Preface to Galatians Chapter 3

The word faith is used in three different ways in chapter 3.

There is the faith of Jesus Christ. The faith of Jesus Christ is simply Christ's faithfulness to execute the covenant work of God set forth in the covenant of redemption. This covenant is set forth for us in Rom. 8:29, 30: "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Christ is the executor of the covenant as he told us in John 6:37-39: "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day." Christ is the man that Isaiah wrote of in Is. 46:9-11: "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it."

Some examples of the use of the phrase "the faith of Christ" is set forth below:

     1. Rom. 3:22 "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:"

     2. Gal. 2:16 "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."

     3. Gal 3:22 "But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe."

     4. Eph. 3:11-12 "According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him."

     5. Phil. 3:9 "And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:"

Next, there is the faith of the individual manifest in his trusting in the covenant work of Christ. Now faith is the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). The only ones that have this faith are those who are born of the Spirit. Four times in the scriptures, there is a statement: "The just shall live by faith." The ones that live by faith must first be made just. They are made just through the atoning blood of Christ. Second, the ones that live by faith must first have life. You cannot live by faith until you first have life. Since faith is a fruit of the Spirit, the life that is required for someone to live by faith is spiritual life. We receive spiritual life when we are born of the Spirit. We cannot live by faith in order to be justified, nor can we live by faith in order to get life. We must first be given life and be justified by the blood of Christ in order for us to live by faith.

A person who has been born of the Spirit of God has spiritual life and has the ability to manifest faith. This faith is manifest in believing the word of God and trusting in the promises of God.

The third way the word faith is used is to delineate between the New Testament form of worship and the Old Testament form of worship. Jude 1:3 "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." The faith that was once delivered to the saints is that system of New Testament worship (including doctrines, practices, and government) predicated on the children of God trusting in the covenant work of Christ. There are only two covenants of worship: the Old Testament, known as the law covenant or law, and the New Testament, sometimes referred to as the faith.

The word, "faith," is used in all three of the ways listed above in the 3rd chapter of Galatians. A careful reading of the context will show us which way is being used when the word is found.

Next, we must distinguish between justification by the blood of Christ by grace and justification by faith. "Justify is a court room term. To understand the difference between justification by blood and justification by faith, we must understand the different courtrooms in which this term "justify" is being used. To justify before God means that we are tried in the courtroom of God and declared to be righteous before God. Nothing we have or can do can make us righteous before God. We are justified by the blood of Christ. The atoning blood of Christ atoned for our sins and Christ's righteousness was imputed unto us. 2 Cor. 5:21: "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

Justification by faith takes place in another courtroom. While all the elect are justified by the blood of Christ in the courtroom of God, yet the knowledge of that justification comes into the heart of the individual elect child of God through the preaching of the gospel. In the courtroom of his heart and mind, he first feels the conviction of sins and feels condemned by sin. When the gospel comes to him telling him that he has been justified by the blood of Christ and he through faith believes the gospel report, he now has the assurance of justification in his heart. This is justification by faith.

Not all the elect experience the justification by faith. They are still trying to get right through the works of the law or by some rule of law. In other words, they are trying to get right through their efforts.

Gal. 3:1-4  "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? 2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain."

Paul tells the brethren of the churches of Galatia who have followed after another perverted gospel that they are foolish and that someone has bewitched them. The Greek word for foolish is "anoetos" and means "unwise." Obviously the Galatians had made an unwise choice in believing a false "grace, but" doctrine. The Greek word for bewitched is "baskaino" and means "to fascinate by false representations." The "grace, but" doctrine fascinates the flesh because our fleshly nature likes to think that we can do something to obtain eternal life. The "grace only" truth gives all the glory and praise to God. The "grace, but" doctrine gives glory and praise unto man telling him that he is instrumental in earning eternal life.

Those who set forth a "grace, but" doctrine are making false representations of what the gospel is and what it is that saves from sin and gives eternal life. The word of God does not support their representations. Anytime you bring in a legalistic principle of doing something to get eternal life, you deny the total depravity of man and his complete inability to change his nature and to understand the things of the Spirit of God. Further, you rob God of his glory by denying his grace.

The Galatian brethren had turned from the truth and were now denying the truth by accepting the false representation of the false teachers. In the beginning, the Galatians had heard the truth that Jesus Christ had come and was crucified to deliver them from their sins and that he had arisen the third day. They had heard the truth that salvation from sins was by the grace of Christ. When false teachers came along and told them that they were saved by grace, but they must be circumcised in order to be saved, they were fascinated by this falsehood and they believed the falsehood. Paul told them that they were foolish to do so.

Next, Paul asked this question: "This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?" Now this verse can be taken in two different ways. It could be taken to mean, "received ye the new birth by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?" or it could be taken to mean, "received ye the ministry of the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?"

