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Galatians 3:14 – Through Faith

Posted on October 26, 2007 by Will

Galatians 3:14

¹⁴that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Truth to Learn

Like Abraham, we receive God’s blessing through faith AND we also receive God’s guarantee through faith.

Behind the Words

In order to get the fill impact of this verse, let’s look carefully at the Greek grammar used. We have a tendency to read this verse as: “that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promise …” In other words, we read this as a sequence of two events: first, we receive the blessing, then we receive the promise. The Greek construction, however, seems to say that these are parallel events, so it could be translated as: “that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, and that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

Meaning Explained

We’re just splitting hairs, right? No. You see, the blessing that Abraham received is the righteousness that was graciously given to him by God. And, as we saw in verse six, this righteousness was accounted to him as a result of his faith (not a result of works), because he believed God’s promise. We also receive the blessing of imputed righteousness by faith, not by works. Likewise, Paul now tells us, we also receive the promise of the Spirit through faith at the same time. He said a similar thing in Romans:

Romans 8:15, 16 ¹⁵For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

You see, if we have truly submitted ourselves to God, in recognition of our sinfulness, and have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, then we are given the Holy Spirit as a promise (a guarantee) that God will complete His work in us. That’s what Paul tells us in Ephesians:

Ephesians 1:13, 14 ¹³In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

It is through faith that we receive the blessed declaration that we are righteous and it is through this same faith that we receive the Holy Spirit as God’s promise that we are eternally His.

So What?

Now, I ask you: “Do you want to try to earn this righteousness and this promise from God, neither of which is possible to earn? Or do you want to simply believe the Good News about Christ’s payment for your sins and receive this blessing which you don’t deserve? ”

It’s one or the other, there is no middle ground!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Galatians 3:13 – Purchased Forever

Posted on October 25, 2007 by Will

Galatians 3:13

¹³Christ 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”),

Truth to Learn

When we believe that the blood of Jesus pays for all our sins we become God’s purchased possession and we are taken out of the marketplace and placed into His family, forever.

Behind the Words

A few verses back Paul said:

Galatians 3:10 ¹⁰For 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.”

Since verse ten he has shown us that the law is not of faith and that anyone trying to obtain righteousness by the Law must satisfy all the Law, which we sinful humans can’t do. So, if we can’t satisfy the entire Law we are under God’s curse and can’t obtain righteousness ourselves. But now Paul gives us the blessed truth that Christ redeemed us from that curse. But what does it mean that Christ has “redeemed” us?

The word translated “redeemed” is the Greek word, “exagoradzo” which is made up of “ek” meaning “out of” and “agoradzo” which means “to buy.” So this word can be translated as “to buy out of.” But what does that really mean? It means that we have been bought and have been taken out of the marketplace. The beauty of this notion is that we can never be put back in the market place and sold to anyone else. We now belong to God. We are His possession, eternally! And, we have been given the righteousness of Christ (in God’s record book he has marked us as righteous, just like Jesus Christ).

Meaning Explained

How did Christ buy us and take us out of the market place? He did it by taking our curse on himself. As sinners, we had broken God’s law and were under His curse. When Jesus hung on the Cross He had all of our sins thrust upon Him. Remember when Jesus was hanging on the cross there was darkness for three hours? That was representative of God the Father having turned away from God the Son while He bore our sins and became a curse for us. But Jesus perfectly fulfilled the Law and was, therefore, righteous in God the Father’s eyes. So, just as Jesus humbled Himself before the Father and took on our curse as He hung on the cross, when we submit to God the Father and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior our curse is paid for and removed from us. And, in place of the curse we deserve, we receive the righteousness of Christ which we don’t deserve.

That’s grace, pure and simple!

So What?

Have your sins been paid for? If so, then you are purchased goods. You now have a new owner and He expects you to behave like a child of the King. So, live like a son or daughter of a Holy God, not because you want to gain something, but because you want to give something.

In God’s service, for His glory,

Galatians 3:12 – Faith, not Law

Posted on October 24, 2007 by Will

Galatians 3:12

¹²Yet the law is not of faith, but “The man who does them shall live by them.”

Truth to Learn

The Christian who is trying to obey the Law of Moses or the rules of their church in order to be a “good Christian” is not living by faith.

Review

A few verses back, Paul told us that God promised Abraham that in him all nations, Jew and Gentile alike, would receive God’s blessing. He then went on to say that those who are of faith “are blessed with believing Abraham.” In other words, God’s blessing (righteousness imputed) is upon those who believe God’s promises, not on those who try to earn their righteousness by obeying the law.

