Galatians 3 Gifts of Spirit Received by Faith
1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed 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?
5 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.
“From the days of Cain and Abel, one of whom was cursed and the other blessed, for the simple reason that the deeds of one were righteous and the deeds of the other were evil (1 John 3:12), and throughout the history of the patriarchs, and continuing down through the Jewish monarchy, where of various kings it is said that some ‘did that which was right and good in the eyes of the Lord’(2 Chronicles 14:2), and of others, that they ‘did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord’ (2 Chronicles 33:2), with the result that some received God's blessing and others did not, people's obedience or disobedience to God's commandments has been the primary and invariable determinator of their destiny. Not even the perfect salvation which Christians have received ‘in Christ’ nullifies this basic law of God's dealings with mankind.
As Paul wrote the Corinthian church: ‘For we must all be manifest before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10).’” (Coffman Commentary)
“‘Oh foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you’: εβασκανε, who hath fascinated, beguiled, or seduced you” (Joseph Sutcliffe) “O infatuated people; you make as little use of reason as those who have none; you have acted in this business as those do who are fascinated - they are led blindly and unresistingly on to their own destruction. [Come, let us reason together.]—“‘before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified?’ Why are you still drawing your lessons from the sanctuary services with it old ordinances, rituals and sacrifices. They have passed away and the sanctuary itself would soon be destroyed with the holy city. Are you trying to add to the perfection of the Christian sacrifice?
“‘This only I want to learn from you’— Did ye receive these extraordinary gifts in consequence of your circumcision, and observing the Mosaic precepts? or was it by the hearing of the Gospel, prescribing faith in Christ crucified?” (Adam Clarke) The Spirit was poured out at Pentecost and subsequent meetings wheresoever believers were gathered together in His name— Not in the place of the Old Testament sanctuary. “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect”— ‘ye would now end’ (William Tyndale)— “by the flesh?” The word used here for made perfect “’epiteleō’ means properly, to bring through to an end, to finish; and the sense here has probably been expressed by Tyndale. The idea of perfecting, in the sense in which we now use that word, is not implied in the original. It is that of finishing, ending, completing; and the sense is: ‘You began your Christian career under the elevated and spiritual influences of Christianity, a system so pure and so exalted above the carnal ordinances of the Jews. Having begun thus, can it be that you are finishing your Christian course, or carrying it on to completion by the observance of those ordinances, as if they were more pure and elevating than Christianity?” (Albert Barnes)
“‘Have you suffered so many things in vain?’ Consider not only the good start you had and lost, but consider also the many things you have suffered for the sake of the Gospel and for the name of Christ. You have suffered the loss of your possessions, you have borne reproaches, you have passed through many dangers of body and life. You endured much for the name of Christ and you endured it faithfully. But now you have lost everything, the Gospel, faith, and the spiritual benefit of your sufferings for Christ's sake. What a miserable thing to endure so many afflictions for nothing.’ The Apostle adds the afterthought: ‘If it be yet in vain.’ I do not despair of all hope for you. But if you continue to look to the Law for righteousness, I think you should be told that all your past true worship of God and all the afflictions that you have endured for Christ's sake are going to help you not at all. I do not mean to discourage you altogether. I do hope you will repent.’” (Martin Luther)
“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?— just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ (Gen. 15:6) Abraham lived his life before Moses— before the torah of the tabernacle was given to Moses. Were the acts of God in his life by the sanctuary service or by the hearing of faith. It was by the hearing of faith. “Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. 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.’ (Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18) So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.”
‘The Scriptures preached etc.’ — the Word of God personified, as in Jesus- “The kernel of the Gospel was known throughout past ages [by oral Torah handed down from Adam and Then from generation to generation], that man by faith should respond to God in trust and repentance (Genesis 15:6; Psalms 51:17; Isaiah 57:15) and thus be accepted as righteous in His sight… ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’ This was continually emphasised to Abraham at one time and another (Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18...). It was always God’s final purpose that all the world would be blessed through Abraham and his seed. And it would come from God’s gracious working…‘Those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.’ By paralleling Abraham in believing they will share his blessing. We translate this as ‘believing’ rather than as ‘faithful’ because that is the idea here. He was not so much blessed for his faithfulness as for his faith which produced that faithfulness (Genesis 15:6). Clearly true faith always produces faithfulness, which is why James can say, ‘faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself ’ (James 2:17).
