Faith in Jesus Christ, The Law and the Promise, & Children of God. Bible Study. Galatians Ch 3

Here is a teaching on chapter 3 of the book of Galatians. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added to that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.

I did want to say a quick prayer... Lord, I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. Please open up our eyes, our ears, our hearts, and our minds to you Lord. I pray that whatever it is that each person is supposed to receive from this Bible study, they receive it and implement it in their daily lives. Holy Spirit please guide us and help us to see the truth, know the truth, discern the truth, and live by the truth. I love you with every ounce of my being. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Galatians Chapter 3:

1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4 Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5 Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

6 Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 7 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8 The 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.” 9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

10 All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” 11 Clearly no one who is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.” 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

Alright, so I am going to stop right there and discuss these verses with you guys here. In verses 1-5, these Galatians were foolish because they thought that observing the law and their good works is how they receive the spirit, but we can only be saved and receive the spirit by believing in Jesus Christ. We can not be saved, have the Holy Spirit, or be righteous by our good works or by following the customs of the law. So by believing what they heard of Jesus Christ and believing in Jesus Christ (that he died on the cross for our sins and all of that), they received the Holy Spirit. After receiving the Holy Spirit the Galatians were trying to obtain the goal of eternal life through their efforts, by trying to do good works, observe the customs of the law, and of that. They thought that by their works they could get themselves into heaven. We know that the only way into heaven is by Jesus Christ. Once we are filled with the Holy Spirit we have to let the Holy Spirit guide us, stand firm in our faith, and be fully submitted to the will of God the Father. God only gives us the Holy Spirit because we believe in Jesus Christ, not by observing the law.

In verses 6-9, what Paul says in verse 6 you can see if Genesis 15:6. So everyone who believes in Jesus Christ are children of Abraham. In verse 8, when Paul says "all nations will be blessed through you," we can see that in Genesis 12:3, Genesis 18:18, and Genesis 22:18. So the scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and that was in these verses in Genesis when He said "all nations will be blessed through you." All those who have faith in Christ Jesus are blessed along with Abraham who is the man of faith. In verses 10-14, what Paul says in verse 10 is from Deuteronomy 27:26. In verse 11 where it says " the righteous will live by faith," that is from Habakkuk 2:4. The scripture that Paul refers to in verse 12 is from Leviticus 18:5. Then the scripture that Paul refers to in verse 13 is from Deueternomy 21:23. So Jesus Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us whenever he died on the cross to forgive us of our sins. Jesus Christ redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Jesus. Whenever we have faith in Jesus Christ and we believe in him then we receive the Holy Spirit and we can only receive it through faith in Jesus, not by observing the law.

15 Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ. 17 What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.

19 What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; 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 could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

23 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

So what Paul is referring to in verse 16 when it says "and to your seed," we can see this in Genesis 12:7, 13:15, and 24:7. The seed here is Jesus Christ. What Paul says in verses 17-18, the law that was introduced hundreds of years later didn't set aside the covenant that God had established with Abraham and his seed Jesus Christ. God gave this inheritance to Abraham through a promise that overrides the law because this promise or covenant was established before the law was ever made. In verses 19-20, these laws, rules, and regulations were added because of the evil deeds and the sins that all of these people committed up until Jesus Christ had come. So like I'm sure you've heard before, Jesus Christ coming on this heart, living a sinless life, and dying on the cross to forgive us of our sins fulfilled the law and prophets.

In verses 21-22, the whole world is a prisoner of sin, we are all sinners, and the promise of inheritance and having eternal life is only given to us through believing in Jesus Christ. In verses 23-25, before Jesus Christ came and died on the cross to forgive us of our sins and the faith of believing in Jesus Christ came, these people were prisoners of the law. They had to abide by the laws because it would lead them to Jesus Christ so that they may be justified through believing in him. Now that Jesus Christ had come and he died on the cross to forgive them of their sins they no longer were under the supervision of the law. The law had been fulfilled by Jesus Christ dying on the cross to forgive us of our sins. Once they believed in Jesus Christ then they received the promise of the Holy Spirit and eternal life through Jesus. So these people shouldn't focus on how they can get themselves into heaven and making sure that they abide by all of the laws, rules, and regulations but they had to let the Holy Spirit guide them and be fully submitted to the will of God the Father. That is what we should also do as believers of Jesus Christ.

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26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Alright, so those are all of the verses of chapter 3 of the book of Galatians, but I'm going to discuss these verses with you guys here. So once we believe in Jesus Christ and we are saved by him, we are all Children of God. All of the believers of Jesus Christ are one in Christ so it doesn't matter what race or gender we are because we are all one in Jesus Christ. Whenever we believe in Jesus Christ then we are saved, we belong to Jesus, we are heirs to the inheritance according to the promise that God made to Abraham, and we have eternal life in heaven with Jesus Christ and God the Father.

Here are 3 takeaways to write down:

1. Our deeds do not get us into heaven

- A person can abide by all of these laws and live their life the way that they think that they should, be a good person, and all of that but if they don't believe in Jesus Christ and are not saved by Jesus, then they won't make it into heaven.

- We can not make it into heaven by ourselves but only through faith in Jesus Christ.

2. Jesus Christ dying on the cross for our sins fulfilled the law and prophets

3. As believers of Jesus Christ we are all one in Christ

Galatians Ch 3 Study Guide

How do we receive the Holy Spirit?
Can your good deeds get you into heaven? Why or why not?
In verse 13, how did Jesus Christ redeem us from the curse?
Why does God’s promise to Abraham override the law?
What did Jesus dying on the cross fulfill?
In verse 28, how are we all one in Jesus Christ?
What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible study?

So that concludes this Bible study on chapter 3 of the Book of Galatians. Next time we're going to go into chapter 4, so make sure you stay tuned for that.

I love you guys so much.

Never forget to choose faith over fear.

-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)

p.s. If you'd rather listen to Faith-based, spiritual growth, mindset, and mental health tips, then check out my podcast. There I will share my personal experiences, stories I've never told before, and bring you along with this hot mess life of mine. New episodes daily.

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