Meaning Explained

Paul now declares that not only is the law not of faith, but whoever tries to satisfy the law is committing his future life to living by the law. On the surface this may seem contradictory. It sounds like he is saying that life can be obtained by keeping the law. However, Paul is making a reference to a passage in Leviticus which says:

Leviticus 18:5 ⁵You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.

The key in this verse is the phrase “if a man does.” If anyone keeps the whole law, he, or she, will receive life. The problem is that anyone with a sin nature cannot keep the whole law. The only one who ever wholly kept the law is Christ himself. In fact, He declared in His Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 5:17 ¹⁷Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.

The word translated “fulfill” is the Greek word “pleroō” which means “to make full” or “to fill up,” but by implication it means to fully satisfy. Christ came to fully satisfy all that the law requires for righteousness and life, but it is impossible for us.

So, what Paul is saying is that satisfying the law is not done by faith but by works. The Galatians Christians had been taught by the false teachers that they had to keep some of the ordinances of the law in order to be completely saved. Paul has just shown them that keeping part of the law is not sufficient because in order to be justified by the law the entire law must be kept. And, as he said two verses back;

“Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”

Therefore, anyone trying to complete or secure their salvation by works of the law is under God’s curse.

That’s something to think about!

So What?

If you believe that you have to keep the works of the Law in order to live a victorious Christian life, then I ask you: “Are you keeping the whole Law?”

In God’s service, for His glory,

Galatians 3:11 – Faithful Righteousness

Posted on October 23, 2007 by Will

Galatians 3:11

¹¹But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “The just shall live by faith.”

Truth to Learn

The only way for any of us to stand before the Judge of all the earth is to be completely righteous. But none of us is righteous in and of ourselves. In order to be righteous in God’s presence, we must have already received the righteousness He offers us through faith.

Behind the Words

What does Paul mean that no one is “justified” by the law? The word “justified” is a translation of the Greek word, “dikaiountai” which is a form of “dikaioō.” This word means, “to bring out the fact that a person is righteous.” Remember what Paul said to the Christians in Rome?

Romans 3:10 ¹⁰As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;”

So, if none of us is inherently righteous (just) and no one is justified (made righteous) by the law, then trying to obey the law will never result in righteousness. Paul goes on to say that not only are we not justified by works of the law but those who would be just (righteous) will live by faith.

Notice that he did not say, “the just are living by faith.” In the current verse, the word “live” is in the future tense. Now there is a certain sense in which we are currently living by faith but Paul is saying that the just “will live” by faith. In fact, the Greek doesn’t really say “by faith,” it says “out of” or “from” faith. What is Paul trying to tell us?

Meaning Explained

Throughout the Bible it is said that there are two realms in which we exist: the physical and the spiritual. When we are born into this world we receive physical life, which will end for all of us when we take our last breath. Because of our sin nature, which we inherited from Adam, we are spiritually dead the moment we are physically born. In order for us to gain spiritual life we have to be “born again.” This is our spiritual birth. At that point in time we are adopted into the family of God and credited with righteousness. However, if you read the Romans 2 chapter, you will see that even though we have been declared righteous, as long as we are in this body we are sinners. When we pass from this physical life to the next we will all stand before the Judge and those of us who have believed God will be made completely righteous.

We “will be justified” — completely and eternally. At that point we will truly live as a result of (out of) the faith that we have in this physical life. That’s what Paul is telling us in the current verse, “the just shall live by faith.” Because we believe that the blood of Christ cleanses us from all unrighteousness we shall truly live in the eternal state and we will know the complete blessing of God.

So What?

In that day we will live, not because we belong to the right church, or keep the law, or follow a set of rules but because of our faith. Period!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Galatians 3:10 – Cursed Works

Posted on October 18, 2007 by admin

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 the.

Truth to Learn

Performing works of the law results in God’s curse. Faith and faith alone results in God’s blessing.

Behind the Words

Paul once again uses a play on words to make his point. In the previous verse he said those who are “of faith” are “blessed.” In the current verse he says that those who are “of the works of the law” are “cursed.” The expression “of faith” is from the Greek words ek pisteōs which literally translates as “out of faith” or “out of belief.” What Paul means by this is that their manner of life is build out of faith. It is the characteristic that describes how they conduct themselves. And those people whose life is characterized by faith are “blessed” by God or, as we saw in the discussion of the previous verse, are “well spoken of” by God.

Now, in this verse he refers to those who are “of works of the law.” This is a translation of the phrase ek ergon nomou which literally means “out of works of law.” In other words, their manner of life is built out of works of law, obeying rules to receive righteousness rather than simply having believing faith. These people, according to Paul, are “under the curse” which comes from the Greek, hupo kataran. The word hupo means “under” and the word kataran means “a curse.” So these people, instead of receiving good words from God, receive a cursing from God.

