Galatians 3 English Standard Version
Anglicised (ESVUK)
By Faith, or by Works
of the Law?
3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It
was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as
crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the
Spirit by 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[a] the flesh? 4 Did you suffer[b] so many things in vain—if indeed
it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works
miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and
it was counted to him as righteousness”?
7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the
sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would
justify[c] the Gentiles by faith, preached
the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be
blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along
with Abraham, the man of faith.
The Righteous Shall
Live by Faith
10 For all who rely on works of the law are under
a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all
things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is
justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”[d] 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The
one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse
of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is
everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of
Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the
promised Spirit[e] through faith.
The Law and the
Promise
15 To give a human example, brothers:[f] even with a man-made covenant, no
one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now the promises were made to
Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings”, referring
to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring”, who is Christ.17 This is what I mean: the law, which
came 430 years afterwards, does not annul a covenant previously ratified
by God, so as to make the promise void.18 For if the inheritance comes by the
law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
19 Why then the law? It was added because of
transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had
been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. 20 Now an intermediary implies more
than one, but God is one.
21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God?
Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then
righteousness would indeed be by the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything
under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to
those who believe.
23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under
the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian
until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no
longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God,
through faith. 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[g]nor free, there is no male and
female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are
Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.
The
IVP New Testament Commentary Series
New
Spiritual Relationships in Christ (3:26-27)
In the old set of relationships under the law, Jews
were the children of God and Gentiles were sinners (see 2:15). But now Gentile
Christians are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. This must have
been a shocking declaration for a Jew to hear. In Jewish literature, sons of
God was a title of highest honour, used only for "the members of righteous
Israel, destined to inherit the eschatological blessings" (Byrne
1979:174). But now Gentiles—the rejected, the outsiders, the sinners, those who
do not observe the law—are called sons of God. Indeed this is a "new
creation" (6:15).
How could a Gentile ever be called a child of God?
Paul's answer is clear—through faith in Christ Jesus (v. 26). Since Christ
Jesus is the "Son of God" (2:20), all who by faith are in Christ are
also sons of God.
The next verse points to the basis for the new
spiritual relationship depicted by this title, sons of God: they are children
of God because they have been united with Christ in baptism and, as a result,
clothed with Christ. In the light of his repeated emphasis on faith in this
context, Paul cannot possibly mean that the ritual of baptism by itself, apart
from faith, would accomplish union with Christ. Only when there is genuine
faith in Christ is baptism a sign of union with Christ.
Paul is
reminding the Galatian Christians of their baptism in order to renew their
sense of belonging to Christ. That ceremony of initiation into Christ and the
Christian community points to the solid foundation for their new relationship
as children of God. Moreover, their baptism has led to being clothed . . . with
Christ. This metaphor, probably drawn from the ceremony of rerobing after
baptism, pictures the reality of complete identification with Christ. In the
Old Testament there are frequent references to being clothed with
righteousness, salvation, strength and glory (2 Chron 6:41; Job 29:14; Ps
132:9, 16, 18; Prov 31:25; Is 51:9; 52:1; 61:10; Zech 3:3-5). And in other
letters Paul uses this metaphor of putting on clothing to mean taking on the
virtues of Christ (Col 3:12; 1 Thess 5:8).
As baptism
pictures the initial union with Christ by faith, being clothed with Christ
portrays our participation in the moral perfection of Christ by faith. As the
hymnwriter put it, Christians are "dressed in his righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne." That is why Christians can be called
the children of God: in Christ they truly are the members of righteous Israel.
The title sons of God and the two ceremonies of
baptism and being clothed with Christ point to the reality of our new
relationship with God in Christ.
The Bible Panorama
Galatians 3
V 1–9: FOOLISHNESS AND FAITH Paul now tells the Galatians that it is foolish to seek to
be perfected in Christ by keeping Jewish legal observances. We are saved by
faith and indwelt by the Holy Spirit because, like Abraham, we believe and
trust in the promise of God.
V 10–14:
CHRIST WAS CURSED To
attempt to be saved by keeping God’s law and then to fail would mean coming
under the curse of God’s judgement on sin. But Christ has taken our sin and our
curse when He died on the cross in our place. When we trust Him, we are
forgiven, cleansed, and counted as righteous because He has been cursed in our
place. God gives us His Spirit to confirm this. The principle is the same as
that through which Abraham was blessed, namely receiving God’s promise through
faith.
V 15–18: PERMANENCE OF PROMISE Paul stresses that there is only one spiritual seed of
Abraham. It is not to do with Jewish nationality or race, but with trusting
God’s promise. In that sense, Abraham is the father of all who are justified by
faith in God’s promise, whether Jew or Gentile. The arrival of the law, 430
years after the promise to Abraham, cannot annul that fact. In Christ we are
saved through trusting God’s promise.
V 19–25:
LAW IS LEGITIMATE The law
is not intended to make us righteous before God and cannot do so. It is not
against the promises of God, but shows us our sin, so that it leads us to faith
in Christ alone. Righteousness and salvation become ours only in Christ, as we
trust Him, realising that we can do nothing to save ourselves. The law
imprisons us, but faith in Christ sets us free. Just as a tutor would lead an
infant to school for education, the law leads us to Christ for salvation. He is
our mediator.
V 26–29: SONS IN SALVATION Faith in Christ makes us sons of God and, as those who have
believed Him, also Abraham’s spiritual seed. We inherit that ancient promise in
our crucified and living Saviour. So does every other Christian, irrespective
of background, social status or gender.
The Bible
Panorama. Copyright © 2005 Day One Publications.
Yours because of His Grace
Blair Humphreys
Southport,
Merseyside, England
