ガラテヤの信徒への手紙4:1-3 Galatians 4:1-3,

同様にわたしたちも、未成年であったときは、世を支配する諸霊に奴隷として仕えていました。　　　　　　　　（ガラテヤ4:3）

日本語の聖書で「諸霊」と翻訳されているストイケイアというギリシア語は、ストイケイオンという言葉の複数形です。この言葉をギリシア語の辞典で調べてみますと、確かに「この世の物事を支配する超越的なもろもろの力」という意味があります。しかし、それは第二番目の意味でありまして、第一の意味は「何かの基本的な構成要素」ということです。そこから、自然界の構成要素や宇宙の構成要素という意味が出てきます。宇宙の構成要素である天体は、星占いという習慣に見られるように、世界を支配する霊的な力をもっていると考えられていました。そこで、「諸霊」とか「もろももろの霊力」というような意味が出てくるのです。

しかし、それだけでなく、「何かの基本的な構成要素」という意味から「基本的な原則」（fundamental principles）という意味も出て来るのです。そこで、最近の英語の聖書は、この言葉を“elementary principles”（基本的な諸原則）と翻訳しています（ESV）。そのように翻訳する方がこの箇所の意味はよくわかります。つまり、3節は「同様にわたしたちも、未成年であったときは、世の基本的な諸原則に奴隷として仕えていました」という意味になります。このように翻訳するのが適切なことは、ガラテヤの信徒への手紙の最近の研究も認めていることです。

それでは、「世の基本的な諸原則に奴隷として仕えていました」とは、具体的に言えばどのようなことなのでしょうか？まず、ユダヤ人にとっては、旧約聖書の律法が「世の基本的な諸原則」でした。3章10節にあるように、ユダヤ人は「律法の書に書かれているすべての事を絶えず守らない者は皆、呪われている」と教えられて、律法の奴隷となって生きていたのでした。それでは、直接には旧約聖書の律法を与えられていなかった、ユダヤ人以外の民族、つまりギリシア人やローマ人などの異邦人にとっては、どうだったのでしょうか？異邦人にとっては、その時代の固定観念が「世の基本的な諸原則」でした。つまり、新約聖書の時代にも、「ギリシア人はこのように生きるべき」「ローマ人はこのように生きるべき」「自由な身分の者はこのように生きるべき」「奴隷はこのように生きるべき」「男はこのように生きるべき」「女はこのように生きるべき」というようなこの世の固定観念がありました。それが異邦人にとっては「世の基本的な諸原則」であり、異邦人はそれに縛られて生きていたのでした。そして、そのような「世の基本的な諸原則」の奴隷状態から世界の人々を解放するために、キリストはこの世に来てくださったのです。

(11月19日の説教より)

The principles of human thought and behaviour are formed unknowingly in the environment in which they are born and brought up. For example, if a person is brought up in a society with strong assumptions about how a man should be and how a woman should be, he/she will think that the principle is that a man should be “manly” and a woman should be “womanly.” In other words, men must be strong and robust and women must be obedient and kind. The words “manly” and “womanly” used to be commonly used. However, they should not be used because they express biased assumptions about men and women. Such biased assumptions about men and women are called “gender stereotypes,” combining the word “gender,” which describes social and cultural sex, and the word “stereotype,” which describes assumptions.

Dr. SAKATA Kiriko of Hiroshima University teaches about gender stereotypes in the website of “NHK Minnade Plus” as follows.

Gender stereotypes are knowledge that gradually accumulates over the course of a person’s life. They are accumulated through seeing and hearing about what roles men and women play in the world, how they behave and how they are evaluated, and through knowing how men and women are portrayed in the media, etc. This knowledge is accumulated as knowledge of both falsity and fact.

People use the framework of knowledge they have in their minds when they judge the events and people in front of them, but they are rarely aware that they are using this framework of knowledge at the moment. When making judgements about a certain woman or man, they do not think deeply about the gender stereotypical knowledge framework and use it without being aware of it. This is why, for example, they do reflexive reactions such as “she’s a girl but she’s great” to a female student with good results in mathematics.

In addition to the teachings of general society, there are also passages in the Bible that become gender stereotypes when attempting to apply them literally to the modern world. For example, in 1 Timothy 2:11-15, there are passages as follows.

Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

Many will probably read these passages and think what a prejudiced teaching it is. And even today there are Christian denominations that apply these passages literally and do not allow women to be pastors. However, these passages may be set against the background of the church in Ephesus, where the recipient of this letter, Timothy, was serving in evangelistic and pastoral ministry. In the church in Ephesus, there were women who misled the congregation with their heretical teachings. To discourage the activities of such heretical teaching women, Paul wrote: “Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” He would then have added his interpretation of the Old Testament Adam and Eve to reinforce his teaching.

It is therefore incorrect to interpret the teaching of these passages as applicable to any church at any time, ignoring the background of the women who misled the congregation with their heretical teachings. Moreover, the supposed basis for this teaching, “Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor,” is not the only New Testament interpretation of Adam and Eve. In 1 Corinthians 15:22, Paul interprets the beginning of human sin to be in Adam, not Eve, when he writes: “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” Also, in Romans 5:12, when Paul notes that “just as sin came into the world through one man,” “one man” refers to Adam, not Eve. In fact, when Eve was about to be deceived, Adam should have told her about God’s teaching and led her not to be deceived, but he did not do so. In Old Testament times there were female prophets like Deborah, and in New Testament times there were women with the gift of teaching, like Priscilla, Aquila’s wife. Therefore, the teaching that women should not teach should be interpreted as limited to the church of Ephesus in New Testament times and to the churches which have similar problems.

