Paul’s Offer of Spiritual Sacrifice Demonstrates the Extent
of His Love for His Own People

For I could wish myself to be accursed from Christ for my brothers my kin according to (the) flesh,

The focus of this exegetical examination truly begins and ends with verse three.  One finds in this verse a verb which must be identified and examined, an infinitive phrase and five nouns; however, this verse also can be seen as revolving around two small prepositions – ajpo and uJpe;r.  For it is through these two prepositions that one is able to see what Paul is willing to relinquish and for whom he is willing to sacrifice.  However, one must complete the structural analysis of the verse before one is allowed to examine the meaning of it.

For as mentioned previously, this passage and this verse in particular would have brought the parallel offer of Moses’ sacrifice to the minds of many Jewish people.  F. F. Bruce, however, points out that Paul was willing to “welcome perdition” while Moses was only willing to die for his people.1  This welcoming of perdition, and all the suffering entailed with it, should eliminate the lingering vestiges of thought that Paul advocated a concept of dual covenantalism – the idea that Gentiles are saved through Jesus and the Jews through the laws of Moses – yet, and unfortunately, this aberrant theology still exists.2

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