Welcome back to my study/review of The Epistle to the Galatians. If you missed the previous parts of this study, you can find them HERE.
Galatians 3:7-14
7Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justifyc the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
10For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”d 12But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirite through faith.
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This section is really important to establishing Christianity as a global faith rather than an ethnic one. Here we see an argument that Abraham’s heirs are not ethnic Israelites, or more narrowly ethnic Jews, but rather are people of faith.
This is extra-relevant today inasmuch as modern day Christianity has been engaged in a dispute over Christian Zionism for the last few centuries – and that debate has played a massive role in global geopolitics. We’ll look at that more below and from the notes at Ellicott’s Bible Commentary:
Verse 7
The main point of the Apostle’s argument in the present passage is the superiority of faith over the Law. He has, however, also in view the ulterior consequences of that superiority. Unlike the Law, faith is open to all Gentiles as well as Jews. The promise, therefore, being annexed to faith, contained the death-blow of all those exclusive privileges which the Judaising party in Galatia claimed for themselves, and of all those burdensome regulations which they were for imposing upon the Galatian Christians. This, too, the Apostle brings out by showing that the believers in Christ, whatever their nationality, are the true spiritual descendants of Abraham.
Know ye — The verb here may either be in the indicative or in the imperative: “know ye,” or “ye know.” Perhaps, on the whole, the imperative, as in the Authorised version, is best.
They which are of faith — Those whose principles of action are derived from faith; those whose master-motive is faith.
Children of Abraham — This idea of a spiritual descent from Abraham is found also in Romans 4:11-12; Romans 4:16; Romans 9:6-8.
If the descendants of Abraham are those who have faith in Jesus Christ, then at least at first you consider this specifically through an ethnically Jewish lens. The early Church was ethnically Jewish, and by a large majority. This group is thus the true descendants of Abraham and they possess both an ethnic and spiritual claim. The consequence of that, then, is that ethnic Jews who do not believe Jesus Christ is the Messiah, and the Son of God, are cut off from their inheritance as heirs. The promises made to Abraham pass to his ethic and spiritual heirs.
What does that mean for those Jews and Israelites who reject Christ? Paul writes about this extensively throughout Romans, however, it is simple enough to say that those without faith are no longer considered descendants. In Romans 11, they are described as a branch that is broken off. Only through faith will they be grafted back onto the tree and reattain their position as an heir.
Continuing in Ellicott:
Verse 8
The universalism of the promise is accounted for by the fact that it is rested upon faith and not on works—thus showing a distinct prevision of a time when the whole world should be invited to claim a share in it by the exercise of faith.
The scripture — Here, with a more decided personification than usual, the Scripture is said to foresee what God, by whom Scripture is inspired, foresaw.
Foreseeing — It appears to have been a rather common formula among the Jews to say “What saw the Scripture?” (i.e., What had the Scripture in sight, or in view?) for “What did it mean?” Here the metaphor falls in naturally with the personification.
Would justify — Literally, justifies. The use of the present tense implies that the justification of the Gentiles is regarded as forming part of the eternal purpose of God, to whom the future and the present are one.
The heathen — It is to be noticed that the same word is translated indifferently by “heathen” (as here, and also in 2 Corinthians 11:26; Galatians 1:16; Galatians 2:9), “nations” (as in the second clause of this verse, and frequently elsewhere), and “Gentiles” (as in Galatians 2:2; Galatians 2:8; Galatians 2:12; Galatians 2:14-15; Galatians 3:14 of this Epistle, and most commonly in other places where it occurs).
Preached before the gospel — For this translation we might substitute, announced the glad tidings beforehand. The Authorised version, however, hardly involves an anachronism, as the promise is regarded as anticipating the gospel, inasmuch as it already contained the doctrine of justification by faith, in which the essence of the gospel consisted.
In thee — The righteousness which was imputed to Abraham his spiritual descendants also could claim by virtue of their descent from him. What applied to him applied (potentially and prophetically) to them. In like manner it is said, in Hebrews 7:9, that “Levi paid tithes in Abraham.”
