BAD NEWS / GOOD NEWS

 

It is the worst news. It is the best news.

Christ was cursed. We are blessed.

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us - for it is written, "cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree" - in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come." (Gal. 3:13-14a)

A curse (κατάρα), in the ancient world, was a pronouncement that brought harm to someone. In a legal context, a curse was the court's sentence as a consequence of breaking the law. The courtroom curse expressed the execution of punishment on the lawbreaker, indicating that the judgment was in effect from that moment in time. The curse Paul is talking about here is the judicial action of God whereby he sentences all who break the law at even one point to the full consequences of the law. Therefore, redemption from the curse is necessary to free us from the sentence of God. Christ redeemed us (ἐξηγόρασεν) from the curse of the law by paying the price to satisfy the law's requirements (TDNT, 1:449, 126).

Everyone who tries to earn God's favor by keeping the law is under the curse of the law because we all fail. No one is perfect (Gal. 3:10). If you live by the law, you will die by the law. We are already under the curse. Burton argues that the curse of the law refers only to the legalistically imposed curse and is not God's curse. He attempts to prove that God does not curse people, the law does, and people falsely think that God curses people in the law. The curse of the law is not the wrath of God, in his view (Burton, Galatians, 168-171). His argument hardly holds water. The law is the expression of God, so the curse of the law is the curse of God in judgment for sin. We cannot differentiate between the two in this passage.

Christ redeems us from the curse having become (γενόμενος) a curse for us. The Aorist participle should be understood as instrumental, telling us the means Christ used to redeem us. He paid the price of redemption by becoming our curse. The time of the participle is antecedent to the main verb. (D&M, Grammar, 228, 230). He became the curse of the law before He redeemed us, grounding the redeeming in the becoming. The fact that Christ became a curse for us is the means by which He redeemed us. To hang on a tree was to be cursed by God (Deut. 21:23), and to be cursed by God for even one element of the law is to be cursed for the whole law (Gal. 3:10; Deut. 27:26). (Bruce, Galatians, 164-165)

Christ became a curse for us (ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν). He came to be a curse because he was innocent in himself. He had committed no sin. He was cursed in our place. The preposition should be taken substitutionally. We must not draw a rigid distinction between the prepositions "on behalf of" (ὑπὲρ) and "instead of" (ἀντί) because often the one who acts on behalf of someone is acting in place of that person (Moule, Idiom Book, 64). The substitutional force of this passage is even more apparent when Paul writes, "He made Him who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf" (2 Cor. 5:21). Both 2 Corinthians 5:21 and Galatians 3:13 use the same expression - "on behalf of us" (ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν). 

God cursed God hanging in our place on the cross. The weight of our sin hangs on the phrase "for us." To use Martin Luther's imagery, Christ wrapped himself in our sin. Every thief, every liar, every selfish person, every adulterer, everyone who lusts, everyone who is proud, everyone who slanders, everyone who is jealous, everyone who loses their temper, everyone who is impure, everyone who worship idols, is under the curse of God. Christ became the curse for us. Christ wrapped himself in our lies, in our selfishness, in our jealousy, in our impurity, in our sexual immorality, in our lusts, in our thievery, when he hung on that cross in our place (Luther, Galatians, 163-167).

We must not unwrap our sins from Christ by trying to be good enough for God. He is cursed, so we might be blessed. The worst news becomes the best news when we accept the cursing of Christ.

THE FAITH THAT SAVES

 

How do we live forever with God's approval?

"Now that no one is justified by law before God is evident, because 'the just person shall live by faith'" (Galatians 3:11).

Paul continues to establish his two-sided theological proposition. The first side of the proposition is that nobody can ever stand before God as just by keeping the law (Gal. 2:16). Paul says this proposition is clear or evident (δῆλον). The passive verb "justified" (δικαιοῦται) means that God must do the justifying, and He does not justify based on our works.

How does God justify imperfect people? 

The flip side of the theological proposition answers the question. The person who is just shall live by faith. The just person (δίκαιος) is not viewed in terms of moral goodness. He has already demonstrated that justification by moral goodness is clearly impossible. Paul is talking about judicial approval or acquittal. The person who is acquitted of their failures is acquitted by faith in God. The future tense verb "shall live" (ζήσεται) refers to eternal life. Life with God, when combined with human justness, points to the approval of God (Burton, Galatians, 166). We cannot live forever without His approval, and we cannot enjoy God's approval without His acquittal. Life forever with God means that God approves us by faith alone.

