The Epistle to the Galatians
Chapter 3

1. O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? ² This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? ⁴ Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?

The Apostle Paul is speaking out boldly to the Galatians - both the Jewish and Gentile believers out of deep concern to be so brasen to call them foolish.  For these Jewish believers to perverse the Gospel to persuade the Gentile believers that to grow in their faith, they must follow the Jewish law.  It has appeared to the apostle that they have come under a spell or demonic control for them to be so bewitched to not believe the truths of the Gospel.  After all, the Apostle Paul clearly preached the Gospel to them - Christ crucified for their sins, so then, why are they believing these Jewish believers who have perverted grace to say they must follow Jewish law to be saved and grow in their faith.  Christ has released anyone from the law.  This curse must be broken.

The apostle preached a clear gospel to them when he was there instructing them in the truth.  In his writings here, he again is taking them back to the cross, reminding them what Jesus has done for them.  They simply received Him in faith, and through faith, God gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit to dwell within them.  Paul is trying to break the spell these perversive Judiazers had over these new Gentile believers.  He asks them this question:  "Did you receive the Spirit by observing the Law, or believing what I told you regarding Christ?"  He takes them back to the roots of their spiritual experience to remind them that when they received Christ, they received the gift of God's Spirit within them.  They did not have to obey the Law - oral - or written.  They were free from the law.  They have been saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  

 Eph 2:8-9  For by grace are you saved through faith; it is not of works,
but a gift of God, lest any man should boast.

They did not, and do not have to be circumcized or follow the traditions of the Law to maintain their salvation.  This is a perversion of the Gospel.  If Paul were to use the language of today, he may say something like this: "Don't be an idiot!  You do not have to become a Jewish convert to become a Christian.  You do not have to follow all those Jewish traditions of the Oral Law.   If they, meaning these Judaizers choose to continue to follow the Jewish traditions of the Law, which is their choice - this has nothing to do with salvation in Jesus Christ.  Faith in Christ for salvation has nothing to do with obedience to the Law.  In fact, Jesus came to fulfill the Law, in that all sacrifices given for sin, Jesus fulfilled by becoming our sacrifice for our sins on the cross of Calvary.  Their persuasive teaching is a perversion of the truth - it is false teaching.  "What you began in the Spirit, don't turn it into a religion of works.  Do not believe them."  You do not have to try to follow the Law in order to be saved.

Personal Application:  Is it any different today?  How many Christians think their Church (or denomination) is the only true church, and if anyone worships and serves Christ differently than them, they are wrong.  This is "religion" and is no different than the Jewish believers who chose to continue to follow the Law after they believed in Christ and was insisting that every other believer believe and practice the same way as them.  

We come to the Lord as scripture tells us - belief and trust in Who Jesus is and what He has done for us.  While various denomination, groups and cultures of believers serve Christ in different ways, this is a matter of choice as long as it supports and does not violate Scripture.  God does not want us to be religious, but to have a deepening and continuing relationship with Him through Jesus Christ our Lord.  You received Christ through faith, and through faith you will grow in Him. 

Christianity is never a religion of works in an attempt to please God and to receive His blessings.  We have been saved, and serve God, by grace through faith in Him - not any works or obedience to any law.  Anything we do for Christ is never meant to try to gain God's favor.  

These believers came to Jesus by faith in Who He is, and what He has done for them - all apart from the Law.  So then, he say:  Why when you came to Christ in the Spirit, how is it you want to go back to the Law to grow in Him?  Is the faith you have in Jesus all for nothing?  Is what I taught you all for naught?  Come on now - think about it.  Do you really want to follow the obedience of the Law?"

Eph 2:10  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Abraham  believed 

⁵ Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— ⁶ just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” ⁷ Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. ⁸ And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” ⁹ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

The Apostle Paul brings out a real truth here regarding the importance of faith and not works.  He first raises the question:  "He who supplies the Holy Spirit to you, as well as works miracles among you, was it done by the works of the Law or by the hearing of faith?"  Of course, the answer is it is done by faith in God.  It has nothing to do with the works of the Law.  In the same way, Abraham, who was before the Law, believed God.  And because he believed God, God considered him righteous.