The quotation is a combination of Genesis 12:3 (“In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”) and Genesis 18:18 (“All the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him.”)
Be blessed — With the bliss of the Messianic kingdom.
Here Paul reminds all of his readers that the original purpose of Israel, as declared by God, was to bless the nations. If that purpose was never fulfilled through the ethnic nation of Israel or Judah, it is fulfilled though Jesus Christ and the Church established by Him.
The logical conclusion here is that the Church *is* the heir to the promises made to Abraham’s descendants. It is not a replacement for a failed Israel, though, it is a continuation and a fulfillment of the original Israel. Continuing:
Verse 9
They which be of faith — The same phrase as in Galatians 3:7 above.
With faithful Abraham — i.e., in company with Abraham. The same idea is presented in two different forms. Abraham’s spiritual descendants are blessed “in him;” they are also blessed “with him.” He is the head of a great company, in which they all are included.
The Gentile faithful are numbered with Abraham, who was himself justified by his faith. Paul is making the case that it is not rules, or ethnicity that matter, but rather it is your faith that matter. the rules that Paul, specific to being that Paul is arguing against, are secondary evidence of faith, not a thing that matters in and of themselves, without the context of belief.
Continuing:
Verse 10
In this and the following verses the action of the Law is contrasted with that of faith, and the necessity of faith and the system of things to which faith belongs brought out into strong relief. The antithesis is: faith—blessing; law—curse. The “curse” was the penalty which the Law itself imposed upon all who failed to keep it. None really kept it, and therefore none escaped this curse.
As many as are of the works of the law — An expression corresponding to “they which are of faith” in Galatians 3:7; Galatians 3:9. The meaning is, “Those who take their character from works done in obedience to law—the cast of whose lives is determined by the principle of legal obedience.
Under the curse — Strictly, are under a curse; subject to a curse.
For it is written — The Apostle proceeds to quote the clause in the Law by which this curse was entailed. The quotation is from Deuteronomy 27:26, where it forms the conclusion of the series of curses to be pronounced from Mount Ebal. The Hebrew text is, “Cursed be he that confirmeth not the words of this law to do them.” The word “all” is inserted in the Authorised version, probably from this passage. The Hebrew has also simply “he that” for “every one who;” so that the absolute and sweeping nature of the condemnation would seem to be much less marked in the original. It is not, however, clear that this character was first given to it by St. Paul. “Every one” is found in the Peshito Syriac, which may have been influenced by the language of St. Paul; “in all things” is found in the Samaritan Pentateuch, which certainly was not so influenced. The quotation is made by Justin (Trypho, § 95) in precisely the same words as by St. Paul. Justin, however, is not improbably quoting through the medium of this Epistle. (See Introduction.
Paul is contrasting faith and works, and he quotes from Deuteronomy that everyone who does not confirm the works of the law by doing them is cursed. This is a reminder that those who seek to elevate the law above the Spirit received by grace, through faith, is elevating a curse over a blessing. This should be rejected as itis not in the best interest of anyone to do that.
In the sight of God — Standing as a prisoner before His tribunal.
The just shall live by faith — The stress is on the word “faith.” It is faith (not law) which gives life. In St. Paul’s application of the passage, the word “just” must be taken in what is technically termed a slightly proleptic sense. A man is not just before the exercise of faith, but he becomes just by the exercise of it; and, in another aspect, the state of righteousness upon which he then enters is also a state of life. Strictly speaking, the order is—faith, justification, life. It would be possible to take the Greek in such a way as to bring out this more distinctly: “The just by faith” (i.e., he whose righteousness is based on faith) “shall live.” Some good commentators take the passage thus, but a balance of considerations seems, on the whole, to be in favour of the sense adopted in the Authorised version.
