The Epistle to the Galatians

The Epistle to the Galatians

The Epistle to the Galatians
By Richard St.James
Bible 1611.Com / Old Paths Baptist Mission © 2025

Chapter three:

Verse one: “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?”

Paul is not calling them fools!  But he is saying that, they have been fooled.

The Galatians have been bewitched!   BEWITCHED equals to being frozen in fascination or charmed.

The brethren who have been charmed, and held in a death-lock of fascination need to be once again set free by the word of God.  Paul here is now greatly moved in his spirit to save his flock of sheep from being mortally wounded by a grave error that has been slipped into all these churches of Galatia.  

Now, just what is it that has happened to all these Christians?  I will tell you what has happened.  Someone has come in behind the Apostle Paul and has sowed these tares among the wheat in the Apostle Paul’s field. 

It was an operation of sowing confusion, as to the true nature of the gospel of their salvation, among all those of the churches of Galatia.  It is like what is found in the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter thirteen, verse twenty-five:

“But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.” [Matthew 13:25]

Paul’s gospel [which is clearly, and concisely given, in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, in chapter fifteen], is the Gospel of the Uncircumcision, as determined by God for the church age.  

Paul’s Gospel of the Uncircumcision has replaced Peter’s Gospel of the Circumcision, which gospel was given to Israel, as a nation:

The Gospel for the Church Age:

 “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” [1 Corinthians 15:1-4]

The Uncircumcision are the Gentiles, which are the rest of the nations of this earth, not including Israel.  God was now, beginning to bring the Gentiles into the body of Christ, through the Apostle Paul’s ministry. 

We see this fact, so clearly stated in the Epistle to the Ephesians, chapter three, verse six, and chapter six, verse nineteen:

“That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:” [Ephesians 3:6]

“And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,” [Ephesians 6:19]

Now, this gospel was expressly put into Paul’s trust, as is recorded in the Scripture [in the First Epistle to Timothy, chapter one, verse eleven]:

“According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.” [1 Timothy 1:11]

Soon, all the other apostles [including the Apostle Peter] began to preach this very same gospel [ the gospel of the uncircumcision] to both the Jew, and to the Gentiles. 

Note: This occurred well before the destruction of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

Verse two: “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”

Paul now, is asking the Galatians, did you get saved by grace through faith, or did you combine your faith with the keeping of the Law?  Remember, those who sowed this other gospel, were those of the sect of the Pharisees, which believed in Jerusalem:

“But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” [Acts 15:5]

This dissension only produced confusion. 

Now, brethren, God, the Holy Ghost, in the New Testament church has a method of sorting things out, so, as to show what is approved doctrine, from that, which is unapproved doctrine, which is called HERESY.  

Note: what was approved doctrine for Israel may not be approved doctrine for the dispensation of the fulness of times [in the church age].  We find this dispensation identified in the Epistle to the Ephesians:

“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:” [Ephesians 1:10]

Now, can God convey to us, who are the saints of God, the approved doctrine for us to follow in the churches?  Good question!  The answer is YES!  And this, is how.  God does this thing supernaturally, by bringing to light, what HE approves, amidst heresy.

Now, turn to the First Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter eleven, and we will see this sorting out operation in action:    

 1 Corinthians 11:19: “For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.”

What is approved by God will come up on top…in the discerning church.

The Approval is by the Spirit:

Justification by faith [only] was approved by God, for all the churches of God, from henceforth.  Whereas, justification by faith requiring the keeping of the Law was disapproved by God, from this point in time, and going forward.

Verse three: “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”

Answer: For the word of God saith in the Epistle to the Hebrews:

“For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.” [Hebrews 7:19]

Therefore, the flesh has nothing to do with our salvation!

We start, by the Spirit, and we will finish, by the Spirit.

“Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” [1 Thessalonians 5:24]

The life, which we now, live in the flesh, we live by the faith of the Son of God, and this life is not in any way helped, or perfected, or enabled by the flesh.  The secret is this: It is Christ in you, who perfects us.  Now, see the supernatural revealed inside the believer of Jesus Christ in the Gospel according to John:

“I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. [John 17:23]

The flesh is an impediment to the Spirit.  IT IS WAR!  Have you ever noticed, that the flesh works against you?   The Christian is empowered by the indwelling Spirit of God, and not by the flesh:    

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:” [2 Corinthians 10:3].

Verse four: “Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.”

