Gal 3:7-9 | KingComments | STEP | Now Paul begins with the dogmatic part of the letter. Some Christians think if they hear the word ‘dogmatic’ that it means tough, dry explanations, which you cannot use in practice. Well, let me tell you that there never can be a good practice, without a sound ‘doctrinal’ knowledge or training. That’s also how it is in social life, isn’t it? First learn at school, and then apply in practice what you have learned. That’s why this part of the letter is of great importance. And even this dogmatic part begins in a practical way. . Paul is going to ask some questions to let them think about it. Is this practice or not? He is lashing out against them, because they have become so foolish. In his voice we don’t hear contempt, but indignation. How was it possible that they came under the spell of false teachers? If they had kept in mind what Paul had shown them when he preached the gospel to them, this wouldn’t have happened. You can see now how important it is in practice to remain with the clear, pure gospel. If you think about the situation in professing Christianity now, Paul would, I think, say to a number of Christians today: ‘O, foolish Christians!’ It is also necessary for us to be reminded again and again of the Lord Jesus as the Crucified One. The cross is mentioned seven times in this letter. It takes a central position in resisting the deception which found entrance among the Galatians. He who has taken his refuge in the cross has consciously taken the place of being despised and rejected; he has thereby said that from himself there is no good to be expected anymore. . In the second question you detect a certain irony, because the answer to the question is so obvious. Of course the Holy Spirit came into their life solely on the ground of the faith that was preached to them and was accepted by them. Paul doesn’t doubt that they had received the Spirit. He is sure about that. He just wants to show that the Spirit and the faith go together and not the Spirit and the law. They hadn’t received the Spirit by their own efforts. A person receives the Holy Spirit if he believes the gospel of his salvation and rests therein. Such a person knows Who God is, Who the Lord Jesus is, he knows who he himself is, and he knows what the law is. This is the first time in this letter that the Holy Spirit is mentioned. He dwells in every believer on earth. In chapter 2 it is about Someone Who is in heaven ( ). The Lord Jesus as Man in heaven and God the Holy Spirit on earth are the core or essence of Christendom. This shows how crucial the apostle’s argument is! . The answer to the third question doesn’t need much reflection. This question he also puts with an indignant “are you so foolish?” They had received the Holy Spirit and had started their way in faith under His power and His guidance. How could they ever think that flesh could finish the work of the Holy Spirit? . Furthermore, as he says in his fourth question, they had to consider what they had suffered after they had accepted the gospel. They had suffered a lot. Was it all in vain? Persecution by the Judaists ( ) had not shaken their faith. Would that still happen now by the deception of these people? . But he clings to the genuineness of their faith. Hence his fifth question, here in , which connects to his question in . There he spoke about receiving the Holy Spirit once and for all; here he speaks about the ongoing work of the Spirit. He is pointing to the undeniable proofs of the operation of the Holy Spirit. The question he connects to that fact is: Does God do these works in response to obedience to commandments or as the result of accepting the gospel in faith? . After what you might call the subjective experience in , Paul switches in this verse to the objective proofs of Scripture. Scripture remains the perfect touchstone, whether it concerns experiences, or it concerns doctrine. The opponents stated that the Galatians should be circumcised. They therefore appealed to Genesis 17 ( ). For the origin of circumcision every Jew would refer to Abraham. Paul’s defense to that is superb. He beats the Judaists with their own weapons and breaks down their entire building of doctrines. He actually refers to the same Abraham to demonstrate that Abraham was not justified by circumcision, but by faith. Abraham was a sinner by nature just like everyone else and had no righteousness. Righteousness was reckoned to him by the faith he already had before he was circumcised ( ). It had nothing to do with works. On the contrary, Abraham did nothing but believe in what God had said about a numerous posterity, even when there was nothing to expect anymore of him and Sara. His faith rested in what God had said. That faith was by God “reckoned to him as righteousness”. That means: God declared him righteous. Therefore he was able to be connected with the righteous God. . All who have such faith are sons of Abraham. They all resemble him and are in the same position before God. Perhaps the letter to the Galatians has only now come into its full power, in our time. With the Galatians the evil could be excluded, but professing Christianity in our day has placed itself under the law. How many Christians believe they are acceptable to God because of outward ordinances such as baptism or belonging to the – in their own eyes – right church? This letter has a clear message, especially for them. Now read Galatians 3:1-7 again. Reflection: What contrasts do you find in these verses?

