Galatians 3:1-9--By Faith, or by Works of the Law?

Galatians 3
English Standard Version

By Faith, or by Works of the Law?
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3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 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-- 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 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.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

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A quick note here--you notice that Paul now starts to address the Galatians again.  I forgot to point this out yesterday, but since Paul's argument at the end of chapter 2 seems to be made to someone who is Jewish, that would not make sense that he's saying that to the Galatian Christians, there therefore it makes the most sense to me that the quotation of what Paul was saying to Peter extends all the way from Galatians 2:14 to Galatians 2:21 (or Paul is at least talking to the other Jews who are with Pater at that point, but he's not talking to the Galatians, only relaying his conversation with Peter to them to support what he's about to say to them directly here in chapter 3).  Paul now makes a clear shift in audience when he starts Galatians 3:1 with, "O, foolish Galatians!  Who has bewitched you?," and the "you" being used here is plural instead of singular.  Knowing that we have a change in audience should help us make the transition from chapter 2 to chapter 3.

Paul does not mince any words here.  He likens their being duped with a false gospel to someone putting them under a trance or a spell with witchcraft.  Paul gets straight into the meat of the argument here--when the Church in Galatia received the Holy Spirit, did they do so by works of the Law or by faith?  The answer is clearly by faith alone through Christ alone and not by any works of the Law since these Christians were never Jews to begin with.  So, how can someone now come to them and trick them into thinking that they need to become Jewish and live according to the Law to receive the Spirit of God when they already have Him, and how do you get "more perfect" than that?  Jesus paid the ultimate price so that the good news (which is not the Law--that's the bad news since no one can keep it) could come to both the Jews and Gentiles alike.

Paul even take time to argue like the author of the book of Hebrews that even Abraham was saved by being credited with righteousness when he believed by faith--not by works of the Law (which didn't even exist yet).  If it was the Law that saved, then no one before the time of Moses (not even Abraham) could have been saved, yet we know that the Jews believed that Abraham was saved as they called Paradise "Abraham's Bosom" (we see this in the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man).  Then Paul argues that the gospel going to the whole world, even the Gentiles is the ultimate fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant in which God said, "Through you, all the nations of the world will be blessed."  As my friend Patrick Andrews would say very enthusiastically, "HOW COOL IS THAT?!?!?!"  As we'll read later in the book of Ephesians that those who were far off (the Gentiles) have been brought near to God through the reconciliation of Christ's blood.  In fact, let's quote that passage now to show that this is not a problem unique to the churches in Galatia and that this is something that Paul is dealing with all throughout the churches in Asia Minor.

Ephesians 2:11-22
English Standard Version

One in Christ​
11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands-- 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

So then, it seems that this idea of being justified by faith and not by the law is essential to understanding that God has made us "one body" and "one people" and not two different kinds of Christians--there is no "no longer Jew or Greek" (Galatians 3:28 and 1 Corinthians 12:13 ).  Remember we've been talking about God forming one people, one Vine, one Body, and one royal priesthood.  The Law was meant to separate God's people, Israel, from the rest of the world so that everything about them would be holy.  They were to be holy because God was holy and to demonstrate to the world what it meant to be "Holy Unto the LORD."  But the Law was not meant to bring barriers and divisions between the people of God and make some "better" and some "worse," members of the Body.  If the Law is our standard, we all fall short (Romans 3:23), both Jew and Gentile--in that sense, we are all equal and in need of better covenant.