Galatians 3–4

Faith or Works of the Law

3You foolish^v Galatians!^w Who has bewitched you?^x Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.^{y 2}I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit^z by the works of the law,^a or by believing what you heard?^{b 3}Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?^{a 4}Have you experienced^b so much in vain—if it really was in vain? ⁵So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles^c among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?^{d 6}So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”^ce

⁷Understand, then, that those who have faith^f are children of Abraham.^{g 8}Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”^{dh 9}So those who rely on faithⁱ are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.^j

¹⁰For all who rely on the works of the law^k are under a curse,^l as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”^{em 11}Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God,ⁿ because “the righteous will live by faith.”^{fo 12}The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”^{gp 13}Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law^q by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”^{hr 14}He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus,^s so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.^t

The Law and the Promise

¹⁵Brothers and sisters,^u let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. ¹⁶The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed.^v Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,”^iw meaning one person, who is Christ. ¹⁷What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years^x later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. ¹⁸For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise;^y but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.

¹⁹Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions^z until the Seed^a to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels^b and entrusted to a mediator.^{c 20}A mediator,^d however, implies more than one party; but God is one.

²¹Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not!^e For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.^{f 22}But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin,^g so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

Children of God

²³Before the coming of this faith,^j we were held in custody^h under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed.^{i 24}So the law was our guardian until Christ came^j that we might be justified by faith.^{k 25}Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.^l

²⁶So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God^m through faith, ²⁷for all of you who were baptized into Christⁿ have clothed yourselves with Christ.^{o 28}There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free,^p nor is there male and female,^q for you are all one in Christ Jesus.^{r 29}If you belong to Christ,^s then you are Abraham’s seed,^t and heirs^u according to the promise.^v

4What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. ²The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. ³So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery^w under the elemental spiritual forces^a of the world.^{x 4}But when the set time had fully come,^y God sent his Son,^z born of a woman,^a born under the law,^{b 5}to redeem^c those under the law, that we might receive adoption^d to sonship.^{be 6}Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son^f into our hearts,^g the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,^c Father.”^{h 7}So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.ⁱ

Paul’s Concern for the Galatians

⁸Formerly, when you did not know God,^j you were slaves^k to those who by nature are not gods.^{l 9}But now that you know God—or rather are known by God^m—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces^d? Do you wish to be enslavedⁿ by them all over again?^{o 10}You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!^{p 11}I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.^q

¹²I plead with you, brothers and sisters,^r become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong. ¹³As you know, it was because of an illness^s that I first preached the gospel to you, ¹⁴and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.^{t 15}Where, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?^u

¹⁷Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them.^{v 18}It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you.^{w 19}My dear children,^x for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,^{y 20}how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!

Hagar and Sarah

²¹Tell me, you who want to be under the law,^z are you not aware of what the law says? ²²For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman^a and the other by the free woman.^{b 23}His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh,^c but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.^d

²⁴These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. ²⁵Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. ²⁶But the Jerusalem that is above^e is free, and she is our mother. ²⁷For it is written:

“Be glad, barren woman,

you who never bore a child;

shout for joy and cry aloud,

you who were never in labor;

because more are the children of the desolate woman

than of her who has a husband.”^ef

²⁸Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise.^{g 29}At that time the son born according to the flesh^h persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit.ⁱ It is the same now. ³⁰But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”^{fj 31}Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman,^k but of the free woman.^l