Just to re-emphasize here:  We are saved by grace simply through our faith.  Nothing more and nothing less.  When we come to believe, God so lovingly places the Holy Spirit within our hearts to teach us how to live.  While the Written Law (Ten Commandments) were given to the Israelites as a compass as to how they needed to live, the Holy Spirit within believers also becomes our compass on how to live a fulfilling righteous life that is pleasing to God as well.  The Holy Spirit, however, doesn't demand righteousness, but is there to convict us of sin when we miss the mark on the compass of our life.  

The apostle is emphasizing that those who are of faith, and not the Law and the true sons of Abraham.  What a slam that was to the Jews (believers or orthodox), because the Jews claim Abraham to be the father of faith to them.  And now, the apostle is saying to these Gentile believers that if they are of faith, they are the sons of Abraham. 

Verse 8 tells us that God, looking down the corridors of time, knew that the Gentiles would be coming to Christ, but not by the works of the Law, but through faith.  As such, God preached to Abraham telling him that in him, all the nations would be blessed.  Little did the Jews know that when God told Abraham that all the nations through him would be blessed would mean that God so loved the world in that even the Gentiles around the world could come to Christ.  In that, all the nations through him would be blessed.  All those who would believe, whether Jew or Gentile, as long as they are of faith, are blessed with the blessings of Abraham.

Looking at Abraham's life, we read in Genesis 12 that he was well respected by those around him, he was a righteous man in God, he had great wealth, and lived a good and prosperous life.  God covenanted with him, prophesying that all nations would be blessed because of him.  Because we have been given the promises of Abraham, these promises can be ours as well.

The Law Brings a Curse

¹⁰ For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” ¹¹ But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” ¹² Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”

For those Jewish believers who have chosen to put themselves under the obedience of the Law, there is a curse that goes with being disobedient to the Law because nobody can obey the law all the time.  "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law and do them.  Disobedience to even one law constitutes disobedience to the whole law.  For those having faith in Christ, they are, in the eyes of God, freed from the law - justified because the just (true believers) shall live by faith in Christ Jesus.  Christians cannot be under the curse of the Law.

¹³ Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), ¹⁴ that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

When Jesus Christ lay dying on the cross, God laid upon Him all the sins of the world, and He became sin for mankind.  He was a sinless man, for He was God in human flesh, but every sin of mankind was transferred to Him while He laid on the cross.  He became the final and complete sacrifice for our sins.  In that, He was banished from the presence of God for sin cannot exist in God's presence.  Jesus knew when that time had come because He cried out, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me."  He felt the presence of God leave Him, and He felt forsaken by His heavenly Father.  He died, as that sacrifice, carrying the sins of the world upon Him (I Pet 2:24).

The Changeless Promise

¹⁵ Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. ¹⁶ Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. ¹⁷ And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

Speaking to them as brothers and sisters in Christ, the apostle spoke of the importance of covenants.  The Jews took covenants very seriously - one that they would stake their life upon.  Once a covenant was made, it was binding even unto death.  Nothing could be added or nothing could be taken away.  God made a covenant with Abraham, and it was binding.  All the promises given by God to Abraham would come true because God never lies, and He fulfills everything He says He will fulfill.

The seed of Abraham eventually became Christ, and in Christ was the promise made unto Abraham.  Even though 430 years had taken place from the time of Abraham's death until the freeing of the Israelites from Egypt, and the setting up of the Law, we need to remember the purpose of the Law.  Abraham had begat Isaac and Isaac had begat Jacob.  God changed Jacob's name to Israel.  It was during this timeframe that the twelve sons of Jacob (Israel) went to Egypt to avoid a famine, and there they stayed for 400 years, becoming slaves of the Egyptian people.  Eventually, they became known as the Israelites, meaning the sons of Jacob (or Israel).  They entered into Egypt as a family of 70 and left 400 years later as a nation of two million plus people.   While living in a pagan nation, with idol worship and the practices that come with it, the Israelites left their faith in God.  When God freed the Israelites through the leading of Moses, the Israelites did not know their God, and God needed to bring His people back to their covenant and relationship with Him.  Thus came the setting up of the Law under Moses, which was meant to be a teacher to teach God's people how to love God through laws and sacrifices to bring the Israelites back into a right relationship with their God.  It was never meant to replace faith; however, the laws became a covenant religion of Moses instead of a covenant faith as it was between God and Abraham.  For the next 1500 the Israelites depended upon the Law of Moses and various oral traditions  instead of the faith that Abraham had with God.  