But the faith comes first. No one can be faithful without first believing. So by coming to God through the route of faith we are aligning ourselves with Abraham and receive the blessing promised through him, and this will result in our being faithful. Thus the receiving of the Spirit is paralleled with Abraham’s ‘believing God’ and being accounted as righteous. Both experiences are in parallel.” (Peter Pett)
Abraham did not live before the Commandments of God. Be advised of the Word of God to Isaac. “And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” (Gen. 26:4-5) So, the issue is the ceremonial law only. Works at least play a part in final salivation but it is by grace lest any man should boast. "Faith in God constitutes the highest worship, the prime duty, the first obedience, and the foremost sacrifice.” (Luther)
Galatians 3:10 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.” (Deuteronomy 27:26) 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4) 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” (Leviticus 18:5) 13 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” (Deuteronomy 21:23), 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.
Paul appealed to Scripture to defend salvation by the Christian faith. All world religions, even ours, have demands. Most religions have the Hebrew and /or New Testament Scriptures. Works of the law- “The word law here, relates to the law (or torah) of God in general, to all the laws of God made known to man.” (Barnes) It pertains to any right teaching.
“‘As many as are of the works of the law are under the curse’— All that seek salvation by the performance of the works of the law are under the curse, because it is impossible for them to come up to the spiritual meaning and intent of the law; and the law pronounces them cursed that continue not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” (Adam Clarke) — “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.” (Deuteronomy 27:11-26) “The law demands obedience, but it has no power to give a nature which delights in the law to keep it, nor can it bestow the power to fulfill its demands. Nothing can the law give to the sinner, but the curse…” (Arno Gaebelein) of certain death.
“‘But that no one is justified by the law’— by observance of the law— 'in the sight of God is evident, for ‘the just shall live by faith’ (Hab. 2:4)." Regardless of their seeming religious standing or good works, those without faith in Jesus will not be secure in the end time. Yet, if they trust and obey Him, they will be counted worthy of the resurrection of life. Good works may assuage the guilt conscience, but they are unable to justify the guilty sinner. Jesus alone can do that. To make his case, Paul quotes the prophet Habakkuk. The issue of the God’s righteousness consumed the prophet. In his three chapter book, he put into words a struggle which took place in his own soul. He did not preach to the people. Rather, he sought Yahweh’s face on the issue of justice for the righteous. In the first chapter, he cried out to God over all of the injustices in the land. It is “the burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.” The second Chapter is the main response of God; it is a message for today’s world, as we will soon observe. It is none other than the utterances of God for the end-time generation. It begins: “Then Yahweh answered me and said…” This is where we learn that “the just shall live by faith.” The third chapter is a prayer in which he shows gratitude for this torah.
This message from God is the opposite of living by faith: “Woe to him who covets evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high that he may be delivered from the power of disaster! You give shameful counsel to your house, cutting off many peoples, and sin against your soul for the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the timbers will answer it.” (Habakkuk 2:9-11)
“Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, pressing him to your bottle, even to make him drunk, that you may look on his nakedness! You are filled with shame instead of glory. You also-- drink! And be exposed as uncircumcised [of heart]! The cup of the LORD'S right hand will be turned against you, and utter shame will be on your glory. For the violence done to Lebanon will cover you, and the plunder of beasts which made them afraid, because of men's blood and the violence of the land and the city, and of all who dwell in it. What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it, the molded image, a teacher of lies, that the maker of its mold should trust in it, to make mute idols?” (Habakkuk 2:15-18)
“Woe to him who says to wood, 'Awake!' To silent stone, 'Arise! It shall teach!' Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet in it there is no breath at all.” (Habakkuk 2:19)This last woe sounds like a rebuke of idols mentioned in the prior woe, but the message also seems to speak a word of warning to evolutionist— "woe to him who says to wood, 'Awake!'— to silent stone, 'Arise! It shall teach!" Then, the Creator of the Universe, even the Lord Jesus Christ, is exalted. “But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.” (Habakkuk 2:20)
Yet not even the law of God is of faith, “but ‘the man who does them shall live by them’ (Leviticus 18:5).” Jesus is the only Man who has done them. And He lived, being resurrected as the first fruits of the dead.
