New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Galatians 3
1
You foolish people of Galatia! Who has put you under an evil spell? When I preached, I clearly showed you that Jesus Christ had been nailed to the cross.
Reference
Parallel theme
Revelation 2:20
Ephesians 4:14
1 Peter 4:17
Hebrews 11:8
2 Peter 2:18
Galatians 3:3
Galatians 4:9
Hebrews 5:9
References Christ
2 Corinthians 11:3
Galatians 1:6
2
I would like to learn just one thing from you. Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law? Or did you receive the Spirit by believing what you heard?
Reference
3
Are you so foolish? You began with the Holy Spirit. Are you now trying to complete God's work in you by your own strength?
5
Why does God give you his Spirit? Why does he work miracles among you? Is it because you do what the law says? Or is it because you believe what you have heard?
Reference
Faith
Galatians 3:2
Parallel theme
2 Corinthians 13:3
2 Corinthians 10:4
2 Corinthians 12:12
Spirit
Romans 15:19
Word
Acts 14:3
6
Think about Abraham. Scripture says, "Abraham believed God. God accepted Abraham because he believed. So his faith made him right with God."--(Genesis 15:6)
Reference
8
Long ago, Scripture knew that God would make non-Jews right with himself by believing in him. He announced the good news ahead of time to Abraham. He said, "All nations will be blessed because of you."--(Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18)
Reference
Blessing
Genesis 12:3
Genesis 22:18
Genesis 28:14
Genesis 26:4
Genesis 18:18
Faith
Galatians 3:22
Hebrews 4:2
John 7:38
References Abraham
Galatians 3:16
Word
Genesis 49:10
9
So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham. He was the man of faith.
Reference
Faith
Romans 4:16
Romans 4:24
Romans 4:11
Galatians 3:14
Parallel theme
Galatians 4:28
References Abraham
Galatians 3:29
10
All who depend on obeying the law are under a curse. It is written, "May everyone who doesn't continue to do everything that is written in the Book of the Law be under God's curse."--(Deuteronomy 27:26)
Reference
Curse
Deuteronomy 29:20
Matthew 25:41
Isaiah 43:28
Parallel theme
Romans 6:23
Ezekiel 18:4
Word
Deuteronomy 27:26
Romans 8:7
Jeremiah 11:3
Romans 4:15
Galatians 2:16
11
We know that no one is made right with God by keeping the law. Scripture says, "Those who are right with God will live by faith."--(Habakkuk 2:4)
Reference
Faith
Habakkuk 2:4
Romans 1:17
Hebrews 10:38
Galatians 2:16
Parallel theme
Isaiah 53:6
References God
Revelation 5:9
Righteousness
Ecclesiastes 7:20
12
The law is not based on faith. In fact, it is just the opposite. It teaches that "the one who does those things will live by them."--(Leviticus 18:5)
Reference
Faith
Romans 4:14
Romans 4:16
Parallel theme
Leviticus 18:5
Ezekiel 20:11
Romans 11:6
Ezekiel 20:13
Word
Nehemiah 9:29
Matthew 19:17
13
Christ set us free from the curse of the law. He did it by becoming a curse for us. It is written, "Everyone who is hung on a pole is under God's curse."--(Deuteronomy 21:23)
Reference
Curse
Deuteronomy 21:23
Parallel theme
1 Peter 2:24
Matthew 26:28
1 John 4:10
Redemption
Hebrews 9:15
Hebrews 9:12
Revelation 5:9
Galatians 4:5
References Christ
Revelation 1:5
1 Peter 3:18
14
Christ Jesus set us free so that the blessing given to Abraham would come to non-Jews through Christ. He did it so that we might receive the promise of the Holy Spirit by believing in Christ.
Reference
Covenant
Acts 2:33
Faith
Galatians 3:2
John 7:39
Parallel theme
Isaiah 49:6
Spirit
1 Corinthians 12:13
Ephesians 2:18
Ezekiel 11:19
Isaiah 32:15
1 Peter 1:22
Ephesians 2:22
15
Brothers and sisters, let me give you an example from everyday life. No one can get rid of an official agreement between people. No one can add to it. It can't be changed after it has been made. It is the same with God's covenant.
