Galatians Chapter 3

It’s not easy to read chapter 3 - it feels like reading something a lawyer would write so that it’s easy to get lost in the details. Imagine the Galatian Gentiles, who are barely familiar with the Jewish laws, reading this and imagine how easily they would have been intimidated and confused by the Judaizers.

In chapters 3 and 4, Paul is showing the superiority of the Gospel over Judaism (“Baxter’s Explore the Book” by J.Sidlow Baxter):

• 3:3: Of the Spirit over the flesh.
• 3:2: Of faith over works.
• 3:8 & 11: Of being justified over being held by the law.
• 3:9-10: Blessed over cursed.
• 3:12-14: Of the “promise” in Abraham over the command in Moses.
• 3:16-22: Of the Abrahamic covenant over the Mosaic covenants.
• 3:25-26: Of maturity over tutelage.
• 3:26; 4:6: Of sonship over bondmanship.
• 4:1,3,5: Of adoption and adult-sonship status with its ability to inherit & privilege over legal infancy .
• 4:8,21-31: Of liberty over bondage.

Alfred E. Bouter: “ In this section Paul is asking six questions. The answers are so obvious they are not given.”

Ken Cayce: “In the first two chapters, Paul has argued that his gospel is the true one. Now the question is: “What is Paul’s gospel?” So (in chapters 3 and 4), the apostle defines his gospel. In short, it is that justification (salvation), comes as the result of one’s faith in Christ, not as a result of trying to obey the law. Paul argues this point by appealing to the Galatians’ own experience (3:1-5), to Old Testament Scripture (3:6-14), to the Abrahamic covenant (3:15-18), to the purpose of the law (3:19-29), to the law’s temporary nature (4:1-11), and to allegory (4:21-31).”

Key words: Faith (believe) - 15 times, Abraham, we (our), you.

Verses 1 - 25 are very Jewish oriented exemplified by the words “we”, “us”, “our”, “Abraham” and “Moses”. Then, at verse 26, Paul switches to the second person plural: YOU are all sons of God... all of YOU who were baptized into Christ... YOU are all one in Christ Jesus. Up to that point, he has been describing the Jewish experience of life under the Law because the Judaizers were confusing these Gentiles who were not well schooled in the Law and Jewish traditions.

Key verses:

• 3:7:The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.
• 3:11: … “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” (KJV: …The just shall live by faith.)

(1) 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.

• Foolish:
  • Greek - anoetoi = not understanding. Strong’s Greek # 453.
  • Alfred E. Bouter: “This is a very strong word. It is the same word that the Lord used in speaking to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, when He said to them, ‘Fools, why did you not understand the Scriptures that the Messiah must suffer and that the Scriptures must be fulfilled that way?’ It means a lack of understanding. In modern English, we would say, ‘stupid.’ Senseless is a good translation.”
  • Andrew Wommack: “Paul was making no attempt to be polite. He was making it clear that their actions were insane. At best, legalism is stupid, and at worst, it’s crazy. … He was blasting these people with all he had, leaving no room for compromise. … Paul was saying that anyone who has had a clear presentation of the Gospel of Christ, as these Galatians had, and then turns away from that grace back to works is foolish and deceived by the devil.”
  • Luke 24:25: Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures.
  • Titus 3:3: Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other.
• Had seen:
  • Bob Deffinbaugh: “The Judaizers’ gospel had “bewitched” the Galatians by giving them the “evil eye.” Paul’s preaching had converted them by portraying Christ before their very eyes.”
• His death on the cross:
  • Paul preached JESUS CHRIST crucified.
  • Mike Oppenheimer:
    Why does Islam hate the cross? Is it because they do not believe in sacrifices? No. Because they do not believe that we can have such grace from God that it would exclude doing intense religious duties.

    Why do Mormons twist the scripture to say it wasn’t at the cross that we had our sin dealt with, but in Gethsemane that he suffered. But in Gethsemane he never suffered as much as he did on the cross where all the sins were laid upon him, as the sin bearer he felt the judgment and penalty of sin. At Gethsemane he wrestled over the decision of the cross knowing what it would entail, yet it says it was his joy to go to the cross, not his demise. Mormons simply want to prove their own righteousness by their works.

    Why do Jehovah’s Witnesses hate the cross? Calling it pagan and saying God would never sacrifice his Son on a pagan symbol. But the Romans were pagans; this is what they used to crucify those guilty of heinous crimes. The fact is, no religion has ever recognized the cross. It makes no sense to the natural man that one could suffer in the place of another, take their deserved penalty, serve their sentence, and out of mercy give them His life of freedom and His riches for doing no work on their own.

    To the Jews a suffering Messiah was repulsive, as the Son of Joseph, he was weak. They wanted a conqueror, the ruling King who would overthrow their enemy Rome. They wanted the Son of David or nothing at all.

    Why does Roman Catholicism attempt through the sacraments to obtain what the cross did almost 2,000 years ago? The cross is everywhere one looks in the church, but they do not tell the people that ONLY the cross Christ was on was the final work for their sins. They depend on today’s sacrament of the wafer (a symbol of the true event) as an ongoing sacrifice for their sins.

    Why do law keepers insist like the Judaizer’s did in Paul’s day that we must keep the law as well as live in grace? Because they do understand the deliverance Jesus came to give to those who were under the law, They do not understand that one cannot mix the covenants, that you must decide you are either under law or grace, there is no in - between.

    The cross is hidden to those who think they are wise. It is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are saved by faith we know it is the power of God. The cross became God’s single lane highway to Himself. As Jesus said “I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to Father except by me.” But it was a certain way. It is not just following Him as a good example, someone who has a greater set of ethics and morals. Nor is it following Him as a wonderful teacher or the greatest prophet, or a miracle maker.

  • Galatians 6:14: As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.
  • 1 Corinthians 2:2: For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified.
  • 1 Corinthians 15:1-4: Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before …. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.
  • Colossians 1:20: and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood 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.

• Did you?:
  • A rhetorical question - Paul doesn’t expect a response because the answer should be obvious.
• Receive the Holy Spirit:
  • Dr. Robert Dean: “The seven ministries of the Holy Spirit to the believer:

    1. Common grace. This is the undeserved merit and favour of God toward all mankind, believer and unbeliever alike. Scriptures refer to the fact that God causes the rain to fall on the saved and the unrighteous. In fact, the Word of God is common grace because God provides that so that all man can come eventually to a knowledge of the saving work of Jesus Christ if they are positive to doctrine.

    2. Efficacious grace. This is that grace which is effective towards something. Remember, at the moment of salvation we are spiritually dead and can do nothing. Our faith has value, not because it has value in and of itself. There is only one kind of faith and that is the faith that looks to Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Being spiritually dead whatever we do has no value. So we exercise positive volition at the point of gospel hearing and we put our faith alone in Christ alone. God the Holy Spirit takes that faith in Christ and makes it effective for salvation so that we are saved through faith.

    3. Regeneration. This is a technical theological term that derives from the Scripture. (Titus 3:5 - he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.). Regeneration is also referred to as the new birth or the second birth and is that process whereby God the Holy Spirit creates in us a new human spirit and imparts that to us. Because of that new human spirit we can now have a relationship with God and we can grow spiritually.