Paul justifies his statement on justification by quoting Habakkuk 2:4. While the first ὅτι is declarative and translated "that," the second ὅτι, introducing the quote, is causal and should be translated "because" (Meyer, Galatians, 113). The quote contains the proof. We know that Paul is quoting Habakkuk 2:4, but his quote is not exact (Archer & Chirichigno, Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament, 105). The Hebrew Masoretic Text would be translated as "the righteous shall live by his faith/faithfulness," but the pronoun "his" is left undefined except by context. The Jewish rabbis debated the meaning of "his." Is it God or the person? The LXX has two versions. Version A is "the righteous shall live by my (God's) faithfulness." Version B is "my righteous one shall live by faith/faithfulness." Paul omits the pronoun "my" (μου), moving it closer to the Hebrew text (Longenecker, Galatians, 118-119).

Paul demonstrates his careful exegesis of Habakkuk 2:4 in context. The context is Habakkuk 2:3. The prophet awaits God's answer regarding the future. God tells him that God's word will not fail, but the prophet must wait for it to come to pass. In this context, the person whom God counts as righteous is the person who waits by faith for God's promise to come true. The author of Hebrews understands Habakkuk 2:4 in the same way. We must practice endurance so that we will receive what God promises in due time. God does not approve of those who shrink back from faith (Hebrews 10:36-38).  It is very possible that Habakkuk 2:3 was a familiar testimonial verse for the early Christians as they waited for the return of Christ (Bruce, Galatians, 161-162). 

Faith is waiting on God to keep His promises. The prime example is Abraham (Gen. 15:6), who waited on God to keep His promises and that waiting in faith was credited to him as righteousness. Paul makes a similar argument in Galatians 3. We are justified - declared just - by faith that God will keep His word about redemption by grace (Gal. 3:13) and the promise of the Spirit (Gal. 3:14).

The faith that saves trusts God to keep His word.

WHAT'S YOUR SCORE?

 

Rabbi Gamaliel, reading Ezekiel 18:9, wept and said, "He who observes all this is righteous, but not, alas! he who observes only part of it." Rabbi Akiba replied that observing only one part was enough (TDNT, 4:1058). The Rabbinic school of Hillel considered keeping 51% of the law good enough for a passing grade into paradise (Bruce, Galatians, 159). Keeping the law earned merits with God, but what do you need for a final score?

Many think the same way today. We do good works to earn merits with God. If our good outweighs our bad at the end of life, then God rewards us with heaven. Not so writes Paul in Galatians 3:10.

"For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law to perform them."

Paul begins with a contrast between those who are living "out of works of law" (ἐξ ἔργων νόμου) in verse 10 and those who are living "out of faith" (ἐκ πίστεως) in verse 9. The contrast is between those who rely on the merits of their good works as a way of life and those who rely on faith in Christ as a way of life (Longenecker, Galatians, 116). Is your spiritual scorecard based on confidence in your works or faith in His work? If your scorecard is based on your works, then you are under the curse. The preposition "under" (ὑπὸ) places humanity under the power of the curse, which means to be surrendered to the judgment of God (NIDNTT, 1:417).

The adjective "cursed" (ἐπικατάρατος) is only used twice in the New Testament and both times are in this passage (Gal. 3:10, 13). Curses played an important role in the judicial procedures of the ancient world. A curse was the sentencing of the person. It was a declaration that the punishment would be executed. To be under the curse often meant to be sentenced to death. The curse of God meant that the judgment had already been initiated. It was already in force (TDNT, 1:449). All humanity is already sentenced to death by God.

Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 27:26 to prove his point. The Israelites had gathered on two mountains, Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim, to affirm allegiance to the Law of God. The people on Mt. Gerizim shouted God's blessings, and the people on Mt. Ebal announced God's curses. This verse is the last of the 12 curses pronounced on the people of Israel if they did not keep the law of God. Paul would have been very familiar with these verses both because of his rabbinic training and because he was whipped five times with 39 lashes (2 Cor. 11:24). According to the synagogue instructions of those days, the whippings included reading aloud the curses of the law as he was whipped (Longenecker, Galatians, 117).

Paul stresses "all" twice in his quote. All (πᾶς) are cursed. All humans are cursed who do not abide by all things (πᾶσιν) written in the Law. The verb "abide" (ἐμμένει) means to persevere or continue in something (BAGD, 255). It is in the present tense, which emphasizes the continuous requirement for keeping the law. All who do not continue to keep the law continuously are cursed. The infinitive "to perform" (ποιῆσαι) is the familiar verb "to do." All are cursed who do not persevere continuously to do all the requirements of the law. If you are going to live by one of the laws, you must do all the laws all the time, or you are cursed (Gal. 5:3). Living by works means 100% perfection or 100% judgment. There is no middle ground. Nobody gets a passing grade of less than 100%.

What's your score?

The solution to our cursing is His cursing. The second time the adjective is used is in Galatians 3:13, where Christ is cursed for us on the cross. We must trust His cursing for us to avoid God's cursing of us. Faith in His work is the only way out of God's judgment of our works. It is not that good works are unimportant, but the good works do not earn any merit with God. The good works we do are the result of His great work done for us. Martin Luther, in his commentary on this verse, writes:

"The apples make not the tree, but the tree maketh the apples. ... So, if the tree be made, that is to say, the person or doer, which is made through faith in Christ, works will follow. For the doer must needs be before the things done, and not the things which are done before the doer" (Luther, Galatians, 147).

