Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Understand, then, that those who have faith are children 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.
For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ. What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.
Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

• Galatians 3:1-29

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Galatians 3:1 ‘foolish’: “This refers not to lack of intelligence, but to lack of obedience (cf. Luke 24:25; 1 Tim. 6:9; Titus 3:3). Paul expressed his shock, surprise, and outrage at the Galatians’ defection. Who … ?  The Judaizers, the Jewish false teachers, were plaguing the Galatian churches (see Introduction: Background and Setting). bewitched. Charmed or misled by flattery and false promises. The term suggests an appeal to the emotions by the Judaizers. clearly portrayed. The Greek word describes the posting of official notices in public places. Paul’s preaching had publicly displayed the true gospel of Jesus Christ before the Galatians. crucified. The Crucifixion of Christ was a one-time historical fact with continuing results into eternity. Christ’s sacrificial death provides eternal payment for believers’ sins (cf. Heb. 7:25), and does not need to be supplemented by any human works”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Galatians 3:2 ‘no sanctification apart from believing’: “We have received the Holy Spirit to help us in our sanctification, but we have obtained no sanctification apart from believing. If we have reached after sanctification by our own efforts, made in unbelief, we have never succeeded. Unbelief works toward sin and never toward sanctification. Our good works are fruits of sanctification, not causes of it; and if we put the fruit where the root should be, we greatly err. If we have gone out to fight against a temptation in our own strength, have we ever returned a conqueror? It has been written of all other believers, ‘They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb’ (Rv 12:11), and this is true of us also. Sanctification does not come to us from self-reliance but as a work of the Spirit received by faith in Christ. Believing in him, he is ‘wisdom from God for us-our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption’ (1 Co 1:30).“

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

Galatians 3:3 ‘Are you so foolish?’: “Incredulous at how easily the Galatians had been duped, Paul asked a second rhetorical question, again rebuking them for their foolishness. begun in the Spirit … by the flesh. The notion that sinful, weak (Matt. 26:41; Rom. 6:19), fallen human nature could improve on the saving work of the Holy Spirit was ludicrous to Paul.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Galatians 3:4 ‘suffered’: “The Greek word has the basic meaning of ‘experienced;’ and does not necessarily imply pain or hardship. Paul used it to describe the Galatians’ personal experience of salvation in Jesus Christ. many things. This refers to all the blessings of salvation from God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit (cf. Eph. 1:3). if indeed it was in vain. See Luke 8:13; Acts 8:13, 21; 1 Corinthians 15:2; 2 Corinthians 6:1; 13:5, 6.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Galatians 3:7 ‘no communion without faith’: “There is no communion with God except by faith, without which we cannot ever please God. The favorites of heaven are in every case people who believe in God. Faith has the golden key of the ivory palaces. Faith opens the secret chambers of communion to those who love her. The works of the law bring no nearness to God. When we are under a sense of backsliding, when we feel unworthy to be called God’s child, when we have erred and strayed from his ways like lost sheep, we must not rush like a madman to the law, for that would be to leap into the fire, but still say, ‘Lord, I believe in you. As a sinner I trust the sinner’s substitute.’“

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

Galatians 3:8 ‘Scripture, foreseeing’: “Personifying the Scriptures was a common Jewish figure of speech (cf. 4:30; John 7:38, 42; 19:37; Rom. 9:17; 10:11; 11:2; 1 Tim. 5:18). Because Scripture is God’s Word, when it speaks, God speaks. preached the gospel to Abraham. The “Good News” to Abraham was the news of salvation for all the nations (quoted from Gen. 12:3; 18:18). See Genesis 22:18; John 8:56; Acts 26:22, 23. Salvation has always, in every age, been by faith.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Galatians 3:10 ‘The Gospel – not changed since Eden’: “The true gospel is no new thing; it is as old as the hills. It was heard in Eden, before man was driven from the garden; and it has since been repeated in sundry ways and in many places, even to this day. Oh, that its antiquity would lead men to venerate it and then to listen to its voice!  The gospel blessing which was thus preached to Abraham and to his seed came to him by faith. He was justified by his faith. The blessing, which is the soul of Abraham’s gospel, must come to us in the same way as it did to him, namely by faith. And if we expect to find it in any other way, we will be grievously mistaken.“