Reference
16
The promises were given to Abraham. They were also given to his seed. Scripture does not say, "and to seeds." That means many people. It says, "and to your seed."--(Genesis 12:7; 13:15; 24:7) That means one person. And that one person is Christ.
Reference
Covenant
Romans 4:13
Romans 4:16
Acts 3:25
Parallel theme
Genesis 12:7
Genesis 12:3
Genesis 15:5
References Abraham
Luke 1:55
Galatians 3:8
Genesis 21:12
References Christ
Colossians 3:11
17
Here is what I mean. The law came 430 years after the promise. But the law does not get rid of God's covenant and promise. The covenant had already been made by God. So the law does not do away with the promise.
Reference
Covenant
2 Corinthians 1:20
Galatians 3:15
Parallel theme
Genesis 15:13
Isaiah 14:27
References God
Romans 3:3
Word
Colossians 2:4
1 Corinthians 1:17
John 1:17
Galatians 5:4
18
The great gift that God has for us does not depend on the law. If it did, it would no longer depend on a promise. But God gave it to Abraham as a free gift through a promise.
Reference
19
Then what was the purpose of the law? It was added because of human sin. And it was supposed to control us until the promised Seed had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a go-between.
Reference
Covenant
Galatians 3:16
Parallel theme
Hebrews 2:5
Sin
Acts 7:38
John 15:22
Word
Acts 7:53
Hebrews 2:2
Romans 4:15
Romans 2:13
Deuteronomy 5:5
John 1:17
20
A go-between does not take sides. God didn't use a go-between when he made his promise to Abraham. But the same God was at work in both the law and the promise.
Reference
Parallel theme
Hebrews 8:6
Hebrews 9:15
Job 9:33
Hebrews 12:24
References God
1 Timothy 2:5
Deuteronomy 6:4
21
So is the law opposed to God's promises? Certainly not! What if a law had been given that could give life? Then people could become right with God by obeying the law.
Reference
References God
Romans 3:6
Righteousness
Galatians 2:21
Romans 9:31
Galatians 2:17
Romans 3:4
Word
Galatians 2:19
Romans 3:31
22
But Scripture announces that the whole world is a prisoner because of sin. It does so in order that what was promised might be given to those who believe. The promise comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
Reference
Covenant
Hebrews 9:15
1 John 2:25
2 Peter 1:4
Faith
Galatians 3:23
John 3:36
Acts 16:31
Romans 10:9
Parallel theme
Romans 11:32
Psalm 143:2
Sin
Romans 5:12
23
Before faith in Christ came, we were held prisoners by the law. We were locked up until faith was made known.
Reference
24
So the law was put in charge until Christ came. He came so that we might be made right with God by believing in Christ.
Reference
26
You are all children of God by believing in Christ Jesus.
Reference
Parallel theme
2 Corinthians 6:18
References God
Philippians 2:15
Revelation 21:7
Ephesians 5:1
References Jesus
Ephesians 1:5
John 20:17
27
All of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ as if he were your clothes.
Reference
Baptism
1 Corinthians 12:13
Acts 2:38
1 Peter 3:21
Acts 16:15
Acts 8:16
Parallel theme
Colossians 3:10
Ephesians 4:24
Isaiah 61:10
Job 29:14
References Christ
Romans 13:14
28
There is no Jew or Greek. There is no slave or free person. There is no male or female. Because you belong to Christ Jesus, you are all one.
Reference
Parallel theme
John 10:16
Ephesians 4:4
Romans 9:24
1 Corinthians 7:19
John 11:52
John 17:11
1 Corinthians 7:14
References Christ
Colossians 3:11
Romans 1:16
References Jesus
Galatians 5:6
29
You who belong to Christ are Abraham's seed. You will receive what God has promised.
