Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does Galatians Chapter 3 mean?

In Galatians 3, Paul continues to make the case that faith in Christ is all that is required to be justified—”made righteous”—in God’s eyes. Paul also continues to write with great urgency. This matters deeply to him.

The Galatian Christians had believed in Jesus and began enjoying their freedom in Christ. Then a group of false teachers known as the Judaizers showed up. These men from Jerusalem agreed that it was necessary to believe in Jesus. However, they also claimed that, in order for non-Jewish people to truly be included in the family of God, the men must be circumcised and all must follow the law of Moses.

Paul begins this chapter by calling the Galatians Christians foolish for beginning to believe such teaching. He then presents three separate arguments for why it does not make sense for the Galatians to begin to follow the law of Moses.

First, Paul talks about the Galatian believers’ own experience of coming to Christ. Not only did they “see” Christ crucified in Paul’s teaching, they experienced firsthand the arrival of the Holy Spirit after they believed (Galatians 3:1). Often in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit demonstrated God’s power in some supernatural way when coming to indwell new Christians. That had apparently happened to the Galatians. Perhaps they spoke in tongues or experienced some other supernatural event. In addition, they saw miracles happen through the work of God’s Spirit.

Paul asks them directly: Did the Spirit come from God as a result of your hearing the truth by faith or did it happen by doing works of the law? Since they had not done any works before believing in Jesus, the clear answer is that God sent His Spirit in response to their faith. What, then, do they have to gain from following the law (Galatians 3:2–5)?

Second, Paul begins to quote the Scriptures. Perhaps the Galatians will be persuaded from the same parts of God’s Word the Judaizers are distorting to mislead them. Paul shows that the Scriptures have always pointed to God’s blessing coming by faith and a curse from God coming through the law. Paul states flatly that people of faith—not “people of the law”—are Abraham’s children. After all, Abraham was counted righteous—”justified”—for believing God (Genesis 15:6), and God told Abraham that all the nations would be blessed through him (Genesis 12:3). Thus, those of faith are the ones blessed along with Abraham (Galatians 3:6–9).

Paul then quotes Deuteronomy, Habakkuk, and Leviticus to show that the law brings only a curse to those who fail to follow it in any way. It’s not about faith; it’s about action. Since all people fail to keep the law in some way, Christ had to pay the curse with His own life. That’s how He redeemed those in slavery under the law so that they could be justified by faith in Him (Galatians 3:10–14).

Finally, Paul presents to the Galatians a legal argument. Covenants are legal documents. As such, the covenant God made with Israel, recorded in the Law, did not undo the covenant He made with Abraham. The promises of that covenant remained in place all the way until the arrival of Jesus, who legally claimed those promises. Now all who come to Christ by faith are entitled to share in that inheritance, including non-Jewish people known as Gentiles. In fact, that legal transaction gives believers a permanent standing as God’s children, whether Jewish, Greek, slave, free, male, or female. All are one in Christ, since all are equal heirs to the inheritance God promised to Abraham (Galatians 3:15–29).

Chapter Context
In Galatians chapter 2, Paul declared that we can only be justified—”made right with God”—by faith in Christ and not by following the law of Moses. In chapter 3, Paul offers three arguments for why that is true. He argues from the Galatians own experience, from the Scriptures themselves, and from the legal standpoint of a covenant contract. Finally, Paul answers what the law is for if it cannot save us from our sin. In part, it reveals our sinfulness and convinces us of our need to be saved by faith in Christ. The following chapter will expand on what it means to be an ”heir,” spiritually.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.

Paul is building on a thought given in the previous verse (Galatians 2:21). He has said that if anyone can be justified—made right in God’s eyes—by the law, then Jesus died for nothing. His death would be pointless if there was another way to be made right with God, other than to trust in Christ’s death in our place on the cross.

Now Paul turns forcefully back to his original readers. These were people in the region of Galatia who had believed in Jesus when Paul visited their towns on one of his missionary journeys. Now, however, they had begun to believe the lies of the Judaizers, a group of Jewish leaders who taught that Gentiles must be circumcised and follow the law to truly be saved.

Paul calls the Galatians “foolish,” and asks: who has bewitched them? When Paul was there, they had clearly understood the simple truth of the gospel of God’s grace. They understood the power of the cross. Paul said they saw it with their own eyes when he described it to them. Did someone use magic to steal away the truth from them? Are they under an evil spell? Paul is not really suggesting that some kind of hex is at work; he is making the point that this is such a foolish lie that it is as if someone is manipulating their beliefs against their will.

