by faith. It seems that Paul
really did expect those who "put on the body of Christ as one puts on
clothes" to  have the whole law written on their hearts, as in Jeremiah.  I
think Paul really did expect that "putting on Christ" would bring about a
transformation in the *behavior* of the Christian, that this change in
behaviour would happen automatically, by God. The person so transformed
would then keep the whole of the Jewish moral law, not covet, etc.

Practically speaking then, a person who puts on the body of Christ and
continues to practice the sins that flesh is heir to will not inherit the
Kingdom of God. He is not in fact justified by faith alone, but only by the
faith that brings about a transformation of behavior.

Is this a correct understanding of Paul's thought in his letter to the
Galatians?

Thanks,

Liz

Lisbeth S. Fried
Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies
New York University
51 Washington Sq. S.
New York, NY 10012
lqf9256 AT is3.nyu.edu
lizfried AT umich.edu