Galatians 3:1-14
The book of Galatians is Paul’s letter
to Galatian believers to remind them of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. In
chapters 1 and 2, Paul tells about his personal experiences, what happened to
him, and what he discovered about salvation and faith. This culminates in
Galatians 2:20: “ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live,
but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the
Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
In chapters 3 and 4, Paul deals with
the doctrines. He proves that a human can be made righteous only by faith by
appealing to (1) the Galatians’ own experience (v. 1-5), (2) the example of
Abraham (v. 6-9), and (3) what Scripture says about the different natures and
effects of the law and faith (v.10-14).
In Galatians, the word “law” appears
34 times and “faith” 21 times. There lies the tension between the law and
faith. May we learn how those two are different and what leads to salvation.
Let’s pray.
Look at verse 1.
“You foolish Galatians! Who has
bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as
crucified.”
Paul uses strong language in a strict
tone here, which is unusual in his other letters. He asks, "Who has
bewitched you?" or "Who has fascinated you?"
In Galatia, Paul clearly preached the
gospel of Jesus Christ, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. Almost the whole
city gathered to hear the word of the Lord (Acts 13:44). The Galatian churches
are the fruit of Paul’s first missionary journey. They are so precious to him.
Therefore, Paul, loving them dearly, strongly opposes the false gospel that is
currently deceiving them.
What was the false gospel? In earlier
chapters, false teachers spread the false gospel among Galatian believers.
Their false gospel did not deny the death and resurrection of Jesus. Instead,
they added to it. They said believing in Jesus’ death and resurrection is not
enough for salvation. They required the Gentiles to become circumcised and
observe the law of Moses as Jewish people do. This false gospel challenged the
heart of the true gospel. It made Jesus’ death on the cross look small and less
significant. Galatian believers were bewitched, fascinated by this false
gospel.
What makes this false gospel
fascinating to them?
First, it appeals to the flesh. It
appeals to the idea of me adding something to the finished work of Christ. I
feel better when I keep the ritual or ceremony and do something. The feeling
that I have done something to make myself righteous and lead to salvation makes
me feel good about myself.
Second, it appeals to the senses.
Humans are sensory beings. Compared to believing in the gospel of Jesus'
crucifixion, religious ceremonies, and rituals are visible and can be seen and
felt through the senses.
Another false message we encounter
today is that there is no absolute truth. People ask, “What is truth?” and “Is
there any such thing as truth?” They will say, “Isn’t it just your version of
truth or your opinion versus mine?” You have yours. I have mine. That makes it
very difficult to state objective facts about the gospel.
The above ideas that we can contribute
to our salvation and there is no absolute truth fundamentally stem from our
desire to be the master of our own lives. This is the same desire Adam and Eve
had when they disobeyed God’s command and ate the forbidden fruit to become
like God. This false message ultimately destroys the right relationship with
God, our Creator, the source of life. This is the deception of an evil spirit.
We should not take this false message lightly. We need to be alert and pray
continually not to be deceived by false messages rampant in the world.
In verse 2, Paul asks, “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?”
Before leaving this world, Jesus said
that the Holy Spirit would be given to the believers (John 14:16,17)
John 14:16,17 “And I will ask the
Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you
forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it
neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and
will be in you.”
What does the Holy Spirit do?
John 16:8 “When he comes, he will
prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment”
The first thing the Holy Spirit does
is convict us. He helps us realize that we’re suffering under sin and need
help. The Holy Spirit then makes us born again, leading to the new birth (John
3:5)
John 3:5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I
tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and
the Spirit.”
After the new life begins, the Holy
Spirit stays within us, reminding us of God's words and guiding us so that we
are sanctified and kept holy until the day of judgment.
Ro 8:26, 27: “In the same way, the
Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but
the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who
searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes
for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”
So, when we understand this, the
entire experience of salvation is the work of the Holy Spirit. The fact that
the Galatian believers received the Holy Spirit implies that they were justified
before God.
As we learned last week, justification
is a declaration that we are righteous, even though we are not actually
righteous. Justification doesn’t make us righteous; it declares us righteous.
We are justified only by faith in Jesus Christ. If we believe in the gospel of
Jesus’ death and resurrection, God treats us as righteous solely because of our
faith. It is by grace we have been saved through faith. It is not from
ourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast. (Eph
2:8,9)
Paul asks in verse 3: “Are you so
foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish
by means of the flesh?”
In Paul’s writing, “Flesh” frequently
refers to the sinful nature. The Galatians began a new life in Christ by the
Holy Spirit through their faith in the true gospel of Jesus Christ. However,
they were now fascinated by the false gospel that emphasized human achievement.
Jesus saved us, who were slaves to sin, through His blood on the cross. The
problem with the false teachers, who emphasize the law and circumcision, is
that they were taking people from one form of slavery into another form of
slavery.
In verses 6-9, Paul brings up an
example of Abraham in the Scripture.
Verse 6 “So also Abraham “believed
God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Paul quotes Genesis chapter 15. In
Genesis chapter 15, Abraham complained to God.