    4. Baptism by means of the Holy Spirit. What takes place at the baptism by means of the Holy Spirit is that God the Son uses the Holy Spirit to place us/identify us with His death burial and resurrection and to identify us in Christ. So we are said as believers to be in Christ; we are one with Christ and united together in His body. This takes place at salvation; it is not an experience; it is not evidenced by anything. The only way we can know that we have been baptised by means of the Holy Spirit (or any of these ministries of the Holy Spirit) is by going to God’s Word and learning them from passages there. We do not experience them.

    5. We are sealed. Sealing of the Holy Spirit has to do with the Roman concept where a person had a signet ring with his personal family seal on it. When he took that seal and placed it on something it was a sign of ownership, of possession. The sealing of the Holy Spirit is that act whereby God the Father seals us permanently as His possession. It is related to our adoption into the family of God. We can never lose our salvation.

    6. Indwelling. God the Holy Spirit takes up permanent residence in the believer. It has to do also with the indwelling of the Shekinah glory of the Lord Jesus Christ in every believer, for it is God the Holy Spirit who creates the temple, the inner sanctuary for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the believer.

    7. Filling. The filling of the Holy Spirit is temporary. The believer can lose that the moment he sins. The Scripture says that when we sin we are grieving the Holy Spirit or we are quenching the Holy Spirit. Quench means to put out a fire. So the Holy Spirit’s ministry is being ignored. When we quench or grieve the Holy Spirit we commit some sin and we go from the status of spirituality to the status of carnality. In the status of spirituality we are under the filling of the Holy Spirit but when we sin, grieve or quench the Holy Spirit we are now under the influence of the sin nature. From that point on everything we do, even the good works that we perform are on the basis of the flesh, not on the basis of the Holy Spirit.”

  • Clemens Gaebelein: “Strange, unscriptural doctrines concerning the Holy Spirit are taught in different sects and parties. Some teach that the Christian should earnestly seek this gift, and the baptism with the Spirit. They claim that each individual must make a definite experience of receiving the baptism with the Spirit. This seeking includes, what they term, a full surrender, etc., and after enough seeking, surrender, giving up and praying, they claim to have received the power of the Holy Spirit. The argument here refutes this teaching. The Holy Spirit is given to every believer in Christ.”
  • John 14:16-17: And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.
  • Romans 8:9: But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)
  • 2 Corinthians 1:22: and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.
  • Ephesians 1:13: And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.
  • Ephesians 4:30: And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

• Obeying the law:
  • Greek - ex ergon nomou = by works of [the] law.
  • Coffman’s commentary: “The difference between the old law of Moses and the new law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus is this:
    (1) Israelites who kept the law of Moses to the best of their ability and failed to keep it perfectly, no one could keep it perfectly, stood condemned for there was no margin of error.
    (2) Christians who keep the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus to the best of their ability, and fail to keep it perfectly as all do, have the grace and blood of Christ to make things right.”
  • John 1:17: For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.
• Believed the message:
  • Ken Cayce: “The answer to Paul’s rhetorical question is obvious. The Galatians had received the Spirit when they were saved, not through keeping the law, but through saving faith granted when hearing the gospel (Romans 10:17).”
• Heard:
  • Romans 10:17: So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News 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?

• KJV: “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”
• The Spirit:
  • This is the new nature or “new man” as opposed to the old nature of human effort (“flesh” in the KJV), the “old man”.
• Become perfect:
  • Greek - epiteleo: Bring perfected, being finished, being brought to an end. Better translation would be “become mature.”
  • Alfred E. Bouter: “If you have started with the Spirit, you will never be able to reach perfection in the flesh; it is an impossibility, but that is what these Judaizers were suggesting, that they should follow the law of Moses and then sanctification would be through the law. There was probably a mixture of teaching. There were those who taught, ‘You can only be justified by faith and circumcision’ and there were those who said, ‘If you are a believer, then you need to follow the law in order to be sanctified, or in order to enjoy the relationship with God.’ This is why later on in the Epistle there is so much emphasis on sonship; it is a matter of a relationship with God, which cannot be on the basis of the law, but on the basis of grace and having received the Spirit of God.”
• Human effort:
  • This is the old nature or “old man” as opposed to the new nature.
  • Ron Daniel: “The Jews’ father Abraham was declared righteous for his faith, not because of his religiosity. But today, there are many religious people that want to put you under the bondage of religion.”
  • Oliver B. Greene: “There are tens of thousands of church members in America (and around the world) today who were saved by believing on the Lord JESUS CHRIST (putting their faith in the finished work of
    the Lamb of GOD), who are striving day by day to make themselves perfect in the flesh through the practice of religious dogmas, traditions of men, commandments of men, rules and regulations laid down by churches and denominations. They are seeking to perfect themselves through the energy of the flesh; but sooner or later they learn to their sad regret that the flesh is no good . . .Everything good that you do, everything good that you are, adds up to no better than filthy rags in the sight of GOD Almighty. … The minister who preaches salvation by the Law, or salvation by grace plus Law, denies the finished work of CHRIST. He also denies the necessity of the death of the Lord JESUS CHRIST.”
• Spirit/New man/New nature -- Human Effort/Old Man/Old Nature:
  • Romans 6:6: We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.
  • Romans 7:5-6: When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.
  • Ephesians 4:22-24: throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God - truly righteous and holy.
  • Colossians 3:9-10: Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

(4-5) Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it? 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.

• Experienced … in vain:
  • Or, “Have you suffered”.
• Work miracles:
  • Greek - “energon dynameis” - works of power. Bear in mind that Galatians was written very early, well before Israel was set aside in Acts 28:28, along with miracles, speaking in tongues, healings, etc.
  • Hebrews 2:4: And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.
• Obey the law:
  • Greek - ex ergon nomou = by works of [the] law.

Oliver B. Greene: “ PAUL DECLARES THAT ABRAHAM WAS SAVED EXACTLY AS WE ARE - Verses 6-9.”

(6) In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”

• Genesis 15:6: And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.
  • Guzik: “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 4:1-19: Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it: “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.” Now, is this blessing only for the Jews, or is it also for uncircumcised Gentiles? Well, we have been saying that Abraham was counted as righteous by God because of his faith. But how did this happen? Was he counted as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised! Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous - even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith. And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised. Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith. If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless. For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!) So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing. Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping - believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead - and so was Sarah’s womb.
• James 2:21-24: Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was SHOWN to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are SHOWN to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.
• Abraham:
  • Ray Pritchard: “Paul uses the example of Abraham. This was a masterstroke because the Judaizers would have considered Abraham the father of the Jewish people. Paul’s point in verse 6 is that Abraham was saved by faith when he believed God and his faith was counted as righteousness. This happened in Genesis 15. The chronology is important because Abraham was circumcised in Genesis 17 and the Law was given to Moses 430 years later. That means Abraham was saved by faith before the Law and before he was circumcised. Paul then expands the point in verse 7 by pointing out that anyone who believes the gospel is a true child of Abraham. In Paul’s mind, spiritual descent is more important than physical descent.”
• Believed:
  • Greek - “episteusen” from “pistis” - to put trust or faith in or into.
  • Morris: “Believed, of course, means more than that he accepted what God said as true (though, of course, he did that); it means that he trusted God… 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 years before it was given.”
• Counted:
  • Greek - elogisthe - from logizomai - reckoned, credited, imputed, accounted - an accounting term. Put on the “assets” side of the balance sheet.
  • Calvin: “Abraham was not justified merely because he believed that God would multiply his seed, but because he embraced the grace of God, trusting to the promised Mediator.””
  • Oliver B. Greene: “In speaking to the Jews, his brethren in the flesh, Paul asked, “How was Abraham saved? How was father Abraham kept? Was he kept by the Law? Certainly not . . . for Abraham knew nothing of the Law. Abraham lived four hundred years before the Law was given!” (Galatians 3:17). I can almost see Paul as he looks straight into the faces of his Jewish brethren and asks the second time, “How WAS our father Abraham saved and kept?” Then he answers his own question: “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD - and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Galatians 3:6).”
  • Romans 4:3: For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
• Faith:
  • Hebrews 11: Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen. It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith. It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying - “he disappeared, because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith. It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith - for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God. It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead - a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them. All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead. It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau. It was by faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff. It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left. It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command. It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons. It was by faith that the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were all drowned. It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down. It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. Women received their loved ones back again from death. But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.

