Hearing with faith (3:2–5)

Says The one question of 3:2 is ἐξ ἔργων νόμου τὸ πνεῦμα ἐλάβετε ἢ ἐξ ἀκοῆς πίστεως; (ex ergōn nomou to pneuma elabete ē ex akoēs pisteōs) Abbott-Smith gives ἀκοή as “hearing, the sense of hearing” and also as “a thing heard, i.e., a message, teaching”, The same phrase ἐξ ἀκοῆς πίστεως stands in 3:5, where the BSB has “because you hear and believe” against “by hearing with faith” in 3:2.

Says In 3:3, ἐναρξάμενοι πνεύματι νῦν σαρκὶ ἐπιτελεῖσθε; (enarxamenoi pneumati nyn sarki epiteleisthe) contrasts ἐνάρχομαι, “to begin, make a beginning”, with ἐπιτελέω, middle “to complete for oneself, make an end”. In 3:4 τοσαῦτα ἐπάθετε εἰκῇ; (tosauta epathete eikē) uses εἰκῇ, “vainly, fruitlessly, to no purpose”. In 3:5 God is ὁ οὖν ἐπιχορηγῶν ὑμῖν τὸ πνεῦμα (ἐπιχορηγέω, “to supply, provide”), and the BSB’s “because you practice the law” renders ἐξ ἔργων νόμου, the phrase of 3:2.

Implies Set side by side twice, the two phrases ask on which ground the Spirit was given; “Spirit” and “flesh” in 3:3 carry the same contrast.

Uncertain Whether ἀκοή here means the act of hearing or the message heard, and what “works of the law” are, the verses do not define (see the note on 2:15–16). No lean is taken here.