SSL 3 - Galatians 3:1-14
Last week: In Gal. 2:11-21 we heard Paul's public rebuke of Peter for siding with converted Jews who insisted that, in addition to faith in Christ, Gentile believers should follow the Mosaic Law, plus his argument of how faith in Jesus is a fulfillment of the Law. Here are two major points of application from the lesson: 1. Paul's rebuke of Peter in this lesson should teach us that doctrinal error can be implied by our behavior-show us to be hypocrites. Peter had no idea he was, in effect, denying the Gospel. He did it, not by his spoken statements, but by setting himself apart from the Gentile believers and thereby implying that they needed to keep the Law in order to be righteous. By doing this, acting with obvious hypocrisy, he compromised his Christian witness with Gentiles. 2. As Christians, this lesson shows us that we should expect to be tested on those very points which we believe most emphatically and advocate without exception. What happened to Peter can happen to any one of us under testing. You've all heard the cliché, "talking the talk but not walking the walk," but there is a lot of truth in that statement. As Christians, we must constantly guard both our speech and our behavior.
This Week: The Galatians struggled with a basic question: How are we justified-made righteous-before a holy God? Because they had been misled and confused by false teaching, they erroneously believed they were justified before God based on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, together with a day by day effort to keep the Mosaic Law. To correct this, in Chap. 1, Paul began by sharing his own experiences of how he, a devout Jew, received Christ by faith alone, not faith plus the law, then in Chap. 2, how and why he confronted Peter, when, under pressure from Jews, Peter fell into the same error by displaying a prejudiced attitude toward the Gentile believers at Antioch. In today's lesson, we will see Paul turn his attention to the experience of the Galatian Christians themselves.
Read Gal. 3:1-5 - BY LAW OR BY THE SPIRIT?
1 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 the flesh? 4 Did you suffer 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-
v. 1a: "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?" - The Greek word for "foolish," anoetos, literally means the opposite of wisdom. Paul, isn't saying they are stupid but being naïve and using poor judgment, i.e., they should know better. Using a term for pagan magic, "bewitched," Paul says they are acting as if some kind of "spell" has been cast over them, confusing their thinking somehow.
v. 1b: "It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified" - Here, Paul doesn't mean that they literally saw Jesus' crucifixion. After all, hundreds, maybe thousands, saw Jesus dying on the cross, and they mocked him. What he's saying is that his portrayal of the Gospel to them was so vivid and clear that it was as if they had been there themselves.
v. 2: "Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?" - With this rhetorical question, Paul shows them that, by adopting the false teaching of the Judaizers, they have departed from the principle of faith under which they became believers in the first place. The phrase "receive the Spirit," refers to a one-time event which occurs the moment you confess Jesus as Savior and Lord. So they, Gentiles who had not been under the Law, received the Spirit at the moment of salvation by hearing and faith. This was a fact they could not dispute.
v. 3: "Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" - The Galatians had been tricked into the idea that spiritual maturity or sanctification had to be achieved through the works of the law rather than continued simple faith in Christ. By this, Paul illustrates the fundamental difference between the principles of law and of grace: (1) under the Law, a person achieved blessings by earning and deserving them; (2) under grace, a Christian receives blessings by simply believing and receiving them.
v. 4: "Did you suffer so many things in vain-if indeed it was in vain?" - Apparently the Galatians had been persecuted for their faith, perhaps even while Paul was still among them, and possibly by Jews who were opposed to the spread of the Gospel. (Recall the riot incited against Paul by the Jews in Lystra reported in Acts 14:19-23.) The Judaizers had evidently taught them that their suffering was a consequence of not keeping the law. Paul, completely contrary to that, had previously taught and warned these Galatians (and other new believers) that suffering for the sake of Christ was an inescapable part of the Christian life. The point he makes is that such suffering is to no purpose for a believers who abandons grace to put themselves under the Law.
v. 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-" - Just as in v. 2, where Paul mentions the Holy Spirit's work at the moment of salvation, he now talks about the Spirit's ongoing, day-to-day work in the life of a believer. Paul reminds them that, even though he had departed from them to minister the Gospel elsewhere, the Holy Spirit was still present with them and still working miracles in their midst. The point he makes here is receiving the Spirit "by hearing with faith" isn't just the beginning of the Christian life but the way of continuing it from day to day, all through one's life.
