Galatians 3:7
Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.
Truth to Learn
Who your earthly father is has no bearing at all on your standing before God. Having God as your Heavenly Father is the important matter.
Review
As we pointed out in the previous verse, the false teachers who had traveled through Galatia were teaching the Christians there that they had to obey the Law of Moses in order to be completely saved. Apparently they taught that a Christian had to become a Jew and become circumcised in order to be truly saved. Paul argued in the previous verse that circumcision was not what resulted in Abraham being saved (proclaimed righteous), it was his faith in God’s promise for which God proclaimed him righteous. And that occurred some twenty or so years before Abraham was circumcised, and four hundred and 30 years before the Law was given to Moses.
Behind the Words
Before we see Paul’s summation of this idea let’s look at a couple of words in the current verse. The word “only” is not in the original Greek, it was inserted by the translators. The other word we want to look at is the word translated “know.” This is from the word “ginōskete.” This verb can be rendered as being in the indicative mood or the imperative mood for they both have the same spelling. If it is in the indicative mood it means, “Therefore you know that those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.” But if it is an imperative then Paul is saying this almost as a command, “Therefore understand that those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.” Since this is a point that Paul is trying to prove, it makes sense that this verb is in the imperative mood.
Meaning Explained
All Jews had been taught that being a descendent of Abraham guaranteed them righteousness and the indication of their being a son of Abraham was circumcision. Even a convert to Judaism who was circumcised after conversion was considered a son of Abraham.
But here, Paul is telling the Christians in Galatia that circumcision is not the thing which determines who is a son of Abraham, hence a son of God. Rather, he is saying that those who believe God’s word, the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection, are the ones who God sees as sons of Abraham. It is to those who believe His word that He imputes righteousness.
Application
So, are you trusting your salvation on the belief that Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins and that He rose from the dead as proof of His being the Son of God? Or are you trying to live a certain way and obey a set of rules in order to secure your salvation?
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2007 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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