Oh! Galatians, please, do not go back to wandering around in the wilderness, searching for gold.  Notice: The nation of Israel serves, as our example of this futility:

“They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.” [Psalm 107:4]

Verse five: “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?”

The Holy Spirit has already shown you the pure gold, that is derived through faith, in Jesus Christ ALONE, and not by keeping the Law of Moses. [Again, see Acts 15:5.]

Verse six: “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

Abraham believed God, and thus, was justified by faith by the operation of the Spirit of God. 

Now, faith is KEY to believing.  Believing what God says, is what pleases God.  We see this truth, and we hear this truth, as clear as bell, in the FAITH chapter of the book to the Hebrews, chapter eleven:

Hebrews 11:6: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Verse seven: “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.”

All the people [both, the Jew, and the Gentile] who get saved, for now, nearly two thousand years are a people of FAITH.  These people, are the people, who are the spiritual children of Abraham.

Note: This verse here, is not a reference to the physical descendants of Abraham, which descendants are also known as the Hebrews, which Hebrews comprise the nation of Israel.

Verse eight: “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.”

The heathen in the Book of God is a reference to the Gentiles, or to all the other nations of this earth.

Notice, something rather peculiar here, concerning the Scripture [in verse eight]: The Scripture foresaw.  This means the Scripture is, also, a PERSON, a person that speaks!

The Scripture saith…

The Scripture speaks [or saith]!  Further, the Scripture preaches!!!  Then question: What saith the Scripture? 

Galatians 4:30: “what saith the scripture?”

1 Timothy 5:18: “For the scripture saith,”

James 4:5: “the scripture saith”

The next step is to:

Study the Scripture…

Pause here now for reflection: This means we ought to listen, even within our hearts, to what the Scripture is saying to us: That is: HEAR!

The Scriptures… “are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”  [2 Timothy 3:15]

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” [2 Timothy 3:16]

The next step for us is:

Believe the Scripture!

It behooves us now to believe the Scripture.   We need to believe the Scripture [which is the Holy Bible].

Next: we need to consider how the disciples of Jesus Christ themselves responded to the Scripture.

The disciples believed the Scriptures!

The PROOF text: John 2:22: “When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.”

Here is now a very serious, and a very important question.  Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ?  If so, it is because you have believed the Scriptures, Amen:

There is now cause for much thanks!

 “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” [1 Thessalonians 2:13]

Now what are the results of hearing the Scripture inside a person?

The result is, that the word of God works effectually in the heart of the believer [in Jesus Christ].  That believer now lives, breathes, studies, preaches, and meditates in the word of God…from day to day.  He will do, as the psalmist did, in Psalms, one hundred, and nineteen:

“I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.” [Psalm 119:15]

Here is now the grand observation: The Christian, that meditates in God’s word, will grow phenomenally in the things of God, to a full measure, as a believer in Jesus Christ! 

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” [1 Peter 2:2].  

Thus, we will find that the words of God are our necessary food [or bread] by which we grow up in the LORD.   

Now, read for yourself for the verification of the reality of this truth in the Gospel according to Luke, chapter four, verse four: 

“And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”

There is food for the belly, and there is a food for the soul!

In the process of time and of events…

Here is a review.

The word of God performs, as a looking glass.  A picture thus, now forms of a particular scene, within our imagination.   In this scene, we see the Christian becoming enraptured, through an ongoing process of him staring inside the oracles of God [Studying the Bible], and, then, by another process, which is called sanctification, he is being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:18: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Now notice, what is happening to us, here!  The spectacle before us, is wondrously, and totally, supernatural.  We are being changed!

  Changed!

This operation shows the work of the Holy Spirit, accomplishing the work of the sanctification of the believer in Jesus Christ.  This is the workmanship of God being manifested in us:

Ephesians 2:10: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

Observation: The works thus observed in the Christian’s life result from the work of Jesus Christ, inside the believer, and are not the believer’s own works.

Notice: This phenomenon is always occurring when the Christian is studying the BOOK of GOD.

Now, we will move to the converse of this whole thing.

The Converse:

The following will always be found to be true,

The BOOK studies you!

Remember: What the Scripture SAITH.  

And because the Scripture SAITH, the Scripture, therefore, demonstrates to us to be a PERSON.  And this PERSON will be found to be at the same time analyzing us!

Now, stop here!   We will need next, to turn to the book of Hebrews.  We shall find there in the word of God something that is so very, very strange. 