Paul is stern with them because believers have a responsibility to hold on to the truth they receive about Jesus and not to be talked out of it. As the following verses will show, this is possible in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Context Summary
Galatians 3:1–9 begins with Paul calling the Galatian Christians he loves ”foolish.” They have begun to believe they must follow the law of Moses in order to be included in the family of God. Paul asks: did God give His Spirit to them with great power after they believed, or after doing works of the law? Clearly, the Spirit arrived in response to their faith. Abraham also was declared righteous by God in response to his own faith. Paul insists God’s promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him pointed to this time when Gentiles would be saved by faith in Christ.

Verse 2. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?

The Galatian believers had accepted the gospel through Paul’s preaching (Galatians 1:6–9). Now, however, they are starting to listen to the Judaizers, men claiming they must follow the works of the law to truly be saved. These false teachers suggest that faith is not enough to obtain salvation (Galatians 2:4). Paul has made his opinion clear: falling for this lie is “foolish” (Galatians 3:1).

Here, Paul begins to ask the Galatians a series of leading questions. His purpose is to help them reevaluate what they know to be true.

First, he asks them to look at the evidence of what happened when they were saved. These believers received the Holy Spirit from God at the time of their conversion, as do all Christians. Apparently, this was accompanied by certain outward signs, such as speaking in tongues, meaning languages the Galatians did not know. This often happened in the earliest days of Christianity. Whatever the specifics, Paul is referring to some obvious expression of God’s supernatural power.

Paul asks them to remember that moment. Did it happen when they heard and believed in Jesus? Or, did they have to perform some works of the law, first? Paul’s question is meant to help them see God gave His Spirit to them willingly by His grace and not because of anything they had done.

Verse 3. Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

This letter is written to the people in the region of Galatia who believed in Christ when Paul came to them with the gospel. Unfortunately, they have begun to think they need to live like the Jews in order to be truly saved (Galatians 2:4). Paul has called them “foolish,” with loving purpose (Galatians 3:1), and now asks if they are, in fact, foolish.

In the previous verse, Paul asked them to remember when they received the Holy Spirit. Specifically, he asks if the Spirit came to them after they believed, or after they did some works of the law. The clear answer is that the Spirit came to live inside them, and manifested in some obvious supernatural ways when they believed. This often happened in the early church, when groups believed in large numbers.

Paul’s point is fairly clear: if the Spirit came when they believed, why would they think they needed to start following the law to be acceptable to God?

Now, Paul asks that if they began in the power of God’s Spirit, do they think they will be perfected by their own human efforts—”the flesh”—to live according to the law? Again, the implied answer is “obviously not.”

Verse 4. Did you suffer so many things in vain — if indeed it was in vain?

The Galatians were being convinced by false teachers that they must follow the Old Testament law in order to be truly saved (Galatians 2:4). Paul is asking them a series of leading questions to help them remember what they learned from him about salvation by faith through God’s grace and not self-effort (Galatians 3:1–3).

Here, Paul asks if these Galatian Christians have suffered in vain. Paul might be addressing persecution they suffered for their faith in Christ. Many early Christians were mistreated by Jewish religious leaders for following Jesus. Paul is asking these believers if their suffering was, in the end, meaningless. After all, if they are now going to agree with those religious leaders and begin to follow the law, doesn’t that mean agreeing with their “foolish” claims (Galatians 1:6–9)?

Alternatively, the Greek word translated as suffered, epathete, can also mean “experienced.” It may be that instead of persecution, Paul is referring to all the amazing, supernatural things the Galatian believers have seen since trusting in Christ. That would fit with the mention of miracles in the following verse.

In either case, Paul is asking if the Galatian Christians now consider those prior experiences to be pointless. Did they mean anything, if the Galatians will now stop trusting Christ for their salvation, and instead rely on their own ability to keep the law?

Verse 5. Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith —

Paul is asking the Christians in the region of Galatia a series of leading questions. Apparently, some of them have started to believe false teachers who are insisting that even those who trust in Christ must follow the law to be truly saved. Paul wants to help his readers to see how foolish that idea is (Galatians 3:1).

Now he asks them about the undeniable supernatural things they have seen the Holy Spirit do, including miracles. The earliest Christians often received God’s Spirit with some display of God’s power, such as the sudden ability to speak in languages they didn’t know. In many cases, more miracles followed, including supernatural healings. That happened in Galatia (Acts 14:3, 8–11).

Paul repeats his question from Galatians 3:2. Did God give them His Spirit and display His power by works of the law? Or did He do so in response to their hearing the truth and receiving it with faith? It should not be a hard question. After all, the Galatians had not yet done any works of the law when God sent His Spirit to them. The Spirit had come immediately after they had believed and before they could “do” anything.

