Galatians 3:1-29

3 ¹O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

The church at Galatia was led into false doctrine that taught them that in addition to being a Jesus believing Christian, they had to still keep the law. Today, there is a move like this in the Church that also lead people into keeping the Law in addition to receiving Jesus… called the Hebrew Roots movement. The doctrine is the same as the one Paul is exposing here.

² This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Paul is reasoning with them that they received the Holy Spirit when they became born again, it wasn’t by keeping the Law. (John 14:16-18 ¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;¹⁷ Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.¹⁸ I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.)

³ Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

⁴ Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

⁵ He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Paul points out that the ministers that are doing miracles are doing it by receiving Jesus and the Holy Spirit, not by keeping the Law. Basically, following the Law and keeping all the things of the Law can not heal the sick.. or do all the miracles that happened after Jesus died for our sins and rose again from the dead… then filled us with the Holy Spirit.

⁶ Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

⁷ Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

⁸ And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

⁹ So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

¹⁰ For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

The Law pointed out the sinful nature of mankind, and all mankind has sinned and as a result can’t be in the presence of God.

¹¹ But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

What we could not do in keeping the law… because we always fail… Jesus took care of when he died for us and rose again….so we put our faith in Jesus and his power to redeem us with his blood and not in our ability to be “good people” or to follow the law.

¹² And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

¹³ Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Jesus freed us from the Law and the curse of the Law.

¹⁴ That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

God told Abraham that all nations would be blessed in his blood line.. because that is where Jesus comes from and when Jesus died for the sins of mankind, this included the Gentiles, who were never under the law. So… the gentiles were offered salvation without ever having to be under the law. This is where the conflict seems to be… that the Jews wanted to convert the gentile believers and combine the Law with receiving Jesus by faith. If you are saved from the curse of the law, then there is no reason to bring the law into your walk of faith with Jesus. The greater of the two is Jesus because what the law could not do because of the weakness of man’s flesh, the blood of Jesus could though the power of the Holy Spirit.

¹⁵ Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.

¹⁶ Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

¹⁷ And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

¹⁸ For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

¹⁹ Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

²⁰ Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

²¹ Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

²² But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

²³ But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

²⁴ Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

²⁵ But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

The Law was kept looking forward to a time when Jesus would come and redeem us from our sins that the law showed us we had sin in our lives. The Law pointed out our need for Jesus. The High Priest would enter into the Holy of Holies where the Arc of the Covenant was. The Arc of the Covenant had a Mercy Seat on it where the tablets with the 10 commandments were stored. The 10 commandments are kind of like a list of all sins that mankind can commit… if you commit a sin, it will break one or more of the commandments… so these tablets represented all sin. The High Priest would make a blood sacrifice and sprinkle the blood in the mercy seat over the 10 commandment… basically covering the plates with the list of sins mankind could commit with a blood sacrifice. This is part of keeping the Law that was done in waiting for the savior who would die, shed his blood and cover all the sins of the world once and for all with his blood. So you can see, keeping the law compared to living by faith are in conflict. The Law looked forward to the Savior being the final sin offering that would redeem all mankind. After Jesus died, we now look back at the completed death and resurrected of Jesus where he took on himself the sins of the world, died, was placed in a tomb, rose again from the dead defeating death, hell and the grave…then ascended into Heaven to be seated at the right hand of God the father. How can we look forward to something after it has happened?

²⁶ For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

The Jews and the Gentile all become the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ.

²⁷ For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

²⁹ And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

The Jews are blessed with Abraham as a direct bloodline and the Gentiles are blessed by the promise given to Abraham of the redeemer of the world coming from his children, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is where we all become one big family of born again believers. A lot of people don’t understand that God is still going to fulfill every single promise made to the people of Israel and his relationship with Israel is different from the relationship he was with the Gentile Church… but at the end we will all come together as a single body of believers.