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

Galatians 3:12 ‘the law is not of faith’: “Justification by faith and justification by keeping the law are mutually exclusive, as Paul’s OT quote from Leviticus 18:5 proves.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Galatians 3:13-14 ‘Christ died to save Gentiles as well as Jews’: “It was prophesied that the blessing of Abraham would come upon the Gentiles so that they might also receive the promise of the Holy Spirit through faith (Galatians 3:14).To be hanged upon a tree was mentioned in the Old Testament as an ignominious punishment and death; Deuteronomy 21:23 says, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’ Christ took upon Himself this curse in order to redeem His own ‘from the curse of the Law’ (Galatians 3=13).
“In the covenant made with Abraham (the Abrahamic Covenant), God prophesied that through Abraham “all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). This prophecy was in seed form in Genesis 12, but the full implication would unfold with the passage of time as God revealed more and more of His plan for humanity. Paul quotes Genesis 12:3 and offers an explanation in Galatians 3: ‘The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham saying, ‘All the nations will be blessed in you’ (verse 8). To everyone who trusts Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, “it was reckoned to him as righteousness’ (verse 6), by which believers become ‘sons of Abraham’ (verse 7) and are “blessed with Abraham, the believer’ (verse 9).
“Within the New Covenant is a promise in which God told the Jewish people, ‘I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes’ (Ezekiel 36:27). The church is not the beneficiary of this promise, but it does benefit from the New Covenant. Christ reminded the disciples just before His ascension that ‘you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now’ (Acts 1:5).
“These verses are not co-mingling Israel and the church, as taught by amillennialists. God was simply prophesying, through Abraham, the master plan of how the world would be blessed by Abraham and his descendants, the Jewish people.”

• Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, Exploring Bible Prophecy

Galatians 3:16-29 ‘Christ Secures the Blessings Promised to Abraham’: “Promises and prophecies about spiritual and physical blessings were made to Abraham and to his seed. Yet at the same time, the Lord also prophesied about Abraham’s future ‘seed’ (Hebrew, zera) in the singular sense, not ‘referring to many, but rather to one, ‘And to your seed,’ that is, Christ’ (Galatians 3:16; Genesis 22:17). The Hebrew word zera can be singular or plural, and Paul picks up on the fact that in Genesis 22:17 it is used in the singular sense, pointing to one specific seed of Abraham. This One would be victorious as a conquering hero as illustrated by the fact that He would possess the gate of His (singular) enemies (verse 17). Unger says this is an ‘expanded blessing centered in Christ, the coming seed (see Gal. 3:16; cf. John 8:56), and could only be realized in Him’ (Unger’s Commentary on the Old Testament, p. 71).
Though the law was given 430 years after­ the children of Jacob (Israel) entered the lane of Egypt, it did not nullify the promise made to Abraham (Galatians 3:17). (Jacob entered Egypt around 1875 B.C., and Moses led the Israelites out about 1445 B.C.) Israel did not receive the prophecies about blessings on the basis of the law but rather, on the Abrahamic Covenant (verse 18).
Why, then, did God give a law through Moses? And did this law override the Abrahamic promises? It was added alongside of the Abraham Covenant ‘because of transgressions … until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made’ (verse 19). The law does not contradict the promises of God, nor does it provide life imparted by righteous works (verse 21). Instead, the law condemns and shuts up everyone under sin, keeping them in custody under the law, ‘that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe’ (verses 22-23).
Many Jews tried to find life and salvation by law-keeping. But faith in Christ ‘was later to be revealed’ (verse 23). The law then was but a ‘tutor’ (Greek, paidagogos, ‘child leader’), a servant who supervised the learning of the master’s child. This law tutor then leads us ‘to Christ, that we may be justified by faith’ (verse 24). Because of this, believers are ‘no longer under a tutor,’ the law (verse 25). To be ‘justified by faith’ means to be legally acquitted before God’s bar of justice by having received the righteousness of Christ. The result for believers is that they ‘are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus’ (verse 26).
The apostle Paul saw how the promises that came through the Abrahamic Covenant would bless ‘the nations’ (verse 8). He concludes: ‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise’ (verses 28-29).”

• Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, Exploring Bible Prophecy

Galatians 3:19 ‘was added because of transgression’: “Paul’s persuasive argument that the promise is superior to the law raises an obvious question: What was the purpose of the law? Paul’s answer is that the law reveals man’s utter sinfulness, inability to save himself, and desperate need of a Savior. It was never intended to be the way of salvation (cf. Rom. 7:1-13). … through angels.  The Bible teaches that angels were involved in the giving of the law (cf. Acts 7:53; Heb. 2:2), but does not explain the precise role they played.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Galatians 3:24 ‘tutor’: “The Greek word denotes a slave whose duty it was to take care of a child until adulthood. The tutor escorted the children to and from school and watched over their behavior at home. Tutor’s were often strict disciplinarians, causing those under their care to yearn for the day when they would be free from their tutor’s custody. The law was our tutor which, by showing us our sins, was escorting us to Christ.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Galatians 3:27 ‘baptized into Christ’: “This is not water baptism, which cannot save (see … Acts 2:38; 22:16). Paul used the word baptized in a metaphorical manner to speak of being ‘immersed;’ or ‘placed into’ Christ (cf. 2:20) by the spiritual miracle of union with Him in His death and Resurrection. See … Romans 6:3, 4; cf. 1 Corinthians 6:17. put on Christ. The result of the believer’s spiritual union with Christ. Paul was emphasizing the fact that we have been united with Christ through salvation. Positionally before God, we have put on Christ, His death, Resurrection, and righteousness (see … Phil. 3:8-10). Practically, we need to ‘put on Christ’ before others, in our conduct (Rom. 13:14).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Galatians 3:28 ‘Call and Calling’: ”In their encounter with Jesus Christ human beings experience the call of God and with it a calling to life in the community of Jesus Christ. … As Jew or Greek, as slave or free, as male or female (Gal. 3:28), as married or single, people hear the call. Right where they are, people are supposed to hear the call and let themselves be claimed by it. … People fulfill the responsibility laid upon them, not in the faithful completion of their earthly vocational duties as citizens, workers, and parents, but in hearing the call of Jesus Christ, which also leads them into earthly duties but is never totally absorbed in them. It instead stands beyond, before, and behind them. ... Luther’s return from the monastery to the world, to his ‘vocation’ -in the genuine New Testament sense-is the strongest attack and offense that was carried out against the world since early Christianity. Now a position against the world is taken in the world. One’s vocation is the place where the call of Christ is answered and lived responsibly. The task given me in my vocation is a limited one, to be sure, but at the same time, my responsibility to the call of Jesus Christ goes beyond all boundaries.”

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I Want to Live These Days with You, devotional compiled from several of his writings

My Thoughts

The Galatians have received heresy through others traveling through the region.  They heard and believed, at least in part, what these false teachers were saying.  It seems the two false teachings was that Jesus Christ was not crucified and that salvation is through the law.

Galatians 3:13 refers to Deuteronomy 21:23 where it states that anyone hung on a pole is under God’s curse.  This may have been impaled on a pole prior to the Romans and the use of a cross, but Jesus, according to Deuteronomy 21:23 was taken down so that the sun would not set on Him while on the cross.  Paul ties this into the discussion on salvation through faith.  We have our faith in Jesus because He paid the penalty, incurring the curse, so that we might be saved.

But first Paul reminds them of the gifts of the Spirit and how they experienced that and miracles being performed, and that all came as a result of faith, not following the law.  We cannot perfectly follow the law, thus the law condemns instead of saving.

He ties us in as being the seed of Abraham.  The Abrahamic Covenant contains the promise for Jews and Gentiles.  We become Sons of God through Abraham because of our faith, not any law.  The law condemns.  The law cannot impart life.  Faith in Christ does that.

It is interesting that Paul relates the Law of Moses coming 430 years after Abraham received the promise, but Adam received the promise that the seed from Eve, being Jesus, would crush the serpent, representing evil.  It was God’s plan from before the start of time.  And God’s promise is repeated throughout the Old Testament.  When we have faith in Jesus, we also have faith that the Father fulfills His promises.  All God wants is for us to trust and have faith in Jesus and God’s Will in our lives.  Salvation comes from trusting and believing in Jesus.  Sanctification comes from trusting in God’s plan.  And from my many wandering steps from God’s plan, I can attest that staying on the plan is easier.

The righteous live by faith.  And with faith we might receive the Spirit.  We do receive the Spirit, but rarely does one person get all the various manifestations of the Spirit.

And we must clothe ourselves in righteousness, and we do so by faith.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

Galatians 3:1-14 Faith or Observance of the Law1. What ‘Christian’ rules seem to be important in your circles? Why?
“2. How would you explain the promised ‘righteousness’ (v.6). ‘blessing’ (vv.8-9, 14), ‘curse’ (v.10), and Spirit (v. 14) to a prospective convert?
Galatians 3:15-25 The Law and the Promise 1. Paul’s logic may seem obscure or irrelevant today. How would you clarify Paul’s argument for someone who could care less about such fine distinctions? How would you use this passage with someone who thinks that keeping the Golden Rule of the Ten Commandments is enough to get right with God?
“2 What experience showed you that keeping rules was not the way to obtain God’s mercy?
Galatians 3:26-29 Sons of God 1. What are some contemporary cultural barriers between people? What does 3:28 mean to you in that context?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Galatians 3 is divided into three sets of questions.  The division of “Sons of God” is split over Galatians 3 and 4.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

If you like these Thursday morning Bible studies, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Thursday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.