Galatians

Paul’s point here is that Abraham was already declared righteous decades before he was ever circumcised. The Judaizers might have conceded the priority of faith but also may have made use of Genesis 17:

¹ When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.  ² I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."

 ⁹ Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.  ¹⁰ This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.  ¹¹ You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.  ¹² For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner — those who are not your offspring.  ¹³ Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.

Their counter to Paul’s “faith alone” teaching was Abraham, in their view, was saved by faith plus works. Yes, Abraham certainly had to have faith, but he also had to keep the covenant as we see here in Genesis 17. Abraham’s faith led to circumcision which was a type “law-keeping” before the law was given. They were simply promoting the same thing in principle: faith plus law-keeping…same as Abraham. They, however, were leaving out one particularly crucial factor in their argument…Abraham was already declared righteous by God before he was circumcised.

If the Judaizers were right about works…how could Abraham have been declared righteous before he was circumcised? If salvation is a matter of faith plus works Abraham could not have been saved really until his works were added to his faith to complete or finish his salvation. This would have meant that during the fourteen years between his expression of faith in Genesis 15 and his act of circumcision in Genesis 17 he could not have been righteous…but God had already credited him with righteousness based on his faith!

Abraham was not saved by faith plus works, but with a faith that sought to express itself in work. The desire of Abraham’s faith found fulfillment in his actions. The fruit of the faith first rooted in Genesis 15 was the deed performed in Genesis 17.

The real children of Abraham are not those who follow him in his flesh but those who follow him in his faith! Those of us saved by faith are spiritual descendants of Abraham.

When God promised that all nations would be blessed through Abraham it did not mean they would be blessed by becoming Jews (note they are justified as Gentiles), therefore the blessing is not through the experience of the flesh being circumcised like Abraham but through the example of faith being exercised like Abraham. Thus, the justification of uncircumcised Gentiles was anticipated in the Abrahamic Covenant.

We must not make the mistake of thinking that Abraham was a faithful man; he was a man of faith which is completely different. His faith was in the faithfulness of God, not his own faithfulness.

Having established the fact that justification is by faith from the individual experiences of the Galatians and the scriptural example of Abraham, Paul now demonstrates how irrational it is to expect to be commended by the law. The Law does not commend it pronounces a curse upon those who strive to earn righteousness by keeping it.

Contrary to what the Judaizers taught, no one was ever or will ever be credited with righteousness by law-keeping. The law does not credit it condemns! Paul quoted Deuteronomy 27:26 to show that the Law demanded perfection and that a curse was attached to failure to keep any part of it.

The Jewish people saw the law as a single unit. They recognized three divisions: the commandments, the judgments, and the ordinances, but nevertheless saw the law as indivisible. That is why it is referred to as the law [singular] of God and the not the laws [plural] of God. Consequently, breaking only one command even one time makes a person guilty of breaking the one law of God in total…or the whole law.

Nonetheless, quoting the Old Testament yet again, Paul showed that even during the time of the law legalistic obedience was not the basis for a justified standing before God...because, as the Prophet Habakkuk wrote, “The righteous will live by faith “(Hab 2:4).

How was a man to live righteously in days like those of Habakkuk when God’s people neglected God’s law? Habakkuk could not expect God’s blessings based on obedience to the law because Israel was unfaithful. All he could do was to trust in God and live by faith. Habakkuk had to believe that God was more faithful than he or the people of Israel could or would ever be. Again, let me say people under the Old Covenant were not saved by obedience to the law.

The basis of justification has always been the same. The core basis of giving salvation in every era is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The core condition for receiving salvation in every era is faith. The command directive of faith in every era is God, but the complete comprehension of all that faith embodies varies depending upon the level of revelation available.

What this means is this: Likely, when Abraham was credited with righteousness he did not understand as the conscious object of his faith the incarnate, crucified Son of God. Just as when Adam sinned, and God clothed him with animal skins he did not understand what the believer today understands looking back in time with the assistance of additional revelation. However, Abraham did understand that God was the proper object of his faith and that it was faith that pleased God. He came to understand the promise of a redeemer, but he would not have understood that in the same way as we do today with fuller revelation.

So, people were saved under the law, but they were never saved by the law…they were always saved the only way God chooses to save…by grace through faith.

Note the two all-encompassing expressions in this verse: “everyone” and “everything.” Paul wanted the Galatians to realize that when they subject themselves to the Law, they subject themselves to it in its entirety. In accordance with Habakkuk’s realization that Israel was unable to keep the law in his day, and therefore must live by faith, Paul explains the impossibility of keeping the law, requiring men of every age to live by faith.

Faith and law cannot be combined; they do not complement one another. Quoting again from the Old Testament, Paul proved law and faith are mutually exclusive. The basic principle of the law is found in Leviticus 18:5: “The man who does these things will live by them.” Here, Paul cites this text as verification that the governing principle for law-keepers is their works, not faith. If one chooses to live under law, then he must operate within the governing principle of works trusting in himself alone, while one who chooses to live under grace must live by faith trusting in God.

The only hope of those under the condemnation of the law is to be redeemed from the law. How? Christ redeemed us by becoming a curse for us. Thus the "curse of

the law" was transferred from us to Christ. The confirming quotation from Deuteronomy 21:23 refers to the fact that in Old Testament times criminals were executed (normally by stoning) and then displayed on a stake or post to show God's divine rejection.

When Christ was crucified, it was evidence He had come under the curse of God. This was a great stumbling block to the Jews…how could the Messiah be cursed? The crucifixion in their minds was the best proof Jesus was not the Messiah for He was under God’s curse! When Jesus bore the curse of the law for us, we died to the law through the law as discussed in Galatians 2:15-21. Jesus bore the curse that brought us the cure!

Two purposes for Christ's redemptive work are given, each introduced by the same Greek conjunction, but translated slightly differently: "in order that" and “so that”

First Purpose: Christ redeemed us “in order that” Gentiles might receive the blessings promised to Abraham through faith.

Second Purpose: “So that” all who thus believe might receive the promise of the Holy Spirit.

The good news is that based on Christ’s redemption God is now free to fulfill His promise to Abraham to bless all nations in him. That is why Paul began chapter three by speaking of his gospel as publicly portraying Christ as crucified. The crucifixion of Christ was the cure for the curse.

As the law could not credit them with righteousness there was no reason for the Galatians to place themselves under it. All it could do was to curse them. The law and its curse need not be feared by Abraham’s “offspring” by faith.

Please go to Observations & Applications for Galatians 3:6-14 for further observations and applications.