In chapter four, verse twelve, we will see the converse of the previous truth, and it is this:  The Scripture is now studying you!

Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Now, take note, of what we are seeing here:

a)       The word of God is quick.  Being quick means, it is alive!  The Scripture is alive!

b)      The word of God is powerful.

c)       The word of God is sharper than any sword.

d)      The word of God, figuratively, can skin you alive.

e)      The word of God sees, literally, all your thoughts.

The thoughts and intents of the heart …

Imagine this: There is someone staring at you, and right in your face.   And more than that, this someone is penetrating through your eyes, right into your mind, and is seeing your innermost, most private thoughts. 

Now, that is a most horrible, and a very scary thing.   Would not that be the case for you?  But this is impossible, you say: Nobody in the world can do this! 

Really?  Well, my friend, look at this next verse, verse thirteen:

“Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” [Hebrews 4:13]

We are now found naked!

Friend, when we are peering down on the page into the words of God of the Holy Scripture [The BIBLE] there will be something else, that will be found to be concurrently happening.  And, it is this.  The Scripture is studying you. 

Conclusion: The Scripture is alive, because the Scripture sees the thoughts, and the very intents of our heart.  This fact should now shake you, all the way down, to your very boots!

There is even more:

Turn to the book of Daniel, chapter ten, verse twenty-one:

“But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.” [Daniel 10:21]]

Note, the Scripture here is called: The “scripture of truth.” 

Now, have you ever heard this thing said before: The truth is staring at you right in the face?  Now, ponder this.

Next:

Matthew 21:42: “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?”

Notice: We are to read “the Scriptures”!

Now, look at the Gospel, according to Matthew, chapter twenty-two, verse twenty-nine:

“Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.” [Matthew 22:29]

We are, therefore, to know “the scriptures.”  This is so critical for us to learn!  It is very imperative for us to know the BOOK of God, and this for our health!

Friend, there are horrible and tragic consequences to not knowing the scriptures.  Why?  Because everything that has been foretold in the scriptures, will be fulfilled, and this without fail.  

ALL WILL BE FULFILLED! 

For example: Everything that the prophets have foretold that would happen to Jesus Christ [when He was here on this earth] [concerning the Cross of Calvary] had been fulfilled. 

Now, get this thing down; both, your life, and your destiny, all depends on knowing the Scripture right down where it counts…in your heart.

Let us now continue, by going back to verse eight, and it read it again:

“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.”

Notice: The Scripture here also, preaches!  Preaches?  Yes, preaches!  The Scripture preached to Abraham, over now three thousand, and five hundred years ago, that God would someday justify the Gentiles through faith through Paul’s gospel. 

Genesis 18:18: “Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?”

Observation: It is impossible to pass a light in between the LORD Jesus Christ and the Scripture.   They are inseparably linked!   “And the LORD said [in verse seventeen], and the Scripture saith, are the same PERSON.

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Verse nine: “So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.”

This gospel has now, been preached to all the nations of the earth.  We Gentiles have been blessed, beyond all measure!

·         The Scripture saith,

·         The Scripture preached,

And all the Gentiles have heard now, the preaching of the gospel of the justification, through faith in Jesus Christ:

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” [John 1:12]

Verse ten: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.”

Can it be made any clearer?  The works of the Law shall avail nothing in the matter of one’s salvation from the wrath of a Holy God.  This fact has already been seen, in the chapter two, verse sixteen:

 “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ…”

For any man trying to perfectly keep the Law of God is butting up to an impossibility, [except for the LORD Jesus Christ].

Therefore, all men are cursed!  For only God can keep the LAW of God, perfectly!  Everyone else, has already been proven guilty:

“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”  [James 2:10]

Comment: It is obvious, we are all goners, and we all are all found guilty! We all are on our way to a Devil’s HELL, but for the faith of Jesus Christ! 

Here we are now, ready for the following basic truth.

Verse eleven: “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.”

This is the GOLD!

The just shall live by faith of Jesus Christ.

“Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe…” [Romans 3:22a].

Verse twelve: “And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.”

The Law of God emphasizes the visible measurements of the keeping of the Law on outward things, on what can be seen on the outside of a man. 

However, the keeping of the Law, was designed by God from the beginning of the giving of the Law, to be, first, a matter of the heart, as it is shown in so many places in the Scripture. 

