Paul continues his argument against the false teaching that works of the law must be added to faith in Christ. His approach in this passage comes from two different directions: first, he asks the Galatians to consider what they have personally experienced through faith; then he turns to Scripture to demonstrate that justification by faith has always been God’s plan.
SCRIPTURE READING — Galatians 3:1–5
1. PAUL MAKES HIS CASE PERSONALLY
Paul turns directly to the Galatians and asks a rapid series of questions designed to make them remember what God has already done in their lives.
Verse 1 — Who bewitched you? What happened that caused them to turn away from the gospel they had clearly received?
Verse 2 — How did you receive the Holy Spirit? It wasn’t through works of the law but through hearing with faith.
Verse 3a — Are you a fool? Why abandon what they already know to be true?
Verse 3b — If the Spirit started it, will the flesh finish it? The Christian life begins and continues through God’s work, not human effort.
Verse 4 — Did you suffer in vain? Their experiences as followers of Christ mattered.
Verse 5 — How is God working among you? His work is connected to faith, not their observance of the law.
Paul is essentially questioning eyewitnesses. He isn’t asking them to consider something theoretical; he’s telling them to remember what actually happened when they believed the gospel.
That raises a personal question for us: What evidence is there in my own life of God’s grace through faith in Jesus?
SCRIPTURE READING — Galatians 3:6–14
2. PAUL MAKES HIS CASE BIBLICALLY
Paul doesn’t rest his argument on personal experience alone. He turns to Scripture and demonstrates from Israel’s own history, Law, and Prophets that righteousness has always come through faith rather than works.
Galatians 3:6–7 / Genesis 15:6 — Abraham believed God, and his faith was counted to him as righteousness.
Galatians 3:8–9 / Genesis 12:3 — God’s promise to Abraham anticipated the blessing that would eventually extend to all nations through faith.
Galatians 3:10 / Deuteronomy 27:26 — Anyone relying on the law must perfectly keep the law. Failure brings a curse rather than justification.
Galatians 3:11 / Habakkuk 2:4 — “The righteous shall live by faith.” The Law and the Prophets point to the same truth.
Galatians 3:12 / Leviticus 18:5 — The law operates on the basis of doing; justification comes through faith.
Galatians 3:13–14 / Deuteronomy 21:23 — Christ took the curse upon Himself so that the blessing promised to Abraham could come to the Gentiles and the promised Spirit could be received through faith.
Paul essentially turns the Judaizers’ own argument against them. The very Scriptures they appealed to demonstrate that sinners cannot make themselves righteous through the law. Christ redeems sinners from the curse of the law, and His righteousness is received through faith.
SUMMARY / APPLICATION
Paul examines justification by faith from two different angles:
PERSONALLY — Remember what God has already done in you through faith.
BIBLICALLY — Look at what God’s Word has always taught about righteousness through faith.
Both lead to the same conclusion: we are not declared righteous because of what we do, but because of what Christ has done.
Every angle has been examined. The verdict is in: we can only be declared “not guilty” by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.
So the question becomes: What are you going to do with Jesus?