The quotation is from Habakkuk 2:4, where it refers to the preservation of the righteous Israelite amidst the general ruin caused by the Chaldean invasion. Though the wicked and proud shall be destroyed, the righteous man shall live “by his faith.” There is some division of opinion amongst commentators as to whether the word translated “faith” means, in the original, faith in the active sense or faith in the passive sense—“fidelity,” “faithfulness,” or “trust in God.” The sense in which the word is used by St Paul is most nearly related to the latter. It has the full-developed Christian meaning, which begins in belief, includes trust, and passes on to become an active energy of devotion. (Comp. the Note and Excursus on Romans 1:17, where the same quotation is made.)
Paul quotes “the righteous shall live by faith” from Habakkuk 2:4. He’s defending his argument, an idea that might feel foreign to some of his ethnically Jewish readers, with Scripture that would have been accepted by Jews. It’s important here to convey to the reader that Paul is not making assertions that are contrary to Scripture. He is arguing that his interpretation of Scripture is better.
Verse 12
The law is not of faith — The ruling principle of the Law is not faith, but something else—works.
The man that doeth them — By “them” is meant the “statutes” and “judgments” mentioned immediately before in the verse (Leviticus 18:5) from which the quotation is taken. Just as the stress was upon “faith” in the last verse, so here it falls on the word “doeth:” it is a matter of works.
Shall live — The idea of life receives an enlargement, corresponding to the fuller revelation of immortality in the New Testament as compared with the Old. In the Old Testament, “life is an existence upon earth, shortened by no judgment, reposing upon God, and delighting itself in God.” On the other hand, “death is the sudden and dreadful end, the destruction of this existence through a judgment of some special kind” (Schultz, Theology of the Old Testament, 2:163). Such a judgment would be the Chaldean invasion; and when the prophet Habakkuk says that the “just shall live,” he means that he should be saved from this calamity, and still continue to enjoy the divine favour and protection. The promise in Leviticus declares that he who keeps the Law shall be preserved from all judgments of this kind. With St. Paul, as in the Old Testament, the root idea is that of drawing support and sustenance from God; but with him this is not confined to the present life, or extended beyond the grave only in some dim and shadowy way: it begins in time and stretches on into eternity.
In them — His life shall spring out of them and be nourished by them, just as a tree strikes its roots into the earth.
Verse 13
Christ hath redeemed us — Better, Christ redeemed us. The opening of this verse without any connecting particle lends sharpness and emphasis to the contrast. The Law brought a curse. There it stopped short. That was all it could do. The first thing that Christianity does is to undo this result of the Law by deliverance from the curse.
This deliverance is represented under the form of a ransom. Christ “bought off” the human race from the penalty of its sins, the price paid being His death. Comp. 1 Corinthians 6:20; 1 Corinthians 7:23, “Ye are (were) bought with a price;” 2 Peter 2:1, “The Lord that bought them;” Revelation 5:9, “Thou wast slain and hast redeemed (bought) us to God by thy blood;” Revelation 14:4, “These were redeemed (bought) from among men.” The word used in these passages, as well as in that before us, is the general word for “buying.” But that the “buying” intended is that more definitely conveyed by the idea of “ransom” appears from the use of the special word for ransom in Matthew 20:28 ( = Mark 10:45), “The Son of Man came to give His life a ransom for many;” 1 Timothy 2:6, “Who gave Himself a ransom for all.” The word commonly translated “redemption” (Romans 3:24; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 1:7; Ephesians 1:14; Ephesians 4:30; Colossians 1:14; Hebrews 9:15) also contains the same special idea of “a ransoming.”
Us — In the first instance, “the Jews,” but not to be confined too strictly to them. The Apostle is writing to a Gentile (though Judaising) Church, and he does not wish to exclude any of his readers. Though the Gentiles do not come directly under “the curse of the Law,” they came under God’s condemnation. From this they were released, and the blessings of the theocracy hitherto annexed to the Law were thrown open to them by the death of Christ.
From the curse of the law — From that curse which the Law pronounced upon all who failed to keep its precepts.
Being made a curse — Being treated as if He were accursed. Comp. 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin”—i.e., treated as sinful One who was not sinful. The idea is somewhat strengthened by the use of the substantive for the adjective. The curse identifies itself with its object: seizes, as it were, upon the person of its victim.