(7) The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.

• Dr. Dean: “Abraham’s Example Excludes Human Works.” The principle that is laid down in Galatians 3:6 is that when Abraham was saved it was on the basis of faith alone. There was no circumcision, all that was required of Abraham was faith alone. This strikes home with the Gentile Galatians because they are just like Abraham. Abraham didn’t have to do anything to be justified. We don’’ have to do anything either, it is faith alone in Christ alone.
• Real children:
  • Guzik: “This was a strong rebuke to the Jewish Christians who tried to bring Gentile Christians under the law. They believed they were superior because they descended from Abraham and observed the law. Paul said that the most important link to Abraham was not the link of genetics and not the link of works, but it is the link of faith.”
  • Guzik: “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. … 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. … Abraham has his spiritual sons and his genetic sons, and God has a plan and a place for both. Yet no one can deny that it is far more important to be a spiritual son of Abraham than a genetic son.”
  • Matthew 3:7-9: But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.
  • Romans 4:10: But how did this happen? Was he counted as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised!
  • Galatians 3:29: And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
• Children:
  • Greek - huioi = sons.

(8) What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.”

• Abraham - Abram:
  • This refers to Genesis 12, before God changed his name from Abram (“high father”) to Abraham (“father of a multitude”) in Genesis 17. So, this was while he was still a Gentile.
  • Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18: I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” … “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. … And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed - all because you have obeyed me.”
• Nations:
  • Greek - “ethne” - Gentiles, where we get our word “ethnic”.
  • Bruce Hurt: “Scripture had foretold that God would one day bring Gentiles into Abraham’s line (3:8). The words that the NIV translates as “Gentiles” and “nations” are identical in the Greek language in which Paul originally wrote. For Paul it was very clear that God did not limit his promises to Abraham only to the Jews. Rather, through Abraham’s descendants blessing would go out to all the peoples of the earth.”

(9-10) So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith. But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey ALL the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.”

• John Stevenson: “We can summarize these three verses like this:
  • Anyone who keeps the Law must keep ALL of the Law (3:10)
  • No one has kept the entire Law - no one is Justified (3:11)
  • Keeping the Law and Trusting in Christ are mutually exclusive (3:12)”
• Depend on the law:
  • Greek - ex ergon nomou eisin - of works of the Law.
  • Ken Cayce: “The law was impossible to live up to. If you are under the law, you would be cursed if you did not do every little thing the exact way it was given. Even in the Old Testament, we find that to obey God was better than sacrifice.”
  • J. Vernon McGee: “Suppose I had kept all of the laws of Pasadena, which is my home city, for twenty years. Then I wait at my house for the officials of Pasadena to come and present me with a medal for keeping those laws. Let me tell you, they do not give medals for keeping the law in Pasadena. If I had kept every law for twenty years and then stole something or broke a speeding law, I would be arrested. You see, the law does not reward you. It does not give you life. The law penalizes you.”
• Cursed … ALL the commands:
  • Alfred E. Bouter: “Why is this so? This is explained in Deuteronomy 27 where we find twelve curses and at the end it says, “If you do not continue in all things which are written.” The people of Israel were to be divided on two mountains, Ebal and Gerizim (this actually happened in the book of Joshua, chapter 8), six tribes on Mount Ebal to curse, and six on Mount Gerizim to bless, but there were only curses uttered in connection with the people under the law.”
  • Deuteronomy 27:26: ‘Cursed is anyone who does not affirm and obey the terms of these instructions.’ And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
  • James 2:10: For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.

(11) So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

• No one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law.:
  • Romans 3:20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
• It is through faith that a righteous person has life:
  • KJV: The just shall live by faith.
  • Guzik: “Every word in Habakkuk 2:4 is important and God quotes it three times in the New Testament just to bring out the fullness of the meaning.
  1. In Romans 1:17, when Paul quoted this same passage from Habakkuk 2:4, the emphasis was on faith: “The just shall live by faith.”
  2. In Hebrews 10:38, when the writer to the Hebrews quoted this same passage from Habakkuk 2:4, the emphasis was on live: “The just shall live by faith.”
  3. Here in Galatians 3:11, when Paul quoted this passage from Habakkuk 2:4, the emphasis is on just: “The just shall live by faith.”
  • Alfred E. Bouter: “There are three elements, just, live and faith. “The just” is an element that is developed in Romans, how the repentant sinner can be declared righteous and just by God and may receive life. The question of life is developed in Hebrews. In Hebrews 10:38 the same verse is quoted and there the emphasis is on the life lived on the principle of faith. In the context of Galatians the emphasis is on faith because it is works of faith, the works that are produced by faith. This is not our doing something in our own strength by keeping the law of Moses but it is on the basis of faith that we live and are declared righteous. So this is a very important principle which is already contained in the Old Testament and so Paul says in verse 11 that by law no man is justified with God.”
  • Dr. Constable’s Expository: “Paul further quoted Habakkuk 2:4, from the Prophets section of the Old Testament, to show that justification by faith has always been God’s method. Since Scripture says that it is the person who is righteous by faith that will live, no one can be justified by works of the law. Old Testament saints were not saved by keeping the Mosaic Law. They were saved “by faith.” Faith in whom? God. Faith in what? God’s promise (always). What promise? That varied from age to age. Adam probably believed God’s promise to him recorded in Genesis 3:15. Noah probably believed that God would send judgment, but was providing deliverance from it with the ark (Genesis 6:9). Abraham probably believed that God would fulfill His promises concerning Abraham’s future (Genesis 15:6). Moses probably believed that God would do for Israel what He promised (Exodus 12:13). ”
  • Luther: “At last meditating day and night, by the mercy of God, I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that through which the righteous live by a gift of God, namely by faith. Here I felt as if I were entirely born again and had entered paradise itself through the gates that had been flung open… Sin is not canceled by lawful living, for no person is able to live up to the Law. The Law reveals guilt, fills the conscience with terror, and drives men to despair. Much less is sin taken away by man-invented endeavors. The fact is, the more a person seeks credit for himself by his own efforts, the deeper he goes into debt. Nothing can take away sin except the grace of God… Faith is a work of God in us, which changes us and brings us to birth anew from God. It kills the old Adam, makes us completely different people in heart, mind, senses, and all our powers, and brings the Holy Spirit with it. What a living, creative, active powerful thing is faith!”
  • Habakkuk 2:4: “Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.
  • Romans 1:17: This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
  • Hebrews 10:38: And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”

(12) This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.”

