Week 7
Chapter 3
Law or Faith
1 O foolish Galatians, who bewitched you, to whom Jesus the Anointed was publicly portrayed before your eyes as having been crucified? 2 I only want to learn one thing from you; did you receive the Spirit from the works of the law or from believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish that after beginning in the Spirit, are you now finishing in the flesh? 4 Have you endured so many things to no avail? If indeed it even was to no avail. 5 Therefore, is the One who is supplying the Spirit to you and working miracles among you doing so by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6 Just as Abraham believed in God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness.
7 Then understand that the ones who have faith, these people are Abraham’s decedents. 8 Now the Scripture, foreseeing that God justifies the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the Good News in advanced to Abraham that “In you, all nations will be blessed”. 9 So, the ones who have faith are blessed with Abraham, the faithful one. 10 For as many as are from the works of the law are under a curse, for it has been written that, “Cursed is everyone who doesn't continue to do all things which have been written in the book of the Law”. 11 But since no one is justified by the law in the presence of God, it is clear that the just will live by faith. 12 But the law is not based on faith, but The one who does them, will live by them. 13 The Anointed redeemed us from the curse of the law after becoming a curse for our sake, because it has been written, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree”, 14 so that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in the Anointed Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. My Translation
1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 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? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? 4 Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5 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? 6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 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.” 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. 10 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.” 11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” 13 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.” 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. NIV11
Comment
It should be stated right up front that Paul quotes or alludes to six OT passages in this section of his letter and possibly a seventh.
1 O foolish Galatians, who bewitched you, to whom Jesus the Anointed was publicly portrayed before your eyes as having been crucified? My Translation
1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. NIV11
The first three words are very telling. Ὦ (O) carries emotion with its use. As we have seen, Paul has certainly been emotional up to this point with anger. ἀνόητος means “unintelligent, foolish, dull-witted”. In Romans 1:14, Paul places ἀνόητος as the opposite of σοφός (wise). Paul goes on to state a question with τίς ὑμᾶς ἐβάσκανεν (Who has bewitched you?). βασκαίνω means “to exert an evil influence through the eye, bewitch, as with the ‘evil eye’” (BDAG, 171). This is very telling of what Paul thought of the agitators as well as the Galatians who allowed the agitators to fool them.
Paul now brings the centerpiece of the Christian faith back into view for the Galatians. “Before your eyes”, Greek: κατ᾿ ὀφθαλμοὺς (according to the eyes), Jesus was “clearly, publicly portrayed as crucified” before the Galatians. It is Christ’s atoning work on the cross that has ushered in the new life for the Galatians, not the Jewish law. It was Christ’s death and resurrection that caused the Galatians for receive forgiveness for their sins. It was certainly not the Jewish law.
2 I only want to learn one thing from you; did you receive the Spirit from the works of the law or from believing what you heard? My Translation
2 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? NIV11
Paul asks a question in which he already knows the answer. What’s really funny about it is that the Galatians know the answer as well. Was it in the Galatians knowledge of the Jewish law that they were sealed by the Holy Spirit? No. Was it by performing the Jewish law that allowed the Galatians to be sealed by the Holy Spirit? No. How did they receive it? By believing what they heard. And what did they hear? Paul has already answered that question in verse 3:1. Jesus was crucified. God raised him from the dead (1:1). Jesus gave himself for the Galatians’ sins so that they may be rescued from the present evil age (1:4). This also fits nicely with Paul’s general explanation of the Gospel he preached in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11.
The Spirit was not received by performing the works of the law, but ἐξ ἀκοῆς πίστεως (from the hearing/report of faith) translated here as “from/by believing what you heard”. This is most likely an allusion to Isaiah 53:1a from the LXX.
1 κύριε, τίς ἐπίστευσεν τῇ ἀκοῇ ἡμῶν;
1 Lord, who has believed our hearing/report/message?
Paul quotes this passage in Romans 10:16 about Israel and goes on to explain it in verse 17.
16 Ἀλλ᾿ οὐ πάντες ὑπήκουσαν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ. Ἠσαΐας γὰρ λέγει· κύριε, τίς ἐπίστευσεν τῇ ἀκοῇ ἡμῶν; 17 ἄρα ἡ πίστις ἐξ ἀκοῆς, ἡ δὲ ἀκοὴ διὰ ῥήματος Χριστοῦ.
16 But not all have obeyed the Gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our hearing/report/message?” 17 Therefore the faith is from hearing the message, and the hearing of the message is through the words of/about Christ. My Translation
It was not by performing the Jewish law that the Spirit came to the Galatians, it was by believing what they had heard about Jesus.
