Galatians 3:1-9
Faith, Not Works of the Law
1O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?
3Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, are you now finishing in the flesh?
4Have you suffered so much for nothing, if it really was for nothing?
5Does God lavish His Spirit on you and work miracles among you because you practice the law, or because you hear and believe?
6So also, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
7Understand, then, that those who have faith are sons of Abraham.
8The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
9So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Berean Standard Bible
Paul speaks sharply: who has bewitched you? Before the Galatians' eyes, Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Their problem is not lack of information about the cross. It is that they are acting as though the cross needs to be supplemented by a different basis for belonging.
Paul asks one decisive question. Did they receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? They began with the message about Christ and the Spirit's work, not with religious achievement. Paul cannot understand why they would now try to reach maturity by human effort.
He asks whether they suffered so much in vain, if indeed it was in vain. The question leaves room for the possibility that their faith can be corrected, but it does not minimize the seriousness of their reversal. The God who supplies the Spirit and works miracles among them does so by hearing and believing, not by performing the works of the law.
Paul brings Abraham into the argument. Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Those who have faith are sons of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: all nations will be blessed through you.
So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. The Galatians have heard the cross, yet their conduct treats Christ's work as incomplete. Paul calls them back to the promise received through faith.
Questions
1 What does Paul say was publicly portrayed before the Galatians?
AnswerJesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified before their eyes. Paul brings their present confusion back to the cross.
2 How did the Galatians receive the Spirit?
AnswerThey received the Spirit by hearing with faith, not by performing works of the law. Their beginning exposes the mistake in their new direction.
3 What happened to Abraham's faith?
AnswerAbraham believed God, and that faith was credited to him as righteousness. God received his trust before any religious badge could distinguish him.
4 Who are called sons of Abraham?
AnswerThose who have faith are called sons of Abraham. They share in the promise through trust in God.
What This Means for Us
It is possible to begin with grace and slowly turn faith into a performance review. Paul asks us to remember how we first received Christ: by hearing and trusting, not by proving that we deserved Him.
Faith is not passive indifference. Abraham believed the God who spoke and lived in response. But the response does not become a new ladder that lets us boast over people who are still learning to trust.
Prayer
God, bring us back to the cross when we turn faith into a performance. Give us the trusting faith of Abraham, and keep us grateful for the Spirit You give through hearing and believing. Amen.