• Very different:
  • Justification by faith and justification by keeping the law are mutually exclusive. The law is not of faith
• Have life:
  • Alfred E. Bouter: “Leviticus 18:5 says that if a man could fulfil the law he would live; so when the rich young ruler came to the Lord and asked what he could do to obtain eternal life. this is what the Lord told him. The law promised life for obedience but no one could ever fulfill the demands of the law, no man was righteous (Romans 3) except for One, and that was the Lord Jesus. … Only Christ ever kept the law to its full extent, He said in Matthew 5 that He had come to fulfill the law. He fulfilled the law in His perfect life but then also in His substitutionary death; this could never be repeated, but it was accomplished in order to give us life and to bring us salvation.”
  • Guzik: “The 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 isn’t enough. Only actual performance will do. … The effect of Paul’s use of Scripture in Galatians 3:10-12 is overwhelming. We understand that we don’t actually do the law. We understand that we don’t actually do all the law. And we understand that this put us under a curse.”
  • John Stevenson: “You do not say that a hammer is bad because it cannot saw wood. Or that a saw is bad because it cannot hammer nails. By the same token, the Law was not designed to impart life. That is not what it was supposed to do, so it should come as no surprise that it doesn’t do it. … The Law is like a mirror. It shows you where the dirt is. It doesn’t clean the dirt. It isn’t designed for that task. But it reveals the fact that a cleansing is necessary.”
  • Oliver B. Greene: “What he is saying is simply this: If we seek salvation by the Law, then of necessity we must do all that the Law requires because GOD accepts nothing less than perfection in holiness, and certainly it is impossible for any finite person to keep the holy Law of an infinite GOD.”
  • Leviticus 18:5: If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them. I am the Lord.

(13) BUT Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

• BUT:
  • Guzik: Galatians 3:10-12 is the bad news; now Paul begins to explain the good news.”
• Rescued [Redeemed] us from the curse:
  • Greek - exegorasen - redeemed. Strong’s 1805: “From ek and agorazo; to buy up, i.e. Ransom; figuratively, to rescue from loss (improve opportunity) -- redeem.”
  • Andrew Wommack: “There are three basic Greek words for “redeem”: (1) “AGORAZO”–“to buy in the slave market” (we were slaves to the Law); (2) “EX-AGORAZO”–“to buy out of the slave market” (it would remove us out from under the principle of the Law); and (3) “LUTROO”–“to set free or release by a payment” (Wuest Word Studies from the Greek New Testament).”
  • Alfred E. Bouter: “This implies that He has bought us, that He has delivered us from the curse. It was especially the Jews who were under the law and therefore under the curse, but Christ has redeemed them from the curse of the law. How did the Lord do that? Christ accomplished redemption by becoming a curse for them (also for us), by becoming the Substitute. It was not that there would be any compromise, that God as it were would shut His eyes for a moment and overlook a few demands of the law, no, the law had to be satisfied in full and maintained; indeed, thus it was in the life of the Lord and in His death. He lived in complete accordance with the law of Moses. The Lord had a conflict with the Pharisees with their interpretation of the law, but He was never in conflict with the law of Moses. The conflicts that we read of in the Gospels were with the interpretations and traditions that the Pharisees had made of the law. But during His life the Lord fulfilled the law completely!”
  • Guzik: “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 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, were 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. The image took root in other areas. When a slave had his freedom purchased – perhaps by a relative, perhaps by his own diligent work and saving – this was called “redemption.” Sometimes the transaction took place at a temple, and a record was carved in the wall so everyone would forever know that this former slave was now a redeemed, free man. Or, a man condemned to death might be set free by the paying of a price, and this was considered “redemption.” 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.”
    • We are of great value to Him - He redeemed us by paying the ransom with His blood!
  • Galatians 4:5: God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.
• Hung:
  • Jesus is sometimes referred to as “the hung one” by Jews.
• Took upon himself the curse:
  • Ken Cayce: “This was the moment Jesus said, Father why hast thou forsaken me? God had not turned away from the Spirit within the body, but had turned away from the sin upon the body. God cannot look upon sin. Sin died on the cross for all who will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
  • Deuteronomy 21:23: the body must not remain hanging from the tree overnight. You must bury the body that same day, for anyone who is hung is cursed in the sight of God. In this way, you will prevent the defilement of the land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession.
  • 2 Corinthians 5:21: For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
  • Galatians 2:20: My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

(14) Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.

• Blessed:
  • Alfred E. Bouter: “What is the result of the Lord taking the curse upon Himself? There is blessing. It sounds contradictory, but this is the truth. God is satisfied because the Lord was raised from among the dead and seated at His right hand crowned with glory and honour, and now we are in Christ Jesus, the blessing of Abraham has come to us through Him. This is a wonderful result of His work. The “we” here is now Jewish and Gentile believers, “That we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Again, this is something that Abraham did not have. There were promises fulfilled in Abraham’s life and there are also promises that God made to Abraham that will be fulfilled in the millennium, when the nations on this earth will enjoy blessings and Israel also will enjoy special blessings as the result, but they are all based on this work that the Lord Jesus has accomplished. However, we have even greater blessings than believers had in other dispensations.”
• Blessed the Gentiles:
  • Gentiles in Greek is ethnos which can be translated both as “nations” and “Gentiles.”
  • Les Feldick: “How was God going to reach the Gentiles? Through the Nation of Israel. But what did Israel do with that? They rejected it. They said thanks but no thanks. “We’ll not have that man to rule over us, crucify Him!” Now stop for a moment in the Book of Romans chapter 11 and put the top on this study.”
  • Isaiah 42:1: “Look at my servant, whom I strengthen. He is my chosen one, who pleases me. I have put my Spirit upon him. He will bring justice to the nations.
  • Isaiah 49:6-7: He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” The Lord, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, says to the one who is despised and rejected by the nations, to the one who is the servant of rulers: “Kings will stand at attention when you pass by. Princes will also bow low because of the Lord, the faithful one, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
  • Isaiah 60:1-3: “Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see.For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you. All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance.
  • Zechariah 8:20-23: “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: People from nations and cities around the world will travel to Jerusalem. The people of one city will say to the people of another, ‘Come with us to Jerusalem to ask the Lord to bless us. Let’s worship the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. I’m determined to go.’ Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord of Heaven’s Armies and to ask for his blessing. “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: In those days ten men from different nations and languages of the world will clutch at the sleeve of one Jew. And they will say, ‘Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”
  • Romans 11:11: Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves.
• Blessing he promised to Abraham:
  • In Genesis 12, Abraham is told he will be the father of a great nation, he will be blessed, his name will be well known, he will bless others and he will be protected. However, the greatest blessing is that from his decedents will come a saviour. That is Jesus who died to pay for all mankind’s sins and offers reconciliation with God for those who will claim this gift.
  • Genesis 12:1-3: The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
  • Genesis 12:7: Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants [your seed].” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
  • Genesis 15:5-6: Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.
  • Genesis 17:2-8,19: I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.” At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them! “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.” … But God replied, “No - Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant.
  • Genesis 22:15-18: Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed - all because you have obeyed me.”
  • Genesis 26:2-5: The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt, but do as I tell you. Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father. I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed. I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions.”
  • Deuteronomy 1:8: Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it, for it is the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their descendants.’”
  • Isaiah 51:2: Yes, think about Abraham, your ancestor, and Sarah, who gave birth to your nation. Abraham was only one man when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation.”
  • John 8:39-41:“Our father is Abraham!” they declared. “No,” Jesus replied, “for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example. Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. No, you are imitating your real father.” They replied, “We aren’t illegitimate children! God himself is our true Father.”
  • Acts 3:25-26: You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendants all the families on earth will be blessed.’ When God raised up his servant, Jesus, he sent him first to you people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways.”
  • Romans 4:16, 20-21: So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. … Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises.
  • Galatians 3:16: God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child” - and that, of course, means Christ.
  • Galatians 3:29: And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
  • Hebrews 11:10: Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
• The promised Holy Spirit:
  • Les Feldick: “Not only do we not have to keep the Law, but as a result of our salvation experience, God gives us something 10,000 times better than the Ten Commandments and what is it? The Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit becomes our guideline, not the Ten Commandments. So when I say we’re not under the Law, that doesn’t mean that you chuck the fact that it’s wrong to kill and steal, because the Holy Spirit is going to show us that, and that’s the whole difference. … Romans 7:6.”