For instance, we have this command, which is found in the Fifth book of Moses, called Deuteronomy, in chapter six, verse five:

“And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” [Deuteronomy 6:5]

Now, the outward man [or his deeds] is connected to the inner man [to his thoughts, and to his love].

Observe this: Whatever is in the heart of a man will eventually, bubble up, to be revealed, on the outside of a man. 

What is the heart of man will always come out in the wash!   It will be made known!  And, if not now, then it will be made known at the Great White Throne Judgment [Revelation 20:11-14].

Jesus Christ, Himself, told us of this matter in the Gospel, according to Matthew, chapter fifteen, verse eighteen:

“But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.” [Matthew 15:18]

To sum it up.  The doings of a man will flow, naturally from the heart:

“Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;” [Ephesians 6:6].

Here, is a basic truth.  The heart of man in his natural state [a sinner] is not amenable to the Law of God.   And why?  Because, the Law is not of faith!  Read our verse, again:

“And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.”

Now, hear this.  The heart of man is meant to be the repository of something else.  This something else, is called faith.  Not just any faith, but the faith of Jesus Christ.  This faith in Jesus Christ in one’s heart has a supernatural affinity for the Law of God. 

Therefore, through faith, the righteousness of the Law, is fulfilled, in us.  Look at how this connection of faith, and of the righteousness of the law, is made by the Spirit of God, through the Apostle Paul, in the Epistle to the Romans, chapter eight, verse four:

“That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” [Romans 8:4]

A lesson is to be learned, here: We must be born of the Spirit to have this beautiful righteousness of the Law fulfilled in us!  Amen!

Verse thirteen: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”

We were, as good, as dead men.  You and I, both, were destined for a devil’s Hell for our own sin.  There was definitely no hope for us in this old world, until God sent His Son, Jesus Christ into this world to shed HIS blood, and to be made sin for us, WHO knew no sin. 

Let us now, read this declaration, made by the Holy Ghost, in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter five, verse twenty-one:

“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.” [2 Corinthians 5:21]

Verse fourteen: “That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

All the Nations of the earth shall be blessed in HIM.

We already saw, that this was prophesied in the First book of Moses called Genesis.  [Genesis 18:18]

[Note: Refer to this commentary of verse eight in this chapter.] “…saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.”

Verse fifteen: “Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.”

Paul is about to make, in the Spirit, a doctrinal explanation of the word; “seed,” which is distinctly different from the word: “seeds.” 

There is a double application of the word, here.  Abraham’s “seeds” are a reference to the physical descendants of Abraham [which is Israel], and the word “seed” is a reference to Jesus Christ in the flesh.

Verse sixteen: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”

All the promises that were made to Abraham, and to his SEED, came to us, who are of all the nations, through the faith of Jesus Christ.  

This is seen in the Epistle to the Romans, chapter four, and we will now, read from there:

Romans 4:16-18: “Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.”

Thus, we see here, for the last two thousand years, the body of Christ, which is the church, is growing up into Him in all things:

Ephesians 4:15b: “…may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.”

And all these beautiful promises of God, were made to Abraham, and to his seed, Jesus Christ.  These promises all came through faith in HIS NAME, by a great explosion of the grace of God.  And why?  Because Abraham believed God!

Do you believe God?

Verse seventeen: “And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.”

Though the LAW had intervened, coming four hundred and thirty years later, the fulfillment of the covenant, or the promise, made to Abraham was still intact as solid, and brilliant, shining GOLD.

Go for the Gold!

Lesson: We can always count on God keeping His promises to us!  Amen!

Verse eighteen: “For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.”

Attention: Our genealogy does not include the Law in the line of our descent.  Rather our lineage is traced all the way back to Abraham’s faith.  Abraham believed God, through faith.  We Gentiles are the children of Abraham.  

Therefore, we are called the children of faith.  We are not the children of the Law!  Remember what the Scripture had said, earlier, in verse seven:

“Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.”

Verse nineteen: “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.”

The purpose of the Law was to give us the knowledge [Yea! Even an awareness] of our sin.  See for this, by what the Holy Ghost saith, through the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans, chapter seven:

Romans 7:7: “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”

Therefore, the Law serves, as our teacher, or as our SCHOOLMASTER, that we are big time sinners. 

Now, we will have more coming up on this PERSON, the schoolmaster, in verses twenty-four, and twenty-five, of this chapter.

Verse twenty: “Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.”