THE GOSPEL BEFORE THE GOSPEL

 God preached the gospel to Abraham long before Paul preached the gospel to the Galatians. The Scripture – the voice of God – embeds justification by faith as the basis of salvation in the Old Covenant, not just the New Covenant. Furthermore, the faith that saves is a faith that depends on the cross-work of Christ for salvation in advance just as much as after the fact. The content of faith changes, but the basis of salvation remains the same. Salvation is always faith alone by grace alone. Abraham did not know before the cross what we know after the cross, but he believed what he knew from God. He was saved based on what we now know Christ did on the cross. Abraham’s faith was credit card faith, and our faith is debit card faith, but all faith saves on the basis of what Christ did on the cross.

 Paul lays out these truths in Galatians 3:8.

 “The Scripture, because it foresaw that God justifies the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham (saying), ‘All the nations will be blessed in you.’”

 The main subject and verb of the sentence is “the Scripture (ἡ γραφὴ) preached the gospel beforehand (προευηγγελίσατο) to Abraham.” The Scripture is personified as the voice of God, so God preached the gospel before the gospel we now know. The verb “preached the gospel beforehand” (προευηγγελίσατο) is not found elsewhere in the New Testament, Septuagint or the Jewish apocryphal writings, but Philo uses it to mean “announce the good news in advance” of the event (Longenecker, Galatians, 115). God announced the gospel (good news) in advance of the event on which the gospel was based, namely the cross-work of Christ.

What, then, is the gospel (good news) that God preached beforehand?

 The content of the gospel before the gospel is introduced by a quote (Meyer, Galatians, 110). The ὅτι is a recitative ὅτι, meaning that it acts as quotation marks and should not be translated. The quotation that defines the content of the gospel is, “all the nations will be blessed in you.” Paul intentionally conflates Genesis 12:3 and Genesis 18:18 to create this quotation. Paul substitutes “nations” (ἔθνη) from Genesis 18:18 for “tribes” (φυλαὶ) in Genesis 12:3 (Meyer, Galatians, 110). He emphasizes the word nations or Gentiles instead of families or tribes because he is dealing with Gentiles who were not under the law. God will bless the Gentiles who are not under the law with the same blessing He gives to the Jews who are under the law. The good news is that law-keeping does not save you. Faith alone saves!

What is the content of the blessing?

Paul makes clear in the previous clause that the content of the blessing of God is justification by faith. The Scripture saw in advance (προιδοῦσα) that by faith (ἐκ πίστεως) God justifies (δικαιοῖ) the Gentiles (ἔθνη). The Scripture embeds justification by faith in the Abrahamic blessing. The participle “saw in advance” is best understood as causal (Burton, Galatians, 160) as opposed to circumstantial (Longenecker, Galatians, 115). We know that God preached the gospel before the gospel because the Scripture foresaw justification by faith in the Abrahamic covenant.

The verb “justifies” (δικαιοῖ) is a present indicative but future to the participle to see in advance. Paul is speaking of the present event in his day that Scripture foresaw in Abraham’s day, making justifies by faith a general principle describing what God does in every age (Burton, Galatians, 160). God justifies people in every age by faith. There is no other way to be justified by God. God’s promise to justify all ethnicities by faith is the blessing God announced to Abraham. The verb “will be blessed” (ἐνευλογηθήσονται) is passive, indicating that God, not we do the blessing. The blessing of justification by faith is an act of God’s grace, not our works.

F.F. Bruce argues that Paul engages in midrashic interpretation here. In other words, Paul was reinterpreting the Scriptures in the light of later revelation, namely the cross-work of Christ (Bruce, Galatians, 156). I don’t think so. This is not midrash. The gospel (good news) is truly embedded in the Abrahamic promise. Paul is not reinterpreting Genesis 12:3. He is interpreting (explaining) what God preached to Abraham. The fact that Abraham didn’t understand all that God was saying does not make it midrashic.

Many demonstrate a confusion between the content of faith and the basis of salvation when they look at the gospel in the Old Testament. Abraham didn’t need to know all about Christ to be saved by the work of Christ. The work of Christ (righteousness) was applied to Abraham by his faith in what He knew God had told him (Gen. 15:6). The content of faith changes, as we can plainly see through progressive revelation. The Old Testament saints were just as saved as we are, but they didn’t know the content that we know today. The basis of salvation never changes, however. The cross-work of Christ is applied retroactively by God to those who trusted Him before the Christ event.

“This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:25-26)

 

TEN PEARLS OR JUST FAITH?