Purpose of the Law

¹⁹ What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. ²⁰ Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.

If the inheritance of Abraham was not by the Law, but by promise as a free gift, why then was the Law given?  It was added because of transgressions - sin - particularly the sin of idolatry and its practices.  Egypt and all its surrounding nations were pagan nations involving idolatry, meaning it was the customs of the nations of the known world which temples were built, animal sacrifices were given and priests were appointed.  When God sent Moses to bring two million plus Israelites out of Egypt, it was beyond the strength of human nature to instantly change them from idol worshipers of their pagan gods to developing an intimate relationship with an invisible God.  Instead, God took what was familiar to them and changed the pagan gods to Almighty God.  Outward worship through sacrifices and the priesthood was instituted to line up with what they were familiar with to pull the Israelites away from the pagan gods and turn their eyes to Almighty God with the intent that they might abstain from idolatry.  It was important that God separated His people - the Israelites from all other nations.  In addition, we must remember that the Israelites had came out of a lifetime of slavery where they only knew rules which had to be obeyed.  As such, the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) were given to them by God, along with the 613 ordinances which were given by Moses to the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness.  As such, the Law was transitional, being a teacher to bring the Israelites back into a right relationship with Almighty God.  And then lastly, the Law was a tutor or teacher to bring His people to the Lord.

Moses was appointed by God to act the part of a mediator between him and the Israelites.  A time would come when Christ would come down from heaven as the fulfilled sacrifice for the sins of mankind, opening up for mankind to have that intimate relationship with God in the same way that Abraham had with God (Col 2:14).  Then Jesus would become the mediator between God and man.  This time, the addition of the indwelling Holy Spirit was given to be the teacher and guide instead of the Decalogue.  

²¹ Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. ²² But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. ²³ But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. ²⁴ Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

The Law did not violate the promises of God - it supported it.  The Law never pretended to give life and righteousness to God's people, but the Law pointed to Christ, which through faith could come life and righteousness.   So then, there is no opposition between the Law and the promise. Righteousness can only come through the promise to Abraham, and through its fulfilment in the Gospel of grace. The Law was a transitional time to be used as a teacher and guide to lead the people into a right relationship with God.The Law, however, was not faith in God, but a tool to bring one into faith in God. 

Sandwiched in between the faith of Abraham and faith in Christ Jesus was the Law.  Once man could come to God through faith in Christ, there was no need for the Law which was simply a tutor or teacher to bring His people to Christ.  Once one comes to believe in Christ, the indwelling Holy Spirit comes to live within, and the Holy Spirit then becomes the teacher and guide, and revelator of truth. 

Sons and Heirs

²⁶ For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Only through faith in Christ can we now become sons of God.  When we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we were baptized - immersed into Him.  Symbolically, we put on Christ.  For He becomes our life.  It does not matter what our nationality, race, or gender are, we are all one in Christ.  He sees us as all equal in His sight.  As such, we are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promises given to him.  Abraham was well respected, wealthy, and lived a life of prosperity.  Most of all, however, he loved God, having faith in Him, which made him to be righteous in the sight of God.

In addition to the promises we have in Abraham, we have better promises than him because we live under the New Covenant - that being, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit that lives within us.  Abraham did not have that.  We are even more blessed than Abraham.

Heb 8:6  But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

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End Notes

(I)  Biblehub.com  Benson Commentary