Verse 6. just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

Paul concludes a series of provocative questions for the Christians in Galatians. He is trying to help them to see that they are being led astray. A group known as the Judaizers wants them to think that even Christ-followers need to follow the rules and rituals of the law of Moses in order to be truly saved (Galatians 2:4). Paul indicated that this is a “foolish” idea (Galatians 3:1).

Paul concluded the last verse by asking if they received God’s Spirit after doing works of the law or after “hearing with faith?” The answer should be obvious, since they had not yet done any works of the law before the Spirit came. They had simply believed, and God had responded (Galatians 3:5).

Now, Paul begins to show that this is the way God has always worked, even before the law was given. Abraham, the father of all Jewish people, was also declared righteous by God for believing Him. To make the point, Paul quotes Genesis 15:6. Abraham had not yet even been circumcised before God declared him righteous for his faith.

Paul will move on in this chapter to show that the Old Testament and the law were always about faith in God and about looking forward to the coming of Jesus.

Verse 7. Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.

A group known as the Judaizers are attempting to promote a works-based version of Christianity (Galatians 2:4). According to these false teachers, salvation only starts with believing in Jesus, but then one must be circumcised and follow the rituals of the law in order to be truly saved and accepted by God. Paul’s reason for writing to the Galatians was to tell them that this teaching was false (Galatians 1:6–9). These false teachers insisted that nobody could be included in the family of God unless they were descendants of Abraham. By that logic, if non-Jews, like Paul’s readers in Galatia, wanted to be in God’s family, they must do what all Jewish men do. They must be circumcised (Genesis 17:10). Paul, however, has just pointed out that God called Abraham righteous long before he was circumcised. Paul has quoted Genesis 15:6: “And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

Now, Paul declares a radical idea: everyone who believes the Lord, referred to as “those of faith,” are the sons of Abraham. This includes all people, even the non-Jewish people known as Gentiles. This is a point Paul will make explicitly clear at the end of this passage (Galatians 3:23–29).

In other words, Father Abraham’s “many sons” include all who trust in Christ. This category is not limited to those descended from Abraham by birth and through a ritual conversion to Judaism. Resistance to this truth caused much of the persecution of Christians by the Jewish religious leaders in the early years of church.

Verse 8. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”

Paul is writing to non-Jewish Christians in Galatia. He is warning them not to believe the false teaching of a group known as the Judaizers. These men are telling people that Christianity only starts by believing in Jesus, and that belief must be followed by being circumcised in order to truly be included in God’s family, the Jews, the sons of Abraham (Galatians 2:4).

Paul has answered by declaring that the opposite is true. Abraham was “counted as righteous” by believing the Lord (Galatians 3:6). Therefore, Paul said, everyone who believes the Lord is a child of Abraham and included in God’s family. Put in theological terms, justification—being declared right before God—comes by faith in Christ, period. It is not, in any sense or form, something earned or produced by following the law of Moses.

How can Paul say such a thing? What about all the requirements of the law in the Old Testament? Paul reminds his readers of one of the first things God said to Abraham, that through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed (Genesis 12:3). Paul is clear: This was God’s plan all along. The Scriptures were always pointing to the day when all people, not just the Israelites who followed the law, would be included in the family of God by faith, as Abraham was. The law was never meant to be the solution to our sin—Christ was.

Verse 9. So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Paul is making the case that we are saved exclusively on the basis of faith, not works. A group known as the Judaizers are trying to convince Christians that they must be circumcised and follow the law in order to be truly saved and included in God’s family (Galatians 2:4). Paul has shown that even Abraham was justified—counted as righteous before God—because he believed the Lord, and not because he was circumcised (Galatians 3:6).

Now Paul wraps up this part of his argument about the children of Abraham. He states clearly that the blessing of God comes to those who believe God, including non-Israelites. He calls blessed Abraham the “man of faith.”

It’s important to notice two elements of Paul’s argument: God’s blessing and human faith. God’s blessing can only be a gift, never earned by human action. In fact, it can be accessed only by faith in Christ.

Paul, sounding like a lawyer making his argument before a courtroom, will go on in the following verses to show why following the rituals contained in the Law can’t save anyone. Paul is using his training as a Pharisee, one of the scholarly Jewish religious leaders. He is arguing from Scripture and logic, against the Judaizers, and in favor of the very truths for which he himself once persecuted Christians (Galatians 1:11–24).

Verse 10. For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”

For the false teachers known as the Judaizers, the truth seemed obvious. They were convinced nobody could be included in God’s family unless he was circumcised and followed the law of Moses (Galatians 2:4). That, for them, was the clear teaching of the Old Testament. Paul has showed from the Old Testament Scriptures that, in fact, Abraham himself was counted as righteous before God—”justified”—when he believed the Lord (Galatians 3:6). Now Paul begins to show that the rules and rituals given in the Law cannot save anyone. They can only condemn those who try to follow them.