Faith is a fruit of the Spirit: Gal. 5:22, 23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." Therefore, in order to have faith, one must first be born of the Spirit. You cannot have the fruit of the Spirit unless you first have the Spirit. Thus, we cannot receive the new birth by either the works of the law or the hearing of faith. We conclude that Paul is asking the question: "received ye the ministry of the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?"

Paul writes in 1 Cor. 2:14: "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." One must have been born of the Spirit of God in order to receive the things of the Spirit of God. In the early church, there were sign gifts. When the gospel was first preached to a people, it was sometimes accompanied by sign gifts. Included in these sign gifts, the people were filled with the Spirit and spoke in tongues. Even today, when someone hears the gospel they often are filled with the Spirit and rejoice in the gospel message. Whether the brethren at Galatia had the sign gifts I know not, but I they must have rejoiced at the gospel message. They received the ministry of the Spirit by the hearing of faith. They had faith because they were born of the Spirit. They heard the gospel message by the hearing of faith and rejoiced. They received the Spirit by the hearing of faith and not by the works of the law.

"Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" There beginning in the church kingdom of God was through the Spirit. How can the commandments under the law covenant placed upon the flesh bring perfection? Paul was right in calling them foolish. Righteousness is by the shed blood of Jesus Christ and bestowed upon the elect in the new birth. This is the work of the Spirit. We are righteous before God because of this. We cannot hope to get more righteous through the working of the law. The law brings us into bondage under the curse of the law.

"Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain." The brethren at Galatia had been persecuted for their belief in the gospel of the grace of Christ. They had suffered for the cause of Christ. Paul is now telling them that if they be turned away from the truth and turned unto legalism, then they have suffered for the cause of Christ in vain. Most persecutions come from the legalist. To be under legalism takes away the reproach for believing in the truth. It also takes away the fellowship we have with the Lord in worshipping him in Spirit and in truth.

Gal. 3:5-9  "He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham."

"He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?" Paul continued with his indisputable evidences against righteousness coming by the works of the law. He appeals to the reason of the Galatia brethren to consider that the apostle who had ministered among them and was given sign gifts that the manifestation of these gifts was by the working of the Holy Spirit and done by the apostle through his faithful trust in the promises of God. Nothing in the works of the law can account for these miracles that were done among the brethren.

"Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." We notice the order. First, there is the work of God in regeneration or new birth. This is evidenced in the three examples above:

     1. Receiving the ministry of the Spirit by the hearing of faith.
     2. Working miracles by the hearing of faith.
     3. Abraham believing God by faith and it being accounted to him for righteousness.

Faith is a fruit of the Spirit and therefore evidence of regeneration.

Following regeneration there is the fruit of the Spirit manifest by faith of the individual. The consequence of faith is:

     1. Receiving the Spirit.
     2. Working miracles.
     3. Believing God and this being counted for righteousness.

Believing God does not make one righteous. Abraham was already born of the Spirit when it was said of him that he believed in God and it was accounted to him for righteousness: Gen. 15:3 "And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."

Prior to this passage in Genesis chapter 15, God had appeared to Abram in Genesis chapter 12 and the next several chapters show us the actions of Abram. Between chapters 12 and 15, God had commanded Abram to leave his country, his father's house, his kindred, and go into a country that God would show him. Abram did this. Also, God had promised several things concerning the seed of Abram. In addition, Abram had built altars to worship the Lord. Moreover, Abram had defeated the armies of the people who had taken Lot captive by faith. Then he was met by Melchisedec who blessed him bringing forth bread and wine. Obviously Abram had already been born of the Spirit and had been walking with God for some time before the events in Genesis chapter 15. Abram was already righteous and his believing in the promise of the Lord was a righteous action of a righteous man. Belief in the promises of God is a righteous action of a righteous man.

"Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." Abraham is said to be the father of the faithful. This is true, not only of the natural descendents of Abraham, but also of the Gentiles. Abraham is not the father of the faithful through natural generation, but he is the fatherly example of faith that we are to follow. When we, who have been born of the Spirit of God, believe the promises of God, we are following the example of Abraham who is our fatherly example.

"And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." The promise of God was sure, whether Abraham believed it or not. However, Abraham did believe it and he received the assurance of faith thereby.

The scriptures, given to us by the inspiration of God, show us in the events of God's promise to Abraham that the Gentiles are embraced in the work of the promised seed of Abraham. This was done in the saying of God: "In thee shall all nations be blessed." Christ, the promised seed, was faithful to fulfill the promise of God and to justify the elect in all nations of the earth. The heathen were justified through the faithfulness of Christ to fulfill the promise of God and to die on the cross to redeem them from their sins.

What God said to Abraham concerning the promised seed and all nations being blessed by that seed is the same message of the true gospel of the grace of Christ. That message is that God has a people in all nations of the earth that he chose before the foundation of the world and that Christ came to redeem his chosen people from their sins by his grace. Therefore, we which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham in believing the gospel of the grace of Christ.