“God, you have given me no children;
so a servant in my household will be my heir.” God told him, "This man
will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your
heir.” Then God took Abraham outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count
the stars. So shall your offspring be.” Abraham believed God, and God credited
it to him as righteousness.
Abraham lived before the existence of
the law of Moses. Therefore, if righteousness could come through the works of
the law, Abraham could never have been made righteous. However, Genesis chapter
15 clearly states that Abraham believed God, and God credited it to him as
righteousness.
It was announced several times in the
book of Genesis that all nations will be blessed through Abraham (Genesis 12:2;
18:18; 22:18). The Jews believed their salvation was guaranteed because they
were descendants of Abraham, God's chosen people. They thought their salvation
came from their lineage. However, God can raise up children for Abraham even
from stones (Matthew 3:9). What truly matters is faith—faith in Jesus Christ.
Paul teaches that those who have faith are children of Abraham and share in his
blessings.
Paul continues to present what the
Scripture tells about the law and faith.
In verse 10. “Cursed is everyone who
does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” (Deut
27:26) In verse 11, Paul cites Habakkuk 2:4“the righteous will live by
faith”.
The law demands obedience from a
person and is not based on faith. No one in this world can perfectly obey the
law; the more one tries to keep it perfectly, the more one realizes how sinful
they are. Therefore, anyone seeking justification through the law is under a
curse. Because the righteous will live by faith, relying on the law does not
justify anyone before God.
Paul reiterates the true gospel in verses
13 and 14: “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 so 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.”
Jesus, who was sinless, paid the price
for our sins by giving his life for us. This was not a temporary atonement, but
he became the Lamb of God to pay once for all the price of humanity’s sins
(John 1:29, 1 Peter 1:18-19). Hanging on the cross was a sign of being under
God's curse, as written in Deuteronomy 21:23. The blessing given to Abraham
refers to justification by faith. Now, justification by faith comes to the
Gentiles through Jesus Christ.
In today’s passage, Paul clearly
emphasizes that we can only be justified by believing in the true gospel of
Jesus’ death and resurrection. He distinguishes between being under the curse
of the law and receiving the blessing of the gospel.
How can we apply this lesson to us?
As the acronym GRACE stands for
"God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense," we should always focus on what
God has done through Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross in place of me. This
is the true gospel. This is the already finished work of God. The salvation
through Jesus Christ does not require any human achievement. This is truly
amazing grace from God. We should remember that my salvation is the result of
undeserved grace from God through Jesus’ sacrifice. If we fully accept this
grace of the gospel, we cannot boast of anything but Jesus Christ. If we fully
accept the unmerited grace of God, we can also see others as God's precious
children bought by Jesus' sacrifice. Now, I have a new identity as God's
beloved child and Jesus' disciple.
Looking at today's passage alone, one
might think that the only problem is adding things other than the gospel.
Someone might think, “Ok. I will only believe in the true gospel from now on!”
and still live the same life pleasing myself. We became righteous by faith in
Jesus alone. Now, living a life worthy of this grace is the next step. Through
Jesus Christ's cross, our salvation is already complete, but now as one who has
received this amazing grace, we must give thanks to the Lord, follow Him, and
live with a new identity. After justification comes sanctification. If we do
not firmly hold onto the core of the gospel, we will return to the old sinful
life.
Reflecting on today’s passage, I have
come to realize once again how immense the grace of salvation through Jesus is.
The Lord, who has shown mercy to a sinner like me who secretly committed sins
of lust and sought to elevate my name on this earth, has granted me faith in
the grace of Jesus' cross. When I believed in the gospel of Jesus' cross, peace
filled my heart, and my life transformed from living for myself to living for
the Lord. Under this new identity, I fight against sin and live a life that
pleases the Lord. I am grateful for this grace. However, when I did not fully
hold onto this gospel truth, I was deceived by evil spirits. Even though all
salvation was completed through the cross of the Lord, I still sought
recognition from people through my career and human merits. I still compare
myself to others to feel I am superior to them. I still judge others by my
standards.
Through today's passage, I realize that
what I need to do is to truly and fully hold onto the gospel of Jesus' cross
and God's grace. I understand that I need to firmly establish my identity as
one saved by God's amazing grace. When I live with this identity, I can believe
in the gospel and live in it, continuously resisting the deceptive messages of
the world.
When we hold on to this new identity,
we can live the most beautiful and rewarding life doing good work which God
prepared for us to do (Eph 2:10). That is why Christ redeemed us from the curse
of the law. That is how we should respond to the amazing grace from God.
Let’s read verse 14.
“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.”
Lord, you
redeemed us from miserable life under the sin.
It was solely by your merciful grace to
undeserving sinners.
It was a gift from you. Even our faith is a gift
from you.
Thank you for granting us new identity through
Jesus' sacrifice.
Help us to realize the magnitude of your grace and
transforming power in our lives. Help us experience your unfailing love and
find security only in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Amen.