Again, Paul quotes Moses, this time from Deuteronomy 27:26. God says to the Israelites that everyone who does not “do” everything written in the Book of the Law will be cursed. In other words, everyone who tries to follow the law in order to be saved is always under the threat of being cursed by God. As Paul will go on to show, nobody is able to do everything the law says to do perfectly. Life under law, therefore, is life under God’s curse.

Paul will continue exploring this idea, showing that salvation can be found only through faith and not through the law.

Context Summary
Galatians 3:10–14 describes Paul’s argument that blessing does not come by following the law of Moses. In fact, the rules described in the law bring the threat of God’s curse if anyone fails to keep them in any way. Since all fail to keep it perfectly, no one can be justified—made right before God—by the law. Paul quotes three Old Testament Scriptures to show this is true, and that Christ took this curse on Himself when He died for our sin on the cross. That’s how the blessing of Abraham has come to the Gentiles who believe in Christ by faith.

Verse 11. Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Paul continues to make his case that following the law cannot save anyone. He is trying to help the Christians in Galatia to understand that the Scriptures have always pointed to faith, trusting God, as the way to be made right with Him. This is especially meant to counter the false teaching of the Judaizers. This group claimed that following the law, including circumcision, was necessary in order for a person to be saved (Galatians 2:4).

In the previous verse, Paul quoted from Deuteronomy that to live under the law is to live under the threat of a curse for breaking it in any way. Now he points to something Habakkuk wrote, “…The righteous shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). He will quickly declare that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, but Paul is eager for the Galatians to hear that God has always called men and women to put their faith in Him. God never intended us to be saved by adhering to the law; His intent was always to use the ministry of Jesus Christ.

Verse 12. But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.”

The Christians in Galatia are being lured away from the truth. Under pressure from a group known as the Judaizers, they are drifting away from believing they have been saved by God’s grace through their faith in Christ alone (Galatians 1:6–9). The Judaizers have presented convincing-sounding arguments that God requires their men to be circumcised (Galatians 2:4). They claim all men must follow the law of Moses to truly be right with God, even after believing in Jesus.

Paul has confronted these false ideas head on, showing from the Old Testament Scriptures themselves that to live under the law is to live under a curse (Deuteronomy 27:26) and that even then the righteous live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4). Now, before turning to Christ, Paul adds that the law is not of faith, it is of works. Those who live under the law must “do” those works without fail (Leviticus 18:5).

In other words, faith and law cannot be made to work together to be made right with God. Those who live under the law must do what it says. Period. If not—and nobody can perfectly follow the law—they are cursed. Those who live by faith in God are trusting God, specifically Jesus’ life and death in their place, to be made right with the Father. The Judaizers were telling people they needed both Christ and the law. Paul insists that the two cannot be merged; they are completely separate.

Verse 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 hanged on a tree” —

Paul spent the previous verses arguing from the Old Testament Scriptures themselves that the law cannot save us. The Judaizers are trying to convince the Christians in Galatia that they need to believe in Jesus, and in addition they need to continue to follow the law of Moses (Galatians 2:4). From Deuteronomy, Habakkuk, and Leviticus, Paul has shown that to live by faith and to live under the law are not compatible. They can’t be merged.

So what are we to do? Paul showed that living under the law is to spend our days under the threat of being cursed by God for breaking the law. Unfortunately, we all break it somehow, meaning that according to the law all men are doomed. We’re cursed. Now Paul turns to the answer and the focus of all of his teaching: Jesus Christ.

Christ did for us what we could not do. He redeemed us from the curse of the law. The word “redeemed,” from the Greek exēgorasen, specifically refers to buying someone out of slavery. Christ did that for us, Paul says, by taking our curse on Himself. Paul again quotes from Deuteronomy: Everyone hanged on a tree is cursed (Deuteronomy 21:23). Even the way Jesus was killed was evidence that He had become cursed in our place.

This great verse contains the essence of the “good news”—the “gospel”—of Jesus in a nutshell. Because none of us could follow the law without breaking it, all of us were cursed by it. We were separated from God, not declared righteous by Him. Then Christ stepped in and took our curse on Himself and paid the price of the curse, which is death and separation from God. That frees us from the law and creates the opportunity for us to be saved by faith.

Verse 14. so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

Paul concludes the breathtaking truth he began in the previous verse. He has shown that to rely on the law to save us, to make us right before God, is to live under a curse (Galatians 3:10–13). To break any part of the law results in being cursed by God, and separated from Him. In that way, the law reveals our sin but does not lead to our salvation. And it was never intended to lead to salvation. Rather, God had an ultimate solution in mind, when the time was right.

