Galatians 3 verses 1 to 14

 

Galatians 3 verses 1 – 14

O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth crucified among you.  This only would I learn of you.  Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith?  Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit are ye now made perfect by the flesh?  Have ye suffered so many things in vain? If it be yet in vain.  He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit and worketh miracles among you, doth it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?  Even as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness.  Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.  And the scripture forseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying In thee shall all nations be blessed.  So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.  For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse for it is written cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.  But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God it is evident for The just shall live by faith.  And the law is not of faith, but The man that doeth them shall live in them.  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us, for it is written Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree.  That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

 

Earlier today I saw a posting about having little time to read God's word. Sometimes when we set out to spend a period of time reading something happens to interrupt that plan and we end up maybe only reading a few verses of scripture with no time to think through what they mean. Well for me today I started out with my usual writing out of the scripture passage I was looking at and was stopped before I wrote very much. Not so much that I had to leave it there but rather God broke in to my practice and clearly made me think about what I was reading.

 

Yesterday I posted about Hannah Steele's last chapter of her book Living His Story Together. It was on the Holy Spirit. Today as I read Galatians 3 and journaled I realised that this was about the work of the Holy Spirit in the believers lives. Did you know that Paul mentions the Holy Spirit 18 times in the book of Galatians?

 

In his opening words of chapter 3 Paul asks the believers to remember back to the time when they first heard the gospel story which he brought to them. He was present when they accepted and trusted in Christ through the word of God. Now Paul asks - did you receive the Spirit by faith in the word of God or by doing the works of the law? The Judaisers had come in and said they needed more than their faith in Christ. It had to be added to. In other words they needed to follow the law of Moses in addition.

 

Warren Wiersbe points out that it is the Holy Spirit that convicts us of sin - John 16 verses 7 to 11. Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3 that when a sinner believes in Christ he is born in the Spirit. A believer is also baptised by the Spirit so that he becomes a part of the spiritual body of Christ - 1 Corinthians 12 verses 12 to 14. The believer is sealed by the Spirit as a guarantee that he will one day share in the glory of Christ - Ephesians 1 verses 13 and 14. I have a responsibility therefore to the Spirit - to walk, by reading God's word, praying and obeying God's will. It is like a drink of water - constantly drinking for hydration. Nothing needs to be added - walk in the Spirit to grow in the Spirit! What an amazing challenge today!

 

On Thursday I started to read Galatians 3 verses 1 to 14 and posted about the Holy Spirit. I have actually been struggling with making sense of these words and think I have now understood what Paul is saying.

 

Paul sets out 6 arguments to prove that God saves sinners through faith in Christ and not by the works of the law. Today many believe that by doing good works, being charitable and loving people they will somehow be able to get into heaven one day. This is a works based religion and scripture states that it is by faith in Christ alone that secures our salvation.

 

Paul's first argument is one that I already talked about - the personal argument. Paul reminds his readers that he was there when they first accepted Christ. They realised that Christ had been crucified for their sins - verse 1. At that time the Holy Spirit came into their lives and performed a miracle of grace and power.

 

The second argument Paul demonstrates is from scripture. Paul quotes 6 Old Testament scriptures to prove that salvation is by faith in Christ and not in the works of the law. The Judaizers who had come in to the assemblies wanted to take the believers back into the law so Paul quotes from the law. And since they magnified the place of Abraham in their religion, Paul uses Abraham as one of his witnesses. In verses 6 and 7 Paul quotes Moses to show that God's righteousness was placed to Abraham's account only because he believed God's promise. In the same way when a person believes in Jesus as their own and personal Saviour, their sins are no longer his. The record is wiped clean and the believer cannot be brought into judgment for their sins. Whilst the Jewish people placed great emphasis on Abraham they also believed that because of him they were guaranteed eternal salvation. This is something people still believe today - people will look back to their parents or even grandparents and know they had a personal faith in Christ so assume they will on account of them be saved. Unless a person comes to Christ individually they will never know salvation.