 

The Rabbis told a tale about a king whose friend gave ten pearls to him and then died. After he died, the king married the man's daughter, and he gave the daughter a beautiful necklace of ten pearls. Sadly, she lost the ten pearls, and the king was so angry that he intended to banish her from the kingdom. However, her close friend pointed out that the woman's father had given the king ten pearls and suggested that these pearls be accepted as a payment for the pearls that she had lost. 

The Rabbis used the story to illustrate the merits of Abraham's faith. According to Rabbinic tradition, God had given ten tests to Abraham to prove his faith. Abraham had passed those ten tests, proving his faithfulness to God. Those ten tests were like the substitute pearls. They served as compensation for the ten broken commandments. There is no agreement on exactly what the tests or pearls were that Abraham earned with God by his faithfulness, although circumcision was often the first pearl, and the binding of Isaac was usually the last of the pearls (Longenecker, Galatians, 111). In this way, the legalizers considered Abraham's faith to be meritorious with God, both for himself and for the sons of Abraham.

Who are the sons of Abraham?

Paul wrote, "You know, therefore, that the ones who are from faith, these are the sons of Abraham" (Gal. 3:7).

The sentence clearly shows that the "sons of Abraham" are not genealogical children but the spiritual heirs of Abraham by faith (Burton, Galatians, 155). The legalizers of Paul's day would have understood the importance of faith and that Gentiles could be spiritually sons of Abraham by faith. There is much evidence from the first century that Genesis 12, 15, and 17 were critical passages for the Jews as they taught the importance of faith for proselytes. However, faith must be joined with circumcision for the proselyte to become a son of Abraham. Therefore, Genesis 17 must be added to Genesis 15 as essential for faith to be meritorious (Lightfoot, Galatians, 158-164). Faith for the Pharisee and faith for Paul were two different doctrines. The Pharisee argued that faith must be joined to law to have merit. The legalizers argued for faith plus works, not just faith. People became Christians like Gentiles became Jews by faith plus circumcision.

Paul begins with "you know" or "know" (Γινώσκετε). The verb can be either indicative or imperative. Some take it as imperative, a command to know something or be sure of something (Bruce, Galatians, 155). However, I think it better to take it as indicative. Paul is declaring, "you know that" the sons of Abraham are sons by faith (Longenecker, Galatians, 114). Sonship comes "out of faith" (ἐκ πίστεως). The preposition ἐκ indicates the source (Burton, Galatians, 155). The source of sonship is faith. "Therefore" (ἄρα) ties the sentence back to Genesis 15:6 quoted in the previous verse. Genesis 15:6 was at the crux of Paul's argument that faith alone saves. The legalizers knew that the sons of Abraham were sons by faith, so Paul begins with what they knew.

The legalizers also knew that Abraham had not been circumcised in Genesis 15:6, and Paul will argue that faith, therefore, preceded circumcision. Faith came before law. Paul will expand this argument in Romans 4:9-13, but for now, he moves on to the fact that the gospel came before the law (Gal. 3:8-14). The legalizers tried to couple faith and circumcision by arguing that faith was not reckoned to Abraham as righteousness until he passed the tests of faith, including circumcision in Genesis 17. Faith was not faith without obedience to the rules and ordinances of the law. Faith paid for unrighteousness by obedience to the ten pearls of the law.

Paul decoupled faith and circumcision by careful exegetical arguments from the Old Testament texts. Some have said that Paul engaged in Christian midrashic interpretation here. He was reinterpreting the Old Testament in the light of the "Christ event" (Bruce, Galatians, 156). I think not! This is not Pauline midrash, but careful exegesis of Genesis 15:6 itself. Paul is arguing that God intended us to understand Genesis 15:6 as teaching that Abraham was justified by faith alone in the promise of God. God exchanged Abraham's faith for God's righteousness solely by Abraham's faith in God's promise and nothing else. Paul will go on to argue exegetically that: 

1) The gospel precedes and supersedes the law by 430 years (Gal. 3:8-14, 17).

2) Righteousness comes solely from faith in the promise of God (Gal. 3:15-18).

3) God's promise to Abraham was meant for all of us who believe in his seed (Gal. 3:16, 22)

(Longenecker, Galatians, 111)

Abraham's faithfulness to fulfill the ten pearls of the law as compensation for his sins is not a condition for salvation. Therefore, any legalizer, then or now, who attempts to impose rules and regulations on people as the means of making faith meritorious is wrong. 

Faith plus anything saves no one!

HEAVEN'S CURRENCY EXCHANGE

 

How can sinful humans become righteous?

Just as Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness (Galatians 3:6).

Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 and, in so doing, directly attacks the religious conception of faith and works. The Rabbinic interpretation of Genesis 15:6 in post-exilic Jewish theology argued that faith had merit with God. Faith actually had value with God so God could exchange the merits of faith for the righteousness of God. This verse proved the merits of Father Abraham to the Rabbis (TDNT, 4:290). Paul, in Galatians, treats faith and works as opposites and incompatible with one another. Faith is not a meritorious work of humans that earns the favor of God.