At that critical moment, Christ stepped in. He brought us out of this curse we were under by simple substitution. He became the curse Himself. He paid our way to freedom at the price of His own sinless life and separation from God.

Why did Jesus do this? What did He gain? Paul answers in this verse. First, His death in our place is how Gentiles (non-Jewish people) can be included in the family of God. The patriarch becomes “Father Abraham” to all who trust in Christ, descended by birth or not. Even Gentiles receive the blessings promised to Abraham’s family.

Second, being freed from the curse revealed by the law allows all who trust in Christ’s death in their place, for their sin, to receive the Holy Spirit. Paul calls Him the “promised Spirit,” possibly referring to Jesus’ promise in Acts 1:8.

Once more, Paul emphasizes that this is possible only “by faith.” Gentiles cannot become Abraham’s children or receive God’s Spirit by following the works of the law. We had to be freed from the curse of the law in order for this to become possible in the first place.

Verse 15. To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified.

In Galatians 3, Paul makes a series of arguments to the Christians in Galatia. He seeks to help them understand why what the Judaizers taught was false. The Judaizers agreed that all should believe in Jesus, but they said we must also continue to follow the works of the law to be truly saved (Galatians 2:4).

Paul has attacked that idea from two directions so far. First, he pointed to the Galatians’ own personal experience. They received the Holy Spirit after trusting in Christ and before doing any works of the law (Galatians 3:2–5). Why would they think they must be circumcised and start following the law to be saved?

Second, he argued from the Old Testament scriptures that God’s Word has always taught that salvation is by faith, starting with the declaration that Abraham was declared righteous—”justified”—for believing the Lord. In fact, following the law reveals that we are all under God’s curse for breaking the law. Through faith in Jesus’s death in our place, we can all become Abraham’s children and be included in God’s family (Galatians 3:6–14).

Now Paul begins to argue with the false teaching of Judaizers from a legal standpoint. He asks the Galatians to think about a legal covenant. Probably, Paul is referring to a will: a legal document declaring who receives an inheritance once the person creating the will has died. Under Greek law, a will could not be altered once it was fully completed. Perhaps that’s the system to which Paul is referring.

In any case, Paul’s readers understand that some contracts, even human ones, cannot be revoked or changed. They are binding no matter what circumstances follow. Paul will show that God’s covenant with Abraham was binding still, even after the law was put in place.

Context Summary
Galatians 3:15–22 begins with Paul making a legal argument about God’s covenant with Abraham. This arrangement remained in place even during the later covenant of the law of Moses. Paul follows this by describing what the point of the law really is. It was given both to show what is sinful, and to show how sinful we are. By the law, we learn that we are not able to keep to God’s standard and must be saved in another way. That other way is through faith in Christ. Once He arrived, this salvation was available to all people, including non-Jewish Gentiles.

Verse 16. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.

In the previous verses, Paul declared that Christ redeemed—bought out of slavery—all those under the curse of the law by becoming that curse Himself. He paid the price of death and separation from God. What did that gain? He made it possible for even non-Jews (Gentiles) to become the children of Abraham by faith. It allowed them to receive the blessings that come with that relationship.

But can God’s promises to Abraham and his descendants really be claimed by non-Jewish people all these centuries later? The Judaizers would apparently say no, perhaps claiming that the law of Moses took the place of God’s promises to Abraham. Now Gentiles who wanted to be included in God’s family must be circumcised and follow the law, or so they said.

But Paul insists that a covenant cannot be revoked, even by new agreements later on. God declared Abraham righteous—”justified”—because of his faith. God made promises of great blessings to Abraham’s offspring, on the basis of that faith. Now Paul insists the offspring God was referring to was, in fact, one man: Christ Himself. Paul is not saying that the promises to Abraham were not for the rest of his descendants, but that the focus of those promises was one singular, offspring: Jesus Christ.

Jesus, during His time on earth, was a fully human Jewish man in addition to being fully God in human form. Matthew 1 tracks the genealogy of Abraham all the way to Jesus. Christ was Abraham’s descendant and would become, by God’s covenant, the focus of all of God’s promises to Abraham. Paul will go on to show, then, that all who are in Christ are included in those covenant promises, as well.

Verse 17. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.

Paul is building the legal case for why those who are in Christ by faith, even non-Jewish people (Gentiles), become descendants of Abraham and receive the blessings promised to him. In the previous verse, Paul said that even a human covenant, or “will,” cannot be changed once it has been ratified. When that kind of document was officially approved by all parties and legally filed, it was irrevocable.