Reference
Covenant
Ephesians 3:6
James 2:5
Galatians 3:16
Parallel theme
Titus 3:7
Revelation 21:7
References Abraham
Galatians 3:7
References Christ
Romans 8:17
Galatians 4:7
2 Corinthians 10:7
Summary of Galatians 3
Galatians 3 explains that God's blessings, righteousness, and promised inheritance come through faith in Christ rather than through keeping the Mosaic law, using the example of Abraham, the purpose of the law, Christ's redeeming death, and the believer's new identity in Christ to show that Jews and Gentiles who trust Jesus become one family of God.
Paul begins by confronting the Galatians for abandoning the clear message of Christ crucified, asking how they could receive the Holy Spirit through faith and then believe that they must complete their relationship with God through human effort and religious law.
He points them toward Abraham, explaining that Abraham believed God and was counted as righteous because of his faith, which demonstrates that faith was already central to God's relationship with His people long before the Mosaic law was given.
Paul then explains that God's promise to Abraham included all nations, meaning that Gentiles were always included in God's larger plan of blessing, and those who share Abraham's faith are therefore his true spiritual children.
The law, Paul explains, cannot provide the righteousness that comes through faith because it requires obedience to its commands, while sinful human beings cannot establish their righteousness before God by perfectly keeping those requirements.
Paul therefore points to Christ, who redeemed believers from the curse associated with the law by taking that curse upon Himself through His crucifixion, allowing the blessing promised to Abraham to reach Gentiles and enabling believers to receive the Holy Spirit through faith.
Paul then explains that God's promise to Abraham came before the law, and the later giving of the law could not cancel or replace God's earlier promise, because the inheritance ultimately depends upon God's promise rather than human performance.
The law nevertheless had an important purpose, because it exposed sin and served as a temporary guardian leading God's people toward Christ, but once faith in Christ came, believers were no longer dependent upon the law's guardian role for their relationship with God.
Paul concludes by describing the new identity believers receive through Christ, explaining that all who have faith in Jesus are children of God, have symbolically put on Christ through baptism, and share equal spiritual standing regardless of whether they are Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female.
Because believers belong to Christ, they are also Abraham's offspring and heirs according to God's promise, meaning that God's family is defined by faith in Christ rather than by ethnic ancestry or religious achievement.
The central message of Galatians 3 is that God's promise of salvation and blessing is received through faith rather than earned through the law, because the law was given for a temporary purpose of exposing sin and leading people toward Christ, while everyone who belongs to Jesus becomes a child of God and an heir of God's promise.
Paul begins this chapter with unusually strong language because he believes the Galatians are making a serious mistake.
They had clearly heard the message about Jesus Christ crucified, and they had received the Holy Spirit through faith.
Yet they were now being persuaded that faith was not enough and that they needed additional religious requirements to become fully acceptable to God.
Paul asks them a simple question: did they receive the Spirit because they obeyed the law or because they believed the message they heard?
Their own experience provided the answer.
They had received God's Spirit through faith.
Therefore, Paul asks why they would begin their Christian life by trusting God's grace and then attempt to complete that life through human effort.
Paul then turns to Abraham because Abraham was one of the most important figures in Jewish history.
If anyone could claim that righteousness depends upon ancestry and religious achievement, Abraham might appear to be the strongest example.
Yet Scripture says that Abraham believed God, and his faith was counted as righteousness.
Paul uses this to establish that faith is not a new Christian idea.
Faith was already part of God's relationship with Abraham long before Moses received the law.
This becomes especially important when Paul discusses the Gentiles.
God promised Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him.
Therefore, the inclusion of Gentiles in God's family was not an unexpected change in God's plan.
It was part of the promise from the beginning.
Those who have faith are therefore connected spiritually with Abraham because they share the same basic response of trusting God.
Paul then explains why the law cannot replace this promise.
The law requires obedience to its commands.
If someone wants to use the law as the basis for becoming righteous before God, that person must meet its requirements.
The problem is that sinful human beings cannot establish perfect righteousness through their own performance.
The law therefore reveals the seriousness of sin rather than providing the final solution to sin.
Paul then turns toward Christ's death on the cross.