How then does Paul use the faith of Abraham to prove his point? Paul has been consistently juxtaposing as opposites "works of law" and "hearing of faith" (Gal. 3:5; 2:16). Then he uses Abraham as his supreme example of the superiority of faith over works to produce righteousness. The quotation is a set of parallelisms describing a currency exchange.

Abraham believed ---- it was counted

in God ------------------ to him

for righteousness.

THE EXCHANGE

The verb "it was counted" (ἐλογίσθη) means to calculate or take into account. It was a commercial term meaning to count something to someone as something of value (BAGD, 476). The verb was used for charging a debt. When the preposition "to" or "for" (είς) is used, as it is in this verse, then it indicates the currency being used in the transaction (TDNT, 4:284). The currency in this verse is righteousness (είς δικαιοσύνην). The verb is passive. God is making the calculations in this exchange. God calculates that He will exchange righteousness for faith.

Religious people point to this exchange as proving that faith is meritorious. Faith earns righteousness. The Septuagint (LXX) uses the same expression to describe the zeal of Phineas in stopping the plague on Israel (Numbers 25:10-12). The psalmist says his zealous work was credited to him for righteousness (Psalm 106:31). So, Philo, the Jewish philosopher, interprets Abraham's faith as achieving merit with God. But Paul does not. He is more precise with his understanding, and it goes to the heart of his argument in Galatians (Bruce, Galatians, 153). We must understand the nature of faith to see that faith is not meritorious. God's calculation of righteousness in response to faith is an act of grace and not based on merit.

THE CURRENCY

Faith and righteousness are the currencies being exchanged. Abraham believed (ἐπίστευσεν) God and God exchanged His righteousness for Abraham's faith. What is faith? Faith is a total reliance on and complete confidence in God. So faith in God, by definition, is the opposite of all human achievements. Faith is the negation of any work that we might do to gain the righteousness that God gives (TDNT, 6:219-220). Faith is a confidence in God that repudiates any confidence in self. Therefore, faith is not meritorious.

Martin Luther, commenting on Galatians 3:6, writes that Paul "maketh of faith in God the chiefest worship, the chiefest duty, the chiefest obedience, the chiefest sacrifice. ... Now, to give glory to God, is to believe in Him, to count Him ... to be the author and giver of all goodness" (Luther, Galatians, 125). Luther goes on to say that faith kills all human reason and human achievement. Righteousness consists of two things, "faith, which giveth glory unto God, and God's imputation" of Christ's righteousness to us which is solely a gift of grace (Luther, Galatians, 130). John Calvin defined faith as a knowledge of God's goodness and "a sure persuasion of its truth" (Calvin, Institutes, 3.2.12 and 2.3.6).

Paul expands his thought in Romans, where he quotes and explains Genesis 15:6. If faith is a work, then there is no grace, and righteousness only comes by faith in God's grace (Rom. 4:4-5, 9-11). Whenever one works, "his wage is not credited (λογίζεται) according to grace (κατὰ χάριν) but according to what is due (κατὰ ὀφείλημα)." However, the one who does not work but believes "his faith is credited (λογίζεται)  for righteousness" (είς δικαιοσύνην). God imputes righteousness. We do not earn it. Imputation is attributing Christ's goodness to us as we rely on God alone for His goodness.

The strength of our faith does not determine the amount of our righteousness. Heaven's exchange rate is built on grace. Even a weak faith in a strong God is exchanged for perfect righteousness on Christ's account. Therefore, trade your self-reliance for God-reliance and exchange your self-righteousness for Christ's righteousness!

GOD'S TRANSFORMATIONAL EFFECTS

 

God loves us as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us as we are. Transformation is God's business, not ours. We cannot make ourselves good by our works but must trust God to re-make us by  His grace. Transformation comes by faith in His good work, not by the efforts of our good works. Paul writes in Galatians 3:5,

"So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?"

The two participles, "provides" (ἐπιχορηγῶν) and "works" (ἐνεργῶν), are both governed by the same article (ὁ) at the beginning of the verse. The one who provides the Spirit and works miracles is God. Both participles are in the present tense, indicating that Paul was not looking back to something the believers had experienced only at the beginning of their Christian lives but was referring to God's ongoing activity in their current experience (Meyer, Galatians, 108).

God's transformational effects in the lives of Christians are progressive and continuous.

INTERNAL EFFECTS: Spiritual Fruit

God provides us with the Spirit. The word "provides" (ἐπιχορηγῶν) is a picturesque word meaning to supply abundantly. It was used of someone who went to the lavish expense of paying for the chorus at a public feast (Burton, Galatians, 152). Paul uses the word to remind us that God supplies seed to the sower and bread for food so He will generously supply our needs (2 Cor. 9:10). Christ supplies nourishment to His body, the church (Col. 2:19). The compound verb (ἐπι + χορηγέω) intensifies the simple meaning of the root verb to stress the liberality of God in supplying His Spirit (Lightfoot, Galatians, 136). 

