Thomas Aquinas Commentary Galatians 3:10-12

"For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one who continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them. Now that no man is justified by the law before God, is evident: for, The righteous shall live by faith; and the law is not of faith; but, He that doeth them shall live in them." — Galatians 3:10-12 (ASV)

Above, the Apostle proved the power of faith; now he shows the shortcoming of the Law.

He does this in two ways:

1. First, through the authority of the Law.
2. Secondly, through a human custom (Galatians 3:15).

Concerning the first point, he does three things:

1. First, he shows the curse brought on by the Law.
2. Secondly, he shows the Law’s inability to remove that curse (Galatians 3:11).
3. Thirdly, he shows the sufficiency of Christ, by whom that curse has been removed (Galatians 3:13).

In regard to the first of these, he does two things:

1. First, he sets forth his intended proposition.
2. Secondly, he proves the proposition (Galatians 3:10), for it is written: Cursed is every one that does not abide in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

He says therefore: For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. Since he had said that those who are of faith will be blessed by being sons of Abraham, someone might say that they are blessed both on account of the works of the Law and on account of faith. To exclude this, he says: As many as are of the works of the law are under a curse.

Against this, it could be argued that the ancient fathers were of the works of the Law. Therefore, they would be under a curse and, consequently, damned—which is a Manichean error. It is necessary, then, to understand this correctly. It should be noted that the Apostle does not say, “As many as observe the works of the Law are under a curse,” because this would be false when applied to the time of the Law. He says, rather: As many as are of the works of the Law, meaning, whoever trusts in the works of the Law and believes that they are made righteous by them is under a curse.

For it is one thing to be of the works of the Law and another to observe the Law. The latter consists in fulfilling the Law, so that one who fulfills it is not under a curse. But to be of the works of the Law is to trust in them and place one’s hope in them. Those who are of the Law in this way are under a curse—namely, the curse of transgression. This is not because the Law produces the curse, for concupiscence does not come from the Law, but the knowledge of sin does. We are prone to this sin through the concupiscence that the Law forbids. Therefore, inasmuch as the Law creates a knowledge of sin but offers no help against it, those who rely on its works are said to be under a curse, since they are powerless to escape it by those works.

Furthermore, some works of the Law are ceremonies, while others pertain to morals, with which the moral precepts deal. According to a Gloss, what is said here—as many as are of the works of the law, are under a curse—is to be understood as referring to ceremonial works and not moral works. Alternatively, it should be said that the Apostle is speaking here of all works, both ceremonial and moral. For works are not the cause that makes one righteous before God; rather, they are the carrying out and manifestation of righteousness. No one is made righteous before God by works, but by the habit of faith—not an acquired faith, but an infused one.

Therefore, as many as seek to be justified by works are under a curse, because sin is not removed, nor is anyone justified in the sight of God by them. Instead, one is justified by the habit of faith, made alive by charity: And all these, though approved through the testimony of faith, did not receive the promise (Hebrews 11:39).

Then, when he says, For it is written: Cursed is every one that does not abide in all things, which are written in the book of the law to do them, he proves his proposition. According to a Gloss, this is proven by the fact that no one can keep the Law in the way the Law prescribed. As it says, As many as do not keep and do all that is written in the book of the law... cursed shall they be (Deuteronomy 28:15). But it is impossible to fulfill the whole Law, as it is said in Acts: Why do you tempt God to put a yoke upon the necks of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? (Acts 15:10). Therefore, by the works of the Law, no one is anything but cursed.

In another way, the passage, For it is written... can be taken not as a proof of the proposition but as an exposition of it. It is as if to say: I say that they are under a curse, that is, under the one of which the Law speaks, For it is written: Cursed is every one that does not abide in all things, which are written in the book of the law to do them. Here, the curse is understood to refer to sin. For the Law commands that good be done and evil avoided, and by commanding this, it places one under obligation without giving the power to obey. And so he says, Cursed—as though placed in contact with evil—is every one, without exception, because, as it is said in Acts, God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). He says, that does not abide to the end: He that shall persevere to the end (Matthew 24:13); in all things, not in some only, because as it is said in James, Whoever shall keep the whole law, but offend in one point, has become guilty of all (James 2:10); which are written in the book of the law to do them, not only to believe or will but actually to fulfill them in works: A good understanding to all that do it (Psalms 111:10). Yet the holy patriarchs, although they were of the works of the Law, were nevertheless saved by faith in the one to come, by trusting in His grace and by fulfilling the Law at least spiritually. For, as a Gloss says, “Moses did indeed command many things which no one could fulfill, in order to tame the pride of the Jews who said: ‘There are many willing and able, but no one to command.’”

But a difficulty arises about saying, Cursed is every one that does not abide in all things, which are written in the book of the law to do them. For it is said: Bless, and curse not (Romans 12:14). I answer that to curse is nothing other than to speak evil. I can say that good is evil and evil is good, or I can say that good is good and evil is evil. The first is what the Apostle forbids when he says, Curse not—that is, do not say that good is evil. But the second is lawful. Hence, when we denounce sin, we do indeed curse, not by calling good evil but by declaring that evil is evil. Therefore, it is lawful to curse a sinner, that is, to say that he is given over to evil or is evil.

Then, when he says, But that in the law no man is justified with God, it is manifest, he shows the inability of the Law to rescue us from that curse, for it could not make one righteous. To show this, he uses a syllogism. Righteousness is by faith, but the Law is not by faith; therefore, the Law cannot justify. With respect to this:

1. First, he states the conclusion when he says, But that in the law no one is justified.
2. Secondly, he states the major premise: because the just man lives by faith (Galatians 3:11).
3. Thirdly, he states the minor premise (Galatians 3:12).

Therefore, he says: I say that a curse was introduced by the Law, and yet the Law cannot free one from that curse, because it is obvious that no one is justified before God by the Law, that is, through the works of the Law. On this point, it should be noted that those who rejected the Old Testament took occasion to do so from this statement. It must be said, therefore, that no one is justified in the Law, meaning, through the Law. For through it came the knowledge of sin, as is said in Romans (Romans 3:20), but justification did not come through it: By the works of the law no flesh shall be justified (Romans 3:20).

But against this, it is said in James: Was not Abraham our father justified by works? (James 2:21). I answer that “to be justified” can be taken in two senses. It can refer to the execution and manifestation of righteousness, and in this way a person is justified—that is, proven righteous—by the works they perform. Or, it can refer to the infused habit of righteousness, and in this way one is not justified by works, since the habit of righteousness by which a person is justified before God is not acquired but is infused by the grace of faith. Therefore, the Apostle significantly says, with God, because the righteousness that is before God is interior, in the heart, whereas the righteousness that is by works—that is, which manifests that one is righteous—is before men. It is in this sense that the Apostle says, with God: For not the hearers of the law, but the doers are just before God (Romans 2:13); For if Abraham were justified by works, he has something to glory in, but not before God (Romans 4:2). Thus, the conclusion of his reasoning is obvious: the Law cannot justify.

Then, when he says, because the just man lives by faith, he presents the major premise, which is based on scriptural authority from Habakkuk (Habakkuk 2:4), restated in Romans (Romans 1:17) and Hebrews (Hebrews 10:38). Regarding this point, it should be noted that in a person there is a twofold life: the life of nature and the life of righteousness. The life of nature is from the soul; hence, when the soul is separated from the body, the body remains but is dead. But the life of righteousness is through God dwelling in us by faith. Therefore, the first way in which God is in the soul of a person is by faith: He that comes to God must believe (Hebrews 11:6); That Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts (Ephesians 3:17). Accordingly, we say that in the soul, the first signs of life appear in the works of the vegetative soul, because the vegetative soul is the first to be present in a generated animal, as the Philosopher says. Similarly, because the first principle by which God exists in us is faith, faith is called the principle of living. This is what he means when he says, the just man lives by faith. Furthermore, this is to be understood of faith acting through love.

The minor premise is set down at, But the law is not of faith.

1. First, the minor premise is set down.
2. Secondly, it is proved: but he that does those things, shall live in them (Galatians 3:12).

He says, therefore, that the law is not of faith. But this seems to conflict with the truth that the Law commands one to believe that there is one God, which pertains to faith. Therefore, the Law had faith. That there is one God is stated in Deuteronomy: Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4).

I answer that he is speaking here about keeping the commandments of the Law insofar as the Law consists of ceremonial and moral precepts. This is the Law that is not of faith. For “faith,” as is said in Hebrews, is the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things that appear not (Hebrews 11:1). Therefore, strictly speaking, one who fulfills the command of faith does not hope to obtain from it anything present and visible, but things invisible and eternal. Because the Law promised earthly and present things, as it is said, If you are willing and will listen to me, you shall eat the good things of the land (Isaiah 1:19), it is not of faith but rather of desire for earthly things or of fear, especially for those who kept the Law in a carnal manner. Nevertheless, some did live spiritually under the Law, but this was not because of the Law but because of faith in a mediator.

He proves that the Law is not of faith when he says, but he that does those things—that is, the works of the Law—shall live in them, namely, in the present life. He will be immune from temporal death and will be preserved in the present life. Or again: I say that the law is not of faith, and this is obvious, because he that does those things, shall live in them. It is as if to say: The precepts of the Law are concerned with what is to be done, even though it proclaims something that must be believed. Therefore, its power is not from faith but from works. He proves this on the ground that when the Lord willed to confirm it, He did not say, “He that believes,” but He that does those things, shall live in them. But the New Law is from faith: He that believes and is baptized shall be saved (Mark 16:16).

Nevertheless, the Law is something fashioned and produced by faith. That is why the Old Law is compared to the New as the works of nature are to the works of the intellect. For certain works of the intellect appear in the works of nature, not as though natural things understand, but because they are moved and ordained by an intellect to reach their end. In the same way, the Old Law contains certain things that are of faith: not that the Jews held them precisely as being of faith, but that they held them only as representations and figures of the faith of Christ, by virtue of whose faith the righteous were saved.