For us — i.e., “on our behalf,” “for our sakes,” not “in our stead.” It is impossible to escape the conclusion that St. Paul, like the rest of the Apostles, regarded the sufferings of Christ as undergone in our stead. The idea is, indeed, distinctly expressed in this very passage; but it must be gathered from the context, not from the use of the preposition. The preposition which means “instead” is found in Matthew 20:28; 1 Timothy 2:6. (See Note on Galatians 1:4.)
As it is written — The way in which the curse of the Law fell upon Christ was through His death. The ignominious death by which He died was one to which the curse of God specially attached. The Law expressly declared that that criminal who died upon the cross or gibbet was an object of the divine wrath. Christ died as such a criminal, and so came under the curse.
It is to be observed, in considering the doctrinal bearings of this passage, that the curse which fell upon Christ was not the same curse as that described above as the consequence of human guilt in failing to keep the requirements of the Law. It is not the accumulated penalty for the whole mass of human disobedience, but rather an incidental defilement, contracted by an in-voluntary breach of a particular ceremonial precept. The death of Christ involved a curse because the manner of it was by suspension from a cross. Nothing more than this is said. Christ, the sinless One, died for sinful men. If He had not died they must have died. And His death acted (in some inscrutable way) so as to propitiate the wrath of God. But it is not said that the actual load of human guilt was laid upon Him. It is not said that His death was the actual punishment of that guilt. The death of Christ removed the necessity for the punishment of men, but it could not be regarded as a punishment in relation to Christ Himself. In this respect it would seem as if the symbolism of the scapegoat (which is sometimes adduced in explanation of the present passage) was imperfectly applicable. In the case of the scapegoat, the high priest was to lay his hands upon his head, and to “confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat;” and the goat was to “bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited” (Leviticus 16:21-22). No such process as this really took place in the case of our Lord; nor is it applied to Him even in 1 Peter 2:24, otherwise than in vague and general metaphor. The literal application derives no countenance from the present passage, but is rather contradicted by it. It expressly distinguishes between the curse which fell upon Christ and the curse which was due to the sins of men, though the incurrence of the one led to the abrogation of the other.
Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree — From Deuteronomy 21:23. The Hebrew and LXX. insert “of God”—”He that is hanged is cursed of God”—which St. Paul instinctively omits. The reference in the original is to the exposure of the body upon a stake or gibbet after death.
Paul is really hammering this point, because it is important. The best result of the law is that you end up cursed, whereas the result of faith is the Spirit and life. Paul connects – through Scripture – the notion of being cursed with the crucifixion of Christ. The note above takes pains to clarify the comparison, as to both what it says and does not say.
For a couple of breakdowns of this topic, let me direct you to the following videos:
Finally, we’ll finish out this section of verses with a note on verse 14:
Verse 14
The abolition of the Law, consummated upon the cross, involved the doing away of all the old restrictions which confined the Messianic inheritance to the Jews. Henceforth this inheritance, and the promised outpouring of the Spirit which was to accompany it, was open equally to the Gentiles. The one condition now was faith, and that intimate relation to the Messiah which faith implied.
The blessing of Abraham — That is, the blessing pronounced upon Abraham and to be fulfilled in his seed.
Through Jesus Christ — Through the relation into which they enter with Christ by embracing Christianity.
We — The Apostle and his readers, whether Jews or Gentiles.
Receive the promise of the Spirit — A special outpouring of the Spirit was to be one of the characteristics of the great Messianic manifestation. (Comp. Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:16-21.) The promise is said to be “received” by the generation on which it is fulfilled, not by that to which it is given. The same phrase occurs in Acts 2:33; Hebrews 9:15.
The argument here then is that Christ became a curse, and that the result of this is that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles. Remember, as Paul cites a few verses up, an important purpose of the descendants of Abraham was that they bless the nations (i.e. the gentiles.)
For a Christian summary about God’s plan to reclaim the (gentile) nations, please let me direct you to the late Michael S. Heiser, an ancient languages and Old Testament scholar and pastor who brings this to life form the pages of the Old Testament in a way that you might not have heard before:
