GALATIANS 3
OPENS THE CHRISTIAN, LAW, AND LIVING BY FAITH
Verse 1 tells us Paul confronts their BLURRED vision of Jesus and His work for them.
"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?"
Paul tell us that the Galatians struggled with TWO BASIC questions:
1. How are we made right before God?
2. What is our standing before Him?
WHY?
Because of some bad teaching by false different and alternative gospels taught by false brethren they answered those questions wrong.
They thought, "We are made right before God based on what Jesus did for us, and what we do for Him under the Law of Moses."
In correcting this false teaching, Paul first wrote about his own experiences.
PAUL SAYS:
FIRST, Paul came to Jesus by faith alone, not faith plus being under the law in Galatians 1.
SECOND, then Paul wrote about his experience of confronting the apostle Peter when he slipped up under this same error in Galatians 2.
Now, after dealing with his experience, the Apostle Paul deals with the experience of the Galatian Christians themselves.
Just as Paul's experience proved that we stand right before God based on what Jesus did, not based on what do under the law, so will the Galatians' experience prove the same thing.
O foolish Galatians!
These are VERY STRONG words and are well deserved.
Paul is not saying they are morally or mentally deficient (the Greek word "moros" conveys that idea, and was used by Jesus in parables, such as in Matthew 7:26; 25:1-13.
Instead, Paul uses the Greek word "anoetos", which has the idea of someone who can think but fails to use their power of perception.
The principles Paul referred to here are things the Galatians ALREADY KNEW, things they had been taught. The knowledge and understanding were there, but they were NOT using them.
"Bewitched" used here, has the idea that the Galatians are under some type of "spell". Paul does NOT mean this literally, but their thinking is SO clouded and SO unbiblical - that it seems that some kind of spell has been cast over them.
INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, Barclay translates "bewitched" as "put the evil eye on". The ancient Greeks were accustomed to and afraid of the idea that a spell could be cast upon them by an "evil eye."
AND DID YOU KNOW, the "evil eye" was thought to work in the way a serpent could hypnotize its prey with its eyes. Once the victim looked into the "evil eye," a spell could be cast. Therefore, the way to overcome the evil eye was simply NOT to look at it. In using this phrasing, and using the word picture of bewitched, Paul is encouraging the Galatians to keep their eyes always, steadfastly, upon Jesus.
The body of Christ Jesus NEEDS to hear this today.
Look at how easily the church can be and is bewitched today, Amen!
Through the centuries, error after error arises, and we are well able to see some of the errors of the past, but many are blind to the errors of today.
We have renown pastors like Kenneth Copeland, standing in their pulpits saying, "God is the Great I am, and so am I!"
Creflo Dollar told his congregation, "I am equal to God, and so are each of you gods right now!"
T.D. Jakes tells his congregation, "I have taken and I possess the keys of the kingdom of God to get and to give wealth in this life."
Mike Murdock tells his congregation, "I tell God I want a new airplane, and He wants me to be happy, so He gets it for me."
Paula White tells her congregation, "I command my angels. I command them to surround me, to get me what I need and they must obey me."
Jessie Duplantis tells his congregation, "Jesus comes to visit me in my office, and asks my advice for how to deal with lost people in my congregation."
Benny Hinn tells his congregation, "I have the power to heal you. I have the power to curse you. I have and do all that God can do, because I am equal to God."
The pope said this week, "Jesus failed at the cross to complete the work of salvation, I must finish it."
As it was in Paul's day, so it is today. We who study Jesus word, who know the glory, the righteousness, the holiness, and the supreme power of our GREAT I AM, are amazed right along with the apostle Paul.
Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth?
Who has bewitched you that you should not know the truth?
They have ALL forgotten, "Fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom!"
It is wonderful to have a soft, tender, humble, thankful heart before God.
But some peoples' minds are TOO accommodating to wrong, unbiblical ideas, and they do not think things through to see if they really are true or not according to the Bible.
This is a sign of spiritual immaturity, even as a baby will stick anything into its mouth.
Before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified...
Paul wonders how the Galatians could have missed the message, because he certainly made it clear enough to them.
Their vision of Jesus Christ and Him crucified has become cloudy. They no longer see Him and His work on the cross as the center of their Christian lives, now it is Jesus plus what they must do for Him.
When they left the message of Jesus and Him crucified, they left the message Paul preached to them. Paul's preaching was like setting up posters of Jesus all over town - if you saw anything, you saw Jesus.