God lavishly supplies His Spirit to us. Paul uses the indirect object "you" (ὑμῖν) in contrast to the prepositional phrase "among you" (ἐν ὑμῖν) in the second clause to stress the internal nature of God's giving of His Spirit. God provides His Spirit to us, making us "partakers of His divine nature" so that we are able to "supply (ἐπιχηγήσατε) moral excellence" in our lives (2 Peter 1:4-5). It is God's Spirit who produces moral and ethical fruit in our lives (Gal. 5:22-23). God's transformational effects are both internal and external (Burton, Galatians, 151).

EXTERNAL EFFECTS: Spiritual Power

God energizes (ἐνεργῶν) demonstrations of His power (δυνάμεις) among His people (ἐν ὑμῖν). The verb means to operate, be effective, or produce effects in this world (BAGD, 265). The power of God is demonstrated outwardly through believers who have been transformed inwardly by His Spirit. Paul used the same verb (ἐνεργέω) earlier in Galatians to refer to the power by which he and Peter exercised their apostleship (Gal. 2:8). God energizes the spiritual gifts we see used in the church for the good of all (1 Cor. 12:6, 11). God gives His church a variety of gifts. He energizes powers or miracles (δυνάμεων, 1 Cor. 12:10) and gifts of grace (χαρίσματα, 1 Cor. 12:28). God empowers Christians to do great things for Him, but these gifts are exercised not individually but in the communities of faith (Bruce, Galatians, 151).

The noun translated "miracles" (δυνάμεις) means acts of power or powerful works. The NT writers often use this word to describe the miracles Jesus performed during his earthly ministry (Mt. 11:20; 13:58; Mark 6:2, 5; Luke 19:37; Acts 2:22). Jesus' miracles are manifestations of God's power among the people. Paul, of course, knows that miracles by themselves can be, and often were, Satanically induced (2 Thess. 2:9). The first century world, in particular, was filled with magical happenings and miracle workers. This word for powers was often used in connection with the demonic powers operating in our world. Jesus, and by extension His followers, did not produce miracles by magic or demonic power. They were demonstrations of God's power. This gives us a clue for understanding the purpose of miracles. Christ's miracles and the apostolic miracles show that God is invading the sphere of demonic powers. God's rule is driving out Satan's rule in this world (TDNT, 2:301-302). The miracles (powers) were signs that the power of God is greater than the power of Satan (Heb. 2:4).

Thank you, Lord, for the generous supply of your Spirit in my life and the energy to accomplish what you want from my life. May you fill and empower me for your purpose and glory in this world. Change me as you will to be who you want.

DON'T WASTE YOUR PAST!

 

"Don't let your past control your present or determine your future." It is good advice when we are talking about past sins, regrets, or failures. It is bad advice when we are talking about our past experiences with God's grace and faithfulness. We need to remember the past, especially if we are in danger of turning away from the gospel and relying on ourselves in the present.

Paul raises his fourth of five questions in Galatians 3:1-5, which are designed to drive the people back to their roots in Christ. "Did you suffer so many things in vain - if indeed it was in vain?" (Gal. 3:4).

Don't waste your past!

The verb translated "suffer" (ἐπάθετε) is an aorist active indicative asking us to examine our past experiences to inform our present decisions. It generally means to experience something that comes upon us from outside ourselves, which we experience passively, like sickness or misfortune. The basic sense of the word is negative. We experience something evil or bad - we suffer - unless the context makes it clear that the experience is good (TDNT, 5:904-905). However, in certain contexts, the word is used in a good sense to experience something favorable (M&M, Vocabulary, 498). So what is Paul talking about in this verse?

PAST PERSECUTIONS OR PAST BLESSINGS?

A very common view is that Paul is talking about past persecutions (Lightfoot, Galatians, 135; Meyer, Galatians, 7:107). The normal usage of the word implies a negative experience which is why we translate it to suffer. Christians suffer ill-treatment and persecution at the hands of non-Christians. Paul's idea would be that suffering persecution for the sake of the gospel would be suffering in vain (εἰκῇ). It would be pointless pain (Bruce, Galatians, 150). Why, if we suffered in the past for Christ, would we turn away from Christ in the present? 

The problem is that there is no evidence that the Galatians had suffered persecution in the past, as everyone acknowledges. Luke gives us no record of significant persecution for the churches in southern Galatia if that is the audience for the letter. If it is northern Galatia, we have even less information. Of course, it is possible that they suffered persecution about which the New Testament is silent. If they did, to compromise their faith after suffering for their faith would be pointless.

