Galatians 3
God’s Promise Is Stronger Than Our Performance
Galatians 3 brings us back to a simple truth: we are made right with God through faith in Jesus, not by keeping the law. Paul shows that God’s promise to Abraham finds its fulfillment in Christ, who brings believers into one family.
Walking Through Galatians 3
Remember How You Began (Galatians 3:1-5)
1 You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed as crucified! 2 The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? Although you began with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort? 4 Have you suffered so many things for nothing?—if indeed it was for nothing. 5 Does God then give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law or by your believing what you heard?Galatians 3:1-5 · NET Bible
Paul begins with strong words because the Galatians are turning from the truth about Jesus. Christ’s death had been clearly explained to them. Yet they now seem ready to depend on human effort to finish what God’s Spirit began.
Paul asks them to remember how they received the Spirit. It was not through keeping the law of Moses. It was through hearing the good news and believing. God’s work among them, including His mighty acts, came through faith rather than law-keeping. Paul also fears that everything they have gone through may come to nothing if they abandon that foundation.
I want us to notice this: Paul is not against spiritual growth or obedience. He is against changing the source of that growth. The Christian life begins with trust in Christ, and it continues in dependence on Him.
Abraham’s Family and Christ’s Rescue (Galatians 3:6-14)
6 Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness , 7 so then, understand that those who believe are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel to Abraham ahead of time, saying, “ All the nations will be blessed in you .” 9 So then those who believe are blessed along with Abraham the believer. 10 For all who rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse because it is written, “ Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the law .” 11 Now it is clear no one is justified before God by the law because the righteous one will live by faith . 12 But the law is not based on faith, but the one who does the works of the law will live by them . 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (because it is written, “ Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree ”) 14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we could receive the promise of the Spirit by faith.Galatians 3:6-14 · NET Bible
Paul reaches back to Abraham, who lived before the law of Moses. Abraham believed God, and God counted him as right with Him. Those who share Abraham’s faith belong to his family. God’s promise to bless all nations through Abraham was already pointing toward the good news for Gentiles—people who were not Jewish.
Depending on law-keeping brings a serious problem. The law calls for obedience to everything it commands. Anyone who breaks it faces its curse, meaning the judgment attached to disobedience. Faith receives life from God; the law’s demands cannot supply that life to sinners.
Jesus rescued us by taking that curse upon Himself through His death on the cross. He did not set aside God’s justice. He bore our judgment. Through Him, Abraham’s promised blessing reaches the nations, and we receive the promised Spirit through faith.
A Promise the Law Cannot Cancel (Galatians 3:15-18)
15 Brothers and sisters, I offer an example from everyday life: When a covenant has been ratified, even though it is only a human contract, no one can set it aside or add anything to it. 16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant. Scripture does not say, “and to the descendants,” referring to many, but “ and to your descendant ,” referring to one, who is Christ. 17 What I am saying is this: The law that came 430 years later does not cancel a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to invalidate the promise. 18 For if the inheritance is based on the law, it is no longer based on the promise, but God graciously gave it to Abraham through the promise.Galatians 3:15-18 · NET Bible
Paul uses an everyday example: once a binding agreement is settled, someone cannot simply change its terms. God made His promise to Abraham and his offspring. Paul identifies Christ as the One in whom that promise reaches its goal. As the chapter later explains, those who belong to Christ share in it.
The law came 430 years later. It could not cancel what God had already promised or turn His gift into wages for good behavior. If the inheritance depended on keeping the law, it would no longer rest on the promise. But God gave it to Abraham by promise.
That word matters. A promise rests on the faithfulness of the one who makes it. Our hope stands on God’s steady commitment, not on our ability to build a perfect record.
What the Law Was Meant to Do (Galatians 3:19-25)
19 Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the descendant to whom the promise had been made. It was administered through angels by an intermediary. 20 Now an intermediary is not for one party alone, but God is one. 21 Is the law therefore opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But the scripture imprisoned everything under sin so that the promise could be given—because of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ—to those who believe. 23 Now before faith came we were held in custody under the law, being kept as prisoners until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 Thus the law had become our guardian until Christ, so that we could be declared righteous by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.Galatians 3:19-25 · NET Bible
If the promise came first, why did God give the law? Paul says it was added because of sins, until Christ came. It exposed wrongdoing and placed God’s people under its care and restraint. The law came through angels and a go-between, understood as Moses. A go-between involves more than one party, while God is one; the promise rests on God’s own commitment.
The law was not against God’s promises. It simply could not give life. Scripture shows everyone trapped under sin, so that the promised gift comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
Paul compares the law to a guardian who watched over a child. Its role was real, but temporary. With Christ’s coming, God’s people no longer live under that guardian. This does not make sin harmless. It means that being made right with God comes through faith, not through the law’s supervision.
One Family, Full Belonging (Galatians 3:26-29)
26 For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female—for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise.Galatians 3:26-29 · NET Bible
Paul now describes the believers’ place in God’s family. Through faith in Christ, they are God’s children. Their baptism marks their belonging to Christ, which Paul pictures as being clothed with Him. Jesus, rather than their background or law-keeping, defines their standing before God.
Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female all share this welcome. Paul is not saying their differences vanish. He is saying those differences do not create higher and lower ranks in God’s family. All are one in Christ.
Then Paul brings the argument back to Abraham. If we belong to Christ, we belong to Abraham’s promised family and share the inheritance. I find deep comfort here: no believer is a second-class child. Our place in the family comes through the same Savior and the same grace.
- Faith — Trusting Jesus rather than our record of obedience to make us right with God.
- Promise — God’s sure commitment to give the blessing He announced to Abraham, fulfilled in Christ.
Where are you tempted to turn growth in God’s family into a way of earning your place in it?
Father, thank You for keeping Your promise through Jesus. Help us depend on Your Spirit rather than trust in our own record. Teach us to grow in faith and welcome one another as members of Your family.