Christ took upon Himself the curse associated with the law, allowing the blessing promised to Abraham to come to Gentiles through Him.
This means that the cross is not merely an example of suffering.
It is the central event through which Christ provides redemption and opens the promised blessing to people from every nation.
Paul then makes an important chronological argument.
The promise to Abraham came before the law.
The Mosaic law was given centuries later.
Therefore, the later law could not cancel the earlier promise.
God's promise remains the foundation of the inheritance.
This distinction is essential to Paul's argument because the false teachers apparently wanted the Galatians to believe that the law had become the necessary path to receiving God's promises.
Paul explains that this cannot be true because God's promise existed before the law ever appeared.
The law nevertheless had a purpose.
Paul describes it as a guardian or schoolmaster leading people toward Christ.
The illustration reflects an ancient household practice in which a guardian supervised a child before the child reached maturity.
The guardian had genuine authority, but that authority was temporary.
In Paul's argument, the law served a similar purpose.
It revealed sin, established God's standards, and demonstrated humanity's need for redemption, ultimately pointing people toward Christ.
Once Christ came, however, believers no longer needed to remain under the law's temporary guardian role as the basis of their relationship with God.
Paul then describes what this means for Christian identity.
Faith in Christ makes believers children of God.
This identity is not restricted to one ethnic group.
It is not based on social status.
It is not determined by whether someone is rich or poor.
It is not earned through religious performance.
Those who belong to Christ are united in Him.
Paul expresses this through three major social contrasts: Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female.
These distinctions certainly continued to exist socially in the ancient world, but they no longer determine a person's spiritual standing before God.
Every believer belongs equally to Christ.
Finally, Paul connects believers with Abraham once again.
Those who belong to Christ are Abraham's offspring and heirs according to God's promise.
This means that God's family is defined not simply by physical ancestry but by faith in Christ.
The promise made to Abraham finds its fulfillment in Christ and extends to everyone who belongs to Him.
Overall, Galatians 3 teaches that salvation cannot be earned through religious law or human effort, Abraham's example demonstrates that righteousness has always been connected with faith, the law served a temporary purpose of revealing sin and pointing toward Christ, Christ redeemed believers through His death, and everyone who trusts in Him becomes a child of God and an heir of the promises given to Abraham.
Paul begins by confronting the Galatians for abandoning the clear message of Christ crucified, asking how they could receive the Holy Spirit through faith and then believe that they must complete their relationship with God through human effort and religious law.
He points them toward Abraham, explaining that Abraham believed God and was counted as righteous because of his faith, which demonstrates that faith was already central to God's relationship with His people long before the Mosaic law was given.
Paul then explains that God's promise to Abraham included all nations, meaning that Gentiles were always included in God's larger plan of blessing, and those who share Abraham's faith are therefore his true spiritual children.
The law, Paul explains, cannot provide the righteousness that comes through faith because it requires obedience to its commands, while sinful human beings cannot establish their righteousness before God by perfectly keeping those requirements.
Paul therefore points to Christ, who redeemed believers from the curse associated with the law by taking that curse upon Himself through His crucifixion, allowing the blessing promised to Abraham to reach Gentiles and enabling believers to receive the Holy Spirit through faith.
Paul then explains that God's promise to Abraham came before the law, and the later giving of the law could not cancel or replace God's earlier promise, because the inheritance ultimately depends upon God's promise rather than human performance.
The law nevertheless had an important purpose, because it exposed sin and served as a temporary guardian leading God's people toward Christ, but once faith in Christ came, believers were no longer dependent upon the law's guardian role for their relationship with God.
Paul concludes by describing the new identity believers receive through Christ, explaining that all who have faith in Jesus are children of God, have symbolically put on Christ through baptism, and share equal spiritual standing regardless of whether they are Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female.
Because believers belong to Christ, they are also Abraham's offspring and heirs according to God's promise, meaning that God's family is defined by faith in Christ rather than by ethnic ancestry or religious achievement.