Paul does not mean that they literally saw the crucifixion of Jesus, or even that they had a spiritual vision of it. He means that the truth of Jesus and Him crucified and the greatness of His work for them was clearly laid out for them, so clearly that they could see it. Actually watching the death of Jesus on the cross might mean nothing.
WHY?
Because hundreds, if not thousands, saw Jesus dying on the cross, and most of them only mocked Him.
Verses 2-3 tells us Paul CONFRONTS their departure from the principle of faith in Jesus Christ alone.
"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? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?"
IN OTHER WORDS...Paul asks the Galatians and us today, "Just tell me this," Paul says. "Did you receive the Holy Spirit through the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?"
Obviously, the Galatians received the Holy Spirit through simple faith. The Holy Spirit is not a "prize" earned through the works of the law.
Can you imagine?
Do we see the "seriousness and the danger" of false gospels and false brethren?
A Gentile is told he must come under the Law of Moses, or God will not bless him, claim him, and save him.
This means he must be circumcised according to the Law of Moses. So he goes in for the operation, and as soon as the cut is made, the Holy Spirit is poured out upon him! Is this how it works? Of course not! We receive the Holy Spirit by faith, not by coming under the works of the law.
Some people think that we need to work for the gift of the Holy Spirit, or earn this gift from God.
The Galatians were deceived into thinking that spiritual growth or maturity could be achieved through the works of the flesh, instead of a continued simple faith and abiding in Jesus and His Word.
And right here, Paul simply and succinctly lays out one of the fundamental differences between the principle of law and the principle of grace.
Under law, we are blessed and grow spiritually by earning and deserving.
Under grace, we are blessed and grow spiritually by believing and receiving.
God deals with you under the covenant of grace.
So, why are you trying to deal with Him on the principle of law?
Do you believe God wants to bless you?
Which is it: by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Are you so foolish?
This is indeed foolishness. This deception is cultivated by Satan to set our Christian life off-track.
If he cannot stop us from being saved by faith, then he will attempt to hinder our blessing and growth and maturity by faith.
And, when the works of the flesh are substituted for faith, self-confidence and pride are the inevitable result.
Verse 4 tells us, Paul asks a question about the past: Was it all for nothing?
"Have you suffered so many things in vain; if indeed it was in vain?"
Apparently, the Galatians had (perhaps when Paul was among them) suffered for the principle of faith (probably at the hands of legalistic Christians). Does their departure from the principle of faith mean that this past suffering was in vain?
And we KNOW that Paul did suffer persecution in this region.
Acts 14 makes it clear that Paul and his companions were persecuted vigorously (Paul even being stoned and left for dead) by the Jews when they were among the cities of Galatia.
Surely some of this persecution spilled over to the Christian congregations Paul left behind in Galatia.
Paul wonders if all the gifts of the Spirit they had received would amount to no lasting value because now they try to walk by law, not by faith.
Verse 5 tells us Paul asks them to examine the source of the Spirit's work.
"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?"
He who supplies the Spirit to you.
Who supplies the Holy Spirit?
Obviously, the Spirit is given as a gift from God.
Does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
God supplies the Holy Spirit in response to faith. Miracles are wrought by faith. Yet the Galatians have been deceived into thinking that real spiritual riches lie in pursuing God through a works relationship.
We notice Paul repeats the phrase from Galatians 3:2, because he wants to emphasize there is a "choice" to be made to the Galatians and to us today.
Which will it be?
Do you believe you will be blessed by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Will you earn and deserve your blessing from God, or will you believe and receive it?
Paul is speaking to those who see "lack" of blessing.
Why?
Not from a lack of devotion, not because they have not earned enough; but because they are not putting their faith, their joyful, confident expectation in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
This speaks to those who are wonderfully blessed.
How?
For them to be proud is to be blind. They have not earned their blessing, why should they take pride in it? All the more they should look to Jesus, and put their expectation in Him.
Paul points them to Abraham: an example of those justified and walking by faith.
Verse 6 tells how Abraham was made righteous before God.
"Just as Abraham "believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."
Among the Galatian Christians, the push towards a works-based relationship with God came from certain Christians who were born as Jews, and who claimed Abraham as their spiritual ancestor. Therefore, Paul uses Abraham as an example of being right before God by faith, not by faith plus works.
Galatians 3:5 ended with a question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit and see miracles among you by the work of the law, or by faith?
Paul assumes the answer, being "Of course we received the Holy Spirit and have seen miracles through faith."
Now Paul will show that it is more than a matter of personal experience; God's work revealed in His Word demonstrates the same truth.
Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness...