‏ Galatians 3:7-9

Foolish Galatians

Now Paul begins with the dogmatic part of the letter. Some Christians think if they hear the word ‘dogmatic’ that it means tough, dry explanations, which you cannot use in practice. Well, let me tell you that there never can be a good practice, without a sound ‘doctrinal’ knowledge or training. That’s also how it is in social life, isn’t it? First learn at school, and then apply in practice what you have learned. That’s why this part of the letter is of great importance. And even this dogmatic part begins in a practical way.

Gal 3:1. Paul is going to ask some questions to let them think about it. Is this practice or not? He is lashing out against them, because they have become so foolish. In his voice we don’t hear contempt, but indignation. How was it possible that they came under the spell of false teachers? If they had kept in mind what Paul had shown them when he preached the gospel to them, this wouldn’t have happened. You can see now how important it is in practice to remain with the clear, pure gospel.

If you think about the situation in professing Christianity now, Paul would, I think, say to a number of Christians today: ‘O, foolish Christians!’ It is also necessary for us to be reminded again and again of the Lord Jesus as the Crucified One. The cross is mentioned seven times in this letter.

It takes a central position in resisting the deception which found entrance among the Galatians. He who has taken his refuge in the cross has consciously taken the place of being despised and rejected; he has thereby said that from himself there is no good to be expected anymore.

Gal 3:2. In the second question you detect a certain irony, because the answer to the question is so obvious. Of course the Holy Spirit came into their life solely on the ground of the faith that was preached to them and was accepted by them. Paul doesn’t doubt that they had received the Spirit. He is sure about that. He just wants to show that the Spirit and the faith go together and not the Spirit and the law. They hadn’t received the Spirit by their own efforts. A person receives the Holy Spirit if he believes the gospel of his salvation and rests therein. Such a person knows Who God is, Who the Lord Jesus is, he knows who he himself is, and he knows what the law is.

This is the first time in this letter that the Holy Spirit is mentioned. He dwells in every believer on earth. In chapter 2 it is about Someone Who is in heaven (Gal 2:20). The Lord Jesus as Man in heaven and God the Holy Spirit on earth are the core or essence of Christendom. This shows how crucial the apostle’s argument is!

Gal 3:3. The answer to the third question doesn’t need much reflection. This question he also puts with an indignant “are you so foolish?” They had received the Holy Spirit and had started their way in faith under His power and His guidance. How could they ever think that flesh could finish the work of the Holy Spirit?

Gal 3:4. Furthermore, as he says in his fourth question, they had to consider what they had suffered after they had accepted the gospel. They had suffered a lot. Was it all in vain? Persecution by the Judaists (Acts 14:1-5) had not shaken their faith. Would that still happen now by the deception of these people?

Gal 3:5. But he clings to the genuineness of their faith. Hence his fifth question, here in Gal 3:5, which connects to his question in Gal 3:2. There he spoke about receiving the Holy Spirit once and for all; here he speaks about the ongoing work of the Spirit. He is pointing to the undeniable proofs of the operation of the Holy Spirit. The question he connects to that fact is: Does God do these works in response to obedience to commandments or as the result of accepting the gospel in faith?

Gal 3:6. After what you might call the subjective experience in Gal 3:1-5, Paul switches in this verse to the objective proofs of Scripture. Scripture remains the perfect touchstone, whether it concerns experiences, or it concerns doctrine. The opponents stated that the Galatians should be circumcised. They therefore appealed to Genesis 17 (Gen 17:9-10). For the origin of circumcision every Jew would refer to Abraham.

Paul’s defense to that is superb. He beats the Judaists with their own weapons and breaks down their entire building of doctrines. He actually refers to the same Abraham to demonstrate that Abraham was not justified by circumcision, but by faith. Abraham was a sinner by nature just like everyone else and had no righteousness. Righteousness was reckoned to him by the faith he already had before he was circumcised (Rom 4:9-10). It had nothing to do with works.

On the contrary, Abraham did nothing but believe in what God had said about a numerous posterity, even when there was nothing to expect anymore of him and Sara. His faith rested in what God had said. That faith was by God “reckoned to him as righteousness”. That means: God declared him righteous. Therefore he was able to be connected with the righteous God.

Gal 3:7. All who have such faith are sons of Abraham. They all resemble him and are in the same position before God. Perhaps the letter to the Galatians has only now come into its full power, in our time. With the Galatians the evil could be excluded, but professing Christianity in our day has placed itself under the law. How many Christians believe they are acceptable to God because of outward ordinances such as baptism or belonging to the – in their own eyes – right church? This letter has a clear message, especially for them.

Now read Galatians 3:1-7 again.

Reflection: What contrasts do you find in these verses?

