Galatians Study Part Six: 3:1-9
NLT: “Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?
“5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. 6 In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” 7 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.
“8 What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would declare the Gentiles to be righteous because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.”
NASB: “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
“6 Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. 7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. 8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.”
As we progress into the letter Paul wrote to believers in Galatia, keep in mind that what prompted him to write was that the gospel was being perverted and some believers were turning to follow a different one. When we add to the gospel any list of things which must be done in order to be saved, we set aside the grace of God and are teaching a gospel void of the potential to save anyone. It is slavery. It will take away your freedom in Christ Jesus.
After Paul shares his background and a couple of other incidents where people were trying to add rule following to the gospel, in this chapter Paul nails it down. I imagine that when this was first read, it may have been somewhat shocking. Paul asks who bewitched them, who cast a spell on them, in order for them to turn from the gospel of faith in Christ Jesus that he had delivered. He did not candy coat their situation. Think about it. How would you have reacted, if while in your unhealthy church, you received such a letter?
Consider the questions Paul poses. They boil down to one thought: Does God do things for and through us because we believe or because we observe the law? Do we attain our goal through our human efforts? I believe if Paul were here today, he would be writing similar letters, asking if God healed someone because they dressed according to church rules or if they received God’s Spirit because they tithed. The list could go on and on.
Verse three brings the issue home, “How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?” This is what unhealthy churches and ministers do to people. They turn their focus from God and the Holy Spirit to themselves, what they might accomplish by what they do or do not do. This is another gospel.
After this, Paul brings up Abraham. He points out that because Abraham believed God, it was credited to him as righteousness. It was not through the law. (See Genesis 15:6) Faith and belief are emphasized in chapter three and mentioned more than a dozen times.
It wasn’t because of any works Abraham performed that God counted him as righteous. Leaving his land, offering Isaac, tithing on the spoils of a war and being circumcised did not accomplish this. It was his faith and belief in God. If we believe God, we are counted as righteous, just as Abraham was, and we are considered his children.
It would be good to read Romans 4 through the beginning of 5 as it goes along with what Paul is teaching in Galatians. This walk with God is all about faith and belief. (You will also see these mentioned more than a dozen times in Romans 4.) It also goes into the circumcision issue, which is pertinent to what was happening in Galatia.
If we want to be reckoned as righteous in the sight of God, it will only come through our believing God and placing our faith in him.
********
Shop at our Amazon store! As an Amazon Influencer, this website earns from qualifying purchases.