God is ONE, though there be three persons in ONE:

1 John 5:7: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

Question: What is a mediator?  Well, a mediator is one who interposes himself between two warring parties, with the goal of reconciling these two parties. 

The specific mediator here, now, identified is Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ, the Son of God, stepped into this breech [which was created by Adam’s sin], with the goal to make reconciliation between God and man.

Verse twenty-one: “Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.”

Let me ask you some questions. 

What is perfect?

What is sure?

What is right?

What is pure?

What is clean?

What is both true, and righteous?

What is worth more than gold?

What is sweeter than honey?

What is found to be the great reward?

Now, go to the book of Psalms, and see for yourself:

Psalm 19:7-11: “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.”

The Law of God is seen to be propelling the promises of God.  And why, is this so?

Because the Law of God is perfect.

Because the testimony of God is sure.

Because the statutes of the Law are right.

Because the commandments of the Law are pure.

Because the fear of God is clean.

Because the judgments of God are true and righteous.

Because the judgments of God are worth more than gold.

Because the judgments of God are sweeter than honey.

Because the in the keeping of these judgments there is great reward.

Verse twenty-two: “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.”

The Scripture, which remember is a PERSON, has already condemned every person living in this world, who believe not in the NAME of the only begotten Son of God.  Now, I did not say this, the SCRIPTURE did!!!

Read, and believe, the Gospel, according to John, chapter three, verse eighteen:

“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Here, in this verse, we find all of us, are already condemned to die [physically], and end up in a Devil’s HELL to await the Great White Throne judgment after which we will have our souls cast into the Lake of Fire, i.e. the Second Death, [Revelation 20:11-14].

Now, this condemnation is universal for all mankind from the time of Adam [4004 BC] until this very day in the 21st century:

1 Corinthians 15:22: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”

Then, when it became the time for the institution of the LAW, the presence of SIN, even the blackness of our sin became very evident to all of us. 

Even Israel, as well as all of us, are under a common CURSE.  Proof, you say!  It is in the SCRIPTURE! 

Then, let Scripture show you God’s opinion which is in the book of Daniel, chapter nine, in verse eleven:

“Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.” [Daniel 9:11]

We are, therefore, all sinners.  Now, the truth is in the BOOK!  See it for yourselves:

Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

Well, for the final nail to be driven:

Romans 5:12: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

After the Law’s resounding condemnation of us all, we are now made ready to comprehend this operation of faith, and what faith can do in a person who believes on the LORD Jesus Christ.  

The Scripture shows that every man, woman, and child, that believeth on him is no longer condemned, but has now passed from death to eternal life.

Here is the PROOF recorded for us in the Gospel according to John, chapter five, verse twenty-four, this promise that Jesus Christ, WHO is GOD come in the flesh, makes to all of us, who believe on HIM:

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” [John 5:24]

Born of the Spirit!

This death to life transition is a supernatural operation performed by the Holy Spirit, and is called a translation in the Scripture. 

Now, we can see this truth for ourselves, which is clearly shown, in the Epistle to the Colossians, chapter one, verse thirteen.

 “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:” [Colossians 1:13]

Verse twenty-three: “But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.”

So, we learn, that there was a time, when faith came.  Yet faith was already there [in the Old Testament].  Is there, therefore, a contradiction found here?   No!   There is no contradiction found here.  Let me now, try to explain.

But before faith came…

So, the faith of Abraham was pointing to an event that was still yet future to Abraham.  [Note: what we here, is the faith of a person - Abraham.]

After the event, faith indeed, came. [Note: this faith is the faith of another PERSON – Jesus Christ.]  

Faith came!

Now, this prophetic event, foretold to Abraham was fulfilled only by the event of the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the promised mediator.   

This mediator, WHO was the mediator of a New Testament, is revealed, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, in chapter nine, verse fifteen.  We read:

“And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” [Hebrews 9:15]

The mediator, is no less than, the Son of God, Jesus Christ.  This faith, that came, is the faith of Jesus Christ!  Do you still remember, when we commented on “the faith of Christ”?  [It might be now, profitable for you to review our comments of Galatians 2:16.]

Before the Law, and while under the Law, it was by the faith of the person.  This is so important for us to see.  Now what do we have here, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, in chapter eleven?  We have:

1.       By faith Abel…

2.       By faith Enoch…

3.       By faith Noah…

4.       By faith Abraham…

5.       Through faith also Sara herself…

Then, in verse thirteen, we see the following:

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” [Hebrews 11:13]

Explanation: After the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is “the faith of Christ” that justifies us.  It is the faith of Christ, not by our faith.

