The Heart Of Paul’s Theology: Paul And The GalatiansSample

Abraham’s Faith: Galatians 3:6-4:11

After giving these historical accounts, Paul turned to the fourth section of his epistle in 3:1–4:31. There he offered more direct theological arguments for his doctrine of justification by faith. 

He argued in 3:6–4:11 that God had blessed Abraham because of faith, not because of Abraham’s obedience to God’s law. Abraham had not earned the blessing of salvation through fleshly human efforts. 

First, Paul pointed out that Abraham was justified by having faith in God’s promise that he would have a son. In 3:6-7 Paul referred to Genesis 15:6 in this way:

Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham (Galatians 3:6-7).

From Paul’s point of view, Genesis 15:6 made it clear that Abraham was justified by his faith in God’s word and not on the basis of his circumcision which took place years later. On this basis, Paul concluded that the true children of Abraham were those who followed his example of trusting in the promises of God for salvation. Salvation was a blessing which came by means of faith, and not by circumcision.

Second, because controversy had risen over the status of uncircumcised Gentiles, Paul went on to point out that God had told Abraham that the blessing of salvation would spread through him to the Gentiles. In Galatians 3:8-9 Paul referred to Genesis 12:3 in this way:

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.” So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith (Galatians 3:8-9).

Paul understood Genesis 12:3 to teach that a time was promised when Gentiles throughout the world would receive God’s blessing. This blessing would come to all nations in the same manner as it came to Abraham, through faith.

Third, Paul wanted the Galatians to understand that the bloody cutting of the flesh in circumcision was a symbol of self-cursing, not a way to gain righteousness. Circumcision meant “may I be cut off from the land of the living if I do not exercise covenant faithfulness.” Christ had come precisely because nobody else could live up to that standard. As Paul put it in Galatians 3:13: 

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (Galatians 3:13).

By hanging on a cross — a most shameful and cursed death in Jewish understanding — Christ took upon himself the awful curse of sin. The Galatians needed to understand that the blessings of covenant faithfulness were theirs totally by faith, because Christ had already taken the curse on himself for their sakes. 

In the fourth place, Paul preempted an objection from the false teachers by arguing that the law of Moses did not reverse Abraham’s example. As he put it in Galatians 3:17-19:

The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise...What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come (Galatians 3:17-19).

From Paul’s point of view, the law hadn’t been given to enable the people to gain God’s blessings by works, like the false teachers of Galatia had claimed. The Mosaic law had been added to deal with the sinfulness of Israel, and to prepare them for Christ.