Galatians 3
Justification by Law or by Faith?
1 You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed as crucified!
The Greek word for "foolish" is ἀνόητος (anoatas), meaning no brain, mindless, stupid, or acting in a dumb and senseless manner. Paul was not a seeker-friendly pastor. He was basically calling the Ephesians "stupid".
The Greek word for "spell" is βασκαίνω (baskainow), meaning casting an evil eye, or evil power, over another. The Greek philosopher Aristotle used this verb as someone placing another under a spell so that they could not think. Paul is metaphorically asking the Galatians who it was that placed a spell upon them that caused them to lose their inability to think. He is accusing the Galatians of falling under the spell of witchcraft.
This is the first of six tough questions that Paul will ask in order to get the Galatians in the right mind of divine viewpoint thinking.
2 The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard?
The second questions was did you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit by keeping the Mosaic Law or believing the gospel in which you heard?
3 Are you so foolish? Although you began with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort?
The third question was, "You are not stupid, are you?"
The fourth question was, "Do you really want to return back to the Mosaic Law and see if you can keep what no human being has never been able to keep?
4 Have you suffered so many things for nothing? – If indeed it was for nothing.
The fifth questions was, “If you have already suffered so much for the faith, then do you really want to go back and have the skin of your private parts mutilated through circumcision?”
5 Does God then give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law or by your believing what you heard?
The sixth and last question was, “Did God give you the working of the Holy Spirit by keeping the Mosaic Law or by hearing the gospel?”
The point of these six questions was that the Galatians should have been spiritually mature enough to recognize that all of these blessings came from hearing the gospel, not from obeying the Mosaic Law.
6 Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,
This is a quotation from Genesis 15:6. Abraham believed that God would give him a son. The Hebrew word used in Genesis 15:6 for "believe" is אָמַן (amin), a qal perfect verb, meaning that Abraham believed God as a one-time action of the past, and he was credited as righteousness. The Greek verb is πιστεύω pisteuow), an aorist active indicative verb, meaning that Abraham believed God as a one-time completed action of the past, and he was credited with righteousness. Both the Hebrew and Greek verbs disprove the false doctrine of Armenianism, which teaches that eternal life can be lost. Eternal life is not eternal if it can be lost. Abraham believed as a one-time completed action of the past, and he was credited with righteousness forever. When God declares a person righteous forever in the qal perfect or aorist tense, then it is a done deal. No one can change God's verdict, not even the individual himself. Therefore, the Armenians are dead wrong when they teach that an individual can walk away from salvation. The Hebrew and Greek grammar do not support Arminian teaching.
The Greek word for credited is λογίζομαι (logizomai), an aorist passive indicate verb, meaning to make a logical decision. When Abraham believed, then God made a one-time completed action of logically making the decision that Abraham would be declared righteous forever.
The Greek word for righteousness is δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosunay), a judicial term meaning that the judge has declared the person on trial as not guilty. After Abraham believed, then God declared Abraham as a one-time completed action of the past as not guilty. Abraham was innocent of any sin that Satan could accuse him, so Abraham would be able to enter into God's house in heaven forever. Abraham was looking for a house built not by human hands. He was promised all of the physical land from the Tigris River to the Nile River and to the Mediterranean Sea. He died living in a tent in Israel, owning no land except a burial cave for his wife. This means that God will have to raise Abraham from the dead to keep his promise.
7 so then, understand that those who believe are the sons of Abraham.
Abraham is the spiritual father of all of those who believe. This does not mean that the church has replaced Israel, which is called replacement or covenant theology. Whenever an individual teaches that the church has replaced Israel, then they are teaching heresy. They must spiritualize all of the promises that God gave to Israel in order to reach this type of thinking. Using proper hermeneutics and taking the Bible literally in the original languages, God still has a plan for Israel in the next dispensation. After the church is raptured off of this earth, then God will deal with Israel again.
