Galatians 3
3
1O thoughtless Galatians, who did bewitch you, not to obey the truth — before whose eyes Jesus Christ was described before among you crucified?
2this only do I wish to learn from you — by works of law the Spirit did ye receive, or by the hearing of faith?
3so thoughtless are ye! having begun in the Spirit, now in the flesh do ye end?
4so many things did ye suffer in vain! if, indeed, even in vain.
5He, therefore, who is supplying to you the Spirit, and working mighty acts among you — by works of law or by the hearing of faith [is it]?
6according as Abraham did believe God, and it was reckoned to him — to righteousness;
7know ye, then, that those of faith — these are sons of Abraham,
8and the Writing having foreseen that by faith God doth declare righteous the nations did proclaim before the good news to Abraham —
9‘Blessed in thee shall be all the nations;’ so that those of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham,
10for as many as are of works of law are under a curse, for it hath been written, ‘Cursed [is] every one who is not remaining in all things that have been written in the Book of the Law — to do them,’
11and that in law no one is declared righteous with God, is evident, because ‘The righteous by faith shall live;’
12and the law is not by faith, but — ‘The man who did them shall live in them.’
13Christ did redeem us from the curse of the law, having become for us a curse, for it hath been written, ‘Cursed is every one who is hanging on a tree,’
14that to the nations the blessing of Abraham may come in Christ Jesus, that the promise of the Spirit we may receive through the faith.
15Brethren, as a man I say [it], even of man a confirmed covenant no one doth make void or doth add to,
16and to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed; He doth not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to thy seed,’ which is Christ;
17and this I say, A covenant confirmed before by God to Christ, the law, that came four hundred and thirty years after, doth not set aside, to make void the promise,
18for if by law [be] the inheritance, [it is] no more by promise, but to Abraham through promise did God grant [it].
19Why, then, the law? on account of the transgressions it was added, till the seed might come to which the promise hath been made, having been set in order through messengers in the hand of a mediator —
20and the mediator is not of one, and God is one —
21the law, then, [is] against the promises of God? — let it not be! for if a law was given that was able to make alive, truly by law there would have been the righteousness,
22but the Writing did shut up the whole under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ may be given to those believing.
23And before the coming of the faith, under law we were being kept, shut up to the faith about to be revealed,
24so that the law became our child-conductor — to Christ, that by faith we may be declared righteous,
25and the faith having come, no more under a child-conductor are we,
26for ye are all sons of God through the faith in Christ Jesus,
27for as many as to Christ were baptized did put on Christ;
28there is not here Jew or Greek, there is not here servant nor freeman, there is not here male and female, for all ye are one in Christ Jesus;
29and if ye [are] of Christ then of Abraham ye are seed, and according to promise — heirs.
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Galatians 3: YLT98
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Galatians 3
3
Faith is the only way to be saved
1You stupid Galatians! I told you exactly how Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross. Has someone now put an evil spell on you?#Dt 27.26 (LXX). 2I want to know only one thing. How were you given God's Spirit? Was it by obeying the Law of Moses or by hearing about Christ and having faith in him? 3How can you be so stupid? Do you think that by yourself you can complete what God's Spirit started in you? 4Have you gone through all this for nothing? Is it all really for nothing? 5God gives you his Spirit and works miracles in you. But does he do this because you obey the Law of Moses or because you have heard about Christ and have faith in him?
6The Scriptures say that God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith.#Gn 15.6; Ro 4.3. 7And so, you should understand that everyone who has faith is a child of Abraham.#3.7 a child of Abraham: God chose Abraham, and so it was believed that anyone who was a child of Abraham was also a child of God. See the note at 3.29.#Ro 4.16. 8Long ago the Scriptures said that God would accept the Gentiles because of their faith. That's why God told Abraham the good news that all nations would be blessed because of him.#Gn 12.3. 9This means that everyone who has faith will share in the blessings that were given to Abraham because of his faith.
10Anyone who tries to please God by obeying the Law is under a curse. The Scriptures say, “Everyone who doesn't obey everything in the Law is under a curse.” 11No one can please God by obeying the Law. The Scriptures also say, “The people God accepts because of their faith will live.”#3.11 The people God accepts because of their faith will live: Or “The people God accepts will live because of their faith.”#He 2.4.
12The Law isn't based on faith. It promises life only to people who obey its commands.#Lv 18.5. 13But Christ rescued us from the Law's curse, when he became a curse in our place. This is because the Scriptures say that anyone who is nailed to a tree is under a curse.#Dt 21.23. 14And because of what Jesus Christ has done, the blessing that was promised to Abraham was taken to the Gentiles. This happened so that by faith we would be given the promised Holy Spirit.
The Law and the promise
15My friends, I will use an everyday example to explain what I mean. Once someone agrees to something, no one else can change or cancel the agreement.#3.15 Once someone…cancel the agreement: Or “Once a person makes out a will, no one can change or cancel it.” 16That is how it is with the promises God made to Abraham and his descendant.#3.16 descendant: The Greek text has “seed”, which may mean one or many descendants. In this verse Paul says it means Christ. The promises were not made to many descendants, but only to one, and that one is Christ. 17What I am saying is that the Law cannot change or cancel God's promise that was made 430 years before the Law was given.#Ex 12.40. 18If we have to obey the Law in order to receive God's blessings, those blessings don't really come to us because of God's promise. But God was kind to Abraham and made him a promise.#Ro 4.14.
19What is the use of the Law? It was given later to show that we sin. But it was only supposed to last until the coming of that descendant#3.19 that descendant: Jesus. who was given the promise. In fact, angels gave the Law to Moses, and he gave it to the people. 20There is only one God, and the Law did not come directly from him.
Slaves and children
21Does the Law disagree with God's promises? No, it doesn't! If any law could give life to us, we could become acceptable to God by obeying that law. 22But the Scriptures say that sin controls everyone, so that God's promises will be for anyone who has faith in Jesus Christ.
23The Law controlled us and kept us under its power until the time came when we would have faith. 24In fact, the Law was our teacher. It was supposed to teach us until we had faith and were acceptable to God. 25But once a person has learnt to have faith, there is no more need to have the Law as a teacher.
26All of you are God's children because of your faith in Christ Jesus. 27And when you were baptized, it was as though you had put on Christ in the same way you put on new clothes. 28Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with each other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman. 29So if you belong to Christ, you are now part of Abraham's family,#3.29 you are now part of Abraham's family: Paul tells the Galatians that faith in Jesus Christ is what makes someone a true child of Abraham and of God. See the note at 3.7. and you will be given what God has promised.#Ro 4.13.
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