(15) Dear brothers and sisters, here’s an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case.

• Example from everyday life:
  • Andrew Wommack: “Here, Paul was using a human illustration. If a man’s covenant, contract, or agreement was drawn up and ratified (i.e., whatever was necessary to give it legal force had been done), then no one could break the agreement or add conditions to it. Likewise, God’s covenant with Abraham was in force 430 years before the Law of Moses (Galatians 3:17) and was superior to it. Indeed, Paul established in the next few verses that the Law of Moses was only a temporary addition that would cease to have any effect once the promised seed (Galatians 3:16) came.”
• Irrevocable agreement:
  • Greek - diathéké - covenant. Here it refers to a person’s “last will and testament” which cannot be revoked after that person’s death.
  • Galatians: Commentary - Galatians 3:15-22: “Paul referenced a widely recognized standard practice that any man-made covenant (Greek diathéké), such as a will or other legally-binding contract, once agreed upon by both parties and ratified (literally “put into effect”), no one can invalidate it or alter it in any way. However, then as now, it was possible to alter wills as the preferences of the testator changed because the ratifying event was the death of the testator. This is a problematic concept when applied to the Divine, eternal Testator initiating an irrevocable covenant with man. This “problem” is profoundly addressed by Paul’s deft reminder of the crucifixion of Jesus (cf. Galatians 3:1). In the context of history, the covenant of grace established with Abraham was indeed ratified on the cross in Jesus.”
  • Ken Cayce: “The verse might be read as follows: “I say this: the law, which appeared 430 years later, cannot void the covenant earlier ratified by God, so as to make the promise ineffective.” Paul’s point is this: If a human will, once confirmed, cannot be altered, how much less will the divine covenant be changed 430 years after its ratification by God. The Abrahamic covenant promised justification by faith. In the 430 years after its ratification by God, the Abrahamic covenant promised justification by faith. In the 430 years between the giving of this covenant and the law’s appearance, God justified man by faith. … This 430 years was really the time the family of Jacob lived in Egypt before Moses, sent by God, delivered them. This is certainly not the exact time from the time of Abraham, until the children were delivered out of Egypt.”
  • Genesis 13:15: I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession.
  • Genesis 17:8: And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”

(16) God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child” - and that, of course, means Christ.

• The promises to Abraham and his child:
  • Oliver B. Greene: “ I want you to carefully note here that the covenant referred to was between GOD on the one hand, and two men on the other. The two men were Abraham and CHRIST. The language is self-explanatory and to the point. The covenant was not to Abraham and his natural seed of the flesh - the children of Israel in general; nor was it to his heavenly seed in the church of the living GOD - believers in general. THE PROMISE WAS MADE TO ABRAHAM’S SEED (singular) . . . CHRIST, THE SEED OF THE WOMAN, WHO WOULD BRUISE THE HEAD OF THE SERPENT.”
• His child:
  • Greek - seed (singular!).
  • Zach Adams: “From the very beginning, Scripture attests that God had promised Abraham it would be through his physical lineage that a Savior would come creating a way by which all humanity could be justified. Note: This Messianic promise of a coming “Seed” who would save mankind was originally found in Genesis 3:15 when upon cursing the Serpent God declared, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.””
  • Genesis 12:17 (KJV): That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
  • Matthew 1:1 (KJV): The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
• Children:
  • Greek - seeds (plural!).
  • Acts 3:25: You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendants all the families on earth will be blessed.’

(17) This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise.

• Agreement … with Abraham … Moses:
  • Abrahamic covenant versus the Mosaic covenant.
  • Jamie Rasmussen: “Paul returns to his point being made in verse 15 of the superiority of the Abrahamic covenant of grace by emphasizing the late (by almost a half-millennium) arrival of the law relative to God’s covenant with Abraham. As such, the law has no ability to annul the prior covenant God had established. The law was revered by Israel (and specifically the Judaizers) as being the culmination of the covenant between God and Israel through Moses. Paul was correcting that wrong thinking by essentially pointing out if this were the case, God could not be trusted because He therefore would be a God who changed the terms of the prior agreement. Furthermore, even the “work” being heralded by the Judaizers as justifying -- circumcision -- began not as a legal requirement upon man to appease God, but instead a faith act by God’s people (Abraham and his offspring) as a sign of what they had received from God by faith alone.”
  • Alfred E. Bouter: “Abraham took a number of animals and they were sacrificed. They were then lined up one part this side, another part that side, and God went through those animals. The procedure that was used to confirm a covenant was that the two parties would slaughter the animals and they would then walk together through their parts to confirm it. But who walked through those animals in Genesis 15? Abraham was in a deep sleep. Abraham did not go through those animals, only God walked through them. What did this mean? The fulfillment, the keeping of the covenant only depended on God. And can you rely on God? Yes, you can. This is the point here. Therefore this covenant cannot be nullified by the law that came four hundred and thirty years later.”
  • Steven Cole: “Judaizers might quote Moses; Paul will quote Abraham. Let them quote law; he will quote promise. If they appeal to the centuries of tradition and the proud history of the law of Moses, he will appeal to the grander ‘covenant with Abraham’, older by centuries still.”
• Not canceled:
  • Invalidate - (akuros) = to make of “no” (a-) authority (kuros).The Law did not change the Covenant in any way - the promises still stand!
• 430 years:
  • Zach Adams: “According to this Scripture, what was the mechanism by which Abraham became righteous before God? Was is the through the law? That couldn’t be for the law wouldn’t even exist for another 430 years. Was Abraham made righteous through circumcision? No! That’s also impossible for this practice wouldn’t be instituted by God for another 14 years.”

(18) For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God’s promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.

• Inheritance … graciously gave it:
  • Ken Cayce: “An “inheritance” by definition is something granted, not worked for, as proven in the case of Abraham. … If the keeping of the law could bring the inheritance, it would not be an inheritance. An inheritance is something you receive at the death of another, which you have not earned. It is given to you because of your relation to the one who died. This shows, not only the greatness of the inheritance, but the greatness of the giver of the inheritance. God, through Jesus Christ, willed us the great inheritance. It is ours by sonship.”
  • Steve Lewis: “The false teachers in Galatia were saying, “Salvation is a gift AND you must live in obedience to the law in order to receive it”… There is no such thing as a gift that you must earn!”
• Graciously gave:
  • Greek - charizomai = graced or gifted it to us. The Greek tense is the perfect tense, which indicates that this gifting occurred at some time in the past with consequences that extend out to the present time.