Gentile believers are not "spiritual Jews". This term is never used in the Bible. This is a term that was invented by covenant theologians in order to explain away the literal promises that God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Catholic and Protestant churches used these kinds of terms to interact anti-Semitism upon the Jews throughout the church age.
8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel to Abraham ahead of time, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”
This was first quoted in Genesis 12:2, and then many other places as well. God has sovereignly ordained before the foundations of the world were created that the Gentiles would eventually be justified by the same type of faith that Abraham experienced. The promise of a future Gentile salvation was prophesied way back at the time of the Abrahamic Covenant. Abraham believed, he had a son, the lAbrahamic dynastic line continued until the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus. Jesus died for all of the sins of both Jews and Gentiles. Therefore, the faith of Abraham became a blessing to all of the nations of the world.
9 So then those who believe are blessed along with Abraham the believer.
Because Abraham believed and his family line brought the Messiah into the world, all of those who have believed has been blessed as well.
10 For all who rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the law.”
This is a quotation from Deuteronomy 21:23. James 2:20 teaches that one must keep the whole Law, and if he is guilty in just one point, then he is guilty of it all. Therefore, the Mosaic Law was not a blessing, but a curse. It revealed the mind of a perfect God who possessed divinely high standards. Not sin can exist in God's kingdom. Since no one can meet God's standards, then the Mosaic Law brought condemnation and death to all of those who attempted to keep it.
11 Now it is clear no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous one will live by faith.
This is a quotation of Habakkuk 2:2. Habakkuk the prophet taught the Jews in the Old Testament that no one can keep the Law, so no one can be justified by it. The Judaziers were teaching a system of death to the Galatians. If the Galatians accepted their teaching, then they would be placing themselves on a broad road which leads to eternal destruction.
Those who are declared righteous, or not guilty, are those who place their faith in Jesus instead of the Mosaic Law.
12 But the law is not based on faith, but the one who does the works of the law will live by them.
There were only two ways for the Galatians to live. Those who live and operate in the sphere of the Law are under a curse, but those who live and operate in the sphere of faith live under a blessing.
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)
This is a quotation from Deuteronomy 21:22-23. The "us" is the Jewish people, since they, not the Gentiles, were under the Mosaic Law. The Greek word for "redeemed" is ἐξαγοράζω (exogorazo), meaning to buy out of the slave market. Christ, or the Messiah, bought the Jews out of the slave market of Satan, released them, and then the Jews chose to become a bond-servant to Jesus forever. The price for the Jewish slaves was that Jesus had to become a literal curse on a literal tree, which was the cross.
14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we could receive the promise of the Spirit by faith.
When Christ became a curse on the cross, it brought salvation to both Jews and Gentiles. This is the way that Abraham became a blessing to all people. His seed became the curse so that all could be blessed. A human being could not con jour up this type of salvation plan.
Inheritance Comes from Promises and not Law
15 Brothers and sisters, I offer an example from everyday life. When a covenant has been ratified, even though it is only a human contract, no one can set it aside or add anything to it.
The next question is about the conditional Mosaic Covenant and the unconditional Abrahamic Covenant. Once a contract has been signed, even if it is a human contact, then it cannot be nullified, nor can anything be added to it.
16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant. Scripture does not say, “and to the descendants,” referring to many, but “and to your descendant,” referring to one, who is Christ.
God made a promise to Abraham and his descendants. The Greek word for "descendant" is σπέρμα (sperma), a dative neuter singular noun, meaning seed or offspring. This promise was given to Abraham and not his plural descendants, but to a singular seed. This singular seed is Christ, who is the Messiah of Israel.
17 What I am saying is this: The law that came four hundred thirty years later does not cancel a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to invalidate the promise.
The Mosaic Covenant came 430 years after the Abrahamic Covenant, so the former does not cancel out the latter. The Mosaic Covenant is an addition to the Abrahamic Covenant, but it does not cancel it out.
18 For if the inheritance is based on the law, it is no longer based on the promise, but God graciously gave it to Abraham through the promise.