  The Old Testament saints believed God by faith, and were kept, by their works, and they had, therefore, their own righteousness.  [See the General Epistle of James, chapter two, and the book of Ezekial, chapter three: verse sixteen through twenty-one.]

In the New Testament, in the church of the firstborn, the Christian believes God, by the faith of Christ, and are therefore, clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  There is a witness to a commonalty in salvation between these two testaments, and yet there are differences between these two testaments in salvation. 

Let us review: There is a Gospel of the Circumcision, and there is a Gospel of the Uncircumcision.  Two things that are different are not the same!  Peter was the apostle to the Circumcision, and Paul was the apostle to the Uncircumcision.  [See the comments for Galatians 2:7.]

Verse twenty-four: “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”

There is to be a time in our life [while we are on the face of this earth] that we all need to be schooled.  Schooled, you say?  You heard me right.  Schooled! 

To repeat this, again, there is a need for us to sit under the authority of the schoolmaster.   Now, not just any teacher will do here, for we all need to be under the tutelage of the ONE most, high SCHOOLMASTER of the universe, which is the LAW of GOD.  For we can never be justified by faith without graduating from this school of the LAW of GOD. 

This Law of God is the ONE, Who brings us to repentance toward God, and this repentance toward God is what paves the way to faith in Jesus Christ. 

Remember this following verse, that we saw earlier in the book of the Acts of the Apostles.  See the comments made in chapter two, verse nineteen:

Acts 20:21: “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Summation:

1.       The Schoolmaster brings us to repentance toward God.

2.       And repentance toward God, brings us to faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 

This two-stage progression is now, verified in the very next verse.

Verse twenty-five: “But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”

The tutelage of the schoolmaster is the critical piece, that has almost disappeared in the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  And, this disappearance had occurred by the onset of the Laodicean period of the church age, which age is from 1900 A.D. to this present time in the 21st century.

When a person is truly saved by justification of faith in the church age, it is because this person has first gone through a time under the tutelage of the Law. 

Then, once, he, or she, is saved, through faith, by the grace of God, he, or she, is now, been made free of the Law of God, by faith in Christ Jesus.

Verse twenty-six: “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

Therefore, The Law of God prepares us for the faith of Jesus Christ.

Verse twenty-seven: “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

Any man, or any woman, or any child, that is born of the Spirit, in the last two thousand years [which is the church age] has been baptized into one body, by the Spirit, into Christ. 

This is the operation of the Spirit of God, which operation has been revealed to us, in the Epistle to First Corinthians, in chapter twelve, verse thirteen: 

“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” [1 Corinthians 12:13]

This baptism of the Spirit is the spiritual operation of the Holy Spirit, and is testified to have happened before all the believers within the church by water baptism.  

Note: Water baptism is, therefore, only a picture of the baptism of the Spirit, which baptism occurred when this person got saved.

Verse twenty-eight: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Now, no matter who you are, whether you are a male, or a female, and no matter what nation you are of, or what people you are from, God desires to make you ONE with the Son of God, even Jesus Christ, for God is no respecter of persons! 

To this, the Scripture, also testifies, as found in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, in chapter ten, verse, thirty-four:

“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:” [Acts 10:34].

SEE!  It is an even playing field!  Amen! 

John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Come all!

Verse twenty-nine: “And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Now, if you have believed in Jesus Christ, then you are already in Abraham’s family; the family of God. 

Now, recall the comments that were made earlier in this chapter [chapter three], concerning verses seven, through verse nine, and then, verse fifteen, about Abraham’s spiritual seed [as opposed to his physical seed].


Next - Galatians Chapter Four

Friend

If you know the Bible Is True,

And you never received

Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior...

And you want to come to Him for Salvation now ... Then:

1. Admit ...  To God that you are a Sinner...

Deserving Hell Fire...

2. Believe ... that Jesus Christ is the Son of God... 

Who died on the Cross for You! ...

3.  Repent! ... Ask Him to Forgive You of Your Sin...

4. Receive Him... By Asking Him to come into Your Heart...

And You Will Receive the Gift of Eternal Life! 

Born of God!  You Are in The Narrow Way ... To HEAVEN!