Let it be known— “‘Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law,’— This must mean, that He has rescued us from the consequences of transgression in the world of woe; He has saved us from the punishment which our sins have deserved. The word, ‘us’ here, must refer to all who are redeemed; that is, to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. The curse of the law is a curse which is due to sin, and cannot be regarded as applied particularly to any one class of people. All who violate the law of God, however that law may be made known, are exposed to its penalty.” (Albert Barnes) That wage is death but the gift…— “having become a curse for us,’ treated as accursed, in suffering for our sake the accursed death of the cross. Deuteronomy 21:23; 2 Corinthians 5:21.” (Justin Edwards) — “for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’ (Deuteronomy 21:23).— And, since Christ was crucified [and died] on ‘the tree’ the curse of the law rested upon the Saviour and Redeemer of all mankind, and this in spite of the fact that Jesus our Lord was the unique and only person of all time who ever kept the totality of the law in perfection.” (Burton Coffman) Unwittingly did Satan orchestrate His death, but yea the grave could not contain Him. On the third day He rose from the dead— “that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus,”— even all of those who are Christ’s at His Coming— “'that we might receive the promise of the Spirit'— contained in such passages as the following. Isaiah 44:3. Joel 2:23-28. Hosea 6:3. John 14:26." (Joseph Sutcliffe), the deposit of our salvation, even the Spirit of Whom we will be blessed- if we obey Him. —"through faith."
Galatians 3: The Promise to Abraham
15 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.
"Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man’s covenant," "even though it is only between two men—though it is regulated by the provisions only of human law—does not admit of alteration or addition after it has once been signed and sealed; much more a covenant which depends on God.” (C. J. Ellicott) “It is highly disgraceful and base that the testimony of God should have less weight with us than that of a mortal man. In demanding that the sacred covenant of God shall receive not less deference than is commonly yielded to ordinary human transactions, he does not place God on a level with men. The immense distance between God and men is still left for their consideration.” (John Calvin) The promise—“No one can add to it or take from it. It will remain as it was originally made.” (Albert Barnes)
The purpose of all teachings of God is to help build spiritual children of Abraham, those of the same faith as him. When we strive in the flesh, as Abraham with Hagar, we bear “Ishmaels.” When we wait on God, as Abraham with Sarah— the mother and father of nations— we bear “Issacs.” But we must be willing to die in the flesh. When we have waited and worked, having done all we can, and NOW are willing to die with Christ in public opinion... and trust in God in the resurrection of Messiah, we too will have obtained the promise of God in Christ. The world would have surely thought that Abraham was mad to work his work— sacrifice Isaac, but it was the voice of God.— “‘Abraham!’ And Abraham answered, ‘Yes, here I am!’ ‘Take your son,’ God said, ‘your only son, Isaac, whom you love so much, and go to the land of Moriah. There on a mountain that I will show you, offer him as a sacrifice to me.’” (Genesis 22:1-2)
Abraham understood the gospel message (Galatians 3:8) and acted. “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. Emphatic, as making for his conclusion… — He does not say, ‘And to seeds, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ—He means that there is significance in the singular form of expression, as pointing to the fact that one descendant (seed) is intended - Christ.” (Vincent Word Studies)
“But why does the apostle say, not of seeds, as of many?