(19) Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people.

• Why … was the law given?:
  • Jamie Rasmussen: “Greek prostithemi, literally means “to come along side.” It’s a picture of an auxiliary road constructed alongside a main thoroughfare designed to handle excess carriage. It is a “side road” not designed to lead to a separate destination, but to serve as a means to deliver travelers back to the main road and its destination. The law, therefore, was added 430 years after the fact to point people back to the covenant of grace.”
  • Guzik: “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. 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).”
  • Oliver B. Greene: “I can almost hear someone saying, “Mr. Greene, the statement ‘[the Law] was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come’ was made concerning the ceremonial laws, and not the Ten Commandments!” There is no doubt in my mind that such a statement will be made by many who will read these lines; but let me hasten to say that Paul (in speaking of the Law) was not speaking of the ceremonial laws, nor of the dietary laws, the laws of sacrifice nor of the laws of the land. Paul was speaking of THE WHOLE LAW, and he was speaking in particular of the Ten Commandments! Paul was speaking of the Law which cursed the sinner. He was speaking of GOD’s holy Law. … Some men are very clever when they make distinction between the Law of Moses (so called) and the Law of GOD; but these clever religionists do not have Scripture to back up their argument. Their doctrine is self-invented, and it is a dogma of man, not of Bible doctrine.”
  • Romans 5:20: God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant.
  • Romans 7:7-13: Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good. But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes.
• Sins (Transgressions in the KJV):
  • Galyn Wiemers: The word for transgressions is “parabasis” and means “stepping over the boundary.” It is not the word “hamartia” or which is the word for “sin” and means “to miss the mark.” “Sin” always has existed since Adam. A “transgression” cannot occur until a law is broken. So, though “sin” existed, there was no “transgression” until the law was given and then broken. The “Law” turns “sin” into “transgression.” The law exposed our sin as transgressions and caused us to stop rationalizing that we were good enough and forced us to look for another way to God. That way is justification by faith and not justification by good works.
    Romans 3:20 “through the law we become conscious of sin.”
    Romans 4:15 “where there is no law there is no transgression.”
    The law is what makes “sin” a “transgression.”
    Sin has always existed but without a statement of the law it would not be a transgression.
    Romans 5:20, “The law was added so that transgressions might increase. . .”
  • Oliver B. Greene: “The Gospel is the good news that the sinner can be saved by grace, through faith, plus nothing! The Law is NOT good news to the sinner. The Law is bad news for the transgressor, because it condemns him and shows him how wicked he is. The Law accuses the sinner and declares him accursed and condemned. The Law demands the death of the sinner: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die!” (Ezekiel 18:4 KJV). “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23 KJV).”
  • James 2:10: For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.
• Until:
• Romans 7:1-4: Now, dear brothers and sisters - you who are familiar with the law - don’t you know that the law applies only while a person is living? For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her. So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries. So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.
• Steve Lewis: “the Law was only temporary. It was meant to be in force only until “THE SEED” (Galatians 3:16) came. After this, the Law was finished.”
• The child:
  • Greek - seed.
  • Guzik: “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 isn’t that the Law of Moses is revoked when Jesus came (Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Law, not destroy it in Matthew 5:17). Instead, the Law of Moses is no longer our ground of approaching God.”
• Through angels:
  • Inferior because it was “put in place by angels.” This is a statement that compares the giving of the law to the giving of the Abrahamic covenant. Abraham dealt directly with God in receiving His covenant (cf. Genesis 15). A cursory reading of Exodus 19 & 20 where Moses receives the law includes details of clouds and thunder and lightning… and God speaking to Moses. But nothing about angels. However, details given elsewhere indicate that the storm phenomena are in actuality the arrival of God in the company of his heavenly host (cf. Deuteronomy 33:2; Psalm 68:17), and that an angel actually spoke the law to Moses. This is Stephen’s testimony that he gave at the expense of his life (Acts 7:38, 53). The angels are not the source of the law, but the messengers of it. In this, the law is inferior to the Abrahamic covenant.
  • Zach Adams: “Here’s Paul’s point… What makes the Law given to Moses different from the promise given to Abraham was that while the law was an agreement between man and God, the promise given to Abraham was instituted unilaterally (reference Genesis 15). The reality is that the covenant of the law was a lesser covenant because of the involvement of angels and humans, whereas the covenant God made with Abraham was permanent as it was only dependent upon God making good on His promises.”
  • Acts 7:38, 53: Moses was with our ancestors, the assembly of God’s people in the wilderness, when the angel spoke to him at Mount Sinai. And there Moses received life-giving words to pass on to us. … You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.”
  • Hebrews 2:2: For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished.
• Mediator:
  • Greek - mesites - mediator, intermediary.
  • Steve Lewis: “When God gave the promises to Abraham, there was only one party to the covenant - “God is one” - remember that Abraham was asleep! (Genesis 15:12, 17-18)”
    • Genesis 15:12: As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down over him. … After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River
  • Job 9:32-33: “God is not a mortal like me, so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial. If only there were a mediator between us, someone who could bring us together.
  • 1 Timothy 2:5: For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity - the man Christ Jesus.
  • Hebrews 8:6; 9:15; 12:24: But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises. … That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant. … You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.

(20) Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham.

• Boice: “probably the most obscure verse in Galatians, if not the entire New Testament. The general thought seems to be that the promise must be considered superior to the law because the law is one-sided. The law was mediated, and this means that man was a party to it. The promise, on the other hand, is unilateral; man is not a party to it.”
• Mediator … one:
  • Paul’s point is apparently that a “mediator” is required when more than one party is involved, but God alone ratified the covenant with Abraham.
  • Dr. Constable’s Expository “The meaning of this verse has drawn numerous different explanations. I think Paul probably meant that a “mediator” (here the “angels,” v. 19) is necessary when two parties making an agreement both assume responsibilities, as in the reciprocal Mosaic Covenant. However, a mediator is not necessary when the covenant is unilateral, as when God made the unconditional Abrahamic Covenant. ”
  • Galyn Wiemers: “The Law of Moses is said to have been mediated. Meaning there were two parties involved: God and the people. But, God is one, in the sense of the Abrahamic Covenant. He did not mediate it, although there were two there, the smoking pot and the blazing torch. The NT mediator is Christ, but still, he is God, so there is still just one. The point: Salvation is a unilateral covenant. The law is between two parties.”
  • Genesis 15:12-21: As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down over him. Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. (As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.” After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River - the land now occupied by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

(21) Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it.