Paul quotes here from Genesis 15:6. It simply shows that righteousness was accounted to Abraham because he "believed" God. It was NOT because he performed some work, and certainly NOT because he was circumcised, because the covenant of circumcision had not yet been given.
Genesis 15:1-6 shows that when Abraham put his trust in God, specifically in God's promise to give him children that would eventually bring forth the Messiah, God credited this belief to Abraham's account as righteousness.
There are essentially two types of righteousness...
1. Righteousness we accomplish by our "own" efforts.
2. Righteousness accounted to us by the work of God when we believe.
Since none of us can be good enough to accomplish perfect righteousness, we must have God's righteousness accounted to us by doing just what Abram did: Abraham believed God.
And for those who say true grace and true salvation is only found in the New Testament, this quotation from Genesis 15:6 is one of the "clearest" expressions in the Bible of the truth of salvation by grace, through faith alone.
It is the gospel in the Old Testament, quoted four times in the New Testament (Romans 4:3, Romans 4:9-10, Romans 4:22 and here in Galatians 3:6).
Romans 4:9-10 makes much of the fact this righteousness was accounted to Abraham before he was circumcised (Genesis 17).
So "knowing" Bible history and Bible timelines, helps us to "know" the truth, no one could say Abraham was made righteous because of his obedience or fulfillment of religious law or ritual. The Mosiac law and covenant with Moses had not come yet.
It was faith and faith alone that caused God to account Abraham as righteous.
Accounted to him for righteousness...
Abraham's experience shows that God accounts us as righteous, because of what Jesus did for us, as we receive what He did for us by faith.
If God accounts Abraham as righteous, then that is how Abraham should account himself. That is his standing before God, and God's accounting is not pretending. God does not account to us a pretended righteousness, but a real one in Jesus Christ.
Believed God...
It was not that Abraham believed in God (as we usually speak of believing in God).
Instead, it was that Abraham believed God.
Is there a difference?
James 2:19 tells us that those who only believe in God, in the sense that they believe He exists, are only as spiritual as demons!
AND DID YOU KNOW...
Generally speaking, ancient Rabbis did not really admire Abraham's faith. They believed he was so loved by God because he was thought to have "kept the law" hundreds of year before it was given. For these and other reasons, when Paul brought up Abraham, it would have been a complete surprise to his opponents, who believed that Abraham proved their point.
Verse 7 tells us the "true" sons of Abraham.
"Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham."
Paul is making an important point, and he wants everyone of his readers to understand it.
Only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham...
Since Abraham was made righteous by faith, and not by works, Abraham is therefore the father of everyone who believes God and is accounted righteous.
What a rebuke this was to the Jewish Christians who tried to bring Gentile Christians under the law!
Why?
As we studied in Galatians 2, they believed they were superior, because they descended from Abraham, and observed the law. Paul says that the most important link to Abraham is not the link of genetics, not the link of works, but the link of faith.
This would have been a shocking change of thinking for these particular opponents of Paul.
WHY?
1. They deeply believed that they had a standing before God because they were genetically descended from Abraham.
2. At that time, then and now, some Jewish Rabbis taught that Abraham stood at the gates of Hell, just to make sure that none of his Jewish descendants accidentally slipped by.
3. In Matthew 3:9, John the Baptist, dealt with this same thinking when he said do not think to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father." For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones."
Paul is knocking down their blind reliance on genetic relation to Abraham, and showing that what really matters is faith in Jesus Christ alone to save.
But is it not the same today when people WRONGLY believe and claim God accepts them because they come from a Christian family. God is a Father, not a grandfather; everyone must individually choose him. Every person must have their own faith in God through Jesus Christ alone.
What a comfort this was to the Gentile Christians who were regarded as "second class Christians" by many! Now they could know that they had a REAL, important link to Abraham, and could consider themselves sons of Abraham.
Sadly, Christians have taken this glorious truth and misapplied it through the centuries. This has been a verse that many claim in support of REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY- the idea that God is finished with the people of Israel as a nation or a distinct ethnic group, and that the Church spiritually inherits all the promises made to Israel.
Replacement theology has done tremendous damage in the Church, providing the theological fuel for the fires of horrible persecution of the Jews.
REMEMBER...Romans 11:25 (hardening in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in) states clearly that God is NOT finished with Israel as a nation or a distinct ethnic group. Even though God has turned the focus of His saving mercies away from Israel on to the Gentiles, He will turn it back again. This simple passage REFUTES those who insist that God is forever done with Israel as Israel, and that the Church is the New Israel and inherits every promise ever made to national and ethnic Israel of the Old Testament.