Now Paul clarifies the point of his illustration. God made a covenant with Abraham. That covenant was a one-way promise by God to bless Abraham and his offspring in specific ways. The Judaizers were apparently telling people that the law replaced God’s covenant promises to Abraham (Galatians 2:4). Paul soundly rejects that idea. Although the law was instituted 430 years later, under Moses, it did not void out God’s previous promises to Abraham. Those remain in effect, because God’s covenant cannot be changed.

In the last verse, Paul made a point of indicating that this promise was given to Abraham’s “singular” offspring, not a “plural” group or collection of many. Judaism had always believed that the promises given to Abraham would one day be fulfilled in a single person—a Messiah.

Jesus, as Abraham’s ultimate offspring, received those covenant promises made to Abraham. That’s why all who trust in Christ’s death for their sin—placing their own lives “in Christ”—also receive the blessings promised to Abraham’s offspring. We receive whatever Jesus is entitled to because we have been given credit for His sinless life, and He has taken the penalty for our sinfulness.

Verse 18. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

Paul continues to make the case that salvation does not come through following the works of the law of Moses. Specifically, the eternal blessings God promised to Abraham and his offspring are not given on the basis of deeds or actions. Instead, it comes to all who believe by faith in Christ. Christ is the ultimate offspring of Abraham, and He is entitled to everything God promised to Abraham. So everyone who is “in Christ” is also entitled to those promises through Him (Galatians 3:10–14).

Now Paul makes an undeniable point of logic. He describes the covenant promises made to Abraham as an “inheritance,” something passed down from one person to his or her offspring. This inheritance was given by God’s promise. Theologians call it a “unilateral covenant,” meaning that it was one-sided. God didn’t ask Abraham to do anything to receive His promises. Abraham already believed God; God promised Abraham specific blessings with no strings attached. If you have to now follow the law of Moses to receive the blessings God promised to Abraham, what kind of promise is that? In short, it turns unconditional blessings into conditional ones. It changes God’s gift from a promise to a merit-based performance, one we can never be good enough to merit (Galatians 3:10; Romans 3:10).

This raises an obvious question, one the Judaizers must have asked loudly and sarcastically: So what was the point of the law, then? Paul will answer that in the following verses.

Verse 19. Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.

This is a complicated and important verse in Galatians. Paul has been building a strong case for why the law cannot save us from our sin (Galatians 3:10–12). Instead, he teaches that God has always intended Christ to be the ultimate means of our salvation (Galatians 3:13–14). Now he asks the obvious question: “Why then the law?” In other words, what’s the point? Why did God create and implement this complex collection of rules and regulations for His people Israel?

Paul’s answer is that the law was added “because of transgressions.” This is from the Greek word parabaseōn, a word which can mean “breaks, violations, breaches,” or more simply as “sins.” One purpose of the law may have been to show the Israelites what actions were sinful so they could avoid them. God, in His grace, gave them the law to show His own standards for their right and wrong behavior.

Paul may also mean something else by the phrase “because of transgressions,” however. It’s true that the law showed the Israelites God’s standard for right and wrong. More than that, though, the law showed the Israelites that they wanted to do what was wrong and were unable to obey God’s standard perfectly. Or, as Paul put it in Romans 5:20, “the law came to increase the trespass.” God instituted the law, in part, to show the Israelites, and all of us, just how sinful we really are. Only sinful people know they need to be saved from their sin; the law convinces us of how much sin we have to be saved from.

In addition, Paul writes that the law was always meant to be temporary. It was added for God’s people 430 years after God’s promise to Abraham and his offspring (Galatians 3:17) and only meant to be applied until that one, specific offspring, Jesus, showed up to receive the promise as Abraham’s ultimate descendant (Galatians 3:16).

Paul also says the law was put in place “through angels by an intermediary.” This phrase can also be confusing, and is explained in better detail by Paul in the following verse.

Verse 20. Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.

This is a complicated and important verse in Galatians. Paul has been building a strong case for why the law cannot save us from our sin (Galatians 3:10–12). Instead, he teaches that God has always intended Christ to be the ultimate means of our salvation (Galatians 3:13–14). Now he asks the obvious question: “Why then the law?” In other words, what’s the point? Why did God create and implement this complex collection of rules and regulations for His people Israel?

Paul’s answer is that the law was added “because of transgressions.” This is from the Greek word parabaseōn, a word which can mean “breaks, violations, breaches,” or more simply as “sins.” One purpose of the law may have been to show the Israelites what actions were sinful so they could avoid them. God, in His grace, gave them the law to show His own standards for their right and wrong behavior.

Verse 21. Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.