To this it is answered, that Abraham possessed in his family two seeds, one natural, viz. the members of his own household; and the other spiritual, those who were like himself because of their faith. The promises were not of a temporal nature; had they been so, they would have belonged to his natural seed; but they did not, therefore they must have belonged to the spiritual posterity… It is from Christ that the grace flows which constitutes Christians. Christians are those who believe after the example of Abraham; they therefore are the spiritual seed. Christ, working in and by these, makes them the light and salt of the world; and through them, under and by Christ, are all the nations of the earth blessed. This appears to be the most consistent interpretation, though every thing must be understood of Christ in the first instance, and then of Christians only through Him.” (Adam Clarke)
Abraham had just offered Isaac upon the altar… and God received him in a figurative sense because of his willingness to do so (Hebrews 11:19), but the Angel of Yahweh stayed the actual sacrifice. “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” (Genesis 22:12) And so Abraham turned once again to typical sacrifices— the ram in the thicket. “And Abraham called the name of the place, Yahweh-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, ‘In the Mount of Yahweh it shall be provided.’”— that sacrifice of God, which would end the Mosaic system.
“Though that blessed Seed was now typified by Isaac, yet the offering of him up was suspended till the latter end of the world, and in the mean time the sacrifice of beasts was accepted, as a pledge of that expiation which should be made by that great Sacrifice.
And it is observable, that the temple, the place of sacrifice, was afterward built upon this mount Moriah, 2 Chronicles 3:1; and mount Calvary, where Christ was crucified, was not far off.” (Joseph Benson)
"Then the Angel of Yahweh called to Abraham out of heaven a second time, and said: ‘By myself, I have sworn,' says Yahweh… "An oath or an appeal to God is, among men, an end to strife; as God could swear by no greater, he sware by himself: (Hebrews 6:13) being willing more abundantly, says the apostle, to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, he confirmed it by an oath, that two immutable things, (his Promise and his Oath), in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us. See Hebrews 6:13-18.” (Adam Clarke) It was made based on Abraham’s faithfulness; yet it was a promise based on God’s power to perform.— “because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son”— This was by promise indeed, but not by unconditional promise as many would have it. Abraham wanted a posterity and yet was willing to offer Issac upon the altar, trusting in God to raise him from the dead. Notice that Yahweh called Isaac, Abraham’s “only son.” He was the child born of promise, while the first born, Ishmael, was born out of the flesh— human striving and doubt. —> "blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.’” (Genesis 22:17-18)
Paul’s point is this— “but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ” — “The promises made to Abraham were not appropriated to one line of his descendants,—that is, to those by Isaac; but centred in one illustrious Person…” (Thomas Coke) “That is, in his one and principal Seed, the Messiah, that should spring from him, Galatians 3:16, in whom all the elect of God, of all nations under the heavens, are blessed with all spiritual blessings, with peace, pardon, righteousness, and eternal life, with grace here and glory hereafter;…” (John Gill’s Expositon)
“‘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.’ Sacrifices began after the fall in every place, all over the land. And the family was the center of worship. But after the Egyptian captivity had ended, God centralized teaching and sacrifices. “Hence the law of Moses, which in substance was but the patriarchal law adapted to national society, cannot supersede the covenant with Abraham.” (Joseph Sutcliffe)
Even in its day of operation, the Mosaic system of the tabernacle of meeting did not supersede the promises of God in Christ made to Abraham. “For if the inheritance"— "all the blessings inherited by Abraham's spiritual children, according to the promise to him and to his seed, Christ, justification and glorification (Romans 8:17; 1 Corinthians 6:9; Galatians 4:7)" (Jamieson Fausett, Brown)— "is of the law, it is no longer of promise, but God gave it to Abraham by promise.' And He must give it thus to you. Jehovah-Jireh has already provided Himself [as] the Sacrifice for sin on the very Mount of Isaac. Take all of your prospect of Heaven— right words and deeds of the law— and count them as dung, trading them in for Jesus and His righteousness. Entry into the Eternal Kingdom is dependent upon the fulfilment of the law by Him—the Holy One of Israel. It is done. So our inheritance hinges on being found in Him, not having our own righteousness which is of the law, but rather a different kind of righteous which is by faith in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3: Sonship
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.
“‘For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ”— having “your adoption sealed up unto you,” (John Trapp) by submission to the ordinance of the believers baptism in Jesus’ name—-“have put on Christ;”— taken Him as your Leader, and “come under the controlling influence of His Spirit.” (Justin Edwards) “In the expression, ‘have put on Christ,’ there is an allusion to the symbolical rite which in the first age usually accompanied baptism. The person to be baptized put off his old clothes before he went into the water, and put on new or clean raiment when he came out of it; to signify that he had put off his old corrupted nature, with all his former bad principles and corrupt practices, and was become a new man.
