Galatians 3–4

By Faith, or by Works of the Law?

3O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? ^zIt was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly ^aportrayed as crucified. ²Let me ask you only this: ^bDid you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by ^chearing with faith? ³Are you so foolish? ^dHaving begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by¹ the flesh? ^4eDid you suffer² so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? ⁵Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and ^fworks miracles among you do so ^gby works of the law, or by hearing with faith— ⁶just as ^hAbraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

⁷Know then that it is ⁱthose of faith who are ^jthe sons of Abraham. ⁸And the Scripture, foreseeing that ^kGod would justify³ the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ^l“In you shall all the nations be blessed.” ⁹So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

¹⁰For all who rely on works of the law are ^munder a curse; for it is written, ⁿ“Cursed be everyone who does not ^oabide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” ¹¹Now it is evident that ^pno one is justified before God by the law, for ^q“The righteous shall live by faith.”^{4 12}But the law is not of faith, rather ^r“The one who does them shall live by them.” ¹³Christ ^sredeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ^t“Cursed is everyone who is hanged ^uon a tree”— ¹⁴so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might ^vcome to the Gentiles, so that ^wwe might receive ^xthe promised Spirit⁵ through faith.

The Law and the Promise

^15yTo give a human example, brothers:^{6 z}even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. ¹⁶Now ^athe promises were made ^bto Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, ^c“And to your offspring,” who is Christ. ¹⁷This is what I mean: the law, which came ^d430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as ^eto make the promise void. ¹⁸For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but ^fGod gave it to Abraham by a promise.

¹⁹Why then the law? ^gIt was added because of transgressions, ^huntil the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was ⁱput in place through angels ^jby an intermediary. ²⁰Now ^kan intermediary implies more than one, but ^lGod is one.

²¹Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For ^mif a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. ²²But the Scripture ⁿimprisoned everything under sin, so that ^othe promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given ^pto those who believe.

²³Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, ^qimprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. ²⁴So then, ^rthe law was our ^sguardian until Christ came, ^tin order that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, ²⁶for in Christ Jesus ^uyou are all sons of God, through faith. ²⁷For as many of you as ^vwere baptized ^winto Christ have ^xput on Christ. ^28yThere is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave⁷ nor free, ^zthere is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹And ^aif you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, ^bheirs according to promise.

Sons and Heirs

4I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave,¹ though he is the owner of everything, ²but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. ³In the same way we also, when we were children, ^cwere enslaved to the elementary principles² of the world. ⁴But ^dwhen the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, ^eborn ^fof woman, born ^gunder the law, ^5hto redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive ⁱadoption as sons. ⁶And because you are sons, God has sent ^jthe Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” ⁷So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then ^kan heir through God.

Paul’s Concern for the Galatians

⁸Formerly, when you ^ldid not know God, you ^mwere enslaved to those that by nature ⁿare not gods. ⁹But now that you have come to know God, or rather ^oto be known by God, ^phow can you turn back again to ^qthe weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? ^10rYou observe days and months and seasons and years! ¹¹I am afraid ^sI may have labored over you in vain.

¹²Brothers,^{3 t}I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. ^uYou did me no wrong. ¹³You know it was ^vbecause of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you ^wat first, ¹⁴and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me ^xas an angel of God, ^yas Christ Jesus. ¹⁵What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶Have I then become your enemy by ^ztelling you the truth?^{4 17}They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. ¹⁸It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and ^anot only when I am present with you, ^19bmy little children, ^cfor whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ ^dis formed in you! ²⁰I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

Example of Hagar and Sarah

²¹Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? ²²For it is written that Abraham had two sons, ^eone by a slave woman and ^fone by a free woman. ²³But ^gthe son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while ^hthe son of the free woman was born through promise. ²⁴Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two ⁱcovenants. ^jOne is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. ²⁵Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia;⁵ she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. ²⁶But ^kthe Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. ²⁷For it is written,

^l“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;

break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!

For the children of the desolate one will be more

than those of the one who has a husband.”

²⁸Now you,⁶ brothers, ^mlike Isaac, ⁿare children of promise. ²⁹But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh ^opersecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, ^pso also it is now. ³⁰But what does the Scripture say? ^q“Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” ³¹So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but ^rof the free woman.