Blessing or Curse

Gal 3:8. The false teachers referred to Abraham as proof of their theory. This, however, was entirely wrong. Paul makes clear who the real sons of Abraham are. These are not the Jews who proudly claimed that they were the physical posterity of Abraham. The real sons of Abraham are those, both Jews and Gentiles, who have the same faith as Abraham. He who possesses that faith receives the blessing. This blessing means, among other things, that he who believes will be justified. As stated, this means that such a person is declared righteous by God. It is as if God says: ‘You trust Me, that‘s why you belong to Me; I give you a place in My presence.’

It really was good news to Abraham, when he heard that in him God would bless all nations with the same blessing he too had received. So this blessing was not only for him personally and for his physical posterity, but also for all nations.

God made this promise to Abraham when there was not yet a word of the Old Testament put on paper. Moses only did that several hundred years later. Still it is written: “The Scripture, foreseeing … preached.” From this it is evident that the Scripture and God are one and the same. That makes the Bible so exceptionally impressive. It is truthfully the Word of God.

Gal 3:9. So it is clear that it is not the people who try to keep the law who will receive the blessing, but those who believe. They are blessed with the believing Abraham and not with the circumcised Abraham. All the emphasis is on faith; the law is completely excluded.

Gal 3:10. But the adversaries are not yet silenced. Well, they might say, Abraham is justified by faith; but the law came in later on, didn’t it? You can’t put that aside, can you? Well, Paul also says, the law did indeed come in later. But let us take a good look at the law. It is clear that in the law God tells people exactly how He wants to be served. Obedience is the key word. But does man desire to submit himself to the law? Is he able to fulfill the law?

No, Paul says in Romans 8, the flesh “does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able [to do so]” (Rom 8:7). So the next question might be: if I am justified, and I am risen to a new life, then don’t I desire to keep the commandments of God? However, the question is not if I desire to obey the commands of the law but if I do what the law commands. Acknowledging the law and fulfilling the law go together, in order to be acceptable to God and to be rewarded by Him.

That brings us to the question: am I able to keep all that God has commanded? Who, as a Christian, dares to say: yes, I can, deceives himself and makes God a liar (1Jn 1:8 ; 10). And what if I don’t succeed? As soon as I stumble in one commandment and so don’t succeed to keep them all to the full, I fall under the curse. The law shows no mercy in case of violation (Heb 10:28). There is no pardon!

The quotation where the curse is pronounced upon all who don’t perform what the law says comes from Deuteronomy 27 (Deu 27:26). There Moses speaks about six tribes that had to bless and six tribes that had to curse. And what do you read about the blessing? Nothing at all! And what do you read about the curse? That is pronounced in detail at the end of the above quotation, which you find cited here in Gal 3:10. That is significant.

The quotation is introduced with the words “for it is written”. Let these words affect you with power. They contain the acknowledgment of the authority of the Scriptures with which you can defeat the enemy. The Lord Jesus did just that in the wilderness where the devil tempted Him (Mt 4:4-10). Here Paul does the same to refute the false doctrine. “It is written” is the only guarantee to escape from the wiles of the devil.

Gal 3:11. Paul has more quotations from Scripture. Habakkuk already has said that the righteous will live by faith (Hab 2:4). By law you can only expect judgment. Law and faith don’t match in any way. That’s why it is an error when someone talks about keeping the law ‘out of gratitude’.

Gal 3:12. The verse that Paul quotes can help in refuting this false doctrine. It is written in Leviticus 18 (Lev 18:5). You can’t contradict that a Christian lives by his faith. What sense does it make to involve the law? The law is meant to earn life, and you can only earn that life if you practice “them”, that is, all what the law says.

Gal 3:13. You can see very clearly in this verse that Paul doesn’t wipe out the law with his arguments. In a moving way he confirms the law in this verse. You see the merciless character of the law by what the Lord Jesus did on the cross. When the Lord Jesus on the cross (“the tree”) took the sins upon Him of everyone who believes and would believe in Him, He became a curse. In the Lord Jesus the law has taken full effect. When He lived He perfectly kept the law and fulfilled it. However, we are not redeemed by the perfect way in which the Lord Jesus kept the law. We are redeemed because on the cross He took the curse of the law on Himself.

During His life God’s pleasure was upon the Lord Jesus; on the cross, in the hours of darkness, God cursed Him and He became a curse. By that – and by that alone – we are redeemed from the curse we deserved. That is substitution in the true sense of the word (2Cor 5:21). The price He paid is His blood.

Gal 3:14. Because He turned the curse of the law away from us, it is possible that the blessing freely flows in all its fullness to both Jew and Gentile. Both receive the Holy Spirit only by faith.

Now read Galatians 3:8-14 again.

Reflection: What do you learn about the law in these verses?