• Conflict:
  • Dr. Constable’s Expository “Do the Law and the promises contradict each other? Never! God designed them for two different purposes. The purpose of the Law was never to provide justification. It served as a mirror to show people their sinfulness, and that they are slaves of sin: “the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin.” When they realize they cannot save themselves, they will be open to receiving salvation as a gift by faith. By “the Scripture,” Paul may have meant the teaching of the Old Testament in many places, or he may have had in mind a specific text, such as Deuteronomy 27:26.”
  • Wiersbe: “The Law is a mirror that helps us see our ‘dirty faces’ (James 1:22-25) - but you do not wash your face with a mirror! It is grace that provides the cleansing through the blood of Jesus Christ (see 1 John 1:7b) - the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin).”
• Absolutely not:
  • Ken Cayce: “Paul uses the strongest Greek negative, to disdain the idea that the law and the promise are at opposite purposes. Since God gave them both and does not work against Himself, law and promise work in harmony. The law reveals man’s sinfulness and need for the salvation freely offered in the promise. If the law could have provided righteousness and eternal life, there would be no gracious promise.”
• If the law could give us new life:
  • Ken Cayce: “If man could have lived up to the law, it would have brought life. Man, however, could not keep every little detail of the law. Jesus did not come to do away with the law, but to fulfill the law. He took care of all the sacrifices and the ordinances for us. The sacrifice of Jesus body on the cross took care of all sacrifices for all time for everyone who will believe. Our righteousness is ours, because we have been washed in the blood of Jesus and been clothed in His righteousness.”
  • Steve Lewis: “There is no law that can impart life. It was never possible to be justified before God by obeying any law. The problem with mankind is not what we do but what we are by nature. At the Fall, our very nature was twisted or corrupted. It is what we are that offends God.”

(22) But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.

• The Scriptures:
  • Dr. Constable’s Expository: “The whole Old Testament (v. 22), not just the Law of Moses (v. 21), showed that people are sinners and incapable of saving themselves. Paul personified Scripture to illustrate that the Word is really God working through the Word.”
• All are prisoners of sin:
  • Steve Lewis: “The Law arrests us, and imprisons us, and proves our guilt before God. The Law shuts us in, captures us, and leaves no way out. But that is when the promise can come to our rescue!”
  • Bruce Hurt: “In 1838, the British government sent word to Jamaica that slavery was at an end and that therefore those who were slaves were now free. On that night of emancipation, a mahogany coffin was made. Former slaves filled the coffin with whips, branding irons, coarse clothing, handcuffs, and other tools and symbols used during their years of bondage. The coffin lid was bolted shut and at midnight the coffin was lowered into a grave, dug especially for the occasion. Then the thousands gathered celebrated their new freedom by singing the doxology! Once released, people who have known slavery would never willingly surrender their freedom. Instead, they move forward joyfully to a new way of life. This is the very point Paul is trying to make to the Galatians. “You have been set free from the law’s condemnation,” he tells them, “so start acting like it!” ”
  • Galyn Wiemers: “The problem is not with the law. The problem is with man. When you fully realize this you look for an answer elsewhere and find the promise of the unilateral covenant that is Christ. When you find Christ, you have salvation. If you hold to the law, you show you do not fully understand the promise of Salvation through Jesus Christ.”
  • Romans 3:9-10, 23: Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous - not even one. … For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
  • Romans 11:32: For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.

(23) Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.

• Before:
  • Steve Lewis: “The function of the Law as jailer was designed to be only temporary, until the time when it was possible to appropriate the promises through faith in Christ.”
• We:
  • The Jews were under the law, not the Gentiles.
• Until:
  • John Stevenson: “The car that I drive has a spare tire. But the spare is not as large or as sturdy as the other four tires on the car. It is a skinny little tire which is only designed to last as long as it takes me to get to a place where I can replace it with a permanent tire. The Law was like that. It was a temporary provision to get me where I needed to go so that I could get something better. The Law came third-hand. It was ordained through angels and given by the agency of a mediator. The Promise, on the other hand, came directly from God. Do you remember the narrative of Genesis 15? It was the presence of God who moved in the form of a burning furnace through the elements of the sacrificed animals to ratify His covenant promises with Abraham.”

(24) Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.

• Our:
  • Refers to the Jews as in verse 23.
• Guardian:
  • Greek - paidagogos - pedagogue, tutor, trainer, guardian, schoolmaster. Literally “boy-leader.”
  • Andrew Wommack: “The Greek word for “schoolmaster” is “PAIDAGOGOS,” and it describes a slave in either Greek or Roman households whose job was to conduct a young child to and from school (to the real teacher), as well as to supervise the life and morals of the child until he or she reached maturity. Although the PAIDAGOGOS may have instructed, their real job was to supervise by strict enforcement of rules and regulations. So, until Christ came, the Law was like someone trying to make us behave.”
  • Ken Cayce: “Schoolmasters were often strict disciplinarians, causing those under their care to yearn for the day when they would be free from their tutor’s custody. The law was our schoolmaster which, by showing us our sins, was escorting us to Christ. When I study the laws and ordinances of the Old Testament, I feel terrible guilt. That is what is meant by the law being our schoolmaster. The law taught us how guilty of sin we really are and that within ourselves there is no way to pay the awful price that we owe. We needed a Savior. Jesus Christ took our place on the cross. The pain that He bore should have been paid by each of us. He substituted Himself for us. He paid our debt in full.”

(25-26) And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

• You:
  • John Stevenson: “But now there will be a change. Paul switches to the second person plural. He addresses himself to YOU: YOU are all sons of God... all of YOU who were baptized into Christ... YOU are all one in Christ Jesus. This is significant. Up to this point, he has been describing the Jewish experience of life under the Law. It was an experience that the Galatian church did not share. They had never been under the Law. They were Gentiles. But they HAVE entered into the salvation experience. And they have entered into this quite apart from the Law.”
• Children:
  • Greek - sons.
  • Ken Cayce: “The Greek word rendered “children” is huioi, which means full-grown, adult sons.”
  • Galyn Wiemers:
    Sonship by Creation. . .natural to all men and referred to in Acts 17:28
    Sonship in Christ . . . . not natural or given to all men. It is the same phrase but refers to something other than being a creation of God.
    Mature Sonship . . .This is the sonship of Galatians 3:26 and refers to the fullness of our position in Christ. This is granted to every believer in Christ.
    Mature Son. . . . . .This is contrasted with the immature son (1 Corinthians 3:1; Hebrews 5:11-6:2) and refers to growing into the position God has called us to or assigned us to. This must be attained by the Spirit-led believers who hears and understands God’s word.
  • John 1:12: But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
  • Romans 8:17: And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

(27) And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.