We are reminded of the enduring character of the promises made to national and ethnic Israel (such as Genesis 13:15 and Genesis 17:7-8).
God is not "finished" with Israel, and Israel is not "spiritualized" as the church. While we do see and rejoice in a continuity of God's work throughout all His people through all generations, we still see a distinction between Israel and the Church - a distinction that Paul understands well.
All who put their faith in Jesus Christ are sons of Abraham; but Abraham has his spiritual sons and his genetic sons, and God has a plan and a place for BOTH.
But no one can deny that it is far more important to be a spiritual son of Abraham than a genetic son.
Verses 8-9 tells us this blessing of righteousness by faith is for ALL nations.
"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." So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham."
Paul is speaking from the Scriptures. He has already spoken from his personal experience, and from the experience of the Galatian Christians themselves. But this passage is even more important, because it shows how Paul's teaching is correct according to the Bible itself.
It would have been just fine for Paul's opponents to say, "Experiences are just fine Paul, but show us from the Scriptures."
Paul refers to the Scriptures virtually as a person, who foresees, preaches, and says. This shows just how strongly Paul regarded the Bible as God's word. Paul believed that when the Scriptures speak, God speaks.
Foreseeing that God would justify the nations by faith...
Paul observes that even back in Abraham's day it was clear that this blessing of righteousness by faith was intended for every nation, for Gentiles as well as Jews, because God pronounced "that in you all the nations shall be blessed", in Genesis 12:3.
The intention is to DESTROY the idea that a Gentile must FIRST become a Jew before they can become a Christian. If that were necessary, God would never have said this blessing would extend to every nation, because Gentiles would have had to become part of the Israelite nation to be saved.
The idea is that the gospel goes out to the nations, not that the nations come and assimilate into Israel.
Those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham...
The blessing we receive with believing Abraham is not the blessing of fantastic wealth and power, that SO MANY PROSPERITY PREACHERS FALSELY TEACH, though Abraham was extremely wealthy and powerful. The blessing is something far more precious: the blessing of a right standing with God through faith.
The most important questions to ask is, "Am I of faith?" Do I believe God even as Abraham did? When God says it, do I believe it? Do I live as if I really believe God is true? Can others see that I am trusting God?
Verse 10 tells us the Old Testament tells us that the Law of Moses BRINGS A CURSE.
"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."
Paul is addressing those who think that their law-performance can give them a standing before God.
For as many as are under the works of the law are UNDER THE CURSE...
The Christians from a Jewish background who believed we should still live UNDER the Law of Moses thought that it was a path TO BLESSING. Paul boldly declares that instead of blessing, living under the works of the law puts them under the curse.
It is NOT hard to see how these Christians believed that living under law brought blessing. They could read in the Old Testament many passages that supported this thinking.
Psalm 119:1 says, "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD!"
Psalm 1:1-2 says, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night."
How does the law bring blessing?
FIRST, we must understand that the word "law" is used in TWO senses in the Bible.
1. Sometimes it means "the Law of Moses, with all its commands, which a man must obey to be approved by God."
2. Sometimes it means "God's Word" in a very general sense.
Many times when the Old Testament speaks of the law, it speaks of it in the general sense of God's Word to us.
Psalm 119:97 says, " Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day."
David means MORE than just the Law of Moses. He means ALL of God's Word.
Seeing this, we understand how the Bible is filled with praise for the law.
Secondly, we are blessed when we keep the law because we are living according to the "instruction manual" for life.
There is an inherent, built-in blessing in living the way God says we should live, in fulfilling the "manufacturer's recommendation."
When Paul says that as are under the works of the law are under the curse, he DOES NOT mean that the law is bad or the Word of God is wrong. He simply means that God never intended the law to be the way we find our approval before Him.
GOD KNEW we could NEVER keep the law perfectly from first breath to last breath, and so God instituted the system of atoning sacrifice along with the law. And the entire sacrificial system looked forward to what Jesus would accomplish and fulfill on the cross FOR us.
To prove his point Scripturally, Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 27:26: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them."
The Old Testament itself shows us that if we do NOT keep ALL things in the law, and actually do them PERFECTLY ALL THE TIME, then we are under a curse.
The important words are ALL and DO.
If God would approve you on the basis of the law, you first have to do it.
Not simply know it, not simply love it, not simply teach it, not simply want it, you must do it.
Secondly, you have to do it all. Not some. Not just when you are over 18 or 40. Not just more good than bad.
Deuteronomy 27:26 specifically says that to be justified by the law, you must do it, and do it in all things.
