Galatians 3–5

Justification by Faith

3O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you ¹that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed ²among you as crucified? ²This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, ^aor by the hearing of faith?—³Are you so foolish? ^bHaving begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by ^cthe flesh? ^4dHave you suffered so ³many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?

⁵Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? ⁶just as Abraham ^e“believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” ⁷Therefore know that only ^fthose who are of faith are sons of Abraham. ⁸And ^gthe Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ^h“In you all the nations shall be blessed.” ⁹So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

The Law Brings a Curse

¹⁰For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ⁱ“Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” ¹¹But that no one is ⁴justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ^j“the just shall live by faith.” ¹²Yet ^kthe law is not of faith, but ^l“the man who does them shall live by them.”

^13mChrist has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ⁿ“Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), ^14othat the blessing of Abraham might come upon the ^pGentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive ^qthe promise of the Spirit through faith.

The Changeless Promise

¹⁵Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: ^rThough it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. ¹⁶Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of ^sone, ^t“And to your Seed,” who is ^uChrist. ¹⁷And this I say, that the law, ^vwhich was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God ⁵in Christ, ^wthat it should make the promise of no effect. ¹⁸For if ^xthe inheritance is of the law, ^yit is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

Purpose of the Law

¹⁹What purpose then does the law serve? ^zIt was added because of transgressions, till the ^aSeed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ^bappointed through angels by the hand ^cof a mediator. ²⁰Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, ^dbut God is one.

²¹Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. ²²But the Scripture has confined ^eall under sin, ^fthat the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. ²³But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, ⁶kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. ²⁴Therefore ^gthe law was our ⁷tutor to bring us to Christ, ^hthat we might be justified by faith. ²⁵But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

Sons and Heirs

²⁶For you ⁱare all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷For ^jas many of you as were baptized into Christ ^khave put on Christ. ^28lThere is neither Jew nor Greek, ^mthere is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all ⁿone in Christ Jesus. ²⁹And ^oif you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s ^pseed, and ^qheirs according to the promise.

4Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, ²but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. ³Even so we, when we were children, ^awere in bondage under the elements of the world. ⁴But ^bwhen the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, ^cborn ^1dof a woman, ^eborn under the law, ^5fto redeem those who were under the law, ^gthat we might receive the adoption as sons.

⁶And because you are sons, God has sent forth ^hthe Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ²“Abba, Father!” ⁷Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, ⁱand if a son, then an heir ³of God ⁴through Christ.

Fears for the Church

⁸But then, indeed, ^jwhen you did not know God, ^kyou served those which by nature are not gods. ⁹But now ^lafter you have known God, or rather are known by God, ^mhow is it that you turn again to ⁿthe weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? ^10oYou observe days and months and seasons and years. ¹¹I am afraid for you, ^plest I have labored for you in vain.

¹²Brethren, I urge you to become like me, for I became like you. ^qYou have not injured me at all. ¹³You know that ^rbecause of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first. ¹⁴And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me ^sas an ⁵angel of God, ^teven as Christ Jesus. ¹⁵⁶What then was the blessing you enjoyed? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?

¹⁷They ^uzealously court you, but for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them. ¹⁸But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you. ^19vMy little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you, ²⁰I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you.

Two Covenants

²¹Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? ²²For it is written that Abraham had two sons: ^wthe one by a bondwoman, ^xthe other by a freewoman. ²³But he who was of the bondwoman ^ywas born according to the flesh, ^zand he of the freewoman through promise, ²⁴which things are symbolic. For these are ⁷the two covenants: the one from Mount ^aSinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar—²⁵for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children—²⁶but the ^bJerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. ²⁷For it is written:

^c“Rejoice, O barren,

You who do not bear!

Break forth and shout,

You who are not in labor!

For the desolate has many more children

Than she who has a husband.”

²⁸Now ^dwe, brethren, as Isaac was, are ^echildren of promise. ²⁹But, as ^fhe who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, ^geven so it is now. ³⁰Nevertheless what does ^hthe Scripture say? ⁱ“Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for ^jthe son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” ³¹So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

Christian Liberty

5Stand ^a1fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a ^byoke of bondage. ²Indeed I, Paul, say to you that ^cif you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. ³And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised ^dthat he is ²a debtor to keep the whole law. ^4eYou have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; ^fyou have fallen from grace. ⁵For we through the Spirit eagerly ^gwait for the hope of righteousness by faith. ⁶For ^hin Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but ⁱfaith working through love.

Love Fulfills the Law

⁷You ^jran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? ⁸This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. ^9kA little leaven leavens the whole lump. ¹⁰I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.

¹¹And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, ^lwhy do I still suffer persecution? Then ^mthe offense of the cross has ceased. ¹²ⁿI could wish that those ^owho trouble you would even ³cut themselves off!

¹³For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only ^pdo not use liberty as an ^qopportunity for the flesh, but ^rthrough love serve one another. ¹⁴For ^sall the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ^t“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!

Walking in the Spirit

¹⁶I say then: ^uWalk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. ¹⁷For ^vthe flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, ^wso that you do not do the things that you wish. ¹⁸But ^xif you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹Now ^ythe works of the flesh are evident, which are: ⁴adultery, ⁵fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, ²⁰idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, ²¹envy, ⁶murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that ^zthose who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²²But ^athe fruit of the Spirit is ^blove, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, ^cgoodness, ^dfaithfulness, ²³⁷gentleness, self-control. ^eAgainst such there is no law. ²⁴And those who are Christ’s ^fhave crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ^25gIf we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ^26hLet us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.