3 Are you so foolish that after beginning in the Spirit, are you now finishing in the flesh? My Translation
3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? NIV11
The Galatians had received the Spirit, which was their seal of justification. Paul uses σάρξ (flesh) in apposition to the Jewish law. Sometimes, Paul uses σάρξ in other ways to say “body”, but most of the time he uses it to explain a human being’s sinful nature. As we have found out in our Holiness studies, Paul places the Jewish law in same boat with Paganism. He is doing that here. This will unfold more clearly as the letter goes forward.
4 Have you endured so many things to no avail? If indeed it even was to no avail. 5 Therefore, is the One who is supplying the Spirit to you and working miracles among you doing so by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? My Translation
4 Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5 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? NIV11
Πάσχω normally means “to suffer” in the New Testament, but since there isn’t any indication that the Galatians were suffering affliction for their faith like the Thessalonians were, many scholars believe that Paul uses the word to express the Galatians’ favorable experiences after they were converted. That seems to fit well with verse five. I would also like to bring out that in the LXX, the verb always means “to suffer” or “to endure”. If the Galatians were suffering for their faith, it is not mentioned here, but that doesn’t mean that they weren’t. But from the way that the text is presented, “experienced” in a favorable way seems to be at the forefront.
Paul asks them a question: Have you endured/experienced so much in vain?” Have they just set aside everything that has happened to them just to follow the Jewish law? Paul offers a glimmer of hope for them by saying “if it really was in vain”.
Paul now asks his question from verse 2 again, but in a different way. In Greek, it is “the One who is supplying the Spirit to you”, which we know to be God. The NIV11 goes ahead and supplies God in the translation for clarity. Paul’s use of the present participles “supplying” and “working” shows that God was still working among the Galatians at that time as the present tense of the Greek verb carries a continual aspect. This is something that the Galatians would have recognized.
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul supplies a list of manifestations of the Spirit. Paul’s use of δυνάμεις (δύναμις) “power/strength”, is also referred to as “miracles” or “mighty works”. We can assume that the manifestations spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12 were also at work among the Galatians.
What can’t be overlooked is how Paul places the Spirit and miracles as opposites to the works of the law. Again, Paul reminds the Galatians that the Spirit that God supplies and the miracles that he is working did not come about by the Galatians performing the Jewish law! The Spirit and miracles came by believing what they heard; “the hearing of faith”. That is, believing who Jesus was/is and putting their faith/trust in him for salvation from the present evil age. After the Galatians had seen so much from God, it is really hard for Paul to believe that they’ve fallen so quickly to the agitators.
6 Just as Abraham believed in God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness. My Translation
6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” NIV11
Paul now uses Old Testament scripture to back up what his just wrote. Perhaps not so much as the part about receiving the Spirit, but certainly around being pronounced righteous before God and God working miracles. Abraham’s miracle was the birth of Isaac, which Paul will go on to explain later in this letter. The quote is from Genesis 15:6 LXX. We’ll compare the texts.
Gal. 3:6 Καθὼς Ἀβραὰμ ἐπίστευσεν τῷ θεῷ, καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην·
Gen. 15:6 καὶ ἐπίστευσεν Αβραμ τῷ θεῷ, καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην. LXX
Paul introduces the quote with Καθὼς (just as). The only changes that Paul makes from the LXX is he changes Αβραμ (Abram) to Ἀβραὰμ (Abraham) and switches the position of the verb (believed) and the subject (Abram/Abraham). The rest of the verse is identical. Paul’s use of this verse shows the Galatians they the ones who live by faith are just like Abraham. Paul is setting up his next paragraph and that will take a little unpacking to understand it.
Perhaps the best way to unpack the meaning of verse 6 as well as the rest of this passage is to refer to Silva’s diagram of the passage.