Paul's point is heavy; it weighs us down with a curse. If you are under the works of the law, the only way you can stand approved and blessed before God by the law is to do it, and to do it all. If you do not, you are cursed.
"Cursed" is a word that sounds strange in our ears.
But in the Bible, the idea of being "cursed" is important, and frightening - because we are talking about being cursed by God.
Not only cursed by our own bad choices.
Not only cursed by this wicked world.
Not only cursed by the Devil.
But especially cursed by God. He is the one Person you do NOT want to be cursed by!
Verse 11 tells us the Old Testament tells us that a right standing before God comes by faith, not by the law.
"But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith."
Paul has already proven this point in the Scriptures by examining the life of Abraham (Galatians 3:5-9).
Now he brings in another passage from the Old Testament, Habakkuk 2:4, which reminds us that "The just live by faith, not by law."
The Jews themselves sensed that because none could keep it perfectly, salvation could not come through keeping the law. This is why they placed such emphasis on their descent from Abraham, essentially trusting in Abraham's merits to save them because they sensed that their own merits could not.
This brief statement from the prophet Habakkuk is one of the MOST important, and most quoted Old Testament statements in the New Testament. Paul uses it here to show that the just live by faith, not by law. Being under the law is not the way to be found just before God, only living by faith is.
If you are found to be just - approved - before God, you have done it by a life of faith. If your life is all about living under the law, then God does not find you approved.
Every word in Habakkuk 2:4 is important, and the Lord Jesus quotes it three times in the New Testament just to bring out the fullness of the meaning!
In Romans 1:17, when Paul quotes this same passage from Habakkuk 2:4, the emphasis is on faith: "The just shall live by faith."
In Hebrews 10:38, when the writer to the Hebrews quotes this same passage from Habakkuk 2:4, the emphasis is on live: "The just shall live by faith."
Here in Galatians 3:11, when Paul quotes this passage from Habakkuk 2:4, the emphasis is on just: "The just shall live by faith."
Verse 12 tells us the Old Testament tells us that approval by God through the law must be earned by actually living in obedience to the law, not just trying.
Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does them shall live by them."
Yet the law is not of faith...
Some might come back to Paul and say, "Look, I will do the best I can under the law and let faith cover the rest. God will look at my performance, my effort, and my good intentions and credit to me as righteousness. The important thing is that I am really trying."
Paul proves from the Old Testament itself that this simply is not good enough. No; the paths of approval by the law and faith do not run together, because the law is NOT of faith.
The man who does them shall live by them...
This quote from Leviticus 18:5 is clear. If you want to live by the law, you must do it. Not try to do it, not intend to do it, and not even want to do it. No, it is only the man who does them who shall live by them.
It is very easy to comfort ourselves with our GOOD intentions.
We all mean very well; but if we want to find our place before God by our works under the law, good intentions are NEVER enough. A good effort is not enough. Only actual performance will do.
70% of Americans believe, "God is too good to send anyone to Hell. Of course, we all go to Heaven when we die."
Partially true...Almighty God does NOT send ANYONE to Hell. People CHOOSE an eternity in the Lake of Fire when they REJECT THE PRECIOUS GOODNESS OF A LOVING ALMIGHTY GOD...given to ALL mankind by His Son, Jesus Christ.
This passage from Leviticus 18:5 is another often-quoted principle from the Old Testament.
Nehemiah (Nehemiah 9:29) quoted it in his great prayer for Israel.
The LORD Himself quoted it through the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 20:11, 13, and 21).
Paul also quotes it again in Romans 10:5.
The effect of Paul's use of Scripture in Galatians 3:10-12 is overwhelming.
1. We understand that we do not actually do the law.
2. We understand that we do not actually do all the law.
3. We understand that this put us under a curse.
Galatians 3:10-12 is the BAD news; now Paul begins to explain the GOOD news.
Verses 13-14 tells us Jesus redeems us from the curse of the law.
"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"), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law...
Because we did not actually do it, and do it all, the law put us under a curse. But now Jesus has redeemed us from the curse of the law.
Redeemed is not just rescuing; it is paying a price to rescue. Jesus BOUGHT us out from under the curse of the law.
In Jesus, we are NOT cursed anymore! Galatians 3:10-12 left us all under a curse, but we are not cursed any more because Jesus bought us out from under the curse.
Redemption points to the payment of a price that sets sinners free.
DID YOU KNOW...
Redemption came from the practices of ancient warfare.
