Galatians 3:1-9 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 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.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Paul emphasizes in this letter to the Galatians that the work of Christ is the foundation to their salvation, not the works of their flesh. The Galatians had been influenced by the followers of Judaism. They had been told by the Jews to be a real follower of Jesus Christ you must be circumcised, for this work of cutting away the flesh reveals that you are truly right with God. Paul does not give any ground or credence to this argument of the Jews. He knows the work of sinful flesh will never grant anyone the privilege of entering the presence of God without one fault. When the Jews asked Jesus what they must do to find God and do the works necessary to know God, Jesus' answer was simple and direct: Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires? Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:28-29). Jesus did not point them to the Ten Commandments or the regulations of the law. He simply said it is a matter of faith, believing in his works, not their works or effort. Jesus came to give eternal life to an intractable rebellious human creation. The Jews of the enlightened law were just as lost as the ignorant, barbaric Gentiles. The Jews, even with the Law of Moses given to them on Mount Sinai to show them the way to please God, could not satisfy the law of God in their personal lives nor in their communal living. They were consistently idol worshippers from the time of Abraham to the time they were dispersed into the neighboring countries. They carried the barbaric lifestyle of the Gentiles away from Egypt; they possessed personal idols in their satchels as they traversed the wilderness. Moses told them to get rid of these abominations to their God of deliverance from Egypt. Joshua had to tell them the same thing before they entered the promised land. Nevertheless, in the time of the Judges, they had shrines and Asherah poles to the god of fertility in every community. The Jewish people clung to these gods of the Gentiles; they contaminated the promised land with these objects of reverence to other gods. All through the history of Judah and Israel, idol worshipping was constantly present. The kingdom of the ten tribes known as Israel, even made worshipping Baal the state religion. Jeroboam, the king of Israel, commanded the people to worship two golden calf idols. Baal's priests were chosen by men. They were not Levites, nor from the loins of Aaron, God’s chosen priesthood. The Israelites debauchery was worse than the Gentiles around them. Consequently, God dispersed them as slaves into the lands of the Assyrians. Judah followed into slavery later because of their lack of fidelity to the God of creation. Paul understood this history of the Jewish people, and he was not willing for the Greeks in Galatia to put on this futile garment of works to please God. He understood well that man's natural, intrinsic inclination was one of rebellion to God’s holiness. Man would make the laws, man would determine what is right and what isn’t--all of this based on his own works and fleshly desires. He would make gods out of his own imagination. As Paul states in his letter to the Romans. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God. (Romans 3:9-10)
Jesus came to rebellious people, the Jews first and then the Gentiles. In working with the Jews, He tells them that He is the bread of life, that they must believe in him and his works, to literally devour his teachings and works or they will not gain eternal life with the Father God. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:40). The Jews were programmed to believe that holiness would only be achieved through their effort to obey the law and regulations given to them by Moses on Mount Sinai. The priests were not only the carriers of this message, they determined how well the people were serving God. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were quick to judge people for disobeying the law and regulations. They followed Jesus around, grousing about how Jesus and his disciples were not obedient to the laws. Jesus did work on the Sabbath, making them extremely upset with him, even scheming to kill him because of his willingness to do his own thing on the Sabbath. Paul was now wrestling with this same attitude of criticism of the Greek believers because of them not being circumcised. They were attempting to bind the Greeks to the Jewish law that none of them nor their ancestors could obey. He now addresses the Greeks with these words, Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? He knows the Greek believers have suffered much in their communities because of them turning away from the idol worshipping of their ancestors. Now the Jews are bringing in the law which they could not observe completely, binding the Greeks to another set of religious observances and regulations. If they bow to these demands of the Jews, their suffering as believers will be in vain. For works, no matter how good or seemingly holy they are, will not set them free to serve the God of righteousness with a pure heart: only faith in Jesus and his purity can do that. Abraham, the father of faith, was righteous or pleasing to God because he believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Abraham believed the words God said to him. He believed, All nations will be blessed through you. By faith in God’s words, he believed Canaan would be his and through Isaac his promised son would come a people who would inhabit that land of promise. Now God’s word has once again announced that through a son a great nation will be created. This time, not Isaac, but Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Through him and his spiritual loins will come an eternal nation, inhabiting the Kingdom of God. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17) Paul is reminding the Galatians that faith alone in Jesus Christ and his works is the only requirement that God has for entering his kingdom, entering the Holy of Holies. God caused the dead cane to sprout life; God caused the manna to fall; God wrote the Ten Commandments. It is his works, not the burning of incense before him. It is God’s work that redeems man from a sinful state of rebellion--only his work through his Son of love. Paul now tells the Galatians to avoid this perversion of man’s work for salvation; instead, they must set their eyes on the one who has perfected their faith. Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2)
The faith of Noah, the faith of Abraham, and the faith of the Patriarchs was a faith in a God who existed before anything was created. They believed God could make something out of nothing. They believed: the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (Genesis 1:2) As with the Holy of Holies, God was behind the curtain. He always existed, and He could perform anything He desired. These men of old believed in a spiritual world, a kingdom where God abode. Consequently, they believed as Noah that something new could happen if God desired. The ancient world was out of control. People were fully involved with their fleshly, sinful endeavors, But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. (Genesis 6:8). He knew there was a God who created all things from nothing, so he built an ark, waiting for the flood. Abraham believed God existed before anything was made. He believed in God’s words when they were spoken to him. From that faith, he saw a boy created out of Sarah’s dead womb. His faith was in the God that existed before anything was created. Faith that believers hold in their hearts is that kind of faith. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (Hebrew 11:3). Jesus came to make new creatures, holy, acceptable to the perfect God, the righteous One, without fault or error. Jesus said that we should be perfect as the Father in heaven, no leeway there. But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Luke 6:27-31) How can we be perfect? We are but rebellious flesh, no better than the Jews who were given the perfect law. They failed to please God, and we too will fail to please God, but Jesus is perfect. Paul wanted the Galatians to understand that. Do not go back to the beggarly elements of the flesh. God is a God of mercy and grace. He has not changed. In Psalms 136 we read of God’s great grace to the people of the world, Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His love endures forever. To him alone who does great wonders, His love endures forever. Who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever. Who spread out the earth upon the waters . . . (1-6) God reached out to his creation from the very beginning. His grace and mercy have flowed to all throughout the ages. As Jesus said, He sends the rain and the sun on the just and the unjust. His love is an enduring love. Paul tells the Galatians that the answer to perfection and to being without any fault comes through Jesus Christ, having the faith in the One who has created all things. We are not alone he is saying, to please God through our own works. No, the righteous One has come to us to cleanse us of ALL OUR SINS. In the second letter of John, he addresses the believers with these words, Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love. (1:3) Paul tells the Galatians that grace, mercy and peace will be given to them in completeness through the Father’s Son, Jesus Christ. There is no other way to truth, no other way to eternal life. Jesus is the truth and the life; the living bread, The Word. He beseeches the Galatians to put away the foolishness of trying to be right with God by works, obeying the law and its regulations. Instead, believe as John did that grace, mercy and peace come only through the One God sent to his dearly loved children. Walk in that love today, breakfast friends.
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