• United with Christ in baptism:
  • KJV: For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
  • Greek - eis Christon ebaptisthete = Baptized into Christ.
  • Ken Cayce: “This is not water baptism, which cannot save. Paul used the word “baptized” in a metaphorical manner to speak of being “immersed,” or “placed into” by the spiritual miracle of union with Him in His death and resurrection. … True baptism for a believer is being buried in the watery grave and rising to new life in Him. We no longer live, but Christ liveth in us. We are actually clothed in His righteousness. We were clothed in sin, before we became a Christian, but after we receive Him, He takes our sin and clothes us in His righteousness.”
  • Dr. Robert Dean: “The baptism of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13) occurs once at the moment of salvation. Every believer is identified with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection and is simultaneously created a new spiritual species capable of utilising divine power. At the moment of salvation the believer is placed into permanent union with Jesus Christ, positionally sanctified, which makes him a member of the body of Christ and positionally higher than the angels. This ministry of God the Holy Spirit is unique to the church age and is not ecstatics, emotional or experiential. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is occurs at the moment of salvation for every believer. It is not an experience, it is not an emotion, and it is not signified by speaking in tongues or any other phenomena. The baptism of the Holy Spirit, just like justification, is known to the believer only by subsequent study of the Word of God. ”
  • Les Feldick: “You ask the average individual, how did you become a member of your Church? Well I was baptized into it! But you see that’s not what the Scriptures says. Here it says, “that you have been baptized into Christ.” Now there’s not a drop of water in this verse. It’s as dry as a bone, and to follow up with another verse come back to Romans chapter 6, and you have the same thing. I’ll never forget the first time I heard a guest preacher in one of our previous churches where we were members, and this preacher preached from Romans 6 and when he said there wasn’t a drop of water in this 3d verse we thought he was way out in left field. And at that time I was probably one of the strongest, but oh I can see now that he was 100 % right because there is no water in Romans chapter 6. Here it’s basically the same thing as what Paul is saying in Galatians chapter 3.”
  • Romans 6:3 (KJV): Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
  • 1 Corinthians 12:13: Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body BY ONE SPIRIT, and we all share the same Spirit.
  • Ephesians 4:4-5: For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
• Put on Christ, like putting on new clothes:
  • Ken Cayce: “Positionally before God, we have put on Christ, His death, resurrection, and righteousness. … To “put on someone” is an ancient idiom for assuming the standing or position of another person. … This verse may be paraphrased, “For all of you who have been brought into an intimate relationship with Christ have assumed His own standing before God, namely, His Sonship.””
  • Dr. Constable’s Expository: “When a Roman male child reached “son” status, his father exchanged his toga praetexta [“bordered toga”] for the toga virilis [“manly toga”] that identified him as a responsible citizen. Paul compared that toga to Christ.”
  • Ernest De Witt Burton: “To put on Christ is to become as Christ, to have his standing; in this context to become objects of the divine favour, sons of God, as he is the Son of God.”
  • Greek - have put on Christ.

(28) There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

• No longer Jew or Gentile:
  • Greek - Jew or Greek.
  • Dr. Constable: “Paul was not saying that all distinctions between people have ceased. Obviously people are still either Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free, and male or female. His point was, that within the body of Christ, all have the same relationship to God. All are of equal value.”
  • Ephesians 2:13-16 (NLT): But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.
  • Colossians 3:11: In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
• You are all one in Christ:
  • Bruce Hurt: “This was radically new for these believers in Galatia, who were undoubtedly quite familiar with first-century attitudes. It was common for the Pharisees in Paul’s time to give thanks to God that they were not Gentiles, slaves, or women. Clearly, a great deal of prejudice existed against these groups as well as others. But the false teachers who had come from Jerusalem had not yet embraced this new message of equality: by preaching that Gentiles must become “Jewish” and be circumcised was to insist upon the rules of the old system and reject everything that had been made new through Christ.”
  • 1 Corinthians 12:12-13: The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.

(29) And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.

• Children:
  • Greek - seed.
  • Galyn Wiemers: “The Legalizers (in this case, the Judiaizers) had promised the Galatians that they could become part of Abraham’s seed by obeying the Jewish laws. They would at best be imitators of Abraham’s natural seed. Paul tells them that by being in Christ, the heir of the promises, they are given the promises of Abraham by being his spiritual seed. Point: Even the natural seed (Jews) need to become Abraham’s spiritual seed by faith. So there is no advantage in taking the detour through the Law of Moses. All that is available is in Christ. Christ is mentioned 7 times in the last 8 verses.”
• Children of Abraham:
  • John Stevenson: “There is an unfortunate translation here that loses a bit of the impact of Paul’s closing statement. When he says, “You are Abraham’s descendants”, it literally reads, “You are Abraham’s SEED.” This cannot be divorced from what Paul said about the promise of the seed in verse 16.
    The promise was to Abraham and His seed. → That seed is Christ. → If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed.
    If you have come to Christ in faith, then you are one with Him. And if you are one with Him, then you are His seed. And since He is the seed of Abraham, you are also the seed (singular) of Abraham.
    Being of the seed of Abraham, the very thing that the Judaizers were offering to the Gentiles by means of circumcision, was already theirs through faith in Jesus Christ. Indeed, this is the only way in which ANYONE can be a true recipient of the promise.”

---

Galatians Chapter 3 Study References

NOTE: While the following sources contain valuable information, I do not necessarily agree with all the information and opinions presented in the sources.

• An Outline to the Epistle to the Galatians by Alfred E. Bouter: biblecentre.org/content.php?mode=7&item=292#Introduction
• Andrew Wommack Ministries - Galatians Commentary: www.awmi.net/reading/online-bible-commentary/#/galatians
• Baxter’s Explore the Book by J.Sidlow Baxter: https://www.amazon.com/Baxters-Explore-Book-Sidlow-Baxter/dp/0310206200
• Book of Galatians Explained by Ken Cayce: www.bible-studys.org/Bible%20Books/Galatians/Book%20of%20Galatians.html#Index
• Coffman Commentaries on the Bible: www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/galatians.html
• David Guzik’s Commentary on Galatians: enduringword.com/bible-commentary/galatians-1/
• Dean Bible Ministries - Galatians by Dr. Robert L. Dean Jr.: www.deanbibleministries.org/new-testament-menuitem/galatians-menuitem
• Galatians/Ephesians by James Montgomery Boice: https://www.amazon.com/Galatians-Ephesians-James-Montgomery-Boice/dp/0310201179
• Galatians: Commentary - Galatians 3:15-22 by Jamie Rasmussen: scottsdalebible.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/20130825Curriculum.pdf
• Galatians: The Gospel and God’s Grace by Bob Deffinbaugh: bible.org/series/galatians-gospel-and-gods-grace
• Galatians: Truth on Fire by Ray Pritchard: www.keepbelieving.com/sermon_series/galatians-truth-on-fire/
• Galatians by Steve Lewis: www.spiritandtruth.org/teaching/3.htm
• Galatians by Zach Adams: www.c316.tv/archive?tags=galatians
• Galatians Commentary Verse by Verse by Bruce Hurt: www.preceptaustin.org/galatians_commentary_verse_by_verse
• Generation Word - Galatians by Galyn Wiemers: www.generationword.com/audio_series/galatians_audio.htm
• Grace Communion International - Galatians Articles by Michael Morrison: www.gci.org/?s=galatians
• Law or Grace by Mike Oppenheimer: www.letusreason.org/7thAd7.htm
• Ron Daniel’s Bible Studies - Galatians: www.rondaniel.com/library/48-Galatians/Galatians.php
• Steven J. Cole Commentary Series: https://www.logos.com/product/153976/steven-j-cole-commentary-series
• Studies in the Epistle to the Galatians by John Stevenson: www.angelfire.com/nt/theology/galatian.html
• The Bible Exposition Commentary by Warren Wiersbe: https://www.amazon.com/Bible-Exposition-Commentary-Volumes/dp/6125030474
• The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Galatians by Oliver B. Greene: hbaptistbiblebelievers.com/NTStudies/EpistleofPaultotheGalatiansbyOliverGreene/tabid/192/Default.aspx
• The Epistle to the Galatians by Arno Clemens Gaebelein: biblecentre.org/content.php?mode=7&item=102
• Through the Bible with Les Feldick - Galatians: www.lesfeldick.org/lesbk33.html
• Thru the Bible by J. Vernon McGee: https://www.amazon.com/Thru-Bible-1-5-5-Set/dp/078520041X

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• Except otherwise noted, the Scripture version used is the New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers,Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.
• Index to all our Galatians studies are at paultothegalatianchurch.blogspot.com/2018/11/galatians.html
• Index to all our studies are at oakview-bible-fellowship.blogspot.com/

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