Meaning Explained

Paul now uses a quote from the Old Testament to show that doing a few good works does nothing for a person if they don’t do all the works of the law.

Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law. (Deueronomy 27:26)

What Paul is pointing out is that the one who tries to obtain righteousness by works of the law must keep the entire law. Now, we know that no one can keep all the works of the law, so anyone who tries to confirm or complete their righteousness by obeying some or all of the works of the law is cursed because it isn’t humanly possible.

The Christians in Galatia had been taught by the false teachers that they had to keep some of the works of the law in order to be completely saved. Paul has just shown them that keeping part of the law does no good. If they expect to receive righteousness by works of the law then they have to keep the entire law, and no one can do that!

Application

Do you want to receive “a blessing” from God or “a cursing?” Living by faith and some good works does not secure God’s blessing. The only way to receive God’s blessing is to live by faith and faith alone.

Are you still trying to earn God’s blessing?

In God’s service, for His glory,

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Galatians 3:9 – Believer’s Eulogy

Posted on October 17, 2007 by admin

Galatians 3:9

So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

Truth to Learn

God’s eulogy for us will depend on what we believe, not on what we do.

Behind the Words

We saw in the previous verse that God promised Abraham that all nations would be blessed in him. The word in the previous verse which is translated as “nations” is the Greek word “ethnē” which refers to “a group of people as distinguished by their race or familiar characteristics.” This is the word, however, that Jews used to refer to all who are not Jewish; hence it is often translated as “Gentiles.” God’s message to Abraham, however, was that all nations, including both Jews and Gentiles, would be blessed in him, therefore it is best to translate this word as “nations” in this instance.

In the current verse, the word translated “blessed” is “eulogountai” which is a compound word made up of “eu” meaning “good” or “well” and a form of “logos” meaning “word.” Hence, it literally means “good words.” It is what we get our English word eulogy from and anyone who has been to a funeral knows that the eulogy is where good things are said about the deceased.

Meaning Explained

Paul’s point is that all nations are blessed (spoken well of by God) because of Abraham’s seed, that is, Jesus Christ. But, actually it’s even more than that. The ones who are blessed are the ones whom God justifies, that is, those who believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah. It is because God has declared them as righteous (justified) that He can speak well of them. But those who reject Christ are not blessed, in fact, not only will God not speak well of them, they will receive God’s wrath for rejecting His Son.

And Paul ties this in with the major point that he has been making all along, that God’s blessing, salvation, comes from faith in Jesus Christ, Abraham’s seed, not believing this plus doing good works. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t do good works, for we clearly should. It’s just that our good works should be a result of our salvation, not a source of our salvation.

Application

Are you a believer in God’s promise that you will be saved if you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? If not, God will not have good words for you when you appear before Him at the end of your earthly life. If, on the other hand, you have humbled yourself before Him, accepting the blood of Jesus to pay the penalty for your sins, then God has good words waiting for you. What do you want to hear?

If you wait until you appear before Him, it will be too late. The time to believe is now. Don’t put it off any longer! Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

In God’s service, for His glory,

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Galatians 3:8 – God’s Blessing

Posted on October 16, 2007 by admin

Galatians 3:8

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.”

Truth to Learn

God’s blessing on our lives comes by faith.

Behind the Words

When we read the first part of this verse we have to ask ourselves, “How can the Scripture foresee anything.” Of course, since the Scripture is not a person, it is impossible. However, the Jewish Rabbis used this as a way of citing passages of Scripture. They would say, “What does the Scripture foresee?” or “What does the law foresee?” We understand, then, that this is a personification of Scripture. That is, the reference to the Scripture is really a reference to the true author, God Himself. This is what the Rabbis intended in their teaching so we believe that this is also what Paul intended here.

So, we could paraphrase the opening part of this verse as, “And God, foreseeing that He would justify the Gentiles by faith …”

As another indication that “the Scripture” is a personification of God, Paul goes on to say that the Scripture, “preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, …” The word translated “preached the gospel beforehand” is “proeuēngelidzomai” which simply means “to announce the good news ahead of time.” This is not a reference to what we call “the gospel of Christ,” that Christ died on the cross to pay for our sins, was buried, and rose again. Rather it is a reference to the good news given ahead of time to Abraham that “in you all the nations shall be blessed.” This good news was given to Abraham directly by God while Abram was still in Ur of the Chaldeans and is recorded for us in:

I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Genesis 12:3)

Meaning Explained

As Paul will make clearer in the following verse, those of us who are saved by faith in Christ are the ones who are blessed along with Abraham, simply because we believe God’s word, not because we keep the requirements of the law. We do not have to become Jews and become circumcised, we simply have to believe! And in doing so, we Gentiles are blessed in Abraham.