The promise to Abraham concerning Christ was made way before the Mosaic Law was given, so that promise will stand, even if there is or was no Mosaic Law.
19 Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the descendant to whom the promise had been made. It was administered through angels by an intermediary.
If God was going to keep the promise to Abraham and bring the Messiah into the world, then why was the Mosaic Law added? It was added to show man that he was a sinful creature that could not follow God's will. The Law would be temporary until the Messianic Seed was born into the world.
There were two parties involved in this contract, God and Israel. After Israel broke the Law, then God punished Israel by eternal death. Israel was cut off from God forever, because this was the stipulations of the contract.
God set up this law by an intermediary. The intermediary was the angels of heaven. God gave the Law to angels, the angels gave the Law to Moses, and Moses gave the Law to the people. The angels were an intermediary between God and Moses. Moses was an intermediary between God and Israel.
20 Now an intermediary is not for one party alone, but God is one.
An intermediary was needed to bring God and man back together. Man was not interested in restoring a relationship with God. Man is so totally depraved and evil, that he was happy to burn in the Lake of Fire forever. He wanted nothing to do with God. However, God was interested in restoring the relationship to man, so he sent his own intermediary. God made first contact. God sent his own son, the second person of the Trinity, to restore relationship between God and Israel and also between God and the Gentiles.
21 Is the law therefore opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.
The Law could not give eternal life. The Law could not justify the sinner, or make the sinner right in the eyes of God. The Law points out sin, condemns the sinner, and states the punishment for sin. The Law cannot save, because it is a lethal killer.
22 But the scripture imprisoned everything and everyone under sin so that the promise could be given, because of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, to those who believe.
The Law made sin so clear that it shut every man in a prison that he could not escape. The Law also made it clear that everyone needed someone to help them escape from prison. Everyone needed help, because they could not keep the Law or escape the prison. Everyone needed a Savior to deliver them out of Satan's prison.
Sons of God Are Heirs of Promise
23 Now before faith came we were held in custody under the law, being kept as prisoners until the coming faith would be revealed.
Paul pictures sin as a jailor who imprisons every man on earth. The coming of faith is the new dispensation (the Church Age), which began with the atonement of Christ, followed by the calling of the Church, and it will end with the Rapture of the Church.
24 Thus the law had become our guardian until Christ, so that we could be declared righteous by faith.
The Greek word for "guardian" is παιδαγωγός (paidagogos), meaning a tutor who brings up a child in instruction and discipline. The purpose of the Mosaic Law was to be a tutor to Israel. This tutor was to teach Israel what was right and what was wrong. The tutor would spank, or discipline Israel, when they broke the tutor's law.
Once Christ came, then the tutor was fired. Israel was declared righteous, if they placed their faith in Christ. They would now inherit the Kingdom of God.
25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
Faith is believing in Christ. When one believes in Christ, then the tutor is fired and school is let out for the summer.
26 For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith.
Those who are "in Christ" are no longer children to be trained and disciplined. They are now mature sons of God, ready to inherit the kingdom of their father.
27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Those who believe are baptized "in Christ" at the moment of salvation. When a Greek boy was declared an adult, then he clothed himself with a toga. The mature believer clothes himself with Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
In the Mosaic Law, there was a distinction of classes. For example, Gentiles had to adopt Judaism by becoming proselytes. Males, not females, had to offer sacrifices. Free men, not slaves, had to offer sacrifices.
There are no social classes in the new dispensation. All social classes come to salvation in the same way. They must come to salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone plus nothing.
29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise.
The promise was made to Abraham's seed, which was the Jews. However, there was also a promise that all families would be blessed through Abraham. Therefore, the seed of Abraham, which is the Messiah, died for both Jews and Gentiles. Those who believe in Jesus are the spiritual offspring of Abraham. They are the heirs to the promise of the Abrahamic Covenant, which is an eternal unconditional covenant which is still in effect.