(Handout)
Thesis 1 (implied)
[God gives you the Spirit by the hearing of faith]
Grounds (v. 6)
Abraham believed God, and [his faith] was reckoned to him for righteousness
Thesis 2 (vv. 7, 9)
the ones who are of faith—these are sons of Abraham …
the ones who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham
Grounds (v. 8)
all the Gentiles will be blessed in you
Thesis 3 (v. 10a)
as many as are of works of law are under a curse
Grounds (v. 10b)
cursed is everyone who does not remain in all the things written in the book of the law in order to do them
[Assumed premise: all are disobedient (this point is disputed)] But see 2:16 (my comment)
Thesis 4 (v. 11a)
through the law no one is justified before God
Grounds (v. 11b)
the righteous one will live by faith
Stated premise (v. 12a)
the law is not of faith
Grounds for premise (v. 12b)
the one who does them will live by them
Thesis 5 (v. 13a)
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us
Grounds (v. 13b)
cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree
Conclusion (v. 14)
in order that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles,
so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith
Handout taken from Silva’s commentary, Page 792: “Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament” (Beale-Carson Commentary) Edited by G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson
7 Then understand that the ones who have faith, these people are Abraham’s decedents. My Translation
7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. NIV11
Incredibly, Paul now states that Christians who live by faith in Jesus are the sons/decedents/children of Abraham. Paul has now placed a direct relation between true Christians who live by faith in Jesus and Abraham. It is quite possible that Paul’s opponents had told the Galatians that in order for them to be “sons of Abraham”, then they would have be circumcised just like Abraham was. Paul says “no”. He will go on to explain.
8 Now the Scripture, foreseeing that God justifies the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the Good News in advance to Abraham that “In you, all nations will be blessed”. 9 So, the ones who have faith are blessed with Abraham, the faithful one. My Translation
8 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.” 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. NIV11
Paul goes on to explain that the children of Abraham, which are the Galatians/Gentiles became this way because the Scripture foresaw it. What did Scripture foresee? The Gospel that Paul preaches. Paul puts together Genesis 12:3c and 18:18 LXX to form his rendering.
Gal. 3:8b Ἐνευλογηθήσονται ἐν σοὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη·
Gen. 12:3c καὶ ἐνευλογηθήσονται ἐν σοὶ πᾶσαι αἱ φυλαὶ τῆς γῆς.
Gen. 18:18 Αβρααμ δὲ γινόμενος ἔσται εἰς ἔθνος μέγα καὶ πολύ, καὶ ἐνευλογηθήσονται ἐν αὐτῷ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τῆς γῆς.
Gal. 3:8b “All nations/gentiles will be blessed in you”
Gen. 12:3c “and all the tribes of the earth will be blessed in you.”
Gen. 18:18 But Abraham will become a great and numerous nation, and all the nations/Gentiles of the earth will be blessed in him.
Paul basically replaces πᾶσαι αἱ φυλαὶ τῆς γῆς (all the tribes of the earth) from 12:3 and substitutes πάντα τὰ ἔθνη (all the nations/Gentiles) and removes τῆς γῆς (of the earth). It is simply Paul’s way to combining both passages for the most effect on the Galatians.
It is possible that Paul’s opponents had told the Galatians that the only way that they could be “children of Abraham” was through circumcision. Paul says that they are “children of Abraham” because they, like Abraham, had faith/belief in God/Jesus and not because of circumcision.
It is also worthy to note how “Scripture” is practically identical with “God”. In other words, in Paul’s way of thinking, “Scripture” is the same as God speaking. This is something that we can relate to today.
The ones who have faith in God are blessed with Abraham who was the faithful one. Since Abraham was pronounced righteous by his faith, and the Gentiles will be blessed through Abraham, then the Gentiles are also pronounced righteous by their faith in Christ.
Before we leave this passage, we must take a looked at the inferred Christology of the whole passage. Abraham is justified by his faith in God. The Gentiles are like Abraham because of that faith and due to the fact that through Abraham the all of the nations/Gentiles will be blessed. The difference is that the Gentiles put their faith in Jesus and are justified by doing so. This is yet another way that Paul places God and Jesus in performing the same task.
10 For as many as are from the works of the law are under a curse, for it has been written that, “Cursed is everyone who doesn't continue to do all things which have been written in the book of the Law”. 11 But since no one is justified by the law in the presence of God, it is clear that “the just will live by faith”. 12 But the law is not based on faith, but “The one who does them, will live by them”. 13 The Anointed redeemed us from the curse of the law after becoming a curse for our sake, because it has been written, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree”, 14 so that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in the Anointed Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. My Translation
10 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.” 11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” 13 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.” 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. NIV11
Paul starts our verse 10 with a quote from Deut. 27:26 with some changes. Let’s take a look at it.
10b γέγραπται γὰρ ὅτι Ἐπικατάρατος πᾶς ὃς οὐκ ἐμμένει πᾶσιν τοῖς γεγραμμένοις ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τοῦ νόμου τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτά.