In 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, Paul teaches that ministry in the church should be in accordance with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as follows.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

These passages show that the Bible teaches that once the gift of the Holy Spirit has been given, the ministry is given according to that gift, regardless of gender. This is in line with what Paul writes in Galatians 3:27-28, shortly before today’s passages, when he writes as follows.

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Now, in verses 1 and 2 of today’s Bible passages, Paul returns to the topic of 3:24, where he writes: “The law was our guardian until Christ came,” and he says as follows.

I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.

The “guardian” of 3:24 refers to the slaves who were entrusted with the care and discipline of children in the so-called upper-class families of ancient Greece and Rome. “Guardian” served to keep children safe, teach them good manners, correct bad behaviour and discipline them against misbehaviour in the early stages of their development. In the same way, Paul says, the Old Testament law served as a “guardian” early in human history, bringing people to an awareness of sin and leading them to faith in Christ. Then, in 4:1-2, Paul changes the parable to one of a minor “heir” and a guardian/manager to describe the relationship between people and the law in Old Testament times.

The word “heir” follows the word “heirs according to promise” in the immediately preceding 3:29. In other words, Paul believes that even Gentiles who are not descendants of Abraham by blood are “heirs” to the blessings of Abraham, if they are united by faith to Christ, the offspring of Abraham. And in that case, the inheritance is not the earthly property, but the heavenly property of “being justified by God and receiving eternal life.” Those who believe in Christ are promised a wonderful inheritance of “being justified by God and receiving eternal life.” However, in Old Testament times, before Christ was born on earth, this promise had not yet been fulfilled. Just as an “heir” is supervised by a guardian or manager while he/she is a child and cannot yet receive an inheritance, so people in Old Testament times were supervised by the teachings of the law and could not directly receive the inheritance of “being justified by God and receiving eternal life.”

Paul paraphrases this in difficult language in verse 3. Verse 3 says: “So it was with us: during our minority we were slaves, subject to the elemental spirits of the universe (REB).” There are a few things to note when reading this passage. First, to whom does “we” refer? It goes without saying that the word “we” includes the writer of this letter, Paul. Before he became a Christian, Paul was a Jewish teacher who diligently observed and taught the Old Testament law. So “we” must be Jewish Christians – those who, like Paul, were once Jews governed by the Old Testament law, but who have converted and come to faith in Christ. And not only that, but it may also include those who were not directly governed by the Old Testament law, but who were living under the various principles of the world, who turned and came to believe in Christ, i.e., Gentile Christians. This is evident from the fact that Paul dares not use the word “law” here, but uses the broader expression, “the elemental spirits of the universe.” The meaning of the expression, “the elemental spirits of the universe” will be clarified in more detail later.

Secondly, the expression, “during our minority” does not literally mean under the age of 18 or any age. It refers to a time when mankind could not directly receive the inheritance of “being justified by God and receiving eternal life” through faith in Christ. In other words, it refers to the time before Christ was born into the world.

Thirdly, what exactly are “the elemental spirits of the universe”? In order to consider the meaning of this expression, we must consider it in the context of the Bible’s translations. The expression is translated as “Konoyo-no Moromoro-no Reiryoku” (the spiritual forces of this world) in the Japan Bible Society’s new translation published in 2018, and “Konoyo-no Moromoro-no Rei” (the spirits of this world) in the newer edition of the New Japanese Bible used by evangelical churches, published in 2017. And these translations are very similar to the translation of the Bible we use now. However, the newer English translation, i.e., English Standard Version translates it as “the elementary principles of the world.”

The Greek word stoikeia, translated “Shorei” (spirits) in the Japanese translation which we use, is the plural of the word stoikeion (στοιχεῖον). If you look up the word in a Greek lexicon, it does indeed mean “transcendent powers that are in control over events in this world.” But that is the second meaning; the first meaning is “basic components of something,” “elements.” From there, the meaning of components of the universe emerges. Celestial bodies, the components of the universe, were thought to have spiritual powers that governed the world, as seen in the practice of astrology. This is where the meanings such as “spirits” or “spiritual forces” come from.

But not only that, from the meaning of “basic components of something” comes the meaning of “fundamental principles.” So, as I mentioned earlier, in newer English translation this word is translated as “elementary principles (ESV).” It is easier to understand the meaning of this verse if it is translated in that way. Therefore, verse 3 should be translated as follows: “In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.” That this is an appropriate translation is also acknowledged by a recent study of Galatians.

So what exactly does it mean to have been “enslaved to the elementary principles of the world”? First, for the Jews, the Old Testament law was “the elementary principles of the world.” 3:10 of this letter says, the Jews lived as slaves to the law, being taught that “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” So what was it like for the non-Jewish peoples who were not directly given the Old Testament law – the Greeks, Romans and other Gentiles? For the Gentiles, the stereotypes of their time were “the elementary principles of the world.” In other words, even in New Testament times, there were stereotypes in the world, such as “Greeks should live this way,” “’Romans should live this way,” “free people should live this way,” “slaves should live this way,” “men should live this way” and “women should live this way.” These were “the elementary principles of the world” for the Gentiles, and they lived bound by such principles. Christ came to the world to deliver the people of the world from slavery to such “elementary principles of the world.”

At the beginning of today’s sermon, I mentioned that there are gender stereotypes that also bind the people of Japan today. This is probably one of “the elementary principles of the world” that enslave the people of Japan today. And there are other “elementary principles of the world” that enslave the people of Japan. For example, one of them is that it is natural for Japanese people to worship at shrines. As I have said many times before, worshiping at shrines is an act of worshipping idols, but it seems that some Christians are bound by “the elementary principles of the world” of worshiping at shrines. This is very unfortunate. Let us remember that Christ came into the world to deliver us from slavery to such “elementary principles of the world.”