journey through galatians – chapter 3

I picture what was going through Paul’s mind when he wrote chapter three and verse one and I can honestly relate. He doesn’t mince his words when he calls them “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?” Sometimes you clearly see that people are perishing, and like Paul you want to use those words so that they may wake up from their slumber, but we’re reminded in 1Corinthians 1:18 “For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. Reading such a statement from Apostle Paul in the Bible get’s your antennas up, because you want to continue reading and find out why they were being called foolish. They already knew the Gospel that had being preached, they knew that Jesus had been crucified, but still wanted to justify that The Spirit was given by the law and not by believing. 

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?”

Am wondering the same as Paul. You’ve clearly seen God move, you’ve seen Him perform miracles signs and wonders and then you let go of salvation? like seriously how now? Was everything all in vain? That’s the same scenario that Paul was facing. He continues using the word foolish now for the third time as a sign of emphasis, 3:3-4 “Are you so foolish? after beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Like dude! Have you experienced so much in vain – if it really was in vain?” Am on the same page with Paul, was salvation pointless, meaningless, valueless? 5 “Does God give you His Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard,” the answer should be by believing, and in verse 6 Abraham, the father of faith is introduced to us. “So also Abraham believed Go, 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.’ So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”

Talk about God being the grand master planner who sees the end from the beginning. God had the Gentiles in mind when he said to Abraham that he would be the Father of many Nations. This verse should be an awakening call to all those people who think and believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was only for the Jews, God had us in mind, every single one of us on planet earth. 
It gets more interesting for the people who rely on the works of the law, in verse 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.” In other words, following instructions in the Book of the Law is important, but it’s not enough to be justified by God, why? The righteous will live by faith. The writer of Hebrews writes in chapter 11:1 “Now faith is confidence (belief) in what we hope (future) for and assurance (guarantee) about what we do not see.” Salvation is faith in God whom, we cannot see with our physical eyes and in these mortal bodies, but we believe that He exists and He’s everywhere. He who made the Heaven’s and the earth and all that we seen is alive and will come back again just as He promised before He left this earth. 

12 “The law is not based on faith, but states ‘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.” Jesus Christ became a curse for us, in order for you and me to live a life free of bondage and condemnation, isn’t that good news? It gets even better, 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.” The promise God gave to Abraham is been fulfilled every other day, God keeps His word, God keeps His promises. Jeremiah shows us just how God is protective of His Word in chapter 1:12 “I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.” When God made the promise to Abraham, he believed and it was accounted to him as righteousness and because of one man’s faith, the promise to the Gentiles was fulfilled through Christ.

16 “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.” When we look at the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah in Matthew 1:1, the son of David, the son of Abraham, we get to understand what Paul is trying to tell us in Galatians 16, that Christ is the seed of Abraham, and not seeds, because there is only one Saviour – Jesus Christ

As we see in Galatians 3:17, “The law was introduced 430 years later (after Abraham) but it does not set aside (Put away) the covenant previously established by God, and thus do away with the promise” after all a promise is a dept, as we mortals say, how much more of God’s promise? Apostle John reminds us in John 1:17 “for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ,” and as we see in Matthew 5:17 Jesus says “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.” Gal 3:18 “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” and as we’ve seen before, God keeps His Word and Honors His promises, because that’s just who He is and He cannot change His character. 

The big question comes in, “why then, was the law given at all?” and Paul gives us a very good explanation in verse 19 “It was added because of transgression (sin) until the Seed (Jesus) to whom the promise referred to had come.” As it’s written in Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called; He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified,” this is our promise in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

How then did we live before? 3:23-24 “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.” This is straight forward, the law was to be our guide until, the promise of the faith (Jesus) was revealed, 3:25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

How then do we summarise everything up? 3:26 “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27 For all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.”

You’re not an after thought in the Kingdom of God, you belong to Christ, and we are all one in Him and the best part of it all, you are also an heir into His Kingdom. Imagine that, an heir who will be part of inheriting God’s Kingdom and as part of the promise, Jesus says in Revelation 3:21 “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my Throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on His Throne.”

Memory Verse Galatians 3:26 “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.”

Blessings!!