TRUTH 1: As Christians, receiving the Spirit "by hearing with faith" isn't just the beginning of the Christian life but the way of continuing it from day to day, through one's entire life. Paul clearly showed this in vv. 1-3 by illustrating the fundamental differences between the principles of OT Law and NT grace: (1) under the Law, a person achieved blessings by earning and deserving them; (2) but under grace, a Christian receives blessings by simply believing and receiving them. And just as Paul mentions the Holy Spirit's work at the moment of salvation, he showed us in v. 5 that the Spirit's remains in us as an ongoing, day-to-day work in the life of a believer.
Read Gal. 3:6-9 - THE FATHER OF 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 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.
v. 6: "just as Abraham 'believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness'?" - Starting in this verse, Paul anticipated the expected Judaizer argument that the Gospel preached by Paul was a radical departure from OT Scripture and from the "faith of their fathers," like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Because Abraham was the first to be identified in Scripture as saved by faith, Paul, quoting Gen. 15:16, uses this fact to show the Galatians that the principle of faith wasn't new at all, but as old as God's very early dealings with men. The point Paul was making is that Abraham was justified on the basis of his "hearing of faith," just like them.
v. 7: "Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham" - While the Judaizers claimed that their biological descent from Abraham was the basis of their acceptance and blessing by God, Paul countered this position by explaining that it is faith, not biological descent, which determines a person as "son of Abraham." God promised Abraham that all the nations would be blessed through him (Gen. 12:2; 22:18), which, by extension, obviously includes Gentiles like them.
vv. 8-9: "And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify 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" - Here, Paul reminds his readers that God promised Abraham that all the nations would be blessed through him (Gen. 12:2; 22:18), which, by extension, obviously includes Gentiles like them. By saying this, Pauls shows that the Judaizers apparently overlooked the fact the Abrahamic gave hope to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. So the Gospel was not new, nor was the principle of salvation by faith. It could be seen as far back as the Abrahamic covenant, and once again, the Judaizers were dead wrong.
TRUTH 2: This lesson teaches us that salvation by faith isn't a new idea but an OT principle that goes all the back to God's call of Abraham. Because Abraham was the first to be identified in Scripture as saved by faith, Paul, quoted Gen. 15:16 to show us that the principle of faith wasn't new at all, but as old as God's very early dealings with men. The point Paul established is that Abraham was justified on the basis of his "hearing of faith," just like all of us.
Read Gal. 3:10-14 - THE CURSE OF THE LAW
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."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 through faith.
v. 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" - Here, contrary to the false claims of the Judaizers, Paul, quoting Deut. 27:26, boldly declares that the Law is not the way to earn favor with God; in fact, it functions in the reverse way, since all people fall short of its demands. He explains that if the law is your standard, then you are under a curse. While the Law can point out where you failed, it cannot make you righteous-that was not its purpose. Therefore, if you are under the Law, you will be under its condemnation.
vv. 11-12: "Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith."12 But the law is not of faith, rather "The one who does them shall live by them." - Having established that anyone under the Law is under condemnation, Paul, quotes Hab. 2:4 to make the conclusion that you can only be made righteous by faith. In v. 12, he established that the two approaches are contradictory: Law-keeping, because it's not based on faith, cannot earn God's favor or save anyone. A good effort under the Law simply isn't good enough-never earns righteousness.
vv.12-13: "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 through faith" - Having conclusively established that the Law cannot save you, Paul declares the Good News that God has provided a solution to our dilemma: the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross. Quoting Deut. 21:23, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree," Paul shows that Jesus became the curse (of the Law) on our behalf, stood in our place, and took the curse we deserved. In answer to the question, "Why did Christ do this,?" Paul explained it was done so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, "so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith." The final point here is that the blessing comes by faith rather than the Law. Christ removed humanity from the curse of the law (by fulfilling for us) so that salvation could be given to Jew and Gentile alike through faith in Christ, by which we receive the Spirit and the guarantee of eternal life.
TRUTH 3: Before Almighty God, a person can only be made righteous by faith. Law-keeping (or works), because it's not based on faith, cannot earn God's favor or save anyone. A merit-based system based on works (or law) to earn your way into heaven is never good enough. The Good News is that God has provided a solution to our dilemma: the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross. Christ removed humanity from the curse of the law ([or works} by fulfilling for us) so that salvation could be given to Jew and Gentile alike through faith in Christ, by which we receive the Spirit and the guarantee of eternal life.