God, knowing that Gentiles would believe the good news of Jesus Christ, and knowing that he would declare us as righteous because of that belief, told Abraham that in him (that is in his seed, Jesus Christ) all nations of the world would be blessed. And now we know that there are Christian believers in all nations who believe God’s promises.

Application

You too can be free from sin guilt and know eternal salvation:

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ( Romans 10:9)

Want God’s blessing? That says it all!

In God’s service, for His glory,

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Galatians 3:7 – Abraham’s Child

Posted on October 15, 2007 by admin

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,

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Galatians 3:6 – Credited Righteousness

Posted on October 14, 2007 by admin

Galatians 3:6

just as Abraham “Believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness”

Truth to Learn

Our righteousness is not earned, it is credited to us.

Behind the Words

The word translated “accounted” is a form of “logidzomai” which is an accounting term meaning, “to credit something to someone’s account.” In the current verse we are told that God credited righteousness to Abraham’s account. In other words, God declared Abraham righteous when he believed.

Meaning Explained

Paul has been demonstrating to the Christian believers in the churches in Galatia that salvation comes by faith and by faith alone. The false teachers who had been teaching in these churches had convinced the Galatians that they needed to observe at least some of the Law of Moses in order to make their salvation complete. Paul has just pointed out to these believers that God provided His Holy Spirit to them, just as He does with all believers in the church age, by “the hearing of faith” and not by “works of the law.”

These false teachers were using the Hebrew Scriptures (what we now call the Old Testament) to demonstrate that circumcision and works of law were necessary for salvation. They may very likely have quoted from Geneses chapter 17 to support their argument.

Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him. (Genesis 17:24-27)

In response to this Paul will now use another example from the Old Testament to show why works of the law are not necessary. Paul also uses Abraham as his example.

Then He (God) brought him (Abraham) outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He (God) said to him (Abraham), “So shall your descendants be.” And he (Abraham) believed in the LORD, and He (God) accounted it to him (Abraham) for righteousness. (Genesis 15:5, 6)

When Abraham believed God, God credited it to him for righteousness. The subtlety of argument is the fact that Abraham was declared righteous (Genesis 15:6) some 20 years or so before Abraham was circumcised (Genesis 17:24). God declared Abraham righteous (saved him) based on faith alone without any works just as He declares us righteous based on faith alone.

Application

Have you earned the right for God to declare you righteous? No! Righteousness is a gift from God credited to us because we believe, not because we earned it.

In God’s service, for His glory,

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Galatians 3:5 – Indwelling Spirit

Posted on October 11, 2007 by Will

Galatians 3:5

⁵Therefore 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?

Truth to Learn

We were given the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit as a result of faith, not as a result of obedience to the Law.

Behind the Words

Two verses back Paul asked the Christians in Galatia if that which was begun by the Holy Spirit (their salvation) was completed by works of the flesh. The answer, of course, is “No.” He now continues with that thought by asking another rhetorical question very similar to the one asked in verse two. The problem with this rhetorical question is that Biblical scholars over the centuries are divided as to who Paul means by “He.” (note that the capitalization of the word “He” is in the English translation, not in the original Greek.)

The two dissenting opinions are:

1) The Apostle Paul is referring to himself as the one who was responsible for imparting the Spirit to them through his ministry and he was the one working miracles among them. If this is the case then Paul is saying that, as the instrument of their salvation, he is the one who has preached against the effectual works of the Law and in favor of salvation by faith alone. Therefore, the Galatians should pay attention to Paul and not to the new teachers who are trying to bind them again to the Law.

Or,

2) Paul is referring to God as the one who imparted the Holy Spirit to them and God is the one who worked the miracles among them. If this is the case then the imparting of the Spirit and the working of miracles was a result, not of the works of the Law but of their hearing the truth and believing it in faith.

The second opinion seems to be more plausible since Paul is not one to brag about the miracles that he has done in the power of the Spirit and this opinion is also more in keeping with the rest of what Paul has to say to the Galatians.

Meaning Explained

The difference between what Paul said to the Christians in Galatia in verse two and what he is saying in this verse has to do with the working of miracles. Whereas in verse two Paul asked whether they received the Spirit by faith or by works, here he is saying that the working of miracles by the Spirit of God is proof that they were completely saved before they began following the legalistic practices of the false teachers.

In the coming verses Paul will demonstrate that even Abraham was not justified by works of law but by faith.

So What?

Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins? If so, then your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you.

In God’s service, for His glory,