Galatians Chapter 3

The third chapter of Galatians is dealing with being made right with God through faith.  When Adam and Eve sinned, they died spiritually.  The Holy Spirit no longer dwelt within them like He did in the garden of Eden.  Throughout the rest of the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit dwelt with people but was not in them.  God’s plan of redemption was to have Jesus pay for our sin so that the Holy Spirit could once again live in us.  This is the promise of the Spirit through faith.  

 Galatians 3:1-4 “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? ² This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? ⁴ Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?”

When Paul preached the gospel to them, he clearly declared that Jesus was crucified to pay the penalty for their sins.  When they received the gospel, the Holy Spirit came to live within them.  This blessing came by hearing the gospel and having faith in our Lord Jesus.  Having received the Holy Spirit by hearing the gospel and believing it, will they now be brought to maturity by going back to the Old Testament law and trusting in their own attempts to keep the Law?  Of course not; yet this is exactly what so many believers attempt to do.

Galatians 3:5-9 “Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— ⁶ just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” ⁷ Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. ⁸ And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” ⁹ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.”

How does God do miracles among us and supply us with the Holy Spirit?  It is by hearing and believing the gospel.  Paul said that Abraham believed the gospel and it was accounted to him for righteousness.  This happened in Genesis 15:6.  This happened before the Old Testament Law and the commandments were given.  God appeared to Abraham and preached the gospel to him.  Abraham believed it.  Then God made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15.  As we shall see later in the chapter, this covenant was actually between God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Abraham was able to partake of it but could not mess it up or break this covenant.  How would all nations be blessed through this?  The Holy Spirit would be able to come and live within people again.  That is what we are made for: union with God.  

Galatians 3:10-12 “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” ¹¹ But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” ¹² Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”

It is evident that people cannot keep the Old Testament Law.  Paul said that by the Law is the knowledge of sin.  The Law reveals that we have a sin nature and we need a Savior.  If we try to approach God by keeping the Law, we will always fail in some aspect or another.  The covenant of the Law was based on performance.  If we keep the Law, then we receive the blessings.  If we break the law, then we will be cursed.  Yet the Bible says that the justified, those who are made right with God, will live by faith.  We live by faith in Christ, knowing that He bore the penalty for our sins so that we are made right with God.  We receive right-standing with God based upon faith in Jesus. 

 

Galatians 3:13-14 “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), ¹⁴ that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

Christ not only redeemed us from the curse of the law; He redeemed us from the law itself.  What is the blessing of Abraham that will come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus?  We are to receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.  God is able to come live within His creation again.  He dwells within us by the Holy Spirit.  Our sins are put away.  This is the kingdom of God within us.

Galatians 3:15-18 “Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. ¹⁶ Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. ¹⁷ And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.”

God made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15.  Abraham cut animals in two to make a covenant with God.  Instead, God waited until Abraham fell asleep.  Then, a smoking oven and a burning lamp passed between the pieces.  The oven and the lamp were God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  God did this so that Abraham could not be the weak link in the covenant and mess it up.  The covenant was made between the Father and the Son, who cannot fail and who cannot lie.  God gave this covenant to Abraham by promise, not by his performance.  The Old Testament law was given 430 years after this covenant was made.  The Old Testament Law cannot make the promise of God to Abraham of no effect.  

Galatians 3:19-20 “What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. ²⁰ Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.”

What is the purpose of the Law?  It was added because of transgressions or sins.  Paul said in Romans 3 that by the Law is the knowledge of sin.  The Law shows us that we have a problem with sin and need a Savior.  Notice the word ‘till’.  This shows that the Law was a temporary covenant.  It was added only until the Seed (Jesus) should come to whom the promise was made.  God’s original intent was always to deal with people through grace and promise.  So when we see that we need a Savior and call upon Jesus, the law has done its job and is no longer needed in our lives.  The law was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator; that was Moses.  But the covenant of promise was made between God the Father and His Son; they are One. 

Galatians 3:21-22 “Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. ²² But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”

Romans chapter 7 says that the law is holy, righteous and good.  It is not evil.  It reveals that people have a problem with sin and need a Savior.  The Old Testament law cannot give life.  It only revealed the problem.  Life comes from God through His Son Jesus Christ.  When we trust that Jesus bore the punishment for our sins on the cross and arose from the dead, God gives us His life.  He comes to dwell in us by the Holy Spirit and we receive new life.  

Galatians 3:23-29 “But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. ²⁴ Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.  ²⁶ For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

These verses are a reference to the Greek rite of adoption.  This is not adoption in the western sense of the word.  In Greek culture, when a baby was born into a family, they were immediately heirs to the family wealth and name.  But they were put under a tutor, often a slave, to teach and educate them until they reached an age of maturity.  When they reached this age, usually 13 or 14, they went through a rite of adoption.  This meant that they became an adult in the eyes of the family members and became joint-heirs with the rest of the adult family members.  They received the rights and responsibilities of being an adult.  They were no longer under the tutor. 

Paul used adoption as an analogy of how the law worked in our lives.  Before faith came to us, we were under the tutor or the law.  The law was our tutor to show us we had a problem with sin and needed a Savior.  When we understand that and received Jesus as our Savior, we are no longer under the tutor.  We are no longer under the law.  

We become the sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  We have put on Christ.  Jesus lives in us and we take His identity.  Our identity is no longer tied to our race or social status or our gender.  We are all one in Christ Jesus.  If we are Christ’s, then we have become Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise that God made to Abraham.  What is that promise?  We have received the Holy Spirit to dwell within us.  He will be with us forever.  He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Keith Oliver