Paul is building his case for why the law cannot accomplish what faith in Christ can. Namely, he is referring to salvation—saving us from our sin. Paul has begun to answer the question “why the law,” at all, then? Now he anticipates a different question from his readers: Is he suggesting that the law of Moses and the promises made to Abraham are in conflict?

He answers emphatically, “Certainly not!” In the Greek it reads mē genoito, or “death to that idea!” In plain language, Paul really means it! Both the promises to Abraham and the law of Moses were given by God, after all. They are not opposed to each other; they simply serve different ultimate purposes.

If God had given a law designed to give life, then human beings could become righteous—”justified”—by following the law. The law cannot give life, however, because no human being has ever been able to keep it perfectly, aside from Christ Himself (Hebrews 4:15). Instead, as Paul will say in the following verse, the result of the law was to leave every human being in a prison of their own inescapable sinfulness. But, because of the promises to Abraham, as fulfilled in Jesus, that was not the end of the story.

Verse 22. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

It would be understandable if someone reading Galatians, to this point, would be confused. Paul has written about the law in a way that might suggest to an outsider that he means the law in itself is somehow evil. With all of his talk about the promises made to Abraham becoming available to everyone through faith in Christ, is he saying that the law was a pointless diversion? Paul clarifies, in the previous verse, that he was not saying that, using a potent phrase: “Kill that idea!” He is showing that God meant all along for the law to show, in part, that human beings cannot keep God’s law (Galatians 3:21). Why? We are sinful, and knowing what God wants us to do cannot keep us from doing it. We continue to sin.

In other words, the law cannot give eternal life because no human being can keep the law perfectly. We all break it. The law shows us that we cannot escape our own sin. We are all in prison “under sin,” and the law can offer only condemnation. It does not provide a way out. So what is the way out? It comes only through the promise given to Abraham and received by Christ. Those who believe in Christ “by faith” receive the promise, too. Paul will go on to show how receiving that promise, along with Christ, provides for the forgiveness of and escape from our sin.

Verse 23. Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.

A group referred to as the Judaizers were attempting to convince Christians in Galatia that they must be circumcised and follow the law of Moses, in addition to believing in Christ, if they wanted to be saved (Galatians 2:4). Paul is writing to explain what is so wrong with this idea (Galatians 3:1).

He is in the middle of describing what the point of the law really was. In the previous verses, he showed that the law cannot give life to people because people cannot keep the law perfectly. It serves the purpose of showing us just how sinful we are once we understand what God would require of us to live up to His standards for righteousness. The law shows us that we cannot do it; we cannot stop sinning!

In this way, the law held Israel—and all those who wanted to be right with God—in a form of captivity. They became aware that they were prisoners of their own sin. That season under the law was temporary, however. Eventually, faith came. More specifically, Christ came and died to pay for the sin we could not escape. Through faith in Him, we can find a way out of captivity under the law. The following verse will reveal that the law served a vital purpose in the history of Israel, but that purpose came to an end when the opportunity to put our faith in Christ was revealed.

Context Summary
Galatians 3:23–29 summarizes the idea that God never intended the law to be the final solution for the problem of sin. Instead, it was meant to ”guard” mankind, until the arrival of Christ. This freedom from the captivity of the law also transcends all other barriers: race, gender, wealth, health, and culture are all irrelevant to our relationship with the Savior. Anyone who belongs to Christ, by faith, is promised to be an heir.

Verse 24.So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.

Paul is describing the purpose of the law in the history of Israel until Christ came. He has been clear that the law of Moses cannot bring life. It cannot save people from their sin (Galatians 3:11). It did, however, play a vital purpose for Israel from the time of Moses until the time of Christ.

Paul uses an illustration to describe that purpose. He compares the law to a paidagōgos, or a “pedagogue.” In Greek families, a pedagogue was a slave entrusted with protecting and caring for the children from the age of 6 until late adolescence. The pedagogue was not exactly the same as a “teacher,” but he did discipline the children. He taught them morals and corrected them when they misbehaved. When the kids got old enough, though, they left the pedagogue behind. This word is translated into English here as “guardian,” or “tutor.”

Paul’s comparison suggests that God’s law provided protection and discipline for Israel until the time was right for Christ to come. The law was not the teacher, and it could not save Israel. It provided direction and discipline until all people could be justified (“made right with God”) through faith in Christ.

Verse 25. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,

In the previous verse, Paul described the useful purpose the law of Moses served in Israel, between the time of the exodus from Egypt and the earthly ministry of Christ. He compared the law to a servant in Greek families called a pedagogue. This person served the family by caring for the children from the age of 6 until late adolescence. The pedagogue disciplined, protected, and steered the children until they became independent adults.