There is some evidence in the context of Galatians 3:4 that we should see the experience as, perhaps not pleasant but positive. The next verse (Gal. 3:5) picks up the theme of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 3:3) to emphasize their past positive spiritual experiences. Paul talks about the exciting reality that the Spirit provided (έπιχορηγῶν) to them and the powerful works (δυνάμεις) He performed among them. The lexicon suggests this translation: "Have you had such remarkable experiences in vain?" (BAGD, 634) This fits with Paul's question about having begun with the Spirit; why would you try to live the Christian life by your own efforts? (Gal. 3:3) Paul's idea would be that attempting to live without the Spirit after first experiencing the power of the Spirit would be pointless (Longenecker, Galatians, 41:104).

PAST EXPERIENCES IN GENERAL

I think the best solution to this difficult passage is to understand the word in a general sense to experience all manner of circumstances that come upon us from outside ourselves (NIDNTT, 3:723; Burton, Galatians, 150). These circumstances are often not pleasant but, in the end, yield results that are positive as God works out His plans in our lives (Rom. 8:28). We suffer in this life, but not all suffering is persecution; most suffering is not. We often go through bad experiences, but God has provided His Spirit to empower us through those experiences. To forget those past experiences when we face our present circumstances is pointless. It is in vain. It makes for an empty life.

Don't waste your past! Remember those times, both dark and bright, as times when God's Spirit faithfully provided all we needed to get through our circumstances. Remembering the past is not pointless when we remember God's presence with us and God's power that helped us in the past. I love the little poem by F.W.H. Meyers: 

God, who whatever frenzy of our fretting

Vexes sad life to spoil and destroy,

Lendeth an hour for peace and for forgetting,

Setteth in pain the jewel of His joy.

(Elizabeth Elliot, A Path through Suffering, 42)

THE BIG DISCONNECT

We preach a justification only gospel, but the gospel is far from only justification. A big disconnect develops in our churches between the way we are justified and the way we are sanctified. Paul wrote in Galatians 3:3

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

Justification, the beginning, and sanctification, the perfecting, both depend on God's Spirit at work in us. If we are justified by God's grace, we must not seek to be sanctified by our efforts. There must be no disconnect between the beginning and the perfecting of our Christian lives.

Beginning the Christian life one way and completing it a different way is irrational, Paul states in the third of five sequential questions. "So foolish are you?" (οὕτως ἀνόητοί ἐστε) Really?! Does this make any sense? Paul immediately launches into his fourth question cutting to the core of the issue. He incisively establishes two antitheses to demonstrate the foolish disconnection. 

Beginning vs. Completing

Spirit vs. Flesh

SPIRIT VS. FLESH

Let's unpack the second antithesis first. The two nouns both lack the definite article indicating that "Spirit" (πνεύματι) and "flesh" (σαρκὶ) are qualitative in force (Meyer, Galatians, 7:105). The contrast is between the nature or quality of the Spirit at work in a person and the nature or quality of the flesh. Spirit must refer to the Holy Spirit to form a contrast with flesh, which refers to human effort. The dative case indicates either manner or agency, although the distinction is a bit like splitting hairs. The issue Paul addresses is the question of means. By what means or agency do we complete the Christian life? We live our Christian lives either by means of the Spirit's power or by means of our fleshly effort. These are two diametrically opposite ways of life.

Some writers argue that "flesh" in this verse refers only to the physical or material sense of the word since Paul is dealing specifically with the matter of circumcision (Burton, Galatians, 148). However, Paul emphasizes a much deeper distinction than merely between the physical and spiritual dimensions. He develops the Spirit/Flesh disconnect more fully later in Galatians 5 as two antithetical ways of life. Flesh (σάρξ) refers to human nature dominated by the disposition to sin. Human effort, by itself, always defaults to the control of the flesh leading to fleshly living (σαρκικοί). The agency of the Holy Spirit as a way of life leads to spiritual living (πνευματικοί). It is the distinction between Romans 7:14-25 and Romans 8:1-17 (Meyer, Galatians, 7:105).

BEGINNING VS. COMPLETING

Human effort will always be inadequate to live holy lives (Bruce, Galatians, 149). We must complete the Christian life the same way that we begin the Christian life. The construction "having begun" (ἐναρξάμενοι), as an aorist, temporal participle, must refer to the inception of the Christian life, that moment when we are justified and regenerated by the Spirit of God (Longenecker, Galatians, 103). Another way to translate the participle is "after you have begun by means of the Spirit" (Meyer, Galatians, 7:105). Regeneration by the Spirit and reception of the Spirit are simultaneous events that occur at conversion. We begin the Christian life by the power of the Spirit. There is no other way to be right with God. He must change us, for we cannot change ourselves.

The emphatic "now" (νῦν) separates the two elements of the contrast. Combined with the present tense as opposed to the aorist tense, we see that Paul is now talking not about the beginning but the continuing of the Christian life. We accomplish, finish or complete the Christian life the same way we begin the Christian life. Perfecting or accomplishing sanctification cannot be done by human effort. It must be done by the Spirit. Only God can change us, for we cannot change ourselves.