Hence the expressions, putting off the old man, and putting on the new, Ephesians 4:22; Ephesians 4:24.” (James Macknight)
“But the argument, that, because they have been baptized, they have put on Christ, appears weak; for how far is baptism from being efficacious in all? Is it reasonable that the grace of the Holy Spirit should be so closely linked to an external symbol? Does not the uniform doctrine of Scripture, as well as experience, appear to confute this statement? I answer, it is customary with Paul to treat of the sacraments in two points of view. When he is dealing with hypocrites, in whom the mere symbol awakens pride, he then proclaims loudly the emptiness and worthlessness of the outward symbol, and denounces, in strong terms, their foolish confidence. In such cases he contemplates not the ordinance of God, but the corruption of wicked men. When, on the other hand, he addresses believers, who make a proper use of the symbols, he then views them in connection with the truth — which they represent. In this case, he makes no boast of any false splendor as belonging to the sacraments, but calls our attention to the actual fact represented by the outward ceremony. Thus, agreeably to the Divine appointment, the truth comes to be associated with the symbols.” (John Calvin)
“‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female;’ — This unity in the church supersedes the tyranny of man in castes, ranks, and distinctions, when we bow and worship before the Lord our Maker.” (Joseph Sutcliffe) — “‘for you are all one in Christ Jesus’; possessed of one character; accepted in one way; belonging to one family; under one Head, Christ; and equally entitled to all the blessings of salvation through Him.” (Justin Edwards) “There is no favoritism on account of birth, beauty, or blood.” (Albert Barnes)
“‘There is neither Jew nor Greek’— That is, the distinctions, which were before so much regarded, are in a manner done away, with respect to such: for under the gospel dispensation, God pays no regard to persons on account of their descent, their station, or their sex; but all who truly believe in Christ, have an equal right to the privileges of the gospel, are equally in favour with God, and are equal in respect and dignity. The Greek has the same privileges with the Jew, and the Jew may, without offending God, use the same freedom in approaching him with the Greek. To the Judaizing teachers, who imagined that the being Abraham’s children, according to the flesh, would of itself secure their acceptance with God, this must have appeared a most humiliating doctrine.
But to the Galatians it was of singular use, to prevent their being seduced by those teachers, who strongly affirmed that the Gentiles could not share in the privileges of the people of God, without being circumcised. ‘There is neither bond nor free’— But slaves are now the Lord’s free-men, and freemen the Lord’s servants; and this consideration makes the freeman humble, and the slave cheerful; swallowing up, in a great measure, the sense of his servitude. ‘There is neither male nor female’ — Under the law, males had greater privileges than females. For males alone bare in their bodies the sign of God’s covenant; they alone were capable of the priesthood and of the kingdom; and heritages belonged to them, preferably to females, in the same degree.” (Joseph Benson)'
"The fraternity that sprang from the mere enthusiasm of philosophic philanthropy leads to the guillotine. It is only union in Christ that secures true lasting union among men. As all colours melt into one common brilliancy under the rays of a very strong light, all distinctions vanish when Christ's presence is deeply felt." (Pulpit Commentary)- nay, experienced.
“‘And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.’ Lest these Galatians should be discouraged, because the promise was made to Abraham and his seed, and they were not the seed of Abraham; he tells them, if they were Christ’s, that is, if they truly believed in Him, and were [truly] implanted into Him [by their water baptism], that then they were the seed of Abraham, that seed to which the promise was made; and though not heirs of Abraham according to the flesh, yet heirs according to the promise: see Romans 9:7,8.” (Poole) “The inheritance of ancient promises— The son of a king is an heir. What shall be the inheritance of a Son of God? To him it is said, ‘All things are yours.’ The Jews [of old] cherished the promises as a hope. The Christian enjoys the fulfilment of the promises.” (Pulpit Commentary)