After a battle the victors would often capture some of the defeated. Among the defeated, the poorer ones would usually be sold as slaves, but the wealthy and important men, the men who mattered in their own country, would be held to ransom. When the people in their homeland had raised the required price, they would pay it to the victors and the captives would be set free. The process was called "redemption", and the price was called the "ransom".
Most importantly, Jesus bought us out of defeat, out of slavery, and out of a death sentence to reign as kings and priests with Him forever.
How did Jesus do it?
How did He pay a price to rescue us?
Having become a curse for us means that Jesus became cursed on our behalf; He stood in our place and took the curse we deserved.
It stops us in our tracks to understand that the price He paid to buy us out from under the curse of the law was the price of Himself.
It did not just cost Jesus something, even something great - it cost Jesus Himself.
We know that men cursed Jesus as He hung on the cross; but that compares NOTHING to how He was cursed by God the Father. He made Himself the target of the curse, and set those who believe outside the target.
For it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree."
When did Jesus pay this price?
The principle of Deuteronomy 21:23 shows that Jesus received this curse upon Himself as He hung on the cross, fulfilling the Deuteronomy 21:23 promise of a curse to all who are not only executed but have their naked bodies publicly exposed to shame.
Deuteronomy 21:23 also says "his body shall not remain overnight on the tree."
This was a way of tempering even the most severe judgment with mercy. Significantly, Jesus fulfilled this also, being taken down from the cross before night had fully come in John 19:31-33.
Cursed is everyone...
The punishment of being hanged on a tree, and left to open exposure, was thought to be so severe that it was reserved only for those for which is was to be declared: "this one is cursed by God." So Jesus not only died in our place; but He took the place as the cursed of God, being hung on a "tree" in open public, naked, shame and degradation.
That the blessing of Abraham might come...
Jesus received this curse, which we deserved and He did not, so that we could receive the blessing of Abraham, which He deserved and we did not!
It would be enough if Jesus simply took away the curse we deserved. But He did far more than that; He also gave a blessing that we did NOT deserve!
What is the blessing of Abraham?
It is what Paul already described in Galatians 3:8-9, the blessing of being justified before God by faith, instead of works.
Who does the blessing of Abraham come to?
The Gentiles in Christ Jesus.
Paul does NOT mean that it only comes upon Gentiles, as if Jews were excluded, but that it - quite unexpectedly to some - comes upon the Gentiles ALSO, to those Gentiles in Christ Jesus.
The phrase "in Christ Jesus" is important.
The blessing does NOT come because they are Gentiles, any more than the blessing of being right with God comes to Jewish people because they are Jews.
It comes to ALL, Jew and Gentile alike, who are identified IN Christ Jesus, and not by their own attempts to justify themselves.
Because this blessing is ours in Jesus, we receive the promise of the Spirit through faith - not through coming back under the law as the principle for living.
The promise is received, NOT earned.
Verses 15-18 tells us The unchanging nature of God's covenant with Abraham.
"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. 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. 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. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise."
But we should NOT miss the FIRST word of Galatians 3:15:
"Brethren".
As difficult and dangerous as Paul's opponents in Galatia were, they were also his brothers. He confronts them and persuades them as brothers.
In Genesis 22:18, God promised Abraham that in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. Paul observes that the singular for seed is used, not the plural. The point is clear: "And to your Seed," who is Christ. God is referring to one specific descendant of Abraham, NOT ALL his descendants in general.
This covenant and promise was made not only to Abraham, but also to Jesus the Messiah.
So we can not think that it was over-ruled by the covenant God later established with Israel at Sinai.
The unchanging nature of God's covenant with Abraham is an important principle.
HOW?
1. It was a one-sided covenant (Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 15)
2. It was promised forever (Genesis 17:7-8).
3. There is no "if" in Abraham's covenant (Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 15); but there are plenty of "ifs" in the covenant of Moses (Deuteronomy 28).
The Mosaic covenant was a two-sided covenant, with two both parties obligated to uphold it, not a one-sided covenant (Exodus 24:3-8).
This means that it was a promise of:
1. A land (Genesis 12:1; 13:7; 15:18-21).
2. A nation (Genesis 12:2; 13:16; 17:4-6; 22:17).
3. A blessing (Genesis 12:2-3; 22:18) stands eternally to Abraham and his descendants, though spiritually the promise of a blessing comes to every nation through Jesus, by faith.
For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise...
God gave it to Abraham by promise...
The word "gave" here is the Greek word "kecharistai", which is based on the Greek word "charis" - grace.
God's giving to Abraham was the free giving of grace. The word is also in the perfect tense, showing that the gift is permanent.