10b For it has been written that “Cursed is everyone who doesn't continue to do all things which have been written in the book of the Law”
Deut. 27:26 Ἐπικατάρατος πᾶς ἄνθρωπος, ὃς οὐκ ἐμμενεῖ ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς λόγοις τοῦ νόμου τούτου τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτούς· καὶ ἐροῦσιν πᾶς ὁ λαός Γένοιτο. LXX
Deut. 27:26 Cursed is every person, who doesn’t continue in all the words of this law, to do them. And all the people shall say “Let it be”. LXX
The main changes that Paul makes are 1. He removes ἄνθρωπος (man, person), 2. He replaces ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς λόγοις τοῦ νόμου τούτου (in all the words of this law) with πᾶσιν τοῖς γεγραμμένοις ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τοῦ νόμου (all which has been written in the book of the law).
Paul’s interpretation of Deut. 27:26 goes hand in hand with Psalms 143 (142 LXX). Since no one is righteous before God, then that means that no one can actually keep the Jewish law in its entirety. Therefore, Deut. 27:26 has a whole new meaning from what the Jews previously thought. Since no one is able to keep the law, then they are under the curse of the law.
Paul them adds strength to his assertion by alluding to Psalms 143 (142 LXX) again and by quoting Habakkuk 2:4b. ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεώς μου ζήσεται. (but the righteous will live by faith in me). This also backs up what he said about Abraham.
In our verse 12, Paul says that the law isn’t based on faith. He then cites a part of Leviticus 18:5.
Gal. 3:12b ἀλλ᾿ Ὁ ποιήσας αὐτὰ ζήσεται ἐν αὐτοῖς
Gal. 3:12b but “the one who does them will live by them”
Lev. 18:5 καὶ φυλάξεσθε πάντα τὰ προστάγματά μου καὶ πάντα τὰ κρίματά μου καὶ ποιήσετε αὐτά, ἃ ποιήσας ἄνθρωπος ζήσεται ἐν αὐτοῖς· ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν.
Lev. 18:5 and you will keep all my commands, and all my judgements, and you will do them, which by doing them, a man will live by them. I am the LORD your God. LXX
In Paul’s citing of the LXX, he condenses the last part of Leviticus 18:5 to an easier form to quote.
Up onto this point in the letter, Paul has established that those who were under the law were not righteous before God (Psalms 143) because they can’t keep the whole law. If a person can’t keep the whole law, then they are cursed by not doing so (Deut. 27:26). But righteousness comes by faith, not the law (Habakkuk 2:4) because the law is not based on faith, but works (current passage/Lev. 18:5). Now, Paul cites that the only way a person will live under the law is to keep the whole law, but he has established that this is not possible! This leads us to verse 13.
Paul states that Christ bought us out of the curse of the law. ἐξαγοράζω (ex-agorazo) is a compound verb derived from the preposition ἐκ (from/out of) and the word ἀγορά (market place). ἀγοράζω means “I buy”. By adding the preposition, the verb now means “to buy out” or “to buy back”. In other words, we were indebted to the law, therefore it was a curse to us, but Jesus bought out the obligation to the law for us.
How did Jesus do this? Paul paraphrases a portion of Deuteronomy 21:23 LXX.
Gal. 3:13b ὅτι γέγραπται, Ἐπικατάρατος πᾶς ὁ κρεμάμενος ἐπὶ ξύλου
Gal. 3:13b because it has been written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”
Deut. 21:23c ὅτι κεκατηραμένος ὑπὸ θεοῦ πᾶς κρεμάμενος ἐπὶ ξύλου...
Deut. 21:23c because cursed by God is everyone hanging on a tree...LXX
Jesus became the curse to deliver us (buy us out) from the curse. What’s the difference? Jesus was the only one who was able to keep the whole law, but in the end, he gave himself as a curse voluntarily, not because he couldn’t keep it. That tree was the cross that Jesus hung on.
Paul wraps up this section by basically stating that the law had to go. While the law was in place, the gentiles couldn’t receive the blessing brought about by Abraham. That blessing through Abraham’s faith, brought about the promise of the Holy Spirit which seals a person’s righteousness. Paul will go into more of this in our next week’s session.
Conclusion
In Romans 16:25-26, which is at the end of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he states this:
Rom. 16:25 Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith—
Clearly, this is an abbreviated way of saying what Paul just stated in his letter to the Galatians. This is what Paul has come to know. A person is not righteous by the law because no one can keep the law in its entirety. Therefore, the law is a curse to all who try to keep it. But Jesus bought us out of that curse by becoming a curse under that same law. The man of faith, Abraham, is our ancestor because his faith in God allowed for the Gentiles (all nations) to be blessed. That shared faith brought about righteousness which God sealed by suppling the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came by believing what the Galatians heard about Jesus, and not by the law.
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