 

In Galatians 3 verses 8 and 9 Paul shows that Jesus' salvation is for the Gentiles as well as Jews - the word "heathen" refers to Gentiles. Paul quotes from Genesis 12 verse 3 and proves that from the very beginning of Abraham's relationship with God the blessing of Abraham's relationship with God, the blessing of salvation was promised to all the nations of the world. God preached the good news to Abraham centuries ago and Paul now brought that same good news to the Galatians. Sinners are justified not by keeping the law but through faith. The true "children of Abraham" are not the Jews by physical descent but Jews and Gentiles who have believed in Jesus Christ. If you read again the covenant God made with Abraham you will discover that there are many different blessings promised - some personal, some national and political but also some were universal and spiritual. God did not make Abraham's name great among Jews but also among Christians, Muslims and many others. God did multiply his descendants and God did bless those who blessed Abraham. He also judged those who cursed his descendants - for instance Egypt, Babylon and Rome. But the greatest blessings that God sent through Abraham and the Jewish nation have to do with our eternal salvation. Jesus Christ is that promised "seed" through whom all the nations have been blessed.

 

In verses 10 to 12 we can see that this salvation is by faith not the law. Paul now quotes from Deuteronomy 27 verse 26. The law demands obedience and this means obedience in all things. Paul next quotes from Habakkuk "the just shall live by faith." Nobody could ever live "by law" because the law kills and shows the sinner he is guilty before God. Some might argue that it takes faith to obey the law so Paul quotes from Leviticus to prove that it is doing the law not believing it that God requires. Paul wants them to enjoy a relationship of love and life not be bound up in legal works. In verses 13 and 14 Paul shows once more that salvation comes through Christ.

 

As I look again at Galatians 3 verses 13 and 14, Paul shows that salvation comes through Christ. Paul basically is asking his readers ... Does the law put sinners under a curse? Then Christ has redeemed us from that curse! Do you want the blessing of Abraham? It comes through Christ! Do you want the gift of the Spirit but you are a Gentile? This gift is given through Christ to the Gentiles - all you need is Christ! There is no reason to go back to Moses. Paul quotes Deuteronomy again - "He that is hanged is accursed of God" (chapter 21 verses 33). The Jews did not crucify criminals, they stoned them to death. But in cases of shameful violation of the law the body was hung on a tree and exposed for all to see. This was a great humiliation because the Jewish people were very careful in their treatment of a dead body. After the body had been exposed for a time it was taken down and buried. Of course Paul's reference to a "tree" relates to the cross on which Jesus died. He was not stoned and then his dead body exposed; he was nailed alive to a tree and left there to die. But by dying on the cross Jesus Christ bore the curse of the law for us; so that now the believer is no longer under the law and its awful curse. "The blessing of Abraham (justification by faith and the gift of the Spirit) is now ours through faith in Jesus Christ." Notice the word "redeemed" in verse 13 which speaks of a purchase particularly of a slave for the purpose of setting him free. It is possible to purchase a slave and keep him as a slave but this is not what Christ did. By shedding his blood on the cross he purchased us that we might be set free. The Judaizers wanted to lead the Christians into slavery but Christ died to set us free. Salvation is not exchanging on form of bondage for another. Salvation is being set free from the bondage of sin and the law into the liberty of God's grace through Christ.

 

As I read Galatians 3 and thought about the Judaisers who tried to convince the Galatian believers that the way of the law was better than the way of grace, I thought ... well not much has changed today. So many want to be religious, observe rituals, ceremonies and even fasting. In doing these things they believe they are obeying the doctrines of faith. They are in fact setting up a system that satisfies the senses, they are measuring and comparing themselves with others. It is all legalism. I was challenged by how I need to measure myself with Christ and not with other Christians. There is no room for pride in my spiritual walk. I need to live and rest on grace alone - it is not about my achievements, in for instance how often I attend church or follow the rituals of my church or even pray and fast. I have been saved by grace through faith and I therefore must live by grace through faith. This is the only way to blessing - not bondage! What a challenge.