Through all this, Paul demonstrates again by the Scriptures that the approach to God on the ground of faith (not works or works plus faith) is thoroughly Biblical. In addition, the Law of Moses, even though it came AFTER the covenant with Abraham, it now way overrules it. The approach to God on the ground of faith stands sure, right along with Abraham's covenant.
Verses 19-21 tells us the law was given because of man's transgression.
"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. Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. 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."
What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions.
1. Part of the reason the law was given was to restrain the transgression of men through clearly revealing God's holy standard. God had to give us His standard so we would not destroy ourselves before the Messiah came.
2. But the law is also added because of transgressions in another way; the law also excites man's innate rebellion through revealing a standard, showing us more clearly our need for salvation in Jesus (Romans 7:5-8).
Till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made...
So as the Law was meant to prepare us for the work of the Messiah, it was given till the Seed (Jesus) should come.
It is NOT that the Law of Moses is revoked when Jesus came.
Matthew 5:17 says, "Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Law, not destroy it."
Instead, the Law of Moses is not longer our ground of approaching God.
It was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator...
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
According to ancient traditions - true traditions, according to Paul - the Law was delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai by the hands of angels. Angels were the "go-between" or mediator for Moses when he received the Law from God.
Moses NEEDED a mediator between himself and God, but we do NOT need a mediator between us and Jesus - Jesus IS our mediator. The law was a two-party agreement brought by mediators. Salvation in Jesus by faith is received by a promise.
A promise depends on one person; a mediated agreement depends on two.
The weakness of the law compared to the covenant of Abraham is shown because it depends on two parties, not God alone.
Is the law then against the promises of God?
Certainly not! The law is not something evil, opposing God's promise. The problem with the law is found in its inability to give strength to those who desire to keep it. If the law could have given life, then it could have brought righteousness.
But the Law of Moses brings no life; it simply states the command, tells us to keep it, and tells us the consequences if we break the command.
Verse 22 tells us the picture of our imprisonment under sin.
"But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe."
Paul paints a picture of imprisonment. The bars of the cell are sin, keeping us confined.
The Scripture put us in the prison, because it pointed out our sinful condition. So we sit imprisoned by sin, and the law can not help us, because the law put us in the prison!
Some protest, and say "I am not a prisoner to sin."
There is a simple way to prove it: stop sinning.
But if you can NOT stop sinning, or ever have a record of ANY sin, (be it thought, word, action, or deed) then you are imprisoned by the law of God.
Only faith can break us out of our confinement to sin. The Law of Moses can show us clearly our problem and God's standard, but it can not give us the freedom that only Jesus can give. The freedom is given to those who believe.
Verses 23-25 tells us the Law of Moses is our tutor, a guardian to bring us to Jesus.
"But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor."
BEFORE FAITH CAME...
Before we were saved by faith; before we lived our lives by faith, we were kept under guard by the law. Here, Paul uses a different word and a different idea than when he wrote the Scripture has confined all under sin in the previous verse.
The idea behind confined is imprisonment; the idea behind under guard is protective custody. There is a sense in which we were imprisoned by our own sin under the law; but there is also another sense in which it guarded us in protective custody.
How does the law protect us?
1. It protects us by showing us God's heart.
2. It protects us by showing us the best way to live.
3. It protects us by showing what should be approved and disapproved among men.
4. It protects us by providing a foundation for civil law.
In these ways and more, we were kept under guard by the law.
The Law of Moses prepares us to come to Jesus by the way it reveals God's character and the way it exposes our sin.
Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
The purpose of the Law of Moses is fulfilled when we stop trying to justify ourselves and come to faith in Jesus!
But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor...
Once we have come to a relationship of faith, we no longer have to live under our tutor, though we remember the behavior he has taught us. So we respect our tutor, the law; but we do not live under him. We live under Jesus by faith!
AND DID YOU KNOW...
"Tutor" is not a completely accurate translation of the idea of the ancient Greek word "paidagogos".
The paidagogos did not simply teach a child. More than that, the tutor was the child's guardian, watching over the child and his behavior. The idea is more of a nanny than of a teacher, but since the tutor could discipline the child, the tutor was also the "dean of discipline."
Verses 26-27 tells us By faith, we find our identity with Jesus Christ.
"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ."
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus...
Compared to what was being taught among the Galatians, this was a revolutionary statement.
WHY?
In traditional Jewish thinking (carried into Christianity by Jewish Christians), your standing before God was measured by your obedience to the law. To truly be close to God - considered sons of God - you had to be extremely observant of the law, just as the Scribes and Pharisees were in Matthew 23.
