Paul settles into the heart of his argument and thesis of the epistle to the Galatians in 3:1-14. It is a letter full of contrasts–law and gospel, Spirit and flesh, Jew and Gentile, circumcision and uncircumcision, slave and free, Jerusalem of earth and above, Abraham’s seed of old and now, and faith with works of law (2:16), There is no mistaking Paul’s decided emphasis upon the advantages of faith, a word he uses 22 times in 20 verses of Galatians. He also uses the verb form an additional four times (2:7,16; 3:6,22). In this paragraph, Paul reminds these Christians that false teachers (1:6-9) were “bewitching” them into believing they were required to submit to “works of the law” in order to be acceptable to Christ. Relying on that threatened to render their Christian lives “vain” (4). It would make them “foolish” (1,3).
Positively, Paul makes his case for the pure, true gospel of Christ by highlighting what they gain by faith in Him. Notice what he says.
- One receives the Spirit by faith (2-3,5,14). While Paul is talking about the miraculous work of the Spirit as part of this discussion (5), he also seems to be referring to the indwelling of the Spirit common to all who are in Christ (cf. Acts 2:38; Gal. 3;14; 4:6). The benefits of that are multiplied. We are perfected (3:3). We eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness (5:5). We do not gratify the desires of the flesh (5:16). We bear the right fruit (5:22-23). We live spiritual lives, keeping in step with the Spirit (5:25). We ultimately reap eternal life (6:8). The Holy Spirit never directly operated on the hearts of Christians, never interfered with man’s free will. One cannot rightly claim that the Spirit is moving him or her to do “X” or not do “Y,” imparting divine revelation apart from God’s revealed word in the Bible. Yet, neither should we discount or minimize the great blessing of God’s indwelling presence that comes by faith (Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 6:19; 2 Tim. 1:14).
- One suffers with purpose by faith (4). Paul teaches this by asking, “Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?” Much as Paul argues the vanity of suffering if there is no resurrection (1 Cor. 15:2), he argues that suffering for Christ is pointless without faith in His life, death, resurrection, and total rule and authority. Why are we willing to be ridiculed, ostracized, and rejected by friends, family, co-workers, fellow-students, and others, if not for faith in Christ?
- One is counted righteous by faith (6). Abraham lived 430 years before the Law (17), but he was justified. How? By faith. Paul is telling the Galatians they are not counted righteous by law, but by faith. So are we.
- One is a child of Abraham by faith (7). Paul is going to continue to develop this throughout the chapter and into the next chapter. We are spiritual descendants of Abraham by faith in Christ, not by the works of law (29).
- One is justified by faith (8). We looked at justification in chapter two, but remember that it means to be made righteous. Law does not do that. Faith in Christ does.
- One is blessed by faith (8-10,13,14). Paul’s point is that to be justified by law, one would have to keep all of it perfectly. None of us can do that! The blessing is that because Christ became a curse for us (13), we can be blessed by trusting in that sacrifice. I strive to live a sin-free life, but because I cannot perfectly do so I am blessed by Him as I walk in His light (1 John 1:7).
- One lives by faith (11-12). The “living” in this context is not primarily referring to living on earth, but ultimately living eternally with God after this life. We enter into a spiritual condition of life by our obedient faith, and we ultimately escape spiritual death by faith!
Sadly, the influence of some in religious error can make us shy away from faith as well as grace. Faith and grace can be misunderstood, causing people to minimize the importance and necessity of obedience (12). But, if we are not careful, we can lose sight of the Christ we are to obey. We can trust in ourselves and our works, forgetting that He is the power. Without His saving work, nothing we do would matter at all. It is never “faith alone” that saves. Even in this chapter, faith leads one to be baptized and thereby clothed with Christ (26-27). It never could have entered Paul’s mind to argue that faith does not have works of obedience which accompany them. He is combating a mindset that argued that one’s salvation came because of the works (in context, the works of the Old Law) rather than the saving power of Christ. Who or what do you trust in?
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