The central message of Galatians 3 is that God's promise of salvation and blessing is received through faith rather than earned through the law, because the law was given for a temporary purpose of exposing sin and leading people toward Christ, while everyone who belongs to Jesus becomes a child of God and an heir of God's promise.
Paul begins this chapter with unusually strong language because he believes the Galatians are making a serious mistake.
They had clearly heard the message about Jesus Christ crucified, and they had received the Holy Spirit through faith.
Yet they were now being persuaded that faith was not enough and that they needed additional religious requirements to become fully acceptable to God.
Paul asks them a simple question: did they receive the Spirit because they obeyed the law or because they believed the message they heard?
Their own experience provided the answer.
They had received God's Spirit through faith.
Therefore, Paul asks why they would begin their Christian life by trusting God's grace and then attempt to complete that life through human effort.
Paul then turns to Abraham because Abraham was one of the most important figures in Jewish history.
If anyone could claim that righteousness depends upon ancestry and religious achievement, Abraham might appear to be the strongest example.
Yet Scripture says that Abraham believed God, and his faith was counted as righteousness.
Paul uses this to establish that faith is not a new Christian idea.
Faith was already part of God's relationship with Abraham long before Moses received the law.
This becomes especially important when Paul discusses the Gentiles.
God promised Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him.
Therefore, the inclusion of Gentiles in God's family was not an unexpected change in God's plan.
It was part of the promise from the beginning.
Those who have faith are therefore connected spiritually with Abraham because they share the same basic response of trusting God.
Paul then explains why the law cannot replace this promise.
The law requires obedience to its commands.
If someone wants to use the law as the basis for becoming righteous before God, that person must meet its requirements.
The problem is that sinful human beings cannot establish perfect righteousness through their own performance.
The law therefore reveals the seriousness of sin rather than providing the final solution to sin.
Paul then turns toward Christ's death on the cross.
Christ took upon Himself the curse associated with the law, allowing the blessing promised to Abraham to come to Gentiles through Him.
This means that the cross is not merely an example of suffering.
It is the central event through which Christ provides redemption and opens the promised blessing to people from every nation.
Paul then makes an important chronological argument.
The promise to Abraham came before the law.
The Mosaic law was given centuries later.
Therefore, the later law could not cancel the earlier promise.
God's promise remains the foundation of the inheritance.
This distinction is essential to Paul's argument because the false teachers apparently wanted the Galatians to believe that the law had become the necessary path to receiving God's promises.
Paul explains that this cannot be true because God's promise existed before the law ever appeared.
The law nevertheless had a purpose.
Paul describes it as a guardian or schoolmaster leading people toward Christ.
The illustration reflects an ancient household practice in which a guardian supervised a child before the child reached maturity.
The guardian had genuine authority, but that authority was temporary.
In Paul's argument, the law served a similar purpose.
It revealed sin, established God's standards, and demonstrated humanity's need for redemption, ultimately pointing people toward Christ.
Once Christ came, however, believers no longer needed to remain under the law's temporary guardian role as the basis of their relationship with God.
Paul then describes what this means for Christian identity.
Faith in Christ makes believers children of God.
This identity is not restricted to one ethnic group.
It is not based on social status.
It is not determined by whether someone is rich or poor.
It is not earned through religious performance.
Those who belong to Christ are united in Him.
Paul expresses this through three major social contrasts: Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female.
These distinctions certainly continued to exist socially in the ancient world, but they no longer determine a person's spiritual standing before God.
Every believer belongs equally to Christ.
Finally, Paul connects believers with Abraham once again.
Those who belong to Christ are Abraham's offspring and heirs according to God's promise.
This means that God's family is defined not simply by physical ancestry but by faith in Christ.
The promise made to Abraham finds its fulfillment in Christ and extends to everyone who belongs to Him.
Overall, Galatians 3 teaches that salvation cannot be earned through religious law or human effort, Abraham's example demonstrates that righteousness has always been connected with faith, the law served a temporary purpose of revealing sin and pointing toward Christ, Christ redeemed believers through His death, and everyone who trusts in Him becomes a child of God and an heir of the promises given to Abraham.