Here, Paul says we can be considered sons of God a completely different way: through faith in Christ Jesus.
1. The standing is impressive.
To be among the sons of God means that we have a special relationship with God as a loving, caring Father. It is a place of closeness, a place of affection, a place of special care and attention.
2. The method is impressive.
To become a son of God through faith in Christ Jesus means much more than believing that He exists or did certain things. It is to put our trust in Him, both for now and eternity.
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ...
Here, using the picture of baptism, Paul illustrates what it means to have faith in Christ Jesus. He does not say we were baptized into water, but baptized into Christ. Just as in water baptism a person is immersed in water, so when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, we are immersed in Jesus.
How many Christians seem content with just "dipping a bit" into Jesus!
God wants us to be fully immersed in Jesus; not sprinkled, not just a part of us dipped.
When a person is immersed in water, you do not even see the person much anymore - you mostly see the water.
When we live as baptized into Christ, you do not see so much of "me" anymore; you mostly see Jesus.
It should be stressed that this is the baptism that really saves us: our immersion into Jesus.
Water baptism does not save. Salvation does NOT depend on water baptism, but we do it to announce publicly that we CHOOSE Jesus.
If a person has been baptized into Christ, then they should follow through and do what Jesus told them to do: receive baptism as a demonstration of their commitment to Jesus told to us in Matthew 28:19-20.
Have put on Christ...
Another way of expressing our immersion in Jesus is to say that we have put on Christ. In the original language, the phrase has the idea of putting on a suit of clothes. So we "clothe ourselves" with Jesus as our identity.
We are NOT simply associated with Jesus; we are identified IN Him.
1. If He is a Son of God, so are we.
2. If He stands righteous before God the Father, so do we.
3. If He has free access to the throne of God, so do we.
4. If He has victory over spiritual powers of darkness, so do we.
We are NOT associated with Jesus; we are IN Jesus.
Verses 28-29 tells us our EQUAL standing with others who come to God through faith.
"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. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
Paul writes, "In Jesus Christ that line is done away with. When we are in Jesus, 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.
The dividing line between Jew and Greek is not the only dividing line erased.
Regarding our standing before God in Jesus, EVERY dividing line is erased! Now that Jesus is our identity, that is more important than any prior identity we possessed. We are all one in Christ Jesus.
BARCLAY tell us, "At that time, the Rabbis quoted a morning prayer that was popular among many Jews of that day. In that prayer, the Jewish man would thank God that he was not born a Gentile, a slave, or a woman."
Paul takes EACH of these categories and shows them to be EQUAL in Jesus.
Paul knew that there was still a difference between Jew and Greek, and his evangelistic approach might differ to each group. There are differences in role and in function, but NONE in standing before God through faith in Jesus.
You are ALL one in Christ Jesus.
Since all Christians belong to Jesus the Messiah, all Christians are spiritual descendants of Abraham and heirs of God. This place of high privilege comes according to the promise, not according to law or works. We are connected with the long line of God's people assembled throughout all the ages!
Paul has reinforced this principle throughout this section by his repeating of the title Christ for Jesus (used 10 times in the last 17 verses). When Paul refers to Jesus as Christ, he emphasizes Jesus' role as the promised Messiah of the Jewish people - and of all the world, as Paul emphasizes.
This IS the issue...If you are Christ's.
The issue is NOT "Are you under the law?"
The issue is NOT "Are you a Jew or a Gentile?"
The issue is NOT "Are you slave or free?"
The issue is NOT "Are you a man or a woman?"
The ONLY issue is if you are Christ's.
If we are Christ's, then …
1. We find our place in eternity, because we are sons and daughters of God.
2. We find our place in society, because we are brothers and sisters in the family of God.
3. We find our place in history, because we are part of God's plan of the ages, related spiritually to Abraham by our faith in Jesus.
- In its height, it connects us to God.
- In its breadth, it connects us with each other in Jesus.
- In its length in connects us with the long line of God's people throughout all ages.
STOTT encapsulates GALATIANS 3 well. "It enables me to answer the most basic of all human questions, 'Who am I?' and to say, 'In Christ I am a son of God. In Christ I am united to all the redeemed people of God, past, present, and future. In Christ I discover my identity. In Christ I find my feet. In Christ I come home."
IN JESUS CHRIST WE ARE SAVED...IN CHRIST JESUS WE ARE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF ALMIGHTY GOD...IN CHRIST JESUS AND ONLY CHRIST JESUS!