The indicative verb "being perfected or completed" (ἐπιτελεῖσθε) can be interpreted as either middle or passive voice. Some argue that it should be translated as middle in form but active in force (Burton, Galatians, 149; Lightfoot, Galatians, 135). The question would then be, are you now bringing to completion the Christian life by the flesh? We, Christians, would be the subject of the action. However, the verb is never used in the middle voice in the New Testament or Septuagint (Lightfoot, Galatians, 135), making it unlikely in meaning. It is best taken as passive and asking are we now being brought to completion by a fleshly force (Meyer, Galatians, 7:106; Longenecker, Galatians, 103).

There must be no disconnect between how we begin the Christian life and how we complete it. We begin the Christian life by the power of the Spirit, and we must live the Christian life by that same power. Only God can accomplish our justification, and only God can complete our sanctification. Paul uses the same two words, to begin and to complete, in Philippians 1:6, "He who began (ἐναρξάμενος) a good work in you will perfect (ἐπετελέσει) it until the day of Christ Jesus."

Only God can finish what only God can start!

THE DECISIVE QUESTION THAT DEFINES THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

 

One question reveals the heart of the Christian life. This decisive question cuts to the core of how we live. It exposes what we base our spiritual experience on and where we place our hope of heaven. Paul writes:

"This only I wish to learn from you. From works of law did you receive the Spirit or from hearing of faith?" (Gal. 3:2)

Paul says that he only (μόνον) wants to find out the answer to one question from the Galatians. The answer to this one question explains how and why they are doing what they are doing in the name of Christ. 

How did you receive the Spirit of God?

They received (ἐλάβετε) the Spirit of God at the beginning of their Christian lives as Paul makes clear in the next verse (Gal. 3:3). The gift - not gifts - of the Spirit takes place at the inception of our Christian lives as a present pledge or downpayment from God about our future lives with Him (2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5). We don't receive the Spirit from works of law (ἔργων νόμου) but from hearing with faith (ἀκοῆς πίστεως). Paul is using the same language he used when he spoke of justification a few verses earlier. We are not justified before God by our works of law (ἔργων νόμου) but through faith (δία πίστεως) in Jesus Christ (Gal. 2:16). The reception of the Spirit and justification by faith are two sides of the same spiritual experience (Bruce, Galatians, 149). Both justification and sanctification come through the same spiritual process, and that is why this question is so decisive for the way we live the Christian life.

There are two possible options for receiving the Spirit of God. The preposition "from" (ἐξ) introduces both phrases. The preposition emphasizes source or origin (BAGD, 234). The two possible sources of our Spirit reception are 1) works of law or 2) hearing of faith. This succinct contrast between law and faith is the "antithesis of the whole epistle" (Burton, Galatians, 147). We receive the Spirit:

from works of law

ἐξ ἔργων νόμου

or

from hearing of faith

ἐξ ἀκοῆς πίστεως

The noun "law" lacks the definite article stressing the qualitative nature of law-keeping in general. All our attempts to earn God's favor by following moral rules and performing good works fail to produce the Spirit of God in our lives. We parade our good works before the watching world, but Spirit reception does not come from our performance mentality. We can never do enough to "get" God in our lives (see Christensen, Blog, "Our Best Before God," 6/20/20).

We receive the Spirit from hearing with faith as Paul will go on to argue in Galatians. Hearing, in this context, means far more than hearing sounds with our ears. Some consider the expression to be a Semitic idiom that understands "hearing" to be the kind of hearing that is believing (Moule, Idiom Book, 175). Others suggest that the word "hearing" refers to that which was heard, the report, or the message of faith (Meyer, Galatians, 104). I think this interpretation makes the best sense of the passage. Paul uses the expression "the word of hearing of God (λόγον ἀκοῆς τοῦ θεοῦ) to refer to God's message, which he calls "the word of God" for all who believe (1 Thess. 2:13). The author of Hebrews links "the word of hearing" (ὁ λόγος τῆς ἀκοῆς) to hearing by faith (Heb. 4:2). Therefore, the expression "hearing of faith" is shorthand for the message that comes from God and focuses on faith as its essence (NIDNTT, 2:175).

We begin our Christian lives by believing the word of God that we hear. Paul, citing Isaiah 53:1, writes, "faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ" (Rom. 10:16-17). How can anyone believe if they have not heard the message of what Christ has done for us (Rom. 10:14)? We receive the Spirit of God the same way. Our conversion to Christianity and our progress in our Christian lives come by faith in the message of what Christ has done, is doing, and will do for us.

Religion equals works of law, deeds of righteousness, and acts of piety.

Christianity equals hearing of faith, believing the message, and trusting Christ's work.

Do you receive the Spirit of God by doing what you do or trusting what He does?