When Christ came, Paul now insists, the need for the pedagogue ended. The law had fulfilled its purpose. Through it, God had steered Israel through all the false religions, empty philosophies, and gross immorality of the other nations of the world. The law itself could not set people free from sin, only guide them through the minefield of sin until true freedom came. Now that Christ, the Savior, had arrived to set people free from sin through faith in Him, the guardian was no longer necessary.

Verse 26. for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

Paul concludes a thought begun in the previous verses. He has been showing that the law of Moses served a vital role in the life of Israel, but only for a temporary season. It was similar to a kind of tutor, or guardian, to the nation of Israel, steering them through the minefield of sin and its consequences without ever being able to free them from their imprisonment to sin (Galatians 3:19–25).

When Christ came, however, the guardian of the law was no longer needed. No matter what the Judaizers said to the Galatian Christians, it was not necessary for any of them to continue to follow the works of the law. True freedom from sin is now available to those who “by faith” receive the gift of Christ’s death for their sin on the cross. In fact, being “in Christ” by faith causes believers to become children of God. Paul is making a huge statement here. He is writing to non-Jewish Christians and calling them children of God, another step up from his previous description of them as Abraham’s children “by faith.”

Paul’s teaching was the Gentiles no longer needed to think of themselves as lesser members in the family of God. All who trust in Christ for salvation are full sons and daughters of God Almighty with all the rights and privileges that come with that.

Verse 27. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Paul has just made an enormous statement. In the previous verse, he declared that all who are in Christ Jesus “by faith” are the children of God. Gentiles no longer need to think of themselves as God’s step-children. The rights and privileges of a full son or daughter of God are available to all who trust in Christ for their salvation from sin.

Now Paul describes this connection we have with Christ, the Son of God, as even closer than siblings. Those who trust in Him “put on Christ” like a garment. Paul likely has in mind the kind of robes worn in the Roman Empire during his day. To put on Christ is to be completely covered up by Him. To be “in Christ” is to be so closely identified with Him that we experience life through Him, in a sense.

How does that happen? Paul describes those who come “by faith” as being baptized into Christ. It’s possible Paul is referring to water baptism, the outward, public sign of faith in Christ. More likely, though, Paul means that Christians are baptized in (or into) the Holy Spirit when we trust in Christ for our salvation. It is the moment when God’s Spirit comes to live with and in us.

Paul describes it this way in 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” He will use similar language to describe our oneness in Christ through the Spirit in the following verse.

Verse 28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Paul has been making the case to the Gentile (non-Jewish) Christians in Galatia that they don’t need to listen to the Judaizers. They don’t need to follow the law in order to be saved (Galatians 2:4). By faith in Christ, and by faith alone, they are already full children of God Almighty (Galatians 3:7–9). They have been baptized into God’s Spirit (who is in them). They have put on Christ like a robe and are covered by Him. What would they gain by trying to follow the law again?

Now Paul assures these believers that, in Christ, they have been fully united with everyone else who is in Christ. There are no lesser Christians in the family of God. Our earthly identifiers create no value distinction between us in our Father’s eyes. Jews do not carry a higher rank than Greeks (non-Jews). Free people hold no greater honor than slaves. Men are not superior to women. No race is a “master race,” nor any ethnicity inferior.

How is this possible? Christ holds the most honored position in the family of God, and all Christians are “in Christ.” In that way, we are one, we are united. Since none can be higher and none can be lower, we are equal in the eyes of God.

It’s important to note that this teaching is not based on the current climate of the culture. It is not liberal, conservative, or political. It is the direct result of the gospel. It is not a statement about the various roles any Christian may be called to fill in this life or the honor we may or may not be given on this side of eternity. It is a statement about our equal value in the eyes of God, and how we should learn to view each other. Since all Christians are in Christ, all of us are one.

Verse 29. And if you are Christ ‘s, then you are Abraham ‘s offspring, heirs according to promise.

Paul has just described the incredible position of his Christian readers in Galatia. They, like all saved Christians, are full children of the Almighty God. They have been baptized into God’s Spirit. They have put on Christ and are so completely covered by Him as to be fully identified by the Father with Christ. Finally, in Christ, they have equal value in the eyes of God, no matter their ethnicity, gender, or social status.

Now he brings this part of his case to a close by bringing it back to his earlier statement that believers in Jesus are also Abraham’s offspring and heirs of the promises given to him by God (Galatians 3:7–9). More specifically, Christ is the ultimate offspring of Abraham. All the promises of God made to Abraham and his offspring flow to Christ. That’s why, by being in Christ, covered by Him, identified with Him, we also become Abraham’s children and heirs.

Our position before God, Paul insists, has nothing to do with following the law and everything to do with being in Christ. We have everything in Him, and nothing without Him.

End of Chapter 3.

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