GALATIANS 3:1–14
Who Are the Children of Abraham?
Paul has defended his gospel.
He has shown that the Jerusalem apostles recognized it.
He has even confronted Peter when Peter's behavior contradicted it.
Now Paul turns directly to the Galatians.
And he asks them to remember something they already know from their own experience.
How did you receive the Spirit?
That question leads Paul all the way back to Abraham.
“You Foolish Galatians!”
Paul begins strongly:
“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” — Galatians 3:1
Paul isn't trying to insult their intelligence.
He is shocked by what they are doing.
Christ had been clearly presented to them as crucified.
Yet now they were being persuaded that something else was needed.
So Paul asks a simple question.
How Did You Receive the Spirit?
“Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?” — verse 2
Think about the people receiving this letter.
Many were Gentiles.
They had believed the gospel.
They had received the Spirit.
And all of that had happened before they were circumcised or placed under the Law of Moses.
Their own experience answered Paul's question.
God had already accepted them.
Why would they now think they needed the Law to complete what God had begun?
Beginning With the Spirit — Finishing With the Flesh?
Paul asks:
“After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?” — verse 3
The contrast between Spirit and flesh will become important later in Galatians.
Here Paul's point is straightforward.
God had begun His work among them through the Spirit.
Would they now turn to circumcision of the flesh as though that could complete God's work?
Paul thinks the idea makes no sense.
Then Paul Goes Back to Abraham
Paul now introduces Abraham:
“So also Abraham ‘believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’” — verse 6
This is crucial to Paul's argument.
Abraham lived centuries before Moses.
Before Sinai.
Before the Law of Moses.
Paul goes behind Moses to the promise God made to Abraham.
Why?
Because the Galatian controversy was about who belongs to God's people.
And Abraham is at the center of that question.
Who, Then, Are Abraham's Children?
Paul answers:
“Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham.” — verse 7
That would have been a powerful statement in this controversy.
The Gentile Christians did not need circumcision and the Law of Moses to become part of Abraham's family.
Their connection with Abraham came through faith.
Paul is beginning to redefine the family of Abraham around Christ rather than physical descent or possession of the Law.
He will make that even clearer before the chapter ends.
The Gospel Was Announced to Abraham
Paul continues:
“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.’” — verse 8
Notice the words:
All nations.
God's plan to bless Gentiles was not an emergency plan invented after Israel failed.
It was built into the promise to Abraham from the beginning.
God always intended the blessing to reach the nations.
The Promise Was Bigger Than One Nation
This helps us see Abraham's place in the biblical story.
God chose Abraham.
A nation would come from him.
But God's purpose did not end with that nation.
Through Abraham, God intended to bless all nations.
Paul sees the gospel of Christ as the fulfillment of that promise.
So he concludes:
“Those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” — verse 9
Gentiles do not have to become Jews to receive Abraham's blessing.
They receive the blessing through faith.
What Happens If We Choose the Law?
Paul now turns to the other side of the argument:
“For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse.” — verse 10
Why?
Because the Law demands obedience.
Paul quotes:
“Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
If someone chooses the Law as the basis of righteousness, he cannot simply choose the parts he likes.
The Law comes as a whole.
Paul will make that point even more explicitly later when he discusses circumcision.
“The Righteous Will Live by Faith”
Paul then quotes Habakkuk:
“The righteous will live by faith.” — verse 11
Paul's point is not that obedience to God is bad.
The question is:
On what basis are people made right with God?
Paul's answer is not the Law.
It is faith.
Christ Became a Curse for Us
Then Paul brings us back to the cross:
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” — verse 13
The solution was not better Law-keeping.
The solution was Christ.
He took the curse upon Himself.
Why?
Paul tells us in the next verse.
So That the Blessing Could Reach the Gentiles
“He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus.” — verse 14
There is Paul's argument.
Go back to Abraham.
God promised:
All nations will be blessed through you.
Now Paul says that blessing has come to the Gentiles:
through Christ Jesus.
That is why requiring Gentiles to come under the Law was such a serious mistake.
They already had what God had promised Abraham.
They had Christ.
Notice the Direction of Paul's Argument
This is important.
Paul does not begin with Moses and move forward to make Gentiles part of Israel under Moses.
He goes behind Moses to Abraham.
Promise → Abraham → Christ → blessing to the nations.
The Law came later.
That raises an obvious question.
If God's promise to Abraham was already pointing toward Christ and the nations:
Why was the Law of Moses given at all?
Paul knows someone will ask that.
And he is about to answer it.
Follow Paul's Argument
So far Paul has shown us:
The Galatians received the Spirit through faith.
Abraham was counted righteous through faith.
Those of faith are Abraham's children.
God promised that all nations would be blessed through Abraham.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law.
The blessing of Abraham has come to the Gentiles through Christ.
Now we are ready for one of the most important questions in the entire letter:
If the promise came first, what was the purpose of the Law?
Don't answer it for Paul.
Let Paul answer it.
Read the paragraph